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By Way of Deception

By Way of Deception

By Way of Deception

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168 BY WAY OF DECEPTIONhalfway by an Israeli PT boat, then picked up by a private yachtfrom the harbor, I had my entrance visa stamped as if I had comein through the airport.It was cold and windy, and there weren't many tourists around.There were, however, a number <strong>of</strong> Palestinians staying in myhotel. After I'd finished my first assignment and was simplywaiting for the phone call, I had nothing much to do. I could leavemy room but not the hotel, so I simply told the desk to pass onany calls to wherever I was in the hotel.It was the evening <strong>of</strong> February 3, 1986, when I spotted the man inthe lobby. He was very well dressed, wore gold- rimmed glasses,and three large rings on his right hand. He had a small goatee andmustache, and looked about 45. His black hair was beginning toturn white. He wore expensive leather shoes and a well-tailoredwool suit <strong>of</strong> high quality.He was sitting in the lobby looking at an Arabic magazine, but Icould see he had a copy <strong>of</strong> Playboy tucked inside it. I knew he wasan Arab and I could tell he felt he was important. I thought, whatthe hell, I have nothing else to do, so I made contact.The contact was direct. I simply walked up to him and said inEnglish, "Do you mind if I look at the centerfold?""I beg your pardon?" the man replied, his English heavilyaccented."You know, the chick. The girl in the middle."He laughed, then showed it to me. I described myself as a Britishbusinessman who had lived most <strong>of</strong> my life in Canada. We had avery friendly conversation and after a while decided to have dinnertogether. The man was a Palestinian who lived in Aman and, likemy "cover person," was in the import/export business. He loved todrink, so after dinner we adjourned to the bar where he began toget drunk.In the meantime, I expressed strong sympathy for the Palestiniancause. I even mentioned losing a lot <strong>of</strong> money in a shipment toBeirut because <strong>of</strong> the war. "Those bloody Israelis," I said.The man kept talking about business deals he was doing in Libya,and eventually, spurred on by the booze and my ap-

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