Kuwaitis Back Attack to Topple Saddam

Arab World News ^ | November 7 2002 | AP

[knighthawk]

KUWAIT CITY (AP) — While millions of Arabs decry the U.S. military presence in the Middle East and Washington's desire to attack Iraq, many Kuwaitis wouldn't have it any other way — the country is an island of support for America.

It's been a decade since U.S. troops threw Saddam Hussein's army out of Kuwait in the Persian Gulf War, and Kuwaitis have not forgotten.

``If the United States were not here, maybe you wouldn't see me sitting at this coffee shop today, owning a mobile phone and being able to relax with my family,'' said Reda Shashtari, 56, a Kuwait Airways employee sipping a cappuccino at a Kuwait City mall.

``Instead I would be at home waiting for the Iraqis to come knocking on my door,'' he said. ``The Americans are our supporters. They defeated the Iraqis. How can we complain about them?''

On other Middle East streets, the sentiment is just the opposite. Washington's perceived bias in favor of Israel in its two-year conflict with the Palestinians and President Bush's stated desire to oust Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein have angered people throughout the region.

Most Arabs find it hard to reconcile Bush's stand against Iraq for violating U.N. resolutions while Washington supports Israel — which in the Arab view has ignored U.N. resolutions dating back to its founding in 1948.

``Other Arab countries, like Egypt and Syria, see one thing — the American dualism where Washington deals with Israel in one way and Iraq in another,'' said Abdullah Sahar Mohammad, a Kuwaiti University international relations professor.

``Because of the invasion and occupation, Kuwaitis see things differently,'' Abdullah says. ``We say Saddam should be deterred from continuing his aggression and that he should follow U.N. resolutions.

``We, too, hate the U.S. policy concerning the Israeli-Palestinian issue, but our existence would be threatened (by Iraq) if the American support in Kuwait was withdrawn,'' he said.

Kuwaiti citizens have not forgiven Saddam for his army's brutal seven-month occupation of this tiny oil-rich state, which began in August 1990.

``The Iraqi soldiers butchered our children in front of our eyes, took people out of their houses and stole whatever they wanted,'' says Ali al-Monier, 54, a farmer. ``If America is not here to protect us and the region, I believe Saddam will come back to Kuwait and do more than he did before.''

Since a U.S.-led coalition broke Iraq's grip on Kuwait in the 1991 Gulf War, the Kuwaiti government has signed defense pacts with the United States and other nations to ensure Kuwait's security.

The U.N. Security Council is debating a final U.S.-British draft resolution aimed at making Iraq declare and dispose of its weapons of mass destruction or face ``serious consequences.''

As talk of a new Persian Gulf war intensifies, so have Kuwaiti preparations for a possible attack by Iraq. Evacuation drills have been held at schools and government ministries as fears rise that a boxed-in Saddam might fire missiles armed with chemical or biological weapons at his southern neighbor.

``I am mad that other countries don't understand how evil Saddam is and the danger he poses,'' says Youssef al-Ameeri, who is in charge of a museum dedicated to the Iraqi occupation and Kuwait's subsequent liberation.

``This is because he has never fired missiles at them or occupied their countries,'' he said. ``Saddam's propaganda machine also has people saying many good things about Iraq, so people don't think he is a threat.''

This week, after Saudi Arabia suggested it would not allow foreign forces to use its military bases to launch a war on Iraq, Kuwait reiterated its stand that U.S. forces could use Kuwaiti bases to attack Iraq as long as the United Nations sanctioned it.

The sooner the better, feels al-Ameeri, who said he was held and tortured by the Iraqis for five days during their occupation.

``Kuwaitis are still afraid of Iraq and they believe the Americans should be here, and that they should go into Baghdad and get rid of Saddam,'' he said.

[knighthawk]

Ping

[KriegerGeist]

And because of their love for America they now name their children "Usama" or "Osama" after George W. Bush?

[dixiechick2000]

"``Other Arab countries, like Egypt and Syria, see one thing — the American dualism where Washington deals with Israel in one way and Iraq in another,'' said Abdullah Sahar Mohammad, a Kuwaiti University international relations professor."

Well, ya' see Abdullah, one of these countries is not an evil dictatorship bent on destroying other countries...

Dualism works for me!