by David Hearne
The Senator raised her hand and interrupted me. “You will never be involved in anything that might hurt you. You might toss and turn some nights wondering what the hell is happening, but I won’t drag you into any situation that could expose you to any type of harm. I need you to be my liaison to the public and to be a trusted friend that I can count on when I need advice or perhaps a favor.”
“Okay Kat! I trust you and like I said before that twenty odd boring years at NARA makes it hard to turn down anything that hints of excitement.”
Katherine smiled at me and continued. “Good, so let’s continue with the business at hand. Let me tell you what I will face if I win the Presidential election this time. The 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and Flight 93 is our Pearl Harbor of the new century. Those attacks ushered in a new insidious war for us to fight. And, I am telling you, that this new war is as serious to our country as the Second World War was sixty years ago. This time, we are faced with a war that we just might lose.”
Kat paused, looked at me seriously and said, “As successful as we were militarily in Afghanistan in routing out the Taliban government and al-Qa’eda, the terrorist movement was far from defeated. In fact, it has spread out more into an even larger global organization. Actions like 9/11 are viewed by many Muslim extremists as a huge recruitment event and more of a reason to join the militants. We are facing a worldwide terrorist movement funded and supported clandestinely by countries and extreme Islamic figureheads. This is guerilla warfare on a global basis. They are cunning and are as dangerous to our country as Hitler was in the WWII. They can defeat us.”
“You really believe that? We have the best military in the world, for sure.”
“They don’t need a huge army to wage war. They only have to evoke fear in our people and divide the American public. The political climate here is so divisive that if there is a war, and the leaders of these terrorist organizations adopt the same tactics that Ho Chi Minh used against us in the Vietnam War, this conflict will be won psychologically and never hardly fought on the battlefield. We will fight ourselves. Our myopic and power hungry representatives will lose the war for us regardless of how well our soldiers fight or how many battles they win.”
Katherine dug around in her brief case and pulled out a folder. She glanced back at me and said, “A lot is going on in the Middle East. We have an undeclared war on our hands that is very hard to define to the American public. We have always been a country that stood for religious freedom, but that one tenet of our government is almost untenable now with the attacks that Bin Ladin has brought to our doorsteps. Back on Feb 23, 1998 when President Clinton was busy refuting his sexual relations with Paula Jones, the Arabic Newspaper, ‘Al-Quds al-Arabi,’ published an ominous declaration of the ‘World Islamic Front for Jihad’ against the Jews and us, the Crusaders. The declaration was signed by Islamic militants like bin Ladin and others from Egypt, Pakistan and Bangladesh. In short, it calls upon all Muslims to kill us wherever we are. It tells them to kill anyone who is American, Christian, or Jew. Their fatwah, or ruling, is to kill Americans and their allies – both civilians and military. They make it an individual duty for every Muslim to comply with this ruling, if they are true to their faith and want to be blessed by God. In essence, it was a religious declaration of war against our country and people, but at that time it was not taken seriously by the Clinton administration.”
Katherine handed me a paper, which was a copy of the declaration. She pointed to a yellow highlighted paragraph that she wanted me to read and said, “This is their call to all Muslims to attack us.”
The paragraph read: “We -- with God’s help -- call on every Muslim who believes in God and wishes to be rewarded to comply with God’s order to kill the Americans and plunder their money wherever, and whenever they find it. We also call on Muslim ulema, leaders, youths, and soldiers to launch the raid on Satan’s U.S. troops and the devil’s supporters allying with them, and to displace those who are behind them so that they may learn a lesson.”
I looked up at Katherine and said, “This is unbelievable. They claim it’s God’s order to kill Americans. I had never heard about this at NARA. Is this declaration still a concern?”
“Most definitely it is still a concern!” She said, “You never heard about it because there was never an answer from our administration regarding this religious declaration of war. But as I said, when this fatwah was issued, Clinton was embroiled in one of his sexual scandals and did not have the time to really get involved with this threat. But there are over a billion Muslims, so we are talking about a potentially lethal situation if only a small percentage of them were to follow the instructions of this fatwah. After the 9/11 attacks, we did go to battle with a secular entity that we loosely defined as terrorist. But in reality, the terrorists we are battling are all Islamic.”
Kat pulled out another paper and placed it in front of me. It contained a picture of an odd looking beast that looked much like a dragon, but had many heads. “Do you know what this is?” She asked.
I looked at it and then back at her and responded hesitantly, “Some mythological dragon, I guess.”
“It is a Hydra, the beast that Hercules tried to kill. Each time he cut off one of its heads, two more grew back. These Islamic radical organizations view themselves as living hydras. As we destroy heads of their organization, more appear to continue the evil. In the Bible, the mouths of the hydra represented the gateway to hell. I often feel that the hate and barbaric brutality preached and practiced by those who head these organizations could only come from Lucifer himself.”
“I cannot agree with you more. Their acts are vile, senseless and disgusting. It infuriates me to think of all those who died on 9/11 for some obscure bull shit radical religious reasons that no one still understands. Excuse the language, but it just infuriates me.”
Kat shook her head in disgust and continued. “You can see, we have a big problem. While radical Islamic clerics preach total intolerance to anyone who is not a devout follower and sanction killing and enslaving their adversaries like in Sudan, we are shackled by our constitutional principles to tolerate all religions, regardless of how insidious their views. As politicians, we have to tip toe around when discussing this war on terrorism in order to avoid characterizing the enemy as Islamic. We also have to use the generic label of terrorist to avoid the media attacking us of being anti Islamic.”
“You think that they will attack us again within our borders?” I asked Katherine.
“It is very easy for them to strike virtually anytime they want within our country. We have over eight million Muslims living in America now. In fact, Islam is the fastest-growing religion in America. We have had a large immigration of Muslims, and a great number of African-Americans have adopted Islam. With followers in the millions, Islamist enjoy a large pool of souls to find converts to their radicalism. They certainly can and have found willing partners to attack us from within our borders.”
I was astounded and I replied to Katherine, “I never realized that we had that many Muslims in the states. It is going to be very difficult for you to win this election if you are open about your feelings and beliefs.”
“Well, these are more than feelings. These are facts that we have to face. Remember, John Walker Lindh was an American Muslim convert, who just pleaded guilty to aiding and fighting for the Taliban. This guy was from a nice Bay Area middle class family. You have to ask yourself, how did he get indoctrinated so easily? We just have to hope that, we can avoid radicalism invading the great Mosques within America and turning more Muslims against non-Muslims. With their conception of God wishing all non-Muslims killed, it makes it extremely hard to deal with radical Islamists like those that were convicted of killing Daniel Pearl. Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh is a hero in Pakistan for killing and beheading Mr. Pearl.”
“I have read about it. It is really sick that in today’s civilization, any religion would sanction such barbaric acts. This is the ty
pe of horror and savagery that went on centuries ago. I cannot fathom this kind of hate, and I find it hard to have any respect for anyone associated with a religion that promotes this type of barbaric act. These are acts of the Devil not acts of any God.”
Senator Laforge looked at me for a couple of seconds and then leaned closer to me.
“You have to be careful with what you say about issues like this, or you will find yourself accused of promoting hate towards Muslims. Many Muslims don’t advocate this type of barbarism, but are afraid to speak out against it.”
“Yes, I guess you are right, but it infuriates me that we cannot openly state our feelings about those who want to destroy us. It is really disgusting. This Ahmed, or Omar or whatever his damn name is, is an animal. This guy actually filmed the murder, and holds Pearl’s severed head up in a video that they released, bragging about their barbarism.”
“I understand your anger, and I must admit it also consumes me sometimes. That is one big reason, why I am campaigning for President. I feel I can make a difference in this struggle. Let me finish telling you about my Iraq plans.”
“Okay, it just makes me sick that anyone supports scum like that. When I was driving home last night, I listened to a talk show with some crackpot talking about his theory on this demon, ‘Sorat.’ He claimed that he is here among us to destroy all humanity with the help of his followers who thrive on killing. Maybe he was not that far off, especially if we have people who are so full of hate and enjoy killing as much as these terrorists claim.”
“You have to try and not let it affect you so much, because that is what they want it to do. Now take a couple deep breaths while I go over my stand and views on Iraq. Understand that these are strictly my own views of why we must be in Iraq.” Katherine said quietly. “We need to have an entrance into the Middle East to help rebuild an Arabic nation that can be a leader in the region. We also need to help it solve problems of human life, by creating technologies of production like farming, and technologies of social order, like cities and law. We want to bring stability to the region and gain a great ally. For me it is not about oil, but for many others politicians it is. It is about bringing modernity to their doorsteps. It is about allowing them to taste freedom and a better way of life. This is what we have to do to keep them from changing our way of life. This whole struggle is a war to save civilization, as we know it.”
“So when will this war start?” I asked Katherine.
“We won’t have a ground war with Iraq soon, because Turkey’s fragile government was just crippled on July 8th when Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit’s closest aid, Deputy Prime Minister Husamettin Ozkan, quit. Two other Ministers and fifteen Legislators all stepped down, which basically dismantled Ecevit’s administration. Turkey is our primary logistical ally in the region. So, until the chaos in Ankara is resolved, we will be forced to find a new ally or postpone any serious military action against Iraq.”
“I read a couple of days ago that Jordan was considering allowing us to use bases for preparation of a possible military attack against Iraq.”
Katherine looked at me and smiled. “If what you read were true, it would mark a complete reversal of Jordan’s previous stand regarding our use of Jordanian territory to launch an attack against Iraq. I don’t think Jordan would feel safe exposing itself to the potential problems that could result from being openly aligned with us. Jordan is a very small country in that region. I really think there will be no war until next year. We will spend the next few months in preparation for war and enlisting other countries to work with us.”
Katherine took a sip of her soda, paused for a second and then said, “I am sure that the President would like to go in now and be done with this war. Avoid all the debates, protest and drama by everyone wanting to keep the status quo. But unfortunately, it is not going to happen that easily. We are going to play the UN game and try to align some of our so-called allies to work with us. I have my doubts that we can persuade those against this action to change their minds. If we cannot, we are pretty much alone on this action.”
“There are already protests. I watched one on the news taking place in San Francisco. I am sure these are nothing compared to what will probably occur later. You are right, we are going to have some epic arguments between appeasers and warriors on this war.”
Katherine’s face looked serious and she said, “I don’t want to come off too cocky, but my election committee has a very serious meeting planned for me with Saddam, which will enhance my candidacy, and hopefully, prevent a lot of bloodshed.”
“You are going to have a face to face meeting with Hussein?”
“That is the plan, but all details are not yet ironed out. If all goes well, I can assure you the meeting will be headline news in a few months. Hopefully, a real solution to the Iraq dilemma will be the result of my negotiations. The meeting is very important to me. It will either be my entree into the West Wing, or the end of my campaign. It is a totally secret operation that only a few of my most trusted associates know about. I would hope you could use your knowledge and contacts in NARA to smell out if anyone else has knowledge of these plans. You know how to research transcripts and reports without being obvious, I assume. Just try and see if any abnormal interest is being paid to my travels, actions, P2OG mentioning or with an operation called, ‘Hulagu’?”
“What is ‘P2OG’? I asked.
“P2OG is a rumored new policy created by the Pentagon’s Defense Science Board (DSB) to give the ability to fight terrorist with clandestine black ops and covert missions. The policy allows the CIA or Military elements to launch these operations. Some of my colleagues claim P2OG is just some Meme purposely contrived to keep terrorist off guard. But, others like myself, believe it is a real policy and that covert operations will be carried out under it. Do you remember the old book on Hulagu, I used to bore you guys with?” Katherine questioned.
“Absolutely, I remember that book.” I responded.
Katherine said, “Saddam Hussein and I, sort of share one obsession, as we are both history buffs and have an affinity for the story of Hulagu. Saddam refers to us as the ‘new Hulagu,’ which his country has to face.”
Kat had named the operation after a Mongol warrior that, as kids, we had heard about from an old dilapidated book. When we were kids, Kat had a fixation on this book and would hide it in our underground clubhouse behind my house. The book was a grisly story illustrated by dark images from wood engravings depicting Hulagu’s soldiers slaughtering the soldiers of Baghdad hundreds of years ago. Maybe it was her way of showing us that she was one of the guys. While Tom, Vince and myself were all peeking at the panty section in the Sears and Roebuck catalogue, yesterday’s version of today’s Victoria Secrets catalogue. Kat was hung up on history. All of us, except Kat would consider it a lucky day when we would acquire a National Geographic magazine that actually showed naked breasts of women from some African tribe. However, Katherine was different, and found old history books with yellowing pages, her pleasure. This favorite book she would illuminate with her trusty Space Cadet flashlight and read to us the gritty story of Hulagu. I included part of the story here because of Kat’s obsession for it, and that it is probably the genesis of the events, of which we all became a part.
Katherine would skip to Chapter 2 of “Hulagu the Warrior,” and tell us all to shut up as she read in her most serious scary voice.
“The last impact of the horsemen blasted the entire wall inward. The ancient stonewall crumbled with a muffled roar raining stones and dust onto the people below. Through the holes shrouded with the swirling dust clouds, horses with their mounted warriors burst forth like angry hornets into the courtyard of the city. The horses trampled over the fallen and wounded buried beneath the debris of the wall. Those still standing or protruding from the pile of rocks were put quickly to the sword. Severed heads and body parts were trampled and pulverized as the invading horsemen poured through the breach in the wall. With their snorting steeds, the ho
rsemen gathered together near the hole, glaring at the trapped people in front of them. With practiced precision they drew their bows and methodically unleashed a shower of arrows into the crowd of screaming men, women and children pleading for their life. The arrows found their marks dropping people in the trapped crowd. Slowly, the horsemen moved towards the crowd unleashing more arrows at them. Those trapped, with the arrows still quivering in their bodies, fell to the ground into pools of blood from their dead comrades. Finally, the few standing knelt down among the dead and dying begging the horsemen for their life.”
Katherine would stop for a moment and take a drink of soda. We all wished she would stop reading this scary shit, but none of us would dare tell her. With a little nervous giggle, she would ask us, “What do you think they do next?” Without waiting for an answer, she would launch back into the next scene.
“The horsemen dismounted and with swords drawn, moved forward among the corpses littering the ground. They menacingly edged towards the remaining living women, children and men. The soldier’s faces glistened with sweat and their swords and shields were splattered with the blood of their victims. The cowering women and children heaved and shook with the fear of the horror that surrounded them. As the first woman looked up at the invader, the glitter of the flashing metal was the last sight that she saw. And then the battle was just a cacophony of crying, screams and the gurgling sounds of the dying mingled with the distinct sounds of the swords, ripping into the necks and slicing through the bones and sinews of the few that had not yet been put to death.”
“Blood was everywhere. On the floors of homes and splattered on stonewalls and pooled under bodies littering the streets. Even the Tigris River became a swollen trough of blood fed by the slaughter of thousands in the city of Baghdad by the marauding hordes of Mongols lead by the scourge of God, Hulagu Khan. Hulagu was the grandson of Genghis Khan and his cruelty and love of killing was unsurpassed. It is said that the Tigris River ran red with the blood of the massacred for over 30 days as the Mongols systematically moved through the city killing everything and everyone they could find. Thousands were beheaded, burned, put to the sword, or disemboweled. Women and girls were raped; many of them were then mutilated and murdered. Some claim that up to two million Muslims were slaughtered at this time. The streets of the city of ‘Peace’ as called by Arabs were littered with the rotting corpses of the dead and the air was putrid with the stench of death. The smell was so powerful that even the invading Mongols had to keep away for several days. The slaughter in Baghdad was so thorough and brutal that the atrocities are seared into Muslim’s memories forever.”