Raid on US marines puts question mark over friendly Kuwait

Kuwait was supposed to be safe territory for the Americans. Of all the Gulf states, Kuwait is the one emirate whose leadership – albeit elderly and sick – has never faltered in its support for the nation which liberated it from Saddam Hussein's armies in 1991; which is one reason why the American marines stage war games on its territory.

And why the United States has pre-positioned a brigade of M1A1 Abrams tanks, Bradley fighting vehicles and artillery at Camp Doha.

So yesterday's killing of one US marine and the wounding of another during a live-fire exercise by 1,400 American troops on Failaka Island comes as another surprise for Washington. If al-Qa'ida is behind this latest shooting by two Kuwaitis who were both shot dead,it only goes to show that Osama bin Laden's supporters exist even in the friendliest kingdom of the Gulf. Unlike the Saudis, the Kuwaitis will be only too keen to share their intelligence with the United States.

The two attackers, both wearing civilian clothes, were reportedly shot dead by US marines after the killings, although the exact circumstances of the shooting remained unclear yesterday. The fact that the two dead killers were Kuwaitis, is serious news for the Emir and the crown prince, whose countrymen have never shown any hostility to the United States since the 1991 Gulf War.

The French and US embassies in Kuwait were car-bombed before the war – and an assassination attempt was made on the Emir – but this had more to do with Kuwait's dispute with Iran (and its support for Iraq) than any outside antagonist.

But President Saddam's invasion of Kuwait was to be a factor in Osama bin Laden's decision to open a war with the United States. After the Iraqi occupation, he begged the Saudi royal family to allow him to use his own "mujahadeen" fighters to drive Saddam's forces from the emirate.

But the Saudis decided – to bin Laden's indignation – to entrust this task to American troops. In this context, yesterday's attack on the "liberators" makes sense. Even the Americans, runs the message, are no longer safe in Kuwait.

But is Kuwait itself safe? From attack by Saddam, yes. But the Emir is a sick man and the crown prince of the al-Sabah tribe is now so afflicted with what some claim to be Alzheimer's that last year he developed the disconcerting habit of offering visitors midday coffee during the holy fasting month of Ramadan.

The Americans cannot engineer "regime change" in Kuwait – indeed, they wouldn't want to – but with Saudi Arabia's own king preparing for death, it's a bad time for another princely Gulf family to be incapacitated.