The CIA and my friend's Sheesha

Monday,27 December 2010


By : Jameel W. Karaki

WikiLeaks created a lot of gossip about the implicit and explicit reasons behind leaking these cables to the public in this dramatic way. The nature of the cables, its content and the comments of some diplomats I received in Kuwait supported the "Conspiracy Theory" behind leaking these documents.
 
As a result, as an active reporter I decided to write a piece about this issue titled "Reading between the lines at the WikiLeaks Buffet". In this piece I asked many questions, such as who is actually the behind the WikiLeaks disclosures and the types of cables that it published? Have all these efforts been exercised to enable the great American entity to present these documents on a platter through an open buffet? Why were these documents leaked in the first place?!


On Wednesday, December 15, 2010 during a launch organized by the American embassy of Kuwait as a farewell event for Hatem Korabi, the former information specialist at the embassy who left the embassy but remained in our minds and hearts.

I seized the opportunity to have a discussion with Katharina Gollner-Sweet Counselor for Public Affairs at the American embassy of Kuwait who is always open to any question, criticism or a feedback from a sophisticated reporter like me.

 While we were eating she explained to me the impact of these leaks on the state department and the embarrassment that these cables caused to the Americans. Despite that I was bombarding her with questions, she was polite and a good listener. After hours of discussions, she was generous enough to send me Transcript of Conference Call Roundtable with A/S Feltman to answer my concerns about WikiLeaks. In general reading this transcript answered some of my questions and refutes the conspiracy behind these leaks. The main question for me is would an Arab diplomat handle my questions in a similar manner?

I wrote many pieces that do not agree with the American foreign policy and yet I have never received a negative feedback from the embassy, or any worker within. Either by underestimating my opinion or attacking it. For instance, I published a piece titled" USA the economic Devil" and after few months I was representing Kuwait in the Foreign Press Center, March Social Media Tour 2010. However, after this trip I didn't agree blindly with the American foreign policy and I kept writing in the same path criticizing and critiquing.

One of my friends gave me a friendly advice, which reflected his limited vision and understand for the American culture by advising me not write more opinion pieces about criticizing the American foreign policy. He argued that the American authorities might invalidate my five years visa or that I will not be able to study for a PhD over at Yale or Georgetown. As a result, I didn't answer him because he is another victim of" The Conspiracy Theory" and I changed the subject. My point here is that we should listen to the others and understand the way they thank in order to issue fair provisions.

I am not cajoling anyone, rather I am explaining to those who do not understand what freedom is all about. Mrs. Sweet is a good example of an American who knows and understands our culture and our thinking methodologies. I hope those who are stationed in Washington DC to understand Arabic not just speaking it hollowly and look at this spot of the world with the eyes of wisdom.

In my opinion writing is a message, diplomacy is an art, and my freedom is a right. If you want to know why USA is controlling the world just look at how professional, educated and respectable American diplomats are and how rude some are from other countries.

Finally, during my conversation with my friend, his sheesha toppled on the ground and I believe that he thinks that the CIA created hidden forces to push his sheesha in the ground like WikiLeaks.

http://alwatandaily.kuwait.tt/resources/pdf/953/8.pdf