meeting with Bennett. The moderate Arab states, most notably the Saudis, stood to lose everything. All they could hope for was to hold what they already had.
The king had already met with delegations from Iran. Khomeini's successors were no less determined than the departed ayatollayh, but they were more pragmatic and had reestablished relations with Riyadh. The long, bitter war with Iraq had shown the folly of pitting Muslim against Muslim and flesh against steel. Now they called for a unified religious war-a jihad- whichwould once and for all destroy the Jewish state. The superpowers could do little more than observe the growing storm from the sidelines.
The Saudi monarch now sat on a tenuous throne, knowing that only the power of his oil and money could save him-if coupled with a precisely executed diplomatic scheme by men the quality of Safad Fatah. The Iranians were the key-maintain an accord with them, and the others likely would follow suit. But the king knew that the same men he had hosted over thick coffee and paper-thin wafers were capable of dispatching a team of suicidal assassins the next time.
Now, addressing his own ministers, the ruler of Saudi Arabia outlined the situation. Though his nation had not been directly involved in the many wars against Israel since 1948, the pattern of combat was well known in Riyadh. Every man in the room knew that no Arab army had seriously threatened the existence of the Jewish state since the Israeli Air Force had grown to early maturity in the mid-1950s. In the usually clear weather of the Middle East, and upon its barren deserts, no army could move on the few roads and hide from Israeli aircraft. Those roads had time and again been lined with the gutted, charred, rusting remains of trucks and armored vehicles.
John Bennett knew the facts as well as any Arab leader. It was the opening theme in his War College thesis which had brought him to Fatah's attention. Fatah had committed two paragraphs to memory:
The Middle East arena, from Suez on the canal to Tarabulus in northern Lebanon, is barely 400 miles. A jet aircraft covers this distance in less than one hour at cruising speed. At Mach I the time is barely thirty minutes. Thus, from Tel Aviv the radius of action for a supersonic aircraft puts it within combat in just ten to fifteen minutes.
Operating in clear weather, in terrain devoid of cities, forests, and even natural depressions in many places, a defending air force sits within easy reach of nearly all likely targets. Antiaircraft artillery and surface-to-air missiles may force the aircraft to pay a price for success, but success thus far has been denied the Arabs. Only airpower can defeat airpower, and at present the only thoroughly professional, world-class air force in the region belongs to Israel.
Fatah had underlined the crucial last sentence and quoted it when suggesting to his superiors that Commander Bennett was the man for the job.
JOHN BENNETT ANSWERED THE KNOCK AND OPENED THE double doors of his suite. There was Fatah, impeccably draped in a mishlah and the traditional ghotra headdress. "As-salaamu alaykum," he said. "Peace be upon you." Bennett replied in barely recognizable Arabic. "Wa alaykumu as-salaam. And upon you be peace, Mr. Fatah."
"Well done, Commander Bennett," Fatah lied. "I am impressed.
Come, we will go straightaway and 1 shall describe the protocol while we walk."
As Fatah escorted Bennett across the courtyard, Bennett noticed an uneasiness he had seldom known. A deep-seated feeling that this day could be the most important of his life was submerged beneath a seemingly cool exterior as Fatah briefed him.
"Commander, my king has instructed me to tell you that he wishes you to be completely comfortable and there will be none of the usual pomp. He wishes you to be informal, as he
The king had already met with delegations from Iran. Khomeini's successors were no less determined than the departed ayatollayh, but they were more pragmatic and had reestablished relations with Riyadh. The long, bitter war with Iraq had shown the folly of pitting Muslim against Muslim and flesh against steel. Now they called for a unified religious war-a jihad- whichwould once and for all destroy the Jewish state. The superpowers could do little more than observe the growing storm from the sidelines.
The Saudi monarch now sat on a tenuous throne, knowing that only the power of his oil and money could save him-if coupled with a precisely executed diplomatic scheme by men the quality of Safad Fatah. The Iranians were the key-maintain an accord with them, and the others likely would follow suit. But the king knew that the same men he had hosted over thick coffee and paper-thin wafers were capable of dispatching a team of suicidal assassins the next time.
Now, addressing his own ministers, the ruler of Saudi Arabia outlined the situation. Though his nation had not been directly involved in the many wars against Israel since 1948, the pattern of combat was well known in Riyadh. Every man in the room knew that no Arab army had seriously threatened the existence of the Jewish state since the Israeli Air Force had grown to early maturity in the mid-1950s. In the usually clear weather of the Middle East, and upon its barren deserts, no army could move on the few roads and hide from Israeli aircraft. Those roads had time and again been lined with the gutted, charred, rusting remains of trucks and armored vehicles.
John Bennett knew the facts as well as any Arab leader. It was the opening theme in his War College thesis which had brought him to Fatah's attention. Fatah had committed two paragraphs to memory:
The Middle East arena, from Suez on the canal to Tarabulus in northern Lebanon, is barely 400 miles. A jet aircraft covers this distance in less than one hour at cruising speed. At Mach I the time is barely thirty minutes. Thus, from Tel Aviv the radius of action for a supersonic aircraft puts it within combat in just ten to fifteen minutes.
Operating in clear weather, in terrain devoid of cities, forests, and even natural depressions in many places, a defending air force sits within easy reach of nearly all likely targets. Antiaircraft artillery and surface-to-air missiles may force the aircraft to pay a price for success, but success thus far has been denied the Arabs. Only airpower can defeat airpower, and at present the only thoroughly professional, world-class air force in the region belongs to Israel.
Fatah had underlined the crucial last sentence and quoted it when suggesting to his superiors that Commander Bennett was the man for the job.
JOHN BENNETT ANSWERED THE KNOCK AND OPENED THE double doors of his suite. There was Fatah, impeccably draped in a mishlah and the traditional ghotra headdress. "As-salaamu alaykum," he said. "Peace be upon you." Bennett replied in barely recognizable Arabic. "Wa alaykumu as-salaam. And upon you be peace, Mr. Fatah."
"Well done, Commander Bennett," Fatah lied. "I am impressed.
Come, we will go straightaway and 1 shall describe the protocol while we walk."
As Fatah escorted Bennett across the courtyard, Bennett noticed an uneasiness he had seldom known. A deep-seated feeling that this day could be the most important of his life was submerged beneath a seemingly cool exterior as Fatah briefed him.
"Commander, my king has instructed me to tell you that he wishes you to be completely comfortable and there will be none of the usual pomp. He wishes you to be informal, as he
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