// 845.371.2222 “Come with me,” bin Laden instructed, speaking gently. Bin Laden turned and started walking toward the cave, while the cadet followed closely behind. Bin Laden’s personal bodyguards trailed after them, but stopped short of entering the cave. Once inside, the cadet was surprised to find himself alone with bin Laden. “I don’t want anyone in the world to know what we’re going to speak about,” bin Laden commented. “Now, Ishmael, tell me something about yourself. I have an important task that needs to be fulfilled, and I wish to ensure that you are the right one to do it.” The youth swallowed hard, and nodded. “I was born in Iran, before the revolution,” he began. He lowered his voice. “I was born a … a Jew.” The cadet dropped his eyes in shame. He knew how bin Laden felt toward the Jewish people and Israel. He would have preferred to leave out this horrible detail of his distant past, but he did not dare be anything other than fully truthful. Somehow, he was sure, bin Laden would recognize that he had hidden part of his background. as the weapons came crashing to the earth. The commander ordered two of his soldiers to walk among the cadets, checking to be sure that no one had disobeyed. When he was sure that all the cadets were unarmed, he took out a short wave radio and reported that the area was clean. Bin Laden appeared from a different ravine in the mountain, riding a white Arabian horse. He was surrounded by a smaller group of armed bodyguards, also riding white Arabian horses. All the bodyguards had long unkempt beards. Bin Laden only allowed devout Muslims to join his personal circle of bodyguards. Many of the cadets had never actually seen bin Laden before. But they had all seen pictures of him and recognized him immediately. They jumped to attention, awestruck by the erect figure of their idol sitting before them. Without saying a word, bin Laden got off his horse and started walking slowly between the rows of cadets, carefully examining the faces of each and every one. “What’s your name?” he asked, stopping in front of one of the cadets. The cadet was so excited that he could barely speak. “Ishmael,” he murmured. 187
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