Kuwait's Ruler Has Passed Away At The Age Of 91

CNBC: Kuwait Emir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah dies at age 91

* Kuwait’s emir, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah, was the oil-rich country’s leader since 2006.
* He had been its top diplomat for 40 years, including during Saddam Hussein’s invasion.

Kuwait’s emir, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah, who ruled over his oil-rich country since 2006 and had been its foreign minister for 40 years, including during Saddam Hussein’s invasion, has died. He was 91.

He is expected to be succeeded by his 83-year-old half-brother, Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Sabah.

“With great sadness and sorrow, we mourn to the Kuwaiti people, the Arab and Islamic nations, and the friendly peoples of the world, the death of the late His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Emir of the State of Kuwait who moved next to his Lord,” the royal palace said in a statement, according to state media. Tuesday’s announcement didn’t say when he died or where.

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More News On The Death Of Kuwait’s Emir, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah

Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Sabah dies at age 91 -- Al Jazeera
Kuwait ruler, longtime diplomat Sheikh Sabah, dies at age 91 -- AP
Kuwait mourns Emir Sheikh Sabah, veteran defender of Arab unity -- Reuters
Kuwait's emir Sheikh Sabah dies at age 91 -- France 24
Kuwait emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah dies aged 91 -- Arab News
Kuwait's Emir Sheikh Al Ahmed Al Sabah dies at 91, half brother to take over duties -- FOX News
Kuwait monarch Sheikh Sabah Al-Sabah dies at 91 -- CNN
Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah dies at 91 -- Middle East Eye

Kuwait Is Arming Itself To 'The Teeth'

U. S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter meets with Kuwaiti Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Sheikh Khalid al-Jarrah al-Sabah in Kuwait City, Feb. 22, 2015. During his first overseas trip as secretary, Carter plans to meet with senior U.S. military and foreign leaders to assess operations in Afghanistan and the regional effort to contain and defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. DoD photo by Glenn Fawcett

VICE: Kuwait Is Buying a Bunch of Weapons to Protect Itself From the Islamic State

With the Islamic State creating chaos next door in Iraq, Kuwait is arming itself to the teeth. The tiny, oil-rich nation just signed a defense deal with France worth $2.8 billion.

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls and his Kuwaiti counterpart Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad al-Sabah finalized the agreement on Wednesday in Paris. France will equip Kuwait with 24 Caracal helicopters, with an option for six more, as part of a contract worth $1.2 billion. The helicopter was designed for cargo transport and search and rescue missions, and has supported military operations in Afghanistan, Libya, and Mali.

The two countries have also inked two provisional agreements. One involves France upgrading and maintaining Kuwait's small patrol warships, the other reportedly involves the sale of French-made all-terrain Sherpa trucks — light armored vehicles with 360-degree firepower that can carry up to four people and are designed to withstand landmines.

WNU Editor: The entire Middle East is now gripped in war and conflict .... Kuwait's defense and military purchases are actually a "late response" to what is happening.

Is Kuwait About To Explode In Protests?

(Top) Special forces stop the rally at the prison. (Above) - Protesters marching towards the jail. Arab Times

Kuwait Warns Against Violent Protests After Rally -- Reuters

(Reuters) - Kuwait vowed on Friday to take all necessary measures against "any signs of disturbance and violence" after police dispersed demonstrators the Gulf Arab state said had thrown stones, burned car tyres and blocked roads.

Dozens of men staged a march on Thursday night to demand the release of prominent politician Musallam al-Barrak, who has been detained for questioning over allegedly insulting the judiciary, Kuwaiti media reported. A court hearing for Barrak, a former opposition lawmaker, has been set for Monday.

"A crowd and troublemakers organized an unauthorized assembly last night violating the laws that ban such marches," Kuwait's Interior Ministry said in a statement carried by state news agency KUNA.

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More News On the Growing Unrest In Kuwait

Kuwait police fire teargas to break opposition demo -- Daily Star/AFP
Kuwait police use tear gas to break up rally -- AP
Kuwait Cracks Down On Opposition Protests -- Eurasia Review/Al Bawaba
Two injured as Kuwait cracks down on protests -- Middle East Eye
Kuwait opposition leader held 'for insulting judges' -- Al Arabiya
The Arab Spring Just Got Serious Again - Kuwait Is Burning -- Zero Hedge

Kuwait Has Become The Leading Funder Of Extremist Rebels in Syria

Photo: Kuwait City

Kuwait, A U.S. Ally On Syria, Is Also The Leading Funder Of Extremist Rebels -- Washington Post

Kuwait, a U.S. ally whose aid to besieged Syrian civilians has been surpassed only by the United States this year, is also the leading source of funding for al-Qaeda-linked terrorists fighting in Syria’s civil war, according to Obama administration officials.

The amount of money that has flowed from Kuwaiti individuals and through organized charities to Syrian rebel groups such as Jabhat al-Nusra totals in the hundreds of millions of dollars, according to experts whose estimates are endorsed by the Treasury Department.

Until recently, tiny, oil-rich Kuwait avoided public scrutiny as attention to terrorist financing focused more sharply on Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

But the fact that those countries have made strides in addressing the problem, a senior Treasury official said, has “shed more light on the less forward-leaning steps taken in Kuwait.”

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Update #1: Kuwait is the main financier of Syrian terrorist extremists -- Digital Journal
Update #2: Kuwait Leading Funder of Militants in Syria Now -- Fars News Agency (Iran)

My Comment: With allies like this ....

Islamists In Kuwait Are Raising Hundreds of Millions Of Dollars To Assist The Syrian rebels

Islamists Auction Off Cars To Buy Heat Seeking Missiles For Syrian Rebels -- The Cable/Foreign Policy

A group of hard-line Islamists in Kuwait raised enough cash to arm 12,000 Syrian rebels this week, according to statements by the group's leaders. The next step: flood the country with guided missiles, heat-seeking missiles and tandem warheads.

The United States is currently considering ways to provide small arms to moderate elements of the Syrian opposition. Washington officials swear they can keep those weapons from falling into extremists' hands. Perhaps that's so. But those CIA-led efforts may be eclipsed by a parallel push to give more powerful weapons -- capable of taking down commercial aircraft -- to the opposition. And these arms runners are far less concerned about the weapons winding up with the rebels' al qaeda-aligned Islamist wing.

This week, the Great Kuwait Campaign, a private organization of Kuwaiti clerics and politicians, announced a new phase of its fundraising campaign after successfully raising several millions of dollars from auctioning off cars, rounding up gold jewelry and soliciting donations.

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My Comment: When it comes to weapons .... money talks. Now we know who is paying the Libyans to ship their weapons to the Syrian rebels. The big question now is .... for the right price will they now ship guided missiles, heat-seeking missiles and tandem warheads.

Kuwait's Government Collapses

Kuwait's outgoing prime minister and cabinet will stay on in a caretaker capacity until a new government is formed. CNN

Kuwait Cabinet Resigns Amid Political Crisis -- Al Jazeera

Prime minister and cabinet submit resignations to emir following accusations of corruption, state television reports.

Kuwait's cabinet has resigned after protesters and opposition deputies demanded that the prime minister step down over allegations of corruption, state-run television has reported.

"The prime minister [Sheikh Nasser Mohammad al-Ahmad Al-Sabah] has submitted his resignation to the emir," Kuwait TV said, without specifying whether it had been accepted.

Earlier, opposition member Khaled al-Sultan said the cabinets's resignation was accepted amid a bitter political dispute between the prime minister and opposition MPs.

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More News On The Collapse Of The Kuwaiti Government

Kuwait government resigns -- CNN
Kuwait government resigns -- Reuters
Kuwait government resigns, but stays as caretaker -- AP
Kuwait Government Resigns Amid Growing Opposition Protests -- Bloomberg Businessweek
Kuwait leader accepts resignations of cabinet, prime minister -- CNN
Kuwait news agency: Ruler accepts government resignation, but keeps Cabinet in caretaker role -- Washington Post/AP
Kuwaiti cabinet resigns over political crisis -- AFP
Kuwait cabinet resigns -- RIA Novosti
Kuwait’s cabinet resigns amid ‘unprecedented’ protest against corruption -- Al Arabiya News

Unrest In Kuwait -- News Updates March 7, 2011

In Kuwait, A Long Battle To Oust The Prime Minister -- Washington Post

KUWAIT CITY - Protesters haven't packed Kuwait's streets, but the country - long the most democratic in the Persian Gulf - is in the throes of the same battle to reform its leadership as other Arab states.

No one in Kuwait is calling to oust the emir or bring down the rule of the Sabah family - showing the same deference seen until now in other gulf monarchies, where the distribution of oil revenue has helped blunt social unrest.

But there has been a running, five-year-long struggle to oust the prime minister, the emir's nephew, who opponents say has mismanaged Kuwait's economy and helped erode such core values as freedom of speech.

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More News On The Unrest In Kuwait

Kuwaiti protests on Tuesday aim to remove PM -- Reuters
Kuwait's opposition group mulls mass rally -- Xinhuanet
Kuwait braces for pro-democracy rallies -- AFP
Kuwait awaits protests but no stranger to upheaval -- AP
Kuwait braces for pro-democracy rallies -- Ahram Online

My Comment: I suspect that Kuwait will weather this storm .... it is the other countries in the region that are not so secure in their positions.

Al Qaeda Plot To Attack U.S. Base Foiled By Kuwait

Barack Obama visited Camp Arifjan in July 2008. Photo AFP

From AFP:

KUWAIT CITY — Kuwait said on Tuesday it has foiled an attack by suspected Al-Qaeda members on the main US military base in the Gulf emirate, the first such incident in four years.

Security forces have arrested six Kuwaitis who were planning to attack Camp Arifjan, and state security offices and other government buildings, according to an interior ministry statement.

About 15,000 US soldiers are stationed in Kuwait, the oil-rich Gulf emirate which is also used as a transit point for thousands of US soldiers going to and from neighbouring Iraq.

There was no immediate comment from the United States

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More News On The Foiling Of An Al Qaeda Attack

Kuwait 'foils US army base plot' -- BBC
UPDATE: Kuwait Foils Al-Qaeda Linked Attack On U.S. Base-KUNA -- Wall Street Journal
Kuwait nabs al-Qaida group planning US base attack -- AP
Kuwait says foils Qaeda plan to bomb U.S. Army camp -- Reuters
Report: Six arrested in al Qaeda plot on U.S. base in Kuwait -- CNN

Showdown Threatens Democracy In Kuwait

From The Financial Times:

The government of Kuwait resigned yesterday to head off a parliamentary interrogation of the prime minister, putting a state-led rescue of the stock market and the future of democracy in the oil-rich Gulf state in doubt.

Three Islamist members of the national assembly formally requested that the parliament question Sheikh Nasser Muhammed Ahmed al-Sabah on alleged government mismanagement and the admittance of a controversial Shia cleric to Kuwait.

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