Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08KUWAIT621
2008-05-29 14:42:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Kuwait
Cable title:
NEW GOK CABINET: GAINS FOR TRIBAL SALAFIS, SHI'A
how-toVZCZCXRO6094 PP RUEHDE RUEHDIR DE RUEHKU #0621/01 1501442 ZNY CCCCC ZZH P 291442Z MAY 08 FM AMEMBASSY KUWAIT TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1575 INFO RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY RUEHGB/AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD PRIORITY 1236 RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 KUWAIT 000621
SIPDIS
NEA/ARP, NEA/I
E.O. 12958: DECL: 2018
TAGS: PGOV PINR PREL KWMN KU
SUBJECT: NEW GOK CABINET: GAINS FOR TRIBAL SALAFIS, SHI'A
ISLAMIST, WOMEN, LOW EXPECTATIONS FOR PROGRESS
REF: A. KUWAIT 577 B. KUWAIT 565 C. KUWAIT 411 D. KUWAIT 410 E. KUWAIT 320 F. KUWAIT 313 G. KUWAIT 307 H. 07 KUWAIT 430
Classified By: Ambassador Deborah K. Jones for reasons 1.4 b and d
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 KUWAIT 000621
SIPDIS
NEA/ARP, NEA/I
E.O. 12958: DECL: 2018
TAGS: PGOV PINR PREL KWMN KU
SUBJECT: NEW GOK CABINET: GAINS FOR TRIBAL SALAFIS, SHI'A
ISLAMIST, WOMEN, LOW EXPECTATIONS FOR PROGRESS
REF: A. KUWAIT 577 B. KUWAIT 565 C. KUWAIT 411 D. KUWAIT 410 E. KUWAIT 320 F. KUWAIT 313 G. KUWAIT 307 H. 07 KUWAIT 430
Classified By: Ambassador Deborah K. Jones for reasons 1.4 b and d
1. (C) Summary and Comment: Prime Minister Shaykh Nasser
Al-Mohammed Al Sabah announced May 28 the formation of a new
Cabinet that included seven new ministers, five royal family
members, one MP, two women, two Shi,a, one Islamic
Constitutional Movement representative (ICM-Kuwaiti Muslim
Brotherhood) and four tribally-linked Salafis. The new
cabinet reflects the strong showing by tribal Islamists in
the recent Parliamentary elections, and a clear effort to
balance and co-opt all major "trends" in Kuwait's domestic
politics. Few believe it will do much to ease the
acrimonious Parliament-Government relationship. The PM
appointed Islamist ministers to represent the four largest
tribes, as well as a liberal female minister (and participant
in the January 11 POTUS women's roundtable) and re-appointed
another female minister and key ruling family members. He
also appointed a hardline Shi'a minister whom Kuwaitis view
as close to Hizbollah. Reactions to the Cabinet line-up are
generally negative, with MPs describing it as
"disappointing," "depressing" and one calling for an MP
walkout during the June 1 inaugural session of the National
Assembly. Despite the bleak outlook for short-term
cooperation between the two bodies, the reshuffle is unlikely
to affect significantly any key U.S.-Kuwait bilateral issues.
End summary and comment.
New GOK Cabinet: Bleak Outlook
--------------
2. (C) Prime Minister Shaykh Nasser Al-Mohammed Al-Ahmed Al
Sabah announced May 28 the formation of a new Cabinet that
included seven new ministers, five ruling family members, one
MP, two women, two Shi,a, one Islamic Constitutional
Movement (ICM-Kuwaiti Muslim Brotherhood) and four
tribally-linked Salafis. The new Cabinet members will be
sworn in as ex-officio parliamentarians in the June 1
inaugural, or First Ordinary Session of the 12th Legislative
Term of the National Assembly. This is the 25th Cabinet
formed since 1962 and the 4th formed by PM Shaykh Nasser.
3. (C) The PM's challenge was to appoint a Cabinet that
could move past the poisonous GOK-Parliament relationship of
the recent years that has stalemated critical decisions,
particularly on economic development. Few observers here
think he succeeded. Reports that several qualified
candidates turned down cabinet positions, unwilling to submit
themselves to routine scathing attacks by MPs, reflect widely
shared pessimism. In fact, the new cabinet came under fire
from Parliamentarians within minutes of its announcement, and
most Kuwaitis seem confident that Government-Parliament
acrimony will continue as usual.
Concessions to Tribal Salafis, but no Capitulation
-------------- --------------
4. (C) The Prime Minister's appointments came after the May
17 National Assembly elections in which Islamists,
particularly tribally linked Salafis and Shi'a hardliners,
made gains, while liberals and even the well-organized but
relatively moderate Muslim Brotherhood-linked Islamic
Constitutional Movement (ICM) lost ground. Since the
elections, Islamists and tribal representatives have pressed
the PM to appoint a cabinet that reflects their greater
strength. The PM did include four Salafi ministers, who also
represent key Kuwaiti tribes. However, he angered Islamists
with his appointment of female Minister Moudhi Al-Homoud, a
vocal proponent of women's rights and a social liberal, and
his retention of female Education Minister Nouriyah Al-Sabih,
a lightning rod for Salafi critics (who see the Education
Ministry as an Islamist birthright) in the previous
government. Key ruling family members were retained in the
most sensitive ministries.
Tribes Playing a Higher Profile Role
-------------- ---
5. (C) Persistent Kuwaiti loyalties to tribes rather than
more abstract notions of national unity have been especially
irksome to the GOK and many liberal Kuwaitis in the run-up to
the National Assembly elections. Many tribes conducted their
own illegal primaries to choose representatives; and in the
Cabinet selection process, tribal representatives pressed the
Amir and PM to stack the Cabinet in their favor. In response
to the parliamentary election results that showed gains for
tribally linked Salafis, the PM appointed ministers who hail
from the four most prominent Kuwaiti tribes: Al-Mutairi,
Al-Ajmi, Al-Azmi and Al-Rashidi. This represents both a
recognition of the strong tribal showings in the
parliamentary elections, and a strategy to counter the
contentious relationship between government and parliament.
Most observers here predict it will not be enough.
Reactions Generally Negative
--------------
6. (C) Published reactions to the new Cabinet were generally
negative. An Alam Alyawm editorial stated that "Many hoped
that the government would be a national salvation government
but unfortunately it is a national frustration government."
Other columnists quipped that, despite new faces in the
Cabinet, the lack of political homogeneity and harmony
ensures a continuation of the same confrontations and
conflicts as seen in the past between the two authorities.
Other remarks highlighted the inauspicious beginnings of the
12th legislative term of the National Assembly:
--MP Walid Tabtabaei was among several Islamist voices
criticizing the re-appointment of PM Shaykh Nasser. He
called for a PM capable of leading the country and combating
corruption. He described the composition of the Cabinet as
"disappointing," while others described it as "depressing."
-Shi,a MP Ahmad Lari (National Islamic Alliance-NIA,
hard-line Shia) called for a government that reflected the
composition of the parliament, echoing a similar call by
Sunni MP Musallam Al-Barrack (independent conservative).
Islamist MP Mohammed Hayef Al-Mutairi publicly objected to
the appointment of any minister affiliated with "Hizbollah"
(referring to Shia hardliners like Safar),and called for an
MP boycott of the June 1 inaugural session.
--Pro-Government MP Fahad Al-Mai has already threatened a
grilling of the Interior Minister for his clampdown on the
"illegal tribal primaries."
--Prominent Shi'a Islamist MP Hassan Jowhar joined a chorus
of tribal Salafis in denouncing reinstatement of Education
Minister Nouriyah Al-Sabih--Jowhar, on grounds that she
failed to address what he described as violations and
shortcomings in the ministry, and the Salafis based on her
refusal to embrace an "Islamic" dress code for women.
Awkward Cabinet Meetings?
--------------
7. (C) In an ironic twist, Shi'a hardliner and member of the
National Islamic Alliance (NIA-Kuwaiti Hizbollah) and new
Public Works Minister Fadhel Safar was detained in February,
by order of the Interior Minister (his new colleague),for
participation in the February 16 eulogy commemorating slain
terrorist Imad Mughniyah. A text message circulating among
Kuwaitis today summed up the ironies: "One of the funny
things about our new cabinet is that the Minister of Interior
imprisoned the Minister of Public Works; the Minister of
Justice, when he was a judge, indicted the Minister of
Health; and the Minister of State for Development failed the
Minister of Social Affairs and Labor when he was a student."
Economic Reforms Unlikely
--------------
8. (C) While most of the key economic portfolios - Commerce
and Industry, Oil, Social Affairs and Labor (important for
combatting terror finance),Health, Housing, Communications,
and Public Works - have changed, we do not foresee major
changes in economic policy resulting from the new line-up.
Unfortunately, given that the new cabinet does not in our
view herald better relations between the executive and
legislative branches, it is unlikely that the new roster will
breathe new life into prospects for economic reform in
Kuwait. The largely low-key Finance Minister, Mustafa
al-Shemali, a rare technocrat minister, is the one
significant holdover from the previous cabinet, which he
joined in October 2007. Nevertheless, there are some
interesting things to watch:
9. (C) New Minister of Commerce and Industry Ahmed Baqer,
formerly Chairman of the Financial and Economic Affairs
Committee in Parliament, though religiously conservative, is
viewed by many as a reformist. Baqer was instrumental in
getting a spate of economic reform legislation passed in
December 2007. He has expressed publicly his support for
reforms in major economic and commercial sectors. He has
vowed to do away with the sole agent and distributor
requirement for foreign companies and to crack down on
monopolies. He has also talked about opening the Kuwaiti
market to more imports, and plans to further subsidize basic
food items. Despite Baqer's call for reforms, they may be
slow in coming given the make-up of the new parliament.
10. (C) Oil and Electricity Minister Mohammed Al-Olaim,
despite being an Islamist and formerly a politically
agressive MP, has performed more like a technocrat as
Electricity Minister since March 2007, and Acting Oil
Minister since June 2007. He has an engineering background
and previously worked for Kuwait Oil Company. He is well
respected by the oil sector managers at Kuwait Petroleum
Corporation, largely because he has been exceptionally
hands-off, allowing KPC's managment team to run the business
without the usual unwelcome political interference. KPC has
been able to launch a number of important and long-overdue
projects and carry out significant corporate restructuring
under Al-Olaim. He is supportive of plans to expand KPC's
cooperation with international oil companies (IOCs),but the
Parliament is likely to thwart any such plans. As
Electricity Minister, he continues to fight a difficult
battle to make new investments to expand Kuwait's
insufficient power generating capacity, but a sclerotic and
politicized public contracting system has largely tied his
hands.
Composition of the New Cabinet
--------------
11. (C) No Change to Portfolios:
-- Shaykh Nasser Mohammed Al-Ahmed Al Sabah, Prime Minister,
Ruling family
-- Shaykh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al Sabah, First Deputy
Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, Ruling family
-- Shaykh Dr. Mohammed Sabah Al-Salem Al Sabah, Deputy Prime
Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ruling family
-- Jaber Al-Khaled Al-Jaber Al Sabah, Minister of Interior,
Ruling family
-- Sabah Al-Khaled Al Sabah, Minister of Information, Ruling
family
-- Faisal Mohammed Al-Hajji Bou Khaddour, Deputy Prime
Minister and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs (Liberal,
Independent)
-- Mustafa Jassim Al-Shemali, Minister of Finance (Liberal,
Independent Shi,a)
-- Mohammed Abdullah Al-Olaim, Minister of Oil and Minister
of Electricity and Water (ICM, Al-Mutairi tribe)
-- Nouriyah Al-Sabih, Minister of Education and Minister of
Higher Education (Technocrat, Independent, Liberal)
New Ministers/Portfolios:
-- Ali Mohammed Al-Barrak, Minister of Health (Al-Ajmi tribe)
-- Moudhi Al-Homoud, Minister of Housing and Minister of
Administrative Development (liberal, member of National
Democratic Alliance, participant in January 11 POTUS women,s
roundtable)
-- Bader Al-Duwaila, Minister of Social Affairs and Labor
(Al-Rashidi tribe, Independent Islamist)
-- Hussein Al-Huraiti, Minister of Justice and Minister of
Awqaf and Islamic Affairs (Al-Azmi tribe, Independent
Islamist, MP)
-- Ahmed Abdullah Al Baqer, Minister of Commerce and Industry
and Minister of State for National Assembly Affairs (Member
of Salafi Islamic Grouping political association)
-- Abdulrahman Al-Ghunaim, Minister of Communications
(Independent, Pro-government)
-- Fadhil Safar Ali Safar, Minister of Public Works and
Minister of State for Municipal Affairs (Shi,a, National
Islamic Alliance-NIA-Kuwaiti Hizbollah member)
********************************************* *
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
SIPDIS
NEA/ARP, NEA/I
E.O. 12958: DECL: 2018
TAGS: PGOV PINR PREL KWMN KU
SUBJECT: NEW GOK CABINET: GAINS FOR TRIBAL SALAFIS, SHI'A
ISLAMIST, WOMEN, LOW EXPECTATIONS FOR PROGRESS
REF: A. KUWAIT 577 B. KUWAIT 565 C. KUWAIT 411 D. KUWAIT 410 E. KUWAIT 320 F. KUWAIT 313 G. KUWAIT 307 H. 07 KUWAIT 430
Classified By: Ambassador Deborah K. Jones for reasons 1.4 b and d
1. (C) Summary and Comment: Prime Minister Shaykh Nasser
Al-Mohammed Al Sabah announced May 28 the formation of a new
Cabinet that included seven new ministers, five royal family
members, one MP, two women, two Shi,a, one Islamic
Constitutional Movement representative (ICM-Kuwaiti Muslim
Brotherhood) and four tribally-linked Salafis. The new
cabinet reflects the strong showing by tribal Islamists in
the recent Parliamentary elections, and a clear effort to
balance and co-opt all major "trends" in Kuwait's domestic
politics. Few believe it will do much to ease the
acrimonious Parliament-Government relationship. The PM
appointed Islamist ministers to represent the four largest
tribes, as well as a liberal female minister (and participant
in the January 11 POTUS women's roundtable) and re-appointed
another female minister and key ruling family members. He
also appointed a hardline Shi'a minister whom Kuwaitis view
as close to Hizbollah. Reactions to the Cabinet line-up are
generally negative, with MPs describing it as
"disappointing," "depressing" and one calling for an MP
walkout during the June 1 inaugural session of the National
Assembly. Despite the bleak outlook for short-term
cooperation between the two bodies, the reshuffle is unlikely
to affect significantly any key U.S.-Kuwait bilateral issues.
End summary and comment.
New GOK Cabinet: Bleak Outlook
--------------
2. (C) Prime Minister Shaykh Nasser Al-Mohammed Al-Ahmed Al
Sabah announced May 28 the formation of a new Cabinet that
included seven new ministers, five ruling family members, one
MP, two women, two Shi,a, one Islamic Constitutional
Movement (ICM-Kuwaiti Muslim Brotherhood) and four
tribally-linked Salafis. The new Cabinet members will be
sworn in as ex-officio parliamentarians in the June 1
inaugural, or First Ordinary Session of the 12th Legislative
Term of the National Assembly. This is the 25th Cabinet
formed since 1962 and the 4th formed by PM Shaykh Nasser.
3. (C) The PM's challenge was to appoint a Cabinet that
could move past the poisonous GOK-Parliament relationship of
the recent years that has stalemated critical decisions,
particularly on economic development. Few observers here
think he succeeded. Reports that several qualified
candidates turned down cabinet positions, unwilling to submit
themselves to routine scathing attacks by MPs, reflect widely
shared pessimism. In fact, the new cabinet came under fire
from Parliamentarians within minutes of its announcement, and
most Kuwaitis seem confident that Government-Parliament
acrimony will continue as usual.
Concessions to Tribal Salafis, but no Capitulation
-------------- --------------
4. (C) The Prime Minister's appointments came after the May
17 National Assembly elections in which Islamists,
particularly tribally linked Salafis and Shi'a hardliners,
made gains, while liberals and even the well-organized but
relatively moderate Muslim Brotherhood-linked Islamic
Constitutional Movement (ICM) lost ground. Since the
elections, Islamists and tribal representatives have pressed
the PM to appoint a cabinet that reflects their greater
strength. The PM did include four Salafi ministers, who also
represent key Kuwaiti tribes. However, he angered Islamists
with his appointment of female Minister Moudhi Al-Homoud, a
vocal proponent of women's rights and a social liberal, and
his retention of female Education Minister Nouriyah Al-Sabih,
a lightning rod for Salafi critics (who see the Education
Ministry as an Islamist birthright) in the previous
government. Key ruling family members were retained in the
most sensitive ministries.
Tribes Playing a Higher Profile Role
-------------- ---
5. (C) Persistent Kuwaiti loyalties to tribes rather than
more abstract notions of national unity have been especially
irksome to the GOK and many liberal Kuwaitis in the run-up to
the National Assembly elections. Many tribes conducted their
own illegal primaries to choose representatives; and in the
Cabinet selection process, tribal representatives pressed the
Amir and PM to stack the Cabinet in their favor. In response
to the parliamentary election results that showed gains for
tribally linked Salafis, the PM appointed ministers who hail
from the four most prominent Kuwaiti tribes: Al-Mutairi,
Al-Ajmi, Al-Azmi and Al-Rashidi. This represents both a
recognition of the strong tribal showings in the
parliamentary elections, and a strategy to counter the
contentious relationship between government and parliament.
Most observers here predict it will not be enough.
Reactions Generally Negative
--------------
6. (C) Published reactions to the new Cabinet were generally
negative. An Alam Alyawm editorial stated that "Many hoped
that the government would be a national salvation government
but unfortunately it is a national frustration government."
Other columnists quipped that, despite new faces in the
Cabinet, the lack of political homogeneity and harmony
ensures a continuation of the same confrontations and
conflicts as seen in the past between the two authorities.
Other remarks highlighted the inauspicious beginnings of the
12th legislative term of the National Assembly:
--MP Walid Tabtabaei was among several Islamist voices
criticizing the re-appointment of PM Shaykh Nasser. He
called for a PM capable of leading the country and combating
corruption. He described the composition of the Cabinet as
"disappointing," while others described it as "depressing."
-Shi,a MP Ahmad Lari (National Islamic Alliance-NIA,
hard-line Shia) called for a government that reflected the
composition of the parliament, echoing a similar call by
Sunni MP Musallam Al-Barrack (independent conservative).
Islamist MP Mohammed Hayef Al-Mutairi publicly objected to
the appointment of any minister affiliated with "Hizbollah"
(referring to Shia hardliners like Safar),and called for an
MP boycott of the June 1 inaugural session.
--Pro-Government MP Fahad Al-Mai has already threatened a
grilling of the Interior Minister for his clampdown on the
"illegal tribal primaries."
--Prominent Shi'a Islamist MP Hassan Jowhar joined a chorus
of tribal Salafis in denouncing reinstatement of Education
Minister Nouriyah Al-Sabih--Jowhar, on grounds that she
failed to address what he described as violations and
shortcomings in the ministry, and the Salafis based on her
refusal to embrace an "Islamic" dress code for women.
Awkward Cabinet Meetings?
--------------
7. (C) In an ironic twist, Shi'a hardliner and member of the
National Islamic Alliance (NIA-Kuwaiti Hizbollah) and new
Public Works Minister Fadhel Safar was detained in February,
by order of the Interior Minister (his new colleague),for
participation in the February 16 eulogy commemorating slain
terrorist Imad Mughniyah. A text message circulating among
Kuwaitis today summed up the ironies: "One of the funny
things about our new cabinet is that the Minister of Interior
imprisoned the Minister of Public Works; the Minister of
Justice, when he was a judge, indicted the Minister of
Health; and the Minister of State for Development failed the
Minister of Social Affairs and Labor when he was a student."
Economic Reforms Unlikely
--------------
8. (C) While most of the key economic portfolios - Commerce
and Industry, Oil, Social Affairs and Labor (important for
combatting terror finance),Health, Housing, Communications,
and Public Works - have changed, we do not foresee major
changes in economic policy resulting from the new line-up.
Unfortunately, given that the new cabinet does not in our
view herald better relations between the executive and
legislative branches, it is unlikely that the new roster will
breathe new life into prospects for economic reform in
Kuwait. The largely low-key Finance Minister, Mustafa
al-Shemali, a rare technocrat minister, is the one
significant holdover from the previous cabinet, which he
joined in October 2007. Nevertheless, there are some
interesting things to watch:
9. (C) New Minister of Commerce and Industry Ahmed Baqer,
formerly Chairman of the Financial and Economic Affairs
Committee in Parliament, though religiously conservative, is
viewed by many as a reformist. Baqer was instrumental in
getting a spate of economic reform legislation passed in
December 2007. He has expressed publicly his support for
reforms in major economic and commercial sectors. He has
vowed to do away with the sole agent and distributor
requirement for foreign companies and to crack down on
monopolies. He has also talked about opening the Kuwaiti
market to more imports, and plans to further subsidize basic
food items. Despite Baqer's call for reforms, they may be
slow in coming given the make-up of the new parliament.
10. (C) Oil and Electricity Minister Mohammed Al-Olaim,
despite being an Islamist and formerly a politically
agressive MP, has performed more like a technocrat as
Electricity Minister since March 2007, and Acting Oil
Minister since June 2007. He has an engineering background
and previously worked for Kuwait Oil Company. He is well
respected by the oil sector managers at Kuwait Petroleum
Corporation, largely because he has been exceptionally
hands-off, allowing KPC's managment team to run the business
without the usual unwelcome political interference. KPC has
been able to launch a number of important and long-overdue
projects and carry out significant corporate restructuring
under Al-Olaim. He is supportive of plans to expand KPC's
cooperation with international oil companies (IOCs),but the
Parliament is likely to thwart any such plans. As
Electricity Minister, he continues to fight a difficult
battle to make new investments to expand Kuwait's
insufficient power generating capacity, but a sclerotic and
politicized public contracting system has largely tied his
hands.
Composition of the New Cabinet
--------------
11. (C) No Change to Portfolios:
-- Shaykh Nasser Mohammed Al-Ahmed Al Sabah, Prime Minister,
Ruling family
-- Shaykh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al Sabah, First Deputy
Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, Ruling family
-- Shaykh Dr. Mohammed Sabah Al-Salem Al Sabah, Deputy Prime
Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ruling family
-- Jaber Al-Khaled Al-Jaber Al Sabah, Minister of Interior,
Ruling family
-- Sabah Al-Khaled Al Sabah, Minister of Information, Ruling
family
-- Faisal Mohammed Al-Hajji Bou Khaddour, Deputy Prime
Minister and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs (Liberal,
Independent)
-- Mustafa Jassim Al-Shemali, Minister of Finance (Liberal,
Independent Shi,a)
-- Mohammed Abdullah Al-Olaim, Minister of Oil and Minister
of Electricity and Water (ICM, Al-Mutairi tribe)
-- Nouriyah Al-Sabih, Minister of Education and Minister of
Higher Education (Technocrat, Independent, Liberal)
New Ministers/Portfolios:
-- Ali Mohammed Al-Barrak, Minister of Health (Al-Ajmi tribe)
-- Moudhi Al-Homoud, Minister of Housing and Minister of
Administrative Development (liberal, member of National
Democratic Alliance, participant in January 11 POTUS women,s
roundtable)
-- Bader Al-Duwaila, Minister of Social Affairs and Labor
(Al-Rashidi tribe, Independent Islamist)
-- Hussein Al-Huraiti, Minister of Justice and Minister of
Awqaf and Islamic Affairs (Al-Azmi tribe, Independent
Islamist, MP)
-- Ahmed Abdullah Al Baqer, Minister of Commerce and Industry
and Minister of State for National Assembly Affairs (Member
of Salafi Islamic Grouping political association)
-- Abdulrahman Al-Ghunaim, Minister of Communications
(Independent, Pro-government)
-- Fadhil Safar Ali Safar, Minister of Public Works and
Minister of State for Municipal Affairs (Shi,a, National
Islamic Alliance-NIA-Kuwaiti Hizbollah member)
********************************************* *
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