Lethal Trajectories - Michael Conley [121]
“Our intelligence sources are gathering information on Clayton McCarty,” Hahad reported, “and we will send you a copy later today. Other than their blind dedication to their Zionist stooges in the Middle East and at home, the Americans are never easy to read. They will certainly be torn. Will they jeopardize their own oil-starved economy to support the Zionists, or will they cave in and let Israel shift for itself so that they might save their own economy? Who can say for sure?”
“Very well, my brothers,” Mustafa said, ending the meeting on a more conciliatory note. “I thank you for your most thorough work. We are not quite where I would like to be at this time, but we’ve come a long way—considering that two weeks ago we were not even in power. We are moving in the right direction. Soon we will have everything we need to ensure the success of our glorious Jihad. May Allah stand with us!"
Mossad Headquarters, Israel
9 October 2017
Meir Kahib sorted through another set of disturbing intelligence reports in his office at the Mossad headquarters. The Mossad struck fear into the hearts of Israel’s most hardened enemies. They were ruthless in their collection of intelligence data, and their covert operations and paramilitary activities were effective and deadly. Relentless in their pursuit of targets—be they insurrectionist leaders or scientists working for Israel’s enemies—they were far and away the best underground fighters in the world.
Unlike many in Prime Minister Yakov Nachum’s cabinet, Meir Kahib did not see the threat of a nuclear attack by the Saudis as their greatest danger. He understood men like King Mustafa and knew he would not risk his power or personal safety in a senseless nuclear attack that invited a devastating retaliation. In a sense, the Cold War doctrine of mutual assured destruction still prevailed. Iran and other nuclear powers all knew that a first strike against Israel would surely result in their own destruction, begging the question, why attack in the first place?
Kahib also knew that Israel had the firepower to smash combined attacks by Hamas, Hezbollah, the PLO, and other insurrectionist groups. It would be costly, but it was possible.
The greatest threat to Israeli security, he felt, was economic strangulation. Israel was dependent on deepwater natural gas in the Mediterranean to fuel its economy and imports and exports to sustain it. Surrounded by enemies, its Achilles heel was the vulnerability of its ports and other points of entry. In that respect, Israel was most endangered by asymmetric attacks, with the most likely threat being the detonation of a dirty bomb at a prime Israeli target. Israel was also vulnerable to an electromagnetic pulse attack that could shut down all of its electronic systems, and thus the entire economy, in nanoseconds.
With regard to the latter, Iran posed a greater threat. Iran had a robust nuclear program, having exploded its first atomic bomb in 2015 despite draconian efforts by the Mossad to take out Iranian scientists and implant destructive viruses in their computer systems. Iran also had an effective delivery system, and he was concerned that Iran would take the Saudi diversion as an opportunity to attack Israel.
Israel had strategic plans in hand for a wide range of nuclear scenarios. Their contingency plans were thorough and deadly. Nonetheless, information recently supplied by Mossad operatives suggested that a dirty-bomb attack by Mustafa-supplied terrorists was the most likely scenario at this time. The idea sent shivers up and down his spine. Israel was a small country, and a handful of well-placed dirty bombs could kill hundreds of thousands and strangle the economy. He hoped it wouldn’t come to that, but he couldn’t ignore the intelligence he was receiving.
He thought for a moment about the intense efforts Israel had put forth to develop a nuclear capability and facility in the Negev Desert at Dimona. Through sheer grit and determination, Israel had also developed the second-strike capability to obliterate any attacker launching the first