“Yes, they are.” Decker grew excited. “Aren’t they highly capitalized by rich Arab countries?”

“Not anymore,” Rina said. “They’re broke.”

“Well, so much for my theory,” Marge said.

Rina said, “They used to be highly capitalized. The Soviet Union gave them money. But now there is no more Soviet Union. They used to get money from oil-producing Arab countries. But times change. Libya has never fully recovered from the U.S. bombing. The Gulf War just about did in Iraq economically. The war put a nice dent in Saudi Arabia’s economy as well. And it couldn’t have come at a worse time for them, with oil prices being depressed. The PLO’s cash cows just don’t have the disposable income they used to have.”

There was silence across the line.

“Then how does the organization exist?” Marge said.

“As a matter of fact, Arafat was very, very weak until Israel gave him and the PLO power by giving them Gaza and bringing them into the peace talks. If Arafat ever gets a real government—and it looks like that’s a strong possibility—the PLO has been pledged hundreds of millions of dollars by the United States and Europe to get the Palestinian economy off to a rip-roaring start. Even if half that money comes through, Arafat will have plenty of investment capital.”

Again no one spoke.

Finally Decker whispered, “Milligan saw it all coming. She’s been cultivating the PLO for several years. Now that everything is almost in place, she’s making her move.”

Rina said, “What move?”

Decker said, “First, Milligan buys out undercapitalized land with potential for diamond fields. Then she cultivates the PLO, betting that eventually they’ll get a government and lots of start-up capital for its economy from the Western countries. Now that Israel and the PLO have struck some kind of deal, she knows she’s in like Flynn. She’s just waiting for someone to sign on the dotted line, so she can tap into those pledges.”

“If the peace process lasts.”

“Rina, it only has to last long enough for her to raid the initial investment capital pledged by the Western nations. Because the woman knows her Western civilization. Remember her bookcase behind her desk, Marge?”

“Not really.”

“I do,” Decker said. “Because I thought her choice of books was rather eclectic. She had a row of books that dealt with the economies of postwar Japan and Germany. Meaning, she knew from history how the United States and the Allies poured billions of dollars back into those countries to set them on their feet. They not only throve, they became world economic powers.”

“I don’t see the PLO becoming a world economic power,” Rina said.”