The crowd erupted with applause, but Al-Hassani barreled on.
“No nation on the face of the earth — not the Americans, nor any of the Europeans — have done as much as the Republic of Iraq to bring bread to the hungry, water to the thirsty, clothes to the naked, shelter to the homeless, and medical assistance to all those in pain. We have already paid out more than half a billion dollars in humanitarian aid and emergency relief. But it is not enough. I would like to announce right now that the people of Iraq pledge a billion dollars more, and we will double it again if need be, because you are our brothers and sisters and we must stand together in this critical hour.”
The entire assembly was now on their feet again. There were tears in the eyes of many.
“We deserve no credit,” Al-Hassani demurred. “We are merely repaying a great debt. You came to our side in our moment of need. You helped us get back on our feet after a devastating war and a brutal insurgency, and for this the Iraqi nation will always be grateful. Baghdad may have been the epicenter of evil. But Babylon will be the house of compassion, hospitality, and unity among all the peoples of North Africa and the Middle East.”
Once again, the hall erupted. The standing ovation lasted for several minutes, and Al-Hassani stepped back from the podium and lowered his head, overcome with emotion.
When the crowd quieted and sat back down, he continued.
“A great terror has befallen us, my friends. Some call it the Day of Devastation. Some say it was the judgment of God. But this cannot be true. How can it be? How could any god be so cruel, so vengeful? Regardless, the deed is done. It has changed our region and forever changed our hearts. Of this there can be no doubt. The question is not whether we will be changed, but how. Will we be defeated and divided or inspired and united?
“In the last three months we have seen an outpouring of concern and care from the four corners of the earth. Beyond what has been provided by the people of Iraq, other nations have pledged enormous sums in relief assistance, and more is coming. But do not be deceived, my brothers and sisters. Such aid comes with strings attached.”
A hush began to settle over the great hall.
“In the last century, the British and the French and the Americans carved up our region, and we did nothing,” Al-Hassani continued. “We sat back and let it happen. We let them draw artificial boundary lines to create our borders. We let them exploit our resources without just compensation. Cash? Yes, they gave us cash for our oil. But what about our freedom? What about our right to govern ourselves and shape our own destinies? Were we not too quick to give up what was rightfully ours for mere trinkets from the West?
“And now we have come to another critical juncture in the history of our people. What will we do? How will our children and grandchildren judge us? How will they remember us? Will we sit back and let Washington and London and Brussels and the U.N. Security Council claim to have ‘bought’ the privilege to draw new maps simply because we have accepted their aid packages? Is this the best for which we can hope?
“I realize full well that you and the people you represent have had precious little time to think of such things. You and your colleagues have been consumed with thoughts of survival, which is only right and proper. But know this: larger questions are coming. The future of our entire region is at stake, and the imperialists are already sharpening their carving knives. Of this you can be certain.
“At the moment, those of you from the devastated nations have little or no political power, clout, or leverage. Most of you have no formal governments, elected or appointed. You have no capital cities. You have no militaries, nor the national treasuries with which to rebuild them. Your ambassadors have no instructions, no idea to whom they should report, and rapidly dwindling funds with which to operate. For all intents and purposes, you are occupied by U.S. and E.U. and U.N. military forces, cloaked in the disguise of humanitarian workers.
“How long can this last before you all once again become colonies of the West? Your only hope of resisting long-term Western occupation is to rapidly rebuild your oil and gas industries, as we in Iraq have done. But how are you supposed to accomplish this urgent task without desperately needed infusions of capital — large amounts of capital? And how can you raise capital if the banks are loath to lend you money? This, my friends, is a hard, cruel reality, and it leaves you dangerously vulnerable to the very imperialist forces you have long sought to resist.
“Distinguished colleagues, I submit that the only way we can survive is if we unify. Only if we combine our economic and political resources will our region ever be able to get back on its feet and give dignity to our people. We Iraqis have done it. After a long, hard struggle, we have come together as one — imperfectly, I concede. But who can argue that out of the ashes of war and insurgency and despair a new Iraq has emerged as one nation, with one voice — Sunnis and Shi’ites, Arabs and Kurds, north and south, east and west — able to defeat the forces of evil within and the forces of imperialism without? Let this be a model for all. Unity must be our aim. We cannot rebuild if we allow ancient passions and prejudices to divide us. We cannot achieve our destiny if we allow the Western powers to divide and conquer us.
“So I put these questions to you today: What if we seize the initiative and take our future into our own hands? What if a year from now there was a great power to rival the United States of America and the United States of Europe? What if there arose a single new nation, a single new economic and political force, encompassing the great peoples of southern Europe, the Mediterranean basin, North Africa, the Middle East, and the former Soviet republics of Central Asia? Perhaps it would be known as the United States of Eurasia, or perhaps the Republic of Namestan, or perhaps something else altogether. It is not a name to which I am wed. It is a single vision by which I am driven — a vision of one people, one government, one currency, one unified force with which the rest of the world must reckon.
“And I ask you tonight: who among you will share my vision?”
11
“Tripwire to Dagger.”
“Dagger, go.”
“I’ve got a visual on the car. He’s coming your way.”
“Who’s with him?”
“Just the driver.”
“Anyone else?”
“Negative. You should have a clear shot.”
“Roger that. Dagger to Wolf Pack, six minutes.”
Mordechai hung up the phone and stared out his window.
Row upon row of oil wells blurred by as his car raced up Highway 1, trying to get him into Jerusalem in time for a BBC television interview scheduled just twenty-five minutes from now. Depending on traffic, they might just make it, thought Mordechai, but he wasn’t worried. He had done more interviews than he could count since “The Ezekiel Option” memo had been splashed across the pages of the world’s newspapers. Dozens of new requests came in every day. He couldn’t possibly do them all.
Interest in his perspective on world events was growing exponentially. His weblog registered upward of 6 and even 7 million hits a day, and he was having trouble finding an ISP that was both willing and able to handle the actual volume, which several computer technicians estimated at north of 15 million hits a day.