UPDATE: KUWAIT JOINT STATE-DOD GROUP ADDRESSES

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 000563

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

NEA/REA FOR CHUCK LAWSON, OES/IHA FOR REBECCA DALEY

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: AMED CASC KSCA SENV TBIO PREL KFLU KU IZ
SUBJECT: UPDATE: KUWAIT JOINT STATE-DOD GROUP ADDRESSES
KUWAIT-IRAQ BORDER CROSSING AND AVIAN FLU

REF: A. KUWAIT 4964

B. KUWAIT 5114

C. 05 KUWAIT 4673

D. BAGHDAD 254


1. (U) SUMMARY AND COMMENT: On February 14, the joint
State-DOD Avian Influenza (AI) working group (Refs A & B) met
to discuss the latest developments in the ongoing dialogue
with GOK Public Authority for Agriculture and Fish Resources
(PAAFR) officials regarding Kuwaiti concerns about the
potential for U.S. convoys returning from Iraq to spread AI
to Kuwait. According to PAAFR officials, Kuwait will begin
constructing a roll-through decontamination trough the week
of February 20 for vehicles at the civilian crossing. The
Coalition Forces Land Component Command (CFLCC) has prepared
plans for several decontamination scenarios, but will wait
for an official request from the Kuwaiti Ministry of Defense
(KMOD) before acting, as under the terms of the Defense
Cooperation Agreement (DCA). At CFLCC's request, Post
informed the PAAFR that an official request from KMOD will be
necessary. A pandemic influenza (PI) expert from CFLCC will
arrive in Kuwait in the coming weeks, and Post will enjoin
him in a meeting with PAAFR, thereafter.


2. (SBU) Given the logistical challenge of implementing the
PAAFR's request, Post has argued against taking action on the
grounds that disinfecting tires appears to hold no certain
scientific value and could be ineffective in combating the
spread of the AI virus. CFLCC also is not convinced that the
science supports such a move and that setting a precedent in
this area may divert resources from other measures that could
be more effective when dealing with AI. However, PAAFR
officials have insisted on decontamination measures. In
order to counter the risk of the GOK either taking over
Coalition Crossing to perform decontamination, or closing the
border altogether, CFLCC has agreed to begin some measures
once the logistics can be worked out. CFLCC is capable of
beginning decontamination now, although both Post and CFLCC
are hoping to allay GOK concerns without making substantial
resource commitments. END SUMMARY AND COMMENT


3. (U) On February 14, the joint State-DOD AI working group
(Refs A & B) met to discuss the request by Kuwaiti animal
health officials that U.S. military convoys crossing into
Kuwait from Iraq be disinfected. The initial request was
made by Dr. Mohammad Al-Muhanna, Deputy Director of Animal
Resources at the Public Authority for Agriculture and Fish
Resources (PAAFR),at a meeting on October 31, 2005 (Ref C),
and repeated at a follow-up meeting on January 22, 2006; U.S.
military medical officials from CFLCC attended both meetings.
The January 22 meeting was also attended by Director of
Animal Resources Dr. Farida Al-Mulla, whose presence
testified to the importance that the issue carries for the
Kuwaitis.


4. (U) At the January 22 meeting, Drs. Al-Muhanna and
Al-Mulla noted their concern that, with AI now present in
northern Iraq (Ref D),the virus may already be widespread
throughout that country but heretofore undetected by Iraq's
under-resourced public health infrastructure. Particularly,
they expressed concern about the virus entering Kuwait on the
tires of U.S. military and contractors' vehicles.
Decontamination, they said, could be accomplished either by
spraying the tires with disinfectant or by constructing a
roll-through trough.


5. (U) After that January 22 meeting, Post cleared a
Memorandum of Meeting with CFLCC stating that CFLCC would
prepare contingency plans for border decontamination, and
would be prepared to deploy no later than February 15. Since
that time, the joint State-DoD working group has met to
discuss CFLCC's proposed decontamination plans and how best
to approach the GOK. Post shares CFLCC's concerns that
initiating decontamination at the border is an enormous
logistical and financial undertaking as up to 1000 trucks per
day make the crossing into Kuwait.


6. (U) On February 14, ESTHoff spoke with Dr. Al-Mulla who
stated that Kuwait will begin constructing a roll-through
trough at the civilian border crossing within the next week.
She also stated that the GOK might build a trough for the
U.S. military at Coalition Crossing. In a subsequent
conversation, ESTHoff conveyed the CFLCC message that an
official request from KMOD will be necessary before CFLCC
could begin decontamination.


KUWAIT 00000563 002 OF 002



7. (SBU) Next Steps: CFLCC will meet with KMOD on or about
March 8 to discuss the anticipated request from the PAAFR.
In the meantime, in order to have U.S. concerns about the
potential complexity of the eventual decontamination effort
addressed, CFLCC will communicate through back-channels with
KMOD before the official KMOD request is presented to CFLCC.
A CFLCC expert on PI, expected to arrive in Kuwait in the
next few weeks, will accompany Emboffs to meet with PAAFR
officials to again argue against decontamination at the
border.

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For more reporting from Embassy Kuwait, visit:
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/?cable s
Visit Kuwait's Classified Website:
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/
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