Path of the Assassin Read Free

point-blank to the Israeli prime minister, and he has denied that his country has any involvement with the Hand of God.”
    “So what, in fact, do we know?” asked the chairman of the Joint Chiefs.
    “What we know is that the timing of this couldn’t be worse. If you’ll permit me, I’d like to explain why the president has called this meeting,” said Vaile, who then asked for the lights to be lowered as he activated his laptop. Two, large flat-panel screens at the front of the situation room came to life with the seal of the Central Intelligence Agency as the director began his presentation.
    “Before Osama bin Laden appeared on the world stage, the spotlight rested largely upon Abu Nidal, a man who not only wrote the book on international terrorism, but published it as well.
    “The Abu Nidal Organization, also known as the Fatah Revolutionary Council, or FRC, has carried out over ninety terrorist attacks across twenty countries, resulting in the death and injury of more than a thousand people. At one point, the State Department classified Nidal and his people as the most dangerous terrorist organization in the world. His targets have included the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Israel, moderate Palestinians, the PLO, and various Arab nations. The organization’s number-one priority after the creation of a Palestinian State is the destruction of Israel and then America—”
    “Wait a second. These people have been off the radar screen for years,” said the secretary of state. “I thought we were operating under the assumption that Abu Nidal had been assassinated in Baghdad.”
    “The CIA is inclined to agree with you,” responded Vaile.
    “Then what are we talking about?”
    “This,” said Vaile as he advanced to the next slide of his presentation. The long list of Abu Nidal’s terrorist activities, including masterminding the Rome and Vienna airport massacres, as well as the Pan Am 103 bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland, disappeared and was replaced by an empty silhouette. “Ladies and gentlemen, meet Hashim Nidal. Abu Nidal’s son.”
    “But there’s nothing there,” replied the chairman of the Joint Chiefs.
    “And therein lies the greatest threat facing our country at this moment,” replied Vaile.
    “Director Vaile,” began the Homeland Security director, “are you telling us that despite the vast resources of the CIA, you don’t even have a picture of this man?”
    “Unfortunately, that’s correct. Abu Nidal went to great lengths to keep the fact that he even had a son hidden. All we’ve been able to ascertain thus far is his name. Roughly translated from Arabic, Hashim means, ‘crusher of evil.’”
    “Well, that’s lovely,” said the secretary of state as she closed her folder and pushed it away from her. “Are you suggesting, Mr. Vaile, that Abu Nidal turned the reins of the organization over to his son?”
    “Based on the intelligence we have received, that’s exactly what we’re suggesting.”
    “And what is this intelligence?”
    “According to our sources, Hashim Nidal has united an international network of Islamic terrorist organizations including Hamas, Hezbollah, the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the remnants of Al Qaeda, the Muslim Brotherhood, Abu Sayyaf in the Philippines…The list goes on and on. He has been able to convince them that their service to Allah can best be carried out by joining forces. He knows their strengths, as well as their weaknesses. They have been sharing strategies, intelligence, and even training. There’s a deep religious underpinning within all the groups, which Hashim Nidal is using to supercede their political beliefs. For all intents and purposes, he has united them behind a common cause—the destruction of Israel.
    “And the threat to the United States is…?” asked Driehaus.
    “Extremely serious. According to their doctrine, the destruction of Israel will be immediately followed by the destruction of the United