Author's Notes

by

MacDonald Reid

About

OIL COMMISSION

Jihad: World War in 2036 ended abruptly. Loose ends dangled everywhere, much as has happened at the end of every war in history. Although lose ends are bad for historians, they are the author’s grist.

What had been settled by the nuclear holocaust set off by the Jihad? The United States had demonstrated military supremacy and established its suzerainty over the oil resources of most of the world. Yet, the United States had not destroyed Islamic Fundamentalism. It had not destroyed the clannishness intrinsic to Middle Eastern politics. Although it had conquered North Africa and the Middle East, the United States had lost ground diplomatically by alienating France. How could it possibly maintain control of such an empire?

The entire foreign policy of the United States depended on the OIL COMMISSION, established initially to control the oil resources of North Africa and the Middle East. Therefore, the central theme had to involve successes and failures of the OIL COMMISSION.

One set of antagonists was obvious – the Islamic Fundamentalists. Although they had been defeated, they were still the dominant faction in much of the Moslem world. Embittered, they would seek out any alliance, so long as it rid them of the hated OIL COMMISSION.

The second antagonist had to be France. They had been humiliated by the United States and denied participation in the OIL COMMISSION. Furthermore, they had a long-standing relationship with most of the North African countries. Thus, the seeds of an alliance against the OIL COMMISSION had already been sown.

France could not possibly win a war against the United States. However, French arms in the hands of North Africans would be a different story. To the world, it would appear as though the downtrodden masses, yearning for religious freedom, were rebelling against a tyrant imposed upon them by big, bad Uncle Sam. If the North Africans could win a significant victory, then France could openly support them, in much the same manner it had supported the American Colonists after the Battle of Saratoga.

But, this could not be the entire story. The fate of Iran was unresolved. Iran had been nuked into submission and had no means to renew a war.

There were still too many questions unresolved by the expulsion and exile of Ayatollah Hammedyanni and of his son, General Benhamin Hammedyanni. General Benhamin Hammedyanni had been exiled to Pakistan. By resurrecting him, as the Prophet-Prince, I could unite the people of the Steppes against the OIL COMMISSION. However, even collectively, they did not have the military capacity to fight a war against the West.

Russia to the rescue! When I involved Russia, everything fell in place. Suddenly I had two nations, France and Russia, that had the manufacturing capacity and military capabilities needed to arm and train vast numbers of essentially ignorant savages. Both could underwrite a major war as long as their governments could deny directly involvement.

After that, I let the OIL COMMISSION to decide its own fate. I wondered what the people would do? After a decade of occupation, would they support a new Jihad or would they choose to follow the course laid out for them by the OIL COMMISSION? 

I wondered what France and Russia would do. They’d been shut out of the OIL COMMISSION. Yet, the decisions and policies of the OIL COMMISSION affected their national economies.

In many ways the answers to these questions could only come from the OIL COMMISSION itself. Had it satisfied the people? Were they better off? Would they realize it even if they were? Would the OIL COMMISSION be able to withstand the military, political and social upheavals caused by its own existence? Perhaps more importantly, would the United States allow the OIL COMMISSION to do its job?

As always, I let the book write itself. Then, I edited it into a story. I hope you like it. I also hope that you’ll see the intrinsic fallacies and heed their warnings.

Thanks,

Mac