The Fifth Season (5 page)

And then there were the successful assassination operations which removed a number of Arabs connected to the Black September group, and executed Arafat's deputy, Abu Jihad, who at that time was considered to be the section chief responsible for all PLO military and terrorist operations against Israel. But it was the Brussels murder of Gerald Bull, the Canadian scientist who had developed the infamous ‘Super Gun' for Iraq, that had focused media attention on the existence of the Mossad assassination teams, resulting in more accountability. Although there had been substantial changes to the organization's structure, Saguy knew that Mossad would always be surrounded by controversy.

The new and more streamlined Mossad with its eight departments would continue to provide his country with intelligence resources of the highest caliber, although Saguy admitted that the institute had not always been successful in its endeavors. He recalled his government's embarrassment when Mossad mistakenly assassinated a Swedish national. Then, there was the failed attempt to eliminate Khalid Meshaal by injecting the Palestinian Hamas leader with poison. But it was Mossad's failure to provide adequate protection to Prime Minister Yitzak Rabin against Yigal Amir's deadly attack that had resulted in leadership changes which, in turn, had paved the way for Saguy's ascent to his current position and the unenviable task with which he was now faced.

Israel's enemies had continued to arm, the threat of a nuclear war becoming more real by the day. Mossad became increasingly preoccupied with the necessity to maintain intelligence access by penetrating its neighbors' defenses, and it was the success of these missions which had provided the information revealing the growing nuclear arms build-up amongst the Moslem nations. The director did not need to refer to his database to refresh his mind. The Iranians, he knew, now boasted their new
Zelzal-3 
missiles could destroy any target within fifteen hundred kilometers with a one thousand kilogram warhead and would soon test the first of their North Korean
Nodong-2's,
capable of delivering their deadly payload as far as Germany and Western China.

Of even greater concern was confirmation that Iran now had at least fifteen nuclear material sites. The list went despairingly on; Saddam Hussein's arsenal contained not only deadly nerve gases and chemicals, but also eleven confirmed nuclear facilities left undestroyed by the Gulf War.

Now, it would seem, Indonesia, the world's largest Moslem nation, wished to enter the Arms Race. Mossad had become alarmed when the Indonesians acquired all thirty-nine warships from the former Soviet-backed, East German Fleet. Alarmed by this shift in policy, and unable to penetrate the Jakarta-based government with his intelligence teams, Director Saguy had depended on other Israeli resources to gather information regarding the Indonesian's long-term strategies and military ambitions.

This had not been so difficult. Indonesia remained heavily in debt to both the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. Conditions precedent in all financial loan agreements required transparency in the debtor nation's fiscal policies and, through Mossad-related resources, Saguy had managed to obtain the information he required. Senior officers within both the World Bank and the IMF reported directly to Mossad, and this provided Saguy with a clear overview of Indonesia's future military intentions through the monetary monitoring processes.

He had become further alarmed with the growth of militancy amongst the powerful, and previously apolitical, Indonesian Moslem movements, the Director's concerns growing even further with the discovery of a developing relationship between Islamic terrorist groups, headed by the Saudi, Osama bin Ladam and the powerful Indonesian
Mufti Muharam
movement. Saguy had flown to Washington with evidence of bin Ladam's plans to expand his terrorist movement's activities to include Indonesia and Malaysia, where training camps could be conveniently disguised by Moslem elements within those nations' military hierarchy.

Saguy had been convincing in his arguments. Mossad teams had infiltrated a number of bin Ladam's terrorist training camps in Afghanistan, close to the Pakistani border where the Saudi tycoon frequently recruited guerrillas from amongst those fighting against the Indian army in Kash-mir. Saguy revealed to the Americans that his agents had observed Osama bin Ladam hosting meetings in his mountain stronghold with Chinese and Pakistani officials. The Mossad Director had extrapolated his theory that the wealthy bin Ladam was already well advanced in his strategy to develop an international terrorist organization with training camps already established in most Moslem nations.

Armed with an adequate flow of funds, Saguy had argued that bin Ladam would soon be capable of threatening both Israel and the West with Chinese manufactured copies of Soviet missiles. He firmly believed, although the CIA had scoffed at the time, that it was the terrorist's intentions to test such weaponry in Pakistan, for any such trial detonation in Iran, Iraq, or other Middle Eastern Moslem states, would result in an immediate United States response. The Israeli had, unfortunately, been unable to convince all those present during the Washington visit, how his intelligence justified these conclusions.

When he suggested that the successful testing of a nuclear device by a Moslem nation would act as a catalyst for unification amongst the Islamic world, the American Defense Secretary, Steven Cohen, had disagreed, citing Indonesia's Moslem community as being non-aggressive and committed to their government's policy of non-alignment. It was when Saguy suggested that elements within the Indonesian Government actively supported the terrorist organization, that the Americans became indifferent to his theories.

Saguy had insisted that China's willingness to provide technology to Moslem states would eventually lead to confrontation. Members of the Israeli Cabinet who were also present, urged the American Administration to act quickly before even the less powerful Moslem countries acquired nuclear technology and missile weaponry from the Chinese. It seemed that the Mossad-proposed hypothesis was to be rejected. The Americans were not convinced, unable to accept that countries such as Indonesia would ever desert their lucrative pro-Western alliances in the interests of international terrorism.

Saguy and his fellow countrymen had returned to Tel Aviv, without any commitment from the United States. The Director had gone directly to the Prime Minister to seek his support for Israel to act alone. He firmly believed that for Israel to vacillate, would ultimately place their country at extreme risk as Israel had insufficient retaliatory capability to survive an Islamic-led nuclear attack.

The director felt the despair of impotency this knowledge carried, his concern that Israel's own facilities could not provide the defense his country required. Names such as Dimona, Eilabun, Nevatim and Be'er Yaakov came to mind as he considered the nation's nuclear and missile facilities, wondering just how much more of the country's budget would be consumed by these demanding capital intensive projects.

The thought of the many billions raised in the United States via their Swiss-based banking operations warmed his heart. He prayed that Israel could always depend on her powerful American lobby without which his country might not survive. It had been imperative that Israel manage its off-shore funds through Geneva for, ironically, many of the country's investments had been conducted in Moslem nations such as Malaysia and Indonesia, where oil and other precious resources were found in abundance. Major General Saguy's eyes dropped back to the folder lying almost innocently on his desk.

As he further considered the file's contents, the director's fingers tapped a silent beat on the plate-glass-topped desk, his mind preoccupied with the one report which had first alerted Mossad to China's provocative intentions. He remembered reading that it had been as early as 1985 when
Lekem
, Israel's Bureau of Scientific Relations had identified the increased flow of technical information from the Chinese to a number of Moslem nations
. Lekem
agents located in Israeli embassies throughout Asia and the Sub-Continent had stumbled across Beijing's first transfer of nuclear technology to Pakistan. Alerted, Mossad worked together with its sister agency in the covert collation of all material which fell into their hands.

Now, with more than ten years of data to substantiate their intelligence, it was clear that China's efforts were soon to bear fruit.

Shabtai Saguy closed the highly classified file stamped ‘
Most Secret
-
ha-Mossad le-Modiin ule-Tafkidim Meyuhadim'
, removed his glasses and rubbed his tired, gritty eyes, while wondering how other intelligence chiefs always managed to find time to play golf. He then stared down at the document cover before him and a thought crossed his mind, causing a thin, mirthless smile to crease his lips, as he visualized Saddam's mocking face collapsing into shock once the game unfolded, revealing his weakened flank. Buoyed by this image, Major General Sabtai Saguy left for the Prime Minister's office where he expected to receive confirmation that Israel would send its scientists and engineers to New Delhi.

If Pakistan was to have its Islamic bomb, then India's one billion Hindus would receive Israel's assistance to discourage the further spread of Chinese nuclear technology. Israel's contribution would prevent, hopefully, the world's largest Moslem nation, Indonesia, from acquiring such weapons of mass destruction through their new companion, Osama bin Ladam, the man now recognized by the Jewish community worldwide, as their most serious threat since Adolf Hitler.

* * * *

Indonesia - Surabaya – August, 1997

The white Mercedes 300 carrying General Praboyo's mother was last to arrive at the compound, and even before her driver could assist the aging woman from the vehicle, heavy-duty reinforced steel gates slid into place with an ominous grating noise, momentarily startling the seventy- year-old.The woman's frail figure belied her true strength as she shuffled slowly past tall, white-washed walls towards the colonial villa's entrance. Her well-armed driver followed closely, ready to spring to her aid should the need arise. As they moved slowly along the crushed stone path she hesitated, then reached out and picked a small bunch of white and yellow frangipani which hung low on the tree. The aroma obviously pleased her as she turned and smiled, before passing the flowers to the driver. They continued towards the entrance where a number of men waited, their hands clasped in traditional welcome gesture. Satisfied that she was in safe hands, the driver returned to stand by the limousine.

‘Selamat datang, Ibu,'
the men greeted, edging aside as she stepped through the doorway, nodding courteously. They moved, with solemn gait, into the main guest lounge area where a number of white-clad, male servants fussed over the guests, before discreetly retiring to their own accommodations. It was not until the customary pleasantries had been observed and tea taken that the host, one of Indonesia's most prominent Moslems and senior adviser to the
Ulama Akbar
leadership, addressed those gathered, in sotto voce.

‘We welcome you back, Ibu,
' he commenced, smiling at the elderly lady who sat comfortably, in the well-cushioned rattan chair.
‘It is regrettable
that this meeting has required you to travel alone, and so far from your home. It
would seem however that your efforts are to bear fruit, subject of course to your
son's agreement concerning our requests, as discussed during our last meeting.'

The General's mother returned Haji Muhammad Malik's smile, but there was little warmth in her heart as she did so, for this was the meeting about which she had agonized for so many months, before finally agreeing to her son's request. His image came to mind, and she paused, sipping from the thimble-sized teacup before responding.

‘Pak Malik,'
she commenced, looking at each of the four men in turn, 
‘we have given a great deal of thought to what you have proposed. I am pleased
to inform you that the General accepts your kind offer.'
She hesitated, as if reluctant to continue.
‘But to be honest with you, as a mother, I am not entirely
at ease that this alliance will be without risk to my son.'

She could see from their expressions that her candor was unexpected.

‘Then, of course, the issue of my personal religious differences, must still be
resolved.'
She had prayed that they might reconsider earlier demands and would not still insist that surrendering her own faith remain a prerequisite to their agreement. But, she knew in her heart, that these hard-line religious leaders would not consummate the relationship unless she converted. Had it not been for her son, she would never have considered such an unreasonable request. Habit directed her fingers gently upwards where they touched her neck in search of reassurance; the platinum cross she had worn since childhood had been removed, whilst dressing in preparation for this meeting, and placed in the safety of her purse.

‘Madame, we ask your understanding in this matter. Your current position
has presented us with some resistance amongst our colleagues,'
Haji Abdul Muis advised, his soft voice almost inaudible to her ears.
‘The question must then
be, would you accept embracing Islam?
' The General's mother turned her head slightly, and looked directly at the aloof and unsmiling figure. She knew that the support of Abdul Muis's following of thirty million was essential to her son's success. She would need to show subservience to this man.

‘Yes,'
she said, with rehearsed conviction,
‘if that is the price to be paid,
then yes, I would convert to Islam.'
The
Ibu
observed from the immediate change in their demeanor that they were all pleased, albeit surprised, at her commitment to abandon her Christian beliefs. Previously, she had been adamant, and stubbornly refused to even consider such a notion.