January 1978 | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia The second wake up call rousted me out of bed at 6:30 a.m. (instead of six a.m.). Thanks to our late engagement at the gold souk last night I would miss the breakfast buffet at the Hilton Hotel. But today was the big day–President Carter and Secretary Vance would arrive on…
Category: Archives
Part Two: The President Carter/Secretary Vance Joint Detail | The Riyadh Gold Souk
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: January 1978 On the evening of “Day One,” S.Y. (State Department security) had completed their advance work. I had installed and tested the UHF radio network the S.Y. agents would utilize, centered around their RCA handheld radios. S.Y. was generally satisfied with the radio coverage provided by equipment flown in from a…
The President Carter/Secretary Vance Joint Detail | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
January 1978 I had arrived at Riyadh with a full tank of expectation for ’78. From what I heard the mysterious Saudi Arabia had always been a closed society. Visas were hard to come by and tourism didn’t exist here. While In Bangkok I had talked to a guy that worked for the American ARAMCO…
1977 in Retrospect | An Incredible Year
January 1978 I began the New Year in the air. Ironically, the Thai International flight from Bangkok terminated at Karachi, Pakistan my home base where our Regional Communications Office resided in the American Consulate General. After a two-hour layover at the airport I changed planes to Saudi Arabian Airlines. I was surprised to see foreign…
A New Year’s Gaze Ahead | One Fearful Yellow Eye
Bangkok, Thailand New Year’s Day | January 1, 1978 On New Year’s Day, it wasn’t my intention to sit around and worry about what was going to happen in the future. I would play a small role in the upcoming Middle East Peace Initiative in three days time when U.S. Secretary of State Cyrus Vance…
A Not So Merry Christmas | Bangkok, Thailand
Arrival: December 24, 1977 The Boeing 727 Nepal Airlines flight from Kathmandu had played like an accordion through the frigid Himalayas before the heavy aircraft plopped on the runway at Bangkok’s Don Muang Airport. The stewardess opened the hatch. It was late morning in Bangkok, but the heat didn’t care, nor had it paid attention…
A Christmas Memory | The Magi’s Coins
<feature photo of O. Henry by online-literature.com Excerpt from The Gift of the Magi, a short story by O. Henry: ONE DOLLAR AND EIGHTY-SEVEN CENTS. That was all. She [Della] had put it aside, one cent and then another and then another, in her careful buying of meat and other food. Della counted it three…
American Embassy Kathmandu | Mystery of the Himalayas
<Feature photo Kathmandu by hinducosmos.com Late December 1977 My flight to Kathmandu, after brief stopovers in Athens and New Delhi, was uneventful until a spectacular view of the Himalayas grew visible outside my window seat. Over the intercom, the captain praised the famed mountain range along with the weather. He said December normally began the…
Secretary of State Cyrus Vance Arrives | The Middle East Peace Initiative Begins
December 1977 The Author: Perhaps Egyptian President Anwar el-Sadat didn’t get the memo when former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger had stated: “You can’t make war in the Middle East without Egypt and you can’t make peace without Syria.” Unbeknownst to the world Sadat had decided to bypass the influence of the Russians, Americans,…
The Jerusalem Advance Detail | An Overindulgent Sgt. Pepper
December 1977–Preparation for the US Secretary of State Cyrus Vance Visit to Israel | The Middle East Peace Initiative Our driver Ben sped along the downtown avenue in the center of Tel Aviv on his way to Jerusalem. S.Y. Agent Halliday, not in a talkative mood this morning, sipped on his coffee. <feature photo by…
Middle East Peace Initiative | The Jerusalem Advance Team
December 1977 When I left RCO Karachi the repair bench was clear of radios. My cohort Al was happy. After returning from Riyadh next week Al hadn’t planned to go anywhere during the holidays other than attend a Christmas Thai dinner at the Thai Consulate General. I gave my servant Basheer a couple of hundred…
“Back in the U.S… Back in the U.S… Back in the… U.S. Consulate General Karachi”
Late November 1977 As my cohort Al drove his Toyota into the rear parking lot of the American Consulate General Karachi the cassette player left jet fumes from the Beatle’s opening song of the White album: “Back in the U.S.S.R.” Been away so long I hardly knew the place Gee it’s good to be back…
From the Middle East to Karachi | The Deep Blue Goodbye
Late November 1977 After completing my first Middle East trip I headed back to my home base of Karachi, Pakistan on the Thai International flight. It had only been about two weeks, but it seemed like two months. As the flight ascended to its thirty-some thousand feet cruising altitude, it forsook the stark blue of…
Political Wars and the Middle East Peace Initiative
Late November 1977 Late in the afternoon Am Embassy Amman Communications & Records Officer Paul Messenger handed me a heads-up confidential message from my boss in Karachi, RCO Roberson. Basically, it stated that my partner-in-crime in Karachi, Al, and myself would be supporting the Secretary of State Cyrus Vance detail during the Middle East peace…
American Embassy Amman | Chasing Third Order Harmonics
Mid-November 1977 I would never get used to the constant chatter of the HW-28 Teletype machines in the Communications & Records Units on the top floors of American embassies. How the CRU personnel managed to live with the persistent interference of thousands of mechanical parts endlessly clanging in their ears I would never understand. Interference…
American Embassy Amman | Déjà Vu and Other Anomalies
Mid-November 1977 I stopped at the bottom of the footsteps leading up to the entrance into the American Embassy Amman chancery. I couldn’t get over the familiarity. It was déjà vu—like I had been here before. This was odd given that I had visited less than ten embassies to date. <feature photo by pinterest.com Once…
Amman, Jordan | Visiting King Hussein of Jordan
Mid-November 1977 The Royal Jordanian Airlines flight had touched down at Amman International Airport with as little fuss as possible. No hand-clapping nor a mad rush to vacate the aircraft. I passed through passport control without holding my breath. <feature photo Amman, Jordan by atlas tours.net Although it wasn’t a modern air terminal my baggage…
Technological Miracles or Science Fiction?
Mid-November 1977 I had grabbed a copy of the International Herald Tribune as I boarded the short ALIA (Royal Jordanian Airlines) flight to Amman. The simple pleasure of reading a newspaper at thirty-some thousand plus feet up can not be overstated. >feature photo Arthur C. Clarke by apilgriminnamia.com I sipped on a cup of coffee…
The Middle East | Trick or Treat?
Author Note: With the Halloween holiday coming up tomorrow the author recalls how travel in the Middle East was sometimes a matter of “Trick or Treat” when passing through immigration or upon entering a foreign country. What follows are a few brief vignettes of the author’s experiences (or misadventures) as a young Foreign Service recruit…
Beirut, Lebanon | As Raw as Steak Tartare
November 1977 I finished the secure voice radio installation at the ambassador’s residence at Mount Lebanon. George, the post security officer and purveyor of odd jobs at the American Embassy Beirut, had shown me a great view of the city below before we packed up and went to lunch. <Feature photo by oldbeirut.com My experiences…
Beirut, Lebanon | A View Through a Narrow Lens
November 1977 We arrived at the U.S. ambassador’s part time residence atop Mount Lebanon around ten a.m. unscathed. George had borrowed Ryan’s Saab sedan. He said it was less obtrusive that an embassy vehicle. I didn’t ask him what he thought about the ambassador cruising around in a black Lincoln Continental. I did ask George if…
American Embassy Beirut | A Night on the Town
November 1977 Communications & Records Officer Ryan B. cruised the deserted streets of Beirut at close to midnight. I thought I was pushing the envelope of Norm Bates’ 60/40 Hypothesis, which stated that 60% of our Foreign Service job was technical and 40% involved… Well, other stuff. Ryan had slipped an eight-track tape into the…
American Embassy Beirut | From Then Until Now
November 1977 George, the duty officer, had booked me into a small hotel less than two hundred yards down the street from the American embassy. Like its neighbors, the hotel had sustained damage during the civil war clashes last year. But nothing could compare to the ravaged Holiday Inn at the other end. The American…
American Embassy Beirut | Welcome to Heartbreak City
November 1977–Beirut, Lebanon I was surprised to learn that the Intercontinental Hotel was near the American Embassy in Beirut. I kept my mouth shut while the marines negotiated the streets in the Chevy Suburban. <Rescue worker aids wounded woman during Lebanese civil war in 1976 (apimages.com) When we arrived I was even more surprised that…
The Lebanese Civil War in Beirut | The Invisible Green Line
November 1977 I woke up early at the Phoenicia Intercontinental Hotel. Last night’s tense taxi ride from the airport to the hotel was a fractured nightmare. After the drama of the first checkpoint (where I suddenly feared for my life) the second checkpoint had waved us through. Needless to say I was relieved to arrive…
Beirut Arrival | A Matter of Security
Mid-November 1977 The Olympic Airlines flight landed at Beirut International Airport at close to ten p.m. The quiet on the tarmac soon gave way to chaos. <Feature photo by theimageworks.com Inside the terminal, passport control screamed of verbal abuses initiated by immigration officials who acted more like military. Weary passengers used physical gestures to support…
Cyprus Airport Delay | Reflections on the Office of Security (S.Y.)
Larnaca Airport | November 1977 My flight to Beirut from Larnaca, Cyprus had been delayed several hours due to engine problems. I had no choice but to wait it out. We were notified at six p.m. that the flight had been cleared to take off in about two hours. I called the after hours operator…
American Embassy Nicosia | Long Day, Short Visit
November 1977 After I showed my black passport to the MSG behind the public access control booth the guard offered a “Welcome to the American Embassy Nicosia” and directed me upstairs. CRO Simmons met me at the elevator. After a short meet and greet he said, “This is for you,” and handed me a message….
Nicosia, Cyprus | A Nation Divided by a Green Line
November 1977—Arrival at Larnaca The Olympic Airways flight from Athens landed in Larnaca, on the coast of Cyprus before lunch. On the last leg of my Mediterranean trip, I experienced no unusual events on the short plane ride other than an Ouzo induced headache. There were no jolly diplomatic couriers with fantastic espionage stories to…
American Embassy Athens | The Cat Eats the Tuna Fish
November 1977 CRO Dave Hastings gazed at me as we sat in the cafeteria in the American embassy. I paused to gather my words before continuing. What I was about to say could have huge repercussions. If a diplomatic courier was involuntarily smuggling contraband initiated by a member of the Foreign Service staff here at…
Athens Arrival | The Rubberneckers
November 1977—Athens, Greece Athens International Airport skirted the seacoast ahead of a Greek coastal town named Glyfada. My contact CRO Hastings at the American Embassy Athens had offered to put me up at a hotel in the scenic seaside town about twenty kilometers (twelve miles) from the mission. Since I was only staying a short…
The Tainted Diplomatic Pouch
November 1977—Somewhere Over the Adriatic Sea As the morning Thai Inter flight from Rome to Athens sailed over the calm Adriatic Sea I suddenly found myself caught up in a maelstrom of conspiracy at thirty-some thousand feet. Diplomatic Courier Victor Rothman, sitting next to me, had just confessed that he had firsthand knowledge that a…
Confessions of a Diplomatic Courier
November 1977—Somewhere Over the Adriatic Sea The Egyptian Khamsin (sand storm) and the ghosts of the past remained at the American Embassy Cairo. I was headed to Athens on Thai International Airlines via Rome. Al, my cohort at Am Consul Karachi, had recommended it. Why not a straight flight to Athens? That’s what I asked the Egyptian…
American Embassy Cairo | The Shepheard’s Hotel Bar
Early November 1977 It was Thursday, the day before my departure to Athens. CRO Holman called early and put the kibosh on my visit to the pyramids in Giza. He requested that I return to the residence of Cleopatra (the call sign for a gorgeous USAID worker named Miss Lewis). A driver and an Egyptian…
American Embassy Cairo | “Takin’ Care of Business”
Early November 1977 Wednesday at lunch CRO Holman rose and shook my hand at the embassy café. “Big improvement in the radio test,” He said. “We added four personnel from Maadi who weren’t able to reach the embassy previously. Zamalek personnel were loud and clear. Our crypto tech Bill lives over there.” “Zamalek?” It’s an…
American Embassy Cairo | Aftermath of the Khamsin
Early November 1977 After I got off the windswept Chancery roof I wrapped my face in linen à la T.E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) and raced across the street to the guesthouse. To get to the upper floor I had to enter an ancient cage-like elevator, the type that I didn’t know still existed. I shut the…
American Embassy Cairo | The Many Shades of Beige
Early November 1977 Bill the crypto tech was a breath of fresh air within Am Embassy Cairo’s clouded atmosphere. He took me to lunch at the very small embassy café that out of necessity featured outdoor seating. I had “The Special,” some kind of kebabs with a salad and hummus. It wasn’t bad. <feature photo…
Cairo Arrival | Shadows of the Past
Cairo International Airport | Early November 1977 The Pakistani Airlines flight made its final approach to the runway. I was in an aisle seat that didn’t afford a good glimpse of the pyramids. How ironic that my first trip from RCO Karachi would be Am Embassy Cairo, where my predecessor Charles A. had gotten on…
FM AMEMBASSY CAIRO IMMEDIATE
American Consulate General | Early November 1977 When RCO Roberson called me into his office at Am Consul Karachi Tuesday morning, I had a sinking feeling. Joe, the telephone lead tech had worked for Roberson in Jakarta. He told me that when “Bob” called you into his office it usually wasn’t to pat you on…
The Journal: CIA Deception or Hoax?
American Consulate General Karachi | Late October 1977 After spending the day cleaning up the radio shop at the Con Gen I dragged into my Clifton apartment with the JOURNAL on my mind. The odor of Basheer’s baked chicken with potatoes and vegetables was a welcome alternative to the dank, rancid radio shop floor. <feature…
Foreign Service Messages 