| Oral
History Interview with Ambassador John Gunther
Dean
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Ambassador
John Gunther Dean:
Let me mention one particular incident, which again
came close to costing me my life. The cause was my good
relationship with my diplomatic colleagues. I was close to
various ambassadors, including many Arab representatives.
At the time, there was no Egyptian ambassador in Beirut.
But there was a Kuwaiti ambassador, a Saudi ambassador, a
Turkish ambassador, and the French, the Belgian, the
Dutch, the Spanish, the Brazilian, the Mexican, the
British, Canadian ambassadors -- you name it. Everybody
was represented.
One evening, I was at a social
reception with the chairman of the Middle East Airlines.
He was of Palestinian origin, a Christian man named Assad
Nasr. He was a very competent personality and we had
become friends. He told me that evening: "Listen, I
just got a phone call. The Saudi and Kuwaiti Ambassadors
were shot down in a Lebanese Government helicopter over
the Christian part of Lebanon. The Saudi Ambassador has a
bullet lodged in his leg. He is in pain. He has been taken
to one of the Christian private hospitals in the Christian
heartland. You should go and see him." I said:
"Who said I should go and see him? ' "I am
telling you that" said the head of the Middle East
Airlines. I said: "Why?" He said: "Because
the Saudis look to the United States whenever they have a
problem; you are supposed to help them out." I
said: "Wait a second. It's 9:00 p.m." He said:
"Yes, but 9:00 p.m., Saudis expect service all year
round and 24 hours a day." "That means I have to
go and get my entire convoy going, and we have to cross
over from West Beirut over to East Beirut and go up to the
hospital in the hills?" He said: "Yes, that's
what you've got to do. I'll tell you. It's good
advice." I said: "I will take it."
I got my security team together, the
convoy of three cars with bodyguards ready to drive at
night from West Beirut over into East Beirut and into the
hills often manned by Christian militiamen. Driving at
night between these two areas was not without risk. I told
my wife that I was going to visit my Saudi colleague and
she pointed out to me the danger of being on the road at
that time of the night. When I got to the hospital, I saw
Lieutenant General Ali Shaher, Ambassador of Saudi Arabia,
lying in a bed under an image of the Virgin. He was a very
tall man. He said: "John, please get me to the
American Hospital. It's not that I am not getting good
medical care here, but I am in pain. I want to go where I
am completely at ease and my family can visit me. I want
to go to the American Hospital in West Beirut." I
said: "Okay. It's now after 10:00 in the evening, so
tomorrow morning at 10:00 we will have the motorcade get
you and take you to the American University Hospital in
West Beirut."
I went back to my residence in West
Beirut, which I used in case I was stuck in the city. That
night, this was the case. I must have gotten back about
11:30 p.m. I also made arrangements to have the Saudi
Ambassador moved by motorcade and ambulance at 10:00 a.m.
the next day, to the American University Hospital. The
transfer went smoothly. Ali Shaher got a nice room at the
American Hospital, his family visited him, and he got
great medical attention.
One of the great figures at the time was Danny Chamoun,
the son of Camille Chamoun, former President of Lebanon
and militia/ political leader of the free enterprise
political elements in Lebanon. Danny Chamoun had the idea
to visit the Saudi Ambassador at the American Hospital.
Danny, like his father, had a relationship with the
Saudis, but was that enough to expose his life by crossing
over from the Christian-held East Beirut to the more
international West Beirut, where enemies of Danny could
easily try to kill him? When it was known that Danny
Chamoun was at the American Hospital, elements hostile to
Danny gathered around the American Hospital and started
shooting out the windows at the American Hospital. Who
made up the mob trying to storm the American University
Hospital? Mostly Lebanese who opposed the Phalange and
Chamounists -- people who were more influenced by leftist
propaganda, who believed that the Syrian model had some
value for Lebanon, dissatisfied Moslems and Palestinians
who saw in Chamoun "a friend of Israel." By late
afternoon, a couple of thousand demonstrators had
surrounded the American Hospital and the worst was to be
feared.
By about 8:00 p.m., I was informed by one of my valiant
security men that: "It's absolutely essential that
you come immediately to the American Hospital. They are
shooting up the American Hospital. There is going to be
nothing left. They are going to take it by storm to get a
hold of Danny Chamoun. The crowd is made up of
Palestinians, Syrians, Muslims, Christians, crazies who
are absolutely determined to destroy the American
Hospital. The Saudi Ambassador's life is in danger. He
needs you badly. This time, he is calling, for you."
I replied: "Okay, fellows, let's get the motorcade
ready and go!"
We entered through the large garage door of the
American Hospital. As the door opened, the guard who
opened it got shot and killed by one of the snipers in the
crowd. Once inside the hospital, I rushed to Ali Shaher's
room. There he was, with his wife and daughter. He said:
"Listen, this crowd is crazy. You've got to help stop
this madness." I replied: "What shall I
do?" He said: "Go and call Crown Prince Fahd of
Saudi Arabia, and tell him to contact Arafat and President
Asaad of Syria and tell them to stop this shooting.
Otherwise, this thing is going to get out of hand and
everything will go up in flames."
I got in my car in the garage and as the garage door
opened to drive to the Embassy, rifle shots killed two
Lebanese security people protecting the garage door! Three
people had been killed by my entering or leaving the
American Hospital. Once out of the hospital, the road to
the Embassy was safe. My car picked up a bullet, as usual,
but as the limousine was armored.
I was used to that kind of harassment.
By this time, it must have been 9:00 p.m. at the
Embassy, and I asked for the communicators to come to the
office. I never realized how easy it was to communicate
with the world from the American Embassy. The
communicators came within 10 minutes. I said; "I
would like to talk to Crown Prince Fahd in Saudi
Arabia." It was as if I had asked to speak with my
aunt in New Jersey. The communicators did not ask me to
give them the telephone number. They took it in their
stride. Within two to five minutes, I had the Lord
Chamberlain of the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia on the
line. I identified myself. He said: "What can I do
for you?" I said: "I have a message from
Ambassador Lieutenant General Ali Shaher who asked me to
transmit it to Crown Prince Fahd." "Yes, Prince
Fahd is standing right next to me. What is the
message?" "Tell him that they are shooting up
the American Hospital in Beirut, where Ambassador Shaher
is recovering from a flesh wound in his leg. Please call
President Hafez el-Assad and Arafat and tell them to stop
the mob from attacking the hospital. If there are no
interventions from above, the hospital will be destroyed,
many innocent lives will perish, and the confrontation in
the Near East will get much worse. Ali Shaher and his
family fear for their lives." The Lord Chamberlain
said: "Yes Sir, I will transmit the message."
We then left the Embassy and drove to the American
Hospital. In the process, we picked up a couple of stray
bullets as we went into the garage. Nobody was killed this
time. The situation was out of hand. They were shooting
all over the place. It was about 10:00 p.m. I asked one of
my security guards who had a walkie-talkie, to notify my
wife. "Please call my wife and tell her that I am not
coming home to night. I'm spending my night at the
American Hospital, near the room of the Saudi Ambassador,
so he will be reassured." Then, I told Ambassador
Shaher that I had conveyed his message to the Crown Prince
and that I was taking a room near his room. By one
o'clock, silence descended on the entire area of the
American Hospital of Beirut. Except there was hardly any
air conditioning any more and it was hot outside. There
were no more windows in most parts of the building. The
crowds had dispersed. Next day, I went to see Ambassador
Ali Shaher in his room and then I returned to my office.
My security guards informed my wife that I was back at the
office and not to worry about me.
To finish this story, Ambassador Shaher had the bullet
removed from his leg. After Shaher's release from the
hospital, he gave me a small, intimate reception and
thanked me for my assistance. After he returned to Saudi
Arabia, Ali Shaher became Minister for Information for the
next 10 years. He then became one of the advisers to King
Fahd. From this episode, I came away with a feeling of
respect for the role of the Saudis in the Near East, and a
better understanding of the U. S. relationship with Saudi
leadership. If the Saudis want to play a role, they
certainly have the power to do so.
Click
here to read Ambassador Dean's complete list of oral
history interviews.
Source: Jimmy
Carter Library
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