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Bad blood: Kuwait also fears post-Saddam Iraq

SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM
Thursday, October 24, 2002

WASHINGTON Ñ Kuwait will seek a U.S. defense umbrella against Iraq even after the destruction of the regime of President Saddam Hussein, a report says.

The report by the Strategic Studies Institute said Kuwait will continue to fear Iraq even after Saddam is driven from power. Entitled "U.S. Military Presence in the Gulf: Challenges and Prospects," the report said Kuwait believes that Baghdad, regardless of who is in power, will not end its claim that the sheikdom is part of Iraq.

[On Tuesday, Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah said his country would not be involved in any military operation against Iraq. The foreign minister said the military would focus in defending the sheikdom, Middle East Newsline reported.]

"The U.S. position in Kuwait stands on firm bases and is not likely to change drastically, not even in a post-Saddam Iraq," the report, written by Sami Hajjar, a professor at the U.S. War College, said. "This is because as many Kuwaitis suspect, the Iraqi claim of Kuwait is national rather than regime-specific. Future Iraqi generations are also likely to blame Kuwait for the negative impact of the sanctions. It is a case where national [Iraqi, Kuwaiti] blood is thicker than Arab blood, so that Iraqis will hold a grudge against Kuwait for years to come."

Kuwait has approved a larger U.S. military presence in the sheikdom and so far about 10,000 U.S. troops are in the country. The sheikdom has decided to upgrade facilities used by U.S. Central Command, including Camp Doha and the air bases at Al Jaber and Ali Salem. The project is expected to cost about $200 million.

The report said that among the six Gulf Cooperation Council states Kuwait is the most supportive of a U.S. military presence. Kuwait is not expected to request new terms in the defense pact with the United States and plans to spend huge amounts of money on U.S. military equipment. In addition, Kuwait pays most of the expenses relating to the U.S. military deployment.

"At the same time, however, and despite the strong support for U.S. presence, the perception among the average citizen is that by paying for all the expenses associated with U.S. military presence, Kuwait is being taken advantage of," the report said. "Such a perception has led the government to emphasize that the military bases housing U.S. military personnel and equipment [primarily Camp Doha at the outskirts of the capital] are Kuwaiti and not U.S. bases."

The report said the United States does not envision any coalition forming in the sheikdom that would lead to the expulsion of American troops. Even the Islamic opposition has accepted the need of a U.S. military presence, the report said.

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