VZCZCXRO7962
PP RUEHDE RUEHDH RUEHDIR
DE RUEHKU #0354/01 1021441
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 121441Z APR 09
FM AMEMBASSY KUWAIT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3166
INFO RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHGB/AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD PRIORITY 1407
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 000354 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NEA/ARP, NEA/I, OSD-DPMO FOR COL D. ELLIS, J. BASHAM 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PHUM MARR IZ SA KU
SUBJECT: EMBASSY INITIATIVE TO LOCATE IRAQI KIA 
REINVIGORATES TRIPARTITE COMMISSION 
 
REF: 2008 KUWAIT 1160 
 
Summary 
-------- 
 
¶1.  An Embassy-prompted multilateral effort to locate 
potential burial sites in Kuwait of Iraqi Gulf War killed in 
action (KIA) sparked hopes of excavation activity and 
produced the sole deliverable from the March 31 Technical 
Subcommittee (TSC) meeting of the Tripartite Commission.  The 
TSC was marred by ICRC and Kuwaiti complaints over continued 
Iraqi government failure to fulfill its commitments to the 
TSC to locate the remains of Kuwaitis buried in Iraq. The 
Kuwaiti delegation will likely pursue further excavation of 
the identified sites in hopes of encouraging the Iraqis to 
ramp up their own efforts to locate missing Kuwaitis.  End 
summary. 
 
TSC Members Conduct Search for Iraqi Remains 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  Kuwait ICRC Regional Delegate Jean-Michel Monod 
accompanied teams from the US and UK Embassies and 
representatives from the Kuwaiti National Committee for 
Missing and POW Affairs (NCMPA) in an embassy-led March 30 
desert search for potential burial sites of Iraqi soldiers 
presumed killed in action during the 1991 retreat to Iraq. 
Post initiated and organized the survey and also provided 
staff to assist in interpreting data and grid coordinates 
from 1991 British burial reports.  The search members located 
and marked three sites believed to have a high probability of 
containing human remains -- with a potential yield of nine 
bodies.  Overall, according to the 1991 British burial 
reports, some 47 Iraqis were hastily buried in northern 
Kuwait along the so-called "highway of death."  (Note:  Post 
initiated this endeavor to quell Kuwaiti and ICRC laments 
noted reftel about the lack of progress in repatriating 
remains of those still missing -- notably Kuwaitis -- since 
¶1991.  While our effort offers the possibility of locating at 
least some Iraqi remains, the fact that much of the data on 
the photocopied reports is illegible, incomplete, or refers 
to landmarks no longer present proves a serious constraint. 
End note). 
 
NCMPA Commits to Excavation for Remains 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶3.  This embassy-initiated effort had the full support of the 
ICRC and provided a shot in the arm to the subsequent March 
31 Tripartite Commission's (TC) Technical Subcommittee (TSC) 
meeting, in which the NCMPA -- part of the Kuwaiti TSC 
delegation -- enthusiastically committed to following through 
with forensic examinations of the sites marked by emboffs. 
Though it provided no timeframe for steps ahead, NCMPA 
immediately signalled its intention to work through the 
Kuwaiti MOI to obtain legal rights to begin site excavation. 
(Note:  We believe the NCMPA will move quickly on examining 
at least two of the more promising sites in order to be able 
to show progress at the next scheduled TSC on June 1, 2009. 
End note). 
 
TSC Frustrated Over Lack of Iraqi Progress 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶4.  While the reaction to our effort was well received by all 
present, the NCMPA's commitment to excavate these sites 
offered the only positive deliverable at the March 31 TSC. 
As occurred at the TC held in November (reftel), ICRC and 
NCMPA chastised the Iraqi delegation for the following 
shortcomings: 
-- General lack of progress in locating Kuwaiti grave sites 
in Iraq; 
-- Failure to obtain information from witnesses to use in 
searching for Kuwaiti grave sites in Iraq; 
-- Failure to convince Iraq to produce potential witnesses 
per previously stated commitments; 
-- Postponing -- without justification -- the March 3 TSC. 
 
¶5.  The Kuwaiti delegation took particular offense at a March 
10 letter from Iraqi FM Hoshyar Zebari to the UNSC which 
claimed that "Iraq has informed Kuwait of the possibility of 
identifying burial sites in Ramadi, which could contain the 
remains of more than 12 Kuwaiti prisoners."  The Kuwaiti 
delegation stipulated that no such overture had been made, 
and demanded that the Iraqi delegation with clarify and 
support this remark.  In response, Iraqi delegation leader 
Arkan Thamir Saleh (participating in his first TSC) conveyed 
that the FM's letter was written without Ministry of Human 
 
KUWAIT 00000354  002 OF 002 
 
 
Rights coordination and that he could not offer any 
clarifications. 
 
Navy CAPT Speicher's File Remains Open 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶6.  Poloff confirmed the USG commitment to keeping open the 
file of US Navy Captain Michael S. Speicher and thanked the 
TSC and NCMPA for its continuing efforts to match CAPT 
Speicher's DNA with that of recovered DNA from exhumation 
cases. 
 
Comment: 
-------- 
 
¶7.  The embassy-initiated and led desert search for burial 
sites was warmly received and considered a significant step 
forward by the TC.  Initial indications are that the NCMPA 
will aggressively pursue excavation of the sites.  Though 
pursuing this matter pertains to Kuwaiti efforts to find the 
mortal remains of Iraqi "invaders," NCMPA made clear its 
strategy to leverage efforts -- and hopefully successful 
repatriations -- to encourage more Iraqi commitment to find 
and exhume the remains of some 370 Kuwaitis presumed to be in 
mass graves in Iraq.  We believe that any notable progress on 
this front will enliven the moribund TC process and hopefully 
spark increased repatriations and improved bilateral 
cooperation.  End comment. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
********************************************* ********* 
For more reporting from Embassy Kuwait, visit: 
visit Kuwait's Classified Website at: 
 
http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Kuwa it 
********************************************* ********* 
JONES