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Kuwait's American friend ... and
foe
By N Janardhan
DUBAI -
Six shooting incidents targeting Americans in Kuwait
since October highlight how the status of the United
States in the Gulf country is changing from "liberator"
and "friend" a decade ago to "oppressor" and "foe"
today.
With some 8,000 US citizens working in
the country and more than 16,000 US troops now training
in the deserts to launch a likely military campaign
against Iraq, the Kuwaiti government is doing everything
to prevent further attacks by suspected Islamists
unhappy with US foreign policy in the region.
Sami Mohammed Marzook Obaid al-Mutairi, 25,
confessed to last week's fatal shooting of a US
contractor working for the US military, according to
Kuwait's interior ministry. Mutairi also said that he
embraced the ideas of the al-Qaeda network.
"Yes
... I abide by Osama bin Laden's instructions," Kuwait's
Al Watan newspaper quoted Mutairi as saying during
interrogation. Following the latest attack, US
ambassador Richard Jones said that two different
militant cells of Afghan Kuwaitis operated in the
country. Reacting to that, Kuwaiti Information Minister
Sheikh Ahmed al-Fahd al-Sabah said, "We don't want to
prejudge things ... but we believe such incidents would
be within the capabilities of the Iraqi regime or
al-Qaeda ideology."
In October, two Kuwaiti
gunmen, who were later shot, killed a US marine and
wounded another during war games. The interior ministry
said one of the gunmen had sworn allegiance to bin
Laden.
In November, a Kuwaiti police officer
shot and seriously wounded two US soldiers after
stopping them on a highway south of the capital. The
suspect, Khalid Messier al-Shimmari, allegedly told
state security during interrogation that he "hated
Americans and wanted to kill them".
Kuwaiti
newspapers said that an unspecified number of Arabs who
returned from Afghanistan last year, or Kuwaitis known
to have "hostile stance against US forces", have been
interrogated to ascertain information that can help
avoid further attacks.
Notwithstanding the
suspects' admission of links to the al-Qaeda,
Abdulkhaliq Abdullah, professor of political science at
Emirates University, said the attacks are a
"post-al-Qaeda era" phenomenon. "There is no working
definition of that term yet, but attributing every
single anti-US attack in the world to al-Qaeda is
inappropriate," he said in an interview.
The
group led by bin Laden, according to him, has
disintegrated in the months since the September 2001
attacks. "Individuals and groups are independently
pursuing the al-Qaeda ideology, which essentially
propagates anti-Americanism, as in Kuwait," Abdullah
said.
"Much of the attacks are a result of US
troops and citizens being too visible for the comfort of
the Kuwaitis. The United States has failed to recognize
that 21st century is a completely different environment
from 1991," he said, referring to the 1990 Iraqi
invasion of Kuwait and the 1991 Gulf War led by US
forces that liberated the oil-rich country.
"Today there is no cause for American visibility
in Kuwait. But since 16,000 troops are camping in
Kuwaiti territory waiting to attack Iraq, which, in
their opinion, is without reason, it is generating angry
and violent reactions," Abdullah said.
Kuwait is
the only Gulf country that has openly agreed to allow
the US to use its territory to launch a possible attack
on Iraq. While a substantial number of US troops are
stationed in Qatar, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia as well,
they are yet to make clear their positions, even though
it is widely believed that barring Riyadh, the other two
governments will fall in line with Washington's demands.
According to Ali Jaber al-Sabah, an independent
Kuwaiti political analyst, the mood of the people has
shifted from being rooted in nationalism to one
supported by religion.
"Saddam Hussein was an
offender in 1990-91, hence the hatred for Iraq and love
for the United States. Today, Iraq is hardly an enemy.
It is a fellow Muslim and Arab neighbor facing the same
inconsistent US policies that has denied the
Palestinians their rights and freedom, hence the
reversal of sentiments," he said in an interview.
Ordinary Kuwaitis are also beginning to see
through the US intentions in liberating Kuwait. They now
believe that the 1991 Gulf War was not fought simply to
liberate Kuwait, but with a plan to establish a more
permanent strategic presence in the region to tap oil
wealth.
Likewise, they believe that this time,
too, Washington's focus on Baghdad has little to do with
weapons of mass destruction and disarmament.
Overthrowing Saddam is widely seen as a mere excuse to
install a US-friendly regime that will meet US oil
needs, especially when its ties with Saudi Arabia appear
strained like never before.
Ali Jaber defended
the gap between the government stand and public opinion.
"The survival and stability of the regime is the primary
concern of any government. The Kuwaiti rulers feel
threatened by Saddam because of his past actions,
whereas the people look at the whole problem from a
religious and humanitarian perspective," he said. "They
are incited by the possibility of thousands of innocent
civilians dying in Iraq, as was the case in
Afghanistan," he explained.
Meantime, Emirates
University professor Abdullah said the anti-US attacks
were not a healthy sign for the region. "It will cause
social divisions and may even lead to political
instability."
Abdullah also said that the
Kuwait-specific incidents appeared unorganized,
controllable and unlikely to be replicated in any other
Gulf country. But he foresaw Washington taking the cue
from Kuwait and attempting to scale down its presence in
the region once it has finished its "business" in Iraq.
(Inter Press Service)
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