Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06KUWAIT255
2006-01-25 13:20:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Kuwait
Cable title:  

CODEL ROS-LEHTINEN ENGAGES KUWAITIS ON IRAQ, IRAN,

Tags:  OVIP PGOV KWMN IZ IR KU KUWAIT IRAQ RELATIONS 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO1555
PP RUEHBC RUEHDA RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHKUK RUEHMOS
DE RUEHKU #0255/01 0251320
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 251320Z JAN 06
FM AMEMBASSY KUWAIT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2668
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC PRIORITY
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KUWAIT 000255 

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR H -- B. FLECK AND FOR NEA/ARPI

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OVIP PGOV KWMN IZ IR KU KUWAIT IRAQ RELATIONS
TERROR FINANCE, WOMEN'S POLITICAL RIGHTS
SUBJECT: CODEL ROS-LEHTINEN ENGAGES KUWAITIS ON IRAQ, IRAN,
TERRORIST FINANCING, AND WOMEN'S RIGHTS

REF: STATE 2860

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KUWAIT 000255

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR H -- B. FLECK AND FOR NEA/ARPI

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OVIP PGOV KWMN IZ IR KU KUWAIT IRAQ RELATIONS
TERROR FINANCE, WOMEN'S POLITICAL RIGHTS
SUBJECT: CODEL ROS-LEHTINEN ENGAGES KUWAITIS ON IRAQ, IRAN,
TERRORIST FINANCING, AND WOMEN'S RIGHTS

REF: STATE 2860


1. (SBU) Summary: During a January 20-21 visit to Kuwait,
CODEL Ros-Lehtinen met with Kuwaiti officials to offer
condolences on the death of Amir Shaykh Jaber Al-Sabah, and
to express USG appreciation for Kuwaiti support for Operation
Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and for Kuwait's $500 million pledge to
hurricane Katrina relief. The delegation also had the
opportunity to hear from Kuwaitis on Iraq, Iran, terrorism
financing, and women's political rights. The delegation was
accompanied by a reporter/producer from C-SPAN who was
recording a two-hour, "reality-style" special on the trip to
be aired "six to seven times" in February.


2. (SBU) Summary continued: Dr. Nasser Al-Sane, a moderate
Islamist member of Parliament (MP),told the delegation
"Iraqi Sunni leaders were not optimistic" and had complained
during a recent visit to Kuwait of being excluded from the
political process. In a separate meeting, Kuwaiti Ambassador
to the U.S. Shaykh Salem Al-Abdullah told the delegation that
"failure (in Iraq) was a matter of life or death" for Kuwait,
and cautioned against letting a timetable dictate the Iraqi
political process. Shaykh Salem said the Government of
Kuwait (GOK) was also "extremely worried" about Iran's
nuclear program, though he focused on the potential for
negative environmental impacts rather than on security
concerns. The delegation also met with a group of women
activists to discuss women's rights in Kuwait and the likely
impact of the female vote in the 2007 parliamentary
elections. The women were pessimistic about female
candidates' chances of being elected, but expressed optimism
about the long-term impact of women's participation in
Kuwaiti politics. The event was covered by Arabic-daily
Al-Watan in its January 22 issue. The Ambassador stressed
the importance of programs to promote study in the U.S.
during a dinner with the delegation. End summary.

CODEL Ros-Lehtinen Participants
--------------


3. (U) The delegation was led by U.S. Congresswoman Ileana
Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL),Chairwoman of the House International

Relations Committee Subcommittee on the Middle East and Asia.
Accompanying the Chairwoman were U.S. Congressman Todd
Russell Platts (R-PA),U.S. Congressman Stephen P. Lynch
(D-MA),and U.S. Congressman Jim Gerlach (R-PA).

Success in Iraq "A Matter of Life or Death" for Kuwait
-------------- --------------


4. (SBU) Dr. Nasser Al-Sane, a moderate Islamist member of
Parliament (MP) affiliated with the Islamic Constitutional
Movement (ICM),told the delegation he had met with "Iraqi
Sunni leaders," in town to offer condolences on the death of
Amir Shaykh Jaber Al-Sabah, who had insisted they wanted to
work within the democratic system, but were "not at all
optimistic" about the potential for political compromise
among Iraq's diverse ethnic and confessional groups.
According to Al-Sane, Iraqi Sunnis "recognized their mistake"
in boycotting the January 2005 elections, but felt
marginalized by Shi'a domination of political power and
feared Iranian influence among Iraqi Shi'a groups. Al-Sane
himself claimed Iran was more influential in Iraq than the
U.S.


5. (SBU) Kuwaiti Ambassador to the U.S. Shaykh Salem
Abdullah Al-Jaber Al-Sabah stressed that "failure in Iraq is
not an option," during a separate meeting to receive the
delegation's condolences to the Al-Sabah family on the death
of Amir Shaykh Jaber Al-Sabah. "Your success in Iraq is a
matter of life and death for us. Failure would be a global
catastrophe," he said. Emphasizing that the U.S. "is on -
and should stay on - the right political and security track,"
Shaykh Salem cautioned the Representatives from letting a
timetable dictate the political process. He argued that
internal divisions were a greater threat to Iraq and,
subsequently, the region than "foreign fighters."


6. (SBU) Chairwoman Ros-Lehtinen asked if "failure was not
an option," then why was the GCC not more supportive of Iraqi
reconstruction efforts. Shaykh Salem noted Kuwait's support
for post-Saddam Iraq, including lobbying for Iraq's
re-inclusion in the Arab League, but said security was a
necessary precondition for reconstruction efforts. He
assured the delegation that the GCC collectively would be
heavily involved in assistance projects once the security
situation stabilized.

KUWAIT 00000255 002 OF 003



"Extremely Worried" About Iran's Nuclear Program
-------------- ---


7. (SBU) Asked about the GOK's views on Iran's nuclear
program, Shaykh Salem said that, regardless of Iranian
intentions, "we are extremely worried" about the possibility
of an accident at the Bushehr nuclear facility, echoing the
GOK's commonly heard proclivity to approach the nuclear issue
from an environmental rather than a security standpoint. He
said Bushehr was only 120 miles from Kuwait compared to 800
miles from Tehran and was situated on a fault line. Shaykh
Salem stressed that "the diplomatic track should be
exhausted" before any other decision was taken. "The U.S.
and Kuwait see eye-to-eye on this issue," he said, noting
that there had been a "convergence of views" during the Vice
President's recent visit to Kuwait.

Islamic Charities Unfairly Targeted?
--------------


8. (SBU) Al-Sane complained that some Islamic charity
organizations, like the Kuwait-based Social Reform Society
(SRS),the charity arm of the Muslim Brotherhood in Kuwait,
were unfairly designated as financiers of terrorism and
prevented from charitable work because fund raising
activities were limited by strict regulations. He asked the
Representatives to review the procedures for the designations
and regulations. Al-Sane stressed that SRS was a purely
charitable organization and assured the delegation that he
had personally overseen an inspection of the organization's
finances, which proved there were no terrorist connections.
Al-Sane said he had raised the issue with the Treasury
Department during a trip to Washington in 2005, but
complained he had not received a reply from Treasury. The
Representatives promised to follow up on the issue with
Treasury officials. Chairwoman Ros-Lehtinen noted that some
charity organizations do divert funds to terrorist
organizations and that restrictions on certain fundraising
activities can unfortunately have an adverse affect on
legitimate charities.

Women's Activists Not Optimistic About 2007 Elections
-------------- --------------


9. (SBU) Fifteen of Kuwait's leading women activists,
including several who intend to run in the 2007 parliamentary
elections, participated in a lively roundtable discussion
with the delegation on women's political rights in Kuwait and
speculated on the likely impact of the female vote. While
agreeing that Kuwaiti women were subject to discrimination,
the women activists disagreed on whether general social
attitudes or the political influence of Islamists was more to
blame. Dr. Nibal Al-Boursly, a professor at Kuwait
University, stressed the difference between religious
conservatism and the politicization of religion, which she
believed was the real problem. Dr. Rola Dashti, an outspoken
activist and a candidate in the 2007 elections, also argued
that gender discrimination in Kuwait was linked to politics.
Dashti claimed women's salaries were 30% less than men's and
80% of unemployed Kuwaitis were women.


10. (SBU) Most of the women agreed that a reduction in the
number of electoral districts from 25 to 10, or even fewer,
would greatly increase female candidates' chances of being
elected. Dr. Farida Al-Habib, a prominent cardiologist,
argued that without a reduction women would not be elected to
Parliament in 2007. The majority of the activists believed
the female vote would benefit Islamist groups, and predicted
women would not be elected in the 2007 parliamentary
elections. Some, however, were more optimistic. Dashti
predicted 70% of registered women would vote, 12 female
candidates would run for election, and three would be elected.


11. (U) The women also eulogized the late Amir Shaykh
Jaber's contribution to women's rights. Congressman Platts
stressed that the way women could honor the late Amir was to
exercise the political rights Shaykh Jaber had fought so hard
to help them obtain. One of attendees, Aisha Al-Rasheed,
wrote a long article on the event that was published in the
January 22 edition of the Arabic-daily Al-Watan.


12. (U) In a separate meeting with the delegation, Jassem
Al-Boodai, the Editor-in-Chief of Al-Rai Al-Rai, a liberal
Arabic-daily with wide distribution in the Gulf and Lebanon,
echoed the women activists' concerns, arguing that Islamists
groups would benefit most from the female vote. He also

KUWAIT 00000255 003 OF 003


questioned the USG's commitment to promoting political and
economic reform in the region. The Representatives
emphasized the USG's willingness to partner with domestic
groups to promote democratic reforms, but stressed that
democratic change must come from within. Due to the current
leadership controversy, the newspaper has not yet published
an article on the meeting.

Ambassador Encourages Hill Support for Study in the U.S.
-------------- --------------


13. (SBU) During a dinner with the delegation, the
Ambassador noted the declining number of Kuwaiti students
studying at American universities and stressed the importance
of Congressional support for student exchange programs. He
also emphasized the need for more efforts to engage and
integrate foreign exchange students into university campuses,
noting these students will be the next generation of leaders
in the Middle East. Public Affairs Counselor stressed the
need for support for Fulbright and other educational
scholarship programs to encourage foreign students to study
in the U.S. She also highlighted the success of Middle East
Partnership Initiative (MEPI)-funded programs and emphasized
the importance of additional funding.


14. (U) The Representatives did not have the opportunity to
clear on this cable.

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