“Aristotle is a waste of time. But one remembers what one is forced to learn. My point is that there may be more to General Harris than his portrayal as a ‘simple soldier’ has led us to believe.”
“I’ve known Gary Harris for over thirty years. Don’t worry about him. His sense of duty will be his undoing.”
“He sounds like a Jihadi.”
“Don’t worry about Harris.”
“I
“What would I find if I analyzed you? Right now?”
“You would find a man asking himself if you will deliver all that you have promised, after you have received all that
“You’ll get everything we agreed to. Once we have Damascus.”
“And your Air Force will support me? When I march against the sultan in Baghdad? And when I reckon with the Shia heretics to the east? What will you tell your associates in the Pentagon, in Washington?”
“That we’re helping Muslims destroy each other.”
Al-Mahdi’s smile returned, spreading his whis kers. “Exactly right. But you and I understand the importance — the indispensible nature — of purifying our faiths. How many Christians do you think
“Not so many.”
“That is how it begins. With ‘not so many.’ But there is always another apostate, a heretic, a renegade… another traitor. Myself, I expect to go on killing for the rest of my life. The struggle is never done. And there is neither tragedy nor dishonor in such a struggle that finds no end. On the contrary: A faith that triumphed completely would go to sleep — that was the tragedy of the Arab world in our days of greatness, you know. We were so successful that we just dozed off. And when we awoke, having slept through the Ottoman centuries, we found that the French and English, and, later, you Americans had crept into our house and stolen everything we expected to have for ‘breakfast, lunch, and dinner,’ as you put it.” He picked up a date but delayed lifting it to his mouth. “One of your great founding fathers has written that your system of government must be refreshed now and then with the blood of patriots. So it is with religion: A healthy faith demands a struggle, an enemy, a
“
“I apologize for rambling. You’re right, of course. This is no time for chat. Tell me, then, where we are at this moment, General Montfort.”
Montfort sat wrapped in a blanket of exhaustion. Al-Mahdi’s philosophical pretensions had only annoyed him, every word a weight on his eyelids. He wished he had a glass of hot tea now. But he was not about to ask for one.
“At this moment, I need al-Ghazi to hold Harris’s forces as close to their current positions as possible. Whatever it takes.”
“Easy enough to say! But my men are suffering, such losses cannot be sustained.” The emir-general shifted on his cushions. “I need to preserve my own forces. For the other battles to come.”
“Well, I need you to hold Harris. Minimize his gains. Until 1800 hours today. Six p.m.”
“I understand ‘1800 hours.’ But your General Harris is a tough fellow, you know. He doesn’t make mistakes.”
“Everybody makes mistakes. Harris has made his share. He’ll make more.”
“Perhaps. But not on the battlefield.”
“I need you to hold him until 1800. That’s less than twelve hours.”
“And then?”
“My forces will conduct a forward passage of lines, and I’ll assume control of the attack in the north.”
“Of Harris’s corps, as well?”
“Not yet.”
“So… After 1800, all of the attacking units will be yours. From the Military Order of the Brothers in Christ. And we will begin to give way.”
Montfort nodded. “As we agreed. But they can’t just quit. Neither of us wants a bloodbath like we had over Jerusalem. But it has to look like a fight — as though my men have broken through where the Army couldn’t. On both axes of advance, with the initial main effort directed east to Tiberias and the supporting attack northeast along Highway 65, then swinging east into the Upper Galilee — at which point it becomes the main effort.”
