US embassy cable - 03KUWAIT1147

UNCLAS KUWAIT 001147 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/PPD, JGAFFNEY; NSC FOR MDUNNE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KPAO, PREL, OPRC, OIIP, KWWW, IZ 
SUBJECT: PORTRAYAL OF THE WAR IN KUWAIT'S STATE MEDIA 
 
1. After months of public hedging and equivocation for the 
benefit of the media and the Arab League, the GOK has come 
out in strong support for the war on Iraq, and Kuwaiti 
public opinion is following its lead. Embassy has received 
hundreds of calls expressing support from ordinary Kuwaitis, 
many of whom are leaving floral bouquets and letters at the 
embassy gate, and editorials overwhelmingly support the US 
and coalition attack.  Not surprisingly, this perspective is 
reflected in Kuwait's state-run media. 
 
2. Kuwait TV (KTV) and the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) are the 
only government-controlled media in the country, and offer 
voluble support for coalition efforts. KTV, for example, 
regularly refers to the campaign as "the war to liberate 
Iraq." Illustrative of KTV's coverage is a series of 
interviews with Iraqi refugee families in Jordan entitled 
"Where Are We Now?" The families, living in squalid camp 
conditions, tell the interviewer it is better than what they 
experienced under Saddam's regime. KTV also has broadcast 
several interviews with Iraqi opposition figures, and both 
KTV and KUNA have focused in recent days on humanitarian aid 
efforts in Iraq, including a Kuwaiti aid shipment and 
assistance in extinguishing oil well fires in Iraq. 
 
3.  Although Kuwait's Arabic press is not government-owned 
or controlled, the same pro-war sentiment is evident in 
newspaper reportage and op/eds.  Commentators harshly 
criticize Arab states and publics for attacking the 
coalition, and editorial opinion reflects bitterness that 
Arab public opinion offers no sympathy for Kuwait as a 
victim of Iraqi surface to surface missiles. In this 
context, there is no ambiguity about where the majority of 
Kuwaitis stand in terms of the war on Iraq, and no daylight 
between official and commercial media on the issue. 
 
JONES