VZCZCXRO8695
PP RUEHDE RUEHDIR
DE RUEHKU #0508/01 1291524
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 081524Z MAY 08
FM AMEMBASSY KUWAIT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1373
INFO RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHGB/AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD PRIORITY 1209
RUEHLB/AMEMBASSY BEIRUT PRIORITY 1115
RUEHDM/AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS PRIORITY 3131
RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL PRIORITY 0355
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 KUWAIT 000508 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NEA/ARP, NEA/I 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/08/2018 
TAGS: PGOV PINR PREL PTER KDRG KU
SUBJECT: 5/8/08 AMBASSADOR MEETING WITH KUWAITI FM: MOSUL 
ATTACKS; CT COOPERATION; IRAQ; LEBANON; TRAFFIC INCIDENT, 
 
REF: KUWAIT 502 
 
Classified By:  Classified by: Ambassador Deborah K. Jones for 
 reasons 1.4 b and d. 
 
¶1. (C)  Summary: In a May 8 meeting with Kuwaiti Foreign 
Minister Dr. Mohammad Al Sabah, her first call on the Kuwaiti 
FM Dr. Mohammad Al Sabah since presenting credentials April 
20, Ambassador stressed the need for GOK action to improve CT 
performance and cooperation following reported suicide 
attacks by Kuwaitis (including one former GTMO detainee) this 
week.  The FM responded that the GOK awaits forensic 
confirmation of the facts, but takes the matter very 
seriously and is reviewing its security policies and framing 
corrective steps.  They also discussed the aftermath of the 
April 21-22 Iraq Neighbors Conference, including the Lebanon 
side-meeting.  Dr. Mohammad noted that the GOK may soon 
advise its citizens to depart Lebanon.  Finally, the 
Ambassador conveyed an apology for a May 5 traffic incident 
in Kuwait City involving U.S. military personnel.  End 
summary. 
 
¶2. (C) On May 8 Ambassador, accompanied by DCM, met with 
Kuwaiti FM Dr. Mohammad Al Sabah primarily to discuss GOK 
response to recent reports of suicide attacks carried out by 
Kuwaiti citizens in Iraq.  The Minister was accompanied by 
U/S Khalid al-Jarallah, Coordination and Follow-up Director 
Khalid al-Muqamis, Americas Bureau Director Ali al-Sammak, 
Office Director and notetaker. 
 
Mosul Suicide Attack(s) and CT Cooperation 
------------------------------------------ 
¶3. (C) The Ambassador stressed the urgent need for GOK 
follow-up in the aftermath of reported suicide attacks in 
Mosul carried out by Kuwaitis - one of them a previous GTMO 
detainee - as well as an outrageous May 7 al-Qabas interview 
in which 1267 designee Mubarak al-Bathali glorified 
terrorism.  She emphasized that Kuwaiti suicide bombers in 
Iraq were a "clear and present danger" both to Iraq and to 
Kuwait itself, and that Washington is deeply concerned at the 
current state of U.S.-Kuwaiti bilateral CT cooperation across 
the board: "We need you to manage the threat to our troops, 
and to your own interests." 
 
¶4. (C) Dr. Mohammad replied that the GOK took the reported 
attacks in Iraq very seriously.  While confirmation via 
forensic evidence was needed to confirm the reported attacks 
by al-Dosari, al-Harbi and former GTMO detainee Al-Ajmi, the 
Council of Ministers met in extraordinary session the 
previous day to discuss what went wrong.  The ministers 
focused on the obvious question - "How could these people 
slip our monitoring and carry out this terrible crime" - and 
begin laying out corrective steps.  As a start, all current 
internal security measures are to be revisited.  He stressed 
the need for continuing U.S.-Kuwaiti CT cooperation: "We are 
in this together." 
 
¶5. (C) The FM briefly reviewed Ajmi,s case: His passport had 
been confiscated long ago, but he sued the government 
successfully and got it back.  Dr. Mohammad complained that 
some judges "don,t give a damn" on such issues, and "we need 
to get them on our side."  He predicted that the Ajmi case 
would be a major spur in the right direction. 
 
¶6. (C) The Minister remarked approvingly that the reaction 
within Kuwait had been loud, clear and virtually unanimous: 
Kuwait,s media and political classes are criticizing the GOK 
for the laxity that allowed Ajmi and the others to carry out 
their attacks.  He stressed that, unlike reactions seen 
elsewhere in the region, Ajmi and the others were not being 
treated like heroes in Kuwait.  Both in the media and in the 
meeting tents of the 300  parliamentary candidates, they are 
being harshly denounced as criminals and murderers. 
 
¶7. (C) Even Ajmi,s father has spoken out in the media to 
denounce those who corrupted his son. continued the Minister. 
 He also welcomed the reaction from Iraqi officials, 
including PM al-Maliki and Muwaffaq al-Rubai, stressing that 
the three reported Kuwaiti attackers were criminals, and 
their actions would not affect Iraq-Kuwait relations.  On the 
possibility of a GOK "blood money" payment to the families of 
the Mosul attack victims, he expressed the "personal" view 
that this would be inappropriate because the attackers were 
not acting in any sense on behalf of the Kuwaiti state. 
 
KUWAIT 00000508  002 OF 003 
 
 
 
¶8. (C) Dr. Mohammad informed the Ambassador that the 
remaining seven former GTMO detainees in Kuwait had all come 
in and turned in their own passports in the aftermath of the 
reported Mosul attacks.  All continued attending weekly 
meetings, accompanied by their families, with GOK security 
personnel every Saturday. 
 
¶9. (C) The Kuwaiti FM reiterated his familiar view that the 
Guantanamo Bay detention center is a powerful recruitment 
tool for the terrorists and should be closed as soon as 
possible.  He expressed alarm at the "radioactive" and 
unceasing rhetoric of Sami al-Hajj following his release from 
GTMO as a further recruiting impetus for terrorism.  He 
concurred with the Ambassador,s reminder that al-Hajj,s 
allegations of torture and desecration of Korans were not 
credible to an objective observer, but stressed that many 
Muslims would take them at face value.  Because of GTMO, "you 
are losing the strategic war," he concluded.  Noting that he 
was speaking "off the record," Dr. Mohammad expressed his 
view that the USG would do better to close GTMO and risk 
facing the detainees again on a battlefield: "Better to kill 
them there than make heroes and martyrs of them in custody." 
 
¶10. (C) On the al-Qabas interview, the FM declared that 
Bathali is "a certified lunatic" and probably lying outright. 
 Nevertheless, he will be held accountable for any terrorist 
entanglements and has been arrested by authorities because of 
the interview and is currently being interrogated.  The 
Ambassador noted that the May 12 visit of S/CT Coordinator 
Dailey would afford an excellent opportunity to review 
U.S.-Kuwait CT cooperation. 
 
Iraq 
---- 
 
¶11. (C) Amb Jones expressed thanks on behalf of the USG for 
Kuwait,s hosting of the April 21-22 Iraq Neighbors 
Conference, as well as the important bilateral follow-on 
discussions on May 4 (reported septel).  She underscored the 
importance of continued U.S.-Kuwaiti cooperation in support 
of shared security goals in Iraq. 
 
¶12. (C) Dr. Mohammad remarked that the Neighbors Conference 
had gone well, but the GOK remained "confused" about Qatar,s 
non-participation.  While the GOQ had accepted the invitation 
well in advance, he said, the Qataris "apparently discovered 
just eight hours before the conference that Qatar does not 
actually border Iraq," as they had proffered only this 
geographic rationale for not showing up. 
 
Lebanon 
------- 
 
¶13. (C) The FM noted that Qatar did take part in the 
Lebanon-related meeting on the margins of the Iraq 
conference, and - more importantly - France invited Syrian FM 
Walid Muallem "at our request."  He lamented lack of results, 
however, remarking that "Syria again did not miss an 
opportunity to miss an opportunity." 
 
¶14. (C) Remarking that the current situation on the ground in 
Lebanon is worse than the 70s, the FM declared that Kuwait is 
"seriously concerned" and is likely to advise Kuwaiti 
citizens to leave.  He confirmed that PM Siniora and Saad 
Hariri had both recently visited Kuwait, and worried aloud 
that Hizbollah would now seize any excuse to assassinate 
Siniora. 
 
May 5 Traffic Incident With U.S. Military Personnel 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶15. (C) The Ambassador apologized for a May 5 traffic 
incident in downtown Kuwait involving Kuwaiti motorists and a 
bus carrying U.S. military personnel (reftel).  She 
emphasized that the American soldiers would be held 
accountable and face prosecution for any offenses confirmed 
by the ongoing investigation.  She added that U.S. 
authorities would act to ensure no repetition of such an 
incident.  The FM accepted the apology, noting that "we 
understand these things can happen, but it must not happen 
again."  He stated that the GOK was "trying hard" to keep the 
incident from being seized upon by candidates in the ongoing 
parliamentary election campaign.  Without providing details, 
 
KUWAIT 00000508  003 OF 003 
 
 
he said that Kuwaiti military leaders would be requesting 
"certain assurances and measures" to prevent such incidents 
in future. 
 
AHLC; Afghanistan 
----------------- 
 
¶16. (C) The Ambassador also thanked the Minister for 
Kuwait,s $80m pledge at the recent London AHLC meeting, and 
informed him of pending USG outreach seeking further Kuwaiti 
assistance for Afghanistan. 
 
 
********************************************* * 
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