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There would be great personal satisfaction in having a hand in the death of a foul nonbeliever like Rapp, but in the more strategic sense, Rapp's murder would eventually provide proof not just to the clerics, but to the other members of the royal family that Muhammad bin Rashid was a great defender of Islam, and not some pandering fool like the king. Revealing his hand in the matter would have to be handled very delicately and over a certain period of time. Prince Muhammad was fifty-nine and in good health. He could bide his time for another five years and slowly chip away at the king's support. When the time was right, the clerics would support him, that he knew for certain. They wanted Rapp dead more than he did, and they would be very grateful that a member of the House of Saud had finally picked up a sword and defended Islam. For now, though, he had to go through the motions and act as if he actually liked the Americans.
Prince Muhammad bin Rashid stepped from the plane into the late-afternoon sunlight. He was dressed in his white robes and he clutched them against the blowing wind. To the undiscerning eye it was difficult to tell him apart from his half brother, the king, especially when he was wearing sunglasses as he was at this moment. Both men stood six feet tall and had jet black mustaches and goatees. This sometimes caused a bit of confusion as it did now with the group of dignitaries and photographers who were waiting on the red carpet at the foot of the stairs. Prince Muhammad descended with a slight smile on his face as he watched one of the king's protocol officers pointing frantically at the last of the jumbo jets which was pulling to a stop just a little ways down the tarmac.
The air force general waiting to greet him held his ground. He was not about to slight the Saudi foreign minister by bolting. Enjoying the spectacle, Prince Muhammad took his time getting down the stairs. Upon meeting the base commander, he clutched the man's hand in both of his and became quite effusive in his praise for the military band. The whole time he kept one eye on the protocol officer and took great joy in seeing the man begin to tremble. Finally, the base commander broke free and with a hand on Prince Muhammad's back he sent him down the carpet toward his waiting limousine.
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Ke
Telling these two doves any of this, however, would be foolish. She let them drone on and on about how it wouldn't be such a bad concession to conduct single-party talks. After all, they could always go back to six-party talks if it didn't work out. This conversation was a perfect example of why she had been reluctant to attend the reception for the Saudi foreign minister. Mixing with other departments in a social setting, especially State, often meant being trapped in these types of diametrically opposed discussions. She looked around the room for her new boss. This had been his idea. A command performance. Had Ke
Ke
Ke
Ross entered the room in a ma
Ke
Very good question, Ke
Ross made his way over to Secretary Berg and kissed her on the cheek. After a few minutes he spotted Ke
Ke
"Well, Irene, and you?"
"Just fine, thank you," answered Ke
"I didn't expect to see you here," Ross said, thinking he was fu
"I thought I'd crash the party," Ke
"I'm glad you came," said the secretary of state quickly. She squeezed Ke
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