Terminal Compromise - Winn Schwartau (fiction book recommendations TXT) 📗

terrorist who had organized mass anti-

US demonstrations in Damascus as the request of President Assad.

Los Angeles and San Francisco were homes to 4 more engineering

type desert terrorist school graduates who were allowed to move

freely and interact with the shakers and movers in high technolo-

gy disciplines. Miami, Atlanta, Chicago, Boston, and Dallas were

also used as recruitment centers for developing Ahmed’s personal

army.

If the media had been aware of the group’s activities they would

have made note that Ahmed’s inner circle were very highly skilled

not only in the use of C4 and Cemex, the Czechoslovakian plastic

explosive that was responsible for countless deaths of innocent

bystanders, but that were all very well educated. Each spoke

English like a native, fluent in colloquialisms and idioms unique

to America.

Much of his army had skills which enabled them to acquire posi-

tions of importance within engineering departments of companies

such as IBM, Apple, Hughes Defense Systems, Chase Manhattan,

Prudential Life, Martin Marietta, Westinghouse, Compuserve, MCI

and hundreds of similar organizations. Every one of their em-

ployers would have attested to their skills, honor and loyalty to

their adapted country. Ahmed’s group was well versed in decep-

tion. After all, they answered to a greater cause.

What even a seasoned reporter might not find out though, was that

all 12 of Ahmed’s elite recruiters had to pass a supreme test

often required by international political terrorist organiza-

tions. To guarantee their loyalty to the cause, whatever that

cause might be, and to weed out potential external infiltrators,

each member had to have killed at least one member of their

immediate family.

It requires extraordinary hardening, to say the least, to kill

your mother or father. Or to blow up the school bus that carried

your pre-teen sister to school. Or engage your brother in a mock

fight and then sever his head from his body. The savagery that

permitted one access into this elite circle is beyond the compre-

hension of most Western minds. Yet such acts were expected to

demonstrate one’s loyalty to a supreme purpose or belief.

The events surrounding Solman Rushdie and the Satanic Verses were

a case in point. Each of those who volunteered to assassinate

him at the bequest of the Ayatollah Khomeini had in fact already

killed not only innocent women and children in order to reach

their assigned terrorist targets, but had brought the head of

their family victim to the table of their superiors. A deed for

which they were honored and revered.

These were the men, all of them men, who pledged allegiance to

Ahmed Shah and the unknown, undefined assignments they would in

the future be asked to complete. To the death if necessary, and

without fear. These men were reminiscent of the infamous moles

that Stalin’s Soviet Empire had placed throughout the United

Kingdom and the United States in the 1930’s to be awakened at

some future date to carry out strikes against the enemy from

within. The only difference with Ahmed’s men was that they were

trained to die, not to survive. And unlike their Mole counter-

parts, they were awake the entire time, focused on their mission.

Clearly it was only a matter of time before they would be asked

to follow orders with blind obedience. Their only reward was a

place in the Muslim heaven.

Meanwhile, while awaiting sainthood, their task was to find

others with similar inclinations, or those who could be corralled

into their system of beliefs. It was unrealistic, they knew, to

expect to find an entire army of sympathizers who would fight to

the death or perform suicide missions in the name of Allah. But

they found it was very easy to find many men, never women, who

would follow orders and perform the tasks of an underground

infantryman.

The mass influx of Arabs into the United States was another great

mistake of the Reagan ‘80’s as it opened its doors to a future

enemy. The immigration policy of the U.S. was the most open in

the entire world. So, the Government allowed the entry of some

of the world’s most dangerous people into the country, and then

gave them total freedom, with its associated anonymity. Such

things could never happen at home, Ahmed thought. We love our

land too much to permit our enemies on our soil. It is so much

easier to dispose of them before they can cause damage.

So the thinking went, and Ahmed and his cadre platooned them-

selves often, in any of the thousands of American resort complex-

es, unnoticed, to gauge the progress of their assignments.

By early 1988, Ahmed’s army consisted of nearly 1000 fanatic

Muslims who would swallow a live grenade if the deed guaranteed

their place in martyrdom. And another several thousand who could

be led into battle under the right conditions. And more came and

joined as the ridiculous immigration policies continued un-

checked.

They were students, businessmen, flight attendants who were now

in the United States for prolonged periods of time. All walks of

life were included in his Army. Some were technicians or book-

keepers, delivery men, engineers, doctors; most disciplines were

represented. Since Ahmed had no idea when, if ever, he and his

army would be needed, nor for what purpose, recruiting a wide

range of talents would provide Allah with the best odds if they

were ever needed. They were all men. Not one woman in this man’s

army, Ahmed thought.

The biggest problem, just as Farjani had predicted, was the

growing sense of unrest among the troops. The inner 12 had been

professionally trained to be patient. Wait for the right moment

to strike. Wait for orders. Do nothing. Do not disclose your

alliances or your allegiances to anyone. No one can be trusted.

Except your recruiter. Lead a normal life. Act like any Ameri-

can immigrant who flourishes in his new home. Do not, at all

costs, give yourself away. That much was crucial.

Periodically, the inner 12 would assign mundane, meaningless

tasks to various of their respective recruits. Americans called

it busy work. But, it kept interest alive, the belief in the

eventual victory of the Arab Nation against the American mon-

grels. It kept the life in their organization flowing, not

dulled by the prolonged waiting for the ultimate call: Jihad, a

holy war against America, waged from inside its own unprotected

borders. It was their raison d’<130>tre. The underlying gestalt

for their very existence.

February 6, 1988 New York City

“It is time.” Ahmed could not believe the words – music to his

ears. It was not a long distance call; too clear. It had to be

local. The caller spoke in Ahmed’s native tongue and conveyed an

excitement that immediately consumed him. He sat in his wheel-

chair at a computer terminal in an engineering lab at Columbia

University’s Broadway campus. While he had hoped this day would

come, he also knew that politicians, even Iran’s, promised a

glory that often was buried in diplomacy rather than action.

Praise be Allah.

“We are ready. Always for Allah.” Ahmed was nearly breathless

with anticipation. His mind wandered. Were we at war? No, of

course not. The spineless United States would never have the

strength nor will to wage war against a United Arab State.

“That is good. For Allah.” The caller agreed with Ahmed. “But

it is not the war you expect.”

Ahmed was taken aback. He had not known what to expect, exactly,

but, over the months he had conjured many scenarios of how his

troops would be used to perform Allah’s Will. His mind reeled.

“For whom do you speak?” Ahmed asked pointedly. There was a hint

of distrust in the question.

“Farjani said you would ask. He said, ‘there hasn’t been a war

on U.S. soil since 1812’. He said you would understand.”

Ahmed understood. Only someone that was privy to their conversa-

tions would have known that. His heart quickened with anticipa-

tion. “Yes, I understand. With whom do I speak?” Ahmed asked

reverently.

“My name is of no consequence. I am only a humble servant of

Allah with a message. You are to follow instructions exactly,

without reservation.”

“Of course. I, too, am but a servant of God. What are my in-

structions?” Ahmed felt like standing at parade attention if

only he had legs.

“This will not be our war. It will be another’s. But our pur-

poses are the same. You will act as his army, and are to follow

his every request. As if Allah came to you and so ordered him-

self.”

Ahmed beamed. He glowed with perspiration. Finally. The chance

to act. He would and his army would perform admirably. He lis-

tened carefully as the anonymous caller gave him his instruc-

tions. He noted the details as disbelief sank in. This is

Jihad? Yes, this is Jihad. You are expected to comply. I