The Faithful, North African and Middle Eastern Islamic nations, are plotting to seize the oil resources of the Middle East. By controlling the earth's oil and its major trade routes, they plan to bring the world to its knees. Then, when the entire world is kneeling, the Faithful of Allah will read to them from the Koran, preaching the message of Islam, the True Faith. The Faithful will stop at nothing to achieve their goal. But how far will they go? And how many lives will it cost?

9 Turning Points

9.4 Saudi Arabia

9.4.1 A New Idea

Algarro had requested this audience. It was a good idea, in fact his only option, if he was going to win this war.

Reinforcements were arriving, but all too slowly to stem the tide. The Italian brigade was fully engaged. Their fresh troops and big tanks were making a difference. However, he was still losing the battle for the cities, just more slowly.

The Twenty-Fourth with its reinforcing Saudi Brigades was already in the field. They had moved west, and the race to Buraydah was on. If they arrived at that key road junction before the Iranaqis, he had a strong defensive position and could trade space for time. But, this whole damn war had been fought that way, and he was running out of space.

The "Berlin Brigade" was being airlifted from Belgium, but that would also take time. The Reforger fleet, containing three American divisions, including the First Armored, was still a week away. He didn't have a week. He had only one option left.

Algarro glanced over at his friend and ally, General Mahumaddi el Sayd a-Fayd. 'How will he take it? Will he see the military necessity, or will he fall back into his old ways of thinking? What will the King do? More importantly, what will the Chamberlain say?

'They did have a most unique relationship, the King and the Chamberlain. They were always together and seemed to make all their decisions jointly. The Chamberlain seemed to have a high degree of independence and influence with his brother. In the TV broadcast, it had seemed that the Chamberlain spoke more forcefully than his brother had wished and had pushed the kingdom on a different course than the King had wanted. What was the real relationship between the two brothers? Sometimes working in a closed society was difficult because an outsider didn't know the players and there was no scorecard.'

The curtains moved slightly, as though a door had opened allowing a breeze to enter. 'Yes, Mahumaddi has seen it, too. He is tensing and readying himself. Poor bastard, I hate to blind-side him this way.

'Attention, Algarro, here they come ... the two old ones! They cling to each other, huddling together as though neither of them has the strength to stand alone. There it is, the Royal Hand-Wave. Time to sit, eat cakes, drink coffee and chat.'

Twenty minutes later, his bladder was getting full. But, it was also just about time to get down to business. 'Hang in there, Gator,' he chided himself, 'A little personal discomfort or lose a war!'

The Chamberlain gave Gator his opening. "Yes, Your Highness, I did request this audience. Thank you. I will come directly to the point. We will lose this war and your kingdom within one week!" Algarro sat back to watched everybody's reactions.

'Mahumaddi is hanging his head. He knew, but he had been keeping it to himself, hoping against hope. The King is in shock. He's just sitting there. The Chamberlain is staring at me as though his eyes can burn a hole into my brain and see what's really going on in here. Somebody, say something! I did my bit, now it's time for you to do yours.'

"General Algarro," ('Good, the Chamberlain has grabbed the bull's horns'), "you Americans often speak in a manner which is designed to provoke the listener. It is a peculiarity of your language. Please, enlighten us with the insight which has led you to your remarkable prognostication."

"Gladly, Sir." He stood, brought an easel from the corner, and piled several maps on it. "Sirs, here is the present situation. In the east, we now hold only the city of Dhahran. At the present rate of attrition, we will be forced out of the city today. We will retreat to our next line of defense, here on the Buqayg-Ayn Dar line. That line cannot last long. We will retreat to Al-Mubuarraz and Al-Hufuf, where we will renew our war of attrition. However, both Bahrain and Qatar will be overrun within a day of our retreat from the eastern cities.

"In the west, we face fifteen divisions, about one hundred and fifty thousand troops. Against them we have arrayed the Saudi Army and the Twenty-Fourth Division. They will be reinforced over the next three days with the Berlin Brigade. That will bring our forces to over forty thousand. They, too, will fight a long retreat.

"The enemy armies will arrive at your gates within a week. At that point, we will be besieged by two armies each of which is superior to our entire force in the field. We will be cut off from the sea and our sources of supply.

"Of course, we will recapture this country. Shortly after your kingdom falls, a fleet of American aircraft carriers and troop ships will arrive. The first of these contains three divisions including one armored. We will make a landing, secure a beachhead and wait.

"The allied buildup will continue for months until we have sufficient forces to break out and go on the offensive. In two years, we will have regained control of these lands and will be at the gates of Baghdad and Teheran. In the meantime, your people will have been annihilated, and your kingdom will have been destroyed.

"I see only two choices for Your Highness and Your Majesty. The first of these is to abandon your people and flee while you still have time. Establish a government in exile and continue the fight from beyond your borders. The Kuwaitis did exactly that fifty years ago, when they were invaded, and we came to their rescue. Of course, the Iraqis had only a few weeks to destroy Kuwait. This time they will have two years or more to destroy your kingdom."

Algarro returned to his seat. He hoped that he had painted the darkest possible picture. The only ray of hope he had given them was exile, and even that was a dark and foreboding prospect.

"You spoke of two alternatives for His Majesty's kingdom, General?"

'Gotcha, Mr. Chamberlain! You took the bait like a big, hungry bass!' "Indeed, I did. But, in this matter it is not for me to make the presentation or the offer of assistance. May I bring another person into this meeting?" They nodded. 'This is it! Keep your fingers crossed, Gator.'

Gator went to the door and called. A tall man, wearing a full-dress, military uniform entered. The stranger drew himself to attention before the royal brothers as Algarro introduced him. "Sirs, may I introduce to you a colleague, ally and friend, General Isman Eban, Chief of Staff of the Israeli Defense Forces."

Mahumaddi's reaction was predictable. He stood to attention, then strode forward, hand outstretched. The two men were equals in rank and position in their government's armed forces, and Eban had just concluded a very successful campaign. In military circles, even closed ones, generals greet other generals with appropriate dignities and honors.

The reactions of the royal brothers were interesting. The King seemed fearful and withdrew himself into the corner of the smallish sofa. He looked around apprehensively, as though fearing for his safety. The Chamberlain, on the other hand, leaned forward, a smile flickering on his face. He clapped his hands lightly. "A chair for our guest. General, may we offer you refreshment? Coffee, perhaps?"

"Thank you, Your Highness," Eban said, bowing slightly. "I have heard from my friend, Gator, that the Royal Saudi coffee is the finest in the world. I would be most pleased to enjoy such a refreshment."

Gator was elated. 'Look at the Chamberlain! That old fart is taking this as though it happened every day that a high ranking Israeli paid a surprise visit to the King of Saudi Arabia. Look at them gabbing. Hell, even Mahumaddi is eager to get in on this discussion. He and Isman are far more alike than either of them knows. This could work!'

"General Algarro," 'The Chamberlain is back on track. It didn't take him long.' "You spoke of two alternatives. When I asked about the second, you introduced to us the Israeli Chief of Staff, General Eban. Although the face of our long-time enemy is pleasant, and he is most courteous and pleasant company, I am still awaiting your explanation for bringing a Jew and an Israeli high official into these chambers without warning or notification."

"Yes, Sir, as I said, I could not provide the answer to the questions I had raised. General Eban can. With your permission, General Eban will make a presentation to Your Majesty."

The Israeli general arose and crossed to the easel. "Your Royal Majesty, Your Highness, Chief of Staff. As you know, the Israeli government in its declaration of war guaranteed the borders of all countries in the Middle East. At that time, many politicians voted for it without realizing the consequences. I believe, personally, that they did it to gather support from the world community for Israel's war efforts.

"I supported this objective. It has long been Israel's one hope to live in peace within secure borders. We know that all people throughout the world desire peace, and to obtain it they, too, need recognized and secure borders. Therefore, this was an admirable goal, and one I could support.

"Now, we find that our own borders are secure, yet those of our neighbors have been brutally violated. Our long-time friends in Egypt are being assailed as we speak. We cannot, we will not permit our friends to be attacked in this treacherous and perfidious manner.

"Yet, many years ago, we Israelis would not have had these same opinions. We fought Egypt. We warred with them on many occasions. At that time, if Egypt had been invaded, we would have stood and cheered. Then we met with our enemies face-to-face. We found that the face of our long-time enemy was pleasant, and he was most courteous and pleasant company."

The little joke was not lost on the Chamberlain. He nodded and smiled graciously at the Israeli Chief of Staff, who continued, "Ever since then, our ancient ties have been renewed, and our trade and dependence upon each other has increased. We have worked together to renew the Sinai and have many other joint activities. We looked into the face of our enemy and found a friend that we didn't know we had.

"Egypt has been invaded. What shall Israel do to help its friend and neighbor who is in distress?" He moved a blank sheet on the easel, partially exposing a map. He pointed at a large blue arrow that began in Tel Aviv and ended at Alexandria. "Today and tomorrow, Israeli troops will be embarking upon British ships, the same British ships that so recently delivered the Royal Marines into Egypt. Our troops will sail to Alexandria, where they will join with our Egyptian, British and American allies to defend those lands from aggression, to restore secure borders and to return them to a time of peace.

"Yet, as we look about us, we see that you are also caught in the same web as we ourselves and our friends in Egypt. We cannot stand by. We have made an oath to defend all borders and all the people of this region. So, we make this offer.

He removed the cover sheet exposing the entire map. Pointing to a second arrow, he continued, "Along with our American friends, we will take back the city of Ha-Il from those who have unjustly seized it and return it to its rightful King. We will commit the two remaining divisions of the Israeli Defense Forces to this task.

He looked directly into the King's eyes to emphasize his next words. "This will leave my country undefended and helpless against any aggressor." He shrugged. "It is our belief that if the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia falls, then Israel will also fall. If the Kingdom of Allah falls, then the Kingdom of Yahweh falls. For, just as the words Shalom and Salaam are the same but differing in their accent, so the names Allah and Yahweh are also the same, but differing only in the manner in which His Name is spoken.

"You are the guardians of the Prophet Mohammed, may his name be blessed. We guard all the prophets, of whom Mohammed and Jesus are two. We are both the same people, who accent our words differently. We honor you and your religion, and we will go to war to preserve your kingdom, if you will have us.

"We wish to be your friends, since you are already friends of our friends. We wish for you to live within secure borders and to enjoy the benefits of peace and prosperity. We wish this because we also want these same things. We will fight at your side to obtain them. My country is ready to commit its last resources to this battle. Will you have us?"

He took his seat between Mahumaddi and Gator. The three of them sat together, as though bonded by some deep and unspoken tribal ritual.

The King fidgeted. The Chamberlain, sitting forward from him, turned towards his brother. They looked deeply into each other's eyes, but said nothing. It was as though, by their many years of intimate contact and their common blood-lines, they were communicating mentally, and needed words only for others.

Finally, the Chamberlain turned back towards the three generals. "I hear your words. I see the sincerity in you, but this is a new thought, a new idea, and a wholly new way of thinking. My brother and I should like some time to consider this radical proposal before we comment further."

Mahumaddi interrupted before they could stand and end the interview, "My cousins, hear me in this. We have no time for intense deliberations. We have no time to study the Koran, to seek precedents, or confer with the elders. The enemy is at our throats, and I, for one, have seen the character, the honesty and the military capability of the Israelis. One thing must be said for the elder people, the Jews: they have never broken a promise. They are honorable people.

"My cousins, we did not trust the Americans. They were Unbelievers from a totally different culture with ways and ideas as foreign to us as if they had come from the moon. Yet, we found them to be honorable.

"The Jews share our common heritage, as children of Ibrahim. Mohammed, himself, honored them and their great city of Jerusalem. Indeed, they are not Believers, yet they are related to us, as General Eban has so eloquently stated. They are the guardians of the ancient ways. They honor The Prophet, and, in their own tongue, worship Allah. They are of our culture, with our morals, both thinking and acting like us. If we can ally with the American Unbelievers, surely we can come to an agreement with the Jews."

The Chamberlain answered, "What you say is true, cousin, but what would our people say?"

"Sir," Algarro interjected, "your people are putting up a heroic defense of this kingdom. They are dying by the thousands every day fighting for peace. They fight alongside us, alongside the Italians, and soon they will fight alongside half the world's peoples.

"The longer this war goes on, the more troops from more and different countries will invade your lands. You will have Indians, Australians, Japanese, British, Germans, Belgians, Russians, Canadians, Mexicans, Brazilians and Argentineans here. Your culture will be inundated with all the ideas and customs of all of the people of the world. At least the Israelis are your ancient kinfolk, who share much their culture with yours.

"If you reject this overture of friendship, your war is lost. The world will take this country, chew it up into little pieces of ravaged territory and claim those pieces as their own by right of conquest. Only we and the Israelis have guaranteed your borders, your kingdom, and your peace. You cannot reject the Israelis. Allah will not let you reject the last, best hope you have to preserve His Kingdom on Earth!"

The Chamberlain and the King again looked deeply into each other's eyes. The King leaned to his brother and whispered. The Chamberlain nodded in assent. "My brother, the King, and I, his Chamberlain, find ourselves confronted by orators who we had thought were only soldiers. You have painted a bleak picture. Our future and that of Allah's Kingdom on Earth are in dire jeopardy. That we can see.

"In this Israeli offer, we also see the hand of Allah and bend to his will. Let the elder people, the Jews of Israel, commit themselves to battle in His name, even though their enunciation of it is an abomination. If this leads to victory, then there will be peace between our peoples, and we will honor them as they have honored us."

Gator grinned like a kid. He had a chance. A slim one, but a chance!