125.0090B/8–1949: Airgram
The Ambassador in the United Kingdom ( Douglas ) to the Secretary of State
Subject: US Consulate at Kuwait, Arabia.
A–1555. With reference to the Department’s Instruction No. 192 of April 21, 1949, and this Embassy’s interim reports, there is quoted below a letter dated August 16, 1949 (ref E 7746/1902/91) which was addressed to this Embassy by Mr. B. A. B. Burrows, Head of the [Page 1571] Eastern Department of the British Foreign Office, replying to our representations carried out in accordance with the reference instruction.
“Will you please refer to Lewis Jones’1 letter of the 29th April2 to me forwarding a request from the State Department for our agreement to the opening of a United States Consulate in Kuwait.
As I have already made clear in conversation with Lewis Jones, we have fully accepted the strength of the arguments in favour of the establishment of a consular representative of the United States Government in Kuwait and appreciated that the increase in the volume of work has caused difficulties in the administration of consular business from Basra; but while we have been most anxious to meet the practical requirements of the United States Government, we have also been seriously concerned at the political repercussions which are likely to arise. The Iraqis have already asked for the appointment of a Consul and if an Iraqi Consul were to be appointed the Egyptians might be expected to follow up with a similar demand. At present the United States is the only country with which the United Kingdom has a Consular Convention, but we expect to negotiate such conventions with a number of other countries soon and are at present negotiating one with Egypt. These conventions are likely to include a provision similar to that in the UK–US Convention providing that a Consulate may be opened at any place where a Consulate of a third country is established. If there were a U.S. Consulate in Kuwait, we should be unable on the conclusion of our Convention with Egypt to refuse the opening of an Egyptian Consulate there. For this reason we fear that it cannot be argued that the establishment of a U.S. Consulate would not constitute a precedent.
If the way were thus opened to Egyptian and Iraqi penetration there would be a real danger that Kuwait would be rapidly infected with all the ultra-nationalist maladies from which those two countries are at present suffering. Kuwait would become involved in Arab League affairs and in all the rivalries and intrigues which now divide the Arab States. This involvement of Kuwait in Middle East politics would be to the advantage neither of the United States nor ourselves. I might add that if Consuls were appointed from outside countries at Kuwait there would be a similar demand for representation at Bahrein where similar considerations apply.
This desire to exclude the hurly-burly of Arab politics does not of course mean that we wish to keep Kuwait or Bahrein in permanent tutelage; but our hope was that they would develop in their own time on a steadier and more stable basis than most of the Arab States have done. In this connexion, we are well aware of the need for strengthening our own political representation in Kuwait and steps to this end have already been taken.
We thought it desirable to set out fully the above consideration which would explain to you the difficult situation in which the U.S. Government’s request put us and the reason why we have taken some time to consider the matter. We are sure that the State Department will wish to weigh these considerations carefully before coming to a [Page 1572] final decision. If they finally decided that they wished to go on with the idea of appointing a U.S. Consul at Kuwait in spite of the difficulties to which we call attention we should not wish to object. In order however to reduce so far as possible the dangers and difficulties to which we think this appointment might give rise, we should like to have your agreement to the following three points in relation to the status of the U.S. Consular Officer at Kuwait:—
- “The first is that his exequatur should be issued by H.M. Government and not by the Sheikh of Kuwait. We are informed that in view of the international status of Kuwait, for whose foreign relations H.M. Government are responsible, this is the only correct procedure. This would imply that foreign consuls established in Kuwait would deal with the Kuwait authorities through the British Political Agent on all except purely routine matters.
- The second is that the appointment would not alter the present jurisdictional arrangements at Kuwait under which the British Political Agent is responsible for dealing with legal cases involving non-Arab foreigners.
- The third is that the appointment would not affect the existing arrangements embodied in political agreements with the Kuwait Oil Company and the American Independent Oil Company (and which would be similarly embodied in a political agreement with any company which obtained a concession for exploiting oil in the seabed under Kuwait’s control and jurisdiction) according to which the relations between the company and the Sheikh except on routine matters are handled through the Political Agent.
If on further consideration the State Department felt able to suggest some method of dealing with their practical requirements which did not involve the political difficulties which we foresee in the present proposal, we should naturally be very glad to consider any such suggestion.
I should make it clear that we have not yet made any approach to the Sheikh of Kuwait on this subject.”