©2018 Danny Rittman and Brian Downing Computers are not intelligent. They only think they are. – Epigrams in Programming, ACM SIGPLAN Sep 1993 Barry's first taste of battle was only a skirmish against a small rearguard of Frenchmen who occupied an orchard beside a road down which, a few hours later, the English main force would wish to pass. Though this encounter is not recorded in any history books, it was memorable enough for those who took part. – Stanley Kubrick, Barry Lyndon New Mexico “Everything looks way overexposed out here,” Barrett grumbled as he drove into the studio parking lot. The direct sun, treeless streets, and cloudless skies make for a brightness that caused people to say his photos were harsh and software could take something off. “But that’s what New Mexico looks like,” he’d shoot back. “Overexposed. Way overexposed.” He found a place to park in the visitors section and walked toward the television studio that did contract work for international news stations. “At least it’s easy to park. Even in downtown Albuquerque.” Barrett stiffened and looked warily as a young man exited the building and came toward him. The man walked past him, got into his car, and drove off. Barrett continued to watch him a few moments more before entering the building. “Maybe someday I’ll stop doing that.” “Barrett Parker,” he announced to the receptionist. “I’m scheduled for an interview on Al Jazeera at two.” She made a quick look on her screen and replied, “Studio 4, just down the hall to the left.” He nodded and walked down the hallway, stopping to check his longish hair and short beard for the proper amount of dishevelment which he thought conveyed distance from convention. No security badge or sign-in book. New Mexico isn’t like that. Los Alamos and Sandia Labs are like that. The rest of the state is low-key. It was like that in Billy the Kid’s day. New Mexico received a fresh infusion of offbeat people when hippies flocked there in the sixties. Some of them lived in buses converted into houses of sorts or in dwellings built to resemble flying saucers. Most of the offbeat New Mexicans weren’t his crowd, though he shared their eccentric spirit. Most of them mistrusted him because of his expertise in military matters. No decent person should know what a Raptor or a Misagh-2 was. Not in their estimation. Barrett thought that was part of the problem with the country. Most people who oppose involvement around the world know nothing about world affairs and simply repeat old rallying cries from the sixties, whether they know it or not. In the absence of thoughtful criticism, national security institutions roll on and foreign policy gets messier and messier, deadlier and deadlier. He sat in the black leather chair in a ten-by-ten studio and looked into the camera just in front of him. Behind an LCD screen showed a Jpeg of the stately Sandia Mountains to the city’s east. It provided an attractive backdrop to his head and shoulders atop a six-two frame whose athleticism was still immediately recognizable despite being fortyish. A technician adjusted the camera and handed him an earpiece and lapel mike. “Hi Barrett,” came the mellifluous voice of Khadija, the Al Jazeera producer in Qatar, the small principality in the Persian Gulf that funds the network and seeks to become a force in world affairs. “Another tweed jacket, I see. I presume you’re wearing jeans and Tony Lamas.” “These are Luccheses, my mysterious Qatari friend,” Barrett said as he raised a boot up for the camera. “I was right about the jeans though. I thought everyone wears Tony Lamas in New Mexico and Texas.” “That’s like saying everyone where you live wears burkahs.” “Sound check, please!” Barrett counted to ten as Khadija got the volume and compression right. “We’ll go live in two minutes,” she said. The anchor gave an intro on the increasing tensions with Iran then launched into the interview. Anchor: We’re pleased to have Barrett Parker with us to look more deeply into the situation. Despite the nuclear agreement of 2015, tensions between the US and Iran are increasing. Barrett, is a US-Iran war coming? Barrett: I don’t think one’s on the horizon. We could see skirmishes in the Gulf, even in the Strait of Hormuz. We’ll see increased US and Israeli support to Kurdish and Baloch guerrillas, assassinations of scientists and military figures, but out-and-out war is highly unlikely. Anchor: But the talk out of Israel is very ominous. Barrett: The prime minister doesn’t have sufficient support for war. Only 32% of Israelis support unilateral attacks, and major figures in Mossad – that’s the Israeli equivalent of the CIA – and the military are expressing skepticism about the judiciousness of an attack. A former Mossad chief called it the stupidest thing he’d ever heard of. His words, not mine. Anchor: Of course. Both Israeli and American sources claim that Iran is restarting its enrichment program with the help of North Korea and China? Barrett: There’s no evidence of that. Only talk that North Korea has shipped centrifuges into Iran across the Silk Road – the old land route that connected China with Europe. Presumably, the centrifuges would be on a truck convoy and not on a camel caravan. Anchor: Didn’t a delegation of North Korean nuclear scientists visit Tehran last week? Barrett: A delegation of North Koreans indeed visited Iran last week. The story was on Fars and Press TV – Iranian state media outlets. It’s not clear they were nuclear scientists though. Anchor: And where are these centrifuges reported to be? Natanz? Fordo? Barrett: Those places are inspected regularly and thoroughly by the IAEA. The North Korean centrifuges are rumored to be at Parchin, not far from Tehran. It’s an IRGC base that’s off limits to inspection teams. There might also be research on a triggering mechanism and warhead being done there. Anchor: Much of Parchin blew sky high in the fall of 2014. Was that CIA and Mossad? Barrett: Probably Mossad. I doubt CIA could have pulled it off. Parchin is being rebuilt and everyone wants to know for what purpose. Anchor: Isn’t the US president eager to go along with the Israeli prime minister on a war policy? Barrett: Yes, the president has promised to restore respect for American military might around the world. However, the his national security advisors know, even if the he does not, that war with Iran would unleash a wave of bombings and assassinations around the region and oil prices would skyrocket. Rising oil prices will weaken world economies. They might even hurt his reelection chances. Anchor: So you see nothing imminent. Barrett: Correct. Watch the number of aircraft carriers the US has in the waters around Iran. Also, watch oil prices on the London and New York exchanges. They’ve been flat during the recent sound and fury. Just a small bump here and there. In other words, people with billions of dollars at stake aren’t greatly concerned. Anchor: Anything going on behind the scenes you can tell us about? Barrett: Well, I imagine the US and Israel are very eager to find out if Iran does indeed have North Korean centrifuges at Parchin, or if it’s just a rumor that feeds upon itself and grows rapidly and dangerously. Anchor: We’ve seen a lot of so-called fake news lately. Some of it’s fake, some of it isn’t. How would the US and Israel find out about the centrifuges? Barrett: Satellite imagery and eavesdropping can provide some information, but my guess is that they’re trying to get to people inside Parchin. That will be difficult and risky. Anchor: And where is the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps on all this? Barrett: The IRGC probably wants nuclear weapons, regardless of the decisions made by the mullahs. Many people think the IRGC has political ambitions. They’d like to wrest control of the country from the religious figures. Anchor: Do you think the IRGC has political ambitions? Barrett: Generals have been getting into politics since Julius Caesar marched his legions across the Rubicon. It’s gone on quite a bit ever since. IRGC generals are no different. Anchor: Indeed. How might the IRGC wrest political power from the mullahs? Barrett: Historically, wars have shifted power and prestige to militaries, and the present crisis will give the IRGC the opportunity to expand its influence. Wars are run by military experts, not religious ones. Anchor: Thanks for your insights, Barrett. Barrett: Thanks for having me. Khadija added her thanks as Barrett relaxed for a moment to enjoy the exhilaration of finishing a crisp interview. “Khadija, how is it that I’ve never had the chance to see you, not even on a monitor.” “We all wear burkahas here, Barrett. I thought you knew that. Seriously though, you should live here in the Gulf and become a regular. You’d know the region even better than you do already. You might look less intense and perhaps smile a bit more, even if it’s just for the camera.” Barrett looked into camera and rolled his eyes playfully.. “Not much to smile about in the Middle East these days, Khadija. Besides, I spent some time in the region, as you will recall from my CV.” “Yes, but Qatar is quite different from Iraq, especially when you were there.” “I still prefer the tranquility of New Mexico.