by J. L. ROBB
***
Korengal Valley is located along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, about 120 miles east of Kabul and 80 miles northwest of Peshawar, Pakistan. It was known as the Valley of Death for the soldiers of the former Soviet Union.
In the deeply wooded mountains skirting the valley, the terrain was prime for both the Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters, providing easy access for the terrorists to freely move in-and-out of Pakistan as well as ideal ambush-friendly terrain. It was strongly rumored, and believed, that Osama bin Laden and his crew, or what was left of it after President George Bush led the war against them, resided somewhere in the valley.
Muhammed Khalid, who only used his first name, as did most of the men in his tribe, and his sister, Aludra, lived together in temporary shelter, as all shelter for the Taliban and al-Qaeda had become temporary, moving from place-to-place the norm.
“Are the blessed martyrs ready?” Muhammed directed his question to Mehdi, his Chief of Security and Jihad Planner. They were taking a chance talking by satellite phone, but in a few days it wouldn’t really matter anyway. The plan would be active. The beast would be unleashed, insha’Allah, God willing.
“They are, may Allah bless and protect them. Our mission will be a complete success, if it is the will of Allah,” Mehdi answered.
Mehdi knew it was the will of Allah, believing that the God of Abraham had changed His mind and was a militant fanatic who really hated the Jews and Christians, those described in the Quran as the People of the Book. He knew that Allah at one time had loved the Jews, they were his Chosen People, and even the Christians. But that was then, and this is now. That was before the Jews, and the Christians with their three-gods-in-one, went astray. Jesus was after all, a Muslim.
Now the Muslims were the Chosen, the rightful owners of the covenant between Allah and his people; because they were the direct descendants of Abraham’s first born, Ishmael, the son of Hagar and Abraham. Praise Allah for Osama, His Servant.
“How many?” Muhammed’s question was short, worried about an interception of the satellite call bringing down the wrath of a U.S. Predator drone. Several of his jihadist friends had already been martyred by those inventions of the devil.
“Who knows, Muhammed? Several hundred, maybe thousands. We have been recruiting on many web sites over the past four years. The Americans are stupid and arrogant, and we are very happy that they have that Christian turn-the-other-cheek philosophy,” ending his comment with a chuckle. “It will be a simple thing.”
The line went silent as Muhammed disconnected. Muhammed believed, unlike al-Qaeda, that the West could be dismantled through simple terror. There was no need for the nuclear weapons that al-Qaeda had already purchased from the Ukraine smugglers. How were they planning on delivering their nukes?
Muhammed’s jihadist group, far more secretive than al-Qaeda, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihadists and all the other Godly groups, had more members, more discretion and a better plan through bombs and plague.
“Bombs are so easy in the United States,” Mehdi said so often, and it was true.
“Kill the children, kill the women. Target those who will break the back of the West,” Muhammed told Mehdi over and over. “If we kill the infidel’s children, blow up some nursery schools and hospitals, they will know the fear of Allah. How can Europe or America guard every single nursery school, high school, hospital and shopping center? But they will go broke trying. They are foolish.” Muhammed continued, a gentle smirk appearing on his face.
Muhammed was confident this new plan, this excursion of misery for the un-Godly, would evoke even more wrath from the western militaries; but whom would they retaliate against? Muhammed’s group, Jihad’s Warriors, never took credit for their acts of carnage and terror. Muhammed would let al-Qaeda take the credit.
Muhammed fell to his knees to thank Allah for giving him the plan, and he asked Allah if the rumors that the Twelfth Imam had arrived were true. There were the stories out of Iran that the Muslim Messiah, Muhammad al-Mahdi, had finally returned from the 9th century and was performing miracles throughout the land, healing the sick, curing the blind, and calling for peace with the Jews.
***
Jeff finished the paper, having forced himself not to think about the young girl and the hailstorm, and was finishing his latté when there was a news alert on the forty-inch flat screen.
“We have breaking news. Apparently the President, the Prime Minister of Israel and the president of the Palestinian Authority have agreed to an unprecedented peace treaty. The Trilateral Judeo-Islamic Treaty, when signed, will implement an independent Palestinian nation and will be a seven year peace plan, to be reevaluated in seven years. Let’s go to Condi Zimmerman in Jerusalem. Condi, can you hear me?”
“Yes, thanks Greta, I hear you loud and clear. This treaty, if implemented, will mean that for the first time in the history of mankind, Palestine will be a country. As you know, Palestine was ancient Philistia long ago, the land of Goliath. Remember the David and Goliath story? Peleshet is the Hebrew name for Philistia and means ‘immigrants and invaders.’ It will be interesting to see how everything works out.”
Wow, Jeff thought, that came out of nowhere. He had seen nothing about the coming peace agreement in the Atlanta Journal and Constitution, The Wall Street Journal or the Drudge Report. A Palestinian State. Now that was significant, and troubling.
Jeff left Starbucks, heading to his meeting and then to the MARTA station to pick up Chad.
CHAPTER FIVE
After his meeting with FOX 5 WAGA-TV, Jeff felt confident that they would air the story about the mysterious light or object he had seen flash in the sky that night not long ago in Villa Rica. He headed over to Dusty’s Barbeque, a rustic restaurant with a lot of character, though maybe a little too rustic with a little too much character. Dusty’s was his favorite Georgia BBQ place.
Located on Clifton Road within a mile of Emory, Dusty’s was an icon among the Emory crowd and had Atlanta’s best barbeque by far, styled after the famed vinegar-based barbeque from the Piedmont Area of North Carolina. As good as it was, Dusty’s could not hold a candle to Kepley’s in High Point, N.C.
Entering Dusty’s, Jeff couldn’t believe his eyes. Samarra was sitting in a small booth at the rear. Seeing her for the second time in one day was a good thing. Maybe it’s a sign, he thought, briefly. He headed toward her table.
“We have to stop meeting like this.” Jeff, using one of his favorite lines, grabbed an iced tea pitcher, sweetened, and refilled Samarra’s half-empty plastic Coca-Cola glass. “How was the staff meeting?”
“Twice in one day, is that a good sign or bad sign?” she responded with her usual smile. Jeff wondered if her olive cheeks ever got sore from all that smiling, and how could anyone possibly be that happy. Maybe it was her husband or son that put that smile on her face, but it was lovely indeed.
“Of course it’s a good sign, silly girl. How’s the barbeque plate?”
“Good as usual, but the sizzlin’ sauce is a little too much for me. Hey, want to go hear a lecture with me? It’s in thirty minutes at the Emory Conference Center. Come on. Go with me.” Samarra had that little pout-look going on, using it to her advantage, begging just a little.
“How long does it last and what’s it about.” Jeff really didn’t have time, needing to get home and clean up, at least the kitchen, before picking up Chad but hated to miss an opportunity to spend an afternoon with Samarra. That would have to help his credibility if any of his single friends saw him with such a knockout. Some women were beautiful, he thought, but Samarra is in a league of her own.
“It’s not going to last long, maybe an hour. Then I have to pick up my son-Thomas. Go with me.”
“OK,” Jeff said, knowing he would end up with a dirty kitchen but also knowing that Chad could care less. Maybe he could stay for part of the lecture and still get all the stuff done that he needed to do. “You talked me into it, you smooth talker you.”
“Do you want to
ride with me in my fancy, new car? Vrooom, vroom,” he asked hopefully, though he figured Samarra wouldn’t be nearly as impressed with the GTR as he was. She was a girl for Pete’s sake.
“No, I better not. I’m always susceptible to getting emergency calls, especially with the missing smallpox cultures. I’ll meet you there in fifteen minutes. Will that work?”
Jeff picked up Samarra’s check, insisting that he pay because he was a Southern Gentleman, unlike those gentlemen from New England, if New England actually had gentlemen.
Leaning over, her modest pink tank-top revealing slightly the swell of her more-than-adequate cleavage, Samarra gave him his second kiss on the cheek today. She departed, rushing out the door. Jeff ordered a small beef sandwich to go, paid the bill and headed to the Emory Conference Center, cleavage on his brain.
Parking the gray Nissan GTR at the farthest reaches of the parking lot, trying to prevent a visit from the door-ding demon, Jeff crossed the lot, brushing spring pollen from his black, silk shirt, which only resulted in a green-yellowish smear. Taking the steps two-at-a-time, Jeff walked through the west entrance and into the common-area lobby, noticing the rose granite tile floor and the reflections of the hideous fluorescent fixtures recessed into the ceiling. The 2X4 fluorescent fixtures in the lobby ceiling seemed to highlight Jeff’s now black and green-yellowish silk shirt, as he headed to the men’s room to reinstate the shirt back to its normal state of blackness.
He wondered why any architect would use fluorescent lights in a conference center that had imported granite flooring and laughed, remembering all the Internet dates he asked to meet him at a Super Wal-Mart so they could see what each other really looked like. He learned quickly that fluorescent light left nothing at all to the imagination, magnifying small indentations in one’s face, seemingly to the depth of a lunar crater.
Exiting the men’s room, he spotted Samarra standing by the entrance to the auditorium, talking to a couple of lady friends. Glancing at the marquis, Jeff noted that the speech was by Dr. Joseph Scibet Rosenberg, Professor of Apocalyptic Religion and Monotheism, Jeff suddenly wished he had declined. Today’s lecture, one of several in the series, was titled: Bible Prophecy and the Signs of the Times.
Jeff had no interest in the Bible or its superstitions any more than he was interested in the zodiac. He had friends, mainly lady friends, who could not start their day until the newspaper came with the day’s astrological forecast. Superstitions were bad enough, but religious superstitions were especially ridiculous.
Jeff had noted all the end-of-the-world signs proliferating, not only in the streets of Atlanta but even the streets of Paris where he vacationed a few months earlier, but had absolutely no interest in this lecture, though all the signs did seem extreme.
Walking toward Samarra, crossing the granite-tiled lobby with the fluorescent reflections of the ceiling above, Jeff graciously interrupted. Gently holding Samarra’s arm, he asked the other ladies if he could borrow her for just a minute.
“I have to go, just got a call from Melissa, some kind of emergency.” Jeff didn’t really lie, because he had gotten a call from Melissa yesterday, before the dream.
“Well darn. Please tell Melissa I said hello, and oh, how are the kids?”
“Audry is going on twenty-five, and the twins are twenty-five going on fifteen. Go figure.” This time it was Jeff who gave Samarra the cheek-kiss, three in a single day. Though it was a platonic thing, he knew that in his heart, she sure was pretty.
After Jeff left, Samarra took a seat at the rear of the auditorium while introductions were being made, loving the beauty and architecture of the elegant space, the thirty-foot ceilings and theater lighting.
“….and Condi Zimmerman. Ms. Zimmerman will be tonight’s moderator, or referee I might say,” Dr. Rosenberg said, pausing for the laughs to subside. “Sometimes we need a referee. Anytime religion is a topic, anything can happen.
“I would also like to welcome our Research Board and offer special recognition to Judi Ellis and Sheryl Lasseter for their hours-and-hours of voluntary research they have accomplished for this series.
“Judi Ellis, a paleobiologist at Emory’s Primate Research Center, has been an unbelievably great help. Sheryl Lasseter is Director of the United States Public Relations Liaison, as many of you know. She is a personal friend of many years, and I am glad she could participate.”
After the introductions, Condi Zimmerman informed the group to please hold their applause, comments or protests until the Question and Answer part.
Condi: “Dr. Rosenberg, you have lectured all over the United States and Europe about the coming apocalypse and the ‘signs-of-the-times’ and about the roles of Christianity, Judaism and Islam in this coming apocalypse, should it occur. Please explain.”
Dr. Rosenberg: “Thanks Condi, and it will occur, it’s just the timing that may be in question. No matter the religion, or lack thereof, the end has been on man’s mind, probably from the beginning. And please understand that these are only my opinions. God has not come down and told me I was correct, but I have studied the prophecies for four decades.”
“The end, Biblically, does not mean the end of the planet, the destruction of earth from its very orbit. Earth will not cease to exist or break apart. According to the Biblical prophets however, it will undergo massive changes and the system of things as we know them will cease to exist.
“Almost two thousand years ago, Jesus, who Christians believe is the Messiah who was foretold by the ancient Jewish prophets to come to the Jews and save them from themselves, was having a conversation with a few of his followers.
“Remember that all of Jesus’ followers at that time, about 33 A.D., were Jews; and even today the Jews and Muslims consider Jesus to have been a great teacher and prophet, though apparently a liar at the same time, which is not possible for a prophet, since he did say he was the Messiah and Son of God.
“Do you remember the movie Liar Liar with Jim Carrey? The character played by Carrey could not tell a lie, even if he wanted to. That is the way it was with the ancient prophets, they could not lie when they were speaking in the first-person for God. They spoke the words that God gave them to speak. That does not mean these guys were happy to be prophets, because many of them were killed by the very people to whom they were prophesying.
“Take Jonah and the whale. Most everyone has heard the story. Actually the Bible did not mention a whale but a ‘big fish’ that would include the whale species but was not limited, as there were and still are, many large fish in the sea capable of swallowing a man entirely.
“Nineveh, you see, was the capital of Assyria; that would be Syria today. Assyria was Israel’s staunchest enemy then, similar to present-day Syria.
“Nineveh was a large city, taking three days to walk from one side to the other and was known for its decadence. There were prostitutes, pole-dancers, public nudity, homosexuality, adultery, orgies, graft, you name it, anything goes, or went.
“Jonah thought, ‘no way am I going to go tell those people to change their evil ways or else. They’ll kill me!’ So he took off, got on a boat to Tarshish, Spain, hoping to escape.
“Prophets were often reluctant, because they feared being thrown from a cliff or stoned to death; and for you college kids, stoned to death may not be what you’re thinking.”
The audience laughed and knew exactly what Dr. Rosenberg was talking about.
Condi: “Dr. Rosenberg, do these prophecies have relevance in today’s world? Have any of the prophecies come to fruition, and what were Jesus’ followers asking him about The Last Days?”
Dr. Rosenberg: “In reality Condi, and ladies and gentlemen, every single prophecy that was made by the ancient Jewish prophets came true, unlike the predictions of Nostradamus, the Hopis and the Mayans, except for those pertaining to The Last Days or End Times. Now they are coming to fruition, faster than you might think.
“One very key prophecy that came true was the restoration, the regathering
if you will, of the Jews to Israel. May 15, 1948, after nearly three thousand years of exile, occupation and dispersion, Israel was restored and so was the language of the ancient Jews, Hebrew. This is significant because it was foretold that God would reestablish Israel to her ancient borders in the End Times. While Israel does not live in all of what was ancient Israel, it is happening as we speak.
“When the Apostles questioned Jesus after he told them that an end-of-all-things would come, they wanted to know when? I mean, who wouldn’t want to know that?
“The answer to that question, when the times would end, was not answered; because Jesus claimed not to know the exact date and time. He said that only God (his Father in heaven) knew the exact date and time. That includes December 21, 2012. However he did tell his followers to look for certain signs; and when they happened, the time would be near. I have outlined some of these signs in your Program Notes:
• Many will come in those days claiming that they are the messiah. Remember Jim Jones, David Koresh, the Hale-Boppers? Many Christians believe that Muhammad was a false prophet.
• There will be wars and rumors of wars, nations warring with other nations. Yes, there have always been wars; but there is no comparison to all the wars of today’s world.
• There will be a great increase in natural disasters: Earthquakes, famines, plagues. Has anyone noticed all the hailstorms lately, the earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods, tsunamis, not just in America but everywhere?
• Jesus’ words, the Gospel, would be told to all parts of the world population.
“There were many other prophecies about the signs of the end of times, including but not limited to:
• People will be lovers of themselves (Narcissism). Notice any of that going on?
• People will be lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, ungrateful and unholy.
• Children will be disobedient to their parents.