Brown, Dale - Patrick McLanahan 06 (54 page)

 
          
Admiral
Balboa’s smile was unabashedly broad and self-satisfying. “Yes,
sir, ”
he said with undisguised
enthusiasm. “Til take care of that embarrassing mess right away.”

 
          
Balboa’s
anxiousness to start tearing at Elliott was a little unnerving, but the
President let it go—it was time for Balboa to retake charge of his military
forces, and time for the President to back off and stop micromanaging the
military. He asked, “Status of the Strategic Command stand-up?”

 
          
“All
of the Combined Task Forces are fully manned and ready to move when you give
the word, sir,” Balboa said. “Of course, the CTFs agree that we see no reason
right now to gain any nuclear assets whatsoever. CINCPAC is still in command of
the Pacific-China theater. If we identify a target in Asia, CINCPAC should gain
whatever resources he wants to handle it.”

 
          
“Fine,”
the President said. “I agree with them—we don’t need any nuclear forces unless
China tries to make another move using nuclear weapons. But I don’t think we’ll
see any more of that. Give me a report from CINCPAC tomorrow afternoon.”

 
          
Jerrod
Hale had picked up the phone again to answer another call. The President
noticed Hale’s silent, almost expressionless signal. “Anything else for me,
Admiral?”

 
          
Balboa
was in mid-sip. He swallowed, looking expectantly at the President, then at
Hale, then back again. “No, sir.”

 
          
“Thank
you, and good night,” the President said, curtly dismissing him. Hale bent over
to talk quietly with the President, effectively isolating the chairman of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff. Balboa blinked in surprise, put down his cup of coffee
with an irritated clatter of china, and departed. After Balboa departed, the
President sighed aloud. “Senator Finegold— already? She couldn’t even wait
until morning?”

 
          
“You
don’t need to take this call, Kevin,” Hale said. “You’re busy handling the
crisis. I’ll tell Finegold that we’ll brief the leadership before we issue any
statements to the press.”

 
          
President
Martindale sighed heavily, rubbing the dull ache developing in his temples. He
knew he should talk with Finegold; he knew that, if he didn’t, the first thing
she was going to do in the morning was get on the network morning shows,
complain about not getting briefed in a timely manner by the White House, then
put her own ridiculous spin on the developments. Without hesitating any longer,
he hit the button on the phone: “Hello, Senator.”

 
          
“Thank
you so much for taking my call, Mr. President,” Senator Barbara Finegold
responded. “I’m sorry for interrupting you—I know how busy you must be right
now. ”

 
          
“I’m
afraid there’s not much I can tell you right now, Senator,” the President said
cautiously. “The facts are that two Navy frigates were hit by Chinese submarine
and air attacks in the
Formosa Strait
, and one of our patrol planes accidentally attacked a Chinese ferry. I
don’t have any independent confirmation on any other incidents over there.”

 
          
“What
kind of patrol plane was that on the news, Mr. President?” Finegold asked. “On
the news, it looked like a B-52 bomber.”

 
          
“It
was a new, experimental class of long-range patrol and attack aircraft, based
on the B-52 but with some modern enhancements,” the President replied. “Its
actions were totally defensive in nature, occurring only after one of our
frigates was hit.”

 
          
“Have
you spoken with
China
yet, Mr. President? What are they saying about all this?”

 
          
“I
have, and the Chinese are apologizing for their rash actions,” the President
replied. “Of course, they’re blaming everything on preemptive attacks by
Taiwan
, an allegation that we have not yet
confirmed.”

 
          
“A
Chinese aircraft carrier and a military base were attacked—if we didn’t do it,
then who else could have done it except
Taiwan
?” Finegold asked. “They got the submarine
that attacked the carrier, and they shot down a bomber overflying their
military site. I think that’s pretty compelling evidence, don’t you, Mr.
President?”

 
          
“Do
you want to take China’s word for all that’s happened, or would you like some
independent confirmation first, Senator?” the President asked heatedly. Jerrod
waved his hands palm-down at the President, reminding him to “take it easy.”

 
          
“I
see lots of innocent civilians killed and hurt on CNN, Mr. President,” Finegold
said testily. “Are you saying that all this is a fake, a fabrication by
China
? If it is, it’s pretty good work.”

 
          
“What
I’m saying is, we don’t have independent confirmation of anything right now. ”

           
“I’d like a joint congressional task
force to go out there to look for themselves,” Finegold said. “Can we count on
Pentagon travel support?”

           
“Of course. Military, common
carrier, whatever’s available.”

           
“We’d like to see that patrol plane
first,” Finegold said. “We’d like to talk to the crews, interview the
commander, get some details.”

 
          
The
President hesitated, and he could feel the tension building. “That may not be
possible, Senator,” he responded. “They’re still on patrol, assisting in
recovery efforts. I’ve ordered the plane brought back to the States after they
finish their patrol—that might be the best place to look at it and talk to the
crews.”

 
          
“I
was hoping to do it sooner rather than later, Mr. President,” Fine- gold said.
“My staff tells me the bombers are based out of
Guam
—if that’s correct, perhaps we could see
them on our way out to talk with representatives of the Japanese, Taiwanese,
and Chinese governments.”

 
          
The
President subdued an exasperated sigh. Finegold knew too much detailed
information, details she could only get through direct communication with very
high-ranking sources. He had hoped that Hale would be wrong about George Balboa
squawking to Finegold, but it seemed more and more likely now.

 
          
“Very
well, Senator. I’ll see to it they’re made available to you or your staffers,”
the President said. “But I caution you that the President is still the nation’s
diplomat. Although I certainly grant that members of Congress can visit and
meet with any foreign leaders they choose, it is the President who makes
foreign policy, negotiates treaties, and deals with matters of state. You carry
much influence around the world, Senator Finegold, and your visit might be
confused by foreign leaders as an official government communication.”

 
          
“We
will make our intentions and the purpose of our visit crystal clear, Mr.
President,” Finegold said testily, adding, “but I thank you for the civics
lesson.” The temperature of the Oval Office turned decidedly cooler just then.
“May I ask what response you intend to initiate in the wake of these so-called
Chinese attacks, made to look like Taiwanese attacks? Will you retaliate
against
China
?”

 
          
“I
intend to rescue as many survivors as I can from the disaster in the
Formosa Strait
,” the President said, “and then I intend to
bring our ships and soldiers safely home. After that, I haven’t decided. But I
do not intend to break diplomatic relations with
China
or mount any sort of retaliation.”

           
“That’s good to hear, Mr.
President,” Finegold said. “And I hope you’d be so kind as to consult with
Congress before initiating any economic or military sanctions against
China
.”

 
          
“Of
course, if the opportunity presents itself,” the President replied. “Thank you
for calling, Senator. Good night.” He hung up the phone before she could ask
another question. “The nerve of that witch! ” he said half aloud. “Instructing
me
on my duties and responsibilities to
Congress!

 
          
“You’ve
got to be careful, Kevin,” Jerrod Hale said. “Don’t go to the mat with her over
the phone—you don’t know who’s listening. If you want to chew her out or tell
her where to stuff her suggestions, get her out here to the White House and
then let her have it. Make
her
get
dressed and haul her tight narrow Nob Hill butt outside. You can then bring
several members of the House leadership over so you have a nice big audience to
watch her squirm.”

 
          
“Thanks,
Jer. I know all this—I just need reminding, when the pressure’s on,” the
President said. “All right. I want a shot-up, stripped- down Megafortress on
Guam
to show the senator—and I want all the rest
of them off the island and into hiding or chopped up into confetti as soon as
possible. Get on it.”

OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT,
BEIJING, PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA FRIDAY, 20 JUNE 1997, 0917 HOURS LOCAL
(THURSDAY, 19 JUNE 1997, 1817 HOURS ET)

           
“Under ordinary circumstances,
Admiral Sun Ji Guoming, I would be most inclined to offer you congratulations
for a job well done,” Chinese president Jiang Zemin said coldly. Standing
beside him was chief of staff of the People’s Liberation Army, General Chin Po
Zihong. “But I cannot do so. Admiral, you told me that you could bring down the
entire proWestern alliance, enabling us to merely walk onto the
Nationalist-held islands without resistance. I have not seen this happen yet.
What I have seen is dozens of deaths of our comrades near Hong Kong and our new
carrier severely damaged
by our own
hands,
nearly a hundred deaths from the ferry attack near Quemoy, nearly a
dozen of our fighters shot down by the Nationalists without one loss of their
own—and, worst of all, our ambassador in Washington
apologizing
to the President of the United States and to the world
on the floor of the United Nations for our actions! ”

           
“You must have patience, Comrade
President,” Admiral Sun replied. “Allow me to summarize our recent
achievements.” Jiang nodded, and Sun went on: “The United States has removed
two of its four warships from the Formosa Strait, and its submarines have been
pulled back even farther from our ships and bases. The stealth bombers that the
Americans sent to spy on us and assist the rebels to attack us have been
discredited, exposed as aggressors, and soon will be completely removed from
the region. The President of the
United States
has been exposed and labeled an aggressor,
almost on a par with Saddam Hussein or
Mo-
hammar Quaddafi. He is being investigated
for ordering the stealth bombers to attack
Iran
, and now he will be investigated for his
secret undeclared warlike actions against us in the
Formosa Strait
, using the formerly secret modified B-52
bombers. His own people fear and distrust him—soon, his allies all over the
world will fear and distrust him as well.

 
          
“More
importantly, now the United States and the Nationalists have been isolated by
the world community—the world sees them both as warmongers, willing to do
anything to further their own aims,” Sun went on. “President Martindale will
find considerable difficulty in getting support from his congress for his plans
to support the Nationalists’ drive for independence. If we maintain the
pressure and continue to open up in front of the world media, the momentum will
swing to our side. Then Martindale may be forced to support our idea for
reunification with
Taiwan
by 2005. With
Taiwan
once again isolated, even from the
United States
, it will be ready for annexation at any
time.”