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Travis Hahn
Mr. Griffith
English I Period I
24 May 2010
Desert Shield, Storm and the Scud crisis
The air siren goes off, and everyone runs for cover while the embassy personnel don
gasmasks. The scud missiles miss Jeddah once again and life returns to normal. Mr.Swist is
anxious about a Molotov cocktail or a suicide bomber attacking the Parents Cooperative which
is seen as a symbol of the American infidels. The air siren goes off again, this time while
Mr.Swist is at home, and he and his wife Jessica retreat to the safe area. At the eye of the storm,
life is calm as, scuds and B-52s fly over protecting the people of Saudi Arabia from the
advancing army. At 48 years old, Mr.Swist leaves Saudi Arabia. Seventeen years later in Japan,
he meets General Colin Powell, who was the Commander and Chief of the forces during Desert
Storm. Mr.Swist was wearing a shirt that said on the back Desert Storm, I was there. General
Powell and Mr.Swist talked about the experiences near the front vs. the experiences in Jeddah
and how they were different. Mr.Swist says weathering out the conflict in the Persian Gulf and
then meeting the general who won the it was a miraculous experience.
Martin Swist was born on January 15, 1947 in Stamford, Connecticut. He has lived in the
United States, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, and is currently living in Tokyo, Japan. He is the
youngest of a family of four. His childhood was ideal; he had two profoundly interesting parents
and an older sister. He speaks English, Spanish, Arabic and Japanese. He went to high school at
Andrew Warden in Fairfield, Connecticut, and he also attended college at Sacred Heart
University in Fairfield, He obtained a bachelors degree in English and philosophy. He then went

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to graduate school at Fairfield University and received masters in educational media. He has
been a teacher, a librarian, a store clerk, a school bus driver, a store detective, and a lawn care
"expert" for Scotts. He is currently the librarian at the American School in Japan in Tokyo, Japan.
He has been married for 36 years and has outlived both his parents and his sister. He was
teaching at the Parents Cooperative School through 1974-1995 . In Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
during operation Desert Storm, Mr.Swist and his wife survived the onslaught of Scud missiles
the during the war; It was an experience that he will never forget (Swist). Mr. Swist was in
Saudi Arabia during Desert shield, the Scud crisis, and for the greater part of Desert Storm. He
was influenced by his experiences and he will never forget his time in the Middle East.
Operation Desert Shield was the precursor to the coalition forces offensive in the Persian
Gulf. Desert Shield was intended to supply armed forces and munitions to defend Saudi Arabia
from the Iraqi army. There were 200 miles between Kuwait and Saudi Arabias oil center
(Grossman 209-210).Al-Saud Fahd Bin Abul Aziz, The king of Saudi Arabia, was hesitant to
accept U.S. and international aid days after it was offered to him by President George. H.W.
Bush. Saudi Arabia was threatened by Saddams massive army, but if he opened his nation to
foreign aid, he could be seen as having failed to protect his own people. Historically, it has
been difficult, if not impossible, for any Arab leader to become to close to the United States,
because the United States is seen as Israels closest Ally (Al-Saud 125-133).On August 22nd. ,the
invasion of Kuwait by Iraqi forces triggered a rapid response from the United States. On August
7th ,United States President George H.W. Bush sent fighter jet paratroopers and armed forces to
Saudi Arabia to protect the Saudi people and the United States oil interests from attack by the
Iraqi army (World Book Year Books). Then, on August 22nd, Bush moved the U.S. military
reserve units to Saudi Arabia. It was the first time for the United States to engage reserve units

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to participate in a foreign crisis since 1968 when they were sent to Vietnam. On August 25th
1990, the United Nations Security Council authorized United States led naval forces in the
Persian Gulf to take action to enforce the trade embargo against Iraq. Many countries pledged
soldiers and armor to the U.S. led effort called Operation Desert Shield (World Book Year
Books). At sea, the coalition ships intercepted many Iraqi ships. They boarded 900 naval
vehicles and force over fifty ships to change course. These actions all but stopped supplies from
getting in or out of Iraq. In the Persian Gulf and The Red Sea coalition forces had an impressive
number of combat ships including six aircraft carriers, Aegis cruisers , and the battle ship
Missouri. Mr. Swist was in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on the coast of the Red Sea. During the Persian
Gulf War, he was teaching at the Parents Cooperative School. On August second, days before
Desert Shield began, some of the students at the school said that tons of gold were being lifted
out of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Rumors were flying around at the time, and people feared
the worst. Because it was a government sponsored school, teachers, students, and parents were
concerned. During Desert Shield there were B-52 bombers based in Jeddah before the air war
began , and the carrier group JFK was in the Red Sea. These forces were meant to protect
Jeddah from any attacks by the Iraqi army. During Desert Shield Mr.Swist hosted seventeen
naval airmen from the JFK at his home for Thanksgiving. Desert Shield was a success and with
the thousands of tanks and ships to enforce the embargo and stop the invasion of Saudi Arabia ,
the offensive phase of the war Desert Storm could begin. The buildup of thousands of tanks, jets,
ships, and soldiers took place in less than a 6 month period. Though still outnumbered by the
Iraqi army, the coalition forces had better weapons, tanks, and men, willing to fight for the
freedom of the Kuwaiti people from the tyranny of Saddam Hussein. Even though the collation

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had fewer forces, they made it seem like they had more by highly publicizing liftoffs of the jets
taking off for patrols (Bourque).
The Scud missiles fired by Iraq struck fear into the world. January 18th two days after
Desert Storm began the first missiles were fired at Israel and Saudi Arabia. Initially it looked as
if Saddam Hussein might have used chemical or nerve gas against Israel and Saudi Arabia and
that he might use it again. In one terrifying news broadcast an ABC reporter clad with a gasmask
went off air when a Scud missile hit nearby in Riyadh. The broadcast scared the viewers back
home in the United States and it helped them realize the gravity of the situation, and the
possibility that chemical warfare could be used in an attack on Reynolds, the coalition base of
operations. The world was afraid of what would happen if the chemically armed Scud were to hit
Israel. Israel went on nuclear alert in case a chemical or nerve armed scud were to hit Israel,
and Israel made plans to retaliate against Iraq with nuclear weapons .Fortunatly beyond
terrorizing people throughout Israel and Saudi Arabia the terribly inaccurate Scud did little real
damage. The only damage by Scud missile was when it hit the U.S. army barracks in Dhahran,
Saudi Arabia killing 28 people in the quartermasters battalion. (Yetiv 35 ). The Soviet made
Scud missile were the most destructive weapons in Iraqs arsenal . They were terribly inaccurate
so the coalition didnt know where they would hit and many pilots searched for the disguised
scud launchers (Grossman). Iraq had two types of missiles that could be armed with
conventional, nuclear, chemical, or biological warheads. The first type of Scud missile could be
fired from 210 miles away and had a 1,000 pound warhead, and was fairly accurate. The second
type had a 500 pound warhead and could be fired from 400 miles away. It was not accurate.
During the Scud Crisis, Mr.Swist was the librarian at the Parents Cooperative School. The
teachers with diplomatic connections were given gas masks by the embassy in Jeddah, in case of

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biological attack by Scuds. There were scud launchers across the Red Sea aimed at Jeddah and so
Mr.swist and his wife build an emergency shelter where they went when the air raid siren went
off. Back home in the United States the Scud Crisis brought fear into the hearts of Americans
everywhere. As the inaccurate scuds were fired at Israel and Saudi Arabia many worried that
millions of deaths could be caused by nuclear or biological warfare. Thankfully the Scud crisis
was over quickly as bombers destroyed the mobile launchers during the air war preventing any
more scud missiles attack(Swist).
Desert Storm was the offensive operation in the Persian Gulf. After the months of
buildup to Desert Storm, the United States and the rest of the coalition started the offensive on
January 20th 1991. Operation Desert Storm began as a response on the part of the United States
to make sure that the country had a continued oil supply from the Middle East and to liberate the
Kuwaiti people. It took approximately a year. OPEC lowered the prices of oil against Saddam
Hussein wishes and he decided that he need to conquer Kuwait in order to ease Iraqi debt. He
also wanted to increase his influence in OPEC and have more access to the Persian Gulf
coastline for trade. There were 140,000 Iraqi soldiers and 1,500 tanks to Kuwait. When the
United Nations called for Iraqs withdrawal from Kuwait Saddam Hussein refused announcing
that they had annexed Kuwait. In his speeches Hussein blamed America and said that the
Kuwaitis alliance with the west and with the United States in particular inspired Kuwait to
overproduce oil to undermine Arab interests and security (Zerbonia 228-243). Saddam Hussein
finance the Iran-Iraq War with the money from Iraqi oil profits and amassed massive amounts of
debt. Under Saddam s leadership , his forces attacked Kuwait so the other unsympathetic
OPEC nations would limit oil production and set higher oil prices so Iraq could pay off its
debt. Mr.Swist was teaching at the Parents Cooperative and he braved the Scud Crisis and

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Desert Storm. During these times he felt first-hand the impact of the anti-American feelings of
Saddam Hussein. He was an American working at a conspicuous symbol of America, the
Parents Cooperative School and he was afraid of a suicide attack or a Molotov cocktail being
thrown through the windows of the library.(Swist). During the air war the B-52 were stationed in
Jeddah. The carrier group JFK sent bombers , helicopters, and jet planes, to help the coalition
find and destroy the Scud launchers. Desert Storm resulted in destabilizing the tyrant Saddam
Husseins regime and helped Kuwaiti regain its sovereignty. The coalition forces succeeded in
their mission but years later, in 2003, the United States and a different coalition invaded Iraq
and were still embroiled in the conflict with Iraq and Saddam Hussein.
Mr. Swist lived in Saudi Arabia for the better part of 10 years while there he
experienced Desert Shield the Scud Crisis and Desert Storm. Witnessing these conflicts has
changed him and he never forget them and how they influenced his life . He lived in a
dangerous war zone and he felt daily fear as he heard the air raid siren, and gained an
appreciation of those who live in a war zone their whole life. Because of his job in Saudi Arabia
he became a target of aggression against the United States. The United States foreign policy
directly affected his life and he ended up building a shelter and living in fear. When he met
Collin Powell, the man who defined the foreign policy for the Persian gulf war, it was a
moment of recognition he had survived the conflict as an American civilian in the Middle East .
The build up to Desert Storm known as Desert Shield was immensely successful. Iraq
and the newly annexed Kuwait were cut off from the rest of the world as the coalition ferried in
thousands of jets, tanks and soldiers, from western Europe, Asia and , North America. The Scud
Crisis scared everyone as Israel went on nuclear alert and chemical Scuds threatened the
coalitions forces and some of the most populous nations. The threat of nuclear warfare seemed

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to be ever-present. In Desert Storm the allies gained the upper hand through the air war and
tactics to corner the Iraqi army and liberate Kuwait. Mr.Swist hosted several naval airmen
during Desert Shield, and saw the B-52s flying over Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Mr.Swist was
fearful of the inaccurate Scuds and hoped they wouldnt hit Jeddah as they whirled overhead. He
hoped that the Iraqi s would be subdued in the midst of Desert Storm. Seventeen years later he
met ex. Secretary of State Colin Powell who was the commanding general during the Gulf War.
Mr. Swist lived through Desert Shield and Desert Storm, experiencing the war first hand from
the ground as a teacher in an American school in Saudi Arabia. The conflicts in Iraq were only
the beginning of our Middle East involvement. Now, nineteen years later, we are still in Iraq ,
battling anti-Western aggression and rethinking our strategy for the future.

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