KUWAIT MEDIA REACTION, JULY 1-2: PARLIAMENTARY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 002957

SIPDIS

STATE FOR INR/R/MR, NEA/ARP, NEA/PPD, PA, INR/NESA,
IIP/G/NEA-SA, INR/B
WHITE HOUSE FOR PRESS OFFICE
LONDON FOR GOLDRICH, PARIS FOR O'FRIEL
SECDEF FOR OASD/PA
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USDOC FOR 4520/ANESA/ONE/FITZGERALD-WILKS
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E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KU KDMR
SUBJECT: KUWAIT MEDIA REACTION, JULY 1-2: PARLIAMENTARY
ELECTION; IRAQ; ATTACKS ON US FORCES


1. SUMMARY: The parliamentary elections to be held on July
5 dominate the news pages. One candidate believes that
"embassies buy individuals and have pushed them to run in
the election to serve their interests," while an Islamist
candidate rails against "secularists trying to tamper with
our educational curricula." In his session closing remarks,
National Assembly Speaker Jassem Al-Kharafi stressed the
need for continued reform and "fast and daring decisions" to
confront the "economic and security challenges" facing
Kuwait.

Commentators opine on the recent series of attacks on US
troops in Iraq, with one believing the attacks to be a
manifestation of general Arab hostility towards America,
while another feels their importance should not be
exaggerated as they represent "sabotage and not resistance."
One writer argues that the US did not enter Afghanistan and
Iraq for the betterment of their peoples but rather to
"cement Zionist military superiority." Another finds the
idea of donations to the families of coalition forces killed
in Iraq "immoral." END SUMMARY.


2. News Stories: National Assembly Speaker Jassem Al-
Kharafi stated in his speech at the last session of the
Assembly before the July 5 parliamentary elections that
Kuwait is facing "security and economic challenges that need
to be addressed by fast and daring decisions and deepening
efforts for reform in the state and the society," Al-Qabas
reports on its July 2 front page.

Al-Rai Al-Aam reports on its July 1st front page that the
conservative Islamist Salafi Movement are concerned that too
many Islamist candidates may divide the vote and have
negative effects on Islamist representation in the new
National Assembly.

Al-Qabas reports comments by National Assembly candidate
Abdullah Al-Rejaib saying that, "embassies buy individuals
and have pushed them to run in the election to serve their
interests." Al-Watan reports that one Islamist National
Assembly candidate has declared: "Secularists are trying to
tamper with our educational curricula and we have to stand
up against their Westernized objectives."

Al-Qabas reports that a Congressional delegation led by
Senator John Warner visiting Kuwait and Iraq "hailed
Kuwait's role in the liberation of Iraq."

Editorials:


3. "When Morals Disappear"
Dr. Yaser Al-Saleh wrote in independent Al-Rai Al-Aam
(7/01): "[T]he majority of Arabs believe the main reason
behind the American invasion of Iraq, is to control Iraq's
oil and thus accomplish the goals of the Zionist entity.
This spirit of hostility also manifests itself in Iraq where
resistance operations against the coalition forces are
carried out on daily basis. Despite this, some here refer to
[the coalition forces] as the forces of liberation, to the
extent of collecting money for the families of the occupying
forces killed in Iraq instead of spending on the needy here.
What morals!"


4. "In the Right Direction"
Dr. Yacoub Al-Sharrah wrote in independent Al-Rai Al-Aam
(7/01): "We call on the Iraqis to embrace this golden
opportunity offered to them by the coalition, to build a new
democratic nucleus so that Iraq may rapidly join the
international community. It is a sensible state which
protects the interests of its people by following a wise and
even-minded policy and does not take the path of
confrontation and destructive challenge which eventually
leads nowhere."


5. "History is not a Tea Party"
Dr. Abdullah Al-Nafisi wrote in independent Al-Watan (7/02):
"It is wrong to believe that the United States or the West
came to Kabul or Baghdad to turn us from defeat to victory,
backwardness to progress, and stagnation to development. The
Western coalition is keen to cement Zionist military
superiority, supplying them with WMD, at the same time
stripping Arabs of such weapons and accusing them of being a
threat to world peace, as events in Iraq have shown."


6. "Sabotage and Not Resistance"
Pan-Arabist editor-in-chief Ahmed Al-Jarallah wrote in
independent Al-Seyassah (7/02): "There is no need to
exaggerate armed attacks against America troops in Iraq.
The situation is similar to events taking place in
Afghanistan, where [Baathist] remnant groups attempt to
prove themselves through desperate attacks. Iraq will not be
another Somalia for Americans. These remnants seek to delay
the course of reconstruction and development in Iraq. Those
who obstruct the reconstruction program by the United States
will soon realize that Americans are capable of uprooting
these groups."


JONES