AMBASSADOR'S MEETING WITH KUWAIT PM: IRAQ, CT,

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 000558 SIPDIS NEA/ARP, NEA/I E.O. 12958: DECL: 2018 TAGS: PGOV PTER PINS PINR KDEM KU SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S MEETING WITH KUWAIT PM: IRAQ, CT, LEBANON REF: A. KUWAIT 512 ¶B. KUWAIT 499 Classified By: Ambassador Deborah K. Jones for reasons 1.4 b and d Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) Ambassador used her introductory call on Kuwait Prime Minister Shaykh Nasser Mohammed Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al Sabah to thank him for the "indispensable support" that Kuwait provides to USG efforts in Iraq and the region, and to urge greater GOK support for the Al-Maliki government. The PM spoke positively of Al-Maliki's efforts in Basrah and his growth as a national leader, but said any exchange of Ambassadors should be simultaneous. Downplaying our CT concerns, the PM said he had read the write-ups of S/CT Dailey's meetings with Kuwait's security services and that "those far away did not understand how we deal with things here." On Lebanon, he said he had counseled Saad Al-Hariri to "think with his head, not his heart," since he had to live with his neighbors. End Summary. PM: "Al-Maliki has grown as a leader" -------------- ¶2. (C) In a May 13 introductory call with Kuwaiti PM Shaykh Nasser Mohammed Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al Sabah, Ambassador used appreciation for Kuwait's material and logistical support for US efforts in Iraq as a springboard for seeking greater GOK support for the Al-Maliki government, to include the appointing of an Ambassador. The Ambassador briefed the PM on recent S/I Satterfield (ref A) and S/CT Dailey (septel) meetings with the GOK on Iraq and counterterrorism (CT); the PM replied that he had read 'the write-ups.' The PM agreed that Al-Maliki had grown and learned, and praised Iraq's military conduct in Basrah ("as a result of training from the Americans"). He said he had advised Al-Maliki when the two met April 22 in Kuwait to "Use the tribes; don't do what Saddam did -- use them and then toss them out! Use them for what they can do for you!" Iraq was a tribal culture, he said, and the tribal leaders would be key for Al-Maliki's success. He then criticized what he called Americans' lack of "understanding of tribal systems in Iraq," alluding to how historical ties to the British facilitated UK-GOI bilateral cooperation. Diplomatic Exchange with Baghdad Must be Simultaneous -------------- -------------- ¶3. (C) The Ambassador pressed for a Kuwaiti ambassador in Baghdad, both to counter the influence of the Iranian ambassador there and to underscore Kuwait's status as a sovereign nation; this was how sovereign nations conducted business, the Ambassador noted; not via tribal connections. The PM took the point but insisted that the diplomatic exchange must take place simultaneously. He added that there are at least six Sunni Iraqis (four of whom are in Jordan) desperately lobbying for the job in Kuwait. Meanwhile, he added, Kuwait's embassy in Baghdad had been returned but it was outside the Green Zone, in Jabriya. They need to locate safe quarters within the Green Zone. Al-Ajmi Travels to Syria via Bahrain? -------------- ¶4. (C) Speaking of Iraq and security, the Ambassador raised our current focus on former GTMO detainee Abdallah Al-Ajmi and other foreign fighters who were being financed or facilitated in Kuwait. Ambassador noted that Senator Kerry had asked pointedly and publicly about a perception of growing Al-Qaeda influence in Kuwait during her confirmation hearing. The PM clearly did not wish to dwell on this topic, declaring only that everything is "very well controlled" in Kuwait and that those who lived at a distance did not understand 'how things worked' here. The PM asserted that Al-Ajmi had traveled to Syria "via Bahrain; we didn't even know where he was going," to which Ambassador gently suggested that PM's own security services had informed us of his travel to Damascus. Lebanon: Counseling Restraint -------------- ¶5. (C) The Ambassador mentioned the Secretary's May 12 KUWAIT 00000558 002 OF 002 conference call with Friends of Lebanon; the PM said he had been fully briefed by the FM. He added that Shaykh Saad Al-Hariri had called him the previous evening, clearly exercised about ongoing events. The PM said that he had counseled him to "act with your head, not your heart"; "I told him," said the PM, "that he had to live with his neighbors; he had to live in the neighborhood." (Note: Which we gathered to mean that Al-Hariri had been railing against the Syrians and the PM had counseled restraint. End note.) ********************************************* * 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