Khaled Al-Asad

"هكذا ابتدأت (This...is how it begins.)"

- Al-Asad before executing President Al-Fulani.

Khaled Al-Asad (Arabic: خالد الأسد) is the secondary antagonist in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and the 2016 remaster of the same name. He's a military commander of the Saudi Arabian military and the military dictator of the country after he overthrew the government lead by Saudi President Yasir Al-Fulani prompting the United States to intervene and invade Saudi Arabia to remove him from power. He's an ally to Imran Zakhaev and was aided in his coup as a means of distracting the western powers to divert their attention away from Russia and aid the Ultranationalists in their take over of Russia.

He was voiced by Gabriel Al-Rajhi.

Executing Yasir Al-Fulani
Prior to the coup, Al-Asad was a commander of the Saudi Arabian military, but was opposed to the monarchy and the government under the leadership of President Yasir Al-Fulani who he saw as a corrupt and selfish ruler with self-interests at heart and the same went for the monarchy. In 2011, he was aided by Zakhaev to stage a coup in which he successfully overthrew the government and monarchy which forced the United States to divert attention away from Russia and the civil war in the country towards Saudi Arabia which was now under Al-Asad's control. After he overthrew Fulani's government, he had the president captured and brought to an arena where he was to be executed by Al-Asad himself to spark the revolution. While Fulani was being brought to the execution site, supporters of his government and other opposition figures were being arrested and executed on spot by the OpFor. After Fulani arrived at the sight, Zakhaev was present and gave Asad a Desert Eagle which he used to execute Fulani to spark his revolution on live television broadcasted to the entire world and it convinces the United States to invade the country.

American Military Intervention
Following the coup, Al-Asad assumes control over Saudi Arabia and rules it as a military dictator which is seem in the eyes of the United States as a threat to the stability of the Middle East and has the United States Marine Corps deployed to the country to assist in the overthrowing of Al-Asad as military dictator of the country. They first head to the television station where Al-Asad is supposedly located at and the Marines are sent in. Along the way, they're met with stiff opposition from the OpFor and other loyal followers of Al-Asad, but the Marines manage to break through only to find the station abandoned and Al-Asad not present. The Marines push forward in their pursuit of Al-Asad digging deeper and deeper into the country and they eventually find out that Al-Asad is located in the country's capital. The United States launches a large-scale ground invasion of the city consisting of over 30,000 Marines, hundreds of AH-1 Cobra gunships and CH-46 Sea Knight transport helicopters to the city to find and capture Al-Asad. He's not present, but a Russian warhead is instead.

During the battle, Al-Asad had secretly evacuated the city with the aid of Ultranationalists Yuri and Vladimir Makarov to a safehouse far away from the battle and safe from the nuclear blasts. NEST Teams are sent in and manage to locate the warhead while the OpFor forces in the city have been all but wiped out completely and Marine forces are withdrawing to a safe distance in the event that the warhead were to go off. During the evacuation, the bomb goes off an all remaining OpFor forces along with 30,000 Marines are all killed in the explosion and the city is destroyed and left in ruins while Al-Asad hides out safely in the bunker. Sometime later, Al-Asad left the safehouse and traveled from the Middle East to Azerbaijan instead where he was hiding out in another safehouse, but was spotted this time.

Capture and Execution
Following the nuclear destruction of the Saudi capital, Al-Asad was relocated to northern Azerbaijan where he was protected by the Russian Ultranationalists hiding out in a small local village. Originally thought to have been safe, Al-Asad was actually spotted there and a joint SAS-USMC task force aided by the Russian Loyalists raided the village and engaged Al-Asad's Ultranationalist protections. The battle was long, but Al-Asad was found in a farm nearby and was eventually captured and interrogated by Captain John Price for where he got the bomb. During the interrogation, Al-Asad's phone rang and Imran Zakhaev was revealed to be on the phone. After Price answered the call, he shot and killed Al-Asad and later evacuated the village along with the rest of his team after Ultranationalists came to pick up Al-Asad's remnants.

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."

Personality
Khaled Al-Asad was a powerful and charismatic individual. He was staunch opponent to the Saudi monarchy and the government of President Yasif Al-Fulani and held deeply revolutionary ideals. His revolutionary ideology was spread to countless people by Al-Asad's charismatic nature which he used to rally support to his cause and eventually overthrew the government and abolished the monarchy. He originally stated that his revolution was for revenge against the government and monarchy of Saudi Arabia which he accused of holding self-interests at heart, but he himself had overthrew Al-Fulani just so he could aid the Russian Ultranationalists to aid them in their civil war in Russia in return for their support and aid in abolishing the monarchy showing that he has some hypocritical elements himself. Al-Asad was also not opposed to eliminating opposition as during his coup, he had many people rounded up, arrested, and even executed most likely for supporting the government that he had overthrown and was willing to use a nuclear warhead to eliminate the American invasion force sacrificing thousands of his own men in the process.

Navigation
Khaled al-Asad