VZCZCXRO7015
RR RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHKUK RUEHROV
DE RUEHKU #0500 1280456
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 070456Z MAY 08
FM AMEMBASSY KUWAIT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1362
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHDC
RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE
RHWSMRC/USCINCCENT MACDILL AFB FL//CCPA

UNCLAS KUWAIT 000500 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ARP, NEA/PA, NEA/AIA, NEA/PI, INR/NESA, R/MR, I/GNEA, 
B/BXN, B/BRN, NEA/PPD, NEA/IPA 
LONDON FOR NEA WATCHER 
PARIS FOR NEA WATCHER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OPRC KMDR KPAO XF KU MEDIA REACTION
SUBJECT: KUWAIT MEDIA REACTION - A THIRD KUWAITI NATIONAL, BADR 
AL-HARBI, ALLEGED TO BE BEHIND RECENT MOSUL SUICIDE ATTACK 
 
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Summary 
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Tuesday, May 6, 2008 
 
Summary:  Most Kuwaiti print dailies ran similar stories about Badr 
Al-Harbi, the alleged third Kuwaiti suicide bomber in Mosul, Iraq. 
Most print Kuwaiti print dailies alleged that Al-Harbi was a close 
associate of Abdullah Al-Ajmi and Khaled Al-Dousary, the two 
Kuwaitis alleged to have been involved in a recent suicide attack in 
Mosul, Iraq.  One editorial opined that the Kuwaiti Ministry of 
Interior will review its security practices, while a second blamed 
alleged practices at Guantanamo Bay detention facility to be the 
reason behind the behavior of Abdullah al-Ajmi.  However, the 
state-run Kuwaiti News Agency (KUNA) did not report on the 
incident. 
 
 
Block Quotes: 
 
--According to the Kuwaiti daily Al-Qabas, Badr Al-Harbi was born in 
1975, lived in Al-Jahra district of Kuwait, had two wives, and was 
the father of six children.  After a 2006 trip to Afghanistan, 
Kuwaiti authorities arrested but later released him.  He then served 
in the military and most recently worked as a policeman in Jahra. 
In "A Security Glitch" Ahmed Shamsildine expresses his 
dissatisfaction with the level of coordination between the Ministry 
of Interior, Kuwaiti authorities, and former Guantanamo Bay 
detainees and their families.  Mr. Shamsildine concludes (05/06): 
"We believe that the Minister of Interior will review his ministry's 
capabilities and security procedures in light of the recent 
incidents." 
 
--Al-Anbaa reported a similar story, adding that Badr Al-Harbi left 
Kuwait for Damascus with alleged co-conspirators Abdullah Al-Ajmi 
and Khaled Al-Dousary.  Al-Harbi's cousin states (05/06): "We got a 
phone call from Iraq informing us that Badr died in the attack." 
 
Al-Wasat displayed the same story, alleging that because Badr 
Al-Harbi left the country on the same day with Abdullah Al-Ajmi and 
Khaled Al-Dousary, chances are that the same individual mobilized 
the three to conduct the Mosul attack(s).  Dr. Abdullah Al-Shaygy 
writes in his daily Al-Wasat column that terrorist attacks conducted 
by the Kuwaitis show how many (05/06): "innocents suffered and were 
victims of severe torture in Guantanamo Bay."  Dr. Al-Shaygy lists 
acts allegedly committed in Guantanamo Bay. 
 
--Al-Seyassah (05/06) was the only daily that alleged that Badr 
Al-Harbi was an accomplice in the same attack carried out by 
Abdullah Al-Ajmi and Khaled Al-Dousary.  The paper reports that Badr 
Al-Harbi was not in the same car as the suicide bombers; instead, he 
used a separate car in the same attack.  Kuwaiti National Democratic 
Alliance candidates in the upcoming 17 May Kuwaiti elections -- 
Aseel Al-Awadhi and Khaled Al-Khaled -- blamed the Kuwaiti 
government for allowing these attacks to occur. 
 
********************************************* * 
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/ 
********************************************* * 
 
JONES