(U) CHANGE OF LEADERSHIP AT STATE SECURITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L KUWAIT 005166 SIPDIS DEPT FOR NEA/FO, NEA/ARP DEPT FOR DS, DSS, DS/OP/NEA, INR/B, INR/NESA E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/27/2012 TAGS: PGOV ASEC PTER PINR KU SUBJECT: (U) CHANGE OF LEADERSHIP AT STATE SECURITY (U) CLASSIFIED BY DCM FRANK URBANCIC; REASON: 1.5 (B, D). ¶1. (U) Kuwait's Assistant Under Secretary for State Security Affairs (i.e. head of Kuwait State Security, KSS) Shaykh Mishaal al-Jarrah al-Sabah was not renewed in his position when his term expired November 17. He has been replaced on an acting basis by Major General Abdallah Abdul-Rahman al-Faris. ¶2. (C) The decision not to renew Shaykh Mishaal was taken by First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Shaykh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Sabah, who is the de facto ruler given the poor health of the Amir and the Crown Prince. Two senior members of the ruling family separately told the Ambassador that the move was a matter of ruling-family politics: Shaykh Sabah is feuding with Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Shaykh Mohammed al-Khaled al-Hamad al-Sabah (Shaykh Mishaal's boss),and Shaykh Mishaal got caught in the middle. According to Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Shaykh Dr. Mohammed al-Sabah al- Salem al-Sabah, one reason for Shaykh Sabah's displeasure was that the security services had not prevented the October 8 Failaka attack in which one US Marine was killed and another wounded. Both Dr. Mohammed and Shaykh Nasser Mohammed al-Ahmed al-Sabah, Minister of State for Amiri Diwan Affairs, assured the Ambassador that nothing would be allowed to affect Kuwait's counter-terrorism cooperation with the United States. ¶3. (C) The new acting head of KSS is approximately two years shy of the mandatory retirement age of 65. Major General al-Faris is a career CID officer who rose through the ranks to become General Director of CID before being named Assistant Under Secretary for Security Services Support in 1996 or 1997. He retains that post (a not- uncommon arrangement in Kuwait). Al-Faris has not had much exposure to counter-terrorism, force-protection, or Iraq issues. The Ambassador has impressed upon Shaykh Sabah personally the vital importance of supporting the security services both materially and politically. JONES