Air-raid sirens are wailing, chemical-weapons drills are unfolding and family escape plans are hatching, as Kuwait anxiously prepares for the prospect of war next door.
Kuwaiti leaders fear Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, if attacked by the United States, could launch a desperate and vengeful assault on his small southern neighbor, with conventional missiles or even chemical or biological weapons. The concern in Kuwait underscores widespread worries, from Israel to Saudi Arabia, that an attack on Iraq could trigger retaliatory strikes on U.S. allies in the Middle East.
“We are very concerned about the safety of the people in this area,” said Sheik Ibrahim Duaij Al-Sabah, governor of this busy suburb south of Kuwait City and home to the nation’s only major airport. “Saddam Hussein has shown he will use these chemical weapons on his own people, so why not here? The world should worry as well.”
The warnings reflect scars from the 1991 Persian Gulf war. Not only did Hussein torch and loot this rich oil emirate, but Kuwait’s rulers faced sharp criticism from citizens for failing to warn or protect them.
Many of the nation’s top leaders fled to Saudi Arabia in the early hours of the August 1990 invasion, leaving Kuwait’s 2 million residents and its tiny army to defend the country. The state was overrun in less than a day and endured a brutal seven-month occupation.
This time, civil-defense officials are making lavish public displays of readiness, while fretting that citizens themselves are not sufficiently concerned.
“The population is not ready to deal with this kind of an attack, but we are trying our best to send them the message that they need to be aware,” said Civil Defense Department Col. Abdulaziz Malallah, the architect of a series of controlled “fake wars” in this town in recent days, designed to jolt the citizens into a state of readiness.
Officials make point–loudly
Compared with the news conferences and brochures favored by public-safety officials in the United States, these awareness-boosting displays are a dramatic spectacle. On a recent morning, shoppers in this busy Kuwaiti suburb were stunned by four rapid explosions in a nearly empty parking lot that shot flames three stories in the air.
Minutes later, an even larger explosion shook a nearby deserted roadway; then a third blast in a dirt lot released a haunting yellow cloud–all while reporters scribbled, firefighters scrambled and local officials looked on. In their exuberance, Malallah and his deputies had used so much C-4 explosive and gasoline that the blasts cracked car windshields nearly a block away.
Until they arrived on the scene, rank-and-file emergency workers were not informed that the emergencies were tests, enabling officers to better assess their response, officials said. After each blast, fire trucks and National Guard troops arrived in minutes, only to find actors posing as victims.
“I give them a 90 percent [score],” Col. Malallah said. “Not 100 percent.”
Fears of an attack come as UN weapons inspectors hunt for Iraq’s reputed stockpiles of mustard gas, nerve gas, anthrax and smallpox. About 350 miles south of Baghdad, Kuwait City is within range of an Iraqi Scud missile, which could scatter deadly agents across the wind-whipped terrain.
Hussein used chemical weapons in the 1980s, in both the war with Iran and attacks on Iraqi Kurds. But none of the 88 Scuds fired at Saudi Arabia or Israel during the gulf war contained chemical or biological agents.
Air raid sirens reactivated
Still, U.S. allies are taking earnest precautions. In Riyadh, the Saudi capital, air raid sirens have been reactivated. In Israel, citizens this week rushed to obtain the latest model of gas mask after newspapers predicted Iraqi attacks.
Kuwait fears it could be a particularly ripe target because of the rapidly growing number of U.S. troops here.
Beyond the public displays of readiness, the Kuwaiti government is adopting other precautions. Last month, every school was ordered to practice evacuation procedures. Kuwaiti leaders pledged to purchase a gas mask for every resident. But those involved in the project say privately that they are years from reaching that goal.
Some large businesses and embassies have bought $13,000 Finnish-made inflatable tents, which are designed to shield as many as 10 people for 500 hours from a chemical attack. Ajay Kumar, sales engineer for the local distributor, Boodai Trading Co., said his company has sold 60 tents in three months.
Boodai also has helped outfit 50 or so bomb shelters with chemical- and biological-weapons filters, including a massive sanctuary for the ruling Sabah family that has room and supplies for 300 people.
`Panic situation’ recently
“There was a panic situation about three months back, and everyone was buying equipment,” Kumar said. “Now I think people are saying they are just going to leave the country.”
Indeed, some citizens have begun planning a hasty retreat in the event of war. Samia Nasrallah, a teacher who is five months’ pregnant, said she and her husband are transferring savings into overseas accounts. The couple is considering staying with relatives in Canada until hostilities subside.
“If you watch television, all you see is war, war, war. We are very concerned,” Nasrallah said. “We are basically saying we are not planning anything here after January 31.”
But across Kuwait City and the suburbs, many residents shrug off the threat.
“My family in Egypt is worried and they want me to come home,” said Radi Bashei, 36, a construction worker and father of three, as he watched the mock gas attack. “But we have a good government here in Kuwait, and if something happens, they will take care of us.”
Anas Al-Rasheed, editorial consultant at the influential newspaper Qatab, said many of his peers feel more confident about Kuwait’s defenses now than during the Persian Gulf war, because the U.S. is protecting its own forces here.
“I’m the type of guy who checks the oven three times before bed,” Al-Rasheed said, “and I’m not too worried.”
“Our only fear is that Saddam is fighting for his life, so you cannot predict what kind of crazy things he could do.”
