I Am Fear

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Some years ago, as I was about to go on the air

with a back story about the formative days

of Slobodan Milosevic in Serbia,

my producer came up to me and said that an intern

had taken it upon herself to fact-check the story,

and had discovered a discrepancy.

Well, rather than get angry

five minutes before the broadcast,

I said, well, you know, bring her here.

I want to meet her right now.

Well, Ernie took off and a moment later he came back,

and following him was this 22-year-old Georgetown graduate.

It was the intern.

Her hair was done up in a greasy ponytail.

She stepped onstage, into the light

that's supposed to wrap my face, okay?

She stuck out her hand, and in shock I shook it.

She gave me this knowing grin,

and do you remember what you said to me?

Of course I remember.

I said we've never met, but my name is Sara Brown

and you're gonna want to hear what I have to tell you next.

You'll be blindfolded and the drive will be long.

You'll have exactly 20 minutes with Ra'ar,

and if all goes as planned,

be back in Baghdad roughly 13 hours.

If all goes as planned.

If all goes as planned.

Thank you.

Rain in the desert.

Must be your lucky day.

Have fun.

Samir.

My pocket.

The lighter.

Samir.

You missed it.

The Abaris have moved on,

taking with them their all-you-can-rape buffet.

Some was easy.

The women and children, they fled

up the mountain on foot

to pray for mercy from their peacock god.

That was interesting.

Did you know that since Assyrian times,

their faith forbids them to write?

Do you even know what faith they were originally?

I'll give you a hint.

They weren't Shiite.

They're sorrier than Christians.

And if you thought that were Zoroastrianists,

you'd be wrong as well.

They were Satanists.

Pre-Islamic devil worshipers.

Then in good old oral tradition, so the story goes,

in Assyrian times at the top of Mount Sinjar

stood the temple of Melek.

Now, even if this cosmogonic-infatuated world

we live in today, Melek would be considered the devil.

But back then, Melek translated meant simply king.

And unlike God,

Melek did not want your donations on a Sunday.

And really unlike God,

Melek could not give a fuck about your prayers.

No, what Melek wanted from the Yazidis was their fear.

And to the Yazidis, as far as God goes,

God was anyone or anything

that could deliver them from Melek.

Now, doesn't that sound more real to life

than all other bullshit we hear today, huh?

You don't have to do this.

I have my own money.

I can take you to it.

Respectfully, Asad, and I do respect you,

you are a good pro, but why would you still

be in this pissed-in sandbox asshole end of the world

if you had any amount of money I gave a shit about, huh?

Tens of thousands of dollars.

- Asad, hey! - Sterling.

No, no, no, Asad, you don't understand.

I don't give a shit about this pitiful sum of money.

No, far more valuable to me is seeing what happens

to people who try to rip off my money drop,

and to their families.

Not my son.

Hey, yes your son.

If you needed cash, you should have stolen

from the Americans or the Germans,

and lied about it like the Russians.

No, no, no, no, no, no, my son.

Hey, it's not your fault.

You did not know the Yazidi secret.

Neither did I, because it's never been written anywhere.

Has to be whispered to you.

It's far better for you to see it and to experience it.

Shall I whisper it to you?

He's here.

Baba!

Asad, smile.

You're on camera.

Don't talk, don't talk.

That's it, that's it, pray.

Pray that his life is sensitive.

Baba.

Oh God, oh, God.

Baba.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

No, no, no, no, no, no!

No, no, no.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

Kill me first!

No, not my son, no, no!

Kill me first!

Not my son, kill me, me!

Please, please, no!

Kill me first!

I want to ask you about,

about the secular component of the Islamic State.

The movement began with a few private, anonymous investors

who funded early operations.

Now as the caliphate spans thousands of miles,

it controls banks, oil fields, mining facilities.

With these millions of dollars...

It's not millions.

It's billions.

Well, with it you're able to employ...

Say it.

With these billions of dollars,

you're able to employ members

of the global mercenary community.

When we use them, you call them mercenaries.

When America uses them, they're called security contractors.

That's a good point.

With these billions of dollars,

you're able to better train Islamic State fighters,

assassinate tribal leaders,

even hire an expansive team of counterintelligence experts

to help protect yourself.

The wake of the caliphate's expansion

has shown a clear strategic emphasis

on capturing these resources and monetary gain.

Is Allah concerned with wealth?

Why don't you ask the Pope

how God likes living in his home in the Vatican?

Allah is not a Marxist.

Allah is not a capitalist.

God is simply Allah,

and his philosophy is unambiguous.

So you might say that we are in revolt

against any philosophy that places itself

above the word of Allah.

But that doesn't pay the rent.

Well, how would you describe the difference

between you and Osama bin Laden?

I am not at the bottom of the ocean.

Ideologically.

Al-Qaeda was willing to wait a century

to create the caliphate and Islamic State.

Where they seek the reverent and the wealthy,

we seek the bold and disaffected,

but we are willing to accept the fearful just the same.

That is how we few became many.

You want to know what Osama bin Laden

really concerned himself with?

You.

He was concerned with spectacular acts of reprisal,

seeking to cull the support of the media.

The more the act had size, the greater the media attention,

and the more people who would watch,

the more the world feared.

The more the world feared, the more who watched.

And yet one might say the more attention bin Laden got,

the more he became a target.

Asad, this fear

is touching divinity.

You are offering to the Yazidikin

the closest thing to his experience

anyone can have around these parts.

Can you feel it, Asad?

It's beautiful.

I know you can keep the secret.

Don't fucking move!

God is anything that can save you, huh?

Your god today, Asad, is in that duffel bag.

Save your prayers.

She'll fucking love you.

Just stay there.

There you go.

Polar sky, I repeat, polar sky is confirmed KIA.

All right.

I'm afraid our time together is up.

On behalf of GBN, I'd like to thank you

for granting me this exclusive interview,

and for respecting the safety

of foreign journalists in conflict areas.

The whole world is a conflict area, Sara.

What do you think it would take for people to realize that?

As-salamu alaykum.

50L10, see if you can get