Brown, Dale - Patrick McLanahan 06 (38 page)

 
          
“We
will not place our military forces in Admiral Sun’s hands, General—you will
retain your command,” Jiang said. “Admiral Sun will take command of certain . .
. irregular forces.”

 
          
“Irregular
forces? What do you mean, sir?”

 
          
“In
time, you will be briefed on the deployment of his forces,” Jiang said, rising
from his chair and heading for the door. “In the meantime, Admiral Sun has full
authority from the Central Military Commission and my office to conduct
whatever maneuvers or operations he sees necessary. He is obliged to notify you
prior to the start of operations, and he is encouraged to seek your guidance
and support, but he has no obligation to do either. Admiral?”

 
          
“Thank
you, sir,” Sun Ji Guoming said, bowing deeply to Jiang Zemin. He then bowed to
General Chin and said, “General, you will order the
Mao
carrier battle group to withdraw from its attack on Quemoy and
proceed at best speed to Xianggang.”

 
          
“Xianggang?
Xianggang?” Chin repeated in disbelief. Xianggang, formerly known as Victoria,
was the capital and main port city on the island province of Hong Kong, which
was set to return to Chinese control on the first of July. “Why should we sail
it all the way to Hong Kong when it may be a critical weapon in the defense and
occupation of Quemoy Dao?”

 
          
“The
Mao
and its escorts will be used to
help celebrate our Reunification Day festivities,” Admiral Sun said. “We shall
stage fireworks demonstrations from its decks, invite guests and the
international media aboard, even give cruises around Hong Kong on it.”

 
          
“Use
our aircraft carrier, our most powerful naval vessel... to give
rides?”

 
          
“After
that,” Sun said calmly, “it will be deployed for an extended shakedown cruise
to Lushun.”

 
          
“Lushun?
Why sail it to Lushun, sir?”
Chin protested again to Jiang. Lushun, once known as Port Arthur, was an
important international shipping and naval facility located on the tip of the
Liaotung peninsula, between the Bohai, or Gulf of Chihli, and Korea Bay, 250
kilometers west of the North Korean capital of Pyongyang. “Do you plan to
involve it in any attack operations in defense of North Korea, in case the
Americans or South Koreans invade? If so, I think that is a foolhardy plan. The
carrier will be more vulnerable to air attacks from South Korea, Japan, even
Alaska. If anything, we should send it back to the Nansha Dao to defend our
rights to access to the South China Sea.”

 
          
“Comrade
General, it is so ordered,” Minister of Defense Chi Haot- ian interjected.
“Withdraw the carrier battle group from Quemoy Dao and have them proceed to
Xianggang at best possible speed.”

 
          
Chin
looked at Chi, then Jiang, with a stunned expression, but at the moment there
was little he could do. He bowed and said, “Yes, Comrade Minister. Immediately.
Any other demands?”

 
          
“No,
sir,” Sun replied, bowing respectfully. “My thanks to you.” General Chin Po
Zihong ignored the gesture. He stood as the president and the defense minister
departed, then stopped Admiral Sun as he headed for the door. “So,” Chin said
haughtily, “you now have the ear of the president. I see that spouting all that
ancient military crap has paid off for you.”

 
          
“Yes,
sir,” Sun responded simply.

 
          
“You
may speak freely now, Admiral,” Chin said. “We are practically colleagues,
contemporaries.” Suns eyes narrowed at that very sarcastic remark. “Please.
Tell me about your plan.”

 
          
Sun
Ji Guoming hesitated, not knowing whether or not to trust Chin’s sudden
friendliness; then he responded, “Sir, my staff has prepared a briefing for you
and the general staff, outlining my ideas and suggestions. But this operation
is not under my command, sir. I am merely advising the defense minister and
Paramount Leader as to—”

           
“You are nothing more than a bold,
loudmouth upstart,” Chin said, “tossing about ancient maxims that no longer
apply, to old men who were spoon-fed that crap since they were young boys and
who long for a time when Maoist psycho-mystical garbage could conquer the
world.”

 
          
Admiral
Sun smiled and actually appeared to relax when he saw the anger rising in Chins
words. “You do not believe in applying the teachings of Master Sun-tzu to today’s
challenges, General?” Sun asked. “We have spoken on this many times.”

 
          
“Forget
that
Art of War
shit, Sun,” Chin
interjected angrily. “What will you do against the Americans? I must know! ”

 
          
“I
am going to humiliate them, sir,” Sun replied hotly. “I am going to show the
Americans that they cannot roam freely over our waters and our region. I am
going to make their allies turn against them, isolate them; then I am going to
make the American people isolate and hate their own military forces.”

 
          
“How?
How will you do all this? What forces will you need? How many ships, planes,
divisions?”

 
          
“This
is not a mission for conventional military forces, sir,” Sun said. “My forces
will be everywhere, but nowhere; they will be as light as ghosts, but as
powerful as the largest ships and the most powerful bombs in the world.”

 
          
Chin
saw he was going to get no more concrete information than that from Sun, so he
shook his head and turned to leave. “It shall be a pleasure for me to see you
collapsed and disgraced,” he said over his shoulder at Sun Ji Guoming. “Quoting
a bunch of dead philosophers will not help you when the American stealth
bombers head over the horizon to decimate our cities and armies.”

 
          
“They
will not be able to launch anything against us, because they will have no
targets on their radarscopes or sonars to attack,” Sun said. “They will see
nothing but empty ocean—and their own allies, out of control.”

THE WHITE HOUSE OVAL OFFICE

TUESDAY, 3 JUNE 1997
,
2105 HOURS ET

           
“My fellow Americans, good evening,”
President Kevin Martindale began his televised address to the nation. “I have
some important news of a serious disaster that may have potentially serious
implications for Americans both at home and overseas.

           
“At approximately six forty-five
p.m. East Coast time, two large-scale explosions were reported in the vicinity
of the southern portion of the Formosa Strait, between mainland China and the
island of Formosa, the home of the newly independent, democratic Republic of
China. Unconfirmed reports indicate that both explosions were nuclear, with
yields measuring somewhere between one and seven kilotons.

 
          
“I
want to assure the American people that we are completely safe, and the
situation is under control,” the President went on, deliberately slowing his
delivery and speaking as sincerely and as firmly as he could. “First, no
American military forces, except for some surveillance units, were in the area
at the time of the blast, and the last reports I was given stated that there
were no American casualties as a result of the explosions. Second, these
explosions were not a prelude to a nuclear war between China and Taiwan or
anyone else. It is not yet certain if the explosions were a result of an
accident, a deliberate attack, or an act of terrorism. In fact, it is too early
to tell precisely who launched the attack in the first place, although our
suspicions rest with the naval forces of the People’s Republic of China’s
Liberation Army, which have been threatening the Republic of China with attacks
for many years. However, both sides in the conflict in the Formosa Strait
suffered many casualties, and so we are still investigating. In any case, no
one retaliated with similar weapons; no other attacks, nuclear or conventional,
took place; and no nations have declared war upon anyone else. Third, there is
no evidence so far of serious nuclear contamination or fallout. There are
reports of Taiwanese and Japanese nationals fleeing their homes for fear of
radioactive fallout, so as a precaution we are advising against travel into
eastern China, Taiwan, or southern Japan until the panic has eased and we can
assess the danger.

 
          
“Fourth,
and most importantly, the United States is secure. The government is
functioning, and we are carrying out the people’s business, right here in
Washington, same as ever. As commander in chief of our nation’s military
forces, I have not ordered any retaliatory strikes, and we have not mobilized
any of our nuclear forces, nor do I intend to do so. I have ordered our
overseas military bases around the world into a heightened state of alert, and
I have ordered the Pentagon to hold meetings with high-ranking officers to
determine the best course of action to take, but at this time none of our
forces anywhere on earth are on a wartime footing. We are ready to respond if
necessary, but so far all nations of the world are responding to this tragedy
with patience and intelligent reasoning, and so I see no reason to elevate the
level of tension by mobilizing any of our forces to a higher state.

 
          
“The
United States stands ready to assist any countries who request aid, no matter
who pushed the button. The nuclear genie has somehow sneaked out of the bottle
after being safely sealed away for so many years, and the United States
government pledges to do all it can to help see that the genie stays locked
away again forever. I assure you, myself and all of my top advisors, civilian
and military, are hard at work investigating this horrible tragedy. I will
report back to you as soon as possible with more details.

 
          
“I’d
like to leave you with one last thought, if I may,” the President said. “When I
was a kid, I remember a gag poster of an old crusty Navy guy, had to be a
hundred years old, at the helm of an old weather-beaten wooden rowboat, with
about a dozen more old sailors crowded into the little boat manning the oars,
all lit up by a single lantern, and the caption on the poster said, ‘Sleep
tight tonight, the U.S. Navy is awake.’ All joking aside, my fellow Americans,
I can tell you that a good portion of the United States Navy, along with their
comrades in arms in the Air Force, Army, Marines, Coast Guard, and all of the
other paramilitary, Guard, Reserves, and civilian members of the best fighting
force in the world, the United States armed forces, are awake tonight, watching
and ready to defend our homeland, our freedom, and our way of life. Give them
your support and trust, and sleep tight—we
are
awake. Thank you, good night, and God bless America.”

 
          
The
President knew enough to keep his eyes straight ahead, looking into the camera,
until well after the red light was off and technicians started coming over to
unplug the mikes from his suit jacket lapels. He shook hands and offered thanks
to a few of the technicians, the director, and the all-important makeup person,
then made his way to his private study while the cameras and sound equipment
were removed from the Oval Office, where Chief of Staff Jerrod Hale had the
bank of six regular- screen TVs and two big-screen TVs on in the President’s
study. Already in the study with Hale was National Security Advisor Philip
Freeman and Secretary of State Jeffrey Hartman; Communications Director Charles
Ricardo followed the President.

 
          
The
study was where Martindale did his real office work—the Oval Office was usually
reserved for important meetings and “photo opportunity”-type office work, like
signing important legislation. The study had two curtained bulletproof windows,
but unlike the Oval Office, the Kevlar-reinforced curtains were always kept
closed. Along with the bank of televisions, the study had two computer systems,
with which the President was thoroughly educated; it had an exercise treadmill,
plenty of seats for secretaries and staffers, and wall-size electronic monitors
to display computerized charts, diagrams, or images. It was a good place to
watch and listen to the media’s reaction to the President’s address. Afterward,
the President’s “spin doctors” would prepare Q&A point papers for all of
the top advisors, and within minutes of the address they would be sent out to
talk with the press and put some finer finishing touches on the President’s
remarks.

 
          
“Good
speech tonight, Mr. President,” Ricardo offered.