(C) GOK WANTS US TO STOP COALITION FORCES' "ABUSE"

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 005159 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/11/2013 TAGS: ETRD EAID CASC MOPS PREL PGOV PTER KU IZ SUBJECT: (C) GOK WANTS US TO STOP COALITION FORCES' "ABUSE" OF ENTRY PROCEDURES REF: A. KUWAIT 3775 ¶B. KUWAIT 3937 Classified By: CDA FRANK URBANCIC, REASONS 1.4 (B) and (D) ¶1. (S) On November 10, post received a diplomatic note (informal translation at paragraph 4) from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, expressing the GOK's displeasure that coalition forces are still permitting civilians and military personnel of varied nationalities into Kuwait without proper immigration documentation, i.e., valid passport and valid visa. This practice contravenes, the note says, Kuwait's legal entry requirements and infringe upon Kuwait's sovereignty and security. According to the note, the Ministry of the Interior has taken extraordinary steps to ensure that it has sufficient personnel at ports of entry to facilitate transit. Nevertheless, the note alleges, coalition forces still ignore Kuwait's standard entry procedures. The communication concludes by asking the Embassy to remind coalition forces to respect Kuwait's sovereignty and security, and ensure that travelers to Kuwait have proper documentation per our bilateral and international agreements. ¶2. (C) COMMENT. Although our interlocutors at the MFA could not confirm that the dip note referred specifically to Common Access Cards (CACs),we suspect the Ministry of the Interior generated the message and that it indeed addresses CACs. Econ Chief and Consul will meet on 12 November with the Chief of Immigration to clarify what exactly is at stake. Our read now is that the GOK is attempting to define clearly who is granted admission to the country under the terms of the DCA and who is not. We anticipate strong GOK objection to attempts to include contractors within the scope of the DCA. CACs have been issued to numerous categories of military and civilian personnel employed in support of Iraq operations who actually are resident in Kuwait and who the GOK thereby believes should comply with all GOK immigration regulations. To date, military personnel, contractors and subcontractors (both Americans and third country nationals) have been using CAC cards as if they were regular, internationally recognized travel documents. Consequently, many contractors and subcontractors have not obtained proper Kuwaiti visas or residence permits. What is clear from this strongly worded message is that the Kuwaitis are asserting that Coalition forces and others have abused Kuwait's cooperative posture in support of our international operations in Iraq. As reported Reftel A, the Kuwaitis already fired a warning shot on border security, when they closed their border with Iraq for a day in August. They certainly could do it again, if they conclude that that is the only way to get the Americans to take their grievances seriously. Kuwait remains an enthusiastic partner on Iraq, but insists that its sovereignty be respected. In light of the regional security situation, Kuwait has valid concerns about controlling its borders (Ref B). We share those concerns, especially from the standpoint of force protection for U.S. personnel deployed both in Iraq and Kuwait. ¶3. (U) In response to the incident described in Reftel A, Embassy convened an interagency team to review the situation and propose procedural and documentation changes to regularize the transit of Iraq support materiel and personnel. We are close to closure with the GOK; the ball is in their court for final agreement between the Ministries of Interior and Defense. The issue of the use or misuse of CACs presents another wrinkle for these customs- and economic-support-for-Iraq issues. Fortuitously, and in follow up on press reports regarding CAC abuse, Embassy already had scheduled a meeting of the interagency team on the CAC issue for 10 November when the diplomatic note arrived. The note was discussed at that meeting and the team is developing a common set of understandings for immediate review by USG agencies concerned, to include appropriate military commands. We will report on progress resolving this issue Septel. END COMMENT. ¶4. (S) UNOFFICIAL TRANSLATION OF DIPLOMATIC NOTE. From: Ministry of Foreign Affairs -- Department of Protocol. Date: 8 November 2003. Reference Number: 20032022 (Salutations) The Ministry would like to point to a matter that has occurred with some commands of the coalition forces in Kuwait who have brought in civilian and military personnel, through government entry (border) points into the State of Kuwait, in a way that is not legitimate. (These personnel) do not fall under the signed agreements between the State of Kuwait and the coalition forces of varying nationalities. The Ministry and other relevant agencies in the government immediately began to contact the Coalition Forces to make sure that these incidents did not occur again, but these (illegal entry) operations did not only continue but increased. This matter is a type of exploitation of the (entry-exit) facilitation between the Government of Kuwait and our friends the Coalition Forces, and is an infringement on the state,s sovereignty and a violation of Kuwaiti laws, which forbid entry of any person into the country in a way that is not legal, which has severe punishment under the law. This also represents a violation on the security side, and the repercussions that may result (from this violation). Know that the responsible authorities at the Ministry of Interior have made all the necessary preparations for cooperation in solving this problem by providing professional border employees to verify documents of (personnel) arriving in the State of Kuwait, whether it be by way of the Military Airport (APOD) or land border crossings with Iraq, to ensure that documents are legitimate before their entry into the country and prior to providing them with the appropriate facilitation of services. There was a joint group meeting between the State of Kuwait and the Coalition Forces in regards to this matter, but the Combined Forces (Land Component) Command (CFLCC) in Kuwait is not abiding by what is asked of it. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs would be grateful if our friend, the Embassy of the United States, could raise this issue to higher authorities so that they can issue immediate orders to coalition leaders that require them to take the appropriate measures which will respect the sovereignty of the State of Kuwait and its security; and not to permit (violators) to exploit the facilitation of services offered by the State of Kuwait to our friends the Coalition Forces; (such orders) should also ensure, verify and forbid illegal entry into the country to any individual from any nationality regardless of his rank or position. It should also verify that any person not included in the facilitation of services agreements made with the State of Kuwait obtain an entry visa and a valid entry stamp on his document. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs -- Protocol Department -- requests an immediate reply in regard to this matter. JONES