Brown, Dale - Patrick McLanahan 05 (32 page)

 
          
It
was after the closing of all diplomatic relations between the
United States
and
Iran
following the
U.S.
embassy siege in 1979 that Tahir Sahin’s
real worth had stood out. Sahin had been part of the secret “arms for hostages”
deals with the
United States
to the benefit of the Iranians, but had
also helped secure the release of British, French, Italian, and American
hostages held captive by pro-Iranian radicals in
Lebanon
. Although not credentialed with the U.S.
State Department or recognized professionally by any country, Sahin had been
acting as an unofficial messenger between the two governments, keeping the
lines of communication open between two countries who did not have embassies in
each others country.

 
          
The
downside to having a pro-Iranian, pro-Islamic fundamentalist man like Sahin roaming
freely around
Washington
was that he was reportedly a deputy director of an organization called
the Niru-ye Entezami-e Johuriye, or
Institute
of
Strategic Security Studies
. The ISSS was known as an Iranian defense
“think tank,” which advised rich
Middle East
countries on emerging defense technology and strategies; but it was also widely
believed to be an international intelligence front operation, designed to feed
information through diplomatic channels back to
Iran
. If Sahin hadn’t been funneling messages
back and forth between
Washington
and
Tehran
, he’d have been kicked out of the
United States
years ago as a suspected spy.

 
          
It
was painful for Freeman to be meeting a likely Iranian spy like this, but there
was no better way to impress upon
Iran
the seriousness of the situation that was
before them now.

           
Tahir Sahin put his glad-happy face
back on and nodded enthusiastically at his hosts. “It is indeed an unexpected
honor to be here with you, General.”

 
          
“I
have a simple message for President Nateq-Nouri and General Buzhazi,” Freeman
interrupted. “The President of the
United States
views the attack on the civilian salvage
vessel
Valley Mistress
by the
Khomeini
carrier battle group and the
capture of its crew as an act of aggression against the
United States
. The President is demanding their return
immediately.”

 
          
“Please,
General Freeman, please,” Sahin interrupted, holding up his hands as if in
surrender, “but I am nothing but a small businessman. I am not an ambassador or
an emissary of any country...”

 
          
“And
this is not a diplomatic visit,” Freeman interjected. “I’m asking you to
deliver a message, Mr. Sahin—if you can do it, you’ll be providing a great
service for both the
United States
and the Islamic Republic of Iran. If you
can’t deliver the message, then we’ve all wasted our time here.”

 
          
Sahin
nodded thoughtfully. “I will of course endeavor to do as you wish, General
Freeman,” Sahin said. “I hope I have the good fortune to have the opportunity
to speak with Minister Velayati or Minister Foruzandeh.”

 
          
“See
to it that this message is delivered immediately, Mr. Sahin,” Freeman said. “We
are going to play a little game with the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

 
          
“A
game, General?”

 
          
“Yes,
Mr. Sahin. Every day that an American is held captive by
Iran
, or his whereabouts are not known, the
United States
will attack a military target inside
Iran
. You will not know where, or when, or how,
only that it will happen. The
United States
will not publicize this; no public comments
will be made. The targets will be vital military installations and
command-and-control targets. The goal of the strikes will be gradually to
weaken
Iran
’s air defense, command, mobility, and long-range strike capability so
that if war does break out,
Iran
will have difficulty defending its borders
from attack or will find its forces substantially weakened or unable to
mobilize.”

 
          
Tahir
Sahin laughed a hesitant, nervous laugh. “This . .. this is very odd, General
Freeman,” he said. “This .. . this is tantamount to terrorism!”

 
          
“Call
it what you will,” Freeman said. “If the captives are not released,
Iran
will suffer the consequences.”

 
          
“Does
this concern the proposal by the Islamic Republic to exclude all foreign
warships from the
Persian
Gulf
?” Sahin
asked. “Is this an attempt to induce
Iran
to capitulate?”

 
          
“This
has nothing to do with the
Persian Gulf
,”
Freeman said. “In fact, the President is seriously considering that proposal,
and he may agree to it with some modifications. This only concerns the thirteen
men missing from the salvage vessel
Valley
Mistress.
The President wants those men immediately released unharmed and
unmolested in any way—no questioning, no interrogation, no coercion.”

 
          
Sahin
shook his head, his eyes blankly scanning the room in complete surprise. “This
is a very unexpectedly belligerent and arrogant stance the President is taking,
General Freeman,” he said. “Is the President truly in control, or is it
possible that the military has taken over the White House?”

 
          
“The
President is in control, I assure you,” Freeman replied. “If
I
were in control, I’d have destroyed
all of
Iran
’s military bases one by one, sent
Iran
’s carrier to the bottom of the
Gulf
of
Oman
, and had
U.S.
troops occupy
Hormozgan
Province
by now.”

 
          
“Do
you believe such a belligerent, intractable attitude will help improve
relations with
Iran
or assist in negotiations, General?”

 
          
“Perhaps
you don’t understand, Mr. Sahin: the
United States
is not negotiating anything at this time,”
Freeman said, turning to leave. “The attacks will commence and will continue
until our demands are met. The President may open negotiations for the removal
of land-attack warships from the
Persian Gulf
,
but as for the topic of the survivors of the
Valley Mistress
, we will not negotiate. The attacks will commence
and will continue until our demands are met. Good day, Mr. Sahin.”

 
          
“This
is ... this is highly irregular!” Sahin blurted out as Freeman reached the
door. “I must take with me some proof of this discussion, some sign that you
and I spoke—”

 
          
“The
only proof you need is the news that a military target inside
Iran
has been destroyed,” Freeman said. He
checked his Ulysses- Nardin multi-zone watch and added, “In fact, the first
attack should be happening at any moment. It will be in retaliation for the
illegal and unwarranted attack on the
Valley
Mistress.
Good day to you, Mr. Sahin.”

Aboard the B-2A Spirit stealth
bomber av-OI 1, over
Iran

THAT SAME TIME

 
          
McLanahan
finished typing in commands on the supercockpit display. “SAR configured,” he
announced. “No terrain returns, no large cultural returns, moving-target mode
enabled.” He turned to Jamieson: “Ready, AC?”

 
          
“I
was born ready, MC,” Jamieson said gruffly. “Take the shot.”

 
          
“Here
we go,” McLanahan said easily, “radar enabled ... radar transmitting...” then,
just two seconds later, he announced, “radar’s in standby.”

 
          
“Two
seconds is plenty long for the ragheads to track us, MC,” Jamieson pointed out
angrily. “A standard SAR shot is one second
max,
dammit.”

 
          
That
point was most important while they were so close, because in order to transmit
the synthetic aperture radar, COMBAT mode was temporarily suspended. Part of
going into COMBAT mode was the activation of the B-2A stealth bomber’s
AN/VUQ-13 BEADS system, the Bomber Electronic Attenuation Defensive System, or the
“cloaking device.” BEADS electrified the outer surface of the B-2 A bomber and
the cockpit windshield with positive ions, in effect turning the aircraft into
a giant electron magnet.

 
          
With
the “cloaking device” activated, very little electromagnetic energy could
penetrate the positron field—electrons were “sucked” into the field and
dissipated behind the aircraft; similarly, electromagnetic energy radiated
from
the bomber was also absorbed. Along
with the radar-absorbing materials in the bomber’s non-metallic composite
surface and the low reflective makeup of the composite structure, BEADS reduced
the bomber’s radar cross-section by 60 to 70 percent, depending on the range
and power of the radar. The remaining 40 percent of the reflected radar energy was
diverted in different directions by the unique shape of the bomber itself. The
end result: less than 1 percent of the radar energy of even the most powerful
radars in the world returned to its sender after hitting the B-2A Spirit
stealth bomber.

 
          
The
drawback to BEADS was that if electronic emissions couldn’t go in, they also
couldn’t go out. In COMBAT mode, the crew couldn’t transmit on the radios,
couldn’t receive radio or satellite messages or navigation signals, couldn’t
use the MAWS defensive missile tracking system, and could not use the synthetic
aperture radar. The “cloaking device” automatically deactivated itself when the
crew took an SAR shot or bypassed the safety interlocks to use the radios or
get a navigation fix while in COMBAT mode. Even though a typical SAR shot was
very short, in that short time frame the B-2 A bomber’s radar cross-section
grew several times larger than normal—very dangerous when so close to enemy air
defenses.

 
          
To
Jamieson, activating the SAR and shutting off BEADS was like dipping his dick
into a tank filled with piranhas—the less time in there, the better. He might
not get attacked the moment he stuck it in, but the longer it stayed in there,
the better his chances of getting it bitten off; and sure as hell, the piranhas
would be ready and waiting for the
next
time he dipped it in.

 
          
“This
isn’t a standard SAR shot, AC,” McLanahan said. “Besides, the SAR computer
decides how long the exposure will be, based on the mode programmed, the
environmental conditions, the signal strength—I don’t control it. .. stand by,
second shot coming up ... ready ... now ... radar in standby, SAR routine
ended, radar disenabled.”

 
          
“A
second shot? What in hell is that for? Jesus, McLanahan, that thing’s going to
kill us!”

 
          
“Threat
scope’s clear, AC.”