Counter-Terrorism: Kuwait Makes Mobs Useful

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March 6,2008: Kuwait has found a simple method for getting rid of potentially dangerous foreigners. Recently, there was a demonstration protesting the recent killing (in Syria) of Shia Islamic terrorist Imad Mughniyah. Kuwaiti police took note of which foreigners were present at the rally, and has issued deportation notices for them. In addition, Kuwaiti Shia who were at the rally have been summoned by the police for interrogation.

While Mughniyah was a hero to many Shia because of his work as a leader in Hizbollah. This Iranian funded terrorist organization in Lebanon that has been making attacks on Israel for the last twenty years. But Hizbollah also killed two Kuwaitis on a hijacked aircraft back in 1988. Many Kuwaitis regard Mughniyah as a terrorist, not an Islamic hero. About a third of Kuwaits population are Shia, and the Sunni majority have long feared that the Shia minority would support an Iranian takeover of Kuwait. The Kuwaiti Shia protest that this is not the case, but Iran looms large as a threat to Kuwait, and the other Arab states in the Persian Gulf.