US embassy cable - 03KUWAIT2565

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 002565 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR INR/R/MR, NEA/ARP, NEA/PPD, PA, INR/NESA, 
IIP/G/NEA-SA, INR/B 
WHITE HOUSE FOR PRESS OFFICE 
LONDON FOR GOLDRICH, PARIS FOR O'FRIEL 
SECDEF FOR OASD/PA 
CINCCENT FOR CCPA 
USDOC FOR 4520/ANESA/ONE/FITZGERALD-WILKS 
USDOC FOR ITA AND PTO/OLIA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KU, KDMR 
SUBJECT:  KUWAIT MEDIA REACTION, JUNE 8-11: NORMALIZATION 
WITH ISRAEL; ROAD MAP PEACE PLAN; AMERICAN PRESENCE IN 
REGION 
 
 
1.   SUMMARY: Comments early in the week by the State 
Minister for Foreign Affairs that Kuwait supports 
normalization of relations with Israel "within the framework 
of a joint Arab position" unleashed a torrent of 
denunciations from conservative and Islamist groups. Liberal 
commentators see government back-tracking on the issue in a 
statement by the Minister of Information (that "Kuwait would 
be the last state to normalize relations" with Israel) and 
characterize it as caving in to "Kuwait's terrorists and 
backward citizens." 
 
The funeral of the first identified Kuwaiti POW returned 
from Iraq was front-page news on June 11. Editor-in-chief 
Mohammed Al-Jassim, charged earlier in the week with 
"contesting the authority of the Amir," continues his public 
calls for government reform. END SUMMARY. 
 
2.   News Stories: The lead story in all newspapers on June 
11 was the burial in Kuwait of the remains of the first 
positively identified Kuwaiti POW, Saad Al-Onaizi. The 
funeral was attended by Minister of Interior, Sheikh 
Mohammed Al-Khaled. 
 
On June 8, Al-Qabas reports that State Minister for Foreign 
Affairs Sheikh Dr. Mohammed Al-Sabah said Kuwait supports 
normalization with Israel within the framework of Saudi 
Crown Prince Abdullah's initiative, prompting the 
conservative Islamist Salafi Movement to reject any attempt 
at normalization with "the Zionist entity" under any 
circumstances. Al-Qabas also reports that Information 
Minister Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahd stated that Kuwait would be 
last country to normalize relations with the Hebrew State. 
 
Al-Seyassa reports that families of 149 POWs plan a peaceful 
demonstration in front of the National Committee for POWs 
and Missing to object to being notified over the phone that 
their children were killed in Iraq based a "non-authentic 
document." 
 
Following his release on bail, editor-in-chief of Arabic 
daily Al-Watan, Mohammed Al-Jassim, participated in an 
electoral seminar on June 10, and called for a reevaluation 
of the country's political process. Al-Watan reports that 
"concerned Kuwaiti authorities" requested, "not one, but two 
recordings from two individual tape recorders" for Al- 
Jassim's statements during the seminar. 
 
Al-Qabas reports a statement from the Director General of 
Kuwait Customs that Kuwait had confiscated six Iraqi 
historical artifacts that were in the possession of an 
unnamed American citizen. 
 
Editorials: 
 
3.  "What Will We Gain From Normalization?" 
Ali Al-Ajmi wrote in independent Al-Rai Al-Aam (6/10): 
"Arabs and Muslims consider Israel a dagger that has split 
the Arab people. We only hope that Kuwait will not rush into 
this step [of normalizing relations with Israel], which we 
believe has not been properly studied and justified, that is 
unless it was decided under external pressure. to comply 
with the American polices in the region." 
 
4.  "Normalization Is On The Way" 
Liberal Political Science professor, Dr. Ahmad Al-Baghdadi 
wrote in independent Al-Seyassah (6/11):  "Normalization is 
inevitable. Kuwait will have to choose between Arab 
extremist ideologies and American forces that will not 
forgive Kuwait if it resists normalization. It is not 
farfetched to think that [Kuwaiti] religious groups may 
demand from the government public funds or special projects 
in return for their support for normalization. The Arab 
world supports normalization with Israel, and each Arab 
government will act according to its interests. The Arab 
Street may reject normalization, but it is powerless." 
 
5.  "When The Government Is Frightened" 
Liberal Abdul-Latif Al-Duaij wrote in independent Al-Qabas 
(6/09):  "Kuwait's Minister of Information, Sheikh Ahmed Al- 
Fahd, described the Israeli government as a `Sharonian 
terrorist' state. This description was. a desperate attempt 
to absorb the anger caused by the statements made by 
Kuwait's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Sheikh Dr. 
Mohammad Al-Sabah, welcoming normalization with Israel. 
Kuwait's terrorists and backward citizens objected [to 
Sheikh Dr. Mohammad's statement] and the agents of the 
Taliban and Bin Laden's cells were angered, thus the 
Minister of Information issued assurances that there would 
be no normalization. It seems our government has formed an 
alliance with backward religious forces as it vindicates-- 
through its own Minister of Information-- Hamas, [Islamic] 
Jihad and other terrorist groups [in their actions] against 
Abbas's government and the ideology of peace." 
 
6.  "The Restrictions of the New Occupier" 
Conservative Dr. Sami Khalifa wrote in independent Al-Rai Al- 
Aam (6/9):  "The American Administration has entered the 
Middle East region by forcing Arab regimes to recognize the 
existence of the Zionist entity under the pretext of 
proposing what is called the `Road Map'. [T]he US is 
insisting on remaining in Iraq as an occupying force in 
order to rearrange the regional situation to serve its 
economic and political avidity, and to maintain its military 
bases to eventually control Arab and Muslim resources." 
 
7.  "Reformation of the Arab Mentality" 
Nasser Al-Otaibi wrote in independent Al-Seyassah (6/9): 
"With the fall of the Iraqi regime and the Baath party, a 
new era has begun. We must reevaluate our Arab mentality in 
an effort to built defenses against any tyrants or 
oppressive rulers. We must also. abide by humanitarian and 
international principles in addition to denouncing all 
terrorist acts and all oppressive ideologies. This will help 
the Arab nation present itself as a responsible nation. 
capable of undertaking a positive role in society." 
 
 
JONES