US embassy cable - 03KUWAIT1250

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 001250 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ARP 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/02/2013 
TAGS: PREL, KU, IZ, SY, SA 
SUBJECT: (U) GOK TO TAKE ITS CASE ON THE ROAD 
 
REF: A. KUWAIT 1102 
 
     B. STATE 80809 
     C. STATE 84320 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Richard H. Jones for reasons 1.5 (b) and (d) 
 
1. (C) Summary:  During their April 2 meeting, the Ambassador 
and MinState for Foreign Affairs Shaykh Dr. Mohammed Al-Sabah 
discussed the progress of the war and Dr. Mohammed,s 
upcoming trip to key UNSC member states.  The Minister said 
the focus of his visits would be to discuss an array of 
issues surrounding the war in Iraq, including Kuwait's 
disappointment with some member states for their opposition 
to it.  End Summary. 
 
(U) Getting the Message Out 
--------------------------- 
2. (C) MinState for Foreign Affairs Shaykh Dr. Mohammed 
al-Sabah gave the Ambassador a preview of his planned trip 
during their April 2 meeting.  He said he would visit 
Beijing, Moscow, Paris, London, Washington, New York (to call 
on UNSYG), Berlin, Madrid and Rome in a whirlwind tour to 
"explain the war from a Kuwaiti perspective" and ask 
governments to condemn the Iraqi attacks against Kuwait and 
support the people (vice regime) of Iraq.  In the U.S., where 
he plans to arrive on April 11, he said he plans to discuss a 
post-Saddam Iraq, express Kuwait,s interest in being 
involved in reconstruction efforts and raise concerns the GOK 
has been hearing from Iraqi opposition groups who wish to 
play a greater role in the liberation of Iraq. 
 
3. (C) Dr. Mohammed said Kuwait's Ambassador to the U.S., 
Shaykh Salim al-Sabah, had put together a schedule that 
includes visits to Capitol Hill, think-tanks such as The 
Brookings Institution and CSIS, as well as a planned 
appearance on Larry King Live (Saturday, April 12).  The 
Minister said his message during these appointments and 
appearances will be that Kuwait, as a country that has been 
liberated from tyranny by the U.S., is very grateful for U.S. 
and coalition actions to remove Saddam Hussein.  "Only people 
under occupation understand this," he said. "People need to 
hear that." 
 
(C) Article 98 
-------------- 
4. (C) The Ambassador took the opportunity to update Dr. 
Mohammed on a number of issues he might be called upon to 
discuss in Washington. Raising the ongoing effort to secure 
an Article 98 agreement with Kuwait, he asked if there had 
been any further progress since their March 24 meeting (ref 
A).  Dr. Mohammed said that the MFA Legal Dept. had made two 
"small" changes, and if they proved acceptable to the USG, he 
would be willing to sign the agreement in Washington during 
his visit. (Note: Post has since received the revised draft, 
and forwarded it for Dept. review.  End Note.) 
 
(C) Core Group 
-------------- 
5. (C) Briefing Dr. Mohammed on the outlines of the Core 
Group for Iraqi reconstruction (ref B), the Ambassador urged 
the GOK to play an active role in Iraqi reconstruction.  He 
said the USG was hoping to find a GCC partner willing to join 
the Core Group and engage other regional states to assist in 
the reconstruction of Iraq.   Dr. Mohammed responded by 
noting that Iraq was rich in resources, and suggested that 
loans and investment rather than grant aid would be the best 
way to help get Iraq on its feet.  He indicated Kuwait may be 
willing to assist in this effort, but made no specific 
commitments. 
 
 
(C) UN/UNCC Issues 
------------------ 
6. (C) In the course of conversation about the need to block 
efforts to raise the issue of Iraq at UN venues other than 
the UNSC (ref C), Dr. Mohammed brought up what he called 
"problems" Kuwait was having regarding German efforts to hold 
up UNCC disbursements.  Dr. Mohammed seemed perplexed by such 
efforts, and advised that France and Russia, who also support 
delaying payments, wanted "to compensate their suppliers," 
i.e. French and German companies.   The Ambassador reaffirmed 
that the U.S. was opposed to these efforts and urged Dr. 
Mohammed to contact Kuwait's mission in Geneva to mobilize it 
against efforts to block April's payment of UNCC awards.  Dr. 
Mohammed said he would do so without delay. 
 
(U) Aid Coordination 
-------------------- 
7. (C) The Ambassador informed Dr. Mohammed that A/S Burns 
would be calling in GCC Ambassadors in an effort to persuade 
them to energize their relief efforts and coordinate them 
through the Humanitarian Operations Center (HOC) in Kuwait. 
The Ambassador raised the possibility that the GCC states 
might provide personnel to help distribute humanitarian aid 
in Iraq, or use Peninsula Shield forces beyond those already 
here in defense of Kuwait, for this purpose.  Dr. Mohammed 
said the suggestion was timely, as the GOK was currently 
trying to organize a GCC investment conference, which could 
be held here as early as next week.  Dr. Mohammed indicated 
he would use this opportunity to raise the idea with his GCC 
counterparts. 
 
(C) Regional States and the War 
------------------------------------- 
8.  (C) Also discussed was the progress of the war and its 
immediate impact on U.S. relations with states in the region. 
 The Ambassador and Dr. Mohammed made a tour d'horizon on the 
roles of neighboring countries. 
 
9. (C) In response to Dr. Mohammed's questions, the 
Ambassador confirmed that Syria continues to be unhelpful to 
U.S. efforts in Iraq, both by allowing Iraq,s embassy in 
Damascus to recruit fighters for Saddam, and by shipping 
military items such as night vision goggles across the border 
to Iraq.  Dr. Mohammed mentioned a report from his ambassador 
in Syria that there had been a visible increase in "expensive 
cars" with Iraqi diplomatic plates in Damascus as of late 
(although most seemed to be en route to Lebanon), and that 
hospitals were cordoning off sections for VIP use.  The 
Ambassador confirmed for Dr. Mohammed that the air war was 
being directed from PSAB, but that air strikes were not 
originating from Saudi territory. 
 
10.  (C) COMMENT:  As we have been reporting, the Kuwaitis 
are solidly behind us, and increasingly defiant in response 
to condemnation from throughout the Arab world.  In Dr. 
Mohammed, the GOK is sending a very able senior spokesman to 
let America, key coalition partners and key opponents of the 
war know where Kuwait stands. 
JONES