Human Interest War Story

8/13/2019 Human Interest War Story

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H U M A N I N T E R E S T W A R S T O R Y

The no nonsense admonitions of a minister of Allah exacting the afternoons

veneration woke me. The call came over loudspeakers on a minaret more thanhalf a mile from the hotel, but still I could hear it through the sealed windows and

over the air conditioning.

My mouth was rank with illicit whiskey, but I wasnt complaining. Any booe was

a bonus when the field grunts were drinking canned peaches and grape !uice

fermented in their helmets. And she had brought my favourite brand"

#resident $ush The %irst said this wouldnt be another &ietnam, and he was

right. 'very windbag in country was moaning how it sure wasnt the ()am, barely

concealing their nostalgia. )o booe, no girls, no rock and roll. *ompared to

this the ()am was a &egas holiday with casualties. The worst whiners were the

reporters. +ome of those guys never recovered emotionally from the end of the

&ietnam ar.

$ut nobody would mourn this one. It was too tightly controlled, too -.I. oe.

/ardly the sensual feeding freny everybody had come to look forward to in good

police action. The 0esert +marm either had you bombing, loading bombs,

fuelling airplanes, or digging holes. 1f course if you werent part of the regular

forces, and I wasnt, you probably spent your time thinking of good reasons for

bombing fish in a barrel or of more reasons why +addam /ussein was !ust like

/itler. The only real fighting going on were reporters fighting the shakes between

press briefings.

I got out of bed, stumbled to the can, turned on the light and threw up in the sink.

hen I looked in the mirror I could hardly make myself out under the bruises and

swelling. Two barbs trailing thin folded wire were still stuck into my shoulder.

There was the slightest sting as I pulled them free.


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iping the puke from my chin I noticed her lipstick case on the vanity counter

where shed forgotten it. It was heavy, gold cloisonn2. The lipstick was bright

deep red, like arterial blood. It seemed a peculiar possession for a Muslim

woman, given the modesty their religion demands of them, but it was exactly the

kind of thing you would expect to find in the handbag of a princess, or a woman

who swears she can deliver to you the head of your greatest enemy.

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It was -ulf ar 1ne and her idea was insanely simple4 wax +addam and the war

is over. It was a great idea. +he figured she could bring it off despite the fact

that the +'A5+ and the -reen $erets were having a few problems working out

the details of that particular mission. +he had only one little problem. )obody

would give her the time of day. And really, why should they6 'ven if it were

remotely possible, this thing had long outgrown such elegant logic. hat was

re7uired now was force. /alf a million men. %ive thousand tanks. Two

thousand aircraft. The resources of the worlds wealthiest nations 8tempered of

course by the selectivity and prudence that only state of the art targeting systems

can afford9. To hear that what was re7uired was the death of one man, theexpense of a single bullet: well it made the whole thing seem"immoral.

+o not only did nobody believe her, few were even willing to listen. The most

anybody would do for her was concoct a polite excuse to avoid an interview with

her. /er idea, in light of situation, appeared very much the product of dementia.

$ut because she was a minor #rincess of the country whose occupation was the

stated reason for a war, even the ;.+. Army could not forestall forever going

through the motions of listening to her.

+omeone had to wind up with sitting across his or her desk. +omeone had to

find a way to dispose of her. +ome spook at the 'mbassy decided she had

public relations significance and passed her on to #sychological 1perations. /e


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figured he was doing us a favour. /e figured we could use her. e could. In

ways she never imagined being used.

3 3 3

Aids on two fingers.


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+he looked at my expression closely to see if I was insulting her or !ust an idiot.

hen she answered me her voice was low and measured,


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more unusual than you or I knowing the odd Marxist in university. +he was never

enticed or co>opted into doing anything particularly regrettable and outgrew her

ill>considered affiliations in due course. /owever, between the seminars on

Cionist imperialism and the fundraisers for the families of imprisoned freedom

fighters, she found the time to fall in love. /is name was Ibrahim Mahmoud.

/is father was a 5ebanese hotelier and his mother a #alestinian schoolteacher.

$oth his parent had fled the respective troubles in their nations by emigrating to

%rance. 0uring the course of his studies in #aris he was a tireless worker for the

(The *ause. /e was a brilliant orator and a shrewd organier. Apparently, he

was also something of a lover. /e and the #rincess were the perfect marriage of

true minds until the day he disappeared from the fact of the planet.


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leading up to hostilities, the infrastructure of the country was easily dismantled

with smart weapons. The starving Ira7i forces were simple to decimate with a

daisy chain of $>DEs unloading every conceivable stupid bomb by the ton. adio

Mother of All $attles was deviating from the (drown the infidel cur in his own

blood rhetoric to soothe the weary population with soft music. Many #alestinians

had already concluded that casting their lot with the now thoroughly vilified

+addam had been a mistake. Their cause had lost much of the credibility that it

had recently won with stones and the blood of their children. The only thing that

they had managed to prove was that desperate people do dumb desperate

things. 5inkage between the (occupation of the est $ank and -aa to the

invasion of Buwait was too desperate an exercise of logic to ever be taken up as

a tenet of any but the most fringe diplomacy. The only hope remaining for the

#alestinians was to do a one eighty before the (surgical air war became the

anticipated butchery in the desert. #erhaps if the war ended 7uickly their futile

alliance would be sooner forgotten. And if by chance they were instrumental in

ending the whole nasty business, their agenda might even be viewed in more of

a sympathetic light by those empowered to make a difference.

In our third interview I attempted to reason with the #rincess for the first time,


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and unstable personality verging occasionally on psychosis. /er mother is one

of nine compliant wives. /er father is distant and authoritarian. $eing

(esternied she had nothing close in the way of role models she can

comfortably emulate. 0espite her wealth and education, much of her self>image

is invested in her identity as an Arab, and in the political beliefs that were

engendered during her university years. +he is also kept from what would

probably be severe depressive psychosis by her #enelopean faith in the love of

an individual with whom she had a relationship with in university eight years

earlier. $etween the separation from 8read4 abandonment by9 this individual and

the destruction of her country by brethren Arabs there isnt much left holding her

together. *onse7uently she is seeking the grand resolution to her life, or

oblivion. In other words shes put in her time building castles in the air and now

she wants to move into one.=

I lowered the drawbridge for her.

hen I laid out the situation for the *olonel I described the #rincess and her plan

in the most ludicrous terms I could think of without actually letting on that I

wanted the very idea of using her scratched. /e let me go on and on and didntsay a word. /e !ust watched me talk and shifted his unlit cigar from one corner

of his mouth to the other. 'very so often he would pick up her picture or one of

the briefs about her from his desk and look at that for a while.


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'ach photographs and film clip of )ai death camp filled the war against /itler

with purpose and meaning. )o one that ever beheld such images could sustain

any doubt that whatever it took to defeat )ai -ermany was kosher. #resident

$ush regularly compared +addam to /itler, but the war was going too well and

too fast against +addam for him to warrant his litmus test of modern evil. ?es, he

had used chemical weapons against his own people, but that was years ago and

we had all but apologied for his behaviour then. ?es, his security forces

regularly tortured and murdered anybody opposed to him, but that is the norm for

any number of dictators, a few of which were our *oalition allies. ?es, his

military forces burned, raped, and looted Buwait, but really, what more could be

expected from Arabs.

hat would be needed, and needed soon, was evidence of fresh evil, new

atrocity, portraits of sacrifice to be presented at the end of the war to assure

those in whose name we fought that our motives for fighting were pure.

I codenamed her MA0'5'I)', after a +econd orld ar $ritish Agent, that was

dropped into %rance and executed by the -estapo. MA0'5'I)' had beenunusually young and beautiful for an agent and coincidentally there are many

photographs of her during her training. There is a photograph of MA0'5'I)'

shooting a pistol, another one of MA0'5'I)' about to !ump from an airplane,

and even one of MA0'5'I)' operating a radio telegraph, her role as an agent.

The last photograph of MA0'5'I)' we have courtesy of the -estapos #..

0epartment. In this photograph a naked woman is sitting in a concrete courtyard

at the feet of two men. /er face is sunken to the shape of her skull, her eyes

cast to one side. /er expression is resigned but still disgusted that someone

should want to photograph her that way. /er legs are bent back and her knees

are pressed together trying halfheartedly to conceal her pudenda. +he is also

making some effort to cover her breasts with her hands and arms. The faces of

the men standing behind her are outside the shot. 1ne of their hands is open


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and the palm is visible !ust behind MA0'5'I)'s head, as if he were indicating

that she were a piece of his work. It has never been confirmed beyond a doubt

that the woman in this photograph is actually MA0'5'I)'. It could have been

any woman of roughly the same age at roughly that time that the -estapo

executed when torture yielded no further result. That the photograph was

eventually accepted as being the last picture of MA0'5'I)' is a testament to

good public relations and the human need to have a context for disturbing

images. To make the connection between this image of a wretched humanity

and the beautiful, sweet natured young woman MA0'5'I)' was reported to

have been as a civilian, is to understand the most personal brutality of war.

The kind of thing we are fighting against, you understand.

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e supplied her with the identity of an Algerian born !ournalist for 5e %igaro and

a suitcase full of used clothes so her wardrobe wouldnt give the lie to her

papers. %or her route of infiltration the logistics people chose the highway

between Amman, ordan and $aghdad. As her means of infiltration theyprovided a list of suicidal trucking companies whose vehicles still plied this route.

+he said she didnt need any money so they gave her none. +he even bought

her own plane ticket to Amman via #rague. +he was a real bargain: anybodys

#rincess for a song.

$ecause I was her principal contact we were supposed to spend two days

together so that she could absorb her new identity. It was hard to !ustify sending

her in with such a flimsy, facile cover but no effort was spared: The ground war

was supposed to start any day, the highway to $aghdad might become totally

impassable, she might get cold feet, etc., etc. )obody mentioned that the war

might end before she could be transformed into a martyr.


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$ecause of the difficulty of a man and a woman moving around freely together in

+audi Arabia, we flew to Tangier. Madeleine Ai entered Morocco without

incident and rented a car using her American 'xpress to provide the security

deposit. +he en7uired about a good local hotel at the car rental desk and the

&illa de %rance was recommended. After checking in we agreed to meet by the

pool in an hour.

+he was half an hour late and I was on my fourth bourbon. +he had me order

her the same then !umped into the water. +he swam lengths of the small pool

with confident strokes. After about five lengths she stepped out of the water

coughing.


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up and dont talk to the T&

people, except for cameramen. If a T& reporter offers to buy you a drink you can

accept but you have to be double rude. The drink may not be worth the trouble

and the conversation definitely wont be. 0o you have any 7uestions6=


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+he laughed. I realied then that I had never heard her laugh. In fact I hadnt

heard any woman laugh since"I dont know.

/ers was beautiful laughter. It came from deep inside of her.


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of my hometown in Indiana, my /igh +chool love who I lost to my /igh +chool

buddy and the sight of whose children is the most bittersweet thing that I know.

+he listened intently. I hoped it was what she wanted to hear. I wanted to be

entertaining, to make her final days outside of the wars maw pleasant and easy.

I had felt awkward in the presence of the #rincess since the moment she first sat

across from me in my office. I knew that at any other time a man like me and a

woman like her would have never met. That I should play such a pivotal part in

the unfolding of her destiny seemed a fatal error. $ut if I had been given the

power to send her to providence then the least that I could do was let her know

whom I was. $ut I didnt think I was that interesting. +o I lied. I mixed a few

pleasant memories with ochwelles7ue saccharine about places where I never

lived, friends that I never had, and a happy boy that I never was. Im not sure

she believed a word but she listened intently as I spun story after story. +he

never got to me, but my wish was granted. I heard her laugh again. +he

laughed at my childish guilelessness and tears formed in her eyes for my lost

boyhood and broken hearts. A lot of it might have been the whiskey, but some of

it must have been what she felt.

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The *aves of /ercules were the usual disappointment: a parking lot full of tour

buses, beggars, and a cave with an opening that looked like the outline of

continental Africa or the country of Morocco depending on the angle you looked

at it from. /alf way through the afternoon I found out shed never been on a

*amel and we went looking for one. e drove around until we found +ome

Tuareg that would let us get on theirs and take some pictures. I shot nearly a roll

of Madeleine getting on, being led around on, and getting off one of the stupid,

stinking things. +he was wearing !eans, sneakers and one of my less tasteful

/awaiian shirts knotted at the waist. In most of the photographs she is laughing

and hamming it up like any American girl would on her first camel ride. At the


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end of the day we lay on the west face of a dune to watch the sun sink into the

+ahara.


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I signed4 The only reason Im telling you this is I think Im beginning to"care

very much for you.=

+he laughed a deep bitter laugh that dredged up all her unhappiness and shove

it down my throat. It choked me.


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strategic reserve, and the +ecretary of 0efense was in the country to determine

whether it was time for the ground war yet. The consensus was that it would

start any second now. )ot really caring if I missed it, I fell asleep.

+he woke me with a kiss and when I opened my eyes she handed me bourbon.

/eaven. I sunk the bourbon.


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It was a good fifteen minutes before I could move, and when I could I crawled

straight to the bourbon. I had to suck 7uite a bit of it before my voice returned

and I could say, by that werent with one of their own Anti 0esertion ;nits. The vaunted

desert fortifications were found to be gritty foxholes of roofing tin and sand that

wouldnt survive a direct hit from a hailstorm. The flaming trenches were a few

greasy pits. In the hasty retreat the minefields were all left clearly marked. The

only think impeding the progress of the ;.+. Army through Buwait and into Ira7

ere bomb craters. &ehicle carcasses on the /ighway of 0eath, and the smoke

from burning wellheads.

hen the Ira7is finally said ;ncle, +tormin )ormal hit the tube and sowed us allhow cost effective this war had been. About a hundred casualties on our side.

About one of us for every thousand two hundred of them. 1f course this only

took into account our military personnel: we might never know how many brave

Buwaitis perished in the struggle for the liberation of their country. They were the

anonymous heroes.

Meanwhile back in America the homecoming committees went into overdrive

preparing for the return of our victorious troops. It was to be the first uninhibited

celebration of a military operation since the +econd orld ar and they pulled

out all stops. 0esert +torm was a resounding success. America was back, and

the &ietnam experience was s7uarely repudiated. There wasnt a dry eye in the

house.


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I beat the rush home ahead and 7uietly secured gainful employment doing trend

analysis for an advertising space wholesaler. The fact that I had been over there

was a source of pride for my employers. )obody even thought to ask why I was

home early.

Im seeing somebody now, but its not serious. /er name is -inette. +hes a

dentist. henever I pick her up at work I always try to get there a bit early so I

can flip through the magaines in the waiting room. I look through 5I%' and

#eople and ;s and Time. If theres a copy of ;+A Today around Ill flip through

that too. I dont read much of it: !ust scan the banners and pictures. Im not

really looking for anything: its !ust a professional interest. As time passes fewer

and fewer column inches are dedicated to the -ulf ar. I happened, we won it,

and thats that. It was a clean war fought by the rules for the right reasons.

)othing happened that re7uired any further !ustification.

-inette sometimes says she loves me and keeps a picture of me in uniform in

her office. +he respects the fact that I dont want to talk about what I did in the

war. +he imagines that I bear fresh scars on my soul and that she can help meheal them. 1n several occasions she has decried the treatment that &ietnam

&ets received on their homecoming and stated that shes glad things have

changed. I nearly love her when she says such big things.

$ut I(m glad things have changed too. Im glad were not tearing ourselves apart

over the meaning of this war. That would be a pointless exercise for any nation

to engage in after securing itself such an une7uivocal victory. %ar better that we

welcome the returning soldiers and find it in our hearts to repair the damage we

did in our well intentioned, if futile, attempt to rid the world of a tyrant.


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I have given order to my feeling about this ar, and my small part in it. I have

chosen not to 7uestion this war. henever the sub!ect comes up I !ust say it is

passed, and I dont really want to get into it.

Human Interest War Story

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