CHAPTER 9 MR. B and the STUXNET WORM OPERATION

 

 

CHAPTER 9

MR. B and the STUXNET WORM OPERATION

 

     The Christians had been separated into a convoy for transport to the Iraqi border. The Team was overnighting in a small box canyon. We were guided to our next assignment by the Kurdish bad boys of ASAYISH, Kurdish intelligence. ASAYISH was a pleasant group - as long as you were on their side.

 

     The Kurds lay in one circle, and we, The Team and Mr. B, lay in another circle of our own nearby on sleeping bags. The bags gave us protection from the damp and cool mountain air. Laying in a circle provided us with 360 coverage for defense while sleeping.

 

     A conversation had been going on in our group for some time. It isn't easy to sleep when you've been tense for days. Talking offered a way of breaking up some of that tension.

     Amani, the brain, popped up with a question for Mr. B, "Unit 8200 was involved in the Stuxnet Op. Were you involved, Mr. B?"

 

     Mr. B propped himself up on his elbows. "Amani, only here in the seclusion of this mountainous wilderness can I give you a very unofficial answer to your question. All of you have been vetted by the FBI and Mossad with the highest clearances possible. I'm sure you all suspected such."

 

     Mabior laughed, "We have had access to info and things of a highly sensitive nature. I always assumed that was the case, but I thought it best to not ask."

 

     Everyone nodded or assented to Mabior's words. Amani, well, he's Amani the prober - always.

 

     Amani pushed for the whole story, "Mr. B, I understand that, for security, Iran operated its centrifuge enrichment solely offline. The centrifuges had been bought through Pakistan. The Pakistanis use the Zippe-type centrifuges - the P1 and P2. As I understand it, the P2, with its maraging steel rotor, is stronger, faster, and can enrich more uranium per machine. Of course, the implication of that would be for Iranians to launch into the nuke weapons game faster."

 

     Still on his elbows, Mr. B gave in to Amani by taking over the story. "Okay - the US approached Israel for assistance." 

 

     This change caused everyone to rise to their elbows, me included. This was a "wow" moment.

     Continuing, Mr. B rose to a sitting position, "The US had invested over a billion dollars into the development of a worm virus called Stuxnet to take down the Iranian centrifuges. Being offline, they wanted our tech expertise, not to mention our insights and general knowledge of the Iranian nuke program."

 

     At the mention of a billion dollars for a single virus development, we gasped. Was this insanity, or was it just an example of the power of the US, or both? We all leaned in for more juicy info.

 

     Before resuming the tale, Mr. B stared into space while collecting his thoughts, "I'll be frank with you. We had a big problem to solve. We needed identical centrifuges to test Stuxnet. Buying large volumes of duplicate centrifuges from Pakistan would likely raise eyebrows at VAJA, Iranian intelligence. Well -" He laughed. "Well, here's where God jumped in to save our rears again. It just so happened that the Gaddafi regime was falling apart at the same time, in 2011. Lybian centrifuges were the same as Iran's. The US managed to - shall we say - acquire them." Another chuckle. "Israel and the US are tied at the hip. You hear about the fear of China, Russia, and Iran placing malware into our systems. It is the US and Israel who are to be feared the most. At the moment of a dead end, God presented us with the needed centrifuges."

 

     Amani's mind was overheating, "Mr. B, I am presented daily with evidence of the God of Israel's movements in this world!"

 

     Listening to Amani, Mr. B could only shake his head in agreement, saying, "In this world of the intelligence industry, you often see countries, butting up against our combined intelligence agencies, being made insanely hard-hearted by our God like the Pharaoh in Exodus. One can only assume it is to display God's glory to the world."

 

     Taking in a deep breath, Mr. B picked up the story's threads, "Our next problem was how to place the virus into an offline system. We needed someone to place the worm on a single USB into one computer to sleep until the time had come. We found that person with the help of the Dutch intelligence agency, AIVD. If I remember correctly, the man's name was Erik van Sabben, an Iranian engineer, living in the Netherlands. Van Sabben had been recruited by the Dutch AIVD. He made regular trips to the Natanz enrichment center. With a simple flash drive, he destroyed over a thousand centrifuges out of 5,000 at Natanz. The USB inserted mole succeeded by speeding up and destroying the centrifuges and causing their destruction. Stuxnet infected other computers as its virus attacked an unsuspecting Iranian offline system. Iran insists its nuclear program is peaceful, but the evidence we have acquired and shipped to the US and Israel is proof to the contrary."

 

     Mr. B gave us an indication of a repercussion from this designer virus. It carries a side effect with it, the Stuxnet Virus infected thousands of innocent computers worldwide. That's the problem with all these cyber weapons. The general population isn't immune to its carnage. These viruses are like nuclear bombs.

 

     All this info from Mr. B caused everyone to lie or sit in deep thought as we digested what he had just revealed.

 

     Amani had a last word to Mr. B, "I thank you for the story you have blessed us with, Mr. B. All of us will keep this to ourselves. What a glorious God is our God, the God of Israel. We must always find new ways to glorify him to the world."

 

     At that, Samuel stood up and walked to the middle of our circle, "Gentlemen, I think we need to pray to our God to thank him for all the miracles he blesses his faithful with each day."

 

     As Samuel finished his powerful prayer, A military Land Rover shot into our camp. We were startled at first, but quickly recovered as the dust settled. Though dark, we eventually made out a driver and two gunners with beaming faces carrying news of utmost importance for a member of The Team, Samuel.  

     Thon commented, "That must be what it looks like when The Team comes flying into a situation like a pack of ghastly monsters."

     The Rover driver looked around. Spotting Samuel, the obvious short one, he jumped from the vehicle and ran to Samuel hugging and imploring him to be quick at the same time. Samuel with a confused reply, "Be quick to what?"

     The driver looked dumbfounded at him, saying, "My friend - your wife and baby cry out for you! It is time. Come quickly."

     That was the last sane moment that night for anyone.

 

Kurds coming in hot with an important message for one of The Team's members.

Asked where they came up with the Rover, said the Brits were kind enough to gift it to us on their way out of Afghanistan. Artie & Giff were all smiles at that answer.
 

 

The Team's Mission Deviates

VIRUS
 

CENTRIFUGE ENRICHMENT

SIEMENS CORPORATION

 

MR. B

UNCLE SAM, OUR CONTACT

DUTCH INTELLIGENCE AGENCY - AIVD

 

All of these are related to chapter 9 of SHORT IN HEIGHT, TALL IN COURAGE - The Story of God's African Special Forces Unit - Book 2

CHAPTER 8 INTO KURDISTAN, A LAND WITHIN LANDS

 CHAPTER 8

INTO KURDISTAN, A LAND WITHIN LANDS

 

     Kurdistan, a country? No, Kurdistan is a land within lands or countries. A country for Kurds is what most Kurdish people desire and are willing to fight for, and often do. Kurds are primarily Muslim, Shiite, and Sunni, but also practice Christianity, Yarsanism, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism. What helps the Kurds to be more amenable to other faiths compared to most ethnic groups of Muslims is the fact that they prioritize their ethnic identity over their religious identity. I wish to leave no doubt that the Kurdish people are fierce, resilient, trustworthy, and brave. Our Lord surely placed Israeli and American DNA in Kurdish veins.

     I'll give you a brief and simple snapshot of Kurdistan and the Kurds. What is referred to as the Kurdistan district comprises a large area spread over several countries. That area takes a bite of southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northeastern Iraq, portions of northeastern and northwestern Syria, and small detached concentrations in Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. 

     Kurdish people speak a West Iranian language closely related to Persian and Pashto. Originally, the population was concentrated in the Taurus Mountains and were primarily a nomadic people who herded mainly goats and sheep. After WWI, artificially drawn national boundaries forced the Kurds from their traditional nomadic lifestyles into villages and farming while some took on nontraditional employment. Their history is of a close-knit ethnic group that seems to defy conventional Muslim norms. Years ago, in my initial meeting with the Kurds in Iraq, I was enlightened by an old Kurdish elder who informed me that Kurdish loyalty wasn't given through religion, but through friendship. He made it clear that they did not take friendship lightly.

 
     As the loose-spaced convoy traveled to meet our Kurdish friends in northwestern Iran. Most of us not driving slept. Thanks to the Lieutenant Colonel of the Artesh Battalion, we had the use of a medium fuel tanker. That resource meant no fuel stops. Every stop brought the risk of encounters with curious Iranian officials. 

     Colonel Petrov, Samuel, and Hosseini traveled with an Iranian Christian, Amir, driving. Mr. B wanted this design to blunt any interaction with authorities. Those men carried all the needed documentation of authority for this top-secret Iranian-Russian mission.

 
     Our convoy was overtaken on a lonely stretch of road by a solitary policeman patrolling the area. He motioned for the lead van to pull over. He looked amazed when a long line of 43 vans, cars, and trucks also pulled over behind that lead vehicle.

     He was hesitant to fully remove himself from his police vehicle fearing trouble when he took in the large convoy pulling in behind the lead truck. Visibly shaken, the officer took a bit to gather the courage to walk back to the lead truck and ask for papers. Upon inspecting the papers by flashlight, the wide-eyed officer began sweating and stuttering as he shakily handed the papers back to the driver. A top secret convoy with documents personally signed by the head of VAJA. All Iranians had heard horror stories of VAJA, the Iranian Intelligence Agency, and their vicious interrogations.

 
     The driver performed a motion with his right hand across his throat as if cutting it to add emphasis to the paperwork. 

     Bowing and apologizing profusely as he stumbled backward to his vehicle, the officer sped away into the night at a high rate of speed.

     Close to our destination in northwest Iran, once again a solitary police vehicle pulled us over in the slowly fading night. We had traveled over 400 miles toward our destination of Urmia, Iran from the Parchin nuclear facility. We needed to be extra careful, now. 

     This policeman was seen on the radio as he passed us and proceeded to pull the lead truck over. This was not good news. Had our escapade in Parchin alerted officials? Had the first police stop been communicated to higher authorities? Everybody was on edge and felt for their weapons. As the officer exited his vehicle, he had his sidearm drawn. He slowly walked around the lead truck examining it closely.

     Next to me, I felt Mabior slowly reach down into his boot extracting his stiletto. I flipped the safety off my Baretta. The Christian driving our truck glanced at me and Mabior then pulled his large knife from his boot sliding it under his right leg.

 
     In the distance behind us, we could see many lights approaching in the rearview mirror. Mr. B, from a vehicle in the rear of the convoy, radioed on our walkie-talkies, "Stay calm and let's see how this plays out. If it turns south, feel free to react."

 
     We watched the officer yell at the driver while pointing his sidearm at him, "Driver, step out of the vehicle keeping hands visible! I want you to have your paperwork in your right hand."
     Amir did as ordered.

     In succession, Samuel and Colonel Petrov were ordered out with their paperwork in their right hand. All three were directed to face the truck with hands extended upward and touching the truck's sides. 

     As the policeman was examining the paperwork, the vehicles slowly made their way alongside our convoy. Only the first vehicle had police markings. As that police car came even with the detaining officer, it stopped. That officer with paperwork in hand walked to the driver's door and had a brief conversation while the driver was looking over the papers.

 
     I could tell the occupants of our truck were very tense which included myself. We watched and waited as the policeman stood silently waiting for some sort of reply from the driver who we assumed was a policeman.

     After what seemed like forever, we saw the policeman who was chatting with the police car occupant slowly develop a big grin across his face. At that point, he turned and walked toward The three men with arms stretched against the lead truck, shouting, "Welcome to Kurdistan, my friends. You are free to turn around. We had to be sure of your identities."

     At that same moment, the vehicles that had pulled alongside began emptying their occupants. We followed suit. Hugs and pressure relief were on full display. 

     The women in our convoy were sought out by the Kurdish women to offer any and all special aid needed, some being pregnant. Right in the middle of the highway tables were set up with a feast fit for royalty. All of us were tired and hungry.

 
     After the banquet, the Kurds took over the driving while encouraging us to sleep. And we did.
     West of Urmia, Iran, our now double-in-size convoy stopped in a small flat-land area surrounded by hills. We could make out little as it was still dark and moonless. It felt good to stretch our legs.

 
     It couldn't have been more than ten minutes after arriving that we began to hear the sound of a C130 in the distance. It came roaring in at tree top level and quickly landed while stirring up thick clouds of dirt. It turned and never shut down its engines. 

     The trucks loaded with nuke evidence backed to the rear one by one. Everyone swarmed behind the trucks and into the bay of the noisy C130. Loading began immediately with little talking. Everyone was dedicated to the mission.

     Maybe 30 minutes passed before all ten trucks were unloaded and the plane powerfully launched across the distant treetops and out of sight. All was quiet again, and the only evidence of what had occurred was the dirt lingering in the night air.

     As if some invisible commander was giving orders, everyone silently loaded up in the vehicles and headed for the Iraqi border. It was another dangerous journey, but we were in the Kurdistan District. That fact gave us a great deal of comfort. 

     God doesn't do away with all the evil in the world. He just carries the faithful safely through it using some of the most unlikely people.  

A few of our Kurdish friends.

CHAPTER 7 ARTESH vs THE GOD OF ISRAEL

 

 

 Chapter 7

Artesh vs the God of Israel

     Hosseini, his Farsi accent still pure, stood in the middle of the roadway dressed in local police regalia acquired from the jail facility. Standing erect and with hand extended upward in a "halt" gesture, he brought an entire Artesh military battalion of about 500 men in various outdated vehicles to a stop.

     The commander, a Lieutenant Colonel, jumped out from the backseat. Clearly, he was not in the mood to have his military column stopped by a mere policeman. His shouting indicated he wanted an explanation.

     As the column approached, Mr. B had a plan, but Samuel interrupted that with his plan. His plan was for Hosseini to stop the column, and then introduce him, Samuel, into the conversation. He'd handle it from there with help from me and Colonel Petrov. He smiled and instructed everyone to continue with the task of gathering evidence and loading as if no Artesh were present.

     The Colonel and Hosseini were in a lively exchange when he was informed about the mystery of the three Russians standing nearby. With a look of angry confusion, the Colonel followed Hosseini's lead to the Russian officers.

     Hosseini did the intro, then proceeded creatively to walk the line of vehicles, smiling and explaining a situation that he knew few real details of to the soldiers. He planned to convince them to lower their guards by describing it as a farcical bureaucratic situation. The soldiers shook their heads in disgust, as this event was all too normal. They lit cigarettes as they exited the vehicles while talking and laughing, weapons left inside. Everybody was calm and relaxed, including Mr. B, who smiled at the beautiful teamwork. 

     Samuel, I, and Colonel Petrov along with the Artesh Colonel walked to a nearby low rock wall and sat down to talk. 

     Samuel lit a cigarette, astounding! He offered one to the Colonel, which he accepted. The four of us sat quietly for a few seconds while Samuel and the Colonel took long drags on their cigarettes.

 
     Finally, Samuel looked into the Artesh Colonel's eyes, saying, "Colonel, I know the situation here is unusual." He paused before continuing, "I think you will understand when I tell you that this situation going on before you here is well above your pay grade."

     The Colonel's eyes shot wide open as he tried to digest all the information injected into his mind. He looked around at all the loading and scurrying back and forth between the half-destroyed buildings of this top-secret area.

 
     Colonel Petrov and I looked at one another with a look of "Oh, Lord, we're about to get into a firefight with an enemy army battalion." 

     After what seemed like hours, the Colonel looked directly at Samuel, asking, "How can I and my men be of assistance, General?"

     Samuel put his left arm on the Colonel's shoulders, and, with his trademark ear-to-ear smile, Samuel poured this out, "Colonel, the Komeini will award you with the Order of Zolfaghar for the selflessness of you and your men in helping with this most secret of secret state emergency undertakings. The horror the Jews have caused here is indescribable. We must get these things to Russia for immediate processing."

     Jumping up and saluting, the Colonel shouted, "General, sir, it is mine and my men's duty as Iranians to give you any aid needed to accomplish this great mission. Consider us at your command for the rest of the project, and be assured that our lips are sealed about anything we have seen here."

     Samuel gave a stiff and snappy return salute and a gripping handshake to the Colonel. While still grasping the officer's hand Samuel pointed with his free hand at Mr. B approaching. "This gentleman approaching us is Mr. B. He is in charge of this secret operation. He is with VAJA, Iran's intelligence service."

     That information seemed to create a foreboding expression across the Colonel's face. It was just as planned and just as Mr. B wanted.

 
     Myself, Samuel, Petrov, and Hosseini tried to act nonchalant as we stood in a group taking quick glances at the Colonel telling his men the situation. We watched as all the men's faces degenerated into the same foreboding expression as had appeared on their Colonel's face at the mention of VAJA. Success.

     We had to be finished by nightfall to allow transport of the evidence to the sight of the C-130 landing zone to pick up materials. Also, the Kurds, who had prepped the sight, were waiting to escort our Team, the Russians, and the Christians to the border. It would be a risky undertaking, but God was leading.

     As the operation was near completion, I went looking for Samuel and Hosseini. I found them in the jail cell containing the Quizmaster. I peeked quietly into the open doorway. All three held hands while in a very intense prayer session. I thought it best to leave the three men doing God's work undisturbed for now. My only thoughts were, "What a fierce group of soldiers our Lord sets against his enemies."

     Not long after that encounter, our group pulled out leaving the Artesh Colonel and his men securing the town for the Khomeini. The gracious Colonel gave us two hours to gain the needed distance between us and the base of Parchin before setting off the explosive charges, destroying the remaining nuclear weapons components. 

     Now, on our way to meet up with our friends, the Kurds. Unbeknownst to us, our friends had a little surprise waiting for us.  

 

Some of the fake Iranian Police decided to get a picture taken with a strange group of Artesh Soldiers who stood at attention displaying the Iranian flag the entire time while their battalion was helping us with evidence theft.