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
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.

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