Friends in High Places: The Bechtel Story : The Most Secret Corporation and How It Engineered the Wo by Laton Mccartney (readict .txt) 📗

were true. It then went on to warn: “This interesting document … if publicized, would tend to bring into disrepute not only International Bechtel, Inc., but all American citizens living in Saudi Arabia.” The “interesting document” was not publicized and Agnew was sent home, accompied by a recommendation from the consulate to the State Department’s Passport Division that “his future activities abroad may well be regarded with suspicion.”7

Despite the problems and privations, the Bechtel projects moved ahead, either on or close to schedule. George Cooley had taken charge of the pipeline-“Tapline,” as it was designated by Aramco-and by February 1948, construction had begun on the Abqaiq-to-Qatif section.** After being unloaded at the port of Ras el Mesha and by use of giant cranes, tons of 30-and 31-inch pipe-large enough to transport 450,000 barrels of oil per day-were welded into 93-foot-long sections and then packed aboard specially outfitted trailers and trucks for transport across the desert. Upon reaching the building site, they were set into place on ring girders mounted on cement supports. Though practical and economical, placing the pipeline aboveground would later cause problems, when Bedouin pitched their tents over the line to warm themselves by the flow of the heated oil. Horrified that the Be-

Agnew was not the only disgruntled Bechtel employee, nor the only one to leave.

Despite the Western-style amenities, life in the Bechtel work camps was hard, and working for Cooley even harder, so much so that the workers at one jobsite dubbed it

“CCC” -“Cooley’s Concentration Camp.” The result was constant turnover-according to one company estimate as much as 77 percent annually. Bechtel executives referred to terminated employees as “Termites” and often sent them home via the slowest and least agreeable means of transport available .

* Cooley’s duties included screening prospective employees to ensure that none were Jewish. The exclusion of Jews from Bechtel projects was quietly sanctioned by the State Deparbnent, which at the time did not employ Jews in Saudi Arabia either. Nor were any Jews employed by Aramco. Cooley also refused to hire homosexuals. According to his associates during that period, his means for discovering a prospective employee’s sexual proclivities was to ask, “Are you a cocksucker?” If the candidate reacted by cursing Cooley or hitting him, he was hired. Those who hesitated or stammered were abruptly dismissed�

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douin campfires might ignite the oil, the Americans as well as Saudi soldiers guarding the line continually had to drive them off. When that effort proved unsuccessful, each section of the pipe was marked with a royal emblem. Fearful of ibn Saud’s wrath, the Bedouin kept at bay.

The railroad presented a different set of difficulties. Many of the builders had laid rail across forbidding country before, but they had never experienced anything quite like Saudi Arabia. Miles of rocky, desolate flatlands; sand dunes the size of small mountains; jagged lava fields that stretched for miles all had to be crossed or circumvented.

Exclaimed one newly arrived engineer: “This is a helluva place to build a railroad!”

Finally, though, after four years and the expenditure of $50 million, built it was. The trick was teaching the king’s subjects to use it. Not understanding that stated prices were nonnegotiable, long lines of Arab customers haggled incessantly over ticket prices, and as a result, American-planned train schedules quickly became meaningless. Such trains as did run were accompanied by Saudi soldiers, there to keep a watchful eye on the cars crammed full of gun-toting Bedouin. Other problems were not so easily dealt with. According to one Arab custom, if an Arab engineer ran over someone-a not infrequent occurrence on the Saudi line-the victim’s relatives were entitled to