Kuwait, the sheikhdom whose oil-fields were protected by the Allies is up for war despite the fact that the Royal family were the first to raise their skirts and flee during Evil Saddam's invasion.
January 28, 2003
Frontline reaction
Kuwaitis are impatient for the invasion to begin
By Nicholas Blanford in Kuwait City
WAR cannot come soon enough for the people of Kuwait. With memories of Iraq’s 1990 invasion and seven-month occupation still fresh, Kuwait is perhaps the only Arab state where the removal of the Iraqi leader wins unreserved, and openly expressed, support.
“I hope the people of Iraq turn on him and feed him to the dogs,” says Fadel Sayafi, 32, who spent three months in an Iraqi prison for resisting the invasion.
The thousands of American troops pouring into the country — 17,000 to date — are widely viewed as protectors against Iraqi aggression rather than unwelcome intruders in an Arab land.
Kuwait is being transformed increasingly into a huge military camp. The northwest quarter of the country, a vast sandy plain, has been sealed off and turned into a live-fire training ground for US forces. They will be joined next month by some of the 26,000 British soldiers ordered to the Gulf last week.
In Kuwait City, however, there is little indication of the troop build-up. Army convoys of buses and sand-coloured trucks transporting soldiers and equipment from Kuwait’s airport and seaports discreetly skirt the capital and head straight into the desert.
At weekends — Thursdays and Fridays in Muslim Kuwait — Kuwaitis gather in the gleaming glass and marble air-conditioned shopping centres along the capital’s seafront to take advantage of the January sales. The malls are a slice of Americana, filled with American fast-food restaurants and clothes shops. While the coffee shops and snack bars are full, many of the shops and boutiques remain empty.
“People are saving their money because no one is certain what’s going to happen in the next few weeks,” one Kuwaiti said.
After months of increasing tension, the nerves of some Kuwaitis are beginning to fray.
“I want the Americans to get rid of Saddam Hussein. We have waited for 12 years for Saddam to go and I am fed up having to wait any longer,” said Mishal Abdullah, an employee of Kuwait Airways. “Everyone’s worried. I can’t sleep at night. Are the Americans going to fight? Will Saddam retaliate against us? We’re all on tranquillisers.”
Many Kuwaitis fear that Saddam will use his suspected arsenal if Iraq is invaded. That fear is emphasised by the wail of air-raid sirens echoing around Kuwait City, part of the preparations to deal with a possible attack. Gas masks and protective tents are on sale, although interest in them tends to reflect tensions.
An assistant at Al-Ghanim Electronics said: “We have sold only a handful since we started stocking them, but we have had more inquiries recently.” The company has imported dozens of gas masks from China and sells them for 32 dinars (£67.50) each.
Security has been intensified at the Kuwaiti oil installations that Saddam’s retreating forces destroyed in 1991. Mock evacuation drills are regularly held at government buildings.
At the Ministry of Food and Agricultural Sciences the other day Civil Defence personnel hurled smoke canisters and thunder flashes around the building. An alarm bell sounded inside and the employees filed out.
Ali al-Shemlan, the ministry’s director-general, said that further drills were necessary. “We have been through a surprise before (when Iraq invaded in 1990) and Kuwaitis do not want to be surprised again,” he said. “We will be prepared.” Some Kuwaitis say that the country needs to be equally prepared to deal with a post-Saddam Iraq.
Kuwait, which gained independence from Britain in 1961, imported fresh water and dates from Iraq before the oil boom in the 1950s and 1960s. Kuwaitis, many of whom are related to Iraqis, once flocked to Basra, in southern Iraq, for weekends of gambling and drinking — which are both forbidden in Kuwait.
Shafeeq Ghabra, professor of politics at Kuwait University, said that Kuwaitis should put the past decade of hostility behind them.
“We have to be the first to congratulate Iraq, the first to offer support,” Professor Ghabra said. “We should be part of the solution in rebuilding Iraq and put the past behind us.” As part of a goodwill gesture, Kuwait may cancel the 15 billion dinar (£31.6 billion) debt owed by Iraq from before the 1990 invasion, as well as dropping any claims for compensation arising from the Iraqi occupation.
January 28, 2003
Frontline reaction
Kuwaitis are impatient for the invasion to begin
By Nicholas Blanford in Kuwait City
WAR cannot come soon enough for the people of Kuwait. With memories of Iraq’s 1990 invasion and seven-month occupation still fresh, Kuwait is perhaps the only Arab state where the removal of the Iraqi leader wins unreserved, and openly expressed, support.
“I hope the people of Iraq turn on him and feed him to the dogs,” says Fadel Sayafi, 32, who spent three months in an Iraqi prison for resisting the invasion.
The thousands of American troops pouring into the country — 17,000 to date — are widely viewed as protectors against Iraqi aggression rather than unwelcome intruders in an Arab land.
Kuwait is being transformed increasingly into a huge military camp. The northwest quarter of the country, a vast sandy plain, has been sealed off and turned into a live-fire training ground for US forces. They will be joined next month by some of the 26,000 British soldiers ordered to the Gulf last week.
In Kuwait City, however, there is little indication of the troop build-up. Army convoys of buses and sand-coloured trucks transporting soldiers and equipment from Kuwait’s airport and seaports discreetly skirt the capital and head straight into the desert.
At weekends — Thursdays and Fridays in Muslim Kuwait — Kuwaitis gather in the gleaming glass and marble air-conditioned shopping centres along the capital’s seafront to take advantage of the January sales. The malls are a slice of Americana, filled with American fast-food restaurants and clothes shops. While the coffee shops and snack bars are full, many of the shops and boutiques remain empty.
“People are saving their money because no one is certain what’s going to happen in the next few weeks,” one Kuwaiti said.
After months of increasing tension, the nerves of some Kuwaitis are beginning to fray.
“I want the Americans to get rid of Saddam Hussein. We have waited for 12 years for Saddam to go and I am fed up having to wait any longer,” said Mishal Abdullah, an employee of Kuwait Airways. “Everyone’s worried. I can’t sleep at night. Are the Americans going to fight? Will Saddam retaliate against us? We’re all on tranquillisers.”
Many Kuwaitis fear that Saddam will use his suspected arsenal if Iraq is invaded. That fear is emphasised by the wail of air-raid sirens echoing around Kuwait City, part of the preparations to deal with a possible attack. Gas masks and protective tents are on sale, although interest in them tends to reflect tensions.
An assistant at Al-Ghanim Electronics said: “We have sold only a handful since we started stocking them, but we have had more inquiries recently.” The company has imported dozens of gas masks from China and sells them for 32 dinars (£67.50) each.
Security has been intensified at the Kuwaiti oil installations that Saddam’s retreating forces destroyed in 1991. Mock evacuation drills are regularly held at government buildings.
At the Ministry of Food and Agricultural Sciences the other day Civil Defence personnel hurled smoke canisters and thunder flashes around the building. An alarm bell sounded inside and the employees filed out.
Ali al-Shemlan, the ministry’s director-general, said that further drills were necessary. “We have been through a surprise before (when Iraq invaded in 1990) and Kuwaitis do not want to be surprised again,” he said. “We will be prepared.” Some Kuwaitis say that the country needs to be equally prepared to deal with a post-Saddam Iraq.
Kuwait, which gained independence from Britain in 1961, imported fresh water and dates from Iraq before the oil boom in the 1950s and 1960s. Kuwaitis, many of whom are related to Iraqis, once flocked to Basra, in southern Iraq, for weekends of gambling and drinking — which are both forbidden in Kuwait.
Shafeeq Ghabra, professor of politics at Kuwait University, said that Kuwaitis should put the past decade of hostility behind them.
“We have to be the first to congratulate Iraq, the first to offer support,” Professor Ghabra said. “We should be part of the solution in rebuilding Iraq and put the past behind us.” As part of a goodwill gesture, Kuwait may cancel the 15 billion dinar (£31.6 billion) debt owed by Iraq from before the 1990 invasion, as well as dropping any claims for compensation arising from the Iraqi occupation.
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