Cablegate: U.S. Military Flies Kuwaiti Tents to Haiti

VZCZCXYZ0001
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHKU #0105 0351302
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 041302Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY KUWAIT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4534
INFO RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHPU/AMEMBASSY PORT AU PRINCE PRIORITY 0008
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUMIAAA/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL PRIORITY
RUCNDT/USMISSION NEW YORK NY PRIORITY

UNCLAS KUWAIT 000105

SIPDIS

FOR HAITI EARTHQUAKE TASK FORCE, NEA/ARP, USAID/W, FOR
DCHA/OFDA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAID ECON PREF YM KU
SUBJECT: U.S. MILITARY FLIES KUWAITI TENTS TO HAITI

REF: KUWAIT 90

1. (U) This is an action request. Please see paragraph 4.

2. (U) on February 3, three weeks after the Minister of
Health approached Ambassador for assistance in sending relief
supplies to Haiti, final clearances were received permitting
space-available transportation of 300 Kuwait Red Crescent
Society-donated tents for Haiti onboard a 747 cargo plane
returning to the U.S. The plane departed Kuwait with US
military cargo and six pallets of tents, en-route to Dover
Air Force Base. Econoff was told that tents would be
off-loaded at Dover, trucked to Charleston South Carolina Air
Force Base, hub for Haiti relief operations, and then
transported to Haiti.

3. (U) The 300 tents, valued by KRCS at USD 47,000, account
for only a portion of the original USD 330,000 in in-kind
assistance the KRCS had earmarked for Haiti (this amount on
top of the USD 1 million in cash already donated). On
February 3, the KRCS retrieved from the military side of KCIA
the remaining supplies for which USG transport was denied,
including 30 tons of UK manufactured medical supplies, 8 tons
of blankets, and 50 tons of family food parcels. According
to KRCS officials, they will likely route these supplies to
Yemen.

4. (U) Action Request: According to Yousef Al Merag,
Director of Disaster Management at KRCS, his organization has
a substantial number of additional tents and would be happy
to contribute them to Haiti relief if further U.S. airlift
could be identified. Please advise as to how we may respond
to this inquiry. End Action request.

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For more reporting from Embassy Kuwait, visit:
visit Kuwait's Classified Website at:

http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Kuwa it
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JONES

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