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his
burning tank. The Iraqis has just been outgunned and overwhelmed by
the most formidably capable armed forces the world had ever seen.
His entire unit was in flames. Shattered tanks lay everywhere, some
of them still burning and exploding as the intense flames engulfed
them. Most horrifying of all, the smell of burnt flesh and the
cries of the few crew members that survived by bailing out of their
burning tanks created a surreal nightmare.
    Amir had no delusions of victory this time
around. Abdul, the Fedayeen commander, proposed a fight to the
death. “What better glory than to die for Islam and the Great
Leader Saddam?”
    Amir did not respond. He loathed Abdul, the
repulsive fanatic. He and his band of barbarians had been assigned
to Amir’s and others’ units not to fight, but to make sure that the
field commanders and soldiers fought. Any doubt at all, and they
were authorized to shoot the reluctant ones through the head.
Abdul’s men had already indulged in a few such executions just to
make a point. When Amir found out, he had grabbed Abdul by the
throat and promised to tear him apart if he dared do such a thing
again without his permission, Saddam’s orders be damned.
    Abdul made a suggestion. “General, I feel
that we need to motivate the troops to fight the Americans. They
have heard stories of what happens if they resist the enemy, and
the morale is low. I heard talk of defections. We can’t have that
happen here.”
    “What would you propose?” Amir felt it
coming.
    Abdul stood up and started to walk around the
room, forcing the officers to follow him with their eyes. “The
ancient Romans understood what it took to make motivated soldiers
and fierce warriors. Sometimes, when the Legions did not perform
well, the generals employed the military practice of decimation.
Legions that performed poorly in the field were punished by having
each squad of ten soldiers draw lots and beat one of them to death
with staves.”
    One of the officers blanched, and almost fell
off the chair. “You must be mad! Are you proposing such a thing
with our troops — now?”
    Abdul shrugged his shoulders. “We don’t need
to be barbaric. A shot in the head would do.”
    The room fell into a deep silence. Amir
finally stood up and declared: “It makes sense. We must fight hard
to slow down the enemy advance. We will do as Abdul suggests. Let’s
assemble the men in one hour. Dismissed!” The officers stood up and
started to file out, looking like zombies.
    Abdul remained behind. When they were alone,
he added “General, to obtain the best effect, perhaps you might
want to execute a couple of your less enthusiastic officers. I have
recommendations if you wish to hear them.”
    Amir looked at the fanatic with a murderous
stare. “Not yet!” He stormed out.
    He went back to his office and summoned
Colonel Najaf. When the officer arrived, he closed the door.
    Within an hour, the troops assembled in
formation. Amir and his top officers stood in front of them. Abdul
was at Amir’s side. His troop of murderers stood apart of the
soldiers.
    The Fedayeen commander was smiling in
anticipation of the upcoming execution of cowards. So were his men,
looking conspicuously relaxed when compared to the rest of the
troops. He looked at Amir, waiting for the go-ahead to initiate his
sadistic massacre.
    Amir took his revolver out of the holster. He
looked at his troops, and without any preambles shot Abdul in the
face. The Fedayeen fell back as if hit by a vehicle, his head
almost blown off. That was the signal. The first rank of Amir’s
troops raised their weapons and sprayed automatic fire on the squad
of Fedayeen. They all fell instantly. There was a moment of
silence. The rest of the soldiers stood still, shocked, not
comprehending what had happened. The squad that executed the
murderers dropped their weapons, unsheathed their knives, and fell
on the corpses like wolves. With screams of fury, they started to
stab and mutilate the