Word: hassanal
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...attempted coup at the summer palace of Morocco's King Hassan II, carried out by cadets who thought they were rescuing their monarch...
...Many of the partygoers took a dip in the ocean or the King's pool. Some shot clay pigeons. The principal sporting event was a golf tournament; Hassan is such an ardent golfer that a 20-ft. birthday picture hanging in one of Rabat's main squares depicted him in golfing clothes. At the 18th hole, U.S. Ambassador Stuart W. Rockwell chatted with General Mohammed Medbouh, commander of the King's military household. "We are the only ones who take golf seriously," sniffed Medbouh. ∙ A lavish buffet, which included lobster, smoked salmon, roast sheep and couscous...
...guests assumed it was firecrackers. Guillet, an ex-soldier, was one of the few who instantly recognized the sound as rifle fire. Like others, however, he dismissed it as a royal bodyguard's birthday salute. Then the holiday affair took a horrifying turn. Rockwell was strolling toward Hassan when he saw a guest in front of him topple to the floor, blood gushing from his leg. Hit by gunfire, a Moroccan man was spun around by the impact and fell against Guillet, leaving two sets of bloody fingerprints on the Italian envoy's shirt. As the man slipped...
...Soon the rifle shots were augmented by mortar fire and grenade explosions. Panicky guests scattered from the open patio to the throne room or to the beach, but many were cut down by gunfire. A grenade landed at Hassan's feet; Bourguiba heroically picked it up and tossed it away, probably saving the King's life. Thirty truckloads of cadets in battle fatigues swarmed over the grounds and made guests lie down in the broiling sun. ∙ In the confusion, Hassan slipped into the throne room and then into another room farther inside. There he dickered with General...
...would-be executioners when he fell and played dead. But it became evident that the King was meant to be spared. At one point cadets burst into his sanctuary and ordered him outside with the other surviving guests. A young soldier, nervously fingering the trigger of his rifle, took Hassan aside Alone, he kissed the King's hand. Hassan was astounded. "We are cadets of the military school of Abermoumou," the young man explained. "We were told that there was a plot under way aimed at the King, that the royal palace had been occupied and that your august...