The ISIS Gambit

by Brad Carlson

  “I’m pretty sure you’ll be getting that star. What do you think our prospects are for getting everyone, and everything back?” Dani asked.

  “And unscathed?” Jackson asked, finishing her question.

  “Yeah, as this has ‘frontal assault’ written all over it.”

  “Pretty good, I think. I mentioned a couple days ago that I’d worked with the Kurds a few years ago. They’re good fighters and I’m sure they’ll be helping us out with this. Since JSOC is doing the initial planning, I’m sure Logan’s included them in on this. It only makes sense—they’re already here and they know the landscape—plus, many of us in the teams have worked with them before and know several of them on a personal basis. The biggest hurdle we have this time is that ISIS knows we’re coming—they don’t know when, and they don’t know how, but they know we’re coming—and that makes achieving the element of surprise that much more difficult. That doesn’t rule out deception—that’s one of the main rules in the Special Forces. In this case, we need to figure out a way to make them believe what they see is what they expect—when that won’t actually be the case, make sense? We’ll do it but no one said it was going to be easy.”

  “Do you know General Logan?”

  “Not personally, but I know of him. He’s got a Ranger background, not Special Forces, so that concerns me a little—we do things differently than the Rangers—but the 411 on him is that he’s pretty sharp and listens to his people. I know a couple SF guys on his staff so we’ll be okay. Plus, there’s a better than average chance I’ll know someone that we’ll be working with, after all, I’ve been in this AOR for quite a few years—it’s kind of its own brand of networking.”

  “So, now, we’re just waiting for word from Jim, right?”

  “That’s about it, though I don’t see him, or Logan for that matter, nixing this. Getting in there early makes—there he is now,” Jackson indicated.

  “Jim, what’s the word?” Stonewall asked.

  “It’s a go, but you probably already guessed that. I need you to swing by the consulate there in Tel Aviv tonight once you land and check in with Major Dale Wolfson. You know him. He had an A-team in Afghanistan with you a few years back. He’s on Logan’s staff right now and will brief you on the plans for everything. He’ll be jumping with you into Raqqa.”

  “Yeah, I know Wolf. He’s a good guy. We should be back around eight-thirty or so. We’ll meet up with him when we land. Any word on anything else we need to know about?”

  “No, Tamir and the IDF know fully well what’s going on. I believe Wolf was supposed to brief the IDF General Staff on the plans to date. I don’t anticipate anything major changing at this point, and Logan’s had several conference calls with the Israelis as well so everything should be ready.”

  “Okay, we’ll be in touch,” Jackson indicated as he ended the call.

  “Who’s Wolf?” Dani asked.

  “We served in Afghanistan together. I was the battalion commander and he had one of my A-Teams. Knowing Wolf, he probably volunteered for this mission—he hates staff work. Most SF guys do but he’s excellent in the field. One February early on, we had a mission in the mountains of eastern Afghanistan where we were called in to support a NATO mission. We had three A-Teams involved in this and we were under the command of British brigadier general. This guy didn’t know how to use us SF guys—he wanted to treat us like we were Rangers and pretty much storm a fixed position similar to Pont-du-Hoc at Normandy. I talked it over with him to get a feel for what he ultimately wanted. I took this back to my three team leaders and looked at the objective, which was a fixed position at the pass separating Afghanistan from Pakistan. The Taliban were holding this pass and completely blocking it for us. Remember, this is February, in the mountains. Wolf comes up with the idea of inserting above the Taliban fortification. Before Wolf deployed with his team, he took his entire team out to Colorado and had the entire team take part in the Grand Traverse.”

  “What’s the Grand Traverse? I’ve never heard of it?”

  “It’s a ski-mountaineering race in Colorado. It starts at midnight and covers roughly 40 miles of the back country of Colorado, from Crested Butte to Aspen. There’s some steep inclines and some even steeper drop-offs that each participant has to cover. He thought this would be a great training opportunity when he learned where his team would end up in north eastern Afghanistan. Anyway, he split his team four ways—each three man squad took a different position on a ridge or peak that overlooked the Taliban position. I really don’t think anyone thought he’d be able to get his team in position, especially the Taliban. Once they got on station, they not only had a view of our target position but the entire valley—the Taliban position quickly became untenable. This ‘impregnable’ position of theirs was taken in no time at all. Our British general was thoroughly impressed.”

  “And that’s what I love about this job,” Dani added. “Where else can you get paid for this type of training? I’m not crazy about getting shot at, but with the type of training we go through and the ‘outside the box’ ideas we entertain, it’s really a lot of fun.”

  “That it is,” Jackson agreed, “but it kind of comes as a package deal.”

  “Yes, it does, doesn’t it?”

  Raqqa, Syria

  7:45 PM Local Time

  “Mohammed, when do you expect Dr. Kayani to get to Batman?” Baghdadi asked his chief of operations.

  “It’s about a five hour drive so I would expect that he’ll be there in an hour, maybe a little more. He’ll be letting me know once he arrives.”

  “Very good. And if everything goes as Dr. Kayani believes it will, we’ll be ready for the first attack Monday morning, correct?”

  “That is correct, Imam,” Abdul Khouri, Shishani’s chief of staff, replied.

  “The pilots have all been screened and are ready to go?”

  “That they are. All of the pilots know the mission and have embraced it enthusiastically. At this point, everything rests with Kayani.”

  “Are we ready for the American raid?” Baghdadi asked.

  “Absolutely. We have virtually a full brigade scattered throughout the old city and everyone’s been advised to expect a raid from both the Israelis and the Americans at any time. As one, the troops are all excited about the opportunity to take on either one of them. They’re all ready to move on a moment’s notice. Once we see where the Americans are coming from, we’ll be able to mobilize the entire brigade and concentrate all of our forces on them once we’ve made contact. In addition, we’re transferring several antiaircraft units from Turkey and should have them emplaced by Monday morning. We also have people on the lookout for anyone looking suspicious, as if they might be an advance scout or spy. I’m sure they are already here in the city—it’s just a matter of finding them. This is not easy as they are trained to blend in to their surroundings. We have electronics scanning for any radio communications as well.”

  “I take it that we have not found anyone yet?” Baghdadi asked.

  “We have not,” Abdul Khouri, Shishani’s chief of staff.

  “We’ve been keeping an extremely close watch on everything since the Israelis tried to rescue their pilots early in the week. So far, nothing, and no one, has appeared out of the ordinary. If someone’s scouting the place out for either the Israelis or the Americans, they are very good.”

  “They are here, Imam, I’m sure of it. We’ve already stepped up security with the arrival of the Americans so if they’ve inserted any scouts here, we’ll find them,” Shishani added.

  “Okay, remain diligent. I’m sure they are here, too. I would be,” Baghdadi replied. “Where are we at with our plans for our guests, both the Israelis and the Americans?”

  “We’ll begin with the Israelis on Monday,” Khouri replied. “We’ll bring them out two at a time to the Clock Tower Roundabout and put them in the cage one at a time. We’ll videotape the whole thing, just like we did with the Jordanian.”

  “Wonde
rful, this should be another huge PR coup for us.”

  “Yes, that is our goal. This is likely to be one of the biggest blows they have ever received, possibly ranking as high as the first days of the ’73 war.”

  “And what of the Americans?”

  “We haven’t decided on them as yet. We’ve been ‘interviewing’ the Secretary of Defense for much of the day but so far, he hasn’t been too cooperative. It might serve to wait on him until later in the week when he’s seen the fate of the Israelis, plus the impact of the Mahdi operation.”

  “That is fine, Abdul. At present, he isn’t the highest priority,” General Shishani replied. “Imam, are you off to the Odessa tonight?” Shishani asked.

  “Yes, we are. With Kayani out of town, I thought I’d mix things up a bit and head over there for tonight. Ladies,” Baghdadi said, looking to Johnson and Marshall, “we’ll be spending tonight over at the Odessa Hotel.”

  “I heard you never slept in the same place more than a couple days in a row,” Colonel Marshall replied.

  “In my position, you can never be too careful. Besides, I thought you’d appreciate a more comfortable place tonight.”

  “You’re all heart,” Marshall sarcastically replied.

  “We have burkas for you for the trip over but I will need them once we get there.”

  “Of course, you will,” Colonel Marshall replied.

  “I’m not hiding under a burka,” Secretary Johnson replied.

  “Madam Secretary, if you prefer to parade through the streets completely naked, I could certainly have you do that.”

  “Give me the damned burka!” she added in frustration.

  XXXI

  Mossad Headquarters, Tel Aviv

  9:00 PM Local Time

  “I assume Jim briefed you on everything on the way back,” Tamir said to both Dani and Stonewall.

  “He just gave us the big picture idea. We’re supposed to meet up with a friend of mine at the consulate as soon as we’re done here,” Jackson replied.

  “Correct, he will fill you in on the details. I’ve cleared you out of Tel Nof. They’ll be expecting the three of you any time after midnight. It’s roughly a two hour flight and we want you on the ground well before the sun comes up.” Turning his gaze to Dani, Tamir began “Arielle, you are being attached to an American unit. I believe Stonewall will be in overall operational command on the scene—at least for the weapons part of this raid. Unless an obvious and overwhelming opportunity arises, you are to leave the hostage rescue to the other team.”

  “I understand—the nukes are far more important than our four men. We’ll get them back, but we need to get those nukes.”

  “Exactly. Off with you, now. I’ll see you in a couple days.”

  “How long does it take to get to the consulate?” Jackson asked Dani as they got into her Cadillac.

  “This time of night, not too long. It’s only about five miles or so. What’s the plan? It’s already close to nine o’clock and we need to be out at the base in a few hours.”

  “Wolf’ll need to brief us on the operation and I wouldn’t think that will take too long. He’ll probably want to do that now rather than on the ride up to Raqqa—the C-130 doesn’t offer the best opportunity for that—so figure grab a bite to eat and go over everything over dinner. Then head back to the apartment and grab a couple hours sleep before we head out?”

  “How about we hit a grocery store right now, pick up Wolf and bring him back to the apartment,” Dani countered. “We’ll go over everything while you fix dinner and that way we’re already home and we can sack out right after dinner.”

  “Good idea. Let’s do it. I’ll throw together some pasta, chicken and asparagus. That won’t take long at all. I’ll give Wolf a call and let him know what’s up for tonight. Better yet, how long would it take you to run to the consulate, pick him up and then swing back and pick me up at the store?”

  “Not long at all, maybe ten minutes this time of day. There’s a Super Yoda a couple blocks away and the consulate’s just down the street.”

  “Okay, I’ll give Wolf a call and let him know you’ll be picking him up at the consulate in a couple minutes.”

  “No one else you need to see at the consulate?” Dani asked.

  “Not that I know of, and no one’s said otherwise.”

  “Okay, see ya in a few,” Dani said as she dropped Jackson off at the curb.

  “I’m looking for a Major Dale Wolfson,” Dani addressed an army major that walked up to her as she entered the consulate.

  “Not anymore,” Wolf replied. “Call me Wolf. You must be Dani.”

  “Lieutenant Colonel Danielle Yaniv, but yeah, call me Dani,” as she shook hands with Wolf. Dani’s firm grip caught him by surprise, which she immediately noticed. “Welcome to Israel, Wolf.”

  “Thanks, though I don’t think I’ll be here all that long. Stonewall said you’d be right over. Didn’t realize you were this close.”

  “I don’t think he did either. I dropped him off just a few blocks away and this time of day, traffic isn’t much to speak of. I hope you didn’t have any plans for the evening.”

  “I’ve left it pretty much up in the air. I wasn’t sure what Stonewall might have planned so I didn’t plan on anything.”

  “That’ll work out perfect then,” Dani added. “We’ll pick him up and then head back to our apartment. We can go over everything while he’s fixing dinner. I figured it would be a little more comfortable at home than in a restaurant. Plus, we won’t have to worry about anyone eavesdropping either.”

  “Stonewall’s the cook, huh? He always mentioned that we never had a decent cook on the team.”

  “That sounds like him,” Dani agreed. “There he is,” she added as she pulled up curbside to let him in. Wolf got out as she stopped the car, met Jackson on the curb and then hopped in the back seat.

  “Wolf, good to see you again, but I could have sat in back,” Jackson added as he got in the front passenger seat.

  “No big deal. It’s good to see you, too. Heard you’ve been busy over here the past couple of months . . . .” Wolf replied.

  “It’s good to see your eye injury hasn’t slowed you down any, Stonewall,” Wolf said to Jackson as he started working in the kitchen.

  “It wasn’t easy requalifying but I wouldn’t change anything.”

  “From what I’ve seen, he hasn’t lost a beat,” Dani chimed in. “He did an amazing job in Tehran a couple months ago. Glad I was a part of that operation, though I did get a little shot up.”

  “So, what’s the plan for this latest op?” Jackson asked.

  “The current thinking is that all of the hostages are being kept in the basement of the Al Qadim mosque. Al-Baghdadi uses this as his base of operations and, while he hardly ever spends the night in the same bed two nights in a row, we’re thinking he’ll be here since he has his two trophies with him round the clock.”

  “That’s just disgusting,” Dani added.

  “No argument there,” Wolf agreed. “The nukes are being held in a warehouse about a mile due east of the mosque. Because of the dual nature of the mission, hostage rescue and recovery of the weapons, we’re figuring that we’ll need both fixed and rotary aircraft on site. Now, everyone knows we’re coming so the idea is to bait the ISIS forces into attacking the raiding force. The idea is to drop two Ranger companies on the south side of the Euphrates at either dusk or first light so the ISIS spotters will see the jump. What’s more vulnerable than paratroopers that are either still in the air or haven’t assembled as a unit?”

  “You’re using two Ranger companies as bait?” Dani asked. “You realize ISIS has something like three thousand men in Raqqa.”

  “Yeah, but this bait’s bitin’ back. They’ll be dropped with sixteen LAV’s—Light Armored Vehicles—

  “I know what a LAV is Wolf,” Dani interrupted, somewhat irritated. The LAV offers a superb light armored cavalry-type vehicle to units where mobility and speed present t
argets of opportunity. It offers armored protection for up to .50 caliber rounds and sports a 25 millimeter automatic cannon that is highly effective for urban combat situations.

  “Wolf, Dani’s in the Unit—it’s not a token, either. She knows her stuff.”

  “Oh, okay. Guess I didn’t realize that, sorry. Where was I? Oh yeah, and the Rangers’ll have all the air support you can imagine. We’ll have more than three times the number of JTACs assigned to them than normal. The air space over Raqqa’ll make that over Los Angeles look like a playground. Plus, if we launch late afternoon, which is what I’d prefer, they’ll obviously have the eventual cover of darkness as well, and as Rangers, we own the night.”

  “How do we get them out?” Jackson asked.

  “Highway 4, which is about two miles south of Raqqa and on the other side of the Euphrates, has a six mile straightaway that is suitable for landing a C-17. With the sixteen LAVs we’ll need at least six, maybe seven, C-17s for the evacuation.”

  “If this is the diversionary force, what about the assault force?” Dani asked.

  “Here, we’re going to take something out of your playbook from Entebbe. ISIS has built a rough landing strip to the northeast of the Al-Qadim mosque. We’ll be using this for the recovery of the bombs. Then just to the north of the mosque, and roughly the same distance away from it, Highway 6 runs southwest to northeast. This has a straight-away of something like three miles and is suitable for a runway as well. We’ll be landing C-130s on both stretches. Two will land on the northeast strip and four of them will land on Highway 6. Each one will be carrying a LAV and fifteen SEALs—the LAV needs a three man crew so essentially, we’ll have a LAV and a dozen SEALs per plane. The force landing on Highway 6 will assault the mosque. The mosque compound resembles a rectangular fortress: it’s surrounded by a twelve foot wall with four gates, one on each side. These gates are wide enough for the LAV to fit through. Once inside the compound, there is a huge open area, something like ninety yards by a hundred-twenty. After the hostages are rescued, you’ll make the call for the evac. The call sign is ‘Hunter’—we figure we can get two Chinooks in here and we’ll have a couple more on standby. Obviously, there isn’t a lot of cover once inside. The mosque itself occupies the south end of the compound, and it’s a rather large structure as well. All of the hostages are being held in the basement of this complex so we need to take the building to get to them. Count on at least a couple hundred men in here.”