Kuwait Diary

Kuwait Diary -- March 29th, 2003

Day 10 of the 2nd Gulf war.
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It came skimming over the waters of the Arabian gulf, keeping low, kissing the waters of a calm sea. Last night, at 1.45 am Kuwait time, Iraqis launched Chinese made silkworm missiles into Kuwait from the Faw peninsula that is supposed to have fallen into Coalition control several days ago. It kept so low that that the surveillance mechanism of the US and Kuwaiti defense system, were unable to detect its entry into Kuwait. As a result no patriot missiles could be launched to intercept this intruder.

It hit the pier of the seafront shopping mall of Souk Sharq. This is an up market complex complete with 3 cinema halls and a multitude of cafes and restaurants. I normally spend a lot of time in this place as do other residents of Kuwait, sitting and lazing on the seafront, drinking coffee at Starbucks or Arabic coffee at seafront cafes, looking for the latest fashions, window shopping, fishing on the pier front or simply photographing the curious mixture of life that passes by. It’s only a kilometer from my office at the city center so I went and visited the site of the bombing this afternoon. The mall and the movie theatres had been closed down and the police were everywhere. A couple of international news crews were filming on what was left of the pier. It was a matter of great luck that the missile had not directly hit the mall. It had hit the shorefront and the pier and exploded in the sea.

The blast of this explosion had ripped apart the facade of the shopping mall. Glasses and doorways had been shattered. I nipped in inside for a while and saw that the ceilings had caved in and the whole floor was full of building materials and wires. It was lucky that this had happened at the dead of night. Only two people had been injured. Had it been during the daytime or in the evening when the mall is packed with people, the story would have been entirely different. Even without fancy gadgets and remote guidance equipment, the Iraqis have become good at using judgment and skill to do their targeting. For the first time today, I saw fear and uncertainty in the eyes of the Arab Kuwaiti. It was only a few days ago that wild parties were being thrown on the desert frontlines to celebrate the drive of the coalition troops toward Baghdad. Not anymore.

It is very clear that the missiles had been fired from the Faw peninsula. This is the result of Coalition troops moving away and leaving Iraqi forces within the territory it seems to have occupied. After the controversy of the insufficiency of ground troops surfaced yesterday, it is becoming clear how much of the risk to Kuwait’s civilian population has been left uncovered. Rumsfeld’s strategy to do the war on the cheap is having its effects. Further, this is the waterway that the ships are using to transport troops, supplies and humanitarian aid to the port of Umm Qasr. At the moment there simply aren’t enough troops on the ground to do the mopping up operations. According to press reports, additional troops had been offered by the Pentagon, but refused by Donald Rumsfeld, who is more inclined toward a hi-tech war with the minimum use of ground forces. The Pentagon news briefing today mentioned in passing that more troops were now being sent as ‘had been planned’.

With civilian casualties rising in Baghdad after a missile hit a market place, Arab public opinion is hardening. Add to this Mr Rumsfeld’s hard talk against Syria and Iran accusing them of providing logistical support to Iraq, and we have a boiling cauldron in the middle east. We hardly have a situation where a people are ready to be liberated. Instead, what Mr. Bush is managing to achieve is something every other Arab leader has failed in doing in its ancient history of tribal in-fighting and desert skirmishes; he is making Saddam into a hero and a legitimate leader of the Iraqi people. A ‘people’s leader’ he never was, but that is what he is fast becoming. The Arab world, which would have been only too happy to see his demise, is now openly acknowledging him as a hero of the Arab people; the only Arab leader who has been able to fight back against a superior force in a David versus goliath scenario. With the pain of repetition, I remind readers once again that, despite current setbacks, there is no doubt in my mind about the final outcome. But, the aftermath will lead us into dangerous and uncharted territory.

Four US marines were killed last night in a suicide bomb attack by a non commissioned officer of the Iraqi army. Saddam Hussein gave him two posthumous medals for his valor. When asked about the non-conventional tactics being used, the Iraqi deputy prime minister said that suicide bombings were going to become routine in the days to come. This means that the coalition high command would have to change its tactics of engagement once again. Further, coalition soldiers will no longer be able to correctly distinguish between true civilians and the guerillas fighting an unconventional war. This will lead to heavier civilian casualties as a result with a negative impact on public opinion.

There is a supply chain of convoys and equipment stretching 500 kilometers from Kuwait to the outskirts of Baghdad. This is a huge logistical excercise with the supply line snaking through the open desert and over the Euphrates. It will be exposed to hit and run attacks from the Iraqi paramilitary who have shown that, unlike the last time during the first gulf war, they are not going to capitulate easily.

Meanwhile President Bush finally agreed that the task of delivering humanitarian aid would be returned to the United Nations. The United Nations would also resume the food for oil program. Mr. Bush’s speech-writer wrote that the President was ‘pleased’. I very much doubt this. Perhaps Mr. Blair is a good influence on him after all. Even though he has alienated all his European allies, Blair’s link with Bush will at least provide the life line to the future and perhaps pull him back from suicidal unilateralism which is already making this world a more dangerous place for our children.

Thus the war drags on through the second week, through the propaganda and rhetoric of the opposing sides, through sand storms, desert winds, death and destruction. This is what we all expected when we went to this war, didn’t we? Perhaps it will cleanse the world after all.

Today, I am left with the image of the Pope speaking from the balcony of the Vatican in Rome, Italy. I saw a frail figure, stooped under a great burden, shrivelled hands pointing to the sky. He spoke of the war with great sadness and, unlike the chaplain on that Navy warship, he called this war "unjust".