Officials said the Gulf Cooperation Council sheikdom sent a naval
force to Bahrain in late March. They said the force could be expanded should
Bahrain request additional troops and military assets under the umbrella of
the GCC's Peninsula Shield.
"This is up to the Kuwaiti military command, Bahraini authorities and
the Peninsula Shield Command," Kuwaiti Defense Minister Jaber Al Mubarak Al
Hamad Al Sabah said. "If Bahrain asks us for more troops, we will be more
than willing to oblige them."
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The statement on March 22 came after nearly a week of denials by Kuwait
to reports that the sheikdom would contribute to the GCC force in Bahrain.
The denials came amid Shi'ite and Sunni demonstrations against and for the
deployment.
But on March 22 at least three Kuwait Navy patrol vessels arrived in
Bahrain. Officials said they were assigned to patrol Bahraini territorial
waters and help prevent smuggling from neighboring Iran.
"Sending these forces to Bahrain is a manifestation of our commitment to
that country and is a step with which we are pleased," Mubarak said.
Parliamentarians have pledged to question Cabinet ministers regarding
details of the Kuwaiti deployment in Bahrain. In response, the Sunni-led
regime has clamped a ban on media reports on the Kuwaiti presence in
Bahrain.
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