The Third Target

“Whenever I see a new Joel Rosenberg book coming out, I know I need to clear time on my calendar. His penetrating knowledge of all things Mideastern, coupled with his intuitive knack for high-stakes intrigue, demand attention.”

PORTER GOSS

Former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency

“Joel has an incredible ability to write both fiction and nonfiction regarding the realities of current events in the Mideast in a way that the reader senses that they are part of the plot and, often, on the front line.”

LT. GENERAL (RET.) JERRY BOYKIN

Former Commander of Delta Force and Former U.S. Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence

“Joel Rosenberg is one of the most knowledgeable people writing about the Middle East that I’ve had the honor to meet. He has a particularly clear understanding of what is going on in today’s Iran and Syria and the grave threat these two countries pose to the rest of the world. His is an important voice in a sea of misdirected and erroneous information that distorts the truth about the realities of these countries’ intentions.”

REZA KAHLILI

Former CIA Operative in Iran and Bestselling Author of
A Time to Betray: A Gripping True Spy Story of Betrayal, Fear, and Courage

“If there were a
Forbes
400 list of great current novelists, Joel Rosenberg would be among the top ten. . . . He is one of the most entertaining and intriguing authors of international political thrillers in the country. No wonder Joel has sold over three million copies
 
—his novels are un-put-downable.”

STEVE FORBES

Editor in Chief,
Forbes
MagazineThe Third Target

Visit Tyndale online at
www.tyndale.com
.

Visit Joel C. Rosenberg’s website at
www.joelrosenberg.com
.

TYNDALE
and Tyndale’s quill logo are registered trademarks of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.

The Third Target

Copyright © 2015 by Joel C. Rosenberg. All rights reserved.

Hardcover:

Cover photograph of bullet holes copyright © Caspar Benson/Getty Images. All rights reserved.

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ITPE:

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Cover photograph of U.S. flag copyright © Claudio Divizia/Dollar Photo Club. All rights reserved.

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Designed by Dean H. Renninger

Scripture quotations in chapter 51 are taken from
The Living Bible
, copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations in the dedication and in chapters 46 and 47 are taken from the New American Standard Bible,
®
copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations in chapter 37 are taken from
The Holy Bible
, English Standard Version
®
(ESV
®
), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The Third Target
is a work of fiction. Where real people, events, establishments, organizations, or locales appear, they are used fictitiously. All other elements of the novel are drawn from the author’s imagination.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Rosenberg, Joel C., date.

  The third target / Joel C. Rosenberg.

    pages cm

  ISBN 978-1-4143-3627-5 (hc)

1. Terrorism
 
—Fiction. 2. Middle East
 
—Fiction. 3. Christian fiction. 4. Suspense fiction. I. Title.

  PS3618.O832T48 2014

  813'.6
 
—dc23 2014040246

ISBN 978-1-4964-0367-4 (ePub); ISBN 978-1-4143-8495-5 (Kindle); ISBN 978-1-4964-0368-1 (Apple)

To our son Jonah, whose very name reminds us each and every day that God not only loves Israel, but also greatly loves her neighbors and her enemies.

“You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, and one who relents concerning calamity.”

JONAH 4:2

J. B. Collins
 
—foreign correspondent for the
New York Times

Allen MacDonald
 
—foreign editor for the
New York Times

Omar Fayez
 
—Amman-based reporter for the
New York Times

Abdel Hamid
 
—Beirut-based photographer for the
New York Times

Alex Brunnell
 
—Jerusalem bureau chief for the
New York Times

A. B. Collins
 
—former Cairo bureau chief for the Associated Press, and J. B.’s grandfather

Harrison Taylor
 
—president of the United States

Jack Vaughn
 
—director of the Central Intelligence Agency

Robert Khachigian
 
—former director of the CIA

Arthur Harris
 
—special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation

Matthew Collins
 
—J. B.’s older brother

King Abdullah II
 
—the monarch of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan

Prince Marwan Talal
 
—uncle of the king of Jordan and a senior advisor

Kamal Jeddeh
 
—director of Jordanian intelligence (Mukhabarat)

Ali Sa’id
 
—chief of security for the Royal Court

Abu Khalif
 
—leader of the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS)

Jamal Ramzy
 
—commander of ISIS rebel forces in Syria and cousin of Abu Khalif

Tariq Baqouba
 
—deputy to Jamal Ramzy

Faisal Baqouba
 
—ISIS terrorist and brother of Tariq

Hassan Karbouli
 
—Iraqi minister of the interior

Ismail Tikriti
 
—deputy director of Iraqi intelligence

Daniel Lavi
 
—Israeli prime minister

Ari Shalit
 
—deputy director of the Mossad

Yael Katzir
 
—Mossad agent

Salim Mansour
 
—president of the Palestinian Authority

Youssef Kuttab
 
—senior aide to President Mansour