Tess Awakening by Andres Mann Page A

“What possible interest could
you have on a child that you have never seen? And what makes you
think that I have her here?”
    “She is Kejal’s child, and when she died, I
promised that I would make her safe.”
    Amir’s face visibly reflected a mounting
anger. “Kejal died because of you! I was fond of her.”
    “Kejal was killed by your men!”
    “It would not have happened if you had
cooperated with me. I had offered the world to you!”
    Tess looked at Amir with an icy stare. “All
you offered was to rape me!”
    Amir took another sip of tea. “There are many
ways of interpreting events. You look at things in black and
white!”
    Tess stood up. “Where is the girl?”
    “That is my business, and I am still
searching for a reason for why you would want the child. What would
you do with her? Put her in an orphanage? She has no family left,
thanks to you!”
    Tess sat again and tried to turn hostility
into a dialog. “General, once the war is over, there will be people
looking for revenge. Saddam Hussein and his key people will be
forced to account for their crimes. You don’t want to be a target
as they are. We can help you return to Iraq with honor if you do
the right thing and let the girl go.”
    Amir laughed. “You don’t really understand
who I am. I have friends in high places here and in Europe. I own politicians that will protect my interests. In any case,
there isn’t much of an unsavory nature that they can pin on me.
There are too many other people that have committed terrible
things. Some may pay the price, but not me!”
    Tess gave him an icy stare. “You used poison
gas on Kurdish villages! That’s how you captured Kejal in the first
place!”
    “Is that what you think?” Amir shook his
head, incredulous. “Where did you get your facts? It seems that you
are too quick to believe whatever is said by your press and
propaganda.”
    “Are you saying that the massacres did not
happen?”
    “Oh, they did, but not the way you think. I
don’t have to explain my actions to you, but I will lend a measure
of clarity to dispel some science fiction.” Amir retreated to his
seat behind the desk and started to talk.
    “Your President Bush invaded Iraq citing as
one excuse that Kurds in Halabja, a town close to the Iranian
border, had died due to Iraq gassing them in March 1988. This
atrocity took place near the end of the eight-year Iran-Iraq war.
But the truth is that no one can prove that Iraqi chemical weapons
killed the Kurds.
    In a battle, Iraq did use chemical weapons
against Iranians troops that had seized the town. The Kurds who
died had the misfortune to be caught up in that exchange. But they
were not Iraq’s main target.
    “Immediately after the battle, the U. S.
Defense Intelligence Agency issued a classified report. They
circulated the information to the intelligence agencies on a
need-to-know basis. Their conclusion was that it was Iranian gas
that killed the Kurds, not Iraqi gas. The Kurds had been killed by
a blood agent, a cyanide-based gas — which Iran was known to
use.
    The Iraqis did not possess blood agents at
the time. People in the know have been aware of this fact, but they
rarely mentioned it because it is was not convenient, since the
plan was to start an unjustified war against Iraq.”
    After a moment of silence, Tess spoke. “What
you said may or may not be true. The problem is that the Allies
have been led to believe that Iraq is responsible for that event,
which means that there will be accusations against anyone that was
involved at that time. You can reduce the risk to yourself, General
if you agree to cooperate and release the girl.”
    The General smiled. “So, you, a junior
officer, would use her nonexistent influence to exonerate a top
Iraqi Officer for the sake a child that nobody cares about. Well, I
say that this is a non-issue, because, as you Americans say, they
have bigger fish to fry. Frankly, I am offended that you believe I
would be so