Lethal Trajectories - Michael Conley [145]
A loud cheer went up at Mustafa’s confirmation, but he motioned their silence with a slight smile on his lips.
“Their respective military staffs will come to Riyadh next week to work out the logistics with you. I am not interested in a full occupation of these countries—only key roadways and facilities near our border. We will also request they expel all Western military forces from their countries, but we must cut them some slack if the infidels refuse to leave as requested.”
“And what will this accomplish?” asked the mullah. “I am not a military man and do not understand such matters.”
“Several things, my dear friend,” Mustafa replied patiently. “First, it keeps the Gulf countries abutting our borders in our sphere of control without a military intervention. As a protectorate, they retain their sovereignty but cede control of their foreign policy and other domestic considerations—such as the amount of oil they may export—to us. In turn, we protect them from allied invasion and agree not to lace their oil fields with dirty bombs.”
The mullah beamed with delight at Mustafa’s great political acumen.
“Second,” Mustafa continued, “we’ll need them later as proxies to sell some of our oil, should the infidels continue to hold out against our embargo. Thus we could gain oil revenue and make it look as though it is our partners who have benevolently agreed to sell their oil—not us. We must never give the appearance that our resolve is weakening. By doing so, we can generate enough revenue to hold out indefinitely against the infidels.”
“I am most troubled,” Mustafa continued, “by the apparent coalition forming between the United States and China. My hope was to drive a wedge between them and pick off their respective allies one by one, forcing them to honor our demands in return for oil. I had even thought about lifting our embargo on China in hopes of turning them against the American infidels, but China’s statement in support of Israel is an outrage. That idea is off the table now.
“What we really need is total support from OPEC and our Arab allies. If they would agree to take their oil off the market, even for a short time, oil prices would soar to astronomical levels, causing the Chinese to see the folly of aligning themselves with the Americans.”
The mullah interjected, “Like you, I am also concerned that our Arab brothers have not all joined us in our holy crusade against the infidels, and I am surprised the nations of the world have not denounced the Zionists.”
“It is surprising indeed” Mustafa replied. “We need something to remind them of the predatory nature of the Zionists. The best thing that could happen to us is an Israeli attack on a Saudi target. It would immediately galvanize all Arab nations behind our cause and create, perhaps, a new divide between the Americans and Chinese.”
“This is true, but how do we provoke them without actually launching an attack?” asked General Ali Jabar.
“Through the back door, General,” Mustafa replied. “It is now urgent that we smuggle our dirty bombs into Israel and take out Haifa or some other noteworthy target. How do you think Israel would react to such an action? Would they not react as they always do—by attacking?”
“They might indeed attack, King Mustafa,” said Bawarzi, “but with our armored brigades already so heavily committed elsewhere, we may not be able to fend off an Israeli attack.”
“My guess is the Americans won’t allow Israel to launch a meaningful counterattack for fear we’ll set off the dirty bombs and contaminate our own oil fields. All it would take is an Israeli air attack or some other minor act of aggression on their part, and our Arab brothers would rally to our cause. Unlike an overt military assault by our forces, the dirty bombs are invisible. While the Mossad would know the origins of the bombs, our Arab brothers would see nothing but an unprovoked attack on an Arab brother nation by Israel.”
“General Ali Jabar,” Mustafa asked, “As head of our nuclear program, can you have two dirty bombs ready