Lethal Trajectories - Michael Conley [47]
He conveniently skimmed over the challenge of getting other OPEC nations to play ball, but had confidence in his unspoken plans.
“In one grand move, we will bring the two superpowers to their knees. At that moment the conditions will be right for the declaration of our global jihad. We will once and for all establish the supreme rule of Allah and rid the world of infidels.”
Mustafa had poured his heart and soul into the presentation and sat back in his chair, tired from the effort. He took a long swig from his water bottle. His brothers applauded, confident that a more holy world was within their grasp. More importantly, he knew they understood the need to act with ruthless efficiency if they were to succeed.
“Thank you, Prince Mustafa, for your masterful presentation,” said Mohammed al-Hazari. “You have stated with simple elegance the plan we have all worked on for so long. Somehow it has never sounded so imminent as when you have spoken of it tonight. We all know what we have to do, and you may rest assured that every person in every school and mosque in our country will be told what has happened and why within twenty-four hours of our victory. We will reach them long before they have a chance to see it on the Internet or read about it in the paper, and when they finally do, it will be through the media sources we control. We will be ready.”
“Thank you, my brother.” said Prince Mustafa, with gratitude for the mullah’s comment. “You are an inspiration to us all; you speak with Allah in your heart.”
Prince Hahad ibn Saud rose to his feet and stated, “My men will eliminate the commanding officer of the royal guard along with his top loyalist officers and replace them with our own. Once the apostate officers have been eliminated, my troops will do what they are ordered to do. We’ll be ready, and if the key Saudi leaders are all in Riyadh at the same time, our job will be that much easier.”
Prince Mustafa rose again to report that his Commando Unit 22 was already staging near the location of Prince Bawarzi’s 15th Armored Brigade.
“Unit 22 will move fast to plant the dirty bombs in Saudi oil fields throughout the kingdom. They will then regroup and be made available later, if needed, to infiltrate and destroy the oil fields of any potentially antagonistic members of OPEC. Unit 22 hit teams will, as I mentioned, take out key leaders of major Saudi military units and thereby create discontinuity in the command structure of loyalist military units in the early hours of the coup. This will be of critical importance.”
Prince Bawari smiled and said, “The 15th Armored Brigade is prepared to occupy the major crossroads, airports, and communication centers around Riyadh. In addition, we have brother military units in other parts of the country—specifically in Jeddah, Mekkah, Madinah, and other locales—that stand ready to take over important roadways, communication centers, airports, and local police forces. There will be shooting between loyalists and our forces, but the losses will be acceptable. To the extent Unit 22 can take out key military commanders, our chances for a less violent takeover will be greater.”
General Aakif Abu Ali Jabar, a ruthless, arrogant man, smugly reported, “In essence, I am the commanding officer of our air forces and will be for at least another month, as the commanding general is now recuperating from open-heart surgery. I will immediately arrest a leading echelon of about a dozen officers and have them shot on the spot as traitors. Dealing with their subordinates—who will be quaking in their boots—will be easy; I will demand their full loyalty. I will shut down all airports and air services not friendly to us and provide our ground forces with transport planes and fighter cover as needed. We’ll