Foreign policy gained worldwide respect
Sheikh Jaber a strong ruler
This is the fifth in a series of articles on HH the late Amir Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Mubarak Al-Sabah (1926-2006), the 13th ruler of Kuwait. – Editor
The
discovery of a rich oil field at Burgan prompted the forming of a Legislative Council, headed by HH the Crown Prince, Sheikh Abdullah Al-Salem Mubarak Al-Sabah, whose objective was to initiate reforms through a well planned program of innovations. At the same time Iraq unleashed a propaganda campaign to stir trouble in Kuwait.
Trouble with Iraq was not new, since the first discovery of oil in the land in 1934 the Iraqi regime had been trying to gain a hold on Kuwait through bribe and intrigues that kept HH Sheikh Ahmad Al-Jaber on red alert for any involvement with Iraq. In 1938 when Iraqi propaganda campaign glamorizing Iraq’s political reforms and its thriving economy, which compared to Kuwait’s puny efforts, was affecting not only the young intellectuals and the ambitious, but also some members of the Council itself, the Amir became seriously concerned.
Blinded by the glamour of the Iraqi achievements those in Kuwait clamoring for unity with Iraq did not see that while their country had very limited financial means in promoting innovations, Iraq had ample assets with which to make those developments its propaganda was glamorizing. Since the early 1920’s, oil had been flowing from the wells of Mosul and Kirkuk. Oil revenues had been filling the Iraqi treasury since 1925, that was the time the Iraq Petroleum Company was established and Iraq became its principal concessionary. Besides the oil, Iraq had a fertile land and rivers that enabled it to develop its agricultural potential.
By contrast Kuwait had none of the revenues Iraq possesses but it had the will, the stamina, and resourcefulness of its people and their determination to succeed in making the best of the meager means available. Kuwait has no rivers, no water table, no fertile land for agriculture, still it survived, even thrived because of its commerce and trade activity by land and sea. Until the Japanese cultivated pearls practically killed the local industry, pearl diving was one of the main sources of income.
Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad quietly listening to the talk of the men in the diwaniya was hearing what was going in town, he was seeing the reaction of the people affected by the Iraqi propaganda, and by the endeavor of Nuri Al Said, the Iraqi Prime Minister, trying to make his country the most prestigious and powerful state in the Arab world through a confederation of neighboring states. He was hearing how such a scheme was affecting some Kuwaiti intellectuals dreaming the beginning of a Pan Arab unification, which if successful, would had redeemed Arab dignity and power. But from his noble father, HH Sheikh Ahmad Al Jaber, and from his beloved uncle, HH the Crown Prince, Sheikh Abdullah Al-Salem, and other members of the Royal family, as well as from prominent citizens, he was hearing other views regarding the instability of the Iraqi government, hence they could not be fooled by the propaganda. Indeed, they saw in the scheming of the Iraqi government an open threat to Kuwait stability.
Iraq covetousness on Kuwait began in the early 1930’s, when it sought to take control of the Kuwaiti customs and impose its own tariff, with the excuse to stop arms smuggling into Iraq. Sheikh Ahmad Al-Jaber could maintain his country’s sovereignty and safeguard the interest of his people in Iraq through a clever diplomacy.
Many wealthy Kuwaitis owned lands in Iraq, especially around Basra; the main trade of Kuwaiti merchants began with ship-loads of dates from Basra, which they sold along the Indian coast and continued their commercial activity with new goods bought and sold on the way. After reaching Calcutta, they sailed to East of Africa making use of the tradewinds. From Zanzibar, they sailed home with a cargo of mangrove and other goods in a round trip that last- ed nine months.
There was a time when Kuwait was made to suffer from Iraqi reprisal till the political situation cleared up; that was in 1937 when the Shat Al Arab agreement with Iraq narrowed Iraq’s outlet to the Gulf, and the Iraqi regime sought one third of Kuwait to be released to Iraq. When Sheikh Ahmad Al-Jaber refused, Iraq promptly retaliated, preventing the Kuwaiti ships from refilling their ships with water from Shat Al Arab. Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad was nine years old at the time; he saw his people suffering from thirst and could never forget the look in their eyes. Following the incident a group of merchant established a company of 40 ships to ensure a steady supply of water from the Shat Al Arab when the political situation cleared up. Four reservoirs were built at four locations in town to store the water which was sold at a fixed price and that put an end to the fluctuation in prices.
The 1937 incident made Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad strongly aware of mischievous nature of the Iraqi regime; hence, when he became Prime Minister, then Ruler of Kuwait, he kept alert to avoid Iraq’s covetousness on his country, carefully planning his strategies and engaging in a foreign policy that gained world-wide respect for his country and made the Gulf states united in a common endeavor for mutual protection and development.
His farsighted policy was also instrumental in setting his country free from the Iraqi invasion of 199091. Iraq’s ultimate act of aggression on its tiny neighbor brought it on its knees; though its dictatorial regime has been vanquished Iraq still suffers the consequences of its arrogance.
To be continued