A Pretty Straight Sort of Guy

In March 2015 the ‘Body Count’ Report concluded that the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq has, directly or indirectly, killed around one million people in Iraq, 220,000 in Afghanistan and 80,000 in Pakistan, i.e. a total of around 1.3 million people. The invasion of Iraq led directly to the formation of the fundamentalist organisation ‘Islamic State’, also known as ‘Isis’ or ‘Da’esh’, which has terrorised and killed people around the world.

‘A Pretty Straight Sort of Guy’

A Story about the Arrest of Tony Blair for War Crimes

This story is at least 95% accurate and true. You decide whether the remaining 5% is accurate and true…

Chapter 1: Armageddon!

Boston International Airport – September 11th 2001: 7.59 am local time

Sally Keeble looked out of the window as American Airlines Flight 11, a Boeing 767 with 92 people on board, took off from Boston’s Logan International Airport, en route to Los Angeles.

Sally was an executive with an insurance firm in Boston and she had kissed her husband goodbye at 5.00 am that morning, before catching a taxi to the airport. She was due to attend a conference in Los Angeles and expected to be home in two days time.

The conference was fairly routine, but the trip would provide a nice break. As usual her company had paid for a Business Class ticket and Sally was sat in Row 8, next to a polite young man with a Middle Eastern accent, who said that his name was Mohamed Atta.

They chat for a few minutes and he explains that he had been born in Egypt, he now lives in Germany and he is on his way to visit family members in Los Angeles.

What Mohamed Atta does not say is that four associates are also on board, all of whom happen to be young men from Saudi Arabia: Abdulaziz al-Omari, Wail al-Shehri, Waleed al-Shehri and Satam al-Suqami.

Also unknown to Sally is the fact that, in 1999, Mohamed had been in Afghanistan with two other men who are also about to take other domestic flights from the east coast, bound for California.

As usual, Sally tenses up, gripping the arm rests, as the plane speeds down the runway, but she relaxes as it lifts into the air, turns sharply right and heads westwards towards Los Angeles.

To be continued…