Kuwait names 1st ambassador to Iraq
Kuwait names 1st ambassador to Iraq since Gulf War
By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA, Associated Press Writer Thu Jul 17, 2:36 PM ET
BAGHDAD - Kuwait named its first ambassador to Iraq since the 1991 Gulf War on Thursday, a major step toward healing the two countries' painful past.
The announcement came as the Sunni leader of Lebanon's parliamentary majority met with Iraq's Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki — also reflecting Iraq's efforts to reconcile with aloof Arab neighbors and tamp down sectarian tension across the region.
Sunni Arab leaders suspect Shiite power Iran has strong influence over al-Maliki, who has made some diplomatic gains in the region but has struggled to win over Sunni powerhouses such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
Kuwait's official news agency quoted the country's foreign minister as saying retired Lt. Gen. Ali al-Momen, a former military chief of staff, will take the ambassador post. His appointment will be issued in a decree by the emir, it said.
The country closed its embassy in Iraq in 1990, after Saddam Hussein invaded his tiny, oil-rich neighbor. The attack spurred the 1991 U.S.-led invasion to oust Saddam's forces.
The two neighbors had no relations until more than a dozen years later, when another American invasion toppled Saddam. They resumed ties after 2003, and an Iraqi Embassy reopened in Kuwait, led by a charge d'affaires.
Kuwait had held back from reopening its embassy in Baghdad, however, citing security concerns. Diplomats from Bahrain, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and other Arab countries have all been either killed, wounded or kidnapped in Iraq since 2003.
Al-Qaida in Iraq had warned Arab states not to open embassies in Baghdad because of the Iraqi government's collaboration with U.S. military forces. But Iraqi and U.S. officials say violence has declined by 70 percent over the past year, and there have been no attacks on diplomatic missions in years.
A week ago, Kuwait said security had improved enough for it to finally name an ambassador.
Kuwait joins the United Arab Emirates and Jordan in opening up diplomatically to Baghdad, a step the U.S. has been prodding them to take. Bahrain has also said it is in the process of choosing an ambassador.
