Political changes in Kuwait warrant America's attention

There was an anniversary in the Middle East that passed with little notice in the United States: The invasion of Kuwait by Saddam Hussein's Iraq and the subsequent ouster of Iraqi troops by a U.S.-led coalition force. Because of our preoccupation with Iraq and Afghanistan, the Bush administration has paid little attention to the goings-on in the oil-rich kingdom.
Thus the absence of White House reaction to last month's parliamentary elections in which Kuwaiti voters replaced reformists with conservative Islamist candidates, some of whom campaigned on a platform of challenging Western influence, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Such political developments are not good for the stability of the region and the future of U.S. ties to Kuwait. The Bush administration, which has made the spread of democracy in the Middle East a cornerstone of its foreign policy, cannot ignore the growing influence of Islamic extremism in a country that has long been a close ally. Indeed, the decision to send troops to Kuwait in 1991, after Saddam's invasion in late 1990, was described by the administration of George H.W. Bush as a friend helping a friend.
There is no doubt that had the United States not secured United Nations' support for the Gulf War, thereby being able to put together the military coalition, Kuwait would not have been able to withstand Saddam's onslaught. Granted, the prospect of Saddam's controlling huge oil reserves prompted the international community to act, but the fact remains that his invasion of a neighboring country was seen as a move to destabilize the region -- and, by extension, the world economy.
Open elections
In return for America's leadership role, the Sabah ruling family pledged to replace martial law with a new political system and to hold open parliamentary elections. They also promised that Kuwaitis would enjoy the freedom that allied forces had provided for them.
It was the Sabah rulers who had dissolved the elected parliament in 1986 after its 25-year existence, but there were strong indications that the emir was willing to end martial law. Eleven years ago, Kuwait did hold parliamentary elections, but only Kuwaiti males were allowed to vote for the 50-man National Assembly. In the face of protests from some courageous women, the rulers pointed to Islamic tradition of restricting women from government. In 1999, the emir issued a decree and a bill for suffrage, but the all-male legislature rejected those initiatives. The highest court reaffirmed the rejection by dismissing a suit filed by a group of women.
And now, reformers in parliament are being targeted by the extremists, who no doubt want to turn Kuwait into another Iran, where the ayatollahs hold sway and keep a tight rein on the secular government.
Given the problems associated with nation-building in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Bush administration should not let the election of the Islamists go unchecked. It needs to find a way of supporting the reform movements in Kuwait and to pressure the ruling family to keep the promises made to the United States when Saddam was driving the emir into the ground.