forward.
“I have two sources who tell me ISIS now has chemical weapons.”
For a moment, Ramzy looked taken aback, but he quickly composed himself. He said nothing.
“My sources say you’re planning to use them against Israeli and American targets during Hanukkah and Christmas.”
Jamal Ramzy didn’t blink. He just stared at me and remained silent.
I stared back, waiting. The man certainly had a flair for drama, but I had little doubt this was really the news he wanted to make.
“Is there a question there?” he asked finally.
“Are my sources accurate?” I asked point-blank.
“No,” he replied. “They are liars.”
I was floored. “Liars?”
“You heard me.”
I had, but I was not convinced. “Now wait a minute, Mr. Ramzy. Let me be clear about this. I have a very high-ranking source in a Western intelligence agency who has clear proof that you and your forces captured a cache of chemical weapons in north-central Syria three weeks ago, in late October, and that you have transferred these weapons to sites in Lebanon, western Iraq, and the Sinai in preparation for a major attack on Israel, and to sleeper cells in Canada and Mexico in preparation for attacks on the U.S.”
“These are all lies.”
I pressed on, undeterred. “This source tells me he has personally listened to audio recordings of radio traffic between two Syrian generals. One of them is frantically telling the other that one of their chemical-weapons storage facilities not far from Aleppo had just been overrun. The other is desperately calling for air strikes and ground-troop reinforcements, but the evidence indicates they were too late. Your men got there first and left with truckloads of warheads filled with chemical agents. There is further signals intelligence that your men are developing plans to hit New York, Washington, Los Angeles, and Tel Aviv.”
“Your source is misleading you. You should get another.”
I had no idea why Ramzy was denying all this, but I forged ahead. “I have another, a source in a different intelligence service in an entirely different country with no connection to the first source,” I continued. “He told me that a three-star Syrian general defected to a Muslim country at the end of October. He claimed an al Qaeda faction seized several tons of chemical weapons south of Aleppo within the last few weeks. He gave this Muslim country hard intel —in terms of satellite phone intercepts —indicating this al Qaeda faction is planning to use the chemical weapons against U.S. and Israeli targets during the Christmas holidays.”
Now Ramzy leaned forward and smiled. “What can I tell you, Mr. Collins? These are fanciful tales. I wish they were true. I do. But you’ve been fed a pack of innuendos, deceptions, and disinformation.”
“You’re denying ISIS has captured chemical weapons?”
“Yes.”
“You’re denying that you’re developing plans to use them in the next few weeks against the U.S. and Israel?”
“You read too many spy thrillers, Mr. Collins.”
I was getting exasperated and had to fight to keep my cool. “You just told me you’re going to launch a Third Intifada,” I reminded him. “You just told me it was going to be unlike any uprising we’ve seen before. You just told me the Zionists and those who support them will burn.”
“That I stand by,” he replied.
“Then why not just tell the world the magnitude of the operation you’re planning? It’ll be front-page tomorrow morning on the biggest newspaper in the world. It’ll be picked up by every other news outlet on the planet.”
“What I gave you already will be front-page news, will it not, Mr. Collins?” Ramzy pushed back. “ISIS announces a third front, a Third Intifada —won’t that be picked up by every media outlet in the world?”
He was right, of course, but I had no intention of giving him the satisfaction of hearing it from me; not before I tried again to get an even bigger story out
“I have two sources who tell me ISIS now has chemical weapons.”
For a moment, Ramzy looked taken aback, but he quickly composed himself. He said nothing.
“My sources say you’re planning to use them against Israeli and American targets during Hanukkah and Christmas.”
Jamal Ramzy didn’t blink. He just stared at me and remained silent.
I stared back, waiting. The man certainly had a flair for drama, but I had little doubt this was really the news he wanted to make.
“Is there a question there?” he asked finally.
“Are my sources accurate?” I asked point-blank.
“No,” he replied. “They are liars.”
I was floored. “Liars?”
“You heard me.”
I had, but I was not convinced. “Now wait a minute, Mr. Ramzy. Let me be clear about this. I have a very high-ranking source in a Western intelligence agency who has clear proof that you and your forces captured a cache of chemical weapons in north-central Syria three weeks ago, in late October, and that you have transferred these weapons to sites in Lebanon, western Iraq, and the Sinai in preparation for a major attack on Israel, and to sleeper cells in Canada and Mexico in preparation for attacks on the U.S.”
“These are all lies.”
I pressed on, undeterred. “This source tells me he has personally listened to audio recordings of radio traffic between two Syrian generals. One of them is frantically telling the other that one of their chemical-weapons storage facilities not far from Aleppo had just been overrun. The other is desperately calling for air strikes and ground-troop reinforcements, but the evidence indicates they were too late. Your men got there first and left with truckloads of warheads filled with chemical agents. There is further signals intelligence that your men are developing plans to hit New York, Washington, Los Angeles, and Tel Aviv.”
“Your source is misleading you. You should get another.”
I had no idea why Ramzy was denying all this, but I forged ahead. “I have another, a source in a different intelligence service in an entirely different country with no connection to the first source,” I continued. “He told me that a three-star Syrian general defected to a Muslim country at the end of October. He claimed an al Qaeda faction seized several tons of chemical weapons south of Aleppo within the last few weeks. He gave this Muslim country hard intel —in terms of satellite phone intercepts —indicating this al Qaeda faction is planning to use the chemical weapons against U.S. and Israeli targets during the Christmas holidays.”
Now Ramzy leaned forward and smiled. “What can I tell you, Mr. Collins? These are fanciful tales. I wish they were true. I do. But you’ve been fed a pack of innuendos, deceptions, and disinformation.”
“You’re denying ISIS has captured chemical weapons?”
“Yes.”
“You’re denying that you’re developing plans to use them in the next few weeks against the U.S. and Israel?”
“You read too many spy thrillers, Mr. Collins.”
I was getting exasperated and had to fight to keep my cool. “You just told me you’re going to launch a Third Intifada,” I reminded him. “You just told me it was going to be unlike any uprising we’ve seen before. You just told me the Zionists and those who support them will burn.”
“That I stand by,” he replied.
“Then why not just tell the world the magnitude of the operation you’re planning? It’ll be front-page tomorrow morning on the biggest newspaper in the world. It’ll be picked up by every other news outlet on the planet.”
“What I gave you already will be front-page news, will it not, Mr. Collins?” Ramzy pushed back. “ISIS announces a third front, a Third Intifada —won’t that be picked up by every media outlet in the world?”
He was right, of course, but I had no intention of giving him the satisfaction of hearing it from me; not before I tried again to get an even bigger story out
Similar Books
