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Kuwait
Internal Security
Many of the domestic strains in Kuwait arise from the disparities
between the living standards of Kuwaiti nationals and the majority
of Kuwait's foreign population. Palestinian workers presented
problems for the Al Sabah rulers for several decades, but, during
the 1980s, militants and terrorists advancing the Khomeini brand
of Islamism overshadowed the Palestinians as troublemakers. Kuwait's
support for Iraq in the Iran-Iraq War accounted for much of the
violence that disturbed internal stability during the 1980s. A
series of terrorist bombings in 1983 aimed at Kuwaiti installations
and the United States and French embassies were ascribed to Iranian
retaliation. A network of Hizballah terrorists was uncovered,
and, in the spring of 1984, seventeen Shia were sentenced to long
prison terms, and three were condemned to death. Airplane hijackings,
explosions, car bombings, and an assassination attempt against
the amir ensued. Kuwait steadfastly rejected demands for release
of terrorists in its custody, most of whom were still in jail
at the time of the Iraqi invasion and subsequently disappeared.
A number of Kuwaiti Shia were sentenced for setting fires at oil
installations in 1986 and 1987. The attacks declined in 1988,
and no attack was recorded in 1989 or 1990 after Iran's decision
to accept a cease-fire in the Iran-Iraq War, which was followed
by an attempted reconciliation with its neighbors.
Data as of January 1993
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