KUWAIT - Pax Americana Is Changing - Part 8.

For the emirate of Kuwait, Pax Americana has proven to be a blessing. The spread of American influence in the region, and the expansion of its military presence have helped to enhance the emirate's sense of security. Operation Iraqi Freedom, launched in April 2003 and with major combat declared over by May 1, has added another level of security now that the regime of Saddam Hussein has been removed. With the future of Iraq uncertain, Kuwait does not face the prospect - at least for the foreseeable future - of being claimed as a province of its northern neighbour.

Kuwait was one of the earliest countries to gain first-hand experience of Pax Americana, following the Iraqi invasion of the emirate on Aug. 2, 1990. At the time, George Bush Sr., the current president's father, rallied the widest international coalition in history, and launched an attack on Jan. 17, 1991, to expel the forces of Saddam Hussein from Kuwait. Complete success was achieved by the end of February that year - and triggered the confrontation between the US and Saddam which culminated in Operation Iraqi Freedom a little more than 12 years later.

Kuwait has repaid the American help in expelling the Baathist regime from its territory by fully supporting, even if not always in public, the policies being implemented by US governments in the region since then. Thus support has been extended to the Middle East peace process, the emirate has fallen in line as much as possible with US calls for democratization, and more recently Kuwait has emerged as one of the strongest backers of the US war on terror.

Apart from a sense of obligation for the role played by America in liberating it from under Iraqi occupation, the emirate has traditionally taken a strong line against radical Islamist tendencies - despite some hardline views within its own political community, where the Islamists have recently performed strongly in parliamentary elections (see following pages). The US expects and has received full co-operation from Kuwait for any aspect of its war on terror, although occasionally the rhetoric might sound different due to domestic and regional political compulsions.

The emirate is also a convenient ally for the US in the region in another way. As one of the more democratised countries in the Arab World, Kuwait tends to have a less hostile approach to calls emanating from the West for political reform and pluralism in the Arab World. On the contrary, some Kuwaiti intellectuals have been tough on Arab regimes which suppress their own citizens. One of the toughest criticisms of the lack of democracy in the region came in an article written by Kuwaiti university professor Ahmad Al Baghdadi entitled "Sharon Is A Terrorist--And You?" - first published in the emirate after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. (It was later reprinted in the Egyptian weekly Akhbar Al Yom).

Most observers believe that, so long as domestic political stability can be maintained in Kuwait, the emirate faces little risk of any external challenges in the foreseeable future. But domestic stability can be a tricky issue in the emirate. The issues that can affect the regime focus around the question of succession and the health of the Emir Shaikh Jabir Al Ahmad Al Sabah and Crown Prince Shaikh Saad Al Ahmad Al Sabah. Both are in very poor health, and there is uncertainty about succession beyond Shaikh Saad.

Infighting within the family can be expected, although what remains to be seen is whether this would be discreet and settled within the family itself or would come out in the open and threaten the stability of the emirate. Currently, Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah, named to the post on July 13 following the unprecedented decision to split the posts of crown prince and prime minister, is functioning as the country's de facto ruler, although this does not imply a high degree of certainty about his future prospects to become ruler.

Shaikh Sabah, who has long served as Foreign Minister, told the Saudi newspaper Okaz in an interview after his appointment that relations with the US were "proceeding normally". In one of his first comments after taking up his new position, Shaikh Sabah also indicated that US troops will continue to stay in the emirate (see below).

It is important to note that by most measures, Kuwait is the hallmark of stability. Its citizens, cradled by state welfare from birth to death, have among the highest per capita incomes in the world. The emirate has, by standards in the Arab World, a fairly participative political system with a freely elected National Assembly (parliament) that is known to be frequently critical of the government as well as members of the ruling Al family, although the Emir, Shaikh Jabir Al Ahmad and the Crown Prince Shaikh Saad are regarded as being above criticism.