5/8/08 AMBASSADOR MEETING WITH KUWAITI FM: MOSUL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 KUWAIT 000508

SIPDIS

NEA/ARP, NEA/I

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/08/2018
TAGS: PGOV PINR PREL PTER KDRG KU
SUBJECT: 5/8/08 AMBASSADOR MEETING WITH KUWAITI FM: MOSUL
ATTACKS; CT COOPERATION; IRAQ; LEBANON; TRAFFIC INCIDENT,

REF: KUWAIT 502

Classified By: Classified by: Ambassador Deborah K. Jones for
reasons 1.4 b and d.


1. (C) Summary: In a May 8 meeting with Kuwaiti Foreign
Minister Dr. Mohammad Al Sabah, her first call on the Kuwaiti
FM Dr. Mohammad Al Sabah since presenting credentials April
20, Ambassador stressed the need for GOK action to improve CT
performance and cooperation following reported suicide
attacks by Kuwaitis (including one former GTMO detainee) this
week. The FM responded that the GOK awaits forensic
confirmation of the facts, but takes the matter very
seriously and is reviewing its security policies and framing
corrective steps. They also discussed the aftermath of the
April 21-22 Iraq Neighbors Conference, including the Lebanon
side-meeting. Dr. Mohammad noted that the GOK may soon
advise its citizens to depart Lebanon. Finally, the
Ambassador conveyed an apology for a May 5 traffic incident
in Kuwait City involving U.S. military personnel. End
summary.


2. (C) On May 8 Ambassador, accompanied by DCM, met with
Kuwaiti FM Dr. Mohammad Al Sabah primarily to discuss GOK
response to recent reports of suicide attacks carried out by
Kuwaiti citizens in Iraq. The Minister was accompanied by
U/S Khalid al-Jarallah, Coordination and Follow-up Director
Khalid al-Muqamis, Americas Bureau Director Ali al-Sammak,
Office Director and notetaker.

Mosul Suicide Attack(s) and CT Cooperation
--------------

3. (C) The Ambassador stressed the urgent need for GOK
follow-up in the aftermath of reported suicide attacks in
Mosul carried out by Kuwaitis - one of them a previous GTMO
detainee - as well as an outrageous May 7 al-Qabas interview
in which 1267 designee Mubarak al-Bathali glorified
terrorism. She emphasized that Kuwaiti suicide bombers in
Iraq were a "clear and present danger" both to Iraq and to
Kuwait itself, and that Washington is deeply concerned at the
current state of U.S.-Kuwaiti bilateral CT cooperation across
the board: "We need you to manage the threat to our troops,
and to your own interests."


4. (C) Dr. Mohammad replied that the GOK took the reported
attacks in Iraq very seriously. While confirmation via
forensic evidence was needed to confirm the reported attacks
by al-Dosari, al-Harbi and former GTMO detainee Al-Ajmi, the
Council of Ministers met in extraordinary session the
previous day to discuss what went wrong. The ministers
focused on the obvious question - "How could these people
slip our monitoring and carry out this terrible crime" - and
begin laying out corrective steps. As a start, all current
internal security measures are to be revisited. He stressed
the need for continuing U.S.-Kuwaiti CT cooperation: "We are
in this together."


5. (C) The FM briefly reviewed Ajmi,s case: His passport had
been confiscated long ago, but he sued the government
successfully and got it back. Dr. Mohammad complained that
some judges "don,t give a damn" on such issues, and "we need
to get them on our side." He predicted that the Ajmi case
would be a major spur in the right direction.


6. (C) The Minister remarked approvingly that the reaction
within Kuwait had been loud, clear and virtually unanimous:
Kuwait,s media and political classes are criticizing the GOK
for the laxity that allowed Ajmi and the others to carry out
their attacks. He stressed that, unlike reactions seen
elsewhere in the region, Ajmi and the others were not being
treated like heroes in Kuwait. Both in the media and in the
meeting tents of the 300 parliamentary candidates, they are
being harshly denounced as criminals and murderers.


7. (C) Even Ajmi,s father has spoken out in the media to
denounce those who corrupted his son. continued the Minister.
He also welcomed the reaction from Iraqi officials,
including PM al-Maliki and Muwaffaq al-Rubai, stressing that
the three reported Kuwaiti attackers were criminals, and
their actions would not affect Iraq-Kuwait relations. On the
possibility of a GOK "blood money" payment to the families of
the Mosul attack victims, he expressed the "personal" view
that this would be inappropriate because the attackers were
not acting in any sense on behalf of the Kuwaiti state.

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8. (C) Dr. Mohammad informed the Ambassador that the
remaining seven former GTMO detainees in Kuwait had all come
in and turned in their own passports in the aftermath of the
reported Mosul attacks. All continued attending weekly
meetings, accompanied by their families, with GOK security
personnel every Saturday.


9. (C) The Kuwaiti FM reiterated his familiar view that the
Guantanamo Bay detention center is a powerful recruitment
tool for the terrorists and should be closed as soon as
possible. He expressed alarm at the "radioactive" and
unceasing rhetoric of Sami al-Hajj following his release from
GTMO as a further recruiting impetus for terrorism. He
concurred with the Ambassador,s reminder that al-Hajj,s
allegations of torture and desecration of Korans were not
credible to an objective observer, but stressed that many
Muslims would take them at face value. Because of GTMO, "you
are losing the strategic war," he concluded. Noting that he
was speaking "off the record," Dr. Mohammad expressed his
view that the USG would do better to close GTMO and risk
facing the detainees again on a battlefield: "Better to kill
them there than make heroes and martyrs of them in custody."


10. (C) On the al-Qabas interview, the FM declared that
Bathali is "a certified lunatic" and probably lying outright.
Nevertheless, he will be held accountable for any terrorist
entanglements and has been arrested by authorities because of
the interview and is currently being interrogated. The
Ambassador noted that the May 12 visit of S/CT Coordinator
Dailey would afford an excellent opportunity to review
U.S.-Kuwait CT cooperation.

Iraq
--------------


11. (C) Amb Jones expressed thanks on behalf of the USG for
Kuwait,s hosting of the April 21-22 Iraq Neighbors
Conference, as well as the important bilateral follow-on
discussions on May 4 (reported septel). She underscored the
importance of continued U.S.-Kuwaiti cooperation in support
of shared security goals in Iraq.


12. (C) Dr. Mohammad remarked that the Neighbors Conference
had gone well, but the GOK remained "confused" about Qatar,s
non-participation. While the GOQ had accepted the invitation
well in advance, he said, the Qataris "apparently discovered
just eight hours before the conference that Qatar does not
actually border Iraq," as they had proffered only this
geographic rationale for not showing up.

Lebanon
--------------


13. (C) The FM noted that Qatar did take part in the
Lebanon-related meeting on the margins of the Iraq
conference, and - more importantly - France invited Syrian FM
Walid Muallem "at our request." He lamented lack of results,
however, remarking that "Syria again did not miss an
opportunity to miss an opportunity."


14. (C) Remarking that the current situation on the ground in
Lebanon is worse than the 70s, the FM declared that Kuwait is
"seriously concerned" and is likely to advise Kuwaiti
citizens to leave. He confirmed that PM Siniora and Saad
Hariri had both recently visited Kuwait, and worried aloud
that Hizbollah would now seize any excuse to assassinate
Siniora.

May 5 Traffic Incident With U.S. Military Personnel
-------------- --------------


15. (C) The Ambassador apologized for a May 5 traffic
incident in downtown Kuwait involving Kuwaiti motorists and a
bus carrying U.S. military personnel (reftel). She
emphasized that the American soldiers would be held
accountable and face prosecution for any offenses confirmed
by the ongoing investigation. She added that U.S.
authorities would act to ensure no repetition of such an
incident. The FM accepted the apology, noting that "we
understand these things can happen, but it must not happen
again." He stated that the GOK was "trying hard" to keep the
incident from being seized upon by candidates in the ongoing
parliamentary election campaign. Without providing details,

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he said that Kuwaiti military leaders would be requesting
"certain assurances and measures" to prevent such incidents
in future.

AHLC; Afghanistan
--------------


16. (C) The Ambassador also thanked the Minister for
Kuwait,s $80m pledge at the recent London AHLC meeting, and
informed him of pending USG outreach seeking further Kuwaiti
assistance for Afghanistan.


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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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Jones