Page 9 of Whisper
Tadmir arched one eyebrow. “You speak God’s language?” he asked in Arabic.
“Nam.”Yes.
“Yet you are an infidel?”
“Nam.”
“I will not speak to you in Allah’s language.” He switched to English. It was stilted, halting.
Kris followed him into English. “How are you? You look well.”
Tadmir grinned. He puffed on his cigarette. “Very good. I am very good.”
“I want to check. You are Abu Tadmir, al-Qaeda member and former bodyguard of Osama Bin Laden.Emirof the guesthouse, the House of Leaves, near Tarnak Farms?”
Tadmir smiled again. “I am Abu Tadmir.” Pride shone in his eyes. “Of course I am he.”
Over the past year, Tadmir had only confirmed, through questioning, all information the FBI had been able to gather about him from interrogations of other al-Qaeda operatives, captured al-Qaeda documents, and intercepted communications.
The file stated he admitted information he knew only afterbeing called out in a lie, an arduous process of questioning, challenging, and then, finally, his admission. Back-and-forth, fact-based, closed questions had led to multiple dead ends when the intel the FBI knew simply dried up.
He had to try a different angle. “So, why join al-Qaeda? Why become a jihadi?”
“It is the duty of every Muslim to wage jihad. To fight for Islam. To defend Islam, when invaders and occupiers attack Muslims and take Muslim land. Islam also calls for the end of tyranny, as the Prophet—peace be upon him, all blessings and glory are his—showed in his example. We fight all oppression of Muslims. In Bosnia, in Chechnya, in Afghanistan against the Soviets, against Israel… and against you.”
Tadmir’s eyes gleamed. Kris filed that away as he took a drag of his cigarette. Tadmir enjoyed the spotlight. He enjoyed having an audience. “Where is the oppression?”
Tadmir threw his head back, laughing. Ash dropped from the end of his cigarette. “Where is the oppression? Oh, you are funny. You are a funny man. Muslim holy lands are under oppression. Occupied by filthy Saudi royals who are just puppets for your West. Infidels walk on the holy land of Arabia. Israel, and her Western supporters, attack Muslims every day.” Tadmir switched to Arabic, seemingly not even noticing. “Throughout this century, Muslim lands have been invaded time and again. By soldiers. By the Soviet Union in Afghanistan, by Russia in Chechnya. Americans in the holy lands, fighting Saddam. We could have fought him! We did not need any infidels on our land! But that is what you do. You invade, everywhere. Western culture, Western ideas, Western innovations. We cannot look at the world and see anything but your invasion. This is why Bin Laden issued his fatwa. To liberate the oppressed.”
“America also wants to liberate the oppressed. That’s what we try to do. Did we not help Bin Laden expel the Soviets from Afghanistan?”
Abu Tadmir blew smoke into Kris’s face.
Kris didn’t wave it away. “We want to be a force forgoodin the world. To help the oppressed. Like it says in the Quran.No man is free if one man is oppressed.”
“You Americans want to be ‘a force for good’. But all the world sees isforce.” Tadmir sat back, sucking his cigarette between two fingers. “Only Muslims can save other Muslims. Infidels cannot save Muslims. Besides, you are only interfering in Muslim revolutions. Leave us alone. We will make our own way in the world.”
“How can we leave you alone if you declare war on us?”
“The war can end if you leave the holy lands of the Arabian Peninsula and submit to Islam.”
“Americans are not all going to convert to Islam.” Kris shook his head, smiling.
“Then the war will continue.”
“How is this war, this jihad, fought? You kill anyone? Everyone?”
“No, no.” Tadmir waved his hand, his cigarette wagging through the air. “There are rules to jihad. It must be declared. Bin Laden declared war upon the infidels. He told you how to settle the war. What to do to surrender.”
“Yes, convert to Islam, leave Saudi Arabia.”
“Nam.” Tadmir reached for a new cigarette. Kris had left the pack and the lighter in the center of the table.
Kris leaned back, crossing his legs. He took a drag, frowning. He wanted Tadmir to believe he was thinking hard about what he was saying. Let Tadmir believe he had the upper hand. “Okay, so tell me about tactics in jihad. Who can be targeted?”
“It is war. Jihad targets soldiers. Warriors. Governments. Those who are guilty.”
“Like the embassies in Nairobi and Tanzania? American government buildings?”
