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Une danceuse & La naissance d'El Qaïda
De l'est de texas jusqu'à l'egypt , comment la danceuse Carole a été payée pour séduire un général égyptien , pour armé des hommes et attaquer l'URSS , pour former ce qu'on appel : les Combattants Afghans qui vont former l'organisme le plus meurtier de l'histoire de l'humanité : Al Qaïda
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By JEFF AWTREY
The Lufkin Daily News
Monday, December 17, 2007
About 25 years ago, a divorced mother of two performed a dance that may have helped change the face of international politics.
When former East Texas congressman Charlie Wilson approached Carol Shannon about performing a belly dance for Field Marshal Mohammed Abu Ghazala, the defense minister of Egypt, she had no idea of the magnitude of his mission, to convince Egypt to provide arms to Afghanistan in their war against the Soviet Union.
Fort Worth Star-Telegram photo by Tom Pennington
Carol Shannon picks out a dress for the New York premiere of 'Charlie Wilson's War' at a mall in Fort Worth.
Shannon says Wilson, with whom she was involved in a relationship at the time, broke the news slowly to her.
"He sort of gave me a little information as we went along," Shannon, who grew up in Kilgore, said. "He didn't want to scare me. It was sort of like breaking the news slowly and by the time he made it very clear to me, I was already committed and said, 'OK, I'll do my best.'"
As George Crile wrote in the book "Charlie Wilson's War," "one might think it would be like carrying coals to Newcastle" for an American belly dancer to perform in Egypt, the country where the dance is believed to have originated. In those years it was deemed inappropriate for a dancer to perform suggestive moves or to bare too much skin. But Shannon decided not to give in to that fundamentalism.
The Egyptian secret service "nearly had a fit," Shannon said. She used a sword and laid it flat on the defense minister's head then slid it toward the ear like she was going to cut it off. Then she ran the sword down his chest to his belt buckle.
"They ran and tried to stop me and take the sword on several occasions and Charlie kept saying, 'Leave her alone, it's just part of the dance,'" Shannon said. "Finally the defense minister said, 'It's OK, it's OK.' I know I'm good at my dancing and I wasn't going to hurt anyone, but they kept trying to stop me."
The dance "mesmerized" her Egyptian audience, Shannon said.
The next day Abu Ghazala agreed to help Wilson and the U.S. in their covert war against the Soviet Union, assuring Wilson there was no end to the quantity of Soviet weapons he could give Afghanistan. It was important to use Soviet weapons against the Soviets to appear that they were stolen. If the Soviets were to know another country was involved, it would create an international crisis.
"They loved me," Shannon said. "They said I was the best American belly dancer they had ever seen. So that was quite a compliment because as far as we know that's where belly dancing started, and they're very proud of it."
Wilson also took Shannon to Khyber Pass, a military fort and mountain pass that links Pakistan and Afghanistan. She said she could look down from the mountain and actually see the Afghans fighting against the Soviets. She said Wilson told her she should feel lucky because very few women were allowed on Khyber Pass.
"I looked through the guest book and the only other woman's name I saw in there was Jackie Onassis. So I made sure to sign it," Shannon said.
Learning the craft
Shannon took up belly dancing after she had her second child. She saw an advertisement in the newspaper and took classes during her lunch hour while working as a legal secretary. Now in her 60s, she still performs shows once a year at Borderfest in South Texas. She said belly dancing fits her personality.
"It's not restrictive like ballet dancing," Shannon said. "It's like freestyle. You can express your own personality, your own feelings. You watch your audience while you're dancing and you work with what you're seeing. You just feed off of them. This fits my personality perfectly because it's a spontaneous dance.
"We can all learn the same steps but it's how you present yourself," Shannon continued. "People love me. I have fun with it. I'm very sensuous but I can cut up and act like a clown too. I'm very good at what I do and I love it."
Shannon lives in Chicago and works as a flight attendant but says she misses her East Texas roots. "I loved Kilgore. I miss it," Shannon said. "If I could fly in and out of there I would've moved there. It's very pretty with beautiful trees. The people are so sweet. I really miss it."
Meeting Charlie
Shannon first learned of Wilson while living in Fort Worth when her then-husband, conservative Texas state Representative Joe Shannon, decided to run for state Senator against the liberal incumbent. Wilson campaigned against Joe Shannon, and Carol believes her husband lost because of him. A few years later, when Carol was divorced, Wilson saw Carol belly dance at a show and was impressed and asked her out.
"He said, 'You know, I come to Texas a lot. Would you ever consider going to lunch with me?" Shannon said. "I could just envision my ex-husband's face when he heard I went on a date with his bitter enemy and I said, 'Oh, yeah!' He said, 'Do you know who I am?' and I said 'Oh yeah! I know who you are.'"
Shannon said Wilson was one of the nicest men she had ever dated.
"He treated me like a queen and that's not the way I had been treated in my life and I loved it," Shannon said. "He was very much a gentleman towards me."
Shannon said she and Wilson kept a long-distance relationship for 9-12 months before they "drifted apart." But she said they remained friends.
Wilson requested her friendship when he was coming under fire for a cocaine scandal in 1986. Wilson had been accused of snorting cocaine in a Las Vegas hot tub. The charges were later dropped when investigators could not find anyone to testify that they had actually seen him snort cocaine in the United States. But he asked Shannon to offer moral support during a press conference in Washington, D.C.
"He called me and said 'I need a friend. I need someone in my corner,'" Shannon said. "I actually sat back in the corner and watched them fire all these questions. I could tell he would get a little bit tense and he would turn and look at me and I'd just smile or blow a kiss to him. I was just there for moral support, to let him know there were people that still cared about him. He can get married or whatever and I'm still his friend. If he called me today and said 'I need you,' I'd be there. That's real friendship."
The film
Shannon is portrayed by Tracy Phillips, daughter of Dallas Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips, in the major motion picture "Charlie Wilson's War," based on the Crile book. After attending the world premiere in Los Angeles on Dec. 10, Shannon said she was disappointed with the scene involving her character.
"I was just kind of surprised with all the things they cut," Shannon said. "The part where the secret service jumped in — they cut that out of the dance. I get the feeling that people wonder why that part was in there. The girl who played me sat behind me. After the movie, I turned around and told her, 'I'm sorry. I thought this would be your big break. It would've made me happy to know you made your big break because of me."
Despite the small part, Shannon is happy with the casting of Tracy Phillips.
"She is a beautiful girl," Shannon said. "I was very flattered that they picked her to play me. She had the eye control and showed she could handle the defense minister."
The film and its cast has been nominated for four Golden Globe awards.
"Philip Seymour Hoffman was so like Gust (Avrakotos)," Shannon said. "He did a great job. Tom Hanks reminded me of Charlie. He did a good job. But I think the film should've played up how patriotic Charlie is."
"Charlie Wilson's War" opens nationwide Dec. 21 and is rated R.
Jeff Awtrey's e-mail address
is [email protected].
================================================== =====
The Lufkin Daily News
Monday, December 17, 2007
About 25 years ago, a divorced mother of two performed a dance that may have helped change the face of international politics.
When former East Texas congressman Charlie Wilson approached Carol Shannon about performing a belly dance for Field Marshal Mohammed Abu Ghazala, the defense minister of Egypt, she had no idea of the magnitude of his mission, to convince Egypt to provide arms to Afghanistan in their war against the Soviet Union.
Carol Shannon picks out a dress for the New York premiere of 'Charlie Wilson's War' at a mall in Fort Worth.
Shannon says Wilson, with whom she was involved in a relationship at the time, broke the news slowly to her.
"He sort of gave me a little information as we went along," Shannon, who grew up in Kilgore, said. "He didn't want to scare me. It was sort of like breaking the news slowly and by the time he made it very clear to me, I was already committed and said, 'OK, I'll do my best.'"
As George Crile wrote in the book "Charlie Wilson's War," "one might think it would be like carrying coals to Newcastle" for an American belly dancer to perform in Egypt, the country where the dance is believed to have originated. In those years it was deemed inappropriate for a dancer to perform suggestive moves or to bare too much skin. But Shannon decided not to give in to that fundamentalism.
The Egyptian secret service "nearly had a fit," Shannon said. She used a sword and laid it flat on the defense minister's head then slid it toward the ear like she was going to cut it off. Then she ran the sword down his chest to his belt buckle.
"They ran and tried to stop me and take the sword on several occasions and Charlie kept saying, 'Leave her alone, it's just part of the dance,'" Shannon said. "Finally the defense minister said, 'It's OK, it's OK.' I know I'm good at my dancing and I wasn't going to hurt anyone, but they kept trying to stop me."
The dance "mesmerized" her Egyptian audience, Shannon said.
The next day Abu Ghazala agreed to help Wilson and the U.S. in their covert war against the Soviet Union, assuring Wilson there was no end to the quantity of Soviet weapons he could give Afghanistan. It was important to use Soviet weapons against the Soviets to appear that they were stolen. If the Soviets were to know another country was involved, it would create an international crisis.
"They loved me," Shannon said. "They said I was the best American belly dancer they had ever seen. So that was quite a compliment because as far as we know that's where belly dancing started, and they're very proud of it."
Wilson also took Shannon to Khyber Pass, a military fort and mountain pass that links Pakistan and Afghanistan. She said she could look down from the mountain and actually see the Afghans fighting against the Soviets. She said Wilson told her she should feel lucky because very few women were allowed on Khyber Pass.
"I looked through the guest book and the only other woman's name I saw in there was Jackie Onassis. So I made sure to sign it," Shannon said.
Learning the craft
Shannon took up belly dancing after she had her second child. She saw an advertisement in the newspaper and took classes during her lunch hour while working as a legal secretary. Now in her 60s, she still performs shows once a year at Borderfest in South Texas. She said belly dancing fits her personality.
"It's not restrictive like ballet dancing," Shannon said. "It's like freestyle. You can express your own personality, your own feelings. You watch your audience while you're dancing and you work with what you're seeing. You just feed off of them. This fits my personality perfectly because it's a spontaneous dance.
"We can all learn the same steps but it's how you present yourself," Shannon continued. "People love me. I have fun with it. I'm very sensuous but I can cut up and act like a clown too. I'm very good at what I do and I love it."
Shannon lives in Chicago and works as a flight attendant but says she misses her East Texas roots. "I loved Kilgore. I miss it," Shannon said. "If I could fly in and out of there I would've moved there. It's very pretty with beautiful trees. The people are so sweet. I really miss it."
Meeting Charlie
Shannon first learned of Wilson while living in Fort Worth when her then-husband, conservative Texas state Representative Joe Shannon, decided to run for state Senator against the liberal incumbent. Wilson campaigned against Joe Shannon, and Carol believes her husband lost because of him. A few years later, when Carol was divorced, Wilson saw Carol belly dance at a show and was impressed and asked her out.
"He said, 'You know, I come to Texas a lot. Would you ever consider going to lunch with me?" Shannon said. "I could just envision my ex-husband's face when he heard I went on a date with his bitter enemy and I said, 'Oh, yeah!' He said, 'Do you know who I am?' and I said 'Oh yeah! I know who you are.'"
Shannon said Wilson was one of the nicest men she had ever dated.
"He treated me like a queen and that's not the way I had been treated in my life and I loved it," Shannon said. "He was very much a gentleman towards me."
Shannon said she and Wilson kept a long-distance relationship for 9-12 months before they "drifted apart." But she said they remained friends.
Wilson requested her friendship when he was coming under fire for a cocaine scandal in 1986. Wilson had been accused of snorting cocaine in a Las Vegas hot tub. The charges were later dropped when investigators could not find anyone to testify that they had actually seen him snort cocaine in the United States. But he asked Shannon to offer moral support during a press conference in Washington, D.C.
"He called me and said 'I need a friend. I need someone in my corner,'" Shannon said. "I actually sat back in the corner and watched them fire all these questions. I could tell he would get a little bit tense and he would turn and look at me and I'd just smile or blow a kiss to him. I was just there for moral support, to let him know there were people that still cared about him. He can get married or whatever and I'm still his friend. If he called me today and said 'I need you,' I'd be there. That's real friendship."
The film
Shannon is portrayed by Tracy Phillips, daughter of Dallas Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips, in the major motion picture "Charlie Wilson's War," based on the Crile book. After attending the world premiere in Los Angeles on Dec. 10, Shannon said she was disappointed with the scene involving her character.
"I was just kind of surprised with all the things they cut," Shannon said. "The part where the secret service jumped in — they cut that out of the dance. I get the feeling that people wonder why that part was in there. The girl who played me sat behind me. After the movie, I turned around and told her, 'I'm sorry. I thought this would be your big break. It would've made me happy to know you made your big break because of me."
Despite the small part, Shannon is happy with the casting of Tracy Phillips.
"She is a beautiful girl," Shannon said. "I was very flattered that they picked her to play me. She had the eye control and showed she could handle the defense minister."
The film and its cast has been nominated for four Golden Globe awards.
"Philip Seymour Hoffman was so like Gust (Avrakotos)," Shannon said. "He did a great job. Tom Hanks reminded me of Charlie. He did a good job. But I think the film should've played up how patriotic Charlie is."
"Charlie Wilson's War" opens nationwide Dec. 21 and is rated R.
Jeff Awtrey's e-mail address
is [email protected].