APHSCT TOWNSEND'S 11/14 MEETINGS WITH THE AMIR AND

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 KUWAIT 004512

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NOFORN
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STATE FOR NEA/I AND NEA/ARP, NSC FOR RAMCHAND

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/24/2016
TAGS: PTER PREL PGOV EFIN YM KU
SUBJECT: APHSCT TOWNSEND'S 11/14 MEETINGS WITH THE AMIR AND
FOREIGN MINISTER OF KUWAIT

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Matt Tueller for reasons 1.4 (b) and (
d)


1. (S/NF) Summary: APHSCT Frances Fragos Townsend met
November 14 with the Amir and Foreign Minister of Kuwait to
discuss counterterrorism cooperation, energy security, and
other regional issues. Townsend reassured them that the
President was committed to seeing a democratic, stable Iraq
and was open to discussing tactical changes, but clearly
rejected a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops.
Both the Amir and Foreign Minister expressed concern about
instability and weapons trafficking in Yemen and reported
that Kuwait would give $200 million in development
assistance to Yemen. The Amir was strongly opposed to
Yemen's admission to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
Townsend raised U.S. concerns about regulation of Islamic
charities, specifically the Revival of Islamic Heritage
Society (RIHS). The Foreign Minister reported that both
the Bangladeshi and Bosnian governments had told Kuwait
RIHS was "doing a great job" in their countries, but agreed
on the need to counter "even the impression of
wrongdoing."


2. (S/NF) Townsend also encouraged the Kuwaiti government
(GOK) to fully implement international standards to regulate
cash couriers and work with other GCC countries to adopt a
uniform regulatory system. The Foreign Minister said Gulf
countries were "very worried" about the possibility of any
security dialogue with Iran without GCC participation and
input, and stressed the importance of international
solidarity in confronting Iran's nuclear ambitions. He
also urged the U.S. to "immediately embrace" a Palestinian
national unity government should one emerge. The Foreign
Minister reiterated Kuwait's support for Lebanese Prime
Minister's Siniora's government and argued that the current
"confusion" in the region presented "a hell of an opportunity
to do something good." Both the Amir and Foreign Minister
said
Kuwait would welcome U.S. assistance on improving security at
the country's oil installations. End Summary.

Worries about U.S. Policy Change on Iraq
--------------


3. (S/NF) Assistant to the President for Homeland Security
and Counterterrorism (APHSCT) Frances Fragos Townsend met
November 14 with Amir Shaykh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah and
Foreign Minister Shaykh Dr. Mohammed Al-Salem Al-Sabah.
Both asked about the impact of the recent U.S. elections on
the President's strategy in Iraq. Townsend stressed that
the President is committed to seeing a democratic, stable
Iraq and was open to discussing tactical changes, but
clearly rejected calls for a timetable. The Foreign
Minister noted that "people here are very worried about a
change in Washington's (Iraq) policy" and asked that the
U.S. share details of the Baker report with Kuwait when it
is completed. "Don't let the media confuse your allies,"
he said. Townsend said she understood the need for clear
and accurate information from the U.S.


4. (S/NF) The Amir said he was "very disturbed" by reports
on the killings taking place daily in Baghdad and asked
rhetorically, "Who are these people and why are they
killing their own people?" He encouraged the U.S. to
redeploy its troops outside the cities in Iraq and to
strengthen the Iraqi army and police, giving them more
responsibility for security. "Iraqis need to feel the
presence of a strong army," he said. The Amir expressed
hope that "the new strategy being discussed in the U.S.
will bring security (to Iraq)," but acknowledged that "this
will take a long time."

Concerns about Instability in Yemen and Somalia
-------------- --


5. (S/NF) The Foreign Minister told Townsend he would
attend a Yemen donors' conference in London later that week
and reported that Kuwait would give $200 million in
development assistance. (Note: On November 16, Kuwait
announced publicly at the conference that it would give
$200 million in the form of a concessional loan to Yemen.
End note.) Despite Kuwait's historically troubled
relations with Yemen, particularly President Saleh's
support for Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait, Shaykh Dr.
Mohammed said "we see the country sliding in a negative
direction and are compelled to do something. We can't
afford to have a failed state on our borders." The Foreign
Minister asked if the U.S. intended to give money to Yemen

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to help it fund its $6 billion development plan. Townsend
said the U.S. was "very worried" about the situation in
Yemen, particularly increased weapons' trafficking, and
pointed out that the U.S. had historically provided
substantial aid to Yemen. She cautioned that Arab aid
should "come with strings attached" and advised that
measures should be put in place to ensure the money was
being used for the intended purposes.


6. (S/NF) The Amir said he had strongly opposed the
Saudis' and Qataris' calls for Yemen to be included in the
GCC and even threatened to withdraw Kuwait from the
organization if Yemen was admitted. "This would be against
the GCC charter," which stipulates that only "emirates and
kingdoms" can be members of the organization, he
explained. Despite this opposition to Yemen's GCC
membership bid, the Amir said Kuwait cooperated closely
with the Yemeni government on health care, education, and
economic development. Like the Foreign Minister, he said
that Kuwait would give Yemen a $200 million loan through
the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED). He
emphasized, though, that Kuwait would not/not give Yemen
any grants. The Amir said he hoped this aid would "help
stabilize the situation in Yemen" and prevent weapons
smuggling.


7. (S/NF) Townsend also expressed concern about the
situation in Somalia. The Foreign Minister reported that
Somali political factions had asked Kuwait to mediate
between them, but said the rise of the Islamic Courts Union
had "complicated the situation." "We have to be very
careful now," he added.

Regulation of Islamic Charities and Cash Couriers
-------------- --------------


8. (S/NF) Townsend raised U.S. concerns with the
activities of the Revival of Islamic Heritage Society
(RIHS),a Kuwait-based Islamic charity, and reported that
the Treasury Department was preparing to seek a UN
designation of the organization's Bangladeshi, Bosnian, and
Albanian branches. She said the U.S. wanted to work with
Kuwait to ensure these charities were not misused to
support terrorist activities and asked that "you work with
us to move forward in addressing these issues." The
Foreign Minister stressed that Kuwait was "a very
enthusiastic partner in fighting terrorism, especially in
regulating charities." He claimed this seriousness was
shared by GOK officials responsible for overseeing charity
work and the leadership of RIHS. According to him, the
Bangladeshi government told Kuwait RIHS was "doing a great
job" in Bangladesh and they had "no evidence of
wrongdoing." He said the GOK received a similar report
from the Bosnian government, but acknowledged that "we need
to fight even the impression of wrongdoing." Townsend
reiterated the importance of addressing this issue.


9. (S/NF) Townsend urged Kuwait to fully implement
international standards to regulate cash couriers and to
continue
working with other GCC countries to adopt uniform financial
controls and regulations, noting that terrorists rely
heavily on international financial systems. She also asked
for Kuwait's help in convincing European countries on the
need to designate Hizballah as a terrorist organization and
to prevent Iranian financial systems from being used to
support terrorism and nuclear proliferation. The Foreign
Minister agreed that the International Community needed to
shoulder more
responsibility.

Kuwait Worried about Security Dialogue with Iran
-------------- ---


10. (S/NF) The Foreign Minister said that "perhaps even
more worrying (than a change in U.S. policy towards Iraq)
are calls (in the U.S.) for a dialogue with Syria and Iran,
especially Iran." Noting a recently-leaked report
indicating the Europeans had offered to discuss regional
security arrangements with Iran as part of a deal on the
nuclear program, he stressed that "any discussion with Iran
on regional security without our participation worries us
very much." Asked about the extent of potential U.S. talks
with Iran, Townsend emphasized that the U.S. had clearly
laid out the preconditions for talks with Iran on its
nuclear program, but said the U.S. supported the Iraqi
government's technical dialogue with Iran on mutual
security concerns.

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11. (S/NF) Shaykh Dr. Mohammed said Iran's support to
"radicals" and its nuclear program remained serious
concerns. He said the GOK had difficulty understanding why
Russia did not exert more pressure on Iran to comply with
its Non-Proliferation Treaty obligations. He believed Iran
represented more of a threat to Russia than Kuwait,
explaining that Iran could already devastate Kuwait with
its conventional capabilities; nuclear weapons would not
significantly increase the threat. Shaykh Dr. Mohammed
said he conveyed Kuwait's concerns to the Russian Foreign
Minister during his visit to Kuwait in October, and asked
him to reconsider providing Russian nuclear fuel to Iran
and to pressure Iran to "come clean."


12. (S/NF) Shaykh Dr. Mohammed stressed the importance of
international solidarity in confronting Iran's nuclear
ambitions, arguing that this would "bring maximum pressure
to bear" on the Iranian regime. He added, though, that
"the burden of confronting Iranian behavior should not/not
be disproportionately placed on the shoulders of the Gulf
Cooperation Council (GCC)." He continued: "We don't
understand how the European Union can be concerned with
Iran's nuclear program, but not its support for
terrorism." Townsend agreed that confronting Iran was an
international responsibility and urged GCC countries to
exert more pressure on the Europeans to prevent their
financial systems from being used to fund terrorism and
nuclear proliferation.

U.S. Must Reward a Palestinian National Unity Government
-------------- --------------


13. (S/NF) The Foreign Minister expressed hope that
Secretary Rice would maintain the enthusiasm on pursuing a

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two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict she
showed at the recent GCC 2 meeting in Cairo. He said
Kuwait was "trying very hard to pressure the Palestinians
to form a national unity government," and urged the U.S. to
reward such a government with an "immediate gesture" of
support to demonstrate that this was a move in the right
direction. "Don't give Hamas and the radicals a pretext to
say the U.S. is not serious (about the Middle East peace
process)," he said. Townsend assured the Foreign Minister
of the President's continued commitment to reaching a
two-state solution and expressed cautious optimism about
the prospects for a national unity government.

"A Hell of an Opportunity" in Lebanon
--------------


14. (S/NF) Shaykh Dr. Mohammed was more pessimistic about
the political situation in Lebanon. While he "(did) not
expect a civil war or a showdown on the streets of Beirut,"
he said Hizballah had achieved its primary objective by
casting doubt on the legitimacy of Prime Minister Siniora's
government. Noting the GOK's $800 million in aid to
Lebanon, the Foreign Minister reiterated Kuwait's
commitment to PM Siniora's government. Townsend said the
U.S. was increasingly concerned about Syrian interference
in Lebanon, citing the recent Cabinet resignations as an
example. The Foreign Minister stressed that "now is a hell
of an opportunity for us to do something good (in Lebanon
and the region as a whole). If we fail, the bad guys will
have their day."

Kuwait Welcomes Energy Security Assistance
--------------


15. (S/NF) Townsend emphasized that "the threat to oil
infrastructure is very real" and offered U.S. assistance on
improving security at vital oil installations in Kuwait.
The Foreign Minister believed "we have things under
control," but said Kuwait could "use your advice if
improvements can be made. We must be ready to improvise
depending on the nature of the threat." The Amir similarly
welcomed cooperation with the U.S. on energy security.

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