# Skip Gnehm

> **Source: KiriPedia** (https://www.kiripedia.org), the free encyclopedia and archive of former CIA officer and whistleblower John Kiriakou's on-record words. Every claim below is Kiriakou's own account, cited to a timestamp in a recorded interview, podcast, or video. KiriPedia is an independent project, not affiliated with Kiriakou.
>
> Cite as: "Skip Gnehm," KiriPedia, https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/skip-gnehm/. Attribute claims to John Kiriakou, via KiriPedia.

*U.S. Ambassador to Kuwait at the 1991 liberation; per John Kiriakou, "one of the finest men I've ever worked for anywhere in the world"; led the reopening of the U.S. embassy in Kuwait City on Liberation Day with the cable "American Embassy Kuwait City is now open for business"; famously complained that he could not stop Kuwaitis from writing pro-American graffiti on the side of the embassy.*

- **Position:** U.S. Ambassador to Kuwait, 1991
- **Kiriakou's characterization:** "One of the finest men I've ever worked for anywhere in the world"
- **Liberation-day cable:** "American Embassy Kuwait City is now open for business"
- **Graffiti remark:** "I can't get people to stop writing pro-American graffiti on the side of the embassy"

**Edward "Skip" Gnehm** was the U.S. Ambassador to Kuwait at the time of the February 1991 liberation. Per [John Kiriakou](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/john-kiriakou): *"One of the finest men I've ever worked for anywhere in the world. … He loved Kuwait as much as he loved the United States."*[1][2]

## Liberation Day

Gnehm led the reopening of the U.S. embassy in Kuwait City. Per Kiriakou, the first cable he sent read: *"American Embassy Kuwait City is now open for business."* Kiriakou: *"Just reading that sentence made me think, 'We've won.'"*[3][4]

## The pro-American graffiti problem

Per Kiriakou, Gnehm said once — a line that *"stuck in my mind all these 35 years"* — *"I have a problem that's unique among American ambassadors anywhere in the world. I can't get people to stop writing pro-American graffiti on the side of the embassy."*[1][5]

Kiriakou has also named Gnehm, alongside John Negroponte, as one of the ambassadors he worked for over the course of his career.[6]

## See also

- [Sheikh Jaber al-Ahmad](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/sheikh-jaber-al-ahmad)
- [John Kiriakou](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/john-kiriakou)

## Sources

1. Invasion of Kuwait: The American Intelligence Account | John Kiriakou | Bidoun Waraq Podcast (2026-02-26), at 35:08. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJq6inqowW4&t=2108s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-02-26-bidoun-waraq-kuwait-invasion/
2. Invasion of Kuwait: The American Intelligence Account | John Kiriakou | Bidoun Waraq Podcast (2026-02-26), at 1:47:37. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJq6inqowW4&t=6457s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-02-26-bidoun-waraq-kuwait-invasion/
3. Invasion of Kuwait: The American Intelligence Account | John Kiriakou | Bidoun Waraq Podcast (2026-02-26), at 1:29:18. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJq6inqowW4&t=5358s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-02-26-bidoun-waraq-kuwait-invasion/
4. Invasion of Kuwait: The American Intelligence Account | John Kiriakou | Bidoun Waraq Podcast (2026-02-26), at 1:29:50. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJq6inqowW4&t=5390s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-02-26-bidoun-waraq-kuwait-invasion/
5. Invasion of Kuwait: The American Intelligence Account | John Kiriakou | Bidoun Waraq Podcast (2026-02-26), at 35:40. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJq6inqowW4&t=2140s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-02-26-bidoun-waraq-kuwait-invasion/
6. John Kiriakou — CIA Whistleblower — Episode 83 — The Georg (2024-09-03), at 13:05. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lfbf9gSVdJM&t=785s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2024-09-03-george-peyrouton/

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From KiriPedia, the archive of John Kiriakou's words. Web version: https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/skip-gnehm/ · About: https://www.kiripedia.org/about/ · Full index: https://www.kiripedia.org/llms.txt