KUWAIT,S ISLAMISTS: THEY NEED US BUT THEY DON'T

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 000651

SIPDIS

DEPT. FOR NEA/ARP

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/04/2013
TAGS: PREL KISL PGOV PINR KU
SUBJECT: KUWAIT,S ISLAMISTS: THEY NEED US BUT THEY DON'T
TRUST US

Classified By: (U) Ambassador Richard H. Jones for reasons 1.5 (b) and
(d)


1. (C) Summary: Poloffs have met with a number of influential
Kuwaiti Islamists to discuss their views of the U.S.
presence in Kuwait and the region. Almost all of them
defined the U.S. role in the world as that of the current
imperial power and predicted the eventual downfall of the
U.S. "empire." Some support, but most oppose war to
eliminate Saddam. Accusing the U.S. of trying to impose its
value system on the region, they argued that the U.S.
maintains a presence here solely to control and/or "steal"
the oil wealth of the region, and would be much better off if
we left the values of the local peoples ) which they do not
see as largely shared with the West ) to be dealt with as
domestic issues. End Summary.

America as an Imperial Power
--------------

2. (C) The Islamists we spoke with -- ranging from the
ostensibly moderate Islamic Constitutional Movement (ICM, the
Kuwaiti Muslim Brotherhood and its social welfare arm, the
Social Reform Society(SRS)) through the Salafis to the
reactionary Scientific Salafis -- view the U.S. presence in
the Middle East as the latest in a long historical line of
foreign occupying powers. Much as the Persians, Ottomans and
British once ruled the lands of the Middle East, they say, so
now does the U.S. control the region and its natural
resources. And like them, the "U.S. empire," too, will fall
someday. The U.S. empire has reached its zenith, said
Kuwaiti Social Reform Society Secretary General Shaykh Jassem
Muhalhal al-Yaseen, and is striving to maintain this position
through "technological advancement.... We don,t care if it
stays or falls down, but for you it is important to stay
there."


3. (C) But while they predict the inevitable failure of the
United States in the region, many of Kuwait's Islamists claim
not to fault the U.S. for looking after its interests here.
According to al-Yaseen, the U.S. has the "right" as the sole
superpower to view the world as territory to "be conquered."
Or as outspoken local editorialist and ICM Executive
Committee Member Dr. Ismail al-Shatti said, "The law of
history tells us superpowers should act as superpowers to
control fragile states."

The "Real" U.S. Interests
--------------

4. (C) Kuwaiti Islamist perceptions of U.S. interests in the
region, however, differ greatly from our stated goals here.
Despite their first-hand experience of the U.S.-led
liberation of Kuwait, and their universal expression to us of
appreciation for that role, many Kuwaiti Islamists find it
hard to believe that U.S. interests go beyond the maintenance
of the price and stable flow of oil, and/or the strategic
placement of troops in the region. According to Dr.
al-Shatti, "the most important reason" for U.S. engagement
during the Gulf War was oil, followed by the establishment of
a U.S. presence in the region. Prior to the crisis, he said
the U.S. had unsuccessfully attempted to conclude bilateral
military agreements with Kuwait. The placement of U.S.
troops here during and after the Gulf War was a U.S. fait
accompli. He acknowledged that, to a point, Kuwait and the
U.S. have a shared interest in stability.

A Necessary Evil
--------------

5. (C) While all of the Islamists we spoke to acknowledged
the U.S. military presence in Kuwait as necessary to the
maintenance of Kuwait's security and independence, they also
expressed their uneasiness with it and mistrust of the U.S.
In particular, they share the notion so common in the Arab
world that the U.S. is somehow currently controlling the
wealth of the region, and intends to expand this control to
include Iraq. Al-Yaseen referred to the U.S. presence as
part of a historical pattern whereby the strong dominate the
weak and "steal their wealth." Even when challenged with the
fact that Kuwait has always been paid for its oil, he
asserted a U.S. intent to control the world by making the
world dependent upon it for the maintenance of the flow of
oil. Al-Shatti echoed Yaseen's concerns, adding (falsely, on
no evidence whatsoever) that the U.S. was behind the
exclusion of Kuwait from a recent Turkish-sponsored
conference on Iraq. He said he thought U.S. interest in the
region would fade in fifty years, and worried that Kuwait
would be left with a tarnished reputation for swimming
against the powerful current of Arab anger towards the U.S.
"We are part of the Arab nation," he said, "and we don't want
to show that we are the black sheep."


6. (C) Kuwaiti Islamists are divided over Iraq: some,
including prominent Salafi Khalid Sultan al-Issa, support the
elimintaion of Saddam's regime by any means, including
invasion by infidels (us),but what we hear most often is
"get rid of him without war and without hurting the Iraqi
people."

Conflict of Values
--------------

7. (C) The Kuwaiti Islamists we spoke to decried U.S.
"interference" in the values of the Islamic World. Every
Islamist we talk to takes it for granted (wrongly) that U.S.
Embassy Kuwait is responsible for curriculum reforms proposed
recently by Kuwait's Ministry of Education. (Comment: This
is an irresistable way to for them to impugn the proposed
reforms as unpatriotic and contrary to Islam. End Comment.)
Al-Shatti claimed the U.S. was "trying to convert Kuwait"
towards adopting a more Western value system, but cautioned
that this would not work because the two cultures were
founded upon the distinct and separate value systems of
Christianity and Islam, which "should be respected."

--Individual Rights vs. Collective Rights -
Al-Shatti said that people in the West value the individual
above all else, and this leads to the dissoluton of families.
Ignoring the persistent practice of polygamy in Kuwait and
the Gulf region, he said that over 40% of families in the
U.S. are "irregular" because of this (Al-Shatti's definition
of a regular family is a nuclear family, i.e father, mother,
and children).

-- Social Ties vs. Rituals ) Al-Shatti claimed the West has
forsaken the social ties of the community in favor of social
rituals such as baptism and marriage, which do not promote
social cohesion nearly as much.

-- Justice vs. Freedom ) Al-Shatti says the West values
Freedom over Justice, whereas the East values Justice over
Freedom. This, he said, is what explains the imbalance of
wealth in the U.S. and other Western countries. (Comment:
Al-Shatti was quick to point out he did not endorse
Socialism. Of course, he did not cite any statistics to
buttress his argument. End Comment.)


8. (C) Comment: Suspicion of USG motives as the sole
superpower is hardly limited to this region, and U.S. support
for Israel rankles many Arabs and Muslims. That said, Kuwait
is the one Arab country whose experience of us provides the
most positive reality-check on these suspicions. It is
sobering to realize how little credit our track record gets
us even here, at least with an important segment of society.

JONES