VZCZCXRO0439
PP RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHKUK RUEHMOS
DE RUEHKU #5299/01 3651012
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 311012Z DEC 05
FM AMEMBASSY KUWAIT
TO RUEHGB/AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD PRIORITY 0513
RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2361
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHKU/OMC-K KUWAIT KU PRIORITY
RUMICEA/USCENTCOM INTEL CEN MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 005299 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ARPI, LONDON FOR TSOU, PARIS FOR ZEYA, 
BAGHDAD FOR PILZ 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/03/2015 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KISL OFDP PINR MOPS PHUM IZ KU
SUBJECT: HOC CHIEF / UNOFFICIAL KUWAITI AMBASSADOR TO IRAQ 
ON RELATIONS WITH IRAQ AND HOC DEVELOPMENTS 
 
REF: A. 05 KUWAIT 5130 
     ¶B. 05 KUWAIT 4905 
 
Classified By: DCM Matthew Tueller for reason 1.4 (b) 
 
¶1.  (C) Summary: Lt General Ali Hassan Al-Mu'min, former 
Kuwaiti military Chief of Staff, current head of the 
Humanitarian Operations Center (HOC) and the GOK's 
unannounced choice for Ambassador to Iraq (reftel), told the 
DCM during a December 28 meeting that Kuwait will not "make 
the first move" in announcing an Ambassador to Iraq, opting 
to wait until the GOI announces its representative in Kuwait. 
 He said that Foreign Minister Shaykh Dr. Mohammad Al-Sabah 
had offered him the idea of being named as the non-resident 
Kuwaiti Ambassador to Iraq and staying in Kuwait but that he 
declined, telling the FM that he would prefer to do the job 
from Baghdad. General Ali said that the ideal situation would 
be for the Kuwaiti mission to Iraq to be set up in the Green 
Zone, under protection of U.S. security forces, or with an 
"American security environment."  General Ali said that he 
would also continue with his work for the HOC, praised the 
American military staff assigned to the HOC, and asked that 
they remain with him for the time being.  He offered his 
general views on Iraq, a brief history of the HOC's 
operations, and a summary of his recent work in identifying 
Kuwaiti POW remains in Iraq.  End Summary. 
 
General Ali Confirms His Unofficial Job 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (C) In a December 28 meeting with the DCM, Lt General Ali 
Hassan Al-Mu'min, former Kuwaiti military Chief of Staff and 
current head of the Humanitarian Operations Center (HOC), 
confirmed his standing as the number one choice to be named 
Kuwaiti ambassador to Iraq (reftel).  He said that the GOK 
"wants representation in Iraq," and "wants Iraq to be free 
and prosperous."  He said that Foreign Minister Shaykh Dr. 
Mohammed Al-Sabah offered him the idea of staying in Kuwait 
but being named as the non-resident Kuwaiti ambassador to 
Iraq, but that he turned this offer down, saying that he 
would rather do the job from Baghdad. 
 
"We Have Many Friends, But We Also Have Many Enemies" 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
¶3.  (C) Explaining the delay in establishing a diplomatic 
presence in Baghdad he quoted Foreign Minister Shaykh Dr. 
Mohammed Al-Sabah, saying that the Minister told him, "I 
can't send the sons of Kuwait to be killed in Iraq."  General 
Ali said that he thinks that "the GOK will wait to make the 
first move" and not name a diplomat to Baghad until the GOI 
names its representative to Kuwait.  "Any Kuwaiti diplomat 
would be the prime target (of the insurgents)" General Ali 
said.  "We Kuwaitis have a lot of friends (in Iraq)," he 
added, "but we also have many enemies." 
 
¶4.  (C) General Ali said that any Kuwaiti embassy or mission 
opened in Baghdad would need to have an "American security 
environment" or something similar.  He said that it would 
ideally be located "in or near the American compound" and 
have the same security protection.  For his current trips in 
and out of Baghdad, he explained, he travels with the 
American military staff.  "With regular transport and 
security", he said, "we could open an Embassy."  The DCM 
emphasized that, with the recent elections putting in place a 
permanent Iraqi government, now is the time to establish full 
diplomatic representation. 
 
Kuwait Is "Stuck With The HOC" For Now 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU) General Ali explained that when the HOC first was 
established, the GOK thought it would operate for "three to 
six months."  Three years later, he said, the HOC is still in 
operation and still is needed, and he has a feeling, he said, 
that Kuwait "is stuck with the HOC" for some time.  "We 
cannot disband the HOC," he explained, "until all the NGOs 
can operate within Iraq."  He admitted that "Kuwait is a hard 
place to do business for an NGO, they need our help." 
General Ali said that he sees himself as a "gap-filler," 
helping out when needed.  He said that he receives his 
authority for HOC operations from the Council of Ministers 
but he falls under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, an 
arrangement he described as "confusing at times." 
 
¶6.  (SBU) General Ali said that his recent efforts with the 
 
KUWAIT 00005299  002 OF 002 
 
 
HOC were focused on making sure that aid donations are evenly 
distributed throughout Iraq and not just in the south.  He 
said that he has authorized HOC funds to be provided to the 
Kuwait Red Crescent Society to purchase humanitarian supplies 
and move them to Iraq, and that he has worked with other 
Kuwaiti charities to create "action groups" to carry our aid 
activities in Iraq. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) General Ali praised the American military staff 
that work with him, saying that they have also helped to 
secure donations of surplus relief supplies from the U.S. 
military.  He said that the American military staff were also 
very helpful in the medical treatment cases, where the HOC 
matches up Iraqi children needing extensive medical 
procedures with American and European medical institutes 
willing to provide the services for free.  Finally, he said, 
the HOC has helped to repatriate many Iraqis that were living 
overseas and wished to return to Iraq. 
 
Aid For Iraq: "Don't Let This Money Rot in Kuwait's Banks" 
--------------------------------------------- ------------ 
 
¶8.  (C) According to General Ali, the Iraqis have been "too 
busy with security, elections and other interior issues" to 
make decisions about aid, specifically the $60 million held 
by the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) and 
committed to health and education projects.  He said that 
Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari "had made a move" 
towards getting the aid money disbursed, and that there have 
been "other recent discussions."  He said that the Iraqi idea 
for the healthcare portion of the aid ($30 million) was 
originally to build storage facilities, but now the money 
would be used for a combination of clinics, healthcare 
services, and storage facilities.  General Ali said that 
Kuwaiti Prime Minister Shaykh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah told 
him to tell previous Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi: "Don't 
let this money rot in Kuwait's banks, come get this aid." 
 
Other Thoughts On Iraq 
---------------------- 
 
¶9.  (SBU) General Ali said that Saddam Hussein "did the Iraqi 
people a favor by being such a tyrant."  It forced many of 
the Iraqi people to go overseas where they were educated, and 
now these educated Iraqis were coming back to help in the 
reconstruction of their country, he explained.  He lamented 
the current state of Iraq:  "So much wealth, but it's always 
wasted."  "So much military might, but it's also wasted 
because of a lack of trust," he added.  "I was the first 
enemy of Iraq," he said, "but now I feel sorry for them."  He 
said that, in the end, he was optimistic about Iraq.  "We've 
put our eggs in the American basket," he admitted, "you'd 
better succeed." 
 
Still Working On POW Issues 
--------------------------- 
 
¶10.  (C)  The search for the remains of Kuwaiti POWs taken in 
the first Gulf War is still preoccupying the General's time, 
he explained, with a number of recent trips to Baghdad, and 
more planned for the next few months.  He said that he was 
"not really happy to be working on this," but that "the 
families of the POWs" want him involved.  He did not seem 
very hopeful for finding anything, noting that "if you have 
too many captains you sink the ship, and the POW ship has 
already sunk."  He said, though, that "as a Kuwaiti national, 
when asked, you must get involved."  He said that he has been 
very suspicious about Iraqis providing information on POW 
remains in the past, but that recent information has come to 
light which he considers reliable.  He said that Iraqi PM 
Jaafari "had high hopes" that some POW remains could be 
returned, because he "wanted to show Kuwait a good face."  He 
said that on his next trip to Baghdad, planned for 
mid-January, he should be able to take back some bone samples 
for DNA testing.  He said that his focus was on POW remains 
and that he and others involved in the search "don't believe 
there is a live Kuwaiti POW in Iraq." 
 
******************************************** 
Visit Embassy Kuwait's Classified Website: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/ 
******************************************** 
LeBaron