The History of U.S.-Kuwait Relations

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The History of U.S.-Kuwait Relations
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State of Kuwait

• June 19, 1961 Kuwait gained full independence
  from Britain
• January 23, 1962 First elections to the National
  Assembly
• November 11, 1962 Kuwaits Constitution was put
  into effect
• 1963 Kuwait became the 111th member of the United
  Nations

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The beginnings of the U.S.-Kuwait relationship

• The relationship between the two countries really
  began in the early 20th century, when Sheikh
  Mubarak Al-Sabah, invited the Reformed Church of
  America to open a medical center in Kuwait. The
  hospital was opened in 1911 and is known to
  Kuwaitis as the American Hospital.
• Oil relations began in the 1930s, when Kuwait Oil
  Company was formed as a joint venture between the
  British Anglo-Persian Oil company and the
  American Gulf Oil company.
• In October 1951 the U.S. opened a consulate in
  Kuwait which was elevated to embassy status when
  the country received its independence in 1961.

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The Gulf War

• August 2, 1990 Iraq invaded and occupied Kuwait
  threatening the countrys sovereignty and
  existence.
• Iraq claimed that Kuwait was harming its country
  economically by refusing to reduce its oil
  production and it tried to annex Kuwait by
  claiming that the country had historically been
  part of Iraq.
• The U.S. led an international coalition of 30
  states to reverse the occupation.
• The Iraqis were forcibly ejected on February 26,
  1991 at the conclusion of Operation Desert Storm
  (headed by the U.S.).
• November 1994 Iraq formally accepted Kuwaiti
  sovereignty along with a UN-demarcated border.

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The Post-Gulf War relationship

• The post-Gulf War relationship has remained
  strong between the two countries.
• Kuwait and the U.S. worked together to monitor
  and enforce Iraqs compliance with UN Security
  Council resolutions.
• Kuwait provided the main platform for Operation
  Iraqi Freedom in 2003, it reserved 60 of its
  total land mass for use by coalition forces and
  donated more than 350 million in assistance in
  kind (primarily fuel).

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The U.S.-Kuwait relationship today

• The U.S.-Kuwaiti relationship has remained strong
  during the post-Gulf War period. Kuwait and the
  United States were committed to enforcing Iraqs
  compliance with UN Security Council resolutions
  and Kuwait provided the main platform for
  Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003.
• Since Kuwaits liberation in 1991, the U.S. has
  provided military and defense technical
  assistance to Kuwait from foreign military sales
  (FMS) and commercial sources. The U.S. Office of
  Military Cooperation in Kuwait is attached to the
  U.S. embassy and manages the FMS.
• U.S. military systems currently purchased by
  Kuwait s Defense Forces are F-18 Hornet fighter
  jets, Patriot Missile systems and the Apache
  helicopter.

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The U.S.-Kuwait Relationship Today (continued)

• Kuwait attitudes toward American products are
  favorable. Kuwait is the fifth-largest market in
  the Middle East, and the U.S. is Kuwaits largest
  supplier of goods and services.
• Kuwait is a vital partner in the U.S.-led
  campaign against international terrorism.
• On April 1, 2004, the Bush Administration
  designated Kuwait as a major non-NATO ally.
• The Kuwaiti government sponsors foreign study for
  qualified students abroad for degrees not offered
  at Kuwait University. In 2004, about 1,720
  Kuwaitis were enrolled in U.S. universities.

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The History of the Kuwait-America Foundation
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The Establishment of KAF

• Established as a non-profit organization on May
  18, 1991 in Washington, D.C.
• Founding Directors Dr. Hassan Al-Ebraheem,
  Messrs. Daniel Q. Callister and Fawzi Al-Sultan.
• Founded after the Gulf War to express Kuwaits
  gratitude for American sacrifice during the war.
• Its mission is to support cultural and
  philanthropic projects that express goodwill and
  help strengthen ties between the people of the
  two countries.

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Early KAF Programs

• KAFs early efforts directly reached out to those
  affected by the Gulf War. Along with the Kuwait
  Association to Defend War Victims, KAF created a
  delegation of fifteen Kuwait associations
  representing various professions, who could speak
  about the suffering of their compatriots.
• KAF donated the use of its Washington office for
  a breakfast sponsored by the Desert Storm
  Surviving Dependents Fund to help in their
  efforts to raise one million dollars.
• In 1992, Dr. Al-Ebraheem and Ms. Pam Hall, an
  American expatriate living in Kuwait, created the
  Desert Peace Program to bring to Kuwait families
  of Americans who had lost their lives in the
  effort to liberate Kuwait.
• In the spring of 1994, after an invitation by Dr.
  Al-Ebraheem and Mr. Callister, General H. Norman
  Schwarzkopf visited Kuwait as a guest of the
  government.
• KAF commissioned Eng. Walid Al-Awadi to produce
  and direct a documentary on a true story that
  occurred during the Gulf War. The docudrama
  titled A Moment in Time won the 28th TV and
  Movie Award Festival held in Texas in 1995.

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KAF Programs - Making the connection

• Dr. Al-Ebraheem began to locate American trauma
  centers that specialized in treating afflicted
  children after the Gulf War. While researching
  for these centers for post-war Kuwait, he
  discovered that child trauma is often rooted in
  violence suffered within dysfunctional family
  life, drugs, peer pressure, and gangs.
• Although the source of trauma differed in the
  American and Kuwaiti situations, both were rooted
  in abuse and violence.
• Recognizing this connection, KAF began to develop
  different programs addressing the issue.
• Dr. Al-Ebraheem believes that just as Americans
  assisted Kuwaitis to free their country from
  violence, KAF wishes to help Americans seek
  solutions to a problem of national importance.

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KAF Programs Student Involvement

• In 1994 KAF forms a pilot project involving 7th
  and 8th grade students (who are seen in a
  critical transition period from elementary to
  secondary education).
• The youth were to write, in no less than 500
  words, answering the question What can I do
  about the violence I see or experience in my
  life? Nineteen schools submitted writings, with
  over 850 students participating.
• Due to the projects overwhelming success, the
  National Campaign to Stop Violence (NCSV) was
  formed in 1996, and the Do the Write Thing
  Challenge Program was expanded onto a national
  level.
• The NCSV has partnered with the Urban League in
  an effort to build upon the success of DtWT. The
  students who have participated in the Challenge
  are given the opportunity to work with an
  organization in the Washington, D.C. community.
  The internship program became the second
  recipient of the Ron Brown International
  Community Service Award in 1998.

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The success of KAF programs

• Since 1996, over 600,000 students have
  participated in NCSV classroom discussions, and
  over 250,000 have chosen to accept the
  Challenge by pledging not to engage in violent
  acts and by submitting writings on the causes of
  and solutions for youth violence to their local
  DtWT Committee.
• Over 600 National Finalists and their parents and
  teachers have been honored at national
  recognition ceremonies in Washington, D.C., and
  had their writings published and distributed to
  national policy-makers. The writings of these
  students have also been placed in the Library of
  Congress.