The Certainty
of Not Asking.

Tanks Roll through the Night,
but at Work the Silence Reigns.

The Third Letter

By Jack G. Vines
DATELINE:
Thursday, March 27, 2003.
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

I have not been able to access E-mail for the past two days. I couldn't get to work. I feel safe, yet I have not been allowed to go to the classroom today. Who knows why? The UAE Armed Forces could be concerned for the one hundred or so Western personnel entering a military base, or the Central Intelligence Division could be sweeping our computers for anything we may be writing or working on that they consider sensitive.

Two nights ago I was returning home from a movie when a tank convoy appeared out of the dark. I noticed that several security cars had stopped all traffic from the road leading to the port of Abu Dhabi. All of a sudden five, maybe more, massive transport trucks whizzed through town and headed into the countryside, where most of the bases are situated.

UAE's Quiet Support for its Allies.

Keep in mind that Abu Dhabi is an island — and a very small island jutting into the Gulf from the vast desert mainland. What really interested me was that these tanks were USA and United Kingdom war machines. How do I know? Well, the UAE only has French tanks; I think the contract is with GIAT Industries, expert in systèmes de combat aéroterrestre. I have trained some of the 'frogs,' to use the proper American English. The tanks roaring over the streets here two nights ago were M1 Abrams Main Battle Tanks. It looks like the UAE is once again coming through — very quietly — for their allies, the USA-UK Coalition.

My colleagues are silent. Everyone thought this war would be short. Now, there is talk of a mass exodus if the armed combat lasts more than three or four weeks. I am lucky in the context of exodus. I have no wife and children to think of every waking moment. Yet, my poor parents back in the States are worried. As for myself, I am worried also. The region is still heating up.

A day or so ago, the British Council in Beirut, Lebanon, was bombed. A few sticks of dynamite took out a wall. This news was of particular interest to me because I was vacationing in Beirut last December and frequented the British Council there. The staff even told me about a program of study in Dubai, UAE. I am scheduled to start an MBA in April, but all British Councils here have either ceased operations or cutback to a skeleton staff in various hotels.

Something also happened in Bahrain, but it's not quite clear to me exactly what happened. As best I can decipher, a gas cylinder exploded in a Western compound. In cases like this, rumor tends to metamorphose into truth — a frequent fact of life in the Gulf Region. The USA State Department says the explosion was not terrorism, but then we all know it is in the USA's best interest to portray Bahrain as a safe-haven because the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet is docked there.

Deciphering the media is a daily challenge, troublesome and mysterious. I feel that the attacks in Beirut and Bahrain were intentional and serious. The Western media is underplaying those incidents for various purposes.

ZNN and the Great Satan.

Well, ZNN or the Zionist News Network (this is what Arabs call it; we call it CNN) reports very positive, pro US-UK news. In stark contrast, the Arab news reports tend to sympathize on television with Saddam and Iraq. Yes, the USA is still considered the Great Satan. Arabs almost to a man feel that the USA has come into the region to fight a war purely for the interests of USA and Israel. Have we?

I have never felt so stressed and tense as I have during the last week. I have little trouble at work, as my students love me. Today I took them to luxury car shops for some real-life shopping in English. A teacher who gives field trips is a beloved teacher. However, that is only the surface of things.

The feeling on the street, and probably at work, can be expressed this way: We like them because they teach us, but they are Americans. It is a strange and challenging atmosphere.

Last night I just had to give up and return to my apartment. I went to a cafe, where the workers immediately switched on the news broadcast. I visited a shop to look at shirts, and one guy showed me pictures of mangled Iraqi children. My reply: Allah Kareem. (God is great!) I expressed happiness that we were safe here. Inside my private space, I pondered the encounter and wondered if these were kids who had been mutilated by Saddam's forces. Probably so.

I Didn't Ask.

In most Islamic countries the weekend falls on Thursday and Friday. So, I have entered my weekend. I will not go to the British Club as I usually do. There is a gunboat guarding the beach, which is only about twenty-five yards long! I notice a few ships, perhaps an aircraft carrier, off the coast. Most activities are shut down anyway. Western watering holes and lots of public venues are trimming away hours and services.

A few nights ago I went for dinner at the Intercontinental Hotel. I was reminded of a scene in the horror movie, The Shining, in which the character played by Jack Nicholson sits in the empty Hotel Overlook. My quiet meal and deep reverie was suddenly interrupted by a para-military bomb squad, which swept into the dining room to clear it. Yes, they swept the place. Was is a bomb threat, or were they checking before a Sheikh arrived for his evening repast? I didn't ask. Here in Abu Dhabi I've accepted one certainty: do not ask questions!

EDITOR'S NOTE:
Mr. Vines is an instructor for the United Arab Emirates Armed Forces. He has worked in Abu Dhabi since July 2001. Not yet thirty, he has also taught in Japan. We would tell you more about him, but it just wouldn't be prudent.

You can communicate with Mr. Vines by E-mail
through the webmaster at threadspinner@corndancer.com

*This is the logical next step
toward the NEW World Order.

Step Four: *Your exclamations tossed like missiles o'er the level shore!

The Certainty of Not Asking.

Tanks Roll through the Night, but at Work the Silence Reigns.