Off the Track – Post #25
Estimated reading time – 2 minutes.
Something So Right—The title comes from a Paul Simon song on the album There Goes Rhymin' Simon. It seemed to fit the story in this chapter, in which Nick and Gemma renewed their relationship. Writing this chapter was difficult because I wanted to see if I could get the emotional tone right. Thanks to my wife for helping with that challenge.
The incident with the air raid siren happened around this time in 1990. I remember hearing the siren that evening and wondering what was going on. I hope you enjoy the technology throwback to rotary phones and beepers. (Yes, there was a time before cell phones.) And—yes, there were resignations the following day as everyone was on edge.
Nick's discussion of the incident with the dog is a prelude to the following chapter and his subsequent encounter with Captain Faraj. As you will discover in subsequent chapters, Faraj emerges as Nick's main antagonist.
The Naked Truth about Chemical Warfare—I couldn't think of a song title for this chapter. If anyone has a suggestion, let me know. I considered REM's The End of the World As We Know It and Sting's Russians.
The meeting in Riyadh took place in the Fall of 1990. Here is the plan for the decontamination station to which Nick refers.
If you are interested, a wealth of information on Chemical and Biological warfare is available on the internet, including the supplies needed for decontamination and the medicines used to treat the victims.
The information on Iraq's chemical and biological warfare capabilities was something that I received during the search for WMD after Desert Storm. You may remember back in 2003, the justification for invading Iraq was to find Saddam's remaining WMD. As a side note, I met Scott Ritter, one of the weapons inspectors in Iraq, in September 1997 on a flight from Istanbul to Bahrain. We talked about the WMD situation in Iraq. He couldn't share details with me but said that he thought the effort was significant enough for him to work under the difficult conditions at the time. Shortly after this, he was kicked out of Iraq by Saddam for his efforts.
The WMD threat was taken seriously by everyone within the SCUD range. As mentioned, Saddam had used chemical weapons on the Kurds in the north and on the Iranians during the Iran-Iraq war, so the threat was taken seriously. These events were the origin of the name 'Chemical Ali' for Ali Hassan al-Majid, a cousin of Saddam Hussein and the Governor of Kuwait following the invasion.
The planning with the Colonel took place much as I described, and the framing was done. I did not participate in these meetings, but a close colleague reported the events to me as they occurred.
The incident with Captain Faraj took place as described, and my colleague used the phrase 'the dead willy (penis).' To be fair to Captain Faraj, the religious basis for his position is supported by a quote from the Prophet. However, it raises the ethical question of compassion when applying the rules.
The prohibition on seeing a man naked is also found in Genesis 9 in the story of Noah and his three sons. It is a bit confusing as Ham, Noah's son, enters Noah's tent after Noah has become drunk and is naked. Ham enters, sees Noah naked, and emerges to tell the other two sons of their father's condition. The other two sons take a blanket and enter the tent, walking backward so as not to see their father. Noah curses Ham's son Cannan and makes him the servant of their two uncles.
Energy, Politics, and Military
Oil Price September 1990 - $28.46 per barrel ($65.94 at 2023 rates)
Oil Price October 1990 - $30.86 per barrel ($71.50 at 2023 rates)
Oil Price November 1990 - $27.53 per barrel ($63.78 at 2023 rates)
Source – US Energy Information Agency
November 7, 1990 – President Bush argued that a UN Resolution authorizing military action to liberate Kuwait would be necessary to ensure the credibility of the UN. Russia appeared to agree, and Margaret Thacher said that if Iraw didn't leave Kuwait, the coalition would have to use military force. Israel reminded the world that it retained the right to retaliate if attacked, and Saddam released more hostages.
November 8, 1990 – President Bush ordered heavy armor units to Saudi Arabia (you'll see a reference to this in an upcoming chapter)
Suggested Reading:
Endgame: Solving the Iraq Crisis – Scott Ritter, Simon & Schuster, 2002
https://www.amazon.com/Endgame-Solving-Iraq-Problem-Once/
This is an excellent book for background on Iraq's WMD and the efforts to rid the country of them after Desert Storm. It also has interesting biographical information on Saddam Hussein.