Chris Kuzneski - Sword of God

"Define safety," Payne said.

"The Saudis would love you to believe that the hajj is a safe journey, but that's misinformation. The truth is, several people die in Tent City every hajj. In the past, the biggest concern was always fire. Blazes swept through every year until they put up fire-resistant tents. Now the biggest issue is disease. All those people coming from all those countries and assembling in one spot? The numbers are mind-boggling. On average, there are more than fifty people sleeping in each tent."

Click. A picture of Tent City filled the screen. White tents in straight rows stretched as far as the eye could see. Like snow-covered peaks in the desert sand.

"From here, the hajj continues forward. But pilgrims will return to Tent City on their return trip to Mecca."

Click. The next photo showed a massive plain that surrounded a granite hill.

"Day two begins before dawn. They journey to the Plain of Arafat, where they ask Allah for forgiveness for all their sins. In the background you can see Mount Arafat. It is where Muhammad delivered his farewell sermon in 632 ad. Muslims also believe that Adam and Eve were reunited on this hill two hundred years after their separation, punishment for their disobedience."

"You mean the Adam and Eve?" Payne asked.

"One and the same. Most people find this surprising, but Muslims and Christians have many of the same core beliefs-including the same god. The confusing part is each group calls their figures a different name. Christians say God. Muslims say Allah. But it's the same deity. In fact, if you go through the Old Testament, you'll see several of the same names, albeit with different spellings, in the Qur'an. Adam, Eve, Abraham, Ishmael, Hagar, and so on."

Harrington cleared his throat. "Professor, please get back on point."

"Yes, sir." He clicked on the next photo. It showed a long stone wall that was surrounded by pilgrims, all of them dressed in white. "Today is the third day of the hajj. Pilgrims will perform ramy al-jamarat, or the stoning of the devil, after the noontime prayer. They are required to throw pebbles, which they collected last night at Muzdalifah, at three stone walls that represent the temptations of Satan. Until recently, they threw pebbles at large pillars called jamarat, but the crowds have grown so large in recent years that they decided to build long walls to spread the people out instead of having them crowd around pillars. In the past, hundreds have been trampled and killed."

Next photo. It showed a slaughterhouse in Mina, filled with lambs, cows, camels, and goats.

"After the stoning, pilgrims are expected to slaughter their best animal, called udhiya. This represents the sacrifice that Abraham was willing to make when God commanded him to sacrifice his son Ishmael. In the past, pilgrims did the slaying themselves or directly oversaw the process. But now they are able to buy a sacrifice voucher that ensures an animal will be killed in their name. Today more than four hundred thousand animals will be slain."

Click. A map of the hajj path filled the screen. It pointed out all the locations he had described. An arrow showed the traffic flow as it left Mecca and went to Mina, the Plain of Arafat, and returned to Mina. The final arrow pointed back toward Mecca.

"The ritualistic slaughter marks the beginning of Eid ul-Adha, the Festival of the Sacrifice. It is celebrated throughout the Islamic world, even by Muslims not in Mecca. Male pilgrims mark this occasion by shaving their heads, which represents the cleansing of their sins through the hajj."

Click. A photo of the Kaaba and the Black Stone.

"Later today, pilgrims will start their journey back to the Masjid al-Haram, or the sacred mosque, to complete a ritual called the Tawaf az-Ziyarah. Using the Black Stone as a marker, they must walk around the Kaaba seven times in a counterclockwise motion, which signifies the unity of all Muslims to worship one god. With each rotation they will try to get closer and closer to the stone itself. The truly blessed will get to touch it or even kiss it."

Click. An overheard view of the Great Mosque.

"From there, Pilgrims will honor Hagar's search for water by walking back and forth between the two hills of Safa and Marwah. These hills are actually contained inside the mosque, a building so large it can hold nearly one million people."

"Did you say million?" an officer asked.

The speaker nodded. "Not to mention the other million or so who will be standing outside the mosque, waiting to get inside."

"And this is happening today?"

He nodded again. "More than two million Muslims in one city block, all of them with the same goal. To get as close to the Black Stone as possible."

38

The Pentagon

Arlington, Virginia

The White House was notified of the situation, but they passed the buck to the Pentagon, claiming they were more equipped to handle this type of crisis. Whether or not that was the case, they were given an hour to sort through the political hotbed and reach a decision.

On the surface, it seemed like an easy choice. Rogue U.S. soldiers were planning an assault in Saudi Arabia, where fifteen thousand Americans were participating in the hajj. What was there to even think about? They knew that a small explosion, if positioned in the right place in the Great Mosque, would kill far more people than 9/11, and the resulting panic would create a human stampede, the likes of which mankind had never seen. Injuries and fatalities would be so substantial that military experts couldn't even agree on a projection.

And that was with a small explosive.

If Schmidt had access to a larger device, the devastation would easily exceed Hiroshima, where an estimated forty-five thousand people died from the initial blast.

This should have been a no-brainer. Something needed to be done.

However, the longer their discussion continued, the cloudier the issues became.

Mecca was a restricted city, one where the United States wouldn't be granted access no matter how compelling their argument was. That meant the only way to get troops inside the city was by force-something they wouldn't risk, since Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter, was one country they couldn't afford to piss off-or through stealth, which might have been possible if they were given enough time. But in their opinion, it wasn't the type of operation that could be arranged in a few hours.

From a political standpoint, a failed mission would have been far worse than no mission at all.

Religion complicated things even further. If word ever leaked that they had violated Islam's most sacred city on one of its holiest holidays, the United States would feel the wrath of every Islamic nation for years to come. Homeland Security would have to come up with a threat level that was more severe than red, because every terrorist in the world would be gunning for revenge.

Sure, the Pentagon realized they might-and the key word was might -save thousands of lives in Saudi Arabia, but how many Americans would be killed in the future because the United States had invaded Mecca? How many cities would be bombed? How many schools?

It was a compelling argument.

However, in the end, their decision hinged on one main factor. If the Pentagon knew with absolute certainty that Trevor Schmidt was planning an attack that day, they would have given their stamp of approval for a preemptive assault. But based on their current intel and all the negative ramifications if they were wrong, they simply weren't willing to risk involvement.

The verdict did not surprise Colonel Harrington. From the moment Trevor Schmidt disappeared, Harrington sensed (he potential for a world-class shitstorm. Of course, he never imagined it would elevate so quickly. If so, he would have been more forthright with Payne and Jones from the beginning. Who knows? Maybe that would have made a difference. Maybe they would have figured things out sooner. Maybe this whole situation would have been averted.