Estimated reading time – 2 minutes.
Chapters 28 and 29 – Little Egypt and Gimme Shelter
Little Egypt – The title of the Chapter comes from a song by the Coasters from 1961. Here is a link to a video of the song (Use Ctrl-click to see the video):
I am old enough to remember when this song was on the radio, and it would make an excellent title for the Chapter, which features an Egyptian Belly Dancer. In case you are wondering, I didn't make up this episode – it happened much as described in the story. You will see more of Aisha in later chapters.
As you might be aware, belly dancing is popular in the Middle East and goes back to a time of folk dancing. The attraction for many Arab men was that the dancer didn't cover her hair and instead used it as a titillating attraction. The music for the dance is an Arab style and adds to the experience.
The Colonel's concern about the secretary highlights a quirk in the hospital services contract. The detailed schedules for personnel included every position and the preferred nationality. This secretary was supposed to be a Westerner; thus, the salary was as mentioned. The process of substituting lower-paid personnel into these positions was called 'Slotting.' The hospital would submit a bill to the Ministry of Defense for the listed positions and be paid for the contract salary with the Chairman, who paid the actual wage, pocketing the difference. No audit was ever done that I know of to see the exact nationality of the person who is billed. Also, as will be seen in an upcoming chapter, some Arabs had European or North American passports.
The two facilitators mentioned in the Chapter were real people. I changed the names and a few other details to maintain their privacy. Using a recruiting agent in each country, such as Jordan, India, and the Philippines, was common practice. The visas were called 'Block Visas' as they only listed the person's occupation and not their name.
Gimme Shelter – This title comes from the Rolling Stones, from their 1969 Album Let It Bleed. It is also the name of the Stones' 1970 film, which includes the Altamont concert footage. I thought this was a fitting title for the Chapter about making a safe room. The reference to the billboard in the Chapter was from actual billboards that appeared in the early Fall of 1990. I have a book that contains a photograph of one of these in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, which the description is based upon. See a different picture below of the same type of billboard.
The threat of Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Warfare was genuine in the period before and during the war. I remember a colleague of mine describing it as being sprayed like a bug with Raid, so I have used this apt characterization. As you will be reminded, during the next few chapters, Saddam’s SCUD missiles were a real threat; however, their range was limited, as Sam mentions. Also, they were notoriously inaccurate, something I will cover in a later chapter appropriately called ‘It came out of the Sky” from the Credence Clearwater song about a UFO in Moline, IL.
Here is a picture of the billboard in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia:
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)
November 1, 1990 – Saudi Arabia increased its oil production to replace what had been lost from Iraq and Kuwait in the market. President Bush declared that the coalition actions were not a war for oil but to liberate Kuwait. This tension continued through the period and into fears about the invasion of Iraq in 2003.