Chet said, “If this meeting is to take place, I will call in two more Predators to be on station.” Chet also assured us, “You will not actually be inside the goat herder’s hut, of course. That’s too close to what’s going to happen. You’ll still be in the safe house where I’ll be in the Predator control van, talking to the four Predator pilots and watching what’s going on at the hut, and what’s going on around the safe house.” Chet continued, “Back at the goat herder’s hut, when Sheik Musa recognizes The Panther, he will greet him cordially and give him the traditional embrace and hand kiss.”
Also known as the Kiss of Death.
But to be doubly sure I understood this, I said, “So we’re not going to make an attempt to apprehend the suspect.”
Chet replied, “No, we’re going to kill the terrorist with a Hellfire missile.”
“So I don’t have to read him his rights?”
“He has no rights.”
That’s what I’ve been saying. But it sounded a little harsh coming from Chet. On the other hand… it was a breath of fresh air.
Also, I was a little disappointed that I wasn’t going to whack The Panther myself-or at least be there when a Hellfire turned him into protoplasm. I love the smell of high explosives and burning flesh. But modern war is impersonal. At least I could watch the action on the video monitor from the Predator van at the safe house. Would it be in color?
Chet went on, “After everyone greets everyone, Sheik Musa, as host, will invite The Panther and a few of his lieutenants to sit on a carpet for tea. But before the negotiations begin for the Americans, Musa and his close lieutenants will excuse themselves for a moment and go into the stone goat herder’s hut-maybe on the pretense of retrieving the Americans. When I see this on the monitor at the safe house, I will direct the Predator pilots to fire their Hellfires-two at al-Darwish and his nearby retinue on the carpet, and two at the other Al Qaeda men and their vehicles.” He assured us, “The surviving Al Qaeda guys will be totally stunned, and Musa’s tribesmen will finish them off.” He also let us know, “About the time this is happening, American Air Force fighter-bombers, operating out of a base in Saudi Arabia, will level the Al Qaeda training camp.”
There was a silence in the tent while we all formed a mental picture of what Chet had just outlined. It sounded good… but there were some potential problems with the scenario. Like, people don’t always do what you want them to do, or sit or stand where you want them to sit or stand. Right?
I asked, “What if it’s raining on the outdoor tea party?”
Chet assured me, “It hasn’t rained in Marib in two hundred years.”
That might be an exaggeration, but it sounded like zero percent chance of precipitation.
Chet also informed us, “The second pair of Predators is our security at the safe house, and they will cover us as we drive to the scene to collect some bits and pieces of Mr. al-Darwish and the men around him for DNA and fingerprint ID.” He added, “Some photos, too, though I don’t think there will be any recognizable faces.”
Chet was enjoying this. Hey, you earned it, Chet. Now you can go home and get your head tuned up.
Brenner had a thought and asked, “Won’t this assassination and massacre put a little strain on Sheik Musa’s relationship with Al Qaeda?”
Chet replied, “Sheik Musa, of course, will say he had no clue that the Americans were watching him, and he’ll claim casualties of his own.” He added, “There won’t be any Al Qaeda witnesses alive to contradict his version of the attack. Also, after this, Al Qaeda won’t be much of a problem in Marib province.”
I asked Chet, “Does Musa get the five-million-dollar reward?”
“I think he earned it.”
Right. Better than a hundred thousand from Al Qaeda. I inquired, “How much do we get?”
“The satisfaction of a job well done and the thanks of a grateful government.”
“Same as last time.”
Kate had a good question: “How do we get out of there?”
Chet replied, “As I said, we’ll be covered by two Predators on our way to the scene. The Twin Otter will land on a nearby road and take us across the border into Saudi Arabia to a secret forward base in the Arabian Desert. We turn over the goo bags, the cameras, and our weapons, then the Otter will fly us to Riyadh Airport, where we will hop commercial airliners and fly home, wherever that is.”
No one spoke as we all sat there in the dim, quiet tent, thinking about the plan, or about flying home first class or flying home in a box.
Well, I thought, this plan was based on a lot of past history, some of it true, some of it made up, and some of it not fully evaluated. The plan also depended on a lot of assumptions. The CIA, as usual, had come up with an operational plan that seemed clever, but was actually too clever by half. Keep it simple, stupid. But it might work.
Chet let the silence drag on, then asked, “Questions?”
Kate asked, “Don’t you think The Panther will smell a trap?”
Chet replied, “The Panther, as a devout Muslim, would not believe that the sheik, also a devout Muslim, would betray him to the Americans, who are, of course, infidels.”
I commented, “That’s a good assumption, making me wonder why Musa
Chet replied, “The short answer is the five million bucks. But also Musa and al-Darwish don’t have much else in common beyond their religion. Musa is a royalist and Al Qaeda is anti-royalist. Musa is a Bedouin, and the non- Bedouin Arabs, like al-Darwish, look down on the tribesmen. Plus, most of the tribes in Yemen want Al Qaeda out of their tribal lands.” Chet added, “Also, I think Sheik Musa may not consider Mr. al-Darwish a true Yemeni. In fact, he probably thinks of him as an American intruder.”
Everyone in this room is an American intruder.
Brenner observed, “You’re making a good case for why Musa would betray The Panther, but not a good case for why The Panther would trust Musa and come to this meeting.”
Chet nodded, then said, “The Panther needs a win after the Hunt Oil fiasco, and the recent failed ambush of our convoy, so the opportunity to get five Americans-not tourists, but intelligence operatives, including Mr. and Mrs. Corey, who are on Al Qaeda’s kill list-will be so tempting that he’ll talk himself into taking the risk.” Chet added, “The Panther may not trust Musa, but he won’t want to appear fearful and not go to the meeting.” He also told us, “We have a psychological profile on al-Darwish that I’ll show you on the way to Marib. Bottom line on Bulus ibn al- Darwish is that he’s a megalomaniac.” He looked at us and said, “Delusions of grandeur. Extreme egotism and narcissism.”
Like everyone else in this room. Well… the guys. Kate was mostly normal.
Chet continued, “We can discuss this analysis on the plane. But to answer Mr. Brenner’s question and Ms. Mayfield’s concern, the worst-case scenario would be that The Panther just refuses to show up at the meeting to negotiate, buy, pay for, and take custody of the Americans.”
Actually, I could think of a few even worse scenarios, but I saw Chet’s point. If The Panther didn’t show, then we’d just fly back to Aden and try another approach.
Brenner said to Chet, “The plan sounds okay in theory, and I see it’s been well thought out and that you’ve done a lot of groundwork with Sheik Musa. But I don’t trust the Yemenis, and this plan depends entirely on the assumption that everyone from Tariq to Musa is on our side.” He added, “Our lives and this mission are in their hands, and not in our own hands.” Brenner continued, “The only operations that really work are those that are completely run and executed by Americans-or by trusted Western allies. Not paid allies.”
Spoken like a true soldier. And he was right.
Chet replied, “I agree, but that’s not possible in Yemen.” He added, “Ironically, this plan should work precisely because it depends on including some Yemenis in the operation. We’ve never done that before, so The Panther will not think we’re now trusting a Yemeni to help us kill him.”
Chet seemed to have an answer for everything. And they were good answers. And to give Chet some credit, he was putting his own ass out there on the front line. So I guess he believed in this plan.
Buck spoke up. “The plan is not foolproof, but it’s not as dangerous as it sounds.”
“Sure it is,” I assured him.
Buck explained, “The downside for Sheik Musa if he betrays us is so severe-Hellfires and the wrath of the Saudi royal family-that I’m very confident of his loyalty.” He added, “The sheik may switch loyalties next week or
