20 January 2002

Assistant Secretary Bloomfield Visits Kuwait

Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs Lincoln Bloomfield has conveyed U.S. appreciation for Kuwait's support in the global campaign against terrorism and reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to Kuwait's security and sovereignty.

At a press conference in Kuwait City January 20, Bloomfield said terrorists can not be allowed to succeed in pushing apart the American people from their friends in the region.

"[W]e cannot allow these terrorists to push apart the American people from our friends in this region. So part of my goal is to reach out to say we are embracing our friends and our allies. We will not allow terrorists to push us apart," Bloomfield said.

Bloomfield said the U.S. government has solid relations with Kuwait and Saudi Arabia based on trust, friendship and cooperation.

Regarding the reconstruction effort in Afghanistan, Bloomfield said the United States hopes and expects Kuwait will be very helpful to the people of Afghanistan as they plan for their future.

Concerning the detainees from Afghanistan, Bloomfield said the United States is sensitive to their treatment.

"We are doing everything possible to provide for the safe treatment and the proper treatment of the detainees," Bloomfield said. "We are able to give them better treatment in the facilities outside the region than inside Afghanistan."

Following is the transcript of the press conference that Bloomfield held in Kuwait City:

Transcript of U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs, Lincoln Bloomfield, Jr. Press Conference Kuwait Airport Kuwait City, Kuwait January 20, 2002

A/S Bloomfield: Thank you very much. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I'm delighted to be here in Kuwait. Let me take this opportunity to congratulate the people of Kuwait for the return and the good health of the Amir, His Highness. We are very happy that he is back, and wish him continued good health. I had the opportunity today to meet with His Excellency Acting Prime Minister Shaykh Sabah and His Excellency Minister of Defense, Shaykh Jaber al-Mubarak. We discussed a number of subjects of interest to our relationship, and I was appreciative to hear their views. I told them that the United States greatly appreciates Kuwait's support for the overall global campaign against terrorism, and I reaffirmed the United States' strong commitment to Kuwait's security and sovereignty, and also to the return of Kuwait's prisoners of war. I also had the opportunity today to meet with some of the United States military stationed here in Kuwait. As I'm traveling through the region, there are many issues of concern that I'm having the opportunity to discuss with our friends and our allies, and I look forward to coming back again as soon as possible. Thank you. I will be happy to take your questions.

Question: Did you discuss the reconstruction of Afghanistan with the Kuwaitis and have you secured any sort of pledge as to how much they might contribute to re-building Afghanistan?

A/S Bloomfield: Well, that's two questions. The answer to the first question is yes, we did discuss the reconstruction of Afghanistan. It is a very important part of Afghanistan's history. Secretary Powell of the United States will be in Tokyo for the conference, as will many other governments. We expressed America's strong support for the re-construction effort. I have a particular duty for President Bush and Secretary Powell as their representative for action concerning land mines. Under my bureau at the State Department, we will be administering a program of over seven million dollars in de-mining and mine awareness within Afghanistan. So, yes, the humanitarian re-construction is very important. We certainly hope and expect that Kuwait will be very helpful to the people of Afghanistan as they plan their future.

Question: Does the U.S. have in custody any Kuwaitis caught in Afghanistan and did you discuss that with Kuwaitis here and do they have any concerns about the way they're being treated?

A/S Bloomfield: Well, that's three questions. We did not get into the details of this. I know that our Embassy is in touch with the government of Kuwait. Actually, there are detainees from many countries, including the United States, as the Al-Qaeda network had many different nationalities, some of them from this region. I do believe the United States government is in close touch with Kuwait concerning any Kuwaiti national or nationals who may be involved, but I don't have the specifics.

Let me speak about the treatment. The United States is very sensitive to the treatment of the detainees. As you know, in our country our press is free and open and there are many questions that we are receiving in the U.S. government. We appreciate these questions. We are doing everything possible to provide for the safe treatment and the proper treatment of the detainees. In fact, they are safer and they are better treated. We are able to give them better treatment in the facilities outside the region than inside Afghanistan. Actually (in Afghanistan), they have the very same treatment as the U.S. soldiers with them. There's no heat, they eat the same food. So it is much better to bring them to a place where they can be kept warm, where they can be questioned, and where we can figure out whether they should be subject to a judicial process.

Question: Will the United States decrease the military cooperation with Kuwait as well as with Saudi Arabia?

A/S Bloomfield: Did you say decrease? Let me just say that my job as the Assistant Secretary for Political-Military Affairs is to look at the political relationship, which is part of security relations. I think that when you talk about how many forces are doing this, or how many airplanes are going there, this is really a detail that is much more a function of what is necessary, what kinds of operations are needed. Early on, in the campaign against terrorism, there was a great deal of concern about the Taliban and the al-Qaeda threat in Afghanistan, so this required more military operations. Whether they go up or they go down, that is no reflection on the political relationship, which is the cornerstone of our security. In that respect, the U.S. and Kuwait and the U.S. and Saudi Arabia are on very solid ground. We have a very complete and solid relationship of trust and friendship and cooperation. That is true in the security sphere, as well as other spheres.

Question: Do you have any comments on recent U.S. media reports about the tensions with the American presence in Saudi Arabia, and did you discuss this with the Saudi officials?

A/S Bloomfield: I've just come from Saudi Arabia in the last few days. I've seen the media reports; those have already been addressed from the White House press secretary, from the Pentagon, and from Secretary Powell himself. We have very good cooperation with the Saudi government, and my discussions were very positive. We expressed great appreciation for the cooperation we've enjoyed for many years. We expect to enjoy good cooperation and very good relations well into the indefinite future. So the answer is no, I did not discuss any kind of reduction at all.

Question: Did you discuss the issue of Iraq? More specifically, Baghdad's most recent statements about inviting a Kuwaiti delegation to Iraq to discuss Kuwaiti POWs?

A/S Bloomfield: I did not discuss any specifics about an Iraqi statement or anything they've said in the last two or three days. My purpose in traveling to the region is to think about the future, and to think about how to shape cooperative relations between the United States and its friends and its allies in the security sphere. Iraq has been a source of tension in the region by threatening its neighbors for a long time. They have been -- under the force of international law -- obliged to do many things, including returning Kuwaiti POWs. For many years, they have not cooperated, and they have not been truthful with the United Nations. So their credibility is very low, which is why I don't necessarily believe their statements. Yes, Iraq is a subject in all of our discussions around the region, because it is a continuing source of concern for the security of all the peoples of this region.

Question: Will the military action stop terrorism, not just in the U.S. but in the whole world?

A/S Bloomfield: If I understand your question correctly, if you asked will military actions successfully end terrorism, I think the answer is military action by itself is not enough. What we have learned in talking to other governments around the world since the terrible events in my country on September 11 is that the answer to this threat has to be in many ways. It's not just military, it needs diplomatic cooperation. It means cooperation so that their financial networks can be shut down and the money will not go to extremists and terrorists. We cooperate in terms of humanitarian relief for the people of Afghanistan, so that they will not be sympathetic to the Taliban and al-Qaeda. We cooperate in intelligence. We cooperate in a number of fields, including law enforcement, so that when they have a false passport and they try to travel through a country and are deceiving the sovereign authorities, we can cooperate in that area. So the answer to terrorism involves all of these different fields. We have tried in the United States to look at the entire spectrum of addressing this problem. Part of this spectrum includes speaking openly to the people of the region, and explaining to them that we cannot allow these terrorists to push apart the American people from our friends in this region. So part of my goal is to reach out to say we are embracing our friends and our allies. We will not allow terrorists to push us apart. For those people who are concerned about whether they can do business and study in the United States and all of this, we welcome everyone. We are hoping very much to end this threat so that we can go back to the good cooperation that we had before. That's our goal.

Question: Saddam Hussein gave Amr Moussa letters to Colin Powell and to the Arab leaders. How do you evaluate this initiative?

A/S Bloomfield: I really can't comment on it because I don't know what's in the communication. The Secretary is traveling. He's been through, as you know, India, Pakistan, He was in Kabul, he went to Katmandu, and he's on to Tokyo. So I've not discussed this. I don't have a comment.

Thank you very much.