Khaled Al-Asad (Original)

"Men like Al Asad don't talk unless men like Price beat the words out of them."

- John "Soap" MacTavish

Khaled Al-Asad (Arabic: خالد الأسد) was a military Commander in the Middle East, and the secondary antagonist of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. He was featured as the main villain in the first act of the campaign, until Imran Zakhaev takes his place as the primary antagonist in the final two acts.

Execution of Yasir Al-Fulani
"This, is how it begins."

- Al-Asad, seconds before shooting Al-Fulani.

As one of the so-called "Four Horsemen", Khaled Al-Asad was responsible for the execution of President Yasir Al-Fulani, who was accused of supporting Western countries for his own self-interests. President Al-Fulani was captured by Al-Asad's troops and transported by car to the arena, where he was personally executed by Al-Asad, with a Desert Eagle, on national television.

The Hunt
"We get Al-Asad, we end this war right here, right now. Lock and load, Marines!"

- Lt. Vasquez before searching for Al-Asad.

Al-Asad assumes control of the region, 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 U.S. government sends the military, among them are United States Marine Corps Force Reconnaissance, to the Middle East with orders to locate and capture the power-hungry commander. The Marine task force is met by stiff opposition from the OpFor, until they locate a television station where Al-Asad is broadcasting his speech, 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 main attack force consisting of hundreds of AH-1 Cobra helicopter gunships, CH-46 Sea Knight transport helicopters, M1 Abrams main battle tanks and tens thousands of soldiers are dispatched to assault the capital. Al-Asad is not found in the city, but the Americans locate a Russian-made nuclear warhead in his palace. NEST teams are dispatched to disarm the weapon, but the warhead is detonated by Al-Asad on Vladimir Makarov's orders (revealed in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3), wiping out almost the entire U.S. invasion force (confirmed to be at least 30,000 in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2). Sergeant Paul Jackson, Lieutenant Volker, Captain "Deadly" Pelayo, and Lieutenant Vasquez are among the victims of the massive nuclear explosion that destroys the capital.

Death
"Who then? Give me a name!"

- Captain Price, interrogating Al-Asad before executing him.

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, &quot;Soap&quot; MacTavish, and several other members of the S.A.S are dispatched to the village where Al-Asad is hiding and are assisted by a Russian Loyalist sent by Sergeant Kamarov. Soon Al-Asad is captured by the SAS and Loyalist. 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 Second 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 firearms, 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.

In the sequel Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, a faction named OpFor reappeared in the beginning mission "Team Player" as well as briefly in the final mission "Endgame", however it is unknown whether this is the same OpFor that appears in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. Differences include:
 * The mission takes place in the War in Afghanistan, therefore it is possible that due to sensitivity reasons, that the creators simply reused design, audio files, and emblems from the faction in the first game (whom are also a Middle-Eastern faction) to avoid antagonizing any particular insurgency group in Afghanistan.
 * They appear to be more civilian/makeshift, as they do not wear as much armor, also they don't use tanks or any armored vehicles.

Appearances

 * Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (DS) (picture during the introduction only)
 * Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
 * Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (In a flashback and drawings on some walls.)
 * Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (mentioned)

Trivia

 * The Desert Eagle is gold in the trailer. However this is not 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: Modern Warfare erroneously names him 'Allisad'.
 * In multiplayer, Al-Asad is the announcer for OpFor soldiers.
 * In the cutscene for "Charlie Don't Surf", is revealed that Al-Asad is "approximately" 5'8" in height and has a medium build.
 * In the level "Team Player" there is a picture of Al-Asad which is drawn on the right wall while the OpFor soldiers are scouting.
 * In Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, a stylized image of his head is featured as an unlockable emblem.
 * Originally he was named Al-Assad. This can be seen in the objectives for cut level "Descent".
 * In "The Coup" the player can see wall drawings of Al-Asad on the right side wall of an alley.
 * Posters of Al-Asad can be seen on the multiplayer map Seatown in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.

Аль-Асад