MILITANT CLASHES PROVOKE COLLECTIVE SOUL

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 KUWAIT 000417 SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA/ARPI E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/29/2015 TAGS: PTER PREL KU TERRORISM SUBJECT: MILITANT CLASHES PROVOKE COLLECTIVE SOUL SEARCHING, PROMPT MORE GOK ACTIONS REF: A. KUWAIT 264 ¶B. KUWAIT 244 Classified By: Ambassador Richard LeBaron for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Summary: Reeling from four separate shootouts between security forces and extremists in the past month, two of them in as many days, Kuwaitis are engaged in collective soul searching to determine what went wrong and how to prevent future acts of violence. Spurred into action, the GOK has simultaneously moved to counter the security threat by putting its forces on full alert, rounding up suspected extremists, moving to revive a law authorizing raids to collect unlicensed arms and munitions and shutting down currency exchange operations suspected of engaging in money laundering. End Summary. Atmosphere of Caution -------------- ¶2. (C) The reverberations from the January 10 and 15, and now January 30 and 31, shootouts between militants and security forces in Kuwait are being felt by all. Nightly roadblocks meant to serve as extremist dragnets have lead to frequent traffic backups, armed National Guard forces man many intersections and public installations, and ongoing raids on militant safehouses have yielded weapons caches and/or led to the detention of more militants. Most of Kuwait has reacted calmly to the spate of incidents, with Islamists and progressives alike scrambling to denounce the violence. In short, an atmosphere of caution combined with national solidarity reminiscent of the initial weeks of Operation Iraqi Freedom has taken hold. Cooperation Leads to Detentions and Seizures of Arms Caches -------------- -------------- ¶3. (S) Since the January 10th shootout, the Ministry of Interior has killed 7 and detained approximately 50 suspected militants in over half a dozen raids across Kuwait, sending the cases of at least eight of the most dangerous militants to the Public Prosecutor's office for further investigation. Acting on intelligence provided by militants, some of their family members and concerned citizens, the government has also seized at least three arms caches containing grenades, explosives and weapons intended for use in planned attacks against Western and government targets. In the latest clashes (January 30 and 31),police and security forces blocked off entire neighborhoods and conducted lengthy gun �A;battles with militants who refused to surrender. ¶4. (S) The group of detained militants includes both Kuwaitis and Saudis, which has led to unprecedented cooperation between the security services of both countries. This has led to arrests of both Kuwaiti and Saudi militants on the Saudi side of the border. Return of Gun Search (Arms Collection) Law -------------- ¶5. (U) In an attempt to control the availability of unlicensed weapons and empower security forces in their fight against militancy, the GOK has taken the additional step of dusting off an old tool: the gun search law. Reviving the law -- which was initially utilized after the first Gulf War from 1992-1994 -- will allow police to search individuals, homes, and vehicles for illegal arms after obtaining a search warrant. The GOK has referred the bill to the Interior and Defense Affairs Committee and it is expected to be passed by the Assembly on February 1 when the National Assembly will hold a Special Session to discuss the governmental response to the security incidents. Cracking Down on Finances: Scrutinizing Exchange Offices and Charities -------------- -------------- ¶6. (U) Local dailies reported January 30 that the Ministry of Commerce and Industry had closed three money exchange offices it claimed were used in money laundering operations. The exchange offices reportedly allowed now detained militants to receive and send funds to and from other GCC states. In one case, an exchange office transferred USD 3 million to other states, mainly Saudi Arabia, over a three-month period. Officials believe some of these funds may have been used to finance terrorist operations in Iraq by the Al-Zarqawi terrorist network. ¶7. (U) The Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor also accused several high-profile Kuwaiti charities of violating rules and regulations pertaining to their operations. The Ministry said the Islamic Revival Heritage Society (RIHS),the Social Reform Society (SRS),Abdullah Al-Nouri Charity and the Al-Najat Society were among the known rule-violators who utilized portable kiosks to collect unregulated funds and evade government controls. (Note: This is not the first time the Ministry has complained about kiosks. During the temporary tenure of the current FM as Minister of Social Affairs and Labor in the summer of 2003, kiosks were removed from many prominent locations. End Note.) Public Criticism and Soul Searching -------------- ¶8. (U) Kuwaitis from every spectrum of society have voiced their opinions about the violence and what to do about it: - In the January 17 edition of the English daily Arab Times (AT),editor Ahmed Jarallah called for "extreme steps" to save the country. "Some parts of the country have turned into battlegrounds," he said, for people who are against the new international order born on Kuwaiti soil when it was liberated. - In the January 18 AT edition, MP Mohammed Al Sager criticized the GOK, saying that its 30-year lax attitude towards Islamists was responsible for the current environment. - Also criticizing the government, Ghassan Al-Otaibi wrote in the Arabic daily Al-Qabas on January 20 that "ruling regimes have used public funds to create people who hate all developed and civilized nations in the world." - On January 22, the Dean of the Faculty of Sharia at Kuwait University, Mohammed Al-Tabtabaie, said the Prophet Mohammed warned against those who "threaten the lives of muslims." - Also on January 22, the head of the Shiite Clerics Congregation, Sayed Mohammed Baqr Al-Mohri, and columnist Humoud Al-Khattab, blamed Kuwaiti school curricula for teaching children intolerance. Al-Khattab said that textbooks currently used in Kuwait's school system are the cause of extremism. ¶9. (C) During January 31 meetings with Chairman of the Bank of Kuwait and the Middle East, Hamad Al-Marzouq, Chairman of the Commercial Bank of Kuwait Abdulmajeed Al-Shatti and CEO of Commercial Bank Jamal Al-Mutawa, the Ambassador asked for their thoughts on the shootings in Kuwait. All three expressed support for the GOK in the current crackdown on militants and thought that the GOK was now taking things more seriously than they had ever before. Al-Shatti of the Commercial Bank expressed concern that the GOK and the National Assembly members would continue to be lenient with the terrorists and those who support them, giving the example of the fundamentalist television preacher Abdulrahman Abdul Khaleq who the GOK still allows to preach on Kuwaiti television each week. ¶10. (C) Al-Marzouq expressed concern over the widespread charity collection boxes in Kuwait and the way that they were potentially used to fund terror activities and fundamentalist religious groups and political movements. He said that he and others had voiced this concern for years, but that the "conflicts within the ruling family has allowed for the rise of religious groups and their increased influence." He said that the GOK has not had the necessary will in the past to crack down on misdirected charitable giving, but that he hoped things would change now given the recent terror incidents. Without a clear line of succession in Kuwait, Al-Marzouq explained, the Islamists would continue to play on the conflicts among the ruling family, and the GOK would continue to have to compromise with them. He added that there was "no better time than the present" for the GOK to crack down on the Islamists, and that a "tidal wave" of support for the GOK and against the Islamists would follow from the recent shootings. Al-Marzouq also said that conflicts over money had split the Salafi movement in Kuwait while the Kuwaiti Muslim Brotherhood had its finances much more organized. On the Islamists, including the newly announced political grouping Hizb Al-Ummah, Al-Marzouq said that "they are playing by the rules until they seize power, then, no more democracy." He added that there were rumors linking the new party to some of those killed by the police in the recent terrorist incidents. ¶11. (C) Comment: It appears that the security clashes have finally awakened the GOK to the serious threat posed by extremist Islamists. The wide range of actions being undertaken by the government shows the resolve with which the GOK is approaching its efforts to stamp out radicalism. Whether it will be able to do so in a short period of time remains doubtful. We will encourage a sustained, multifaceted approach. ********************************************* Visit Embassy Kuwait's Classified Website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/ You can also access this site through the State Department's Classified SIPRNET website ********************************************* LEBARON