KUWAIT CITY, 11 March 2003 — Kuwaitis are prepared for war. They hope that whatever happens they will succeed in getting rid of Saddam Hussein and his repressive regime, according to a group of them interviewed by Arab News yesterday.
“This is why we have to have this war — the cruelness of Saddam Hussein and what he has done to his people,” said Methkal Sartowi, an investment consultant who specializes in business feasibility studies here in Kuwait City.
Sartowi believes the American government knows more than they are saying about Saddam’s brutality to his own people.
Due to his actions during his 35 years in power, Nawal Al-Rushaid, a businesswoman, believes “the Iraqi people will not fight for Saddam Hussein, they want to get rid of him.”
There are rumors here that Saddam Hussein plans to “pull an Osama Bin Laden,” and vanish if the Americans attack, and that he has already informed his commanders that if they cannot reach him they are to take over and do “anything they want to do to ensure victory.”
Soliman Al-Dalali, who owns an insurance company, is skeptical.
“He definitely won’t hand over control to his commanders, because if Saddam Hussein can’t be reached then all power goes to Qusay, his son, but not to his military.”
But all agree of the need to go to war to oust Saddam Hussein’s regime.
“If there is no war, then there is no way the Iraqis can get rid of him. He will put his children in power, and they will remain in power. There could never be a revolution in Iraq, which is why you need to overthrow him,” said Sartowi. “This is the best chance for the Iraqis to get him out of power.”
Asked what future they envision following the US-led invasion, Methkal — who was living in Iraq when Saddam Hussein came to power in 1968 — said things will go well as long as the Americans stay and help install a new infrastructure.
“The Iraqis need financial assistance, they need to be able to survive,” he said. “If they are issued open work permits and we can help the Iraqis earn an income, then they will forget about a civil war. The Iraqi people can change suddenly. They will forget about Saddam Hussein and will focus on their new future.”
Munyia Alnouri, a Kuwaiti school principal for several private institutions in Kuwait, said it appears Iraqis are becoming emboldened by news of the US-led buildup in Kuwait. “My cousin lives in Iraq, and when I last spoke with him I was shocked that he was openly critical of Saddam Hussein — as it is very easy to be punished for criticizing him. When I told him to be careful, he said: ‘I don’t care, I want to get rid of Saddam Hussein.’”
“Taking Saddam Hussein out of power is a good thing for everybody,” Methkal added.
“But we don’t just want him out, we want the whole regime out,” added Muniya.
The group of Kuwaitis expressed confidence that the US-led forces will use restraint in their attack, and will try to avoid as many civilian casualties as possible. “The American people don’t have any hatred toward the Iraqis — so when they attack they will be professional, but not cruel. They will be effective, but the Americans won’t do more than they have to do.
“It’s not like the Israelis when they go into the Occupied Territories,” said Methkal.
“Their hatred of Palestinians is so strong that they don’t care who they kill — anybody — including pregnant women, infants and children in ambulances, they just want to hurt and kill Palestinians. The Americans will not do that to the Iraqis.”
All in the group weathered the last Gulf War at home in Kuwait City.
“We stayed here throughout it all. We stayed until the liberation of Kuwait. Until now, I don’t remember exactly what I felt on Aug. 2, when we were invaded. I just sat in a chair and couldn’t’ move for 24 hours,” said Fetouh Al-Dalali, a school supervisor.
“The Iraqi troops were in Kuwait City within two hours after crossing the border. We all saw them into the streets, it was terrifying. I was 38 years old and had never seen a gun in all my life, none of us had unless someone in the family was serving in the military.”
But Fetouh said that even worse than the site of guns was the Iraqis who came down to loot everything they could put their hands on. “It kills me to remember the scene. I remember seeing an Iraqi family disassemble a car, piece by piece. As I watched them I remember thinking that this was symbolic of what they were doing to our country, they were dismembering it piece by piece.”
“You can’t imagine what it felt like to wake up on Aug. 2 and realize that you were a refugee, that you no longer had a country,” said Nawal. “It was at this moment that I realized how very much I loved my country.”
All of them said they were disgusted with those who had perpetrated the recent terrorist attacks against Americans in Kuwait.
“My father told me that when he sees a foreigner here, he feels ashamed. He feels ashamed because this is not Kuwait. These few fanatics do not represent the Kuwaiti society. We are grateful for all that the Americans have done for us. If not for them, we would be still be under occupation today.”
