Chapter 3

Although he was staring out the window of the Boeing 747, Ali Katal's thoughts were far from the breathtaking sunset that could be seen from a jet 35,000 feet above the Atlantic Ocean. Relieved that he was able to book his flights on such short notice when so many people were trying to get home from holiday vacations, Ali Katal let his thoughts wander, unaware that he had less than three weeks to live.

Concerned by the urgency of his summons to Iran, Katal was wondering what was happening. He had been hearing more and more about the blood bath in his native country as well as in other Islamic countries where moderates were being replaced by fundamentalists. He had been overjoyed when the Ayatollah Makhtol had taken over after a four year power struggle that almost tore the nation apart. The Ayatollah had been one of his teachers when he was a child. Katal remembered the new Imam, who always wore his characteristic blue turban in public and often in private as well, as a very strict but fair, very devout man of God, who believed without question the teachings of the Koran and who felt that most of what was going on in the world today, especially in the United States, was totally against Allah's teachings as stated in the Koran. He agreed with the Ayatollah that whatever had to be done to stop the sacrileges against Allah by the Great Satan would be justified and that all who died in that struggle would be judged martyrs and would immediately go into heaven. The ascension of the Ayatollah Makhtol to power was like a message from Allah to Katal because he knew that great events would come from them.

Once again, however, as happens during many revolutions, the most radical faction was able to regain power after the situation had settled to some extent, prolonging the catharsis for that country's people, often descending the depths of depravity and cruelty, all in the name of God or a political ideal, or both. This is what happened in Iran during the mid 1990s. Despite the Iran-Iraq War, life had finally begun to return to some semblance of normalcy in post-revolutionary Iran by the middle part of the 1980s and had become even calmer in the period following Khomeini's death. The deep revolutionary fervor that had sustained the revolution was still there among the revolutionary guards, but the bazaaris and merchants, who had provided the vital support that is needed for any revolution to succeed, had become emotionally exhausted from all of the unrest and turmoil that had been occurring in their nation over the previous decade. It was time for the Revolutionary government to begin rebuilding the country.

Ali Katal was born in Tabriz the day after Senator Joseph McCarthy died from alcoholism. His father was a very devout Muslim who often clashed with members of Savak, the Shah's hated and feared secret police, over his religious activism, and was finally exiled by the Shah in early July, 1974. He finally decided to move to the United States, arriving there August 8, 1974, the day that Richard Nixon announced that although he was not a quitter, he was going to resign from the presidency, effective at noon the next day.

Katal had learned English in school in Iran, and within a year, he was speaking it like a native, with barely a trace of his accent. He and his Father were able to find work, putting in long hours to provide the money that was needed for Ali to attend college. He had always been fascinated with airplanes and flying, so he began taking courses in aeronautical engineering at night, while working during the day. By his second year of college, he was able to start taking flying lessons, receiving his license by the middle of his junior year.

By the time he had graduated from college, Katal had amassed enough flying time that he was able to land a position with a small air cargo company, flying old DC-3s and Boeing 707s, gradually working his way up to the larger and more modern planes. He was happy because he was engaged in the number one love of his life, flying.

But something was missing.

Ali Katal remained a devout Muslim, praying toward Mecca five times a day, refusing to touch alcohol or pork, staying away from all of the temptations that could entice and ensnare a handsome man who wanted to remain faithful to his religion, and who tried to live his life in the way that the Koran had prescribed. He saw the disco craze, widespread drug abuse, and a soaring crime rate as examples of the moral decay that his Islamic teachers in Iran had warned about when they preached about the Islamic Revolution that they said would occur during their lifetimes. Ali Katal knew that he would do anything he could to rid the world of that decay, even if it eventually would cost him his life. His life would be a small price to pay if the end result would be the triumph of Allah over the infidels.

Needless to say, Ali Katal was ecstatic when the Great Satan's puppet, the detested Shah, was overthrown. His enthusiasm grew, if that was possible, when it soon became apparent that Khomeini's radicals were in control of the Revolution. With so much occurring in his homeland, it was impossible for Ali Katal to remain in the United States. By late March, 1979, Ali Katal had returned to Iran.

With his skill and experience as a pilot, Katal had no problems finding a job upon his return. Pilots were very much in demand. He was flying passenger jets within Iran for IranAir when he came to the attention of some of the leading figures in that country. He was the pilot of a flight that had on board five of the leading members of the Majlis, or Iranian parliament, when his plane lost two of its four engines. By remaining calm and not panicking, he was able to bring the plane in for an emergency landing with only a handful of minor scrapes being the extent of the injuries. His skill was recognized by the Majlis, which presented him with a special award in appreciation of what he had done.

Following the death of the Ayatollah Khomeini, a more moderate faction came to power in Iran. Katal had become very closely identified with the most radical faction in Iran before Khomeini's death, and he and a number of other radicals had gone into exile in order to avoid prosecution for the Khomeini government's excesses. Utilizing a circuitous route, an alias, and an Egyptian passport that had been confiscated from an unfortunate visitor who had run afoul of the strict Islamic laws and had been stoned to death as a result, Ali Katal had managed to return to the United States.

When he returned to the United States, he was shocked by how much the country had deteriorated since he had left. The Democratic administration had been in power for nearly three years and was still discovering how much Ronald Reagan and George Bush had mortgaged the future of the country and trying to figure out how to deal with it. After eight years of Ronald Reagan, and all of the arrogance, amateurism, incompetence and scandal that was engendered in his name, his successor had to pick up the pieces and attempt to come to grips with the very serious problems he had inherited. His defeat in the three way 1992 elections after his failure to address the serious domestic problems caused by his predecessor and aggravated during his watch followed revelations unearthed by a series of news reports which caused several Congressional committees to investigate administration misdealings. The investigations looked into a wide range of things, including the President's personal involvement while he was Vice President, in a number of illegal schemes to assist thugs trying to overthrow legitimate governments in Central America and Africa, and his knowledge of illegal arms sales and money laundering from which several high ranking administration officials had profited. The committees' findings and the sorry state of the economy provided all of the ammunition the Democratic party needed going into the 1992 campaign.