Nelson Demille - The Lion's Game

I mean, I guess there was a reason for this lesson in Islam 101, but maybe we could accomplish the mission without being so sensitive to the other side. I tried to picture a scene before the D-Day invasion, and some paratrooper general is saying to his troops, "Okay, men, tomorrow's reading will be Goethe and Schiller. And don't forget tomorrow night will be a Wagner concert at Hangar Twelve. This is mandatory. The mess hall is serving sauerbraten tonight. Guten appetit."

Yeah, right.

Professor Abdellah said to us, "To catch this man, Asad Khalil, it would be helpful to understand him. Start first with his name-Asad. The Lion. An Islamic given name is not only a convention, it is also a defmiens of the person-it defines the bearer of the name, though it may do so only partially. Many men and women from Islamic countries try to emulate their namesakes."

"So," I suggested, "we should start by looking around zoos."

Ben thought this was funny and chuckled. He went along with the joke and said, "Look for a man who likes to kill zebras." He looked into my eyes and said, "A man who likes to kill."

No one said anything, and Ben continued. "The Libyans are an isolated people, a nation isolated even from other Islamic countries. Their leader, Moammar Gadhafi, has assumed almost mystical powers in the minds of many Libyans. If Asad Khalil is working directly for Libyan Intelligence, then he is working directly for Moammar Gadhafi. He has been given a sacred mission, and he will pursue that mission with religious zeal."

Ben let that sink in, then continued, "The Palestinians, by contrast, are more sophisticated, more worldly. They are clever, they have a political agenda, and their main enemy is Israel. The Iraqis as well as the Iranians have become distrustful of their leaders. The Libyans, on the other hand, idolize Gadhafi, and they do what he says, though Gadhafi has changed courses and changed enemies often. In fact, if this is a Libyan operation, there seems to be no specific reason for it. Aside from making anti-American statements, Gadhafi has not been very active in the extremist movement since the American bombing of Libya, and Libya's retaliation, which was the bombing of Pan Am Flight One-Oh-Three over Lockerbie, Scotland, in nineteen eighty-eight." Ben added, "In other words, Gadhafi considers his blood feud with the U.S. as finished. His honor has been satisfied, the bombing of Libya, which caused the death of his adopted daughter, is avenged. I can't conceive of why he would want to renew this feud."

No one offered any reasons, and Ben said, "However, the Libyans have an expression, much like the French expression, which says, 'Revenge tastes better served on a cold plate.' You understand?"

I guess we did, and Ben went on, "So, perhaps Gadhafi does not consider some old feud fully settled. Look for Gadhafi's reason to send Khalil to America, and you might discover why Khalil did what he did, and whether or not the feud is over."

Kate said, "The feud has just begun."

Professor Abdellah shook his head. "It began long ago. A blood feud is only over when the last man is standing."

I guess this meant I had job security until I got whacked. I said to Ben, "Maybe it's Khalil's feud, and not Gadhafi's."

He shrugged. "Who knows? Find the man, and he will be happy to tell you. Even if you don't find him, he will eventually tell you why he did what he did. It's important to Khalil that you know."

Professor Abdellah stood and gave each of us his card. He said, "If I may be of any further assistance, please don't hesitate to call me. I can fly to New York if you wish."

Jack Koenig stood also and said, "We have people in New York -such as yourself-whom we rely on for background and cultural information. But we thank you for your time and your expertise."

Professor Abdellah collected his odds and ends and moved toward the door. He informed us, "I hold a high-security clearance. You should not hesitate to confer with me." He left.

None of us spoke for a minute or so. This was partly because the room was bugged, but partly because the session with Ibin-call me Ben-Abdellah was bizarre…

Indeed, the world was changing, the country was changing. America was not and had never been a country of one race, one religion, one culture. The glue that held us together was to some extent language, but even that was a little shaky. Also, we shared a central belief in law and justice, political freedom and religious tolerance. Someone like Abbah Ibin Abdellah was either a loyal and patriotic American and valuable special agent, or he was a security risk. He was almost undoubtedly the former. But that one percent doubt, like in a marriage, gets bigger in your imagination. You should not hesitate to confer with me.

Jim and Jane returned, and I was happy to see they hadn't been kidnapped by Ben. They were now joined by another boy and girl whose names were Bob and Jean, or something close to that.

This session was called "What's next?"

This was more of a brainstorming session, which is better than a blamestorm, and we were all invited to share and contribute. We discussed Khalil's next move, and I was pleased to discover that my theory was getting some play.

Bob summed it up with, "We think that Asad Khalil's alleged terrorist acts in Europe were a prelude to his coming to America. Notice that only American and British targets were involved in Europe. Notice, too, that there were never any demands issued, no notes left, no calls to the news media before or after an attack, and no credit taken by Khalil or by any organization. All we have is a string of attacks on people and places that are American or, in one case, British. This would seem to fit the profile of a man who has a private and personal grudge, as opposed to a political or religious mission or agenda, which he wants to publicize."

Bob did a whole profile thing on Khalil, comparing and contrasting him to a few American mad-bomber types in the past who had a grudge against their old employer or against technology or people who screwed up the environment, and so forth. Bob said, "In the perpetrator's mind, he is not evil, he is an instrument for justice. What he's doing, he thinks, is morally correct and justified."

Bob went on, "As for Asad Khalil, we didn't show you all the photos of him in the guest room at the embassy, but there are photos of him on the floor, praying toward Mecca. So, we have a man here who is religious, but conveniently forgets the parts of his religion that prohibit the killing of innocent people. In fact, Asad Khalil most probably has convinced himself that he is on a Jihad, a holy war, and that the ends justify the means."

Bob made the April 15 anniversary connection to the American air raid on Libya, and said, "For this reason, if for no other reason, we believe that Asad Khalil is Libyan, working for or with the Libyans. But be advised that the World Trade Center bombing happened on the second anniversary date of when U.S. forces ousted Iraqi forces from Kuwait City. And the perpetrators of this bombing were almost all non-Iraqi. In fact, most of them were Palestinians. So, you have to consider Pan-Arabism in these cases. The Arab nations have a lot of differences among themselves, but what keeps the extremists in each country united is their hatred for America, and for Israel. The date of April fifteen is a clue to who was behind yesterday's attack, but it is not proof."

True enough. But if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then odds are it's a duck, not a seagull. But you had to keep an open mind.

I asked, "Excuse me, sir. Do any of Khalil's victims have anything in common?"

"No, they really don't. Not yet, anyway. Certainly no one on board that flight had much in common, except their destination. But a very clever person might create red herrings by targeting a few people who are not in any way connected to his real targets. We've seen this with domestic bombers who try to throw us off by exploding a device where we least expected it."