Anger again shook his mustache. So much squandered effort and planning and badly needed finances! Then he shrugged. Insha Allah! He was well acquainted with disappointment when it came to schemes against his American enemies. But then, his enemies’ own disappointment was even greater. Despite all their machinations—their attacks and sanctions and constant sniping at his country—he was still here and only growing stronger in power and influence. One day he would break out!
Meantime, he would simply have to go to Plan B—or rather C or D by now, as there had been others that failed. He had other cards—a decadent Western form of entertainment that nevertheless appealed to the gambling proclivities of the Arabs—that he had not revealed to his Iranian collaborator.
The Supreme Ruler of Iraq dismissed the affair from his mind. He had too much to do to waste energy and regrets on that which had already failed.
The DMZ Page 65