by Dennis Zeunert

Special to the G21

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Dennis Zeunert

VIRGINIA BEACH, VA, USA - If someone said six months earlier that I would be making this trip I'd have called him insane. I had worked for the Saudi Arabian Oil Company ten years. Abdullah sat in the passenger seat. I drove the company white Chevrolet on the dust covered road. September temperatures soared over 110 degrees. We passed by oil wells that we knew as well as our children.?

We oversaw a section of the Ghawar Oil Field, the world's largest. Abdullah's division managed the field surface lines and facilities, and my division handled the oil wells. The two of us had the same sense of humor; before we laughed and told funny stories about co-workers; we even discussed Islam and Christianity, since neither of us was a fanatic.

Driving past high desert jebels, we talked but the laughter was gone. Last month, on August 2, 1990, everything changed. Historians might say that Iraq invading Kuwait was as inevitable as rain-filled wadis drying under the sun. Here, domestication of crops and animals, like wheat and sheep, started around 8000 BC. This created settled farmers in villages, which eventually led to city-states of up to 50,000 people, and to the world's first writing system by about 3400 BC. By 2900 BC, massive defensive walls surrounded cities; the casting process for copper and bronze was developed -- especially for weapons. War was the main subject of government artworks and written glories of rulers. Finally, about 2400 BC, city-states formed alliances giving birth to a long line of conquering empires -- Sumerian, Elamite, Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian, Macedonian, Roman, Sasanian, Arabian, Seljuk, Mongolian, Ottoman, British.

Wasn't Saddam Hussein just the last emperor trying to expand his empire? Should the US interfere with 4400 years of warfare?

Off to the left, military tents baked in the sun. We parked. Abdulla carried a case of Coca-Cola as a gift. We kicked up sand, hiking in our work boots, approaching the three soldiers walking out to greet us. Their shoulder patches said "82nd Airborne."

We shook hands, everyone uneasy, staring at each other, and then the ground. The American soldiers must have wondered what a Saudi Arabian thought of them in his country. The GIs probably were confused to find an American helping manage a Saudi Arabian oil field.

The military men in camouflage thanked us for the drinks. Surprisingly, one soldier spoke Arabic. Since he did not look Arab, I asked where he learned the language. "Specialized military school," he replied. Hearing his Arabic accent, Abdullah said his teacher must have been Egyptian. ?

They showed us their tents, vehicles, grenade launchers, and other weapons. At one point, I was alone with a lieutenant. "You know you're standing over the largest oil field in the world," I said, "What if you guys decided to stay? Maybe stabilize energy supplies?" Was I joking? Yes, American occupation of the Saudi oil fields would create an Israel-type situation, non-Moslems surrounded by Moslems; never-ending terrorism.

The iron-faced Lieutenant told me they were protecting Saudi Arabia and preparing to dislodge Saddam Hussein's forces from Kuwait. The American soldiers, polite and self-effacing, acted nothing like the Rambo depictions in American movies.

Abdullah sat quietly as we drove away.

August 2nd had introduced instability in the region, but August 8th brought the greatest shock, when 4000 American paratroopers, the first of 230,000 American soldiers, landed on Saudi Arabian soil. A few years earlier King Fahd changed his title from "King of Saudi Arabia" to "Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques," referring to the Mecca and Medina pilgrimage sites. Probably, trying to raise his status from mere king to world Islamic leader and protector of the Moslem holy zones. Generally, Moslems considered not only the western Mecca-Medina area sacred, but also the entire country.

What was Abdullah thinking? How could his king, his protector, allow foreign troops into his hallowed homeland? Not only foreign, but also Christian. His country was desecrated.

For Westerners living in the mysterious Middle East, often the truth remained elusive. On CNN, Saudi Arabian go vernment officials denied that Saudi troops were ordered to the Kuwait border. Past my office building, brown-uniformed soldiers with Saudi palm tree and crossed swords sleeve patches sat in dusty armored vehicles moving north toward Kuwait in a seemingly endless convoy.

Between August 2nd and August 8th, [the first] President Bush telephoned King Fahd, and Defense Secretary Cheney visited the King. Were Iraqi troops massing along the Saudi border? Did Cheney accurately state the reconnaissance? Did King Fahd tell his subjects the truth? Did President Bush tell the American citizens the truth? After these communications the King allowed armed non-Moslem troops into the land of his stewardship, saying the foreign soldiers' visit was only temporary and that they would leave when requested.

This was surely a rallying time for Saudi orthodox Moslems, including Osama Bin-Laden. I'm sure, in their view, the prospect of Saddam Hussein conquering Saudi Arabia was preferable to welcoming Christian soldiers into their holy country in order to battle Iraq, their Moslem neighbor. Hard choices.

"Ever think you would see American soldiers here?" Abdullah said, blankly staring at a distant drilling rig.?

"Never," I said. ?

We would no longer be only Abdullah and Dennis to each other. I was now American, the same nationality as the foreign saviors or invaders, depending on point of view. We expatriates obviously welcomed American protection after reading media reports of Iraqi rapes and murders in Kuwait. Saudis seemed puzzled. Most did not want Iraqi overlords, but appeared very uneasy with young Americans, including women, dressed in camouflage, toting weapons in city shopping districts. US military vehicles lined major highways.

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Mystery permeates Saudi Arabian society. Unlike Saudi females, women in other Moslem countries I have visited remove their head covering when entering a home, office, or store; some even talked with men.

One Friday afternoon a few years ago, Abdullah greeted my wife and me at his house for lunch. He escorted my wife to a back room where all the women gathered. Then he and I went to another room filled only with men. Abdullah brought in the lunch.

Another time, a Saudi friend from the office visited my home with his family. His wife and daughters never removed their opaque black veils the whole afternoon as we all drank sweet tea in the living room.?

An invisible veil of secrecy shrouds the desert kingdom. Officials do not allow tourists into the country. Without investigative reporting, the local media, approved or influenced by the government, only publish "happy" news. Typical headline stories:

• "King Fahd sent a letter of congratulations to the Emir of Bahrain on the occasion of the Emir's birthday" or
• "The Council of Ministers signed a decree today, praising the king for his excellent leadership."

Of course, the king controls appointments to and dismissals from this council. Nearly all other local paper by-lines originate from free presses in foreign countries, where newspapers report crimes, diseases, corruption, life-styles of the wealthy, social problems, political crises, all of which would be considered an embarrassment to the King if published about Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi press list some public executions of criminals, however with few crime details. By dealing harshly with culprits, the government shows they discourage lawless behavior. On the other hand, the local media reports no criminal investigations or unsolved murders or even unlawful acts, so the public lacks knowledge of crime levels.

One evening as I drove home to the oil-company-city in the desert, I encountered long lines of cars at many police checkpoints. An officer asked for my identification and others searched my vehicle. When I asked what they were looking for, he told me to leave. In a monarchy the police are not obliged to explain. The next day in my office, a Saudi engineer who worked for me explained the police blockade. He had seen twenty men, waving sub-machine guns, holding up all twenty gold suq shops in the local Saudi city, about fifty miles away. The crooks escaped in five Chevrolet Suburbans. The local news made no mention of this brazen robbery.

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The lightning-fast 1991 Gulf War did not mean the end to an American military presence.

Though, earlier, the King declared the foreign soldiers temporary in Saudi Arabia, he condoned the construction of a giant US Air Force Base south of Riyadh. Also, Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates allowed the creation of huge American military installations within their borders. Was this foreign might to keep local rulers in power? Were Emirs hiring US mercenaries for their protection, or did America anticipate occupying the oil field installations in case of anarchy??

This permanent infidel military presence, making the despised Gulf rulers more invincible, surely tipped Moslem radicals into action.?

Saudi Moslem orthodox leaders desired to overthrow the regime of King Fahd with acts of terrorism from their fervent followers. However, insiders like Osama Bin-Laden rejected action in Saudi Arabia, where the monarchy censored local news, preventing publicity of such horrific attacks. However, if expatriates or American military personnel witnessed, or became victims of, these despicable acts, then knowledgeable foreign residents could inform CNN.

Also, authorities made covert entry into and clandestine meetings in Saudi Arabia very difficult. The kingdom did not grant tourist visas. Every citizen carried an ID card and needed a written permit to travel from his own province. The police threw suspects in jail without a trial.

Terrorism is the killing of innocent civilians in order to gain attention for a political cause. With these murderous acts, the perpetrators hope to gain their ultimate goal -- to sicken the enemy citizens into supporting their position in order to stop the carnage.

To most Westerners this is illogical, immoral and cowardly; rebellion should not include the murdering of non-combatants.

Terrorism is only successful with dissemination of gory details, which is only possible through, ironically, the free Western press. And the terrorists know what sells. The higher the death toll the more likely the dreadful deed will be reported on the front page, with the headline size proportional to the body count.

Al-Qaida bombings:

• February 26, 1993-New York World Trade Center-Six dead.
• November 13, 1995-US Military post, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia-Seven dead.
• June 25, 1996-US Military residence, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia-19 dead.
• August 7, 1998-US Embassies in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania-224 dead.
• October 12, 2000-USS Cole in Yemen harbor-17 dead.

What is their message? Listen, America:

Our King wrongfully invited your soldiers into our holy country. We want you both out. Also, abandon all your bases in the Gulf area. We will continue killing Americans until this occupation ends.

Then the mother of all terrorist exploits -- 9/11. Hijacked silver passenger planes dove into the World Trade Center twin towers and the Pentagon, like swords of Saladin driven into Crusaders.

Why?

Does anyone really believe the motive for this suicide attack was hatred of our lifestyles, our morals? This coordinated action, taking months, perhaps years, of planning must have been for a real achievable goal. Did the plotters think this attack would change our perceived decadent society? Ridiculous.

So, for what purpose??

To focus attention on the growing presence of American soldiers in the Middle East. And to protest American military bases, supporting what terrorists felt were corrupt regimes in their Arab homelands.

The American invasion of Iraq in 2003 greatly worsened the situation.

In addition to the existing US military bases in the region, more Christian troops conquered and continue to occupy a Moslem country. Indeed, all Gulf Arabs must feel subjugated. The chaos of Iraq under American occupation is the perfect setting for al-Qaida and other desperate organizations. They will recruit unhappy Iraqis to slay Americans. An added bonus is the presence of the American media. Instant publicity.

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Late one night before the Gulf War, Abdullah and I sat in his car waiting for a repair rig to arrive at an oil well. Earlier that day a maintenance worker found the wellhead leaking oil. We were unable to valve off the flow. In the moonlight a small black liquid pool quietly spread.

"You know I went to college in Colorado, even took my wife along." Abdullah's black eyes reflected lunar rays. "She was not happy being away from her family, but she had other Saudi wives there as friends. Eventually she took off her veil, and even drove the car."

"So you liked America," I said, yawning, wishing the rig would arrive soon.

"Yes ... yes, the professors helped me succeed with my weak English and those blond coeds!" Abdullah smiled, staring at distant stars. "But it was not home. We did not like the mountains, the cold, the difficulty of finding Moslem food. We returned home after my graduation. We were happy to see the beautiful desert.

"I never thought I would miss it so much-and return to our families and traditions. I wore my robe and headdress in the city. My wife returned to the veil. She said college was like a trip to Disney World -- only temporary fun, not our world."

Our world? Our earth -- Families, tribes, villages, ethnic groups, countries, religions, creating many worlds, separating us from each other.

DENNIS ZEUNERT developed oil fields in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East for thirty years with a major oil company. In retirement, he pursues long-distance hiking and bicycling adventures, and archaeological expeditions. He lives with his French wife, Christiane, in Virginia Beach where they study metaphysics and walk their cairn terriers on the beach. Currently, he is writing a novel about expatriate life in Italy during the 1970's.

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