In an article in the London Arabic daily Al-Hayat, Kuwaiti columnist and businessman Hamed Al-Hamud calls on the Gulf countries, especially Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, to send economic aid to Iraq to help improve its security situation. [1]
The following are excerpts from the article:
Saudi and Kuwaiti Leaders Talk of Iraq 's Security and Unity as They Divvy Up Saddam-Era Reparations
"At the same time that [Saudi Crown] Prince Sultan Bin 'Abd Al-'Aziz called out from the stage of the United Nations to keep Iraq Arab, and [Kuwaiti Prime Minister] Sheikh Sabbah Al-Ahmad called from that same stage for achieving security in Iraq, representatives from Saudi Arabia, Iran, Jordan, and Kuwait met in Kuwait in order to divvy up the reparations that Iraq will be paying to these countries for the damages caused by Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait in 1990. These sums are estimated at approximately $4 billion, the vast majority of which – approximately $3 billion – will be given to Kuwait. Prince Turki Bin 'Abd Al-'Aziz, General President of Meteorology and the Environment in Saudi Arabia, announced that the U.N. will begin paying these reparations out of the income from the sale of Iraqi oil...
"Some might think that security in Iraq, which is what interests Prince Sultan and Sheikh Sabbah, has nothing to do with the assigning to Iraq of the responsibility for the crimes of the previous Iraqi president, and that it is difficult to change international obligations [to pay reparations]. However, these obligations, which were imposed on Iraq at a time when it was isolated and when the world rejected and belittled its political leadership, still remind us that the U.N. – under heavy pressure from the U.S., which believed that this would in the end weaken Saddam – didn't act fairly [in imposing this demand]..."
Saudi Arabia and Kuwait Should Help Achieve Security in Iraq – This is Not Solely America's Concern
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"[However, collecting the Iraqi debt] at present... is like taking bread from a poor man's table in order to give it to someone who doesn't need it. Thus, new ways must be found to help Iraq and the Iraqis and to improve their lot....
"Despite the role that has been played by groups that pronounce [other Muslims] to be apostates and by supporters of the former [Iraqi] regime in destroying security and in carrying out mass crimes, a large percentage of the 16,000 people cooperating with them are doing so for economic reasons, as Iraq is suffering from large-scale unemployment that is likely to reach 50%. In order to estimate the influence of [economic conditions] on the security situation, we should imagine the unemployment rate in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait reaching 25%. Such an economic situation would, God forbid, lead to the appearance of Al-Zarqawi and other kinds of extremists who pronounce [other Muslims] to be apostates. Therefore, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait 's action on Iraq 's security needs to go beyond the expression of hope and moral support [and needs to include] economic support.
"These two countries must spearhead a well-laid plan to achieve security in Iraq through improvement of the [Iraqi] people's living conditions by cooperating with the elected government [of Iraq] and with other member countries in the Cooperation Council for the [Arab] States of the Gulf [GCC]. [This is] particularly so since the economic situation of these countries has boomed following the rise in oil prices and the atmosphere of optimism in the region following the fall of the Iraqi regime, which has disappeared for good. In order for something like this to come together in actuality, it is likely that Saudi Arabia and Kuwait will have to get over their preconceived notions that Iraq, wars in Iraq, and [Iraq's] security are solely America's concern."
It Would be Easy to Connect Iraq's and Other Gulf States' Electricity Companies – Thus Improving the Lives of Millions of Iraqis
"The development of Iraq and the achievement of stability there are beyond the capabilities of the Iraqis and their government. [Achieving these goals] will require honest efforts on the part of the member countries in the Cooperation Council for the [Arab] States of the Gulf [GCC] in general and on the part of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia in particular. The Americans have not, despite their technological capabilities, succeeded in renovating the power plants so as to reach the pre-Saddam production levels…
"Electricity is an issue of special importance, and if the Gulf states will help with providing electricity [to Iraq ] they will ease the Iraqis' suffering, since it would be relatively easy to connect Iraq 's energy company to the Gulf states … This connection would amount to aid that would improve the lives of millions of Iraqis and would constitute a clear signal on the part of the Gulf states that they support the peaceful political process in Iraq…"
War and Rise in Oil Prices Have Doubled the Income of the Gulf States
"The Gulf states and their peoples can give a lot to Iraq, which is tied [to them] by language, religion, geography, and history, and which in the future will have an influence, direct or indirect, on most of them. We are in a state of economic growth, which makes supporting and aiding [ Iraq ] easier. The rise in oil prices and the war which ended with the fall of the Saddam regime have created economic possibilities in the region and have doubled the income of the governments [of the Gulf states]. Likewise, this brought about a doubling in the value of stocks on the Gulf states ' stock exchanges… Therefore, the economic situation in the region is at present ripe for the undertaking of economic initiatives that will help restore security to Iraq – by the Cooperation Council for the [Arab] States of the Gulf [GCC] [as well as by] the private sector."
[1] Al-Hayat (London), September 24, 2005.
