KUWAITI LEADERSHIP PRAISES MALIKI FOR BASRA

C O N F I D E N T I A L KUWAIT 000384 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR NEA/ARP AND NEA/I E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/05/2018 TAGS: PREL PGOV PINR PTER KU IZ IR SUBJECT: KUWAITI LEADERSHIP PRAISES MALIKI FOR BASRA CRACKDOWN REF: KUWAIT 337 Classified By: CDA Misenheimer for reasons 1.4 (b,d) ¶1. (C) In separate April 2 meetings with A/S Welch, Kuwaiti Crown Prince Shaykh Nawaf Al Sabah, Prime Minister Shaykh Nasser Al Sabah and Amiri Economic Advisor Dr. Yousef El-Ebraheem offered their support for Iraqi PM Nouri Al-Maliki's Basra campaign. The GOK, which typically expresses a lack of confidence in Maliki's leadership, was very encouraged by GOI actions against Shi'a militias the previous week. The CP told A/S Welch that he was very "pleased" with the results so far and commented that the actions improved Maliki's image. He also asserted that Maliki's show of strength was an important step in stabilizing Iraq. Shaykh Nawaf added that Iraqi forces had proved their mettle in passing this "first test of strength." El-Ebraheem: Basra Move was a "Positive Development" -------------- -------------- ¶2. (C) Dr. Yousef El-Ebraheem told A/S Welch that, in general, the political, economic, and security situation in Iraq seemed to be gradually improving. He saw PM Maliki's move to assert control over Basra as a "positive development" that should have come sooner since Basrah was in danger of "becoming part of Iran." He noted, however, that the GOK was deeply concerned about potential spillover from the Basra fighting into Kuwait. Shaykh Thamer's comments stray -------------- ¶3. (C) National Security Bureau Vice President Shaykh Thamer Ali Al Sabah offered his own, conflicting commentaries on the Basra crackdown during the CP meeting. Shaykh Thamer downplayed the CP's praise of the Maliki initiative and said that Maliki was simply using Persian Shi'as to fight Arab Shi'as. The CP rebuked Shaykh Thamer and said there was no evidence of favoritism among the Shi'a forces, noting that Maliki "did the right thing." (Comment: Shaykh Thamer has a tendency to grandstand. He openly criticized U.S. policies during the March 10 Gulf Security Dialogue in Kuwait (reftel). End note.) ¶4. (U) A/S Welch's discussions on Iran, Israel/Palestine, and Lebanon/Syria during this meeting are reported septel. ¶5. (U) A/S Welch has cleared this cable. ********************************************* * 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/ ********************************************* * Misenheimer