VZCZCXRO8678
PP RUEHDE RUEHDIR
DE RUEHKU #1400/01 2591100
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 161100Z SEP 07
FM AMEMBASSY KUWAIT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9949
INFO RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHAD/AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI PRIORITY 1734
RUEHDE/AMCONSUL DUBAI PRIORITY 0734

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 001400 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR TREASURY/OFAC 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 2017 
TAGS: PREL PGOV KU PINR PM
SUBJECT: COURTESY CALL ON MOD'S SHAYKH SABAH AL-NASSER AL 
SABAH 
 
KUWAIT 00001400  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
Classified By: CDA Misenheimer for reasons 1.4 b and d 
 
¶1. (C) Summary.  On September 6, Charg and Chief, OMC-K paid 
a courtesy call on Kuwaiti Ministry of Defense Under 
Secretary Shaykh Sabah Al-Nasser Al Sabah.  The Under 
Secretary offered his thoughts on an ongoing investigation of 
aircraft engine sales to Iran, his dreams of upgrading the 
Kuwaiti military, and why some Muslims and Arabs hate the 
United States.  End Summary. 
 
Airplane engines to Iran 
------------------------ 

¶2.  (C) According to a September 5 Kuwait Times article, the 
Kuwait Security Services arrested a Kuwaiti national for 
allegedly trying to sell aircraft engines to the Iranian 
Ministry of Defense, an act in violation of UN sanctions 
forbidding the sale of any military equipment to Iran.  The 
individual reportedly bought the engines in 1992 from the 
Kuwait MOD and plans to sell them for KD 40,000 
(approximately USD 150,000).  U/S Sabah confirmed the report, 
and added that the MOD was launching an investigation into 
the matter. 
 
Upgrade Kuwaiti military 
------------------------ 
 
¶3.  (C) U/S Sabah told Charg that Kuwait needs to upgrade 
its military.  Describing Israel as a model of how a 
relatively small, technically proficient military can survive 
and attain success in a hostile region, he said that Kuwait's 
30,000-40,000 service members need to maximize their 
technological potential.  He wants to see them "run the whole 
thing with a push of a button."  He also proposed a joint 
venture with a Kuwaiti military academy and West Point to 
develop the premier academy for military officer training in 
the region. 
 
Views on why a portion of Muslims/Arabs hate the U.S. 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
¶4.  (C) According to U/S Sabah, the reason that a portion of 
Arabs and Muslims hate the U.S. is that the American response 
to 9/11 thwarted the plans of a small radical group to take 
over the region and establish an Islamic theocracy.  He added 
that this group consists of influential Arabs and Islamists 
from Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and even Kuwait 
organizing themselves to become the leaders of a unified 
Islamic power.  As evidence of extremist interference in 
regional internal issues, he pointed to how Arabs are killing 
each other in every Arab country, and he lamented about how 
little recognition the U.S. gets for its role in saving 
countless thousands of Muslims in Bosnia. 
 
The cost of peace 
----------------- 
 
¶5.  (C) U/S Sabah said that Iran is determined to have 
nuclear power and that the region "will suffer for sure."  He 
lamented how Arabs condemned the 1981 Israeli attack of the 
Iraqi Osirak nuclear facility, but forget what a tremendous 
threat Saddam would have been to the region, and notably 
Kuwait, had he obtained nuclear weapons.  In terms of the 
concept of American hegemony, in contradiction to most 
accounts we receive in the region, he said that, "If American 
dominance creates peace in the world, we accept it."  He also 
called for UN control of Jerusalem and said that Syrian 
dependence on financial aid from regional neighbors prevents 
its ever having peace with Israel. 
 
For the Bio file: 
----------------- 
 
¶6.  (C) U/S Sabah is overtly pro-American and has remained 
grateful to the U.S. for liberating Kuwait.  He told the 
Charg that he remained in Kuwait for the Iraqi invasion and 
the seven months of occupation that followed.  Though he is 
an MOD Under Secretary, he has a diminished military role. 
When asked questions on military matters, he deferred to the 
'other wing', i.e. the portion run by the Kuwait Armed Forces 
Chief of Staff.  (Note:  Post deems that U/S Sabah, who 
considers himself an architect and inventor, holds his senior 
position with the MOD due to nepotism, not professional 
qualifications.  Despite his apparent lack of interest in 
military operational issues, he is an important contact due 
to his pro-U.S. views and influential family connections. 
End note.) 
 
Bio Notes: 
 
 
---------- 
 
U/S Sabah 
--graduated from Catholic University in WDC as an architect 
--claims that he has 14 patents on inventions with the U.S. 
Patent Office 
--is known as one of the few members of the Al Sabah (ruling 
family) who stayed in Kuwait during the Iraqi occupation 
 
His brother, Shaykh Saud Al-Nasser Al Sabah, was the Kuwait 
Ambassador to the U.S. during the Iraqi occupation.  He later 
became the Minster of Information and then Minister of Oil 
until February 2001.  Another brother, Shaykh Talal Al-Nasser 
Al Sabah was convicted of smuggling/selling heroin and 
sentenced to death (pending appeal) in early 2007. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
********************************************* * 
For more reporting from Embassy Kuwait, visit: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/?cable s 
 
Visit Kuwait's Classified Website: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/ 
********************************************* * 
MISENHEIMER