US embassy cable - 03KUWAIT1197

UNCLAS KUWAIT 001197 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR NEA/ARP, INR/NESA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, EAID, PINR, IZ, LY, KU 
SUBJECT: NATIONAL ASSEMBLY WRAP-UP: MARCH 29 TO APRIL 1, 
2003 
 
1.  SUMMARY:  The National Assembly voiced strong support for 
Operation Iraqi Freedom, approved the GOK's supplemental 
budget request of approximately $1.6 billion, and debated 
punishing hostile states by withholding loans from the Kuwait 
Fund for Arab Economic Development.  The mood of defiance 
prompted Shaykh Sabah al-Ahmed to remind MPs that Kuwait is 
and will remain an Arab country.  END SUMMARY. 
 
2. The National Assembly session on March 31 opened with 
formal expressions of support for the U.S. led military 
action in Iraq and a storm of criticism against those Arab 
nations which have not condemned ongoing Iraqi missile 
strikes against Kuwait.  (NOTE:  The Kuwaiti argument is that 
the coalition's first attacks were carried out by cruise 
missiles launched from platforms outside Kuwait, and that 
Iraq struck first against Kuwait; accordingly, Kuwait 
considers the Iraqi surface-to-surface missile strikes to be 
acts of aggression.  They also argue that the attacks seem 
aimed at civilian rather than military targets.  END NOTE.) 
Poloff and PolFSN attended the March 31 session; MPs showered 
them both with expressions of support for the war and for the 
US role in it. 
 
3.  Moving into closed-door session, the National Assembly 
then voted 39 to 4 (with 9 abstentions) to pass the KD500 
million (approx $1.6 billion) supplemental budget requested 
by the government.  The supplement will meet the cost of 
emergency security needs resulting from the current situation 
in the region.  The Ministry of Defense will receive KD200 
million, the Ministry of the Interior KD121 million, the 
Ministry of Foreign Affairs KD30 million, the Ministry of 
Information KD12 million, the National Guard KD5 million, and 
various other government departments will share the remaining 
KD129 million. 
 
4.  As a result of the mob attack on the Kuwaiti Embassy in 
Tripoli, the GOK expelled the Libyan ambassador to Kuwait. 
MP Marzouk Al-Hbaini praised the government's action as a 
step in the right direction, but stated "we still look 
forward to closing the embassy as this will be a message to 
all that he who does not respect Kuwait and its sovereignty 
will not be respected by the Kuwaiti people." 
 
5.  Deputy Speaker Meshari Al-Anjari and a number of other 
MPs introduced a draft bill to suspend for two years all aid 
and loans extended by the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic 
Development (KFAED).  The MPs want to consider existing and 
future aid requests in light of recent developments in both 
the Arab and broader international arenas in order to most 
effectively achieve the political and strategic goals of the 
state.  Al-Anjari expressed his belief the amendment would 
enable the government to reconsider its loan policy pursuant 
to Kuwait's higher interests.  The intent was unmistakable: 
punish those states that have benefitted from Kuwaiti aid but 
now castigate Kuwait for its role in support of Operation 
Iraqi Freedom. 
 
6.  The National Assembly called on the Financial and 
Economic Affairs Committee to submit its report on the above 
amendment by April 9 so that the bill can be debated during 
the April 14 session.  The National Assembly also agreed to 
prioritize draft bills on the redistribution of electoral 
constituencies and on amendments to the children's allowance; 
both will be debated before mid-April. 
 
7.  COMMENT:  As Kuwaitis realize how isolated they are in 
the Arab world, they are growing more defiant.  So much so 
that First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Shaykh 
Sabah al-Ahmed sought to calm MPs, reminding the National 
Assembly that Kuwait is and will remain an Arab country. 
JONES