CHAPTER TWELVE
Peak Planning
THE briefing started with the S2 (Intelligence) personnel offering their latest reports and assessment. Davood Faraz Dabdeh had excellent security around him twenty-four hours per day, seven days a week.
One of the things that Charlie and Fila had discussed was how they would dress.
One of the Intelligence briefers stated: “Currently in Iran, the Islamic dress code is still pretty strictly observed all over the country. That code requires women to cover their hair, necks, and arms. Modern women in Iran today, wear a manteau or overcoat, which is almost like a standard uniform. The manteaus are constructed with long sleeves and usually come below the knee. Checking back on our area studies of Iran, we have seen that the length of this long overcoat changes with the times. For a while, we guess trying to be fashionable like our women in America, they tried something different. Really long ones were in fashion, but then just a few years ago, women tried to get away with very short coats, as well.”
He ad-libbed then. “You can imagine how that went over with the mullahs. Anyway, to cover their hair usually a scarf or a shawl is acceptable. What they do is fold the two opposite corners of a scarf to get a triangle and then simply tie the scarf around their heads. Modern women will wear trousers, even blue jeans, or dark stockings under the manteau.
“For men, short sleeves and Western clothing can get your ass kicked by the government.”
Everybody laughed, and he went on. “As a rule in Iran, shorts, T-shirts, and ties are not worn out in public by men. You will find that many Iranian men and women really like to dress very Western in private settings and for special events. When dealing with government agencies, schools, embassies, and the like, you obey the rules, period, or it will be like Pops finding you having a beer party with a bunch of marines.”
Everybody laughed again, and one of the men in the room, who apparently was a marine, grinning, said, “Hey, all you army types want a leatherneck to whip your collective asses?”
“Naw, there ain’t any Life magazine photographers around to take your picture, so it would be against your SOP,” Weasel said, meaning standard operating procedure.
Pops stood up and said, “Charlie, what did you two come up with as far as your dress code and cover?”
Charlie had been wearing a cowboy hat all morning so far, but he now stood up and pulled it off. Weasel shook his head as if he really felt bad for him. Charlie’s long black hair had been cut off, by Fila, and she had given him a buzz cut with an expensive razor kit he had at his house. His long hair had been tied and kept in a giant ponytail to be donated for cancer patients.
Charlie said, “A lot of Iranian men would love to wear Western hairstyles, but that would be like wearing a sign screaming ‘Notice me!’ Fila and I knew my long, long hair was out of the question, so we are donating it to make a nice wig or two for somebody with cancer that has lost their hair. I have started today growing a beard, but my race usually is not noted for facial hair, so we talked about me wearing a fake beard or mustache.”
Pops stood up and said, “Top, do we have any resource people in Hollywood that are top-notch makeup artists?”
Weasel said, “Aye, aye, Boss. We gotta good one who used to be in the 10th Group and served in Bosnia, and he also had a tour in the Gulf War. They know how to make stuff that works and don’t come off when you are in a room full of al Qaeda or whatever this guy’s people call themselves. I think that is the way ta go. Sorry, Poke. You are Lakota and should have been able to keep your scalp.”
Charlie grinned and pointed his thumb at Fila, saying, “Thanks, Weasel, but, see, this woman is not even my real Iranian wife, but has been around American women so much, she already runs my life and does what the hell she wants.”
Fila said, “You remember that.”
He grinned.
During the ten-minute break after the first hour, they went to the break room and Fila said, “This is my first big op. I cannot believe how much planning goes into this.”
Charlie responded, “Honey, we are just getting started. Most people have no clue how much Delta plans and rehearses before a shot is even fired. Remember when Weasel said ‘NMDO’ the other day to Pops?”
“Yeah,” she replied, “What does that mean?”
“It means No More Desert Ones,” Charlie said, referring to the tragic rescue mission Operation Eagle Claw by Detachment-Delta and others on April 11, 1980, under President Jimmy Carter, when a number of Delta Force operators and others were killed when a navy helicopter with a marine pilot and an air force jet collided in the desert after aborting the mission to rescue the American hostages taken in the embassy in Iran.
He added, “You notice it is being planned by us, here, and not in the Pentagon, where every general and admiral has to fight to get their boys and equipment into the plan. And you noticed already Pops is asking our opinions on this, because our asses are on the line. I am so glad he is our boss.”
“Oh, me, too,” she agreed. “We better get back to the conference room.”
They walked into the room and were in shock. There was the vice president of the United States. All in the room jumped to their feet and started clapping when the two walked in. They looked at each other in shock. The veep walked up to them, and both snapped to attention, accompanied by the lovely national security advisor, Kerri Rhodes. Pops walked up next to the veep and handed him two Soldiers Medals.
The vice president said, “Master Sergeant Charles Strongheart and Sergeant First Class Fila Jannat, less than twenty-four hours ago, you two risked your lives saving the lives of a number of civilians in Fayetteville, North Carolina, in a noncombat situation. I happened to be giving a speech yesterday at Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte, and the President this morning directed me to come here to honor you two on his behalf and on behalf of the citizens of the United States of America. Your good colonel here will have some writing genius word the documents for presentation later, so it will not compromise the clandestine nature of your real work and your identities. I understand the news describes the heroes who killed the gang members, who had already killed before, as two off-duty police detectives, but we all know who the heroes are. It is with great honor and pride that I pin the nation’s highest noncombat valor award, the Soldiers Medal, to each of you. Congratulations and thank you.”
Everybody enthusiastically applauded, and Pops and Weasel shook hands with them. Pops winked and said, “I told you two we would address this today. Congratulations.”
Weasel came up to Charlie and said, “Poke, I want to tell you something. You know I love and revere the history of your people. I am telling you right now, your great-great, whatever it was, Grandfather Sitting Bull himself, is sitting up there with the Great Mystery looking down on you right now with a big smile on his face. Bet he is tapping Jesus on the arm, and saying, ‘That is my grandson.’ Bet he is. Congratulations.”
Kerri Rhodes congratulated and shook hands with both of them, and Fila noticed how long the beautiful major player from Washington held Charlie’s hand. She felt her face reddening a little. After she let go of his hand, Charlie glanced over at Fila with a slight look of guilt on his face.
Good, Fila thought to herself. He ought to feel guilty. That is good for him.
“All right, everybody,” Pops said, walking over to the table carrying a large box, which he set on it.
Weasel ran to the door and took a bag from a Delta member there. He set it down and unloaded its contents—plastic plates and forks. Pops opened the box, and it contained a large carrot cake baked by Rose.
Pops said, “This was baked this morning by the woman who Poke and Booty saved. Grab a cup of coffee and let’s dig in. Mr. Vice President, how do you like your coffee, sir?”
The next hour was spent eating cake and talking to the vice president. After he left, they started back into the planning. The method of infiltration became the next issue. Immediately, HALO was brought up. Then somebody else in the room brought up HALO/SCUBA. Rozanski, who had been keeping mum, was obviously pleased.
Pops again looked at Charlie and Fila, and said, “How do you two feel about going in by HALO?”
Charlie said, “Well, sir, we did four HALO jumps yesterday and landed within fifty feet and ten seconds of each other each time. We talked about using Stealth wings in fact.”
One of the others asked about Stealth wings, so Weasel explained them. “Some wings made of high polymer plastic have been developed which were used by a special CID specops unit stateside, and they have been tested by the British SAS. The operators are dropped from high altitude with these wings on and they can track for one hundred and thirty miles or so vertically. In other words, covert insertions can be effected without radar detection. The operator then deploys their regular ram-air chute to land, and the wings fold up alongside their body.”
Rozanski said, “So what do they do with the wings after they land? Leave them for the enemy to find?”
Weasel grinned, saying, “That is why God invented thermite grenades, General.”
Thermite grenades have long been used by Special Forces to burn down into bunkers, safes, to destroy operational orders, bridge supports, dams, and destroy classified documents in a safe, as they burn much hotter than an arc welder and cannot be extinguished by water.
Charlie went on. “We feel that with the tough talk about Iran, they remember shock and awe in Iraq, and Booty and I felt that they will have eyes on the skies 24/7 countrywide, just watching for us or an Israeli strike. For that same reason, we feel they have probably got their radar stepped up significantly. We looked at some of Dabdeh’s activities such as offshore racing, his villa in France, and his yacht. Regardless of his tight security, it seems he will be much more vulnerable outside the confines of Iran.”
“Excuse me, Sergeant Strongheart,” Kerri Rhodes chimed in. “The one thing that is very important to the commander in chief is that this hit is made in Iran, because of the psychological effect of their being incapable of saving a high-profile player in their own country.”
Pops said, “That settles that. We now know it must happen in Iran and no other location, so that brings us back to infiltration. What about horses through the mountains?”
“We discussed that, sir,” Fila added. “Too much cross-border activity with the Iraq War in one sector and al Qaeda/Taliban and drug smugglers in the other. Rules out dirt bikes and ATVs, too.”
Weasel said, “How about SCUBA through the Caspian Sea, Persian Gulf, or Gulf of Oman?”
“Good question, Top,” Charlie said. “We briefly discussed that, too. I am SCUBA-qualified, but Sergeant Jannat is not and is not experienced enough in SCUBA to risk it. Also, there’s the issue of how much we can carry diving and, most importantly, the paranoia of Tehran. They have to be watching the shores like eagles, waiting for the Navy SEALs being led by GI Jane herself, Demi Moore. We ruled it out, too.”
“Did you two come up with a method of infiltration that you feel will work?” Pops asked.
“Yes, sir, we did,” Charlie said. “We felt we could enter the country in a Mercedes with plenty of money for bribes. They will watch the skies, seas, and mountains for Rambo to show up. We feel going in their front door as a well-to-do couple with oil money can get us quietly across the border. Bribes are a way of life and those taking them keep their mouths shut or else. We also can be somebody Dabdeh wants to meet with, maybe an oil official and his wife.”
Pops looked at the others in the room, and wondered why the hell he was even allowing so many in on the planning of an operation. This was against the standard operating procedure, but his hand had really been forced on this one by the powers that be. So often it seemed that the army had become so politically correct, and general officers and DOD (Department of Defense) bureaucrats wanted to stick their noses into the very clandestine inner workings of 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta.
Most times, Pops thought about how much easier it must have been for Colonel Charlie Beckwith, Delta creator, as he had commanders “upstairs” with mission success and Opsec (operational security) in mind, so nobody ever got into what used to be called the “Stockade,” the former U.S. Army Fort Bragg stockade, which had been converted into the Delta Force headquarters compound. The Stockade gave way to the Compound, and the famous Shooting House was replaced by the more modern House of Horrors.
In actuality, no expense was spared for Detachment-Delta operators. They had a wide variety of weapons and aircraft at their disposal, as well as the latest in military technology such as “Smart Dust,” which is comprised of thousands of small particles that are actually microchip transmitters and which are sprinkled on vehicles and even clothing belonging to members of al Qaeda, Hamas, and other terrorist groups. The particles look like harmless large pieces of sand or industrial dust, but each one transmits a radio beeping signal which can be used to follow whatever they are on by UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) or drone flying high above and out of sight and hearing, or the signal can be picked up by other vehicles with a receiver. Many terrorists have become martyrs in the Global War on Terrorism or led U.S. specops forces to terrorist leaders inadvertently because of Smart Dust.
The technology behind Smart Dust is similar to that of stuff like smart cards (EZ Pass, etc.) and the tiny little grain-sized tracking devices people have injected into their pets. Smart Dust, however, is even more revolutionary in that it is small enough to be disguised as dirt, the kind someone might pick up on shoes or clothing. Actually, each little MEM (memory) or bit of Smart Dust is given a unique serial number that, when hit with an “interrogation signal” from either troops on the ground or aircraft overhead, like the UAV already mentioned, broadcasts a signal back. Several very advanced forms of Smart Dust are in use in Iraq and Afghanistan, almost exclusively by 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta. It was actually Smart Dust that played a very significant role in the locating of and ultimate death of Iraqi al Qaeda leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. In this case, an agent recruited by Detachment-Delta was able to sprinkle some Smart Dust on Zarqawi’s clothing, and then he was simply tracked down with great precision. Iraqis and Afghanis have long feared what they refer to as “magic dust.” Most Iraqi, Afghani, and Iranian terrorists have a tendency to exaggerate American capabilities, especially regarding technology, so Davood constantly had his clothes and vehicles cleaned.
“According to our research, Davood Faraz Dabdeh travels continuously,” Charlie said. “I suggest that at each location he appears we sprinkle his vehicles with Smart Dust, on a continuing basis so we can track him. Even when he washes the vehicles down, you know that some MEMs will stay in a few cracks and hiding places.”
Rozanski felt the whole Smart Dust thing was just too Star Wars for his feelings, so after a long silence and pouting period, he finally spoke up again. “How can this Smart Dust be delivered regularly without detection?”
“Rotor UAVs,” Fila replied.
“What is that?”
Pops opened his briefcase and pulled out a written paper and tossed it down in front of Rozanski.
He said, “Does anybody else need to know what that is?”
One other did not know what it was but did not want to admit it. Fila glanced over at Kerri Rhodes to see if she raised her hand, then she got embarrassed about even looking.
Rozanski started reading about just one group of rotor-type unmanned aerial vehicles, also called “rotorcraft.” This group, constructed by Tactical Aerial Vehicles or TAG, featured a variety of military-type rotorcrcaft, including one which could fly at 102 miles per hour, had a gross tactical weight over 1,400 pounds, carried over a 550-pound payload, and had a flight ceiling well over 10,000 feet.
The retired general said, “Colonel, does Delta Force use this aircraft?”
Pops grinned and said, “No, we don’t, General, but it gives you an idea of one of the types of delivery vehicles we can use. We have one that is more like a Stealth and can fly under silent mode and is barely heard even getting down close to the ground in altitude. We can fly these in from ships and even small boats on the bodies of water bordering Iran, or from the mountains, or even from several spots out in the desert, then fly them back for refueling and maintenance.”
“What kind of rotary UAV does Delta Force use?” the general queried.
“Now, General Rozanski,” Pops replied, “that is not really important. You do not really have a need-to-know, but knowing that one of them will be our delivery vehicle for Smart Dust is enough.”
Well, that settled that, Charlie’s grin told Fila. Pops was going with their suggested means of keeping up-to-date surveillance on the ruthless terrorist. Through the studies of his habits, Charlie and Fila had become concerned because Dabdeh was so security conscious, he was to the point of being paranoid. They felt that, with bribe money and their wits, they could cross several of the border areas into Iran without too much trouble, but once there, they still had the challenge of arranging a meet with Davood Faraz Dabdeh. That was going to be the real challenge.
On top of that, besides meeting with him and killing him, they also had the challenge of getting past his many layers of security to both get to him and kill him and get out of Iran without death or capture. Their fingerprints and DNA could possibly be used to identify them as members of the U.S. military, which would prove very embarrassing for Washington, to say the least. Even worse, it would become a very effective propaganda tool for Tehran to use worldwide against the United States. Charlie and Fila both could envision headlines speaking about secret Delta Force commandos killed in an elaborate infiltration and assassination plot in Iran, which was effectively uncovered by the Elite Republican Guard forces.
Charlie explained all this and said they really had to plan and figure out how to attract Dabdeh into their trap, plus figure out an effective plan not only for execution but exfiltration from the country.
Charlie and Fila were facing a very complex problem. Specifically, 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta and the army specops community stated, regarding direct action missions:
Short-duration strikes and other small-scale offensive actions conducted as a special operation in hostile, denied, or politically sensitive environments and which employ specialized military capabilities to seize, destroy, capture, exploit, recover, or damage designated targets. Direct action differs from conventional offensive actions in the level of physical and political risk, operational techniques, and the degree of discriminate and precise use of force to achieve specific objectives.
All specops units engaging in a direct action mission, when proceeding to the mission or infiltrating the enemy ground while dressed in civilian attire, were required to wear U.S. military unit patches on their civilian clothing and to have the patch covered by black tape. This tape had to be yanked off before actually engaging hostile forces. But Charlie and Fila knew that if they were captured, Iran couldn’t care less about the protective tenets of the Geneva Convention. They would wear no patches or anything to identify them as Americans. They both knew that if they were caught, both would be gang-raped and sodomized; her breasts would be sliced off, as would his penis and testes. They would probably have their eyes gouged out, their ears, arms, and maybe even legs cut off, before finally being beheaded. They both had seen top secret photos of civilian contractors, usually retired Green Berets and Navy SEALs who had been hacked up this way on the roads in Pakistan, while searching for Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri. They always had signs hanging on them written in Pashtun or Arabic, warning that this would happen to any and all infidels who came looking for jihadists in the tribal areas.
Charlie and Fila lived in the real world. Fila had grown up in that seventh-century mind-set and laughed whenever she heard newscasters or the politically ultra liberals who felt that Americans, Europeans, or Israelis would be spared terrorist reprisal if they would simply be kind and loving toward any and all Muslims, ascribing Western morality and values to those jihadists who honestly believed they would go to Heaven and be richly rewarded if they killed an American, a Christian, or a Jew, and most especially if they first tortured the victim for the glory of Allah. They did not understand at all the concept of Dar el Islam, the “Nation of Islam,” with no borders but simply world domination. They had no clue how those in al Qaeda and other terrorist groups like Dabdeh’s, Hamas, the PLO, and similar, had totally bastardized the religion of Islam for their own selfish and savage ends.
They both knew they need not wear a unit badge, as they simply could not be captured. To that end, they also knew that, before leaving, they both would be given cyanide capsules. The United States of America, which they both had written a blank check to, payable up to and including the sacrifice of their own lives, had to be protected. If capture was imminent, both would quickly put the cyanide pills in their mouths, bite down, and swallow. In short order, they would begin breathing very deeply and then would go to short, rapid breaths, then convulsions, unconsciousness, and death. The alternative, which Fila did not know about, was that Charlie would shoot her behind the ear, killing her instantly, and then would jam the pistol up under his own chin, aiming toward the upper back part of his head, and pull the trigger. These were very grisly scenarios for both to consider, but it went with their jobs, and both took great pride in being the best in the world.
Weasel said, “Ladies and gents, this would be a good time to look at a successful Delta Force operation. It was Operation Just Cause in Panama in December of 1989. I was lucky enough to be involved. One major portion of the bigger operation revolved around Kurt Muse, a single American citizen who the bad guys thought was a CIA agent. Detachment-Delta had to mount a difficult operation to rescue him, and sometimes he made the rescue even more difficult.
“Muse served in the U.S. Army and spent time in Panama, and he liked it and the people, so he returned there. His wife worked as a schoolteacher. Kurt sold printing, copying, and graphic arts equipment throughout all of Central America, not just Panama. As he got more involved, and his wife taught more, he got really frustrated at the actions of General Manuel Noriega and the PDF, the Panamanian Defense Force, and their oppression of the Panamanians.
“Muse and a group of five Panamanians began broadcasting anti-Noriega messages, jamming Panama radio stations and overpowering the broadcasts with their own stronger signal. This got the attention of the people of Panama but also the folks at the CIA, ’cause they had all kinds of people in Panama at the time monitoring everything. We used to joke that you could tell CIA agents there, because they had brown suits, spoke fluent Spanish, wore spit-shined low quarters, and had flat-top haircuts.”
Everyone in the room laughed at this, with a few shaking their heads picturing some they had known in specops who retired, went into intel, and just never made the transition.
Weasel continued, “The CIA thought the radio broadcasts were a great idea, and had planned to help Muse broadcast overtop of Noriega’s major speech to the nation, when the most citizens would be watching and listening. They supplied him with the radio equipment to jam the signal or actually overpower it. This would be a major coup for our psyops and counterintelligence efforts.
“Muse waited until a key time in the introduction of President Manuel Noriega when it would cause the most impact, and he played a prerecorded propaganda speech.
“Wooey! Old Noriega was one pissed-off El Presidente. It went off so well, the Panamanian government and the PDF went nuts. They immediately blamed the United States, too.”
Weasel took a large drink of coffee and continued. “Then Muse kept it up for a few more months, until they finally arrested him, tortured him, made him listen or watch others being tortured, and so on. They held him at the police headquarters downtown but finally moved him to the Carcel Modelo (Model Prison), an old prison that contained over a thousand inmates but was made to house maybe two hundred to two hundred fifty. Muse had an eight-by-twelve cell and adjoining bathroom, and he had one small window. The prison was not one building but was actually a small fort.
“Because of pressure by our government, we were finally able to get people in to see him a few times, and we then knew that in nine months he had lost over fifty pounds, so we had to get him out quickly, but we planned and prepared like we are doing now. We planned here and also at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. We made models, mock-ups, you name it.
“We were working with the 160th Special Operations Aviation Group, and also had two Spectre AC-130 gunships from the 1st Special Operations Wing. The Little Birds were our lifeline on that mission, and the Blackhawk was our command and control ship. Some of us got bloodied up and even got shot down in our Little Bird with Muse after we rescued him, but the operation was really a success for 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta. We had to blow our way through the roof, but we took out the killer guard and some others, pulled off the operation, and got the hell out of Dodge. You can all read the after-action report on it.
“The important point is, we even made mock-up buildings to practice the operation, and we kept it small as far as inclusion of planning and tactical personnel, and as always on a need-to-know basis. Delta Force did it right that day. Colonel, the one point I want to make is, we know Poke and Booty will be on their own and thinking on their feet, but as far as my vote, I cannot tell you how important the Little Birds, Spectre, and Blackhawk were to the success of our operation. I personally feel we must have an effective QRF ready to come in if they yell for the cavalry,” he said, referring to a quick reaction force, “and we have to have aircraft in the neighborhood to bail these two out if need be. The rescue of Kurt Muse was the very first big public success for Detachment-Delta, and this one will be a major victory, too, although this one has to stay out of the news.”
Custer was ushered in with the rest of Charlie’s team and they were introduced by nicknames, and it was stated they would be the QRF for Charlie and Booty if the pair got into serious trouble.
Now it had to be determined how the QRF could get in. Several scenarios were suggested.
Finally, Pops spoke out. “I think it is imperative that we move them into a staging area in the desert. We have to have them close enough to be able to strike quickly if needed, but out far enough to not be spotted.”
Rozanski quickly spoke up, his jowls quivering with indignation. “That is preposterous! How can you possibly get aircraft into Iran undetected?”
Pops said, “The same way we already have plenty of times, General. We can take them into Iran by land or by air and can stage outside Tehran or other major cities undetected. We most definitely have that capability. How do you suppose we got pictures of Iranian nuclear facilities development in varying stages?”
The general stared at Pops a moment then said, “You mean Delta Force has gone into Iran to take reconnaissance photos?”
“Need-to-know, General Rozanski.”
“How can you possibly get helicopters into Iran undetected, especially close to a place like Tehran?” Rozanski said a little indignantly.
“I am sorry, General.” Pops grinned. “But again, that is on a need-to-know basis.”
Now definitely indignant, Rozanski said, “Colonel, I have a need-to-know. I am part of the planning of this operation.”
Pops said, “Excuse me there, Mr. Rozanski, but you have been part of the preop planning, and your expertise is the G2 capability, but you are not part of the execution of the operation phase. You need only be concerned with us planning to take aircraft in there. You do not have a need-to-know how we will do it.”
“I do not appreciate being called Mr. Rozanski, Colonel. I am General Rozanski,” the retired flag officer said angrily.
“No, if we are being technical, you are Major General Rozanski,” Pops said, jaw jutting forward in his best imitation of former Steelers coach Bill Cowher, “but when I allow you around my command and in my facility, I expect you to conduct yourself like a flag officer and speak to me and to my people with respect and a sense of cooperation. You visit this facility at my pleasure, General. So let’s say we try a do-over.”
Charlie tapped Fila with his knee, and she tried to suppress a grin. Custer shot him a knowing glance across the big conference table and flashed him a hand sign as if grabbing his testes as he glanced at Pops. Charlie grinned. Then he heard Fila chortle almost aloud, and he and Custer realized she had seen the interchange.
Rozanski was speechless and gave Pops a half nod, and Pops embarrassed the man further by saying, “Good. I am glad we can get along and make things work.”
The rest of the afternoon was spent briefing the quick reaction force for Operation Angry Godfather, which it was now called, a name created by Weasel for the famous movie.
A C-130J Super Hercules aircraft would be used to transport the backup team to a point in the desert where they would be hidden, capable of flying into Iran at several points, where technology had shown the aircraft could actually fly under the radar screen. This would be aided by an AWACS aircraft jamming Iranian security when the flight came in. The C-130J Super Hercules would transport the seven-man QRF team as well as three Little Bird specops helicopters, which would be off-loaded on the desert floor, and made flight-ready in fifteen minutes’ time.
Additionally, a much larger quick reaction force of Army Rangers would be standing by at Fire Base Glory at Mosul Air Base in northern Iraq, from where all aircraft would fly out. It was decided that because there was so much air activity in Iraq, it would not be the likely place for the U.S. to strike Iran from. Additionally, Tactical Air flying missions over Iraq would be available for prioritized diversion if a major strike would need to be put in to support any problem arising out of Operation Angry Godfather. The government of Iran was constantly looking for Stealth-type jet strikes from the U.S. or Israel on their nuclear processing facilities, so they were watching for jets to come in over one of the sea areas, Dubai, or Kuwait, but believed they would be less likely coming from Iraq or Afghanistan.
Getting in and out undetected and having the quick reaction force deployable was critical, so having the three Little Birds standing by in the desert along with the quick reaction force was the only way the President would allow the operation to continue. If an international incident occurred, he said he would take the heat. He made it clear that he wanted this team to have the best aircraft and equipment available to accomplish the mission. Pops said that besides the C-130J Super Hercules, he also wanted an AC-130U Spooky “on station,” flying just outside Iranian airspace, since it did not have the short jet-assisted takeoff capability of its less-armed brother, the C-130J Super Hercules.
Designed and built by Lockheed Martin, the Super Hercules is the world’s most advanced tactical airlifter. It can be converted to any number of uses, from delivery of humanitarian supplies to air-to-air refueling to delivery of combat material. It can be used for deep covert penetration, combat rescue, and low-level night entry.
It has been purchased by air forces in Australia, Italy, the United Kingdom, Denmark, and, of course, the United States.
Then of the sister aircraft covering both Charlie and Fila and the quick reaction force if need be, the Department of Defense said of the Spooky:
The AC-130U is the most complex aircraft weapon system in the world today. It has more than 609,000 lines of software code in its mission computers and avionics systems. The newest addition to the command fleet, this heavily armed aircraft incorporates side-firing weapons integrated with sophisticated sensor, navigation and fire control systems to provide surgical firepower or area saturation during extended loiter periods, at night and in adverse weather. The sensor suite consists of an All Light Level Television system and an infrared detection set. A multi-mode strike radar provides extreme long-range target detection and identification. It is able to track 40mm and 105mm projectiles and return pinpoint impact locations to the crew for subsequent adjustment to the target. The fire control system offers a Dual Target Attack capability, whereby two targets up to one kilometer apart can be simultaneously engaged by two different sensors, using two different guns. No other air-ground attack platform in the world offers this capability. Navigational devices include the inertial navigation system (INS) and global positioning system (GPS). The aircraft is pressurized, enabling it to fly at higher altitudes, saving fuel and time, and allowing for greater range than the AC-130H. Defensive systems include a countermeasures dispensing system that releases chaff and flares to counter radar infrared-guided anti-aircraft missiles. Also infrared heat shields mounted underneath the engines disperse and hide engine heat sources from infrared-guided anti-aircraft missiles.
Having the most state-of-the-art aircraft available for this type of mission was going to be extremely critical for mission success. So now they would actually fly in with the quick reaction force on the Super Hercules. The larger Ranger quick reaction force would sit on full-alert, ready to board a C-130J Super Hercules at the U.S. airbase at Mosul, Iraq.
Their expensive vehicle, a new BMW, would be purchased by a CIA agent in Ankara, Turkey, and would be transported by him to Van, Turkey. From Van, an indigenous U.S.-sympathetic Iranian CIA agent handler would pick it up and drive it to Tabriz, Iran. From Tabriz, it would be transported to the desert location by two of the indigenous Iranian freedom fighters being advised and equipped by a team from the 5th Special Forces Group out of Fort Campbell, Kentucky. The 5th Group had long had a team on the ground with Iranian resistance fighters waiting to help with just such missions. The 5th Group team and its Iranian counterparts would be tasked with locating the best spot on the ground to locate the insertion point and landing area for the C130J Super Hercules. That would not be difficult in the vast Garmsar Desert south of Tehran. Out of sight of their Iranian counterparts, two American Special Forces team members would sweep the vehicle for electronic surveillance devices just to be sure that no indigenous agents involved were moles.
Pops summoned the Detachment-Delta financial officer and told him to take someone and drive to a BMW dealership in Fayetteville and buy a black loaded BMW with tinted windows, which would be identical to the one they would buy in Turkey. This would be used for Charlie and Fila to get used to, so they would not look like greenhorn car owners if Davood saw them in the car or if he rode with them. Pops wanted to ensure that both of them looked like they knew where everything was in the Beemer and that Charlie knew how it handled. And, in case Charlie was dead or wounded, he also wanted Fila to have plenty of hours behind the wheel.
It was decided that the 5th Group team members would use simple expedient landing zone markers to mark a flat, even, solid strip where the C-130 Super Herc could set down and take off. When the plane was inbound in the daytime, they would mark the strip with fluorescent orange air panels, which they carried with them. Or at night, they would mark it by burning small cans of gasoline buried in the ground.
They would locate and prepare a fara-kan, or ravine or wash (called a wadi in Iraq), where they could hide the plane, Little Birds, personnel, and equipment, too far from any roads in the desert to spot. The team would fix the site up in a way only a Special Forces-led unit could do so, and the C-130 would also carry in desert camo netting to effectively hide the site from any and all aircraft flying overhead. Any small military or law enforcement patrols that might somehow stumble on the site would be immediately destroyed and buried.
If the quick reaction forces did get involved, the key for the success of the whole operation, even more than the C-130 and AC-130, would be the Little Birds. They were vital to mission success with 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta on most missions.
Technically, the Little Bird was known as the Hughes H-6 “Cayuse” helicopter. It is the U.S. Army’s primary special operations light attack and cargo aircraft. The AH-6J attack variant can be equipped with two miniguns, or rockets. The MH-6J troop ship can handle everything from fast-rope insertions into jungle conditions to dropping off two operatives with motorcycles in better-developed areas.
It was decided to bring two Little Bird mechanics, volunteers with top secret security clearances, along on the C-130 Super Hercules, and they would also have an array of weapons to quickly convert one or two Little Birds from a slick version to a gunship if need be and also provide any needed maintenance.
Everybody was starting to think about Desert One and the fact that this was an operation going back into Iran and staging out of the desert, but there was one big difference. This was being totally controlled by Pops, the commanding officer of 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta. Desert One was comprised of Delta members, but there were too many cooks that spoiled the broth. Lessons had been learned. And this would be different. If the mission failed, it would be because of other causes. There would also be one set of planners constantly looking at the weather in the area, staging areas, and alert areas such as Mosul. The planning was just getting going, but it was being kept in-house as much as possible. Those at JSOC (Joint Special Operations Command) at Fort Bragg agreed and were in full support of Pops and his men, but even more important was his friendship with the CINC (commander in chief), who was a big supporter of Detachment-Delta.
Next, they would have to determine how Charlie and Fila would get in, affect the assassination, and get out safely with Davood Faraz Dabdeh’s excessive security measures and layers of bodyguards.
Various alternatives were discussed around the table, which now had been cleared of all support personnel except for Kerri Rhodes, the national security advisor. The only ones remaining were Pops, Weasel, Poke, Booty, Custer, Bones, the tall lanky lieutenant colonel who was Pops’s executive officer, and Kerri Rhodes. It was felt nobody else had a need-to-know and the fewer involved the better.
Pops liked to involve Bones in a lot of planning sessions in case anything ever happened to him. He was scheduled in two days to have a colonoscopy performed, and he wanted to ensure the command was covered just in case. He lectured all his men and women over forty years old to get colonoscopies on a regular basis, so he felt he had to set the example and did not want to cancel his appointment, a decision he had made six months earlier. He’d had his last colonoscopy five years earlier and there were no polyps or problems. He was not thrilled about having to take a laxative the night before, but remembered it really was not very bad at all.
Weasel said, “What about popping him with a Ruger Mark III pistol with a silencer in .22 Long Rifle? Eleven rounds, lightweight, quiet, easy maintenance.”
Charlie said, “What’s good enough for the Mossad is good enough for me, and Booty and I actually talked about the Ruger Mark III, but we will be searched, or at least I will be. We did talk about Booty carrying one in a thigh holster under her dress.”
Pops said, “What if they use a metal detector on her?”
Fila laughed, saying, “Then we are dead.”
Charlie said, “We have discussed this already. Women are so insignificant to him, we doubt he will want to check her out. On top of that, she will be wearing a level IIIA Kevlar vest under her dress. When we first see him, I am going to beat her back with a stick for whatever excuse we make up. She won’t feel a thing but will scream and cry. We think that will help establish some early friendship, believe it or not.”
Weasel grinned, saying, “Booty’s tough. She earned a Silver Star in Afghanistan. Why not beat her without the body armor?”
Fila grinned back, saying, “You want to do that, Top?”
He laughed, putting his hands up and shaking his head.
Kerri Rhodes interjected, “You were awarded the Silver Star?”
Fila chuckled, saying, “Some general was trying to be politically correct, Ms. Rhodes.”
“Horse manure!” Pops said. “You left off the Purple Heart you also earned when you got wounded saving soldiers under fire.”
Kerri said, “I am very impressed, Sergeant Jannat.”
“Thank you, Ms. Rhodes, and please call me Booty or Fila.”
Kerri said, “Only if you will call me Kerri, please, all of you.”
She shot a glance toward Charlie when she said that, which only Fila noticed. She felt her face redden a little and that embarrassed her even more. Now Fila was very upset, as she had always been in control. She had let her guard down and let Charlie cross that secret boundary that no man had ever stepped over. He had been one with her, and she thought about him continuously. She knew that she was in love, and it scared her.
Kerri Rhodes was one of the closest people in the world to the President of the United States of America. She was at White House dinners all the time and was very well educated and good-looking, beautiful actually. She had handsome popular Hollywood stars interested in her, business leaders, and some of America’s most eligible successful bachelors. Fila thought about all of these things and wondered why the woman was so interested in Charlie. As a woman, she knew why, but it did not make her feel any more comfortable.
Charlie said, “The problem is that we do not know what city or setting we will meet him in. We don’t know if we can even get in to see him, or if we will be able to breach his layers of security. The CIA reports we read on him state that he already has doubles, like Hussein and bin Laden.”
“How are you going to even be able to speak to him?” Kerri asked. “If males and especially Dabdeh are so backward and chauvinistic, Fila can’t be your spokesperson.”
Fila said, “Yes, I can. Poke speaks Arabic at a level three or even four proficiency. He will wear hearing aids and will be an Iraqi businessman with an Iranian wife. I will translate for him, and we want to have an Iraqi and Iranian interpreter speaking to him through one of the hearing aids, in case he has trouble with saying the right words. If that is the case, he can say ‘Huh?’ in Arabic to stall for time, and through the hearing aids they can tell him what and how to say it.”
Pops said, “That sounds like a fine idea. Top, make sure that we have the very best translators. We also need the hearing aids made right away.”
More details were brought up and discussed, and at the end of the day, Pops called Charlie and Fila off to the side and said, “I’m having the new Beemer rigged with all the nice accoutrements that you would find on a 14 Company car in Great Britain. Two of our guys will do the rigging and then we will fly them with the materials to do the exact same thing to the Beemer over there.”
Charlie said, “Awesome, Colonel. That could save our lives. Thank you.”
Fila said, “Yes. Thank you very much.”
Pops shrugged it off and said, “We will have it ready to go when you two get back, but right now, I want you both to pick a place to go and get outside the AO for one full week. Go together somewhere. It won’t count against your leave time and you’ll get TDY,” he added, referring to temporary duty pay. “Just be sure you stay in the continental United States. We will have the car ready to train in when you get back.”
Charlie said, “Oh gee, Pops, I don’t know if we could make ourselves do such an assignment.”
Pops laughed and said, “Can you guys think of a good place to go?”
Fila smiled, looked over at Charlie and back at the CO, and said, “I can.”