To Unleash a Force

1988.

Cenotaph Whitehall London SW1

Lat = 51 degrees, 30.2 minutes North

Long = 0 degrees, 7.6 minutes West

Sunday 8th November 1987

Ten fifty-five hours GMT

The day had started as a typical cold grey rain soaked November morning in the UK’s capital, the sun was beginning to shine through, as if it was aware of the impending ceremony.

Standing solemnly at thirty-seven feet in the middle of Whitehall made from Portland stone, that mass of national emotion frozen in stone is the world’s famous Cenotaph, Literally meaning ‘Empty Tomb’ in Greek.

It is undecorated save for a carved wreath on each end and the words The Glorious Dead, chosen by Rudyard Kipling.

Any other day of the year, visitors could be forgiven for passing the Cenotaph by unnoticed, however today the closest Sunday to 11th November it had become the focus of Britain’s Remembrance Service.

It commemorates specifically the victims of the First World War, but is used to commemorate all of the dead in all wars in which British service members have fought.

Hundreds of people young and old braving the weather, had queued for the last two hours to witness the ceremony.

Lining both sides of Whitehall were members of the three armed forces, Royal Navy, Royal Airforce and the Army.

The Queen along with religious leaders, politicians, representatives of state and the armed and auxiliary forces had just arrived to pay respect to those who gave their lives defending others.

The service has changed little since it was first introduced in 1921, hymns were sung and prayers were said, and as nearby Big Ben struck eleven o’clock, the whole area observed the two-minute silence.

As the two-minute silence ended, a bugler played the last post accompanied by the sound of cannon fire.

A few minutes later Her Majesty the Queen laid the first wreath at the foot of the Cenotaph and bowed, followed one by one, by other adult members of the immediate Royal Family, who bowed or saluted for those in military uniform. The next to lay their wreaths were The Prime Minister, then the leader of the Opposition and leaders of other political parties.

Twenty minutes later the ceremony would be concluded with a march past of war veterans; a poignant gesture of respect for their fallen comrades.

Charing Cross Road London WC2

Lat = 51 degrees, 30.5 minutes North

Long = 0 degrees, 7.6 minutes West

Sunday 8th November 1987

Fifteen minutes earlier, Ten forty-five hours GMT

The white coloured Ford Sierra, had left Freegrove road in the Lower Holloway area of London, on board were three men of Arabic origin.

Aban Ba’albaki who was driving with his two passengers Essa Faraj and Hakem Zuabi both sitting in the back, all three were members of the ANO Abu Nidal Organization the International terrorist organization led by Sabri al-Banna, that had split from the PLO in 1974, and was currently based in the Lebanon.

The ANO had received considerable support, including safe haven, training, logistic assistance, and financial aid from Iraq, Libya, and Syria.

Since 1974, the organisation had carried out numerous attacks on the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and Israel.

Today was going to be another attack on the west, the target the ceremony at the Cenotaph.

The Ford Sierra hurtled down towards Trafalgar square, two uniformed Police officers moved out into the road to order it to stop.

Aban Ba’albaki jammed his right foot down harder on the accelerator pedal increasing the vehicles speed.

The two Police officers were forced to dive out of the way, as the Ford rounded Trafalgar square and headed for Whitehall.

One of the Police officers managed to make a call on his personal radio, Alpha Delta 820 to MP, we have a white Ford Sierra that has failed to stop, and has entered Whitehall from the Trafalgar square end; over.

MP is the generic call sign for the Metropolitan Police’s Comms room at New Scotland yard, one of the operators replied, received Alpha Delta 820, any units in Whitehall please advise of vehicles status and stop it over.

The Ford Sierra was now in Whitehall, both Essa and Hakem had wound the rear windows down; with their AK-47’s pointing out they began to fire indiscriminately at the lines of people on either side of the road.

Members of the forces and civilians began to take hits and fell to the ground either dead or injured.

A half-mile down Whitehall road the gunshot resonance had been heard, Police armed protection officers had begun herding the Royal family and the Prime minister, quickly away from Whitehall and into nearby Downing street, a Police Range Rover then blocked the roadway into Downing street, just as the Ford Sierra came into view.

By this time mayhem had ensued, hundreds of people were running aimlessly trying to escape the area.

In the following day’s tabloids the headlines would describe the following scene as like, a lone wild west gunfighter emerging from the chaos.

A man in a British army uniform; displaying the insignia of a crossed sword and baton below a star or often referred to as a pip, signifying a Major General, was now standing alone in front of the cenotaph, facing the oncoming Ford Sierra and aiming a Glock model-19 in both hands at the oncoming car, sixty yards away.

Aban Ba’albaki had seen the lone gunman ahead and shouted back to his two men to direct fire at this man.

The lone gun man squeezed the trigger several times and several 9mm rounds burst out of the barrel at 1,230 ft/s, the lone gunman continued to fire until the slide mechanism stayed back, indicating that the fifteen rounds had been fired and the weapon was empty.

On the receiving end of this volley of rounds was Aban Ba’albaki and his two comrades, the second and third bullet had struck Aban directly in the skull, spraying blood and brain matter over the back onto Essa and Hakem.

The sixth and eighth 9mm rounds found Essa’s left shoulder, with the eleventh and twelfth hitting Hakem in the throat.

The Ford Sierra was now out of control and had flipped over once onto its roof.

As the car slid towards him, the lone gunman stood his ground, ejecting the spent magazine and feeding a fresh one into the pistols handle, as the car slid towards him, he took aim again covering the vehicle as it slid to a stop several feet from him.

For a few moments; a chilling silence surrounded the scene; however, this was quickly broken by the cries from the injured people and the emerging sound of the sirens from the emergency vehicles as they began arriving.

The lone gunman walked towards the upturned Ford covering the vehicle with his weapon, he looked inside at the three occupants that were covered in blood none had survived the hail of bullets and the crash.

He holstered his weapon and turned away walking towards nearby Downing Street.

The Prime Minister moved through the small Police cordon that had formed towards him, as the two met she smiled at him and said, Major Strayker your bravery as always has saved the day.

Strayker turned from the Prime Minister and looked up Whitehall, observing the carnage that was still unfolding; turning back to the Prime Minister he replied, Have you given anymore thoughts on my proposal to deal with these fanatics Ma’am?

She looked up Whitehall and it was obvious to everyone that people were lying dead and injured on a British street, in fact anyone could have mistaken this for a scene from the Middle East.

Major send me your proposal for this Friday and meet with me at 3pm, and we will discuss it.

"Thank you Ma’am.

Reuters News Agency, 85 Fleet Street EC4 London

Lat = 51 degrees, 30.9 minutes North

Long = 0 degrees, 6.4 minutes West

Monday 9th November 1987

The presses had been working overtime to accommodate the previous day’s atrocious attack at the Cenotaph.

The editor Robin Westwood looked over the front page spread, in bold print the headline read as follows, Terrorists Attack foiled by lone gunman.

Below this was a picture of the Cenotaph and the overturned terrorist car, he read on.

A lone gunman emerged as the hero, from yesterday’s despicable attack at the remembrance parade in Whitehall. Like an old fashioned Wild West gun fighter, Major General Mick Strayker; stood his ground as he fired his handgun emptying the magazine into the oncoming terrorist’s car, killing the three assailants. Major General Mick Strayker is a highly decorated military veteran...

The editor looked up, I like it, and we will run with it.

London 10 Downing Street

Lat = 51 degrees, 30.2 minutes North

Long = 0 degrees, 7.7 minutes West

Friday 13th November 1987

Seventeen years of terror.

During the Nineteen-seventies and eighties the world was in the grip of an explosion of terrorism, the terrorist groups used violence against civilian populations in an effort to effect change for either religious or ideological reasons.

The United Kingdom was already involved in terrorist warfare over the issues in Northern Ireland, however; the United Kingdom had many terrorist acts committed against it either on UK soil or against its people or property overseas by other terrorist organisations during this period.

Travelling quickly along Whitehall London a dispatch rider makes the right turn into Downing Street, and pulls up outside the famous black door.

The small six-panel door is surrounded by cream a coloured Casing and adorned with a semi-circular fanlight window painted white.

Between the top and middle sets of panels, is the famous numeral ten, the zero of the number 10 is set at a slight angle as a nod to the original number, which had a badly fixed zero.

A black iron knocker in the shape of a lion’s head is between the two middle panels’ below the knocker is a brass letterbox with the inscription First Lord of the Treasury.

The courier removed a sealed document pouch from one of the pannier’s and approaches the door upon which a uniformed Police officer opens the door to allow his entry, he is greeted by the Prime ministers secretary whom signs for the package.

Miss Douglas a middle-aged secretary walked down the hall to where the Prime minister is seated in one of the back rooms.

The package you have been waiting for has arrived Ma’am.

Thank you Anne; place it on the table here.

Would you like a pot of tea Ma’am?

The Prime Minister looked at her watch 2:22pm. Remind me what time Major Strayker is due to arrive.

That will be 3pm Ma’am.

Serve a Pot of tea Anne, with two cups when he arrives.

Miss Douglas left the Prime minister alone; when she had left, she opened highly confidential sealed document titled To Unleash a Force and began to read it.

The following are brief accounts of acts of terrorism affecting the United Kingdom from nineteen-seventy to date.

Nineteen seventy.

September the sixth.

Skyjack Sunday took place at Dawson field, in Jordon. TWA, Swissair, BOAC aircraft, along with more than four hundred hostages were hijacked and ordered to the Jordanian airport by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

Another terrorist team tried to hijack an El Al Boeing over London but security staff foiled the attempt and capture one of the hijackers, Leila Khalid, alive. The German, Swiss and British Governments all agreed to the PFLP’s demands and released a number of terrorists, including Khalid held in their jails.

October tenth.

Quebec separatists kidnapped state government minister Pierre LA Porte and later murdered him. The same group Kidnaped British trade Commissioner James Cross but released him unharmed.

Nineteen Seventy-one.

January eighth.

British Ambassador to Uruguay Sir Geoffrey Jackson kidnapped and held for eight months by Tupamaros terrorists, demanding the release of political prisoners.

November twenty eighth.

Jordanian Prime Minister Wasfi Tal shot and killed by Palestinian Black September terrorists at the Sheraton hotel in Cairo, Egypt. A month later, the Jordanian ambassador in London, England, is shot and wounded by a Black September hit squad.

Nineteen seventy-two.

September nineteenth.

A Member of the Israeli embassy staff in London, England, killed by Palestinian letter bomb.

Nineteen seventy-four.

November twenty-third.

A British DC-10 airliner hijacked at Dubai, UAE, by Palestinian Rejectionist front terrorists and eventually flown to Tunisia, where a German passenger was killed.

Nineteen Seventy-Eight.

August twentieth.

El Al stewardess killed when crew bus ambushed by Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine terrorists outside Europa Hotel, London, England.

September seventh.

Bulgarian exile journalist Georgi Markov murdered by Bulgarian secret service agents who injected him with poison on a street in London, England.

Nineteen seventy-nine.

June eighteenth.

NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe; General Alexander Haig escaped death after a terrorist bomb exploded under a bridge just after his motorcade has passed over it. The German Red army Faction is blamed by western intelligence sources.

Nineteen eighty.

April thirtieth.

Six Iraqi-backed Iranians storm the Iranian Embassy in Princess Gate, London, taking twenty-two hostages. Six days later British Special Air Service anti-terrorist troops re-capture the embassy killing five of the terrorists and freeing the hostages. Two hostages were killed and two more wounded by the terrorists.

Nineteen eighty-two.

June third.

The Israeli ambassador in London, England, Shlomo Argov, shot and seriously injured by terrorists from the Abu Nidal group.

Nineteen eighty-four.

April seventeenth.

A British Police woman was killed outside the Libyan Peoples Bureau embassy in London by small arms fire originating from inside the building.

Nineteen eighty-six.

April seventeenth.

British television journalist John McCarthy was seized in Beirut by Iranian backed terrorists and held hostage to date with a large group of other westerners.

Nineteen eighty-seven.

January tenth.

British church envoy Terry Waite disappeared in Beirut, Lebanon, while on a mission to secure the release of other western hostages held in the city by Iranian backed groups.

Five days ago, Sunday 8th November 1987

Cenotaph Whitehall London.

Nineteen killed and thirty-one injured, assailants identified as part of the Abu Nidal Organization.

In all, there were no less than one hundred and thirty-nine worldwide reported acts of terrorism during this seventeen-year period.

Britain has been the target of numerous terrorist threats and attacks during the seventies and early eighties, MI5 and MI6 as well as the SAS are heavily committed to the war with the IRA. During this time period the Irish troubles accounted for Seventy-five deaths two hundred and eighty-six injured on the mainland.

Not counting the many deaths and injuries in Northern Ireland.

The Prime minister turned over to the next page that was headed Operational Strike Command (OSC), ‘To Unleash a Force’ this contained a six-page report and was signed off by Major General Mick Strayker.

A cough at the door caused the Prime Minister to turn away from the document.

Strayker come on in I have just finished reading the document you had sent over, it makes for grim reading.

Miss Douglas followed Major General Strayker carrying a tray that she placed down; she quickly left the room closing the door on her way out.

Strayker poured the tea and sat back as the Prime Minister re read the last six pages.

Mick Strayker had joined the army as a boy soldier at the age of sixteen and had come through the ranks, he was now Forty-four years of age.

Strayker was a good six-foot three inches tall with wide shoulders and a close-cropped haircut, which was now showing signs of greying around the sides.

He was the youngest Major General in the army; and was a natural soldier having seen service during the Mau-Mau uprising in 1960, the Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation in 1963, Aden 1965, several tours in Northern Ireland and the Falklands in 1982 along with postings in Gibraltar, Hong Kong, Belize and Brunei.

The Prime Minister stood up and walked to the window; To unleash a Force is an excellent idea however it’s also very radical and controversial.

"With respect Ma’am You just said;