Saudi National Defense University holds graduation ceremony
Upon his arrival, the Saudi Press Agency reported, the defense minister was received by Vice Minister of Defense Prince Abdulrahman bin Mohammed bin Ayyaf; Chief of General Staff Lt. Gen. Fayyad bin Hamed Al-Ruwaili; adviser to the minister of defense for intelligence affairs Hisham bin Abdulaziz bin Seif; and director of the National Defense University, Maj. Gen. Mohammed Al-Ruwaili.
Prince Khalid watched a visual presentation about the university's programs to train and qualify military and civilian leaders studying at the university. He also reviewed developmental activities and events reflecting the university's institutional development plans.
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Arab News
an hour ago
- Arab News
How Iraq's invasion of Kuwait is still shaping regional dynamics 35 years later
LONDON: Disbelief. That was the reaction of Saudi general Prince Khalid bin Sultan when he answered the telephone at his home near Riyadh in the early hours of Aug. 2, 1990, and learnt that Iraq had invaded Kuwait. The general had been entertaining friends at a barbecue, and they were still sipping coffee when the phone rang. 'War was the farthest thing from my mind,' Prince Khalid recalled in an article he wrote in 1993. 'Arabs may disagree, but they don't usually invade each other.' The prince's disbelief was shared by the rest of the world. Now, 35 years on, the avalanche of consequences triggered by Iraq's unprovoked invasion of its tiny southern neighbor continues to reverberate — in Kuwait and the entire region. In a surprise pre-dawn attack, hundreds of Iraqi tanks and tens of thousands of troops, backed by helicopters and fighter aircraft, began pouring over the border. As a postwar report by the US Pentagon would later put it, 'despite individual acts of bravery,' the heavily outnumbered Kuwaiti forces 'were hopelessly outmatched.' By 4 a.m., Iraqi troops were at the gates of Dasman Palace in the heart of Kuwait City. Emir Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah and most of his family were evacuated just in time, seeking sanctuary in Saudi Arabia, but his younger brother, Sheikh Fahad, was among those who died in defense of the palace. Isolated units of the Kuwaiti army fought a series of running battles before withdrawing to regroup over the Saudi border. Hundreds were killed. Pilots of the small Kuwaiti air force downed at least 20 helicopters ferrying Iraqi troops over the border before their bases were overrun. Many Kuwaitis fled the country, most seeking sanctuary in neighboring Saudi Arabia. Those who were unable to escape faced an ordeal of looting, arrests and executions during an occupation that would last seven months. A cable to Washington from US diplomats in Saudi Arabia on Nov. 22, 1990, reported that the invasion 'and subsequent Iraqi brutalities in Kuwait literally drove Kuwait into Saudi Arabia. 'Thousands of refugees and the bulk of Kuwait's government arrived on the scene in need of support and sustenance. The Saudis were and remain generous with both.' Kuwait was liberated on Feb. 27, 1991, by the forces of a multinational US-led coalition which had been assembled in Saudi Arabia. Iraq, previously an ally, had massed tanks on the border and fired Scud missiles at targets in the Kingdom. Just two days before the Iraqis were routed from Kuwait, one of these missiles killed 28 US personnel at a base in Dharan. As they retreated, Iraqi forces set fire to hundreds of Kuwait's oil wells. Thousands of Saddam Hussein's soldiers died as they fled back to Iraq, their vehicles repeatedly attacked by coalition aircraft on Highway 80. 'Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, while garnering a historically united response from the international community, ironically also marked the beginning of regional disunity, distrust, and fragmentation,' said Caroline Rose, a defense and security director at the New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy in Washington. 'The invasion incited new levels of wariness between Gulf states and their regional neighbors as Kuwait's location and rich oil reserves had become a vulnerability, rather than a strength, that had motivated Iraq to invade. 'This promoted a 'this could happen to us' mentality among Gulf states, marking moves to increase defense ties with security guarantors such as the US.' The invasion of Kuwait, and the resulting international intervention, she said, 'also marked a sharp downward trend in political, economic and social stability in Iraq, later opening up the country for Iranian influence and campaigns to widen the sectarian divide in both Iraq and the Levant at large.' READ MORE: • Desert Storm: 30 years on • Analysis: How Iran reaped the rewards of Saddam's 1990 Kuwait invasion • Thirty years ago, Iraq invaded Kuwait • Saddam Hussein 'acted like Hitler' during Kuwait invasion, former UK PM Thatcher said Sir John Jenkins, former British ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Syria, agreed that the invasion and its aftermath 'certainly encouraged Iran, and helped Tehran build on its successes in the 1980s in creating out of dissident exiled Iraqi Shiites the nucleus of a militia — the Badr Brigade — which ultimately helped to secure the victory of the Shiite Islamist bloc after 2003.' There were other geopolitical upheavals. When Kuwait was liberated, 'the expulsion of most Palestinians resident there, in retaliation for PLO chairman Yasser Arafat's major error in supporting Saddam, resulted in an influx into Jordan, which raised Amman property prices and also made Jordanian Palestinians more radical.' Perhaps most importantly, in the aftermath of the invasion 'the passing at the UN in New York of a set of punitive resolutions imposing on Iraq requirements for compensation and redress and intrusive inspections of its weapons programs led to a breakdown of consensus within the UN Security Council, the food-for-oil scandal, and ultimately the discrediting of the UN as the last resort on issues of international peace and security.' That, said Sir John, 'is one reason US President George W. Bush thought he should go it alone in 2003.' The fact that coalition forces stopped 240 kilometers short of Baghdad in 1991, choosing to leave Saddam Hussein in power, has remained controversial. But in 2003, in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the US, and under the pretext of searching for weapons of mass destruction, a US-led coalition returned to Iraq to finish the job, costing 300,000 Iraqi and US lives in the course of an invasion, occupation and subsequent insurgency that would last for years. There were other far-reaching consequences of Iraq's attack on Kuwait. In leading ultimately to the demise of Saddam Hussein, 'it destroyed the last real champion of pan-Arabism, creating more space for radical Islamists,' said Sir John. But it is for Kuwaitis that the echoes of invasion are loudest. 'To be a formerly occupied country is to be in quite a unique position,' said Bader Mousa Al-Saif, an assistant professor of history at Kuwait University and an associate fellow on the Middle East and North Africa program at UK policy institute Chatham House. 'It has left Kuwait trapped in a combination of denial and survival mode, preventing a return to normalcy. 'We haven't really sat down as a people to talk through what we went through — the traumas, the losses, and how we can move on.' This failure to find national closure 'has led to a lot of displaced energy in other spaces, such as rising crime and drug taking,' while an understandable focus on security has stalled Kuwait's momentum. 'Our geography hasn't changed,' said Al-Saif, who served as deputy chief of staff to a former prime minister of Kuwait. 'We're still a small country surrounded by larger neighbors and keeping that all in check has, in a way, halted our own development. 'If your mind is focused on survival, you're not going to be able to push forward, in the way that the other Gulf states have pushed themselves forward.' For many Kuwaitis, the largest unhealed wound is the fate of its 'martyrs,' — the 308 people who, after 35 years, remain missing, presumed dead. 'Kuwait continues to fly the flag for these people — not only Kuwaiti nationals but also those from other countries who disappeared,' said Al-Saif. After the war, the fate of more than 600 people, mainly civilians, was unknown. Some remains, found in mass graves in Iraq and identified by their DNA, have been returned, 'but we cannot claim this chapter is fully closed until we can bring some relief to those 308 families that are still seeking answers and want to honor and safeguard their loved ones by burying them properly.' The Iraqi government, said Al-Saif, 'has been working to support this, which is why we have recovered the remains of some people, but this work needs to continue. And while Kuwait does not doubt the sincerity, due diligence and hard efforts of Iraq, it is pushing for more speed and agility in this matter.' There is also the issue of Kuwait's national archives, stolen during the invasion, the fate of which remains even less clear. 'The archive remains missing, and we haven't received any information about it. A few things have been returned, but much of the fabric of the country's heritage and memories remains lost, and this also needs to be resolved,' said Al-Saif. For the past 35 years, he added, 'Kuwait has been striving for normalcy,' a quest frustrated in part by the ongoing uncertainty over its maritime borders. 'As an aspiring responsible nation which abides by the rules-based international order, having fixed borders is the least that you can demand, and we haven't been able to settle the maritime boundary between Iraq and Kuwait for the past 20 years,' he said. Ever since 2005, when the first government of Iraq was elected in the wake of the US occupation, Kuwait has been working to resolve this unsettling issue. 'But we're at a standstill,' said Al-Saif. 'Committees have come and gone but there hasn't been any closure on this, which isn't good for either country.' The issue centers on the Khor Abdullah, the narrow waterway shared between the two countries for about 50 kilometers before it enters the Arabian Gulf. There has been a long-running dispute over the precise location of the maritime boundary beyond the mouth of the waterway, an issue which — as highlighted by an analysis by the International Crisis Group, co-authored by Al-Saif and published last month — has been exploited by Iraqi politicians 'seemingly hoping to boost their own electoral fortunes.' Such rabble rousing seems to be working. A meeting in Kuwait City on July 17 of the Joint Kuwaiti-Iraqi Technical and Legal Committee provoked outcry in Iraq, with politicians claiming that access to Iraq's new Grand Faw Port was under threat, along with Iraqi sovereignty. Meanwhile, said Al-Saif, the uncertainty would undermine the confidence of investors and industry over the viability of both the Grand Faw Port in Iraq and Kuwait's Mubarak Al-Kabeer Port, both currently under construction barely miles apart on opposite banks near the mouth of the Khor Abdullah. He concluded: 'This needs to be sorted out for the sake of all concerned. Unfortunately, the Kuwait card is being played in Iraq to draw attention away from domestic issues there.'
Arab News
2 hours ago
- Arab News
Amount of aid entering Gaza remains ‘very insufficient'
BERLIN: The amount of aid entering Gaza remains 'very insufficient' despite a limited improvement, the German government said on Saturday after ministers discussed ways to heighten pressure on Israel. The criticism came after Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul visited the region on Thursday and Friday, and the German military staged its first food airdrops into Gaza, where aid agencies say that more than 2 million Palestinians are facing starvation. Germany 'notes limited initial progress in the delivery of humanitarian aid to the population of the Gaza Strip, which, however, remains very insufficient to alleviate the emergency situation,' government spokesman Stefan Kornelius said in a statement. The Israeli army is accused of having equipped Palestinian criminal networks in its fight against Hamas and of allowing them to plunder aid deliveries. 'Israel remains obligated to ensure the full delivery of aid,' Kornelius added. Facing mounting international criticism over its military operations in Gaza, Israel has allowed more trucks to cross the border and some foreign nations to carry out airdrops of food and medicines. International agencies say the amount of aid entering Gaza is still dangerously low, however. The UN has said that 6,000 trucks are awaiting permission from Israel to enter the occupied Palestinian territory. The German government, traditionally a strong supporter of Israel, also expressed 'concern regarding reports that Hamas and criminal organizations are withholding large quantities of humanitarian aid.' Israel has alleged that much of the aid arriving in the territory is being siphoned off by Hamas, which runs Gaza. The Israeli army is accused of having equipped Palestinian criminal networks in its fight against Hamas and of allowing them to plunder aid deliveries. 'The real theft of aid since the beginning of the war has been carried out by criminal gangs, under the watch of Israeli forces,' Jonathan Whittall of OCHA, the UN agency for coordinating humanitarian affairs, told reporters in May. A German government source said it had noted that Israel has 'considerably' increased the number of aid trucks allowed into Gaza to about 220 a day. Berlin has taken a tougher line against Israel's actions in Gaza and the occupied West Bank in recent weeks. The source stated that a German security Cabinet meeting on Saturday discussed 'the different options' for exerting pressure on Israel, but no decision was made. A partial suspension of arms deliveries to Israel is one option that has been raised. Militants launched an attack in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Israel's military offensive on Gaza since then has killed at least 60,249 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. The UN considers the ministry's figures reliable. Indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel aimed at securing a 60-day ceasefire in the war and deal for the release of hostages ended last week in deadlock. Hamas said on Saturday that it would not lay down arms unless an independent Palestinian state is established. In a statement, the Palestinian group said its 'armed resistance ... cannot be relinquished except through the full restoration of our national rights, foremost among them the establishment of an independent, fully sovereign Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.'
Arab News
3 hours ago
- Arab News
Israel closes majority of military abuse cases without charges, report finds
LONDON: Israel has closed 88 percent of investigations into alleged war crimes and abuses by its forces in Gaza and the West Bank without any charges or findings of wrongdoing, according to a report by conflict monitor Action on Armed Violence (AOAV). The UK-based group reviewed 52 cases reported in English-language media between October 2023 and June 2025, involving the deaths of 1,303 Palestinians and injuries to 1,880 others, The Guardian reported on Saturday. AOAV said only one case had resulted in a prison sentence, with just five others concluding with violations found. The remaining 46 cases, seven of which were closed with no fault found, and 39 still unresolved, amounted to what AOAV described as a 'pattern of impunity.' Iain Overton and Lucas Tsantzouris of AOAV said: 'The statistics suggest Israel was seeking to create a 'pattern of impunity' by failing to conclude or find no fault in the vast majority of cases involving the most severe or public accusations of wrongdoing by their forces.' Among the unresolved cases is the February 2024 killing of at least 112 Palestinians queueing for flour in Gaza City, an airstrike that killed 45 people at a Rafah tent camp in May, and the June 1 killing of 31 civilians heading to a food distribution point in Rafah. While the Israel Defense Forces initially called reports of the latter 'false', it later told The Guardian that the incident was 'still under review.' The IDF said it investigates 'exceptional incidents that occurred during operational activity, in which there is a suspicion of a violation of the law,' using internal fact-finding assessments (FFA) and military police inquiries in line with domestic and international law. According to the IDF: 'Any report … complaint or allegation that suggests misconduct by IDF forces undergoes an initial examination process, irrespective of its source.' Cases may then be passed to the FFA team to determine 'whether there is a reasonable suspicion of criminal misconduct'. Critics say the process is opaque and slow. Human rights group Yesh Din told The Guardian that of 664 IDF inquiries linked to previous Gaza operations between 2014 and 2021, only one led to a prosecution. In August 2024, the IDF reported the FFA had reviewed 'hundreds of incidents' related to the current Gaza war, with the military advocate general opening 74 criminal investigations. Of those, 52 involved detainee mistreatment or death, 13 focused on looting, and others related to civilian property destruction or excessive force. The only prison sentence to date came in February 2025, when a reservist received seven months for the aggravated abuse of bound and blindfolded Palestinian detainees at Sde Teiman detention centre. One of the highest-profile cases involved the April 2024 airstrike that killed seven World Central Kitchen aid workers. While the IDF called it a 'grave mistake stemming from a serious failure due to a mistaken identification', the charity said the rapid investigation lacked credibility. Despite public commitments, AOAV said the IDF's response has become 'more opaque and slow-moving' as civilian casualties mount. The organization said unresolved cases still include four incidents in the past month alone in which Palestinians were killed at or near food distribution points.
