Stan Mason - Stopping World War Three

‘If what you say is correct,’ demanded the man at the rear of the hall who had asked a question earlier, ‘what happened with Saddam Hussein and Iraq? He was supposed to have had weapons of mass destruction. He also committed himself to wage a vicious war with Iran before attempting the acquisition of Kuwait. But he didn’t use them.’

Yasood’s face broke into a smile. ‘He didn’t have nuclear power or the weapons of that nature to use. In every organisation there are mavericks who make errors and try to cover them up. They are often faced with desperate measures to hide their inefficiencies. Saddam Hussein was no different. He almost made Iraq bankrupt by pursuing an all-out war with Iran, borrowing the finance from Kuwait. When the conflict ended, he demanded that the loan granted be cancelled. When Kuwait refused to do so, he invaded them to wipe out the debt and capture the oil wells. Every organisation has such problems… people who are over-zealous and over-ambitious who strive to aspire to higher levels… treading on others in their attempt to get there. A typical example can be seen in the break-up of Yugoslavia where there was a war of ethnic proportions. Muslims clearly were the main target and many of them died unnecessarily. Such zeal hopefully does not exist with our cause and we are watchful and observant to prove it does not happen. If it did, it would impose a greater burden upon us and be extremely unhelpful in stopping a Third World War. If we fail, the number of deaths worldwide will be counted in the hundreds of millions or mankind may even destroy itself on this planet. Are there any more questions?’

The room remained silent and sombre for a few moments as the audience digested the information. Commander Yasood wasted few words in his deliberation.

‘What can anyone do to prevent a nuclear invasion?’ asked another young woman inquisitively. ‘We may be able to learn which countries have nuclear weapons but how do we stop them from invading us with them?’

‘We have a man in this room today who may well be able to avert the danger with a weapon that has a more devastating effect than nuclear weapons.’

A ripple of comment ran through the audience and I looked round to see whether anyone was going to own up to this revelation. Then Penny touched my arm gently.

‘It’s you!’ she uttered in a whisper. ‘He’s talking about you!’

I stared at her in amazement. ‘Me? What are you talking about? I don’t know anything about weaponry!’

‘That’s why you’re seeing Menel tomorrow.’

I gave her an old-fashioned look because I had no idea what she meant. The Commander continued to ramble on about the Crusades, Islam, World War Three and the future, and then the lecture came to an end. I opened the envelope he had given me to find a door-key and the address in Arlosoroff Road in Tel Aviv and that of Menel in Jaffa.

‘How do we get to Tel Aviv from here?’ I asked my secretary.

‘We take a plane to Ben Gurion Airport,’ she advised me. ‘It’s necessary to come in by that route otherwise we might get shot down by Israeli artillery as a suspected invader. You can’t be too careful out here, you know.’

‘Why not?’ I commented flippantly. ‘Everything else has happened since Primar came on the scene. Why not get shot down this time?’

Commander Yasood came towards us to bid us farewell. He took me aside to whisper discreetly in my ear. ‘Between you and me and these rock walls,’ he whispered softly, ‘take care. We expect a lot from you. And watch out for Primar, I have a strong suspicion about his loyalty, Be very very careful!’

As we departed, Penny could hardly contain her curiosity. ‘What did he say to you?’ she asked sweetly.

‘You’ll find out in due course,’ I riposted, taking revenge for her reluctance to answer my earlier question. ‘In due course!’

Within an hour we were back in the air again. I sat at the port window staring down at the desert. Strangely enough, I was wondering where my wife was at that particular moment and with whom she might be. Despite my illicit affair with Penny, I still loved her dearly. My thoughts were probably a reaction from being angry at my secretary rebuffing me earlier and for her duplicity in this whole situation. Either that or I wasn’t anything as hard-hearted as Jan had described me in her letter. If that had been the case, I would have been able to exorcise her from my mind altogether by now… but I could not do so nor did I want to do so.

‘A penny for your thoughts.’ offered my secretary, bringing me back to the real world again.

‘What do you want from me, Penny?’ I demanded irately. ‘Look you can talk all you like about Islam, the Crusades and World War Three. I won’t even be around when it happens in fifty years’ time!’

‘That’s not the point,’ she countered. ‘It’s your duty to do something to save the world in the future. It matters little whether you’re around or not. You need to be on our side.

‘I don’t take sides,’ I retorted sharply. ‘I never take sides! God help the people who worry about the starving millions in Africa and Asia, those who collect money for such charities, those who would give their last pennies to widows and orphans! I tell you straight. This 21st Century Crusaders thing is not for me. Who knows? Maybe oil won’t run out in the Middle East. Maybe Islam will find a way out of their dilemma if it happens. It’s not my business!’

‘It’s money, isn’t it!’ Her lip curled in anger as she faced me directly. ‘Money’s the only thing you’re interested in! The disappointment stemming from my remarks showed in her face.

‘Look,’ I responded, calming down a little. ‘There are three things important to me in life at present. Me, you and playing bridge. Money doesn’t come into it.’

She calmed down at my words and sat sullenly for a moment without speaking. The she sat up in her seat and found her voice. ‘If you feel anything for me you’ll co-operate.’

I shrugged my shoulders at her attempt to blackmail me emotionally. ‘Sure… I’ll co-operate. I said me, you and playing bridge. I wouldn’t let you down. Just don’t expect me to have the same feeling for your cause, that’s all!’

After touching down at Ben Gurion Airport we passed through immigration and hired a taxi to take us into Tel Aviv. The journey lasted twenty minutes and allowed me to take my first view of a country which for so long had been the battleground to a war of attrition. As we travelled along the well-built road I considered it to be a far cry from the references in the Holy Bible. Although there were still large tracts of desert. I was surprised to note fertile areas and modern concrete establishments among the barren terrain. There were also scattered farmlands on either side of the highway. Many fields were cultivated and occasionally the vehicle passed close to a village sheltered by a hill adorned with cypresses, old pines and casuarina trees. For a while we passed some citrus orchards and then arrived in Tel Aviv itself. The city comprised a mixture of young and old. New buildings and business developments indicated the dynamism to expand. On the other hand, a great deal of care had been taken to ensure that no feature of history, whether biblical or mediaeval was affected or damaged. I noticed that many ancient sites had been preserved clearly in an effort to maintain national heritage.

‘Where to now?’ asked the taxi driver in a New York accent.

‘Arlosoroff Road,’ I informed him.

‘Your first time in Tel Aviv, eh?’ he went on, turning the vehicle in the right direction.

‘Yes… the first time. What’s that great square tower?’ I pointed through the open window of the cab.