KUWAIT CITY — In Kuwait, two American soldiers are shot on a quiet stretch of desert highway. In Lebanon, an American nurse is murdered at a clinic. In Jordan, a U.S. diplomat is gunned down in his front yard. As U.S. soldiers prepare for possible war with Iraq, and as violence continues in American-allied Israel and the Palestinian territories, a series of attacks on Americans in the Middle East has sparked fears that even friendly nations like Kuwait are no longer enclaves of safety. “The thing that is scary, that’s different this time, is that it seems more organized,” said Felix Reinberg, an American engineer who has spent 11 years working in Kuwait. He spoke days after the U.S. soldiers were injured in the highway shooting Thursday. “They’ve never really targeted Americans or Westerners in Kuwait.” The Kuwaiti government, eager to keep good relations with Washington, has portrayed the shooting as the act of a single, mentally ill man, not a reflection of broad anti-American feelings. But local press reports say the suspect, Khaled al-Shimmiri, told investigators he hated Americans and Jews. Many here fear the attack — Kuwait’s second in which American soldiers were shot — will not be the last. “It’s obvious these incidents will happen, and will continue to happen,” said Abdullah Sahar, a political scientist at Kuwait University. “Kuwait is a very small society, and this is a very small country, and the Americans are everywhere: You go to the markets and you see Americans, you go on the street and you see Americans, maybe your neighbors are Americans.” Kuwait is, in many ways, emblematic of how complicated America’s image problems and security concerns can be in the Middle East. The vast majority of this oil-rich nation is pro-American, grateful to the U.S.-led coalition that drove out Saddam Hussein’s army in the 1991 Gulf War. Thousands of American workers and more than 10,000 U.S. soldiers have been welcomed. Even America’s harshest critics want those troops to remain — though they insist a deep hatred lies beneath the placid surface. “Most Kuwaitis want America to stay in Kuwait because they don’t trust Saddam,” said Abdul-Razzak al-Shayegi, an Islamic law scholar. “But how can I want America to be in Kuwait and shut my mouth about what they are doing in Israel• … How can I give America our land to attack Iraq?” With anti-American sentiment on the rise, Kuwait’s large, open American presence can offer easy targets. “Just 10 Kuwaitis planning to kill or do something against Americans, nobody can block them,” Sahar said. Officially, the Kuwaiti government says the country is unreservedly pro-American. “Be sure that all Kuwait — all Kuwait, all Kuwaitis — appreciate and welcome the Americans,” said Khalid Al-Jarallah, an undersecretary in the Foreign Ministry. Privately, though, some Kuwaiti officials acknowledge security concerns. Since the fatal shooting of a U.S. Marine and the wounding of another in an attack by Islamic extremists Oct. 8, nearly 25 percent of the country has been sealed off, left to U.S. and Kuwaiti soldiers preparing for war with Iraq. Yet few if any expatriates have decided to leave. American diplomats say there have always been some security threats in Kuwait, and they don’t believe recent incidents show a surge in anti-Americanism. The official U.S. response has been different in Jordan, another American ally, where diplomat Laurence Foley was killed in October as he walked to his car. Authorities believe the attack was politically motivated, but have made no arrests.

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