The Faithful, North African and Middle Eastern Islamic nations, are plotting to seize the oil resources of the Middle East. By controlling the earth's oil and its major trade routes, they plan to bring the world to its knees. Then, when the entire world is kneeling, the Faithful of Allah will read to them from the Koran, preaching the message of Islam, the True Faith. The Faithful will stop at nothing to achieve their goal. But how far will they go? And how many lives will it cost?

4 Victory and Defeat

4.5 Iran

4.5.1 Hammedyanni Resurrected

"What do you mean, my son isn't available?" General Benhamin Hammedyanni yelled into the phone. "Where is he? What do you mean he's in the stockade? What fool ordered a general into a stockade? Get General Yousoufli, now!" He waited and fumed.

"General Yousoufli speaking."

"General, this is General Hammedyanni, Army Chief of Staff. Where is my son?"

"General, your son has been demoted, relieved of duty and confined in the stockade pending court-martial. Is there some other way in which I can help the Chief of Staff of the Revolutionary Guard?"

"Yes, General, you will release my son immediately and reinstate him to his former rank and duties. You will then consider yourself under arrest. You are hereby relieved of your command and ordered to report to my office as quickly as possible. Do you understand, General?"

"No, Sir, I do not understand. However, I will obey your orders. Is there any other way I can help the Chief of Staff of the Revolutionary Guard?"

"No! Wait! Yes, have my son call me within the hour."

Yousoufli turned slowly and looked around the command tent for his Sergeant Major. He caught the non-com's eye and waved him over. "Bring Hammedyanni to me."

Wearily, the general picked up the field telephone. "Colonel Rashamani? General Yousoufli. I have been relieved of my command, and General Hammedyanni has been reinstated. That is all, Colonel." He'd done what could be done. Now it was time to arrange transportation.

The Sergeant Major returned shortly with a bedraggled-looking prisoner behind him. Hammedyanni's neat, dapper, crisp appearance had completely disappeared, but his haughty, superior manner and carriage remained intact.

"General," Yousoufli addressed him, "you are hereby reinstated to your former rank and duties. I have been recalled to Teheran and in my absence you will command the division." Yousoufli stood and left the tent without any attempt at civility or even normal military courtesy.

Hammedyanni just smiled. Allah watched over the Faithful, and his father had watched over him. A division commander!

4.5.2 Pursuit

The front, if you could call it that, was a shambles. It took Hammedyanni half an hour just to determine where his regiments were. When he found that Yousoufli had brigaded four battalions into one regiment under Colonel Rashamani, he was livid with rage. He pulled at his beard when he learned that the Colonel was second in command. This was intolerable! He ordered the staff officer with the broken nose to contact Colonel Rashamani.

The radio-linked phone on his desk range minutes later. "This is Colonel Rashamani reporting, as ordered."

"Rashamani, you are hereby relieved of command. Report to my headquarters, immediately." The Colonel acknowledged and the line went dead.

This was the chance Hammedyanni had been waiting for. The enemy was on the run, and he had a division to pursue them. He contacted the CO of the old First Battalion, First Regiment. "Major, you are now a Colonel in command of First and Second Regiments. Get your staff together at field headquarters. I will meet you there."

He made one more phone callm and Third Regiment's CO was ordered to this important meeting. Three minutes later, his convoy of command vehicles was on the road through Suffaniyah to join his new command. And, the Persian advance beyond Suffaniyah stalled.

Twenty minutes later, the now properly dressed Hammedyanni strode before his two regimental commanders. Their individual intelligence officers informed the general of their position and intentions. The general was just about to harangue them, when an aide interrupted him. "Sir, Lieutenant General Afstanabul is on the phone for you."

Hammedyanni hurried to the phone. The Commanding Officer of the First Army, called The Immortals of Allah, was not to be kept waiting. "Sir, General Hammedyanni speaking."

"Where is Yousoufli, Hammedyanni?"

"He has been relieved by order of the General Staff, General. I am in command and am only now determining my course of action."

"Course of action! Where have you been Hammedyanni? We are in the middle of a battle! Form up your division, and proceed to support the Kingdom of Allah Division. We must seize the intersection between the Jubayl-Qaysumah road and the road to Suffaniyah. Your division is supposed to be supporting the rest of my army!"

"Yes, Sir. I hear and obey. May Allah's grace be with you, General."

"May Allah protect you if you fail, Hammedyanni!"

Hammedyanni returned to his regimental commanders. "Our task is to advance down the Suffaniyah road, with all possible speed in support of our army. Because Second Regiment is still disengaging from the battle in the city, Third Regiment will lead. I will join you in this pursuit. Second Regiment will regroup and join us as quickly as possible.

"This is a fluid situation, so I will have to do without planning. I will be relying upon your skills as soldiers, but I will be watching for any signs of insubordination or malefaction. Colonel, let us proceed. My command vehicles will follow your First Battalion."

Hammedyanni sat in his command BTR worrying. General Afstanabul had been most insistent on speed. Hammedyanni looked at the battle diagrams his predecessor had left scattered over the small map table. The trap was sealed, was it not? Then, to his dismay, he realized that some of the Saudis may have escaped.

Suddenly, he understood the general's emphasis on haste. His division was to swing behind the advancing Irani army and gobble up the fleeing remnants of their defeated foe. Yes! It was brilliant. And, he'd be merciless! He pushed his column hard down the deserted road in pursuit of Saudi stragglers.

"Battalion leader to General Hammedyanni. Dust on the horizon. They can't be ours, but they might be Iraqis. Request orders."

"Speed up. Overtake and destroy them."

His column leapt forward. His lead tank crested a small rise and blew up! Hammedyanni's first thought was mines. His radio burst, "We are under fire! Enemy tanks!"

He thought quickly. If the Saudis were withdrawing, it would only be logical that they would place a strong force in their rear to cover their retreat. He only had one regiment. His second, stronger regiment was still far behind him. "Retreat!" he ordered. "Reassemble in battle formation and prepared to defend our position. Wait for Second Regiment to join us."

One hour later, Second Regiment hove into view. "Second Regiment, take three battalions and form on Third Regiment's right. I will hold one battalion in reserve."

Ten minutes later they were ready, and Hammedyanni ordered the advance. Over one hundred tanks and twice as many armored vehicles thundered across the plain and along the road. Turrets whined as cannons sought targets. Missileers peered into the wavering heat waves seeking out an enemy to engage. There was nothing but sand.

"Hammedyanni, where are you?" the command radio linking him directly with Army headquarters blared.

Confidently, he picked up his transceiver and told General Afstanabul his coordinates. "We have been attacking Saudis escaping from the envelopment, General, as you ordered."

"I gave no such order, General. You are twenty kilometers out of position. You should be directly behind the Kingdom of Allah Division, supporting their attack. I have had to do the work of three division with only two, thanks to your incompetence.

"Since the only thing you seem to be capable of doing is driving up and down roads, lead your division back to Suffaniyah. You will personally report to me upon your arrival. I expect to see you in three hours. First Army, out."

Hammedyanni fumed and raged. He struck an enlisted radio operator who did not perform his task quickly enough. He railed at his driver. He yelled at the battalion commanders. He knew they were conspiring against him. How could he prove it? His father would understand, he knew. His father had spoken many times about the cunning of the military and their inability to seek out Allah's path.

4.5.3 Teheran

Ayatollah Mohammed Hammedyanni, Ayatollah Rafsanadi Rashamani and the nine other members of the Revolutionary Council listened attentively to the reports being delivered by the Chief of Staff and the chiefs of the several branches of the Revolutionary Guard of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Their war was progressing well. They had overrun Kuwait and, after a fierce battle, had trapped and annihilated the Saudi army. Yet, there was an underlying tension in the Council that almost seemed to overshadow the news from the battle front.

The Revolutionary Council was divided into two factions, each seeking total control of the country and the demise of its opponents. Ayatollah Hammedyanni controlled the faction called "The Elders", none of whom were under seventy. Ayatollah Rashamani headed the other faction, called the "Party of Allah". Of the eleven men who absolutely controlled the Iran, five were "Elders" and four were "Party of Allah". Two elderly Ayatollahs refused to demean themselves by becoming involved in politics. Yet, by not siding with one or the other faction, they played the ultimate in political games. It was they who cast the deciding votes in the Revolutionary Council.

Ayatollah Hammedyanni was the one who raised the issue. "I understand that the commanding general of the Soldiers of Allah Division has been relieved of his duty. Can you explain this to us?"

The Chief of Staff demurred and looked directly at the Army Chief of Staff. Reluctantly, General Hammedyanni began, "There was a command problem in the Soldiers of Allah Division. I have taken care of this problem."

Rashamani knew that if he let the matter rest, it would be over. The issue would have been raised in council. Unless he said something immediately, it would pass away, forever. "General Hammedyanni, you spoke of a problem and its solution. I am unaware of this problem or of the solution. Please, explain this to me."

"Ayatollah Rashamani, there was a case of insubordination and possibly even of consorting with the enemy. The general has been relieved and replaced with one of the Faithful."

"Once again, I do not understand. Are you saying that the General in command of the Soldiers of Allah Division was not one of the Faithful? If I understand this correctly, and I am not a military man, Major General Yousoufli is not only one of the Faithful, but a man of great renown. Was it not he who directed the successful attack at Mina al-Ahmadi? Was it not he who led the attack from the marshes? Was it not he who led the successful Battle of As-Suffaniyah? Would you please clarify to me and to this council the reason you dismissed this eminently successful general and replaced him with your own son, General?"

The two independent Ayatollahs looked sharply at the Army Chief of Staff.

"Yes, Ayatollah. Brigadier General Hammedyanni is second in command of the Soldiers of Allah Division. When General Yousoufli was relieved, General Hammedyanni became the temporary commanding officer of that division. He is now leading his division against the Saudis."

"Indeed, General Hammedyanni! Indeed! However, I believe that this meeting has kept you from your command post for too long. Upon your return you will find a series of messages from Lieutenant General Afstanabul. He is asking you to relieve your son from command of the division and to return Major General Yousoufli to command of the Soldiers of Allah."

Rashamani adjusted his glasses and lifted up a few sheets of paper which he feigned reading. "It would seem, if I read these messages correctly, and please, General, remember that I am not a military man, but, it would seem that your son led this division to a position which was twenty kilometers from where General Afstanabul ordered it to be.

"There is also some indication that his division was defeated and forced to withdraw to a defensive position by one, lone Saudi tank. I am sure I have not interpreted the reconnaissance photographs correctly, but I can have them brought into this meeting and let you interpret them for us. So, once again, I ask you about this problem and your solution to it?"

Hammedyanni stammered, "I have had only a few moments to review the data, Ayatollah. However, I can assure you that General Yousoufli will be returning to his command. This matter has been clarified completely."

"Ah! Excellent, General Hammedyanni. I appreciate your candor, as do we all."

The meeting of the Revolutionary Council ended some two hours later, with nothing else said about the Soldiers of Allah Division. Nothing had to be said. One hour later, Major General Yousoufli was reinstated with great rewards by the Chief of Staff. Brigadier General Tavid Hammedyanni was transferred to a liaison position with the Iraqi Ninth Army already on its way to Syria.