US embassy cable - 03KUWAIT651

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 000651 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT. FOR NEA/ARP 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/04/2013 
TAGS: PREL, KISL, PGOV, PINR, KU 
SUBJECT: KUWAIT,S ISLAMISTS: THEY NEED US BUT THEY DON'T 
TRUST US 
 
Classified By: (U) Ambassador Richard H. Jones for reasons 1.5 (b) and 
(d) 
 
1. (C) Summary: Poloffs have met with a number of influential 
 Kuwaiti Islamists to discuss their views of the U.S. 
presence in Kuwait and the region.  Almost all of them 
defined the U.S. role in the world as that of the current 
imperial power and predicted the eventual downfall of the 
U.S. "empire."  Some support, but most oppose war to 
eliminate Saddam.  Accusing the U.S. of trying to impose its 
value system on the region, they argued that the U.S. 
maintains a presence here solely to control and/or "steal" 
the oil wealth of the region, and would be much better off if 
we left the values of the local peoples ) which they do not 
see as largely shared with the West ) to be dealt with as 
domestic issues.  End Summary. 
 
America as an Imperial Power 
---------------------------- 
2. (C) The Islamists we spoke with -- ranging from the 
ostensibly moderate Islamic Constitutional Movement (ICM, the 
Kuwaiti Muslim Brotherhood and its social welfare arm, the 
Social Reform Society(SRS)) through the Salafis to the 
reactionary Scientific Salafis -- view the U.S. presence in 
the Middle East as the latest in a long historical line of 
foreign occupying powers.  Much as the Persians, Ottomans and 
British once ruled the lands of the Middle East, they say, so 
now does the U.S. control the region and its natural 
resources.  And like them, the "U.S. empire," too, will fall 
someday.   The U.S. empire has reached its zenith, said 
Kuwaiti Social Reform Society Secretary General Shaykh Jassem 
Muhalhal al-Yaseen, and is striving to maintain this position 
through "technological advancement.... We don,t care if it 
stays or falls down, but for you it is important to stay 
there." 
 
3. (C) But while they predict the inevitable failure of the 
United States in the region, many of Kuwait's Islamists claim 
not to fault the U.S. for looking after its interests here. 
According to al-Yaseen, the U.S. has the "right" as the sole 
superpower to view the world as territory to "be conquered." 
 Or as outspoken local editorialist and ICM Executive 
Committee Member Dr. Ismail al-Shatti said, "The law of 
history tells us superpowers should act as superpowers to 
control fragile states." 
 
The "Real" U.S. Interests 
------------------------- 
4. (C) Kuwaiti Islamist perceptions of U.S. interests in the 
region, however, differ greatly from our stated goals here. 
Despite their first-hand experience of the U.S.-led 
liberation of Kuwait, and their universal expression to us of 
appreciation for that role, many Kuwaiti Islamists find it 
hard to believe that U.S. interests go beyond the maintenance 
of the price and stable flow of oil, and/or the strategic 
placement of troops in the region.  According to Dr. 
al-Shatti, "the most important reason" for U.S. engagement 
during the Gulf War was oil, followed by the establishment of 
a U.S. presence in the region.  Prior to the crisis, he said 
the U.S. had unsuccessfully attempted to conclude bilateral 
military agreements with Kuwait.  The placement of U.S. 
troops here during and after the Gulf War was a U.S. fait 
accompli.  He acknowledged that, to a point, Kuwait and the 
U.S. have a shared interest in stability. 
 
A Necessary Evil 
---------------- 
5. (C) While all of the Islamists we spoke to acknowledged 
the U.S. military presence in Kuwait as necessary to the 
maintenance of Kuwait's security and independence, they also 
expressed their uneasiness with it and mistrust of the U.S. 
In particular, they share the notion so common in the Arab 
world that the U.S. is somehow currently controlling the 
wealth of the region, and intends to expand this control to 
include Iraq.  Al-Yaseen referred to the U.S. presence as 
part of a historical pattern whereby the strong dominate the 
weak and "steal their wealth."  Even when challenged with the 
fact that Kuwait has always been paid for its oil, he 
asserted a U.S. intent to control the world by making the 
world dependent upon it for the maintenance of the flow of 
oil.  Al-Shatti echoed Yaseen's concerns, adding (falsely, on 
no evidence whatsoever) that the U.S. was behind the 
exclusion of Kuwait from a recent Turkish-sponsored 
conference on Iraq.  He said he thought U.S. interest in the 
region would fade in fifty years, and worried that Kuwait 
would be left with a tarnished reputation for swimming 
against the powerful current of Arab anger towards the U.S. 
"We are part of the Arab nation," he said, "and we don't want 
to show that we are the black sheep." 
 
6. (C) Kuwaiti Islamists are divided over Iraq: some, 
including prominent Salafi Khalid Sultan al-Issa, support the 
elimintaion of Saddam's regime by any means, including 
invasion by infidels (us), but what we hear most often is 
"get rid of him without war and without hurting the Iraqi 
people." 
 
Conflict of Values 
------------------ 
7. (C) The Kuwaiti Islamists we spoke to decried U.S. 
"interference" in the values of the Islamic World.  Every 
Islamist we talk to takes it for granted (wrongly) that U.S. 
Embassy Kuwait is responsible for curriculum reforms proposed 
recently by Kuwait's Ministry of Education.  (Comment: This 
is an irresistable way to for them to impugn the proposed 
reforms as unpatriotic and contrary to Islam.  End Comment.) 
 Al-Shatti claimed the U.S. was "trying to convert Kuwait" 
towards adopting a more Western value system, but cautioned 
that this would not work because the two cultures were 
founded upon the distinct and separate value systems of 
Christianity and Islam, which "should be respected." 
 
--Individual Rights vs. Collective Rights - 
Al-Shatti said that people in the West value the individual 
above all else, and this leads to the dissoluton of families. 
Ignoring the persistent practice of polygamy in Kuwait and 
the Gulf region, he said that over 40% of families in the 
U.S. are "irregular" because of this (Al-Shatti's definition 
of a regular family is a nuclear family, i.e father, mother, 
and children). 
 
-- Social Ties vs. Rituals ) Al-Shatti claimed the West has 
forsaken the social ties of the community in favor of social 
rituals such as baptism and marriage, which do not promote 
social cohesion nearly as much. 
 
-- Justice vs. Freedom ) Al-Shatti says the West values 
Freedom over Justice, whereas the East values Justice over 
Freedom. This, he said, is what explains the imbalance of 
wealth in the U.S. and other Western countries. (Comment: 
Al-Shatti was quick to point out he did not endorse 
Socialism.  Of course, he did not cite any statistics to 
buttress his argument.  End Comment.) 
 
8. (C) Comment: Suspicion of USG motives as the sole 
superpower is hardly limited to this region, and U.S. support 
for Israel rankles many Arabs and Muslims.  That said, Kuwait 
is the one Arab country whose experience of us provides the 
most positive reality-check on these suspicions.  It is 
sobering to realize how little credit our track record gets 
us even here, at least with an important segment of society. 
 
JONES