TFLE01: A PRESS WAR OF WORDS ON NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 KUWAIT 003099

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/01/2016
TAGS: OPRC PREL PGOC KMDR KPAO KU MEDIA REACTION
SUBJECT: TFLE01: A PRESS WAR OF WORDS ON NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
BACKLASH AGAINST U.S. OVER QANA

REF: A. KUWAIT 3057 (NOTAL)

B. KUWAIT 2855

Classified By: CDA Matt Tueller for reasons 1.4(b) and (d)


1. (SBU) Summary and comment: The Kuwaiti press printed
August 1 virulent and anti-U.S. comments made by MPs. One
Arabic daily headlined its front page with a paraphrase of
one statement: "Americans and Israelis are SOBs and
Bastards." While previously relatively balanced in its news
coverage, local press set a different tone on August 1st with
the most overtly anti-U.S. coverage by the Kuwaiti print
media since the start of hostilities. Opinion pieces in the
Kuwaiti press are overwhelmingly critical of perceived U.S.
complicity in the violence in Lebanon, but some
anti-Hizballah and pro-U.S. opinions continue to appear as
well. The Kuwaiti Journalists Association called on the
media to continue to support Lebanon and reveal the "cruel"
Israeli attacks on the Lebanese people. The vitriol suggests
the difficulty the GOK faces in acknowledging the outrage of
the public while directing it away from Arab governments and
preventing the Lebanese conflict from widening. A number of
August 2 op-eds criticized the harshness of the Kuwaiti MPs'
rhetoric. End summary and comment.


2. (U) The Kuwaiti Arabic and English press on August 1
printed vitriolic comments against the U.S. from Kuwaiti
Members of Parliament (MPs),many of whom attacked U.S.
policy in Lebanon following the Israeli attack on Qana. Of
the five Arab-language dailies, all but one covered the
parliamentary comments on inside pages. Al-Watan, however,
headined the comments on its front page, paraphrasing
pro-Iran MP Adnan Abdulsamad as part of its banner heading:
"Americans and Israelis are SOBs and Bastards." (Note: MP
Samad has played a role in the two demonstrations outside the
U.S. Embassy (reftels). End note.) His comments stem from a
special parliamentary session scheduled to address a budget
issue. During the session, Acting Speaker Ahmad Al-Mulaifi
read a statement condemning the Qana incident and calling on
the international community to stop the violence. Islamist
MP Khaled Al-Adwa rejected the statement as too bland, saying
the "U.S. is complicit in the spilling of children's blood in
Lebanon... Condoleezza Rice's visit to the region was
preceded by the bombs she sent to the Zionist entity...
America is a foul, filthy pit... Its policymakers are SOBs."
Al-Watan prominently featured a list of other statements,
with the most virulent coming from Islamist-leaning MPs:

-- Jamal Al-Kandari, a member of the Islamic Constitutional
Movement (ICM): "It's truly a crusader war as Bush stated...
The Arab regimes are incapable of helping Lebanon because of
their collaboration with the U.S. administration... We are
speaking to those in the Arab organizations who are
humiliating their peoples in order to safeguard their
interests."

-- Musallam Al-Barrak, an independent yet conservative MP
and proponent of electoral reform: "It is a scandal for the
Arab people, and Hassan Nasrallah has come at a time of
humiliation of the honor of the Arab nation... Al-Jazeera
and Al-Arabiyya are doing the best broadcasting of the truth,
whereas Kuwait TV is broadcasting drumming and dancing."

-- Dr. Ali Al-Omari, a Salifi Islamist: "The Israeli
aggression is not surprising. What is surprising is the weak
Arab stance."

-- Daifallah Fadhel Bouramiya, a conservative Islamist,
congratulated Nasrallah on repulsing the Israelis, something
that "the other Arab bodies were not able to do in
confronting the crusader wars".

-- Saleh Ashour, an independent and moderate Shi'a: "What
is happening is a disgrace for the Arab governments and no
one can stop the plan except Hizballah and Hamas."

-- Hussain Al-Mutairi, elected to Parliament for the first
time on June 29: "It's a shame for the Arab people whose
leaders have collaborated with the Zionists and America."

-- Adnan Abdul Samad: "Condoleezza Rice is a 'wood carrier'
(a reference to the Quranic verse in which a female relative
of Mohammad was fated to hell for bringing wood to burn the
Prophet at the stake)." He further claimed that she said the
killing of children was a normal matter which "reveals

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something inside her because she is a spinster whom the train
has passed by and who is incapable of motherly feelings."

-- Abdullah Al-Roumi, an independent five-time MP: "America
exports terror and condemns it at the same time."

-- Ahmad Baqer, a Salafi MP and former Justice Minister and
Awqaf Minister: "Where are the preparations by Muslims for
war as recommended by Islam?"

-- Ahmad Lari, a new MP: "We say to you (the American
Ambassador) that from this day forward you are not welcome at
our diwaniyas (discussion salons),especially during
Ramadan." (Note: Lari like Abdul Samad, is affiliated with
the National Islamic Alliance, a conservative Iran-leaning
association. He too was involved at recent demonstrations
staged outside the U.S. Embassy. End note.)

-- Hassan Jowhar,a pro-reform Shi'a MP: "A curse on Arab
leaders who are American henchmen and whose fate is the trash
bin of history."

-- Ahmad Saadoun, an independent MP and former Speaker of
Parliament: "Extreme right Zionists in America are behind
what is happening."

-- Hussein Al-Huraiti, a parliamentary newcomer, stated he
would not blame the Arab people if they revolted against
their rulers.

Similar quotes were reported on the inside pages of other
issues. The English-language daily Kuwait Times covered the
session in its front page with the headline "MPs Slam America
over Lebanon War."


3. (C/NF) Comment: The anger directed toward Arab
governments by parliamentarians is particularly striking.
Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Ismail Al-Shatti
responded to the parliamentarians' statements by saying that
the Government agreed with everything that had been said
except for the criticism of friendly countries. This
illustrates the quandary in which Arab regimes find
themselves. Arab governments want to be seen as in step with
the anger of the Arab street while, at the same time, they
understand the need for maintaining good relations with the
U.S. This duality is further illustrated by a very collegial
meeting that PolOff had with Islamist MP Khodair Al-Enezi on
July 29, the day before the Qana bombing. Al-Enezi implored
the U.S. to intervene on behalf of Kuwait's stateless
residents because it was the guardian of human rights in the
region. Two days later, he was on the National Assembly
floor calling for a boycott of American products and
lambasting the U.S. for what "Israel and America are doing in
Lebanon". End comment.


4. (SBU) While the Kuwaiti press has shown sympathy for
Lebanon in its coverage of the hostilities, its news
reporting, as opposed to its opinion pieces, has been
comparatively balanced. The U.S. position, including quotes
from Secretary Rice and President Bush -- taken largely from
wire services -- appears in news reports. August 1st
coverage of MP speeches struck a different chord and is the
most overt anti-U.S. reporting since the start of
hostilities. The Kuwait Journalists Association (KJA) on
July 30 took a stand on events in Lebanon when it issued a
statement condemning Israeli aggression and calling on the
"superpowers" to intervene to stop the killing in Lebanon.
The KJA also asked the Kuwaiti media to continue supporting
Lebanon and to reveal the "cruel" Israeli attacks on the
Lebanese people.


5. (SBU) Opinion pieces in all the press continue to paint
Israel as the sole aggressor. Hizballah is more often than
not portrayed as a defender of Arab life and dignity. But
this is not exclusively the case. The Editor-in-chief of the
Arabic daily Al-Seyassah wrote August 1, "Right now, the war
in Lebanon is an extension of the disputes between Syria and
Iran against the United States. Therefore we call on the
United States to beat the snake's head Iran, and not its tail
represented by Iraq and Lebanon... America will not succeed
in turning Lebanon into another Iraq, and Tehran and Damascus
will not succeed in jeopardizing the international will to
contain this war." Furthermore, a number of August 2nd
opinion pieces pointedly criticized Parliament for acting on
emotions rather than in tones befitting statesmen. Zibin

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Hamad Al-Badhal took special exception to the personal
attacks on Condoleezza Rice. He went on to note that August
2nd is the sixteenth anniversary of Iraq's invasion of Kuwait
and that Kuwaitis would still be under his rule were it not
for the U.S. Muhammad Al-Mulaifi reported in Al-Seyassah
that someone who viewed the protests at the U.S. Embassy
afterwards went to the mall where he saw hanging out the same
young people who an hour before had been chanting "Death to
America."

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