Blowback

“Yet you went along with them anyway,” said Harvath.

“A chance to unite the fractures in our faith was something I could not so easily pass by. Besides, what Akrep was extending was no mere invitation to tea. The subtext was very clear: either we were with him and the Su

“And you just sat back while i

“But there weren’t only Christians who were killed in Asalaam.”

“What are you talking about?” said Harvath.

“There were also Shias.”

“Shias? I was told only non-Muslims perished.”

“Then you were told wrong,” replied the Aga Khan. “Su

“But how?”

“Because the Su

“So the illness was in the water?” asked Harvath.

“The wells were only part of the process. Akrep never had any intention of bringing the Shia into a united Islam. He double-crossed me and imposed a death sentence on my people. That is why I had Emir Tokay brought here. We needed to know how to immunize our people. I would have arranged to bring more scientists here, but by the time we were able to identify who they all were, Akrep was already having them killed. Tokay was our last chance.”

“And has he been able to help you?”

“Insomuch as he had been able to piece together the pathology of the illness, yes. The Su

“So he put something in the Su

“That’s simple. Akrep discovered a source of water available only to Su

“So he was probably going to bottle the water somehow. Do you know where this spring is or where he pla

“No, I don’t.”

“How was he pla

“That I also don’t know. I was never supposed to know. As I said, Akrep never intended to share the inoculation with the Shia. His goal is to rid the Muslim holy lands of all of the Western infidel crusaders, the Shia, and any other groups the Su

The Aga Khan knew almost as little as Harvath did about the illness, so he decided to change subjects. “You said there’s an heir to the sultanate. Who is it? Akrep?”

“No, in the Ottoman tradition, the heir has been sent away for safekeeping and will not be called until the caliphate is ready. For lack of a better term, Akrep is the power behind the throne.”

“What power could he possibly have? He doesn’t even have an army.”

“He may not personally, but Turkey does. And after the United States, it is the largest army in NATO.”

“Are you saying the Ottomans can actually call upon the Turkish Army?”

“Eventually they will be able to, but right now it doesn’t matter. They have something much more powerful at their disposal.”

“Which is?”

“Fundamentalist Islam. Wahhabism, to be exact. The radical Muslim movement from which all modern Islamic terrorism has sprung.”

Harvath was all too familiar with the cult of Wahhabism and the sheer devastation it had wrought around the world. “So what are you saying? The Wahhabis are going to do the Ottoman’s work for them?”

“In a ma

Once again, Harvath was transported back to his conversation with Jillian. “I don’t understand. How are the Ottomans going to use the Wahhabis? And what does it have to do with this illness?”

The Aga Khan looked at him and said, “Revolution.”

“Revolution? Where? Across the Muslim world?”

“Eventually, but first they must set an example-an example that will empower Muslims everywhere to rise up. It will happen in the holiest of countries most dear to all Muslims and a symbol of corruption and Western influence- Saudi Arabia.”

Harvath was stu

“They have been very patient. With the help of al-Qaeda, the Wahhabis have been able to slowly infiltrate the ranks of the Saudi military and security forces. While there are many soldiers and policemen who are not loyal to bin Laden or the Wahhabi faith, there may not be enough of them to make a difference. Time and again in small skirmishes created by the Wahhabis to test the resolve of the military and police, it has been shown that Saudi troops and policemen will not fire on their own people.”

Harvath felt the blood go cold in his body. “And if American troops in the region try to help put down a revolt-”

“ Ha

Harvath knew he was right. Considering the Wahhabis’ deep hate for America and the vast amount of military hardware the Saudi Monarchy had purchased and stockpiled from the U.S. over the years, the new Saudi Arabia, or whatever the extremists would end up calling it, would immediately join the league of rogue nations.

But that wasn’t all. With the Wahhabis’ well-defined social and religious agenda, their breed of radical, fundamentalist Islam would begin to spread to the neighboring states and sheikdoms. Much as the Soviet Union gobbled up its neighbors, the exact same thing would happen in the Middle East, with Saudi Arabia playing the role of mother Russia and places like Oman, Qatar, and UAE becoming the next Poland, East Germany, and Czechoslovakia.

As the movement pushed eastward, Pakistan would quickly collapse and along with it any hopes of keeping nuclear weapons out of the hands of the Wahhabis. As Indonesia, the most populous Muslim nation, joined and became the new China, the Western world would be plunged into a clash more devastating than anything it had ever known.

One thing was for sure, while the extremists might claim to be using the illness solely as a bargaining chip now, there was no question that when they were ready, they would set it loose it on the rest of the world.

“How did the Ottomans ever get the Wahhabis to agree to all of this?” asked Harvath.

“The Ottomans recognized the power of the Wahhabis and aligned themselves with them early on. That was how they were able to gain access to bin Laden and create al-Qaeda. It is a relationship of religion and politics-a match made in Paradise. The Wahhabis provided the spiritual justification for revolution and the establishment of a single Islamic state while the Ottomans provided the know-how and ability to run it efficiently. The one thing the Wahhabis recognize is that while they may have had a similar social agenda, the Taliban were defeated because they had no idea how to maintain the sovereignty of their country. That is something the Ottomans have more than proven they are capable of.”