KUWAITI SECURITY ADVISOR TO SEE DEPUTY NSA HADLEY;

C O N F I D E N T I A L KUWAIT 004106

SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/ARPI, INR-B

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/28/2014
TAGS: PREL PINR KU IZ BA NATO
SUBJECT: KUWAITI SECURITY ADVISOR TO SEE DEPUTY NSA HADLEY;
DISCUSSES NATO TRIP, IRAN, REGIONAL SECURITY

REF: A. USNATO 1064

B. KUWAIT 3984

Classified By: DCM Matthew Tueller for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. Biographical information included; please see para 7.


2. (C) Summary: Kuwaiti National Security Advisor Shaykh
Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah confirmed with DCM on
September 29 that he will meet with Deputy NSA and NSA
designate Stephen Hadley on Saturday, December 4, at 1500, on
the sidelines of the IISS Gulf Dialogue Conference in
Bahrain. The two discussed possible topics of conversation,
including Iraq, counterterrorism cooperation, Iran and the
peace process. End Summary.


3. (C) Shaykh Sabah, who had just returned from Brussels,
began by noting that he had had a very productive visit with
the USNATO Charge while there. He said Kuwait hoped to
bolster counterterrorism cooperation through the Istanbul
Cooperation Initiative (ref a).


4. (C) On Iraq, Shaykh Sabah Al-Khaled said Iraq's neighbors
had "a shared interest and responsibility" to ensure the
success of the political process there. He said Kuwait had
noted a series of positive developments regarding Iraq (i.e.
the Sharm El Sheikh conference and the Paris Club debt
forgiveness) and was urging Iraq's Sunni population to
participate in the upcoming elections.


5. (C) Sabah Al-Khaled said Iran seemed to have changed its
tone after the U.S. elections and had agreed to host a
meeting of neighboring Interior Ministers in Tehran on
November 30 to discuss Iraq's borders (ref b). He said
Iranian FM Kamal Kharazi had told Kuwaiti FM Shaykh Dr.
Mohammed Al-Sabah during the Sharm El Sheikh conference that
it would not object to a U.N.-led Multinational Force in Iraq
and was further ready to assist in training Iraqi security
forces. Sabah confirmed that Kuwaiti Minister of Interior
Shaykh Nawaf Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah will attend the Tehran meeting.


6. (C) On the Arab-Israeli peace process, Sabah Al-Khaled
said increased attention to solving this conflict would ease
pressure on Kuwait, as a moderate in the region. He said
Kuwait would host former PA Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas
during the first half of December, as part of Abbas' planned
tour of the Gulf.


7. (C) Biographical Information: Shaykh Sabah Al-Khaled
Al-Hamad Al-Sabah serves as the President of the National
Security Bureau (also referred to as the National Security
Council) and is Prime Minister Shaykh Sabah Al-Ahmed,s de
facto National Security Advisor, a position that allows him a
substantial amount of access to the PM. He previously served
as a diplomat at the U.N. and was Kuwait's Ambassador to
Saudi Arabia. Shaykh Sabah Al-Khaled hails from the Hamad
branch of the Sabah family. His brother, MG Ahmed Al-Khaled,
is the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Kuwaiti Armed Forces and
his cousin is current Defense Minister and Deputy Prime
Minister Shaykh Jaber Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah.

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