Zach Hardin is an American success story. Orphaned in his
native Cairo . . . brought to the US by an anonymous benefactor to attend high
school and adopted by a New York congressman . . . great student . . . Yale honor
student . . . moves to Nevada to be mentored by another Egyptian success story
. . . 4-term congressman . . . then the Senate.
While in the Senate, he and his adoptive father sponsor a
bill to amend the ‘natural born citizen’ clause in the 2nd article of
the US Constitution. Immigrants founded the US and the clause restricts a huge
number of qualified Americans for becoming President. To prove the move wasn’t
to benefit him, Hardin says he would not entertain a run for 20 years after the
change to the Constitution. The amendment is approved. It’s the mid 1990’s.
In Hamilton’s revisionist history, 9/11 didn’t happen.
10/01/00 did. And the act polarized the Muslim community. Those who favored
violence were ecstatic, but the arm that favors a peaceful transition to an
Islamic world was horrified. The two sects were at each other’s throat. Iran
and Iraq have dragged Israel into their conflict. Palestine is on the verge of
erupting. The current US President is too quick with a military solution and no
leader in the Middle East trusts him. The world is on the verge of war on an
unprecedented scale.
The 2008 election looms. A candidate who can mediate peace
in the Middle East is seen as a solution. Who better than an American who grew
up on the harsh streets of Cairo? Hardin is swept into the campaign and not
surprisingly, easily defeats the incumbent.
The routine FBI background checks find nothing of interest
in Hardin. Because some of the background had to be done quietly in Cairo, the
FBI uses a CIA asset to dig around. The main problem is the lack of information
of his early life in Cairo.
Hamilton asks whether America should accept Hardin’s public
statements or should the CIA/FBI dig deeper on the miniscule chance that Hardin
and his mentor might be the deepest of sleeper cells that will bring their
caliphate down on the US in the hours after Hardin takes the oath of office.
While it’s a bit of a stretch to think that the worst
outcome could actually happen, but the track taken by the CIA uncovers just enough
evidence to raise their eyebrows. And what do they do with this information?
The President-elect has already said the current CIA chief will one of the
first heads to roll when he takes power. Any statements by the CIA will look
like sour grapes by the lame duck director. Is their only option to wait until
Hardin in President and try to catch his act of treason? It’s an interesting quandary,
isn’t it?
East Coast Don
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