KUWAIT MEDIA REACTION -- Update: U.S. Designation of

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SUBJECT: KUWAIT MEDIA REACTION -- Update: U.S. Designation of
Kuwait-based RIHS

REF: KUWAIT 0677

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SUMMARY
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Wednesday, June 18, 2008


1. (U) Summary and Comment. The June 13 U.S. designation of
Kuwait-based Revival of Islamic Heritage Society (RIHS) as a charity
that provides financial and material support to al-Qaeda and its
affiliates continues receive heavy coverage in the Kuwaiti press.
Although the vast majority of published articles denounce the U.S.
decision, a few favorable commentaries have appeared. End Summary
and Comment.


2. (U) Block Quotes:

-- Jasem Al-Fheid, a regular columnist in the conservative Arabic
Daily Al-Wasat editorialized (06/18) that classifying RIHS as
supporting terrorism is "nothing but new proof that the American
Administration sees all the Islamist movements with the same
extremist eye. It does not differentiate between those who carry
arms and those who build mosques and engage in charity projects.
That is why we were not surprised by the decision to list RIHS as an
organization that supports Al-Qaeda." Mr. Al-Fheid concluded:
"Therefore, the financial support given to Hamas, for instance is
also classified as funding terrorism. The U.S. standard is the
group's identity rather than their actions. [The Americans claim
that] what Israel is doing in Gaza is legitimate but say that the
actions taken by the Palestinians against Israel are illegitimate
and should be classified as terrorism!"

-- In the conservative Arabic language daily Al-Watan, regular
columnist Khaled Sultan Al-Sultan, thanked the Government of Kuwait
(GOK) and its leadership for their renewed confidence in tRIHS, and
pointed out that the United Nations Security Council "rejected" a
U.S. request to add RIHS to the list of terrorist organizations,
saying (06/18): "The U.S. accusations against RIHS are
unsubstantiated. How can an organization that is well-known for its
strong opposition to terrorism and its ideology be a supporter of
terrorism?"

-- Under the headline "The Great Empire of Kuwait," the regular
columnist in the liberal Arabic daily Al-Qabas, Hassan Al-Issa
wondered (06/18) why RIHS took so much umbrage at the U.S.
designation, especially since the designation targeted U.S.-based
assets. He also wondered why the GOK endorsed RIHS and acted as if
the frozen assets were their own. Al-Issa commented: "The U.S. has
only exercised its basic sovereignty by trying to control its
territory and currency. It has the right to make sure that its
funds are not spent on terrorist forces whose only concern is to
fight the great Satan! However, if you do have funds in the
American bank, why did you do this since this is against Sharia law?
If the answer is no, then why are you so angry? And what was the
reason for all these disparaging statements? Do you recall how many
time the U.S. Treasury Department warned RIHS about its money
transfers after Al-Rai ran a report saying that some of the RIHS
funds were given to organizations linked to terrorist forces in
Bangladesh and Afghanistan?" The columnist concluded that until
very recently, Kuwait praised the U.S. for its assistance during the
1991 invasion, yet today Kuwait is attacking the U.S. to please
Islamist MPs.

-- Equally notable was an article in Al-Watan, where Kuwait
University Political Science Professor and liberal columnist Dr.
Shamlan Yousef Al-Issa criticized the GOK and the Islamists for
their support of RIHS, as well as the alleged lack of transparency
in Kuwait's charity system. Dr. Al-Issa reminded his readers of
those Kuwaitis whose assets were recently frozen for their
involvement in terrorism financing (06/18): "At the time, the
Kuwait government opposed the U.S. decision and claimed that these
individuals were innocent. When one of them later publicly admitted
financing terrorist acts in Iraq, the GOK was unable to respond."
Dr. Al-Issa sarcastically concluded: "If our government is unable
to monitor our water and electricity consumption, how can it claim
that our charity system is under control?"

-- In the conservative Arabic language daily Alam Al-Yawm, Salafi
writer and Chief Editor of the RIHS publication "Al-Forkan," Dr.
Bassam Al-Shatti continued his ongoing critique of the U.S.
designation, but broadened his commentary to include broader attacks

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on U.S. policy. Al-Shatti attributes the designation to domestic
politics: "The failures of U.S. policy in Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan,
and also their inability to mobilize European support are some of
the reasons for the hatred against the U.S." He concluded: "Today,
while the American people are looking at the Democratic candidate as
their next President, the U.S. Administration is playing the
terrorism card again. Combating terrorism, the pursuit of Osama bin
Laden, and the demoralization of Islamic charity organizations were
the winning cards that kept the Bush Administration in power for the
past eight years. Now they are doing it again."

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For more reporting from Embassy Kuwait, visit:
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