U.S. DELEGATION MAKES PROGRESS ON CONTINUED

C O N F I D E N T I A L KUWAIT 000368

SIPDIS

STATE FOR PM, NEA, NEA/ARP, NEA/NGA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/04/2014
TAGS: PREL MARR KU IZ
SUBJECT: U.S. DELEGATION MAKES PROGRESS ON CONTINUED
KUWAITI AIK FUEL FOR U.S. FORCES

Classified By: CDA FRANK C. URBANCIC; REASON: 1.4 (B) AND (D).


1. (C) During a series of meetings on January 27, 2004,
U.S. Delegation led by Assistant Secretary for Political
Military Affairs Lincoln Bloomfield Jr. made a concerted
effort to ensure continued Kuwaiti AIK fuel supplies for the
foreseeable future. Bloomfield, supported by a large DOD and
State contingent, briefed his interlocutors on the current
state of play in Iraq. He outlined the massive rotation of
U.S. troops which is currently being ramped-up and he
emphasized the central role that Kuwait plays in everything
the United States is trying to accomplish in Iraq.


2. (C) In his meeting with Prime Minister Sabah Al-Ahmed,
Bloomfield noted that the United States could not have the
successes it is having without continued Kuwaiti support. He
said the U.S. understood that this was financially and
administratively painful for Kuwait and that Kuwait deserved
the best estimate from the United States for what future
requirements would be. Bloomfield, supported by Principal
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for International
Security Affairs Peter C.W. Flory, said specifically that the
United States anticipated a fuel requirement of approximately
458 million gallons for 2004. While that was expensive, it
was also a conservative, i.e., high, estimate which the U.S.
hoped would begin to decline as greater stability and
self-sufficiency in Iraq alleviates the burdens on U.S. and
Coalition forces.


3. (C) The Prime Minister emphasized that Kuwait is, and
wants to remain, a partner of the United States. Kuwait was
proud of its new MNNA status and it was delighted that the
President himself had conferred such a rare honor upon a
country as small as Kuwait. Kuwait completely appreciated
what the United States was doing in Iraq and it wanted to be
as helpful as it could be. While he did not promise
unlimited fuel supplies, the Prime Minister noted that
Bloomfield and Flory would be having meetings with the
Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Defense afterward, as well
as with an inter-ministerial working-level group, and he
said, "I am sure you will find the outcomes to be positive."


4. (C) In the meeting with Foreign Minister Dr. Mohammed
Al-Sabah, which followed the Prime Minister's meeting, both
Bloomfield and Flory went into much greater detail on U.S.
requirements and activities in Iraq. Mohammed emphasized
that Kuwait wanted to be helpful in these activities and he
did not balk at the number of 458 million gallons (compared
to 482 million gallons consumed in 2003). Rather, he
emphasized that the U.S. needed to help the GOK in its
relations with Parliament. What the Finance Minister needed
was some sort of "cover" to account for the great expenses
which he was making on behalf of U.S. forces. In the
separate meeting which followed at the inter-ministerial
level, it became clear that this "cover" was indeed the
primary focus of the GOK. The representatives of the
Finance, Energy and Defense Ministries took the specific
12-month projections for categories of fuels which
Bloomfield, Flory and the CENTCOM team provided, and spoke of
the requirement to account for the fuel allocations in a
"contract" between the Finance Ministry and the Kuwait
Petroleum Corporation. Bloomfield suggested that the
Embassy, supported by CENTCOM, could provide periodic updates
to these projections in the months ahead in order that the
Kuwaitis might better anticipate the actual amounts required.
The Kuwaiti officials were sanguine about the prospects for
resolving the bureaucratic impediments to continue fuel
support to the U.S., and they thanked Bloomfield for
kicking-off these discussions in such a positive and
productive way. Charge emphasized that the Embassy remained
available to facilitate any further questions and to pass
information which might be needed, and the inter-ministerial
meeting took that on board.


5. (C) COMMENT: While no one has made any firm commitment
to any set amount, it is clear that the GOK, which is now
shut down for the next eight days for the Eid Al-Adha
holidays, will not take precipitous action to turn off the
fuel taps. The GOK Is also looking for the best available
estimates of our fuel needs that it can work within its own
budgeting process. END COMMENT.


6. (U) Assistant Secretary Bloomfield has cleared this
message.


URBANCIC