Prelude to World War Three: The Rise of the Islamic Republic and the Rebirth of America

Alliances

“My Caliph, there is a problem that I must discuss with you,” said Muhammad bin Nayef, the Deputy Chairman of the Islamic Republic (he often went by “Nayef”).

“What is so important that you must interrupt my studies, Nayef?” Mohammed Abbas asked as he looked up to see several of the other advisors and ministers entering the chamber.

“Sir, we must find a solution to the food shortages the West has imposed upon us,” said Nayef.

Talal bin Abdulaziz, the IR Foreign Minister, interjected, “I know we have discussed this before, Caliph, but the food situation is starting to become a critical problem. None of the EU countries will sell food products to us either.” He was clearly very angry at the situation.

“Haven’t our economic ministers figured a way around this or figured out how we can increase our own food production?” asked the leader of the IR.

“Sir, our engineers are working to increase the Nile River Delta area and increase the distribution of water to more lands, but it is a slow process. We have started construction of hundreds of bio-domes using the latest in genetically modified seeds to increase production. These solutions will work in the long-run, but they are not going to provide us the relief we need now,” said Muhammad.

“Then some people will starve while others will not. Until the situation changes there is not much we can do but pray to Allah for his blessings,” Caliph Mohammed said with a bit of heat in his tone.

Nayef saw that the Caliph needed to hear some good news. He hit a few keys on his tablet and activated the holographic display at the center of the table. Up popped the latest economic and military reports. If it was one thing the Caliph liked to discuss, it was industry and the modernization of the IR. “Caliph, the food situation is dire and as everyone has said we have solutions in development, but they will take time before they come to fruition. However, I would like to direct your attention towards the progress we have made with regards to the modernization of the military and the Republic.”

“Thank you, Nayef. This is an area of great importance to the Republic. We need to build up our own military industrial complexes and secure new sources for weapons and parts. If we can do this and solve our food problem, then the Republic will truly be self-sufficient,” Caliph Mohammed said with some return to enthusiasm in his voice.

Nayef continued, “We have been making headway with the Chinese. They are not happy about this new cartel the Americans have formed, but they are in desperate need for food, so they are going along with it for the time being. They have agreed to sell us additional weapons and spare parts if we cut them a deal on oil. I told them we will sell them all the oil they need for 30 % less than market value, as long as they continue to provide us with weapons and, more importantly, 3D printing technology.”

“The Russians have agreed to sell us their entire line of Armata armored vehicles. We are purchasing 3,000 T14C main battle tanks and 28,000 armored personnel carriers among other assorted vehicles. They also agreed to allow us to manufacture them under license; we are setting up plants in Riyadh, Baghdad, Cairo and other industrial hubs.” Smiling, Nayef nodded towards Muhammad bin Aziz, the IR Minister of Industry, to continue the brief.

“The Russians have agreed to sell us 3,000 MiG 32s, and will also let us manufacture a large percentage of them under license; this will greatly bolster our aerospace industry. They have agreed to sell us their newest air-to-air fighter drones as well. These are much cheaper and easier to produce. We have agreed to purchase 4,000 immediately, so our pilots can begin to train with them. And once the factories are operational, we will start producing 1,000 new drones a year,” Muhammad said excitedly. “Muhammad, I didn’t know you were such a shrewd negotiator. This is an excellent deal. I am very pleased that you were able to secure the manufacturing licenses; it will not only provide highly skilled labor jobs, it will help advance our ability to design and build armored vehicles and combat aircraft…. How about food? Are they able to assist us in that area?”

Muhammad relaxed a little as he said, “The Russians can assist us with minimal food this year; they are in the process of converting large portions of their newly conquered territory into farmland. We will make it through this year’s food shortages, but it will be rough.”

“How is the training of the army?”

“It is going well. We have instructed the Asian region to build up their regional force to 450,000 troops. The North African region is working to build their forces to 600,000 troops and the central region to 5,500,000 troops; most of the recruits are coming from the provinces of Iran, Saudi Arabia and Iraq. It will take time for this force to become proficient. The Russians and Chinese have both agreed to send us 50,000 military trainers each for the next five years to integrate our forces into the same military doctrine as theirs,” said Muhammad.

“Excellent. How has the integration of Iran been going?”

“Rough in some areas and good in others. The military has been a big help in securing the country and ensuring it stays protected. It’s some of their former leaders that are causing trouble…not all of them are happy with the assimilation. The drafting of a few million military aged males will certainly help with integrating them into the Republic. If it were not for the military coup, this whole incorporation of Iran would have been a disaster.”

“It would have been war. Who would have thought $5 billion NAD could have bought an entire country?” asked the Caliph with a snicker.

Before the meeting ended, the Caliph wanted to make sure everyone continued to stay focused on the end goal. “Everyone needs to remember that despite our final integration of Iran into the fold, our ultimate enemy is America and Israel. You need to remember that no matter what your thoughts are on the Americans, they are fierce and ruthless in combat. Their individual military training is the best in the world — that is why they are such tenacious fighters. We need to train our soldiers to that same standard so they will not run during a battle but will charge right into it like the Americans. We can beat them, but we need our soldiers to be better trained.”

General Rafik Hamza, the Overall Islamic Republic Military Commander, chimed in. “We recently had several thousand Muslim Americans immigrate to the Republic who had previously served in the American military. We are leveraging their skills and experience, along with our Russian advisors, to help modernize our basic training. The former Quds Force has also been instrumental. Surprisingly, there are some American companies that are also helping us in this area for a price. They are expensive but they are very good.”

“This further reinforces my previous statements that the West only cares about money. They will do anything for money, even train their future enemy.”

“Have we moved Allah’s Swords to Tanzania yet?”

“Yes, they have been smuggled out of Iran and are now sitting in a shielded warehouse in the Tanzania Coffee House Company. They make regular freighter shipments to America, so when we are ready to move the devices, they should make it through the port security intermixed with the regular cargo shipment. They have a very dense lead shield, so they will not show up on any detention sensors or satellites. I have agents who will load them onto the freighters when you give the order,” said General Rafi, IR Special Operations Commander.

“If we could work out a more coordinated first strike with the Russians and Chinese, the Americans would never know what hit them until it was too late,” said Muhammad.

“In time, we need to create as much instability inside America and Mexico as possible. The Russians have designs for Europe; we need to convince them that with America out of the picture they can do whatever they want with Europe. The same argument can be made with the Chinese, but they are going to need to know that we can play our own part,” Talal said.

“What are the Americans trying to do with this deal? Starve us to death?” asked Zhang Jinping, the Premier of the People’s Republic of China.

“Premier, the American President is working to reduce their debt, a debt which we hold the majority share of. Our country is becoming flush with cash and they are starting to buy more of our products again. All of this is good news,” said the Premier’s Senior Advisor Jing Xi.

The Premier was clearly angered that the Americans had negotiated China out of $10 trillion dollars with the remonetizing of their debt. The US had also imposed severe tariffs on Chinese products coming into America, despite the free trade agreements previous administrations had signed. Now the US had co-opted other countries to join their Grain Consortium, further squeezing China. Though outwardly trying to remain calm, the Premier could not hide his ire; the veins on the side of his neck were bulging and pulsating with each breath. The middle of his brow furrowed involuntarily. No amount of “good news” was going to erase the perceived wrongs of the West.

“This food cartel the West has formed is going to force us to play by their rules or they will simply cut off our food supply,” said Jing Xi.

Premier Jinping thought for a moment before responding, “Not only do we have to pay an artificially high value for the food that we used to buy from them, we have to reduce their debt by 5 % of the cost of that food. If our people were not starving right now, I would have half a mind to tell the Americans to go shoot themselves.”

Jing knew the Premier was angry and wanted to assure him that despite these slights by the Americans, all of this was still good for China. “At least they are paying back their debt; there was a time when we thought they were not going to. The value of the NAD is also rising quickly as their economy continues to improve.”

“Yes, but all the money we are making from them paying back their debt, we are just paying right back to them to buy food. Not only that — we are reducing their debt by 5 % with each purchase. At this rate, they will have the majority of their debt to China paid off in less than half a decade.”

“True, but the global economy should have improved significantly by then. Our factories are already returning back to life,” replied Jing.

“I believe that has more to do with the massive weapon and industrial goods sales to the Islamic Republic than anything else. I can’t help but wonder if we are supplying a future enemy with weapons that may one day be used against us.”

“One can never know these things. Right now it is a good business opportunity for us to pursue for the time being, and the Muslims have not been stirring or causing problems in our country so we should be thankful,” said Jing with a neutral face.

“Mark my words; if the Muslims even try to rise up in and revolt in China, I will not hesitate to crush them with the full weight of our military. I will absolutely not tolerate an Islamic uprising in China,” said the Premier with a determined look in his eyes.

“The bigger question is— ‘What is Russia doing?’ They have been building up their military to pre-Cold War levels,” said General Fan Changlong, the Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission.

The Premier looked everyone at the table in the eye as he spoke. “Russia has always had an ax to grind against the Europeans. They have been invaded by Europe multiple times throughout history. Perhaps they feel Europe is in enough of a decline they can enact their revenge or vision of a unified Europe under Russian rule. In either case, it is not our vision or our problem.”

Jinping continued, “Our vision is for a unified Asia. Southeast Asia has always been the Rice Bowl of Asia; it has flatter lands and can handle our growing population. It is for this reason that we continue to build and train our forces to become the dominant force in the Pacific and push the Americans out.”

He paused, then asked, “What is the state of our military? Are we fully prepared for Operation Red Dragon yet?”

“As you know, the military has suffered like everyone else in China; however, our forces are still strong. The PLA stands at 3.5 Million troops, all ready to defend China. We still retain a very limited offensive capability, but we can more than defend our borders. As we continue to expand our light drone tanks and Infantry Fighting Vehicles (IFVs), we will be ready to secure Southeast Asia. We have three additional supercarriers under construction; once they are completed, it will bring our carrier force to six supercarriers and three smaller escort carriers,” General Fan Changlong said as he highlighted some images of the new supercarriers on the holographic display.

The General went on, “At that point, we will be ready to initiate Operation Red Dragon and destroy the American Pacific fleet should they try to intervene. We also have another 6 million troops in the reserves that can be called up if needed. Our current plan calls for us to activate 2 million of the reserves by the end of the year and begin to train and integrate them into our active army. By the end of 2040, our active duty force will consist of 5.5 million soldiers. A full 300,000 of our infantry will be equipped with the new exoskeleton suits. They will be our shock troops for the operation.”

The Director of State Intelligence, XI Lee, spoke up. “As long as we do not attack Taiwan, I believe we will be left alone if a conflict arises between Russia and the EU or with the Islamic Republic. With India still picking up the pieces from their last war, we do not need to worry about them as a possible threat to us either.”

“Our country is safe Premier, so long as we do not provoke a fight until our carriers are finished,” said Jing with confidence.

“Mr. President, I would like to speak with you about the deteriorating situation in the Stans and the Caucus region,” said General Gerasimov, the head of the Russian Military.

“I trust our grip on the region is not slipping?”

“No sir. General Putin continues to purge the region; however, we are seeing a rise in the number of insurgents and separatist activity (including weapon smuggling), particularly along the border with the Islamic Republic,” replied General Gerasimov.

“We have an envoy from the IR this week. I will speak with them and see what they can do to help shut down these smuggling routes. They want to discuss the issue of a joint military defense agreement,” said President Fradkov.

“That could be dangerous,” asserted Nikolai Bortnikov, the Director of the Federal Security Service (FSB). Nikolai was another holdover from President Viktor Zubkov’s administration. President Fradkov had thought about replacing him, but was more scared of what would happen if he tried. Nikolai lived for the FSB, and though he had been part of the Zubkov administration, he was extremely loyal to Russia (if not President Fradkov). For that reason, the President had left him in power.

“In this we agree, Nikolai; the IR will at some point attempt to destroy Israel and continue the spread of Islam into Europe and America. They could entangle us into a fight sooner than we want, but they could also be a useful ally. If they do attack the Americans and we provide them with the best weapons possible, then they may be able to bloody the Americans enough that they would not be able to intervene in Europe when the time comes.”

“Likewise we can encourage and aid them in their activities in Europe. If the EU has to put down popular uprising in their major cities, they will not be able to react fast enough to an invasion,” said the President.

General Igor Gerasimov, the Head of Russian Military, interjected, “Whatever is agreed upon with the Islamic Republic needs to remain in line with our European objective. In all my years in the military, I have never seen the Americans at such a weak moment. President Stein knows this as well, and is taking remarkable steps to correct the situation, but he has time working against him. If the IR attacks Israel, the Americans will come to their aid. We need to ensure the IR has the training and equipment needed to deliver several major hits against the Americans. If they can weaken the Americans enough, they will not be able to intervene in Europe and stop us.”

Sergei Puchkov, the Minister of Defense, saw the President was weighing General Gerasimov’s comment and wanted to reinforce it. “Mr. President, the General is right. I propose that when the IR does attack the Israelis and Americans that we be ready to act. If the Chinese also act when we do, then the chances of success in Europe are incredibly high. They have been building their naval forces for decades in preparation for taking on the American Pacific Fleet. If we could coordinate with the Chinese to initiate their attack shortly after the IR moves, the Americans will be split between Asia and the Middle East. Then we will launch our attack in Europe. We could capture Europe in less than 60 days.”

“My intelligence sources suggest the Chinese would be open to organizing an attack with us,” said Nikolai.

The President took a puff on his cigar before responding. “Nikolai, continue to work that angle. I would like to see if the Chinese would be open to coordinating their operation with us. I also want you to look into how we can help the IR in further destabilizing Europe and North America. The more fires we can start before the big one, the better.”

“I serve Russia,” was Nikolai’s response.

LTG Nikita Sergun, the Director of the GRU, was not sure why Nikolai had not brought up the information about the East African coffee company that his sources had discovered, so he decided to speak up. “There is one other major item I would like to bring up, Mr. President. As you know, in the past several years the GRU has been expanding the number of agents we have abroad. Recently, one of my agents discovered something of great value in East Africa,” Sergun said as he looked at Nikolai to see if he would interject. When he did not, Sergun continued.

“Our operatives in East Africa made an alarming discovery. His sources tell him that a freighter arrived from the IR last week. His source works at the shipyard as a dockworker. He said one of the containers being offloaded was heavily guarded; it had a biometric lock on the door, and it required a special truck because it was too heavy for a regular truck.”

“The dock worker said he believed the shipping container was lead shielded. When it scraped against another container, it left a mark on the container that appeared to be lead,” said General Sergun while displaying several photos on the holograph.

“I had our agent look into this a little further, and he discovered that the container had been delivered to The Tanzania Coffee Company and was placed into a new warehouse on the property. This coffee company also went from having minimal security to suddenly having several dozen armed guards and biometric locks on the doors to its new warehouse.”

“So, what are you saying General Sergun…that the IR shipped a few nuclear bombs or something to this apparent front company?” asked Nikolai with a surprised look on his face.

“Mr. President — Nikolai — that is exactly what I am saying. I have directed our agent there to do whatever he can to infiltrate this company and we are looking at every angle of this,” General Sergun said.

Nikolai thought for a moment about what General Sergun had just brought up. His agents knew the IR had moved two nuclear devices out of the country; they just did not know the location. “Mr. President, if the IR uses these devices against the Americans and the Chinese and we coordinate this right, we could knock the Americans completely out of the war before it really has a chance to get started,” said Nikolai with a bit of excitement in his voice.

“How do you mean, Nikolai?” asked the President.

“If we can convince the IR to use the nuclear devices against key US logistical nodes instead of symbolic targets, they could cripple the Americans’ ability to move men and material to Europe or the Middle East.”

“That is a big if — these Muslims do not always use logic when they fight a war,” Minister Puchkov said.

“Nuclear weapons are dangerous to play with, as we saw with India and Pakistan. They nuked the living daylights out of each other and it’s lowered global temperatures by five degrees. Plus, if the Americans get nuked, you can be assured that President Stein will obliterate whoever attacked them,” the President said with a bit of concern. “The goal is to conquer Europe, not destroy ourselves in the process.”

“That’s the trick, Mr. President; the IR would do it for us. If anyone would be attacked with nuclear weapons, it would be the IR,” explained Nikolai.

“Continue to monitor the situation, and let’s play this one by ear Nikolai.”

In the following months, a series of secret meetings between Russia, the Islamic Republic and China took place as they discussed a strategy for defeating America once and for all. They all had their own reasons for plotting an attack against the US, but for all of these parties the end would justify the means.