KUWAIT: "WE'VE DONE OUR PART; BALL IS NOW IN IRAQI COURT"

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 000837

SIPDIS

NEA/ARP, NEA/I

E.O. 12958: DECL: 2018
TAGS: PTER PGOV KCRS PBTS PINR KU
SUBJECT: KUWAIT: "WE'VE DONE OUR PART; BALL IS NOW IN
IRAQI COURT"

REF: A. KUWAIT 0283

B. KUWAIT 0808

Classified By: A/POLCHIEF Thomas M. ROSENBERGER for reasons 1.4 b and d

Summary
--------------


1. (C) Former NEA DAS and newly minted Senior Advisor on
Southern Iraq Affairs Gordon Gray met with GOK officials July
22 to discuss Iraq and how to facilitate progress on some of
the outstanding issues between Kuwait and Iraq. In direct
correlation to Kuwait's proximity to Iran, Kuwaiti paranoia
rises when rhetoric between the US and Iran escalates, but
USG attendance at the P5 1 talks in Geneva and the rumored
opening of a US Interests Section in Tehran have calmed the
waters for now. Iraqi PM Al-Maliki still enjoys Kuwaiti
approval for his March crackdown on Shi'a militias and
Kuwaitis, in their own way, are reaching out to Iraqis,
hosting visits to support the Sahwa (Awakenings) and
moderation efforts in Iraq. The GOK remains frustrated by
perceived GOI dysfunctionality and foot dragging, and told
Gray that Kuwait has done and is ready to do its part in
moving border projects of mutual benefit along, such as
establishing a more efficient customs facility, relocating
border encroaching Iraqi farms, and maintaining border
demarcation pillars. Gray was also informed that Kuwaiti
Ambassador-designate LTG Ali Al-Mou'min may take up his
posting in Baghdad in October, "sometime after Ramadan." End
summary.

July 22 Gordon Gray/GOK Meetings
--------------


2. (U) Former NEA DAS and new Senior Advisor on Southern
Iraq Affairs Gordon Gray met with GOK officials July 22 to
discuss Iraq and how to facilitate progress on some of the
outstanding issues between Kuwait and Iraq. GOK officials
warmly welcomed the visit and Gray's new assignment and
expressed hope that his shuttling between Baghdad and Kuwait
will elicit more cooperation and efficiency in the
Kuwait-Iraq relationship. GOK officials that he met
included: MFA's Americas Department Director, Ambassador Ali
Al-Sammak; Follow-up and Coordination Director, Ambassador
Khaled Al-Muqamis; Asia Director, Ambassador Mohammed
Al-Bader; and National Security Bureau (NSB) Deputy Director
Shaykh Thamer Ali Al Sabah.

Iran Militarily and Environmentally a Threat to Kuwait
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3. (C) Ambassador Al-Bader expressed encouragement and
relief at perceived recent progress in closing the rift
between the USG and the Iranian regime, noting in particular,
the inclusion of U/S Bill Burns at the P5 1 talks in Geneva,
and Iran's agreement in principle to the opening of a US
Interests Section in Tehran. However, pointing to the
precarious positioning of Kuwait geographically, Al-Bader,
while defending Iran's right to pursue peaceful nuclear
energy, voiced his concerns over Iran's nuclear ambition
mainly in terms of the environmental threat it poses,
stressing the close proximity of the Bushehr nuclear reactor
(120km from Kuwait City) and his distrust in the Russian
technology that built it.

NSB Promoting "Real Iraqis"
--------------


4. (C) Shaykh Thamer, usually prone to grandstanding and
ranting against the USG (ref A),updated Gray on NSB
activities to counter Iranian infiltration, which included
work with "real Iraqis," as opposed to "US cronies like
Chalabi and Allawi," saying that NSB has recently met with
Iraqi Sahwa (Awakening) Congress leader Shaykh Ahmad Abu
Risha and Dr. Ahmed Abdulghaffar Al-Samerai (who recently
visited Kuwait officials at the Moderation center--Kuwait's
project aimed at preventing terrorism by indoctrinating
fringe Imams on moderate versions of Islam). Thamer called
for more and continued support of the Sahwa and tribal
groups; these groups, in his opinion, are the best lines of
defense against terrorism and Iranian influence.

Sanctioning Iran via Iraq
--------------


5. (C) In terms of imposing existing and future sanctions
against Iran, Thamer asked rhetorically if goods that are

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traded between Iraq and Iran fall under the category of
sanctioned items, and if so, if it is possible to effectively
control the Shi'a and Kurdish controlled border regions.

Al-Maliki still Popular with Kuwaitis
--------------


6. (C) In an about face from his statements criticizing
Iraqi PM Al-Maliki at the March Gulf Security Dialogue (ref
A),Thamer lauded the PM, in particular for his crackdown on
Shi'a militias, and credited him with changing the mindset of
the Arab world, pledging that he now had the support of the
GOK.

Kuwait: Money is no object
--------------


7. (C) Ambassadors Al-Sammak and Al-Muqamis emphasized that
on several bilateral issues with Iraq, the GOK has generously
offered to fully fund mutually beneficial projects with Iraq,
and provided a litany of complaints against the GOI and its
lack of responsiveness to Kuwaiti overtures and proposals:

--Bilateral trade. The GOK complained that trade is stifled
by poor service on the Iraqi side of the border: hours of
operation, from 0600-1300, are not conducive to trade and how
trucks are forced to wait in long customs queues. Al-Sammak
said that the GOK offered to fund the rebuilding of a customs
building and checkpoint but was awaiting the project proposal
from the GOI.

--Encroaching farms. An especially sore point with the
Kuwaitis--given past Iraqi 'border violations'--is that of
Iraqi farmers with property encroaching onto Kuwaiti land.
The GOK offered to finance the relocation and building of
homes for these farmers, but echoing U/S Al-Jarallah (ref B),
Al-Sammak said that the GOK's submitted proposals to the GOI
went unanswered, and an Iraqi MFA POC was "nowhere to be
found."

--Maintenance of border demarcations. Al-Sammak confirmed
that Iraq paid the initial $500K to establish and install UN
border demarcation pillars, but has since let some of the
pillars lapse into disrepair. He added that money has been
disbursed to the UN to repair/maintain these markers, but
Iraqis have not acted on it and have failed to participate in
four separate meetings on the matter.

"Once we get the new ambassador, things will go smoother."
-------------- --------------


8. (C) After hearing the litany of complaints against the
GOI, Gray suggested that the presence of a Kuwaiti ambassador
in Baghdad would be an asset in navigating such bureaucratic
hurdles. On the heels of the July 19 official announcement
naming LTG (retired) Ali Al-Mou'min as the Kuwaiti
Ambassador-designate to Iraq, the GOK was more upbeat than
usual in discussing a diplomatic exchange; Al-Sammak
speculated that Al-Mou'min would depart for Iraq in October,
"sometime after Ramadan." (Note: Despite the official
announcement on July 19, it is widely known that Al-Mou'min
has been the Ambassador-designate since 2004. End note.).
Gray pushed to see if the typical conditions delaying his
actual assignment still applied, such as security, or more
recently, the requirement for Baghdad simultaneously to send
an ambassador to Kuwait, to which Al-Sammak responded that
such preconditions were no longer necessary.


9. (U) Embassy Baghdad Senior Advisor Gordon Gray has
cleared this cable.

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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