WASHINGTON, Nov 8, (Agencies): US and Kuwaiti defense officials say they have not yet reached agreement on an American proposal to station at least 4,000 additional soldiers in the Gulf nation after the US military withdraws from Iraq at year’s end.

It was not clear Monday whether Kuwait was thinking of rejecting the proposal or officials were simply still working their way through negotiations.

US officials said privately last week that they expected Kuwait to agree to the proposal, but Sheik Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah, who is also defense minister, was quoted Sunday as saying there is no plan as of now to increase US troop levels in the country. The official Kuwait News Agency quoted him as saying that Kuwait will be used only as a transit point for forces, including those leaving Iraq.

Kuwaiti officials could not be reached Monday to elaborate on the comments, which were mentioned as part of a lengthy statement on a variety of issues. The Pentagon said plans are still being made.

“There have been no final decisions made or inked about force posture in that part of the world — in the Gulf region and the Middle East — post-Iraq,” Navy Capt John Kirby, a Defense Department spokesman, told reporters Monday.

“We’ve long said that there’s likely going to be a different posture as our troops come home out of Iraq, but we’re still working our way through all that right now,” Kirby said.

Asked if Sheikh Jaber spoke prematurely or if he was surprised by the Kuwaiti statement, Kirby didn’t directly answer, but said: “Those are sovereign decisions that any state gets to make about whether there’s foreign troops on their soil and, like I said, we’re still working our way through what the posture in the Middle East, writ large, is going to look like after our troops come home.”

A rebuff from Kuwait would be a significant blow to US efforts to boost the numbers of forces in the Gulf, where the US and its Arab allies fear Iran’s expanding military reach. Earlier this month, US officials said the Pentagon hoped to shift at least 4,000 soldiers from Iraq to Kuwait at the end of the year, pending a final decision by military planners and Kuwaiti leaders.
Kuwait would not allow its territory to be used for attacking any country in the region, Sheikh Jaber earlier affirmed, during a meeting with well-wishers of the military leadership and command of the Ministry of Defense for Eid Al-Adha.
With regard to Kuwaiti Army participation in dealing with labor strikes that are taking place in the country, Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak said the army would not intervene in such protests, except in certain cases of urgent necessity.
Labor strikes are messages addressed to concerned local authorities, but they should not cause any damage to the country or destroy one of its facilities, he elaborated.
In response to a question about plans by members of parliament to grill executives and possibility of dissolving the government or the National Assembly (Parliament), he said that the country is ruled by a constitution, adding that this issue is in the hands of His Highness the Amir, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.
As for MPs’ reported intention to interpellate the Minister of Defense, he stressed that the Minister swore in front of His Highness the Amir and the parliament, thus he would abide by this constitutional right in the event of any such questioning.
Furthermore, the minister said that he will discuss with the concerned authorities in the Ministry of Defence the subject of promotion for some of the Kuwaiti Army personnel, stressing his strong belief that promotion should be for those who deserve it.
He also congratulated Saudi Prince Salman Bin Abdulaziz on his appointment as Minister of Defense, succeeding the late Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz.
The reception was attended by Kuwait’s Army Chief of Staff Lt Gen Ahmad Khaled Al-Sabah, Deputy Chief of Army Staff Lt General Sheikh Khaled Al-Jarrah Al-Sabah, Head of the Office of the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, Major General Saleh Meshari Al-Homaizi and other senior officials.