KUWAIT SPECIAL MEDIA REACTION: OIL, DEMOCRACY, AND U.S.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 000608 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA/ARPI, NEA/PA, NEA/AIA, NEA/PI, INR/NESA, R/MR, I/GNEA, B/BXN, B/BRN, NEA/PPD, NEA/IPA FOR ALTERMAN USAID/ANE/MEA LONDON FOR TSOU PARIS FOR ZEYA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OPRC KMDR KPAO PREL KDEM PGOV KU SUBJECT: KUWAIT SPECIAL MEDIA REACTION: OIL, DEMOCRACY, AND U.S. FOREIGN POLICY Block Quotes -------------- ¶1. Monday, 20 February 2006 -- Dr. Hamoud Abdullah Al-Raqaba former Minister of Energy wrote in the moderate daily Al-Watan under the title "The American President George Bush's Statements": "The American President George Bush said a few days ago that by the year 2020 the United States of America will decrease its dependency on Gulf oil by 75 per cent. Such a statement must be taken seriously as he is the president of the most powerful country in the world. According to some speculators the demand for oil in 2020 will be phenomenally in excess of 120 million barrels per day. That is what makes one take President Bush's statement seriously. There are three possibilities that may explain such a statement. The first could be that President Bush is turning to Asia, Russia, and former Soviet states instead of the Gulf. This may be the result of instability in the region and the difficulty of obtaining the oil, because of the politics involved. The second is that the United States of America may be turning to natural gas, which is less polluting than oil, although this requires huge projects such as the pipeline that is expected to go through Afghanistan. The third possibility is that President Bush may believe in finding an alternative source of energy by the year 2020. The American President's statement makes us as an oil producing country assess our situation and take it seriously. There is no doubt that all three possibilities are plausible. While the third possibility can be eliminated in the near future, it does not mean that it will not happen. We call on the High Council on Petroleum to examine this statement and come up with solutions, expectations, and decisions for the future." ¶2. Tuesday, 21 February 2006 -- Yousef Othman Al-Mujalham wrote in the progressive daily Al-Qabas under the title "Those Strange Americans": "Syria was part of the 'axis of evil' in the eyes of the Americans. The American President would not shake hands with the late President Hafez Al-Asad, however, when they both had the mutual goal of liberating Kuwait, they shook hands in Geneva. The current Syrian regime's policy is �A;but a continuation of Hafez Al-Asad's. The former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was a close friend of the current American Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, now he describes Saddam as a dictator. Saudi was a strategic ally to the United States of America but has been replaced by Qatar, which was previously considered an insignificant state. As for Saudi, it must change its educational, political, and religious policy to gain America's acceptance again. The United States of America insists that Iran halt its nuclear program, while providing financial and technological aid to the state of Israel that possesses numerous nuclear devices capable of reaching the United States of America. The Israelis protect their nuclear possessions by simply never threatening to use them. The American government pays millions of dollars to create democracy in Iraq and at the same time it cuts aid to the Palestinian government, when the people choose Hamas to lead their government. They are acting in their best interest while many Arab countries, especially Kuwait must behave in a manner that pleases the United States of America. Must we be the hostages of the liberation of Kuwait and consider it a favor that we must repay until judgment day? While the United States of America does not consider it a favor, it was its interests at the time that motivated it and its interests will be the deciding factor even if it were to occupy Kuwait and Iraq, with the help of the Israelis." On the front page of the pro-government daily Al-Seyassah a four-part editorial was published by the Ansar Al-Shourah Wa Al-Islam group written by their Secretary General Dr. Amed Abdul Aziz Al-Mezaini in the form of an ad highlighted with a yellow background and taking up a quarter of a page below the fold. The following was the final segment. -- "Democracy, human, and women's rights, etc. are foreign and the aim behind them is to distract us and pull us away from the Quran and the Sunna. Democracy has become a dangerous tool that when introduced to countries, ruins them and makes the citizenry fight and compete for offices and power. Imported democracy is based on the separation of religion and state and that the end justifies the means even if the means are immoral. For example, buying votes and gay marriage are immoral and allows the broadcasting of the unacceptable. We cannot forget our departed Amir's call in 1976 when he said 'we want democracy based on the Quran and calls for belief, education, work, and to holding on to our religion and our supreme KUWAIT 00000608 002 OF 002 morals; a democracy that emanates from our reality and is in harmony with the values of our society and people; a democracy that works for the people's benefit and well-being.'" ********************************************* * 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/ ********************************************* * LEBARON