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Kuwait Defence and Security Report Q3 2008Published by: Business Monitor International Published: Aug. 11, 2008 - 42 Pages Table of Contents
AbstractNormally, good bilateral relations between Kuwait and the United States experienced something of a setback in June, after the US Treasury Department decided to freeze the US-based assets of the Kuwaitigovernment approved charity, the Revival of Islamic Heritage Society (RIHS). Washington officials said that RIHS was supporting the al-Qaeda and channelling funds to other terrorist groups under the guise of humanitarian assistance programmes. They noted that similar action had been taken against RIHS offices in Afghanistan and Pakistan in 2002 ‘based on evidence of their support for al-Qaeda’. Under the terms of their decision, US banks were required to freeze all RIHS assets, and US citizens were banned from donating to the charity or doing business with it. RIHS denied the charges, stressing that it operated as a charity and that the Kuwait authorities monitored its finances. Kuwait’s parliamentary speaker, Jassem al Kharafi, warned that the decision could harden bilateral relations. A cabinet meeting led by Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Mohammad al-Ahmad al-Sabah strongly condemned the US decision. The official Kuwait News Agency said that the US action followed ‘false accusations that are not based on evidence’. The charity, it said, played a prominent role in fighting ‘terrorist ideology and barring its destructive activities’. The RIHS is run by the political arm of the conservative Islamic Salafi Alliance, which won four seats in the 50-strong Kuwaiti parliament in the May elections. RIHS offices, have in the past, been closed or raided on suspicion of terrorist ties in Albania, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bosnia, Cambodia, and Russia.Although Kuwait enjoys a generally high inter-state security rating, with the US and Iran continuing to square off in a confrontation over the latter’s nuclear programme, these remain nervous times in the region. Iran has implied that any attack on its territory will be met with a missile-led counter-attack on US forces in the Gulf, including those stationed in Kuwait. This worry lies behind Kuwait’s current focus on a US$9bn upgrade and extension of its Patriot missile defence system. Some analysts have gone as far as suggesting that the installation of the Patriot system is a major factor in US planning around any ‘window’ for some kind of military action against Tehran, during the course of 2008. Setting the Iran wild card on one side, an ongoing issue for Kuwait is how it responds to both domestic and international pressures, to undertake political reforms with the aim of increasing democracy in the state. The deadlock between the government and the parliament, while reflecting the country’s relative political openness, is also getting in the way of economic reforms and development - the danger is that it may end up being a real source of domestic instability and therefore generate insecurity. Kuwait has a small number of indirect security threats, but benefits from the external security endowed upon it by the US. In the past, its geo-strategic location made it precarious to threats, from an Iraqi invasion in 1991 and the possibility of an Iraqi missile strike on Kuwait prior to the US-led coalition invasion of Iraq in 2003. Kuwait faces a limited internal threat from al-Qaeda-linked militants operating on Kuwaiti soil. As with many of the region’s ruling regimes, there is a degree of protest from within disaffected sections of the population. The emirate will remain concerned with the ongoing instabilities in post-war Iraq and the possibility of Kuwaiti jihadis returning from Iraq. Kuwait lacks an established indigenous defence industry of significance, and its armed forces are almost entirely reliant upon procurements from foreign sources for equipment and training. The Kuwaiti economy is currently able to support a high level of military expenditure as high oil prices raised the oil revenue in recent years, leading to record excess budget surpluses. The continuation of the upgrading of Kuwaiti military hardware and equipment is unlikely to decrease in the near future, given the ongoing US involvement in the region and the current strength of the Kuwaiti economy. On this basis, high military expenditure is therefore likely to continue into the foreseeable future. US foreign military assistance will continue to dominate Kuwait’s imports trade with the vast majority of its arms procurements being supplied by US-based companies. Kuwait does, however, increasingly obtain arms from a wider source of suppliers, including European and Asian states. The emirate does not have an extensive arms export industry. Get Full Details About This Report >> |
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