Modi (Moderate) and Mani (Mainstream) are again with Mani’s cousins, in a village town east of Baghdad. They are on a hilltop guarding the entrance to the village. Radi (Radical) is not with them because he prefers al-Qaida and insurgents.
Mani: These rifles are a little heavier than we had last time we were up here. What is going on?
Modi: Last time you had a Chinese SKS, if I remember correctly. That one you have now is a Winchester Model 70 with heavy barrel and Leupold scope. Your cousins managed to procure some from his US Army contacts.
Mani: Why do I have this heavy thing and you have that lighter AK? It must weigh 10 pounds.
Modi: You are a better shot with a rifle than I. Therefore, whenever we get a target, you get to take the shot while I spot for you and support you.
Mani: I have no idea what that means, Modi. What are you trying to pull?
Modi: Look, you are a better shot, so we don’t waste time and ammunition when we have a target. I eyeball the situation while you settle in. Then I use my spotter scope here to allow you to set your scope for distance. You probably should set it now for about 500 meters. You can always change it.
(Mani takes some time to set his scope)
Mani: Then what?
Modi: Then I let you know whether it is clear enough to take your shot. I am not going to let you shoot unless it is a clear shot and no more than a squad will be coming up here after us. A squad we can handle. Now we can relax for a few minutes. I will call in and let them know we will be taking five practice shots.
Mani: I said I would I would help out with guard duty, Modi; I did not really want to shoot anyone.
Modi: When it comes to al-Qaida and other terrorists, Mani, being passive means to surrender. If you do not take an active role, you are letting them control the situation. If you put them in control, they will kill you, passive or not.
Mani: Look, Modi, I volunteered here to help my relatives. I thought we would only call in and warn them of danger. I do not want to hurt anyone. I am not like Radi, ready to cut off someone’s head at the slightest provocation.
Modi: Mani, Radi and his friends believe all of this garbage they are being told by those addle-headed imams who are still locked in the seventh century. They make him believe that if he does not start killing Jews, Christians, and even passive believers, Allah is going to punish him severely.
Mani: I know that ayat (verse), but I did not pay any attention to it. He was not talking to us. If I remember correctly, he said that to the Muslims who did not want to take part in the imagined battle with a Roman legion.
Modi: Right, good memory. But, Mani, you know that those ghouls know it also, but they are in denial about that and sell that nonsense to people who are not knowledgeable about the Qur’an. If people insist they are too busy to learn something about the Qur’an, sooner or later they will become victims of the ghouls who will use it against them. But, hey, let’s try a shot so I can get an idea about where that rifle is shooting.
(They decide to use the door of an abandoned, partially standing hut as a target.)
Modi: (After Mani’s first shot) You hit the door, Mani. At this distance, that was a great shot. I would not change any setting. Try that same shot again.
(After the second shot) You nailed it again, Mani. You and the rifle could use a little polish, but, no matter, you are good enough for what we are doing.
Mani: So what do I do now?
Modi: Just relax. I am calling in to tell them practice is over. (Speaks on the cell phone.) Modi, I do not know where you practice, but your shooting was impressive.
Mani: It has to be this rifle. It is already set up well. I only had to reset the scope. I guess I can shoot at doors all right, but I still do not know about people.
Modi: Mani, please listen to me. When dealing with al-Qaida and company, there is no such thing as a conscientious objector or fence-sitter. You either fight, or you give al-Qaida thugs the right to remove your head and your sons’ heads, make your wife a slave, and marry off your toddler daughters. Now think about that. Is that what you want for your family?
Mani: Of course not. That is gross and makes me want to throw up.
Modi: Well, if you can’t fight for your country, fight for your family--your little daughter.
Mani: Why do these people make us change our ways?
Modi: Some of them are so stupid, they do not know they are being scammed. But it does not matter; they believe that Allah will curse them if they do not chop people like you into little pieces. Look at some of those people in Darfur. Their big thing is to cut your heart out and let you watch them munch on it as you slowly die. Someone told them the more they can make you hate them as you are dying, the better they will be in Allah’s eyes. Mani, listen; none of these things I said really matter. When someone is out to kill you, don't ask why! Just kill him first. That is where we are. If you can't do it, you're dead.
Mani: These people, Modi, are so hateful they make me hate to be an Arab.
Modi: Don’t get angry, and don’t hate. Just stay cool and accept the fact that we have people among us who have no conscience or soul--nothing that keeps them from being monsters and subhumans. In most cases, you can only kill them; otherwise, they would continue to be a weight around your neck, waiting for you to make a mistake or for some nitwit goodytwoshoes to pat them on the head and set them free.
Mani: It is hard for me to say that we are of the same religion.
Modi: Well, we are. Our religion has a very large tent and accommodates monsters as well as real, decent people. It is up to us and our friends around the world to cut that cancer out. And we must do this before their lawyers push stupid countries into creating laws that give them the upper hand. The strange thing about laws is that the stupid naïve countries create laws that prohibit us from defending ourselves, but these same died-in-the-wool lawmakers don’t give a damn if they cut us to pieces. All they care about is safeguarding their precious paper laws.
(Mani, turns to his task and looks through his scope as he slowly turns the rifle.)
Mani: If I see one of those ghouls in my sight this day, I am going to present him with a new orifice in his head.
Modi: I knew you could do it, Mani. I knew you had it in you. You showed it.
Mani: Just how did I show it?
Modi: Radi said something about your daughter, and you decked him. Not a second passed between his saying it and your punching him in the mouth. It is a shame we can’t do that to all the people who need it.
Mani: You have that right.
HJS
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