The Caliphate by André Gallo (books to read for 13 year olds .TXT) 📕

Voice number one: We all know the problem we have to solve. Not enough funding and not enough progress to show—one leads to the other.

“My guess is that al Khalil was not there,” Steve said.

    “Is al Khalil the main actor in this play?” Hank asked. “I’m surprised we received this transcript so fast. Once the National Security Agency in Fort Meade receives the signal, it has to find it among millions of messages, process it and get it to the CIA building. In this case, because we’re trying to do this as close to real-time as possible, we have a translator working on the Arabic text at CIA. Then it goes to African division where someone has to read it and decide who needs to see it. You should feel lucky. Your operation is getting priority attention.”

***

On Friday, Tariq made his awaited sermon in the Mosque room.

     “Glory to God Most High, full of Grace and Mercy,” he began then preached on the remembrance of Allah before launching into the substance of his message.

     “You have seen our banner, our black flag flying from the tower. Some of you know that it is a replica of the Prophet’s battle flag, may Allah sustain Him. It was the Quraysh tribal banner, the flag the Prophet flew during his military conquests. We will use it to come from the desert as he did and vanquish the apostates, the false leaders of the lands that used to be in the fold of the Caliphate. The lands now outside Islam revere ways that are depraved, trivial, and wanton. Their people revere the false Gods of materialism and technology. They spend more time taking care of their lawns than they do trying to please Allah, the Most Blessed, the Merciful. Satan is their only God, temptation their opiate. Jews are in the positions of power. Their very existence is an insult to Allah, may he favor our ways to please him.

     “We are Allah’s soldiers, his disciples on earth. Islam will rule all of mankind. Only through jihad can we bring about the rule of Islam on earth. Jihad is not only the sword; it is also the war to bring about mental and intellectual devotion, most importantly subservience, to Allah.

     “Islam is the complete answer. It will bring all people from the darkness and into the light.”

     The rest of al Khalil’s speech was borrowed from the Ikhwan’s master plan, couched in dialectical rhetoric reminiscent of the Communist Manifesto. With the final goal of establishing an Islamic State, Tariq struck his familiar themes of temporary cooperation with nationalist groups, the avoidance of unwinnable confrontations, and the support for Jihad across the Muslim world. He also encouraged the use of the Palestinian cause, the use of social, health, and educational institutions to create local Islamic centers of power, and the use of self-criticism and constant scientific evaluation. He reminded the congregation that he would be talking with each and looked forward to their specific recommendations for implementing his plan. He also reminded everyone that the immediate need was for more funds.

***

At the Hôtel Atlantide, Steve and Hank waited for Karim to show up.

     “Where is your boy?” Hank asked. “He should have been here an hour ago. Either he got caught or he got cold feet. It’s going to be no good if I have too little time. I told you an hour.”

     Steve caught the implication that Hank had lost his trust in him, that he was not a “real” case officer, not one of the elite operations officers from the directorate of operations, the CIA’s small but defining segment—what his father Marshall always referred to as “the tip of the spear.”

     What was he doing in Gao anyway? Maybe he was in way over his head, as Hank seemed to believe.

     He left the room and bought cigarettes at the reception. From a non-smoking family, he had smoked somewhat in college, all part of becoming independent, and had smoked in Moldova, but not since then. He walked outside vaguely conscious of the harsh taste of the dark tobacco in his unfiltered Gitane Brune, only thinking of where Karim might be.

    I told you a thousand times to be careful, Karim, he thought. You’re too macho, trying to prove something. It’s not worth it if you get caught.

     The air had cooled with the sunset but he was still sweating, and not entirely from the temperature. He wondered if he, too, was trying to prove too much.

     He went back inside and found Hank checking the Trojan horse phone. One half of the plastic outer shell was face down on the small table and he was examining the electronics laid bare.

    He looked over Hank’s shoulder.

     “Maybe Tariq’s speech was declared a command performance that everyone had to attend.”

Hank didn’t look up.

     “Did you give him a cover, something he could say, in case he got caught with the phone? Did you give him a logical reason? How was he supposed to explain it?”

     “There’s nothing he could say.”

     Steve felt guilty he hadn’t discussed possible worst-case scenarios with Karim. But there was so little time. Had Karim been caught? Was he, Steve, responsible? Was Karim even alive?

     They took turns staying in Steve’s room, going to dinner separately. Around 10:30, they gave up.

***

After his Friday sermon, al Khalil met with all of his leaders in the canteen. An unusual discussion took place, reflecting discord in the ranks, bordering on a minor rebellion on the part of Talal Kawar, the Jordanian, and Walid Fahmy, the Egyptian. Since each enjoyed close ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, Tariq listened.

     Karim and several other guards and helpers sat on a blanket in a far corner of