The Sum of All Fears.pdf - Delta Force

Prince Ali was stunned by the question. Was not Ryan's mission to present the
American plan? He almost lapsed into anger, but Ali was too clever for that. It
wasn't a trap he saw. It was a fundamental change in American policy.
'Dr Ryan, you asked that question for a reason, but it was a rhetorical question
nonetheless. I believe the answer to that question is yours to make.'
The answer took three minutes.
Ali shook his head sadly. 'That, Dr Ryan, is something we would probably find
acceptable, but the Israelis will never agree to it even though we might – more
precisely, they would reject it for the very reason that we would accept it.
They should agree to it, of course, but they will not.'
'Is it acceptable to your government, sir?'
'I must, of course, present it to others, but I think our response would be
favorable.'
'Any objections at all?'
The Prince paused to finish his coffee. He stared over Ryan's head towards
something on the far wall. 'We could offer several modifications, none of them
really substantive to the central thesis of your scheme. Actually, I think the
negotiations on those minor issues would be easily and quickly accomplished,
since they are not matters of consequence to the other interested parties.'
'And who would be your choice for the Muslim representative?'
Ali leaned forward. 'That is simple. Anyone could tell you. The Imam of the
Al-Aqusa Mosque is a distinguished scholar and linguist. His name is Ahmed bin
Yussif. Ahmed is consulted by scholars throughout Islam for his opinions on
matters of theology. Sunni, Shi'a, all defer to him on selected issues. He is
even a Palestinian by birth.'
'That easy?' Ryan closed his eyes and let out a breath. He'd guessed right on
that one. Yussif was not exactly a political moderate, and had called for the
expulsion of Israel from the West Bank. But he had also denounced terrorism per
se on theological grounds. He wasn't quite perfect, but if the Muslims could
live with him, he was perfect enough.
'You are very confident, Dr Ryan.' Ali shook his head. 'Too confident. I grant
you that your plan is fairer than anything I or my government expected, but it
will never happen.' Ali paused again and fixed Ryan with his eyes. 'Now I must
ask myself if this was ever a serious proposal, or merely something to give the
appearance of fairness.'
'Your Highness, President Fowler addresses the United Nations General Assembly
next Thursday. He will present this very plan then, live and in color. I am
authorized to extend your government an invitation to the Vatican to negotiate
the treaty formally.'
The Prince was sufficiently surprised by that that he lapsed into an
Americanism: 'Do you really think you can bring this off?'
'Your Highness, we're going to give it one hell of a try.'
Ali rose and walked to his desk. There he lifted a phone, pushed a button and
spoke rapidly and, to Ryan, incomprehensibly. Jack had a sudden, giddy moment of
whimsy. The Arabic language, as with the Hebrew, went from right to left instead
of left to right, and Ryan wondered how one's brain dealt with that.
Son of a BITCH, Jack thought to himself. This just might work!