My job was military liaison to the state department. It was a kush and highly sought job and there were only a handful of officers chosen every year to do it. It involved giving input on anything military related to state department officials to help them make decisions and develop policy. Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait the first week of August. It was dominating the news. There were wars in the Middle East and Africa all the time, but this was a big deal. Kuwait was a friend and the free world wondered about if the oil supply would be safe. Sides and players changed so much that people hardly took notice. They brought me into a meeting that morning expecting that I would be talking about Iraq again. I had made myself intimate with our capabilities and theirs so I could at least answer most questions with an air of authority. The civilians were a little taken aback if a military man did not know every detail of the armed forces. I guess they figured we studied foreign armies at night while they were at home watching sports with their kids.
