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CNN Live At Daybreak

People in Kuwait Watching U.S. War Campaign Closely

Aired October 30, 2001 - 06:20   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Now today, U.S. forces are going after terrorist targets in Afghanistan, but 10 years ago they were doing battle in the Persian Gulf.

And as CNN's Jim Bittermann reports, people in Kuwait are watching this campaign closely and nervously.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From the rich oil producing states of the Arabian Gulf, the war and misery of Afghanistan seem a world away. But a few steps from the water, it is the topic of discussion. The senior citizens who gather at this tea house each morning haven't forgotten how the U.S. saved Kuwait from the Iraqis, but they now have a difficult time watching the world's most powerful country attacking one of its weakest.

"To hell with terrorists," said Amir al-Hussein (ph), "but these are a poor people."

The tone is even harsher among younger men at this beyonea (ph), a traditional coffee circle where they debate endlessly but rarely disagree on condemnation of the U.S. bombing.

"As Muslims," a religious leader said, "in the same way we cannot condone the attacks on New York, we cannot support the attacks on Afghanistan."

Said another, "If the U.S. does not solve the Palestinian problem, no one will be safe from terrorists."

The Palestinian issue is key to Americas image in the Muslim world, but a top political scientist believes the U.S. has already lost that battle.

GHANIM AL NAIJAR, KUWAIT UNIVERSITY: It is not a sign of strength, it is a sign of weakness to bombard Afghanistan. I believe this is a war of symbols. Bin Laden has been inflated as a -- as a symbolic meaning.

BITTERMANN: The professor is sure, especially among the young people he sees, that while they may not really follow what Osama bin Laden believes, he's become something of a cult figure. They're exchanging his picture with more or less funny comments on their cell phones.

And ask even a 12 year old in the Gulf to guide you to his favorite bin Laden Web site, and he'll immediately click through to the one where the cave dwelling terrorist is outsmarting America's best technology. There are worse things in the Arab world than humiliation, but not many.

Still, here in the Gulf, the price of oil and the mood in the financial centers shapes public opinion almost as much as anger or sarcasm from the street. And for now, at least, Washington can take some comfort from the analysts.

FAISAL AL MATTAWA, BAYAN INVESTMENTS: The sooner it's resolved the better, but I'm not sure that continuing to chase bin Laden from one valley to a mountain would have an economic impact on this area.

BITTERMANN: But that is a slim comfort in a region that after weeks of bombing is increasingly skeptical of American intentions, especially given the real fear here which makes many go nervously silent.

(on camera): The real fear is Saudi Arabia. Throughout the Gulf countries there is a concern that growing fundamentalism there, fueled by increasing rejection of the American military campaign could destabilize the Saudi Royal Family and that could have a major impact on every other Gulf state.

(voice-over): So while the approaching winter in Afghanistan seems far away from the Arabian Gulf, many here will be paying close attention to the political storms it might bring.

Jim Bittermann, CNN, Kuwait.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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