Khaled Al-Asad (Original)

"This, is how it begins."

- Al-Asad before executing President Al-Fulani.

Khaled Al-Asad (Arabic: خالد الأسد or خالد الأسعد) was a military commander in an unnamed Arab country in the Arabian Peninsula. He was featured in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare as the main villain in the first chapter, until Imran Zakhaev takes his place as the primary antagonist in the other two chapters.

Biography
As one of the so-called "Four Horsemen", Khaled Al-Asad was responsible for the execution of President Yasir Al-Fulani, who is accused of supporting Western countries for his own self-interests. Al-Fulani was captured by Al-Asad's troops and transported in a car to the arena, where he was personally executed by Al-Asad on national television. Al-Asad assumes control of the country, but in the eyes of the United States, Al-Asad's rule in his nation threatens the whole political stability in the Middle-East. The US military sends United States Marine Corps Force Reconnaissance to Al-Asad's country and orders the unit to locate and capture the power-hungry commander. The Americans locate a television station where Al-Asad is broadcasting his speech on national television, but it turns out that the speech was recorded and Al-Asad has gone into hiding at an unknown location.

The US military assumes that Al-Asad is hiding in the capital city and the attack force consisting of hundreds of AH-1 Cobra helicopter gunships, CH-46 Sea Knight transport helicopters, M1 Abrams main battle tanks and thousands of soldiers are dispatched to assault the city. Al-Asad is not found in the city, but the Americans locate a Russian-made nuclear warhead in his palace. The NEST teams are dispatched to disarm the weapon, but the warhead is detonated by Al-Asad's men, annihilating almost all of the invading US forces (confirmed to be 30,000 in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2). Sergeant Paul Jackson and Lieutenant Vasquez are among the victims of the massive nuclear explosion that destroys the city (The city appears to be Ahvaz, a large city in Khuzestan, Iran).

Nikolai, a Russian informant to the British Special Air Service, reveals that Al-Asad may be hiding in his safehouse in Azerbaijan, protected by Russian Ultranationalists. Captain Price, Gaz, "Soap" MacTavish, and several other members of the S.A.S are dispatched to the village where Al-Asad is hiding, and soon Al-Asad is captured by the SAS. Cpt. Price ties Al-Asad to a chair for questioning, but when the interrogation is over, Price kills Al-Asad by shooting him in the head with his M1911. After Al-Asad is dead, the British and Americans realize that the coup in the Middle-Eastern region was masterminded and funded by Al-Asad's ally, Russian Ultranationalist leader Imran Zakhaev, who attempted to draw the attention of the United States from the Russian civil war, to ensure his victory over the loyalist forces.

Al-Asad's Speech

 * ''Today we rise again as one nation, in the face of betrayal and corruption! We all trusted this man to deliver our great nation into a new era of prosperity. But like our monarchy before the Revolution, he has been colluding with the West with only self-interest at heart! Collusion breeds slavery! And we shall not be enslaved! The time has come to show our true strength. They underestimate our resolve. Let us show that we do not fear them. As one people we shall free our brethren from the yoke of foreign oppression! Our armies are strong and our cause is just. As I speak, our armies are nearing their objectives, by which we will restore the independence of a once great nation. Our noble crusade has begun. Just as they lay waste to our country, we shall lay waste to theirs. This is how it begins."



Al-Asad's army: OpFor
Al-Asad's army uses primarily Russian-designed weapons such as the AK-47, AK-74u and the RPG-7. However, they also use the German G3 assault rifle and vehicles such as the primarily Russian-designed BMP-2, T-72 and Mi-24. It is likely that the Ultranationalists supplied them with this equipment. They only appear during the Prologue and Act 1 chapters, afterwards replaced with the Russian Ultranationalists. It is possible that the remaining OpFor were all killed but some may have survived and joined forces with the Ultranationalists but are just not seen.

In the multiplayer, player models are usually designed to the character's primary weapon, e. g., a player using a shotgun would appear as an OpFor member with a balaclava, a sniper or light machine gunner would have a bandanna on his neck with a beret (a model that Al-Asad has), a player with an assault rifle has what appears to be a UN helmet and submachine gunners wear a keffiyeh.

Trivia

 * The Desert Eagle is gold in the trailer. However this isn't present in the final game.
 * The name Khaled Al-Asad means "the eternal lion" in the Arabic language. (Khaled means "eternal" and Al-Asad means "the lion").
 * In an edition of GamePro, a preview on Call of Duty 4 erroneously names him 'Allisad'.
 * Al-Asad is the name of a U.S base in Iraq, as featured in Andy McNab's Book; Bravo Two Zero.
 * The OpFor originally had a different flag, as seen on the right. It looks like a turned Iraqi, Yemeni, Syrian, or Egyptian flag with two swords (scimitars) in the white part. The Arab nationalist colors of the flag; black, white, and red suggest that the country has a Baathist government. It might have been changed because of its similarities with those flags.
 * When Captain Price executes him, the M1911 he used makes the sound of a Desert Eagle, possibly to make the moment more dramatic, as the M1911 does not have the powerful, authoritative blast of the Desert Eagle. The same is true when Victor Zakhaev commits suicide with the M1911.
 * During multiplayer, Al-Asad is the announcer for OpFor soldiers.
 * Even in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, taking place 5 years after Modern Warfare, there are propaganda posters of Al-Asad, especially in the desert maps such as Karachi and Invasion.
 * Al-Asad's surname may be inspired by that of the current Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, or his father Hafez al-Assad, who was president from 1970 to 2000.
 * It is strange that there is not any reference to Al-Asad's death in the Modern Warfare 2's campaign trailer (The trailer you watch when starting a new game).
 * In the level Team Player (Modern Warfare 2) there is a picture which is drawn on the right wall while the OpFor soldiers are scouting.
 * Notice that Al-Asad is smiling when he kills Yasir Al-Fulani.
 * It is unknown what country Al-Asad took control of via his violent coup. The map specifies several different locations, most of which are in Saudi Arabia, but also a few in Iraq, Iran, and Kuwait. It is also strange that reporters and military officials refer to his country as small, even though based on the map it extends from the Red Sea to Iran.
 * In Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, a stylised image of his head is an unlockable emblem.

Name

 * Khaled, or Khalid, (خالد ḫālid) is a common Arabic name. The word itself means "immortal" or "eternal."
 * Al-Asad is a possible romanization of 2 different Arabic surnames/words:
 * (الأسد al’asad) (such as Bashar al-Assad, President of Syria, and the Al Asad US Airbase in Iraq) meaning "the lion."
 * (الأسعد al’as‘ad) (such as Kamel Asaad) meaning "the happiest."