The Observer (Derek Cole Suspense Thriller Book 3) (11 page)

“I’m not a financial specialist and not very interested in understanding how a business works, so my investigation focused solely on the owners of American Medical Supply. Turns out that no one owns the company. The officers listed on the articles of incorporation are either dead citizens of Middle Eastern countries or turned out to be fictional. That got me digging even deeper. I connected some dots that weren’t supposed to be connected and found out that American Medical Supply company is associated with the IUIEEO.”

“What the hell is that? The IUIEEO?”

“International Union of Islamic Education and Equal Opportunities. It was given the nickname of 'The Old McDonald.’”

“And what the hell does Old McDonald do?” Derek asked.

“Name kind of says it all, doesn’t it? Their charter states that the IUIEEO is focused on assisting those of the Islamic faith to have equal rights in every country around the world. They provide education, legal assistance and faith-based mentoring. The leader of the IUIEEO is Tareef Omar. He’s an Iraqi national and, four months ago, was named a Permanent Observer with the United Nations.”

“A permanent what?” Derek asked.

“Permanent Observer. The UN is a group of nations that, according to the UN charter, work together for the betterment of all countries. But, there are several organizations that are not actual sovereign countries that belong to the UN. They aren’t full-fledged members of the UN but have been granted access to attend most of the UN meetings, the UN work sessions, and have been given access to the UN files. It started when non-member states could apply to become an Observer, in hopes that they would eventually become a full-fledged member. However, the UN started allowing organizations to become Observers. The IUIEEO is one that not only became an Observer, but was granted the status of becoming a Permanent Observer since they will never become a sovereign state. At least, that’s what their UN charter states.”

“So, Old McDonald
will
become a sovereign state someday? I don’t follow.”

“I’m still putting the pieces together, but Tareef Omar, who is the head of the organization, is what they call a separatist; meaning that he believes Muslims should be completely separate from the non-Muslim world. He and his ilk want to form an Islamic State that is 100% free from any Western influences. That means no diplomats, no Western businesses, no outside cultural influences; nothing but a unified Islamic State under Sharia Law.”

“And I have to assume that this Tareef character wants to be the leader of this Islamic State?”

“Hard to say. He certainly has never said that in public. But, either he is fully expecting to be the leader or is doing everything out of love for his religion.”

“Isn’t becoming a state what ISIS is all about?”

“It’s called a caliphate; a single Islamic State that unites all Muslims under one banner. ISIS will never accomplish it because of their methods used to assume power. ISIS cutting off heads and mass murdering other Muslims who don’t agree with their approach and methods will lead to their own downfall. If you’ve ever wondered why the US and other countries don’t take a stronger approach to dealing with the spread of ISIS, it’s because most governments feel that ISIS will implode. Either their own members will revolt or other Muslim countries or groups will unite and put an end to ISIS. The IUIEEO, however, is something quite different.”

“How so?”
 

“Remember at the diner when Henderson told you that the chatter we heard was from other known terror groups that were talking about something big happening and that none of them was the lead group?”

“Yes. Henderson said that these known groups seemed to be almost worried about what was being planned,” Derek said.

“That’s because the IUIEEO is much bigger, more organized and more powerful than any one of the groups. They actually don’t exist, but are parts and pieces put together from most of the known terror groups, some governments and officials, and a silent membership of tens of thousands. In fact, I’d say that they are more powerful than all the terror groups combined because they have a few things that none of the others have.”

“And what are those things?”

“One, they have the coverage and protection of the UN. They are operating in over 30 countries and, because of their UN Permanent Observer Status, governments seem to welcome them with open arms. They are masters at manipulating governmental leaders' obsessions with being politically correct. They also have money; lots of money. My investigation was cut short after that phone call I told you about, but I identified at least 70 companies like American Medical Supply that are operating in countries all over the world. They are all funneling millions of dollars to the organization each month. Probably closer to billions each month. The IUIEEO also gets a substantial amount of money and support from countries like the US that are intended to fund their publicized initiatives.

“The last thing the IUIEEO has that scares the shit out of the other terror groups is mindshare. You ask 100 members of any terror group if they believe that the group will accomplish its mission, and you’ll get at least 70 of them that will say ‘no.’ These Jihadists believe in their mission but know that their mission’s objective will never be reached. Most of the Jihadists just want to make an impact; to send a message and hope that, someday, a group like the IUIEEO will come along. Now that they are around, more than a few members of other terror groups are raising their hands, hoping to be included in their membership ranks.

“Trust me,” Juan said, “the IUIEEO’s beliefs and practices are not universally accepted. But, they are seen as being powerful enough to actually accomplish the mission of forming an Islamic State and being connected enough to be recognized as such. They have people at the highest levels of governments around the world in their pocket.”

“Including the United States?” Derek asked, his face slack with worry.

“Tareef Omar has been in the White House no less than 20 times in the past year. He’s met, one on one with the President. No idea what they talked about, but with our President and Congress being so damned concerned about not being seen as anti-Islamic, I have to believe that Tareef has a lot of influence over our leaders. The same is true around the world. Tareef or one of his associates, has met with the governmental leaders in England, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, Brazil, Spain and even Israel. You name an influential country, and the IUIEEO has their hooks into its leaders.”

“Okay,” Derek said, shaking his head, “I get that this organization is connected, and I almost understand why other terror groups are afraid of them, but how the hell are they getting away with what they’re planning? I mean, I know our President is addicted to being politically correct, but to allow terrorism in his country? I have a hard time accepting that.”

“He certainly doesn’t know what they are planning. None of the governmental leaders do. They just have turned a politically correct blind eye to the IUIEEO’s rapid expansion. The organization presents itself only as focused on ensuring that all Muslims are treated fairly, have equal rights under the laws of whatever country they live in and, most importantly, that all Muslims have access to education.”

“Why is education so important?”

“Most people believe that Jihadists are uneducated robots that follow whatever their radical leaders tell them. But, if education was made readily available, people believe that these Jihadists or the radicals would lose interest in following the radical leaders and would learn to think for themselves. The problem is that no one in any government has any idea of what is included in the education they are funding for the Muslims in their respective countries. Last year, the US government gave $250 million dollars to the IUIEEO’s education efforts. Guess what their students are being taught?”

“Whatever the organization believes in.”

“Actually, they are being taught what Tareef Omar believes.”

“And that would be exactly what?”

“That all Muslims are destined to live as a separatist state, ruled by Islamic law and in a country that is focused solely on the advancement of Islam. He teaches that Islam will be and should be the only religion left in the world and that it is the obligation of every Muslim to work, by whatever means, towards that end. In other words, Tareef Omar believes in world domination.”

Derek considered everything Juan had told him. He wondered if Juan was exaggerating, making strong assumptions or was sharing a terrifying truth.
 

“So,” Derek resumed, “this Tareef Omar is well connected with world leaders, and his status with the UN gives him the ability to spread his message around the world. What I don’t get is how this IUIEEO group hasn’t been recognized as a terrorist group yet by anyone in any government in the world? Doesn’t seem possible considering how concerned the world is with terrorism.”

“What you don’t understand is that being politically correct is more important to many countries than stopping terrorism.”

“I don’t think Russia cares too much about being politically correct,” Derek commented.

“You only see what you are shown,” Juan said as he stood up, stretched his back then peered out of the window. “I can tell you that what Russia’s government does when the media cameras aren’t rolling is very politically correct. Think about it, if Russia was completely unconcerned with whether or not they offend a certain group of people, they probably wouldn’t have as many problems with terrorists as they do.”

“I haven’t heard of many terrorist attacks in Russia.”

“Trust me,” Juan said, turning back to face Derek, “they keep a very tight lid on what happens over there. Last thing they want is to show weakness. If terror groups sensed that Russia was having a hard job dealing with a serious terror problem, more of them would target Russia. The way they keep a lid on their problems and how they respond to and prevent terror, should tell you just how focused they are on being politically correct.”

“The way they treat homosexuals is pretty far from being pc,” Derek challenged.

“That’s the Russian government responding the way the majority of their culture wants them to. The Russian people are very traditional. Can’t really expect anything else considering that they were closed off from most of Western influence for most of the 20
th
century. Russia is where the US was 50 years ago. Live long enough and you’ll see the Russian gay population getting married, having protection under laws written specifically for their protection and even running for and being elected into political offices.”

“How strong is the IUIEEO in other countries?” Derek said, conceding the argument that Russia seemed wholly unconcerned about political correctness.

“Honestly, I don’t know. What I did find out before my investigation was shut down is that they have sponsored mosques in several of the largest cities in the world. London, Paris, Moscow, Berlin, Jerusalem, Dublin, Cairo, Toronto, Sydney, Wellington, Helsinki, Rome, Mexico City and Stockholm.”

“What do you mean that these mosques are sponsored?”

“The imam’s were handpicked and, from what I can tell, what is being taught in these mosques is in lock-step with Tareef’s beliefs. Each mosque receives funding from Old McDonald and each is the education center for the cities they are in. What I believe is that these sponsored mosques are where the governmental grant money for education gets funneled to. Problem is, the money gets sent to these mosques, but it doesn’t stay there.”

“Flows up to Tareef?” Derek asked.

“Not to him directly,” Juan corrected. “But it does flow somewhere. Like I said, my investigation ended abruptly the day I met you in Yonkers, but I have a suspicion that the center of the IUIEEO is in Jerusalem.”

“In Israel?” Derek said. “That is very hard to believe. With their intelligence and paranoia, I can’t believe that any terror group would call any city in Israel home.”

“Forced political correctness. The Israeli government would probably love to wipe radical Islam off the map but they can’t even fart in the direction of a suspected terrorist group without the world reacting negatively. They deal with Hamas every day, but only really strike out when the government either has enough of a case to defend a military response to the rest of the world, or their citizens demand action. Israel is in huge trouble and they know it. They will soon have to decide between being isolated from the world or being erased from the map.”

As Juan sat back down, Derek stood, walked to the window and was about to pull open the curtains. Juan leaped to his feet and stayed Derek’s hand. “Last thing we want is for anyone to see two guys in the same hotel room. You need to assume that if we are not being watched yet, we will be very soon.”

“Can I at least turn on the TV to see what’s going on in the world? This whole conversation is a bit overwhelming and, frankly, difficult to believe.”

“You think that Fox News or CNN will be running a story about how the UN is behind the terror plots?”

“No,” Derek said. “It occurred to me when you were talking that the world may think I’m dead, and I'm wondering how my parents will react. Just want to see if the news is saying anything about me, yet.”

“Feel free to turn on any channel you want, but you won’t hear anything about you for a while. Hopefully, this whole case will be over before they start talking about the private investigator killed in the New York City bombing.”

The TV in the hotel was set on CNN, and the first words they heard the announcer say was Derek’s name.

“Again, we have learned the name of the guest who was registered in the room where the bomb was planted. Private Investigator Derek Cole from Columbus, Ohio. Police and FBI agents had no comments about Cole, but did say that Cole was not a known terrorist and wasn’t a suspect in any terror plot. Investigators have not told us whether or not anyone was in the hotel room when the explosion happened, so, at this point, we have no idea if anyone was killed or injured in the explosion.”

“Damn,” Juan said. “Looks like I was wrong.”