Khaled Al-Asad (Original)

"The man is a coward, Captain Price. Al-Asad would never sacrifice himself."

- Nikolai in Safehouse's mission briefing.

Khaled Al-Asad (Arabic: خالد الأسد or خالد الأسعد) is a military commander in an unnamed Arab country (Possibly Saudi Arabia if you look carefully in "Shock and Awe") 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 two other chapters.

Biography
As one of the so-called "Four Horsemen", Khaled Al-Asad is responsible for toppling President Yasir Al-Fulani, who is accused for supporting of Western countries for his self-interests. Al-Fulani is soon captured by Al-Asad's troops and transported in a car to the arena, where he is executed by Al-Asad himself 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 hiding into an unknown location.

The US military assumes that Al-Asad is hiding in the capital city and the attack force consisting 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 most of the invading US forces (confirmed to be 30,000 in Modern Warfare 2). Sergeant Paul Jackson and Lieutenant Vasquez are among the victims of the massive nuclear explosion that destroys the city.

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 and "Soap" MacTavish are dispatched to the village where Al-Asad is hiding, and soon Al-Asad is captured by the SAS. Cpt. Price ties Al-Asad in 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.

Call of Duty 4 (DS)
Similar to the console version of him, but he looks much younger and doesn't wear a beret, bandanna or a vest; he appears to be dressed in a uniform instead.

Al-Asad's army: the 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 the shotgun would appear as an OpFor member with a balaclava, a sniper would have a bandanna on his neck with a beret (a model that Al-Asad has), and SMG users tend to have a keffiyeh.

Trivia

 * 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 Zakheav's son commits suicide with the M1911, it also sounds like a Desert Eagle.
 * During Multiplayer, Al-Asad is the announcer for OpFor soldiers.
 * Even in 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.
 * 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.

Name

 * Khaled, or Khalid, (خالد ḫālid) is a common Arabic name. The word itself means "immortal" or "eternal."
 * Al-Asad is a possible rominzation 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."