Emir's Royal Palace, Al Wajba, Doha, Qatar, Middle East, June 2017…

Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, the autocratic, young monarch of the tiny but wealthy Middle East nation of Qatar stepped out of his office, whereupon two guards immediately bowed to him.

A little further away, another man- Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Qatar's Prime Minister and the Emir's third cousin- stepped forward respectively to greet the monarch. "Your Highness, I have returned from my meeting with the allied ambassadors. The news is… mixed."

Emir Al-Thani sighed in frustration. "Damn Saudi fucks! Abdullah, walk with me."

The two Qatari royals strolled down the hall.

"The Iranians have pledged another 12,000 soldiers to our cause, with Iraq and Turkey each pledging another 3,000 soldiers. The Germans are reluctant to support us openly, but they have pledged logistical help, military advisors, and a detachment of KSK Special Forces. Pakistan has offered 5,000 soldiers, but it will take some time to mobilize, they say.

A lot of countries have pledged weapons shipments- Russia, China, Iran, Turkey, North Korea, Pakistan, South Africa- to name just a few. Some are already on their way, I'm told. However, just having a lot of weaponry won't do us much good if we don't have the manpower or numbers to use them."

"I see," The Emir nodded. "Use the surplus weapons to intensify efforts to arm terrorist groups. The more regional chaos we generate, the more enemy resources and troops we can tie up in other theaters, gives us more leverage in negotiations and more potential allied irregular forces in the event of war. The more pressure we put on our enemies, the fewer options they have- their forces will be outstretched on too many fronts."

"Of course. You are wise, Emir," Prime Minister Abdullah acknowledged. "But we can't provoke the Americans, British, or French. Their intervention would be devastating for us. I fear ramped-up support for terrorist groups could provoke Western hostility."

"Naturally. However, the West relies on us for natural gas, oil, and military force projection. They wouldn't consider alienating us lightly. As long as we can keep the Saudis at bay, the West will be reluctant to get involved, especially in a costly ground war. The West will only get involved if it looks like the Saudis are about to win. Furthermore, with Germany on our side, their diplomatic efforts will stave off Western intervention. I think it's well worth it to buckle down and commit to supporting anti-Saudi militants across the Middle East. Besides… we have a trump card…"

"You don't mean… the Brotherhood of Nod?" Abdullah's eyes widened. "Can we trust them?"

"The Brotherhood of Nod AND the Global Liberation Army. You're right they can't be entirely trusted, but we need their backing to win any military confrontation. Relay these orders to the Foreign and Defense Ministries."

"As you wish, your Highness."

"I'll be in my bedroom now," The Emir dismissed, and turned away. "If you need me, contact my attendants."

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Four years ago today, an unidentified group of twenty gunmen, suspected to be members of the radical Islamist terrorist group Ansar Bait al-Maqdis (which later merged into ISIL) attacked an Egyptian Army military checkpoint in Al-Wadi Al-Gedid, New Valley Governorate, Egypt. The New Valley Governorate is in Egypt's Western Desert, bordering Libya to the west and Sudan to the south. The terrorists killed 22 Egyptian soldiers, but only 3 terrorists were killed, leading Egyptian dictator Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to declare a state of emergency on its border with Sudan.