KUWAIT MEDIA REACTION - A THIRD KUWAITI NATIONAL, BADR

UNCLAS KUWAIT 000500 SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA/ARP, NEA/PA, NEA/AIA, NEA/PI, INR/NESA, R/MR, I/GNEA, B/BXN, B/BRN, NEA/PPD, NEA/IPA LONDON FOR NEA WATCHER PARIS FOR NEA WATCHER E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OPRC KMDR KPAO XF KU MEDIA REACTION SUBJECT: KUWAIT MEDIA REACTION - A THIRD KUWAITI NATIONAL, BADR AL-HARBI, ALLEGED TO BE BEHIND RECENT MOSUL SUICIDE ATTACK -------------- Summary -------------- Tuesday, May 6, 2008 Summary: Most Kuwaiti print dailies ran similar stories about Badr Al-Harbi, the alleged third Kuwaiti suicide bomber in Mosul, Iraq. Most print Kuwaiti print dailies alleged that Al-Harbi was a close associate of Abdullah Al-Ajmi and Khaled Al-Dousary, the two Kuwaitis alleged to have been involved in a recent suicide attack in Mosul, Iraq. One editorial opined that the Kuwaiti Ministry of Interior will review its security practices, while a second blamed alleged practices at Guantanamo Bay detention facility to be the reason behind the behavior of Abdullah al-Ajmi. However, the state-run Kuwaiti News Agency (KUNA) did not report on the incident. Block Quotes: --According to the Kuwaiti daily Al-Qabas, Badr Al-Harbi was born in 1975, lived in Al-Jahra district of Kuwait, had two wives, and was the father of six children. After a 2006 trip to Afghanistan, Kuwaiti authorities arrested but later released him. He then served in the military and most recently worked as a policeman in Jahra. In "A Security Glitch" Ahmed Shamsildine expresses his dissatisfaction with the level of coordination between the Ministry of Interior, Kuwaiti authorities, and former Guantanamo Bay detainees and their families. Mr. Shamsildine concludes (05/06): "We believe that the Minister of Interior will review his ministry's capabilities and security procedures in light of the recent incidents." --Al-Anbaa reported a similar story, adding that Badr Al-Harbi left Kuwait for Damascus with alleged co-conspirators Abdullah Al-Ajmi and Khaled Al-Dousary. Al-Harbi's cousin states (05/06): "We got a phone call from Iraq informing us that Badr died in the attack." Al-Wasat displayed the same story, alleging that because Badr Al-Harbi left the country on the same day with Abdullah Al-Ajmi and Khaled Al-Dousary, chances are that the same individual mobilized the three to conduct the Mosul attack(s). Dr. Abdullah Al-Shaygy writes in his daily Al-Wasat column that terrorist attacks conducted by the Kuwaitis show how many (05/06): "innocents suffered and were victims of severe torture in Guantanamo Bay." Dr. Al-Shaygy lists acts allegedly committed in Guantanamo Bay. --Al-Seyassah (05/06) was the only daily that alleged that Badr Al-Harbi was an accomplice in the same attack carried out by Abdullah Al-Ajmi and Khaled Al-Dousary. The paper reports that Badr Al-Harbi was not in the same car as the suicide bombers; instead, he used a separate car in the same attack. Kuwaiti National Democratic Alliance candidates in the upcoming 17 May Kuwaiti elections -- Aseel Al-Awadhi and Khaled Al-Khaled -- blamed the Kuwaiti government for allowing these attacks to occur. ********************************************* * 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/ ********************************************* * JONES