thecommunityconnections.com 845-371-2222 | January 8, ‘25 24 speaking. Both Rachamim and Muhammad had no idea what to say. Naomi and the two boys were standing inside the truck, looking down at the three men. “We’ll have to stay here for the next ten hours,” the guide continued, ignoring their little disagreement. “You can spend the time relaxing, or maybe you want to prepare some food for breakfast. We’re very close to what you call the Turkish border, and we’ll cross over as soon as it gets dark. “It will take us a few hours to cross.” The guide looked at the boys in the truck, and he frowned slightly. “This is as far as the truck can go. I’ll be bringing horses for the trip over the mountains. I just hope your children can make it.” His voice was tinged with doubt. The Stinger changed the tide of the battle in Afghanistan, and in the end, determined the outcome. The Russians furiously complained to the Americans that they were assisting the rebels. The Americans blandly explained that a small supply of Stinger missiles had been stolen, and had somehow found their way to the rebel forces. The angry Soviets knew this was a complete fabrication, but they were helpless to stop it. The supply of Stinger missiles continued to flow steadily to the Mujahadin fighters—thanks to the efforts of Osama bin Laden, their acclaimed leader. It was midnight in Kuwait City. An American undercover agent, known only by his code name, Fire Dragon, entered the Black Swan, an illegal club that sold alcoholic beverages against Islamic law. He nodded in greeting to his associate, a tall Muslim with a full black beard whose head was covered by a large traditional turban. “We require more missiles,” bin Laden told the CIA agent. “I have already given you over a hundred,” Fire Dragon pointed out. “And they have been used for their intended purpose,” bin Laden returned. “We used each of those missiles to down Russian helicopters. We finished our supply two months ago. For a while the Russians were hesitant to send their helicopters unprotected against our ground forces, fearing that we had more missiles. But when they saw that we had not downed a single helicopter in the last two months, they started attacking us again.” Fire Dragon nodded. He had been closely following the war in Afghanistan, and he knew bin Laden was speaking the truth. “How are the missiles working out?” he asked. “Wonderful!” bin Laden replied enthusiastically. “Most of the missiles hit their mark. We have downed nearly one hundred Russian helicopters. The pilots are afraid of us now, leaving the area open for our guerilla forces to strike their troops.” Bin Laden’s face was glowing with enthusiasm as he continued. “People are growing encouraged. Once again we have new recruits joining our fight to free Afghanistan.” Fire Dragon calmly removed an elegant pipe from his suit pocket and filled it with expensive Cuban tobacco. He continued looking through his pockets until he found a gold-plated lighter and carefully lit his pipe. Another transgression against Islamic law. Bin Laden moved away slightly, trying to hide his discomfort and anger. Alcoholic beverages and smoking were being freely enjoyed inside a religious Muslim country. Someday, he vowed to himself, Kuwait would enforce Islamic law. Instead of decadent Western leadership, in its place would be leaders loyal to the laws of Islam. “Why should I give you these missiles?” Fire Dragon asked. “How will the United States benefit?” Bin Laden didn’t hide his annoyance from the American. “You may recall, you were the ones who “Most of the missiles hit their mark. We have downed nearly one hundred Russian helicopters. The pilots are afraid of us now, leaving the area open for our guerilla forces to strike their troops.”
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