Sunni Shia relations 281007

Kuwaitis on Gulf position in US-Iran tensions

Published Date: October 28, 2007

By Ahmad Al-Khaled

KUWAIT: The verbal face-off between the US and Iran has put Arab Gulf states squarely in the crossfire. With US President Bush warning of the possibilities of World War III and Iran continuing its immovable nuclear stance, Gulf states are distancing themselves from the US bases and forces which they host.

While visiting Kuwait on Friday, Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Sultan, Deputy Premier and Minister of Defense and Aviation said of the possibility Iran would attack Gulf states in response to a US attack on Iraq, "It will not be in the interest of Iran to provoke any party." He replied to a question whether the KSA would be used as a US staging area for attacks, saying, "Saudi Arabia is not the runway or base of any force in the world.

Universal among opinions of Kuwaiti Sunni and Shia alike were the hopes that current regional tensions are resolved peacefully. Kuwaitis stand decidedly against any military action in the case of the US-Iran stand-off.

With Gulf tensions at their current state, some Kuwaitis believe Iran is attempting to provoke sectarianism in Kuwait and the wider Gulf in the same way it has used division in Iraq. In July, a prominent Iranian newspaper alleged Bahrain was an Iranian territory. Iranian government officials were quick to diffuse the situation saying they did not dispute the sovereignty of Bahrain, although many believe the allegations were in fact the opinion of hard-line government officials.

In response to the statements, GCC Secretary General Al-Attiyah said the statement was "unfounded and aims to sow sedition". Nedal Jasser said, "They (Iran) want to play on sectarianism but we live well in Kuwait-that will not fly here." Hythem Saad said, "We have had our share of sectarian problems but that was long ago-we have seen what sectarianism does in countries all around us, we will not go down that road." Ali Hussein said, "If they (Iran) think they can play on sectarianism in Kuwait, they do not
know Kuwaitis-we are loyal to our state.

Some Kuwaitis wondered why Iran continues its rhetoric when most Gulf leaders have stated over and over again that they will not allow the US to use their bases for an attack on Iran. "Kuwait's officials and now Saudi's Crown Prince have clearly stated that no US attacks on Iran will come from our territory and yet they continue to make veiled threats." said Iman Muhamed referring to a comment reported by Iranian state TV quoting Iran's General Mahmoud Chaharbaghi, missile commander of the Revolutionary Gu
ards as saying, "Enemy bases and positions have been identified...The Guards ground force will fire 11,000 rockets into identified enemy positions within the first minute of an aggression against Iranian territory." Yusef Jasem said, "How many times do we have to reassure our Iranian neighbors that our state will not be used as a base from which to attack them...it is frustrating.

In exploring why Gulf states are distancing themselves from their US allies, some Kuwaitis responded by saying US rhetoric and references to World War II were putting the squeeze on Gulf states. "It feels like the US is egging Iran on...like a kid on the schoolyard trying to get the other kid to throw the first punch." said Laiyan Raed. "The US invasion of Iraq is a disaster with more and more Iraqi civilians being killed all the time-when will the US get out of the mess they made and stop making threats o
f more disasters like an Iran attack?" questioned Ali Hussein. "I blame the US for putting Gulf states in this bind-they do not want Islamic states and now they put us in this position...if they attack Iran the violence will not touch them in their homes, only us..." said Fatma Ali.

Many Kuwaitis say Iran is to blame for the situation by refusing to abide by the United Nations nuclear regulations. "If Iran would only stop its nuclear enrichment program and follow what the UN asked of it, then all of this would be over-their failure to do so is putting the entire Gulf at risk," said Bader Meshary. "The crux of the entire situation is Iran's stubborn nuclear stance," said Waleed Issa.

Some Kuwaitis believe Iran is playing psychological games with Gulf states. "They are using our fear of an attack to try to make us believe that having US bases on our territory is not in our best interest..Kuwait will act in its own best interest, not in Iran's best interest," said Talal Daoud. "In the 80s, we had no US bases in Kuwait and Iran launched missiles against Kuwait-we will not be bullied into feeling we should not host US bases on our territory-we can host whoever we want on our soil," said Nawad Muhamed.

A few Kuwaitis said they felt Gulf governments should not have told Iran they would not allow local bases to be used as a staging point and instead have used the possibility as a threat in itself-putting Gulf states in a more powerful position. "With all the threats on both sides, we should have remained silent allowing Iran to worry a little about whether or not we would allow such an attack to be launched from our territory," said Abdulrahman Khaled. "We showed Iran all our cards and now we have no cards to play-we gave Iran the upper hand," said Ahmad Issa. Faisal Muhamed said, "We have no room for political maneuvering now...we made a concession for nothing, where is Iran's concession?

Source: Kuwait Times