WASHINGTON, D.C.
THE STATE DEPARTMENT
28 MAY
2300 HOURS
EDGAR Watson of the CIA's Iranian desk showed the obvious distress of severe jet lag as he sat at the table where a meeting of the Lamp Committee had just been called to order by Arlene Entienne. The other members of the group Carl Joplin and Colonel John Turnbull immediately forgot the discomfiture of the late hour when they noticed Watson's condition.
Entienne, as the chairperson, gave the CIA man a few extra moments to make himself comfortable before she addressed the small group. As I'm sure you all have guessed, some extraordinary circumstances have developed in Operation Persian Empire.
Excuse me, Turnbull interjected. I keep hearing about two operations. One is called Rolling Thunder and the other is Persian Empire. I'm confused as to how the two are tied together.
Then let me make that clear once and for all, Entienne said. Operation Rolling Thunder refers to a SEAL operation in that OA. Persian Empire identifies the Iranian project of combining all Islamic Shiite insurgencies into one big army under their command. The SEALs, sent on a completely different mission, have now been pulled into that big picture. They are not locked into any one set of activities, but presently are under the President's direct command.
Joplin, thinking of Brannigan's Brigands, asked, Are they aware of this big picture?
Entienne shook her head. No, Carl. But it appears they soon will be. And that includes receiving reinforcements.
Mmm, Turnbull mused. It sounds like the shit is about to hit the fan.
It is, Entienne assured him. Big-time. She glanced at Watson. Edgar has just returned from a quick trip to Afghanistan. He had to endure a heavy schedule and a quick turnaround. She gave him look of deep sympathy. How are you doing?
He grinned weakly. I'm holding on, Arlene. And I'm ready to address this august assemblage. After one deep, steadying breath, he began his oral report to the committee. I am happy to let you know the mission to neutralize that one particular smuggling group has been accomplished by those intrepid SEALs Arlene mentioned. This does not mean that the smuggling of opium poppies has come to an end. Others will take up the slack in that profitable enterprise, but not the Iranians. At least, not for the time being. They have lost the advantageous edge that was financing Operation Persian Empire.
Then you can bet your ass they'll want it back, Turnbull commented dryly.
Exactly, Watson agreed. And they'll not waste a minute of time getting that project rolling. Now! The SEALs managed to take three enemy prisoners of war. Two were rather unremarkable Pashtun mujahideen who were part of the rebel group up in the Gharawdara Highlands. The third was an Iranian soldier who was actually wearing a proper uniform on this secret mission. During the interrogation, I asked him why he wasn't disguised, and he informed me that no other clothing had been issued him. He and his pals had been assigned to the smuggling enterprise from their regular units. They had showed up in uniform and performed their jobs in uniform.
Turnbull laughed. And got captured in uniform.
Right, Watson said. This fellow didn't know much about the big picture and was not actually a member of the Iranian Special Forces. His normal assignment is that of a machine gunner in a regular infantry unit. To put it bluntly, he didn't know shit.
Then how do we know the Iranians are going to try to recover from this defeat? Joplin asked.
We received a final transmission from Aladdin, Watson said. He informed us that some crack Iranian Special Forces would be making a concerted effort to regain all they've lost. And that will include the destruction of their former Pashtun allies. They are planning on occupying the area. That at least lets us know where future clashes will be happening.
Turnbull was a bit miffed. We haven't heard one goddamn word about this at SOLS.
All planning is being done by SOCOM through the USS Combs, Watson said. The staging area will be Shelor Field in southwest Afghanistan. Everyone involved is already pretty much on site.
Okay, Turnbull said. Now what about that Pashtun bunch? They had their own goals of establishing an independent nation in the area, right?
Right, Watson replied. However, after seeing the Iranians getting a good ass-kicking by the SEALs, their leader Orakzai is seeing things in a new light. He has made peace overtures to the Afghan government. They are even now hammering out an agreement in which he will turn his war-making efforts eastward to do battle with the Taliban. Orakzai has even consented to evacuate his stronghold in the Gharawdara Highlands.
Entienne, who had been taking notes, looked up from her writing. Did Aladdin actually say his latest transmission would be his last?
Yes, Arlene, Watson said. At least for the time being. It would appear this intrepid person is going to be unable to contact us.
Interesting, Turnbull commented. That could mean he's right in the middle of things over there.
Who knows? Watson said.
What else can you tell us? Joplin asked.
Just a summary, Watson replied. This coming battle in those Afghan hills is going to determine the fate of Operation Persian Empire. If the Iranians are stopped there, they'll be completely stymied.
Joplin's thoughts turned to Lieutenant Bill Brannigan and his men. And that will be up to a single SEAL detachment?
A single reinforced SEAL detachment, Watson said. Additional personnel will be assigned to them.
Turnbull emitted a low whistle. I don't care how many reinforcements they get. Those guys are in for the fight of their lives.
Chapter 23
IRANIAN SFOB
IRANIAN-AFGHANISTAN BORDER
THE newly organized unit had been officially designated as Zur Jamle Entegham Strike Force Vengeance and was referred to by its Farsi acronym of Zaheya. It numbered four officers, who commanded sixty noncommissioned officers and enlisted men, for a total strength of sixty-four. Although it was extremely short of being brigade size, the overall commander was Brigadier Shahruz Khohollah. An officer of his rank had been chosen to lead the Zaheya not because of its size, but because of the far-reaching consequences of the mission assigned it.
Neither the civilians in the government nor the General Staff of the Iranian Army wanted to create an attention-grabbing incident along the Afghanistan border. At this point, political and diplomatic events that they hoped were only temporary limited their grandiose scheme for the Middle East. Thus, an all-out war of fully equipped division-size units would do more to impede those ambitions than advance them.
Such a massive campaign would include the thundering presence of armor and heavy artillery, and would bring about a massive international response.
Thus, Brigadier Khohollah suggested that a smaller group of elite troops could make very effective probing attacks into Afghanistan to eventually gain control over a large isolated area in the mountains. These tactics would not attract undue attention, and the territory gained would provide a central base of operations from which a larger invasion could be launched in the future.
The Zaheya consisted of Arsalaan Sikes Pasha's al-Askerin-Zaubi's twenty Arabs, Captain Naser Khadid's handpicked twenty Iranian Special Forces troopers, and a fire-support element under the direct command of Brigadier Khohollah. He had chosen his newly appointed adjutant, Captain Jamshid Komard, as the actual field commander of the heavy-weapons organization. They were set up for rapid deployment to specific areas when needed. The brigadier had chosen two types of support weapons that would be excellent in the confinement of mountain warfare. They were German MG-3 7.62-millimeter machine guns and a particularly nasty Spanish grenade launcher designated the LAG-40. This crew-served, bipod-mounted weapon was belt-fed from detachable twenty-four- or thirty-two-round ammo boxes that could be fed into the breech from either side. It fired the 40-millimeter projectiles at a rate of 215 rounds a minute with a maximum range of 1500 meters, offering a potential of small but deadly detonations of HE that could be concentrated in a small area o
r spread across a space up to 100 meters wide. This could be accomplished by well-trained crews employing accurately timed two- and three-second pulls on the trigger.
Khohollah could also expect infusions of Arab insurgents from time to time. These would be graduates of the Iranian Special Forces Training Center set up to prepare the mujahideen for unconventional warfare. After the tough eight-week course, the volunteers were destined to be funneled into Sikes Pasha's unit. The Brit enjoyed the very real possibility that he might end up with a hundred or so fully equipped and well-trained assault riflemen under his direct command.
But for the time being, both Sikes Pasha and Captain Naser Khadid's commands were divided into small combat teams of riflemen armed with French FA-MAS 5.56-millimeter rifles. These weapons had selective firing, including burst capabilities, and their worth had already been proven countless times by French armed forces particularly the Foreign Legion in operations as widespread as Lebanon and Bosnia. All twenty of the Iranian SF personnel were graduates of the Iranian Army's tough twelve-week mountain survival and combat course, and were capable of splitting up and grouping as the tactical situation dictated.
However, the most colorful unit in the Iranian force was Sikes Pasha's Arabs, the al-Askerin-Zaubi. They had been issued the latest Iranian camouflage uniforms that were patterned after the type used by the Russian Army. Sikes Pasha had his corporals and sergeants retain their British chevrons, although he wore the device of an Iranian major. Also, Warrant Officer Shafaqat had changed the crown insignia of the British for the single bar of an ostvar, the Iranian equivalent of his rank. Each member of the unit was back in his keffiyeh headdress with the akal to hold it in place. Everyone, from Brigadier Shahruz Khohollah down to the lowest-ranking rifleman in Khadid's rifle teams, now referred to the egotistical Brit as Sikes Pasha. A special order from the Iranian High Command mandated the courtesy. It was not as much to commend Sikes as it was to attract additional Shiite Arabs to the cause.
The Iranian government spared no expense for this elite fighting force. Every officer and man was supplied with modern night-vision capabilities, communications that included LASH headsets, the latest in field rations, first-aid kits, and comfort items such as ponchos and small camp stoves.
The fortified position occupied by the Zaheya along the Afghan border had been constructed a year and a half before by Iranian Army personnel under the supervision of Russian military engineers. They and their construction equipment and machines had been flown in undetected by a small fleet of Mi-10 flying crane helicopters at a time when the area was largely ignored. A high mountain field with an empty flat terrain offered a perfect landing spot.
The Russian job bosses took advantage of a series of caves in the area, connecting them with deep trenches and well-fortified fighting positions that faced eastward toward Afghanistan. Wells were also sunk to bring up pure cold artesian water. No doubt, any veterans of the Soviet-Afghan War among the supervisors were delighted to be constructing a project that had the fantastic potential of contributing to a future defeat of the Afghan fighters who had made their lives so miserable back in the 1980s.
The Iranian officers coordinating the effort emphasized the need for protection against aerial attack since the chance of Western air forces being engaged against the site was almost a certainty. The Russians complied by reinforcing the fortifications with tiers of heavy logs and packed earth. The caves required no additional construction or alterations.
.
1 JUNE
0700 HOURS
BRIGADIER Shahruz Khohollah stood in front of his assembled force in the field that once served construction helicopters. To his left, he saw Sikes Pasha and his twenty-man force of al-Askerin-Zaubi. The Storm Troopers looked magnificent and nearly exotic with their keffiyehs as they stood at a strict position of attention. They seemed like a unit from the old British colonial days when white officers, often from working-class backgrounds, turned to the dangers and uncertainties of isolated areas in Queen Victoria's far-flung empire as their only chance for military fame and glory. The old tradition was now being carried out by Archibald Sikes, an English lad from working-class Manchester.
The middle formation of the brigadier's force was made up of Captain Naser Khadid and the twenty Iranian Special Forces troopers. They had adopted the name Shiraane Saltanat: the Imperial Lions. The Shiraane as they were referred to within the Zaheya were clad in camouflage battle dress, sporting the black berets of Special Forces. These were modern empire-builders, drawn into an impending do-or-die war by an overly ambitious government.
And over to the brigadier's right was the fire-support group led by Captain Jamshid Komard. They were dressed in the same uniforms as the Special Forces, except their headgear consisted of small black turbans styled in the manner of those widely worn in northern Iran. This detachment was divided into three two-man crews for the LAG-40 grenade launchers and seven two-man crews for the MG-3 machine guns. These were pragmatic, determined men who had taken no special name for themselves. It was enough knowing that the riflemen would depend on them for covering fire to accomplish assigned missions whether attacking or defending.
Now Brigadier Khohollah called them to stand at ease. Soldiers! he addressed them. You have been brought here as a vanguard. This is a great honor for a small fighting group such as us. There are great plans that will result in our nation and religion avenging the past injustices and encroachments of the West. These are humiliations that have been forced on us for over ninety years. The people of the Middle East will revere you, the people of Europe and America will fear you, and Allah will reward you.
He had chosen his words carefully to placate Sikes Pasha's men. They would be needed, like all their brethren, to advance Iran's ambitions. Later, when that area of the globe was completely dominated by Iranians, the Arabs' native countries would be ruled by military governors sent out from Tehran. This was the colonial modus operandi of the ancient Persian Empire.
Now Khohollah began pacing up and down as he continued. There have been setbacks, as we all know. But such unfortunate instances were expected, and we do not reel from these small defeats. The big attack will begin from here and by you. Are you ready?
Cries of Bale, Satrip and Aiwa, Zaim came from the Zaheya troops as they made affirmative replies in Farsi and Arabic.
Detachment commanders! Khohollah bellowed. Take charge of your commands and move them into their fighting positions.
Sikes Pasha, Captain Khadid, and Captain Komard called their separate units to attention, then faced them to the west to begin marching to what was to become their front lines.
.
CORONADO, CALIFORNIA
3 JUNE
1400 HOURS
PENNY Brubaker came downstairs from the expansive two-story home she had leased as a residence for her and her cousin Stephanie and hubby Harrington Gilwright during the wait for Chad Murchison's return. They had one full-time maid for cooking, laundry, and light housekeeping, and an agreement with a maid service that sent over a team of women to clean the large house a couple of times a week. The luxury domicile was located in a gated community on the east side of Coronado looking out over San Diego Bay.
Penny walked across the dining area and out onto the patio, where Stephanie and Harrington sat at the canopied table. When Penny joined them, she could see that Harrington was already well into his cups. A shaker of martinis was by his elbow, along with a bowl of olives already spitted on picks for the many drinks he planned on consuming. He held the long-stemmed glass in his hands, sipping lightly from it. Penny sat down, frowning at her cousin's husband. It must be nice to have a hobby.
Harrington raised the glass. It does make the time go by faster. As a matter of fact, Penny darling, I think it's turned out that I enjoy California better than you or Stephie.
Stephie snorted. I'm surprised you remember we're in California. You've been potted every day since we got out here.
I can't wait for winter, H
arrington said. They tell me it doesn't snow in Southern California. It's quite warm, actually, even in January and February.
You haven't been out of the house more than three or four times, Penny said. Who did you meet that told you they have mild winters?
Mercedes told me, he said, referring to their full-time Mexican maid.
Speaking of Mercedes, where is she? Penny asked. I want a sandwich.
Harrington replied, She went on a liquor store run for me.
Why don't you give her your liquor wants on regular shopping days? Stephie asked. They sell the stuff in the grocery stores here. That way, she wouldn't have to go out three or four times a week. The poor girl could pick up your weekly liquor needs in one trip.
I don't like to plan ahead, Harrington said. And variety is the lice of spife. Ha! I mean, spice of life.
God! Penny exclaimed. Whatever she buys for you will have the same effect. You'll get drunk on your ass. What difference does it make what you drink? Just tell her to pick up a half-dozen bottles each of vodka and vermouth.
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