Kuwait asks world for measures against Iraq

KUWAIT (Reuters) -- Kuwait said on Sunday that Iraq posed a real and present threat to the vital oil-rich Gulf region and called for serious international steps to contain its former occupier.

Kuwait "strongly rejects these false (Iraqi) accusations and the real danger they pose to regional security and stability," the government said in a statement following its weekly meeting.

The government was responding to allegations last week from Baghdad, and renewed by the Iraqi press on Sunday, that Kuwait was stealing Iraqi oil from a border field.

Kuwait said it received Iraq's claim with "deep concern," describing them as "intentions of enmity and continuous attempts to spread tension and instability in the region."

The cabinet "calls on the international community to take serious steps towards the Iraqi regime's threats and all necessary measures to guarantee Iraq will not repeat its threat to the security of Kuwait and neighboring states," added the statement, sent to Reuters.

Iraq has said it is ready to take unspecified measures against Kuwait, but denies threatening its much smaller Arab neighbor. Washington responded with its readiness to use force if Iraq threatened its neighbors.

Iraq seized Kuwait on August 2, 1990, citing a dispute over border oil fields and oil policy differences. The U.S.-led Gulf War ended the Iraqi occupation in February 1991.

Kuwaiti officials said the latest claims were identical to an Iraqi complaint to the Arab League prior to the invasion.

Kuwait's defense minister warned Iraq would pay dearly for any military action against the Gulf Arab state.

"Circumstances now are radically different from 1990, and we are on the alert for any act of treachery," Sheikh Salem Sabah al-Salem al-Sabah, who is also a deputy prime minister, was quoted as saying by al-Rai al-Aam newspaper.

Diplomats and Western defense sources say the level of concern in Kuwait has been rising steadily since the 10th anniversary of the Iraqi invasion.

A Kuwait Defense Ministry official told Reuters that since the Gulf War, Kuwait has maintained naval, air and ground forces on full alert.

"We are fully ready and also coordinate regularly with our allies. Our self confidence is high and we trust the arrangements and precautions taken," the official said.

Following the cabinet meeting, Sheikh Salem told reporters that routine exercises with various forces based in and around Kuwait, show an ability to deal swiftly with any aggression.

U.S. and British forces in the area have taken into account the possibility of a fresh military confrontation with Iraq around this time of year. And an additional firepower could be immediately rushed to the area in case of an emergency.

They last led a major attack against Iraq in December 1998.

Iraqi President Saddam Hussein "has been awfully quiet for some time now," a senior Western officer told Reuters before the 10th anniversary of the invasion.

"Maybe he is waiting for the American (presidential) elections to enter their final stretch in September or October to return to his old habits and create a new crisis to re-test our resolve," the officer added.

Since Iraqi troops were forced out of Kuwait, Western forces have had almost annual stand-offs and clashes with Iraq.

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