Brown, Dale - Patrick McLanahan 06 (74 page)

 
          
“Bridge,
sonar, heavy high-speed screws bearing three-two-zero, range eight thousand
yards and closing fast. Large patrol vessel or small corvette or frigate. I’m
picking up a patrol helicopter flying low over the water, too.” Moments later,
they heard the first active pings of a sonobuoy dropped just a few hundred
yards away—the search for the trapped sub had begun. The next several sonobuoys
were much closer—they had been pinpointed. The patrol vessel was soon joined by
several more, all converging on their location.

           
The captain’s jaw dropped open in
surprise. Not only was this
not
a
random, unlucky accident—it now appeared to be an intentionally set trap. The
Iranians had deployed some kind of unbreakable net in the ship channel right
behind their attack submarine
Taregh
,
and they had snagged themselves an American attack submarine.

 
          
“I
think the fuckers found us,” the captain said. He hit an intercom button:
“Comm, this is the captain. Deploy the satellite antenna buoy, send a distress
signal immediately.”

 
          
The
antenna buoy had reached the surface and was transmitting for about three
minutes when the first depth charge was launched from the Iranian frigate and
splashed into the water over the trapped American sub.

GOVERNMENT HOUSE,
BEIJING
,
PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF
CHINA
WEDNESDAY, 25 JUNE 1997
,
0301 HOURS LOCAL (
TUESDAY,
24 JUNE, 1401
HOURS ET)

 
          
The
Central Military Commission meeting broke into loud cheers and
uncharacteristically hearty applause as the members watched their TV monitors.
The CNN “Early Prime” news broadcast from the United States—practically all TV
sets in Government House had been tuned to CNN twenty-four hours a day since
the conflict with Taiwan had begun— opened with video taken from Iranian navy
sailors in the Strait of Hormuz south of Bandar-Abbass. They showed an American
nuclear- powered attack submarine on the surface, covered with an immense net
in which they had become entangled while spying on the naval facilities near
Bandar-Abbass. Iranian warships surrounded the sub, with dozens of guns of all
sizes trained on the helpless American warship and its crew, who had been
forced to surrender after a massive depth-charge barrage, and who were now
kneeling up on the sub’s deck, hands on top of their heads. The video was being
transmitted directly from Iranian vessels to the Islamic Republic News Agency
offices in
Tehran
, where CNN had a news bureau, and from
there the Iranians allowed the live video uplinked directly to the
United States
for rebroadcast in the middle of the
afternoon in the
United States
and in “prime time” in
Europe
.

 
          
Proudest
of all in the room was Admiral Sun Ji Guoming himself. After leading the
successful bombing raids against Chinese Taipei—and performing the secret
missile attack against North and South Korea, which only a few members of
President Jiang’s command post staff knew about—he had returned like a
conquering hero to Beijing to receive the praise and gratitude of Paramount
Leader Jiang Zemin and the entire Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party. But
this latest action was icing on the cake—the ignoble capture of an American
attack sub well within Iranian territorial waters.

 
          
Sun
was proud because
he
had suggested
the trap. He had devised a plan years ago to use huge drift nets made of
Kevlar, as light as nylon but stronger than steel, to try to trap enemy
submarines. Each net cost millions of
yuan
to make, but
Iran
,
North Korea
, and several other nations were happy to
make the investment. It was simply a matter of patience: creating an inviting
target for enemy spy subs, then laying out the net and hoping that an unwary,
complacent sub captain sailed into it.

 
          
A
louder volley of laughter erupted when the American news showed three old
fishermen in their dilapidated old boat, which the Iranian Navy had allowed
into the patrol area, their dirty canvas trousers pulled down around their
ankles and their bare asses hanging over the side of the junk, defecating into
the Strait of Hormuz next to the American submarine. CNN also showed people of
all ages throwing buckets of trash and sewage onto the captured sub, burning
American flags and then tossing them into the Strait. A piece of video even
captured a brief glimpse of an antenna buoy that had broken loose from the
American sub when the depth-charge attack had begun, and retrieved by a small
motorboat with young children at the helm. The children circled the area,
scanning the water with flashlights and torches to try to find more souvenirs.

 
          
“Excellent,
excellent!” President Jiang shouted, clapping and smiling like a schoolboy at a
football match. “I am almost embarrassed
for
the American president and his submarine sailors! He must be the
laughingstock of the entire world!” He received congratulations and
acknowledgments from several Politburo and CMC members, then stepped over to
Admiral Sun. “What do you think the Iranians will do with their American
captives, Admiral?”

 
          
“I
have already been in contact with the Iranian military’s chief of staff,” Sun
replied, rather wistfully. “The crew will be tried as spies, and their vessel
held. It is quite a catch for them, and it is perfect payback for what the
United States
did to the aircraft carrier
Khomeini
when it was in their hands. In
time, the crew and the vessel will probably be released, but not until the
Iranians have examined and photographed every square centimeter of that
submarine.”

 
          
“You
seem disappointed, comrade,” Jiang said. “Their violation of international law is
obvious to all. Should they not be made to pay for their crime? ”

 
          
“I
believe they are paying more severely now than anything the Iranians could
possibly do to them,” Sun said. “Destroying a helpless, hapless submarine and
its crew would be cruel, and the Iranians would lose face in the eyes of the
world. Sun-tzu tells us that to attack the enemy’s
tao
is more hurtful than attacking his armies. I respectfully
suggested that the Americans be released, but I do not think the Iranians will
listen to my suggestion. Perhaps if you could call the Ayatollah Khamenei
directly, he might listen to you.” China and Iran had forged a strong new
military alliance in the past few months, and the level of cooperation between
the two nations had grown rapidly despite the severe damage the aircraft
carrier
Khomeini
, now the
Mao Zedong,
had sustained while in
Iranian hands.

 
          
“Very
well—I shall do as you suggest, Comrade Admiral,” Jiang said, with a smile. “I
will of course issue a communique demanding an explanation from President
Martindale as to why his submarine was so far into Iranian waters.”

 
          
“May
I suggest you follow up the communique with a live televised address on CNN or
the British international news network, demanding an apology?” Sun added.
“Nothing galls the American people more than to be forced to offer an apology,
especially to an Asian or to one from the
Middle East
—both are seen as far inferior races. It
will help to solidify the opposition to President Martindale’s military and
foreign affairs policies.”

           
“Very good—I shall instruct my staff
to do as you suggested,” Jiang said happily. He turned to accept the
congratulations of more high-level Party members, then turned back to Sun and
asked, “So. What is the next step, Admiral?”

 
          
“My
task is nearly complete, Comrade President,” Sun said. “My objective was to
eliminate the
United States
as a threat to Zhonggua and to pave the way
for us to retake
Formosa
. My task is done.”

 
          
President
Jiang looked startled. “Your task ... is
finished
?”
he asked incredulously. “But we have not retaken any territory, and the armies
of the world are on heightened alert against us.”

           
“General Chin and the Peoples
Liberation Army may retake any of the rebel-held islands at his leisure,”
Admiral Sun said casually. “There is none to oppose him now. But I suggest we
do nothing but offer overtures of peace, friendship, and reunification to
everyone—I predict our loyal brothers on
Formosa
will choose to be reunited with us very
soon. The elimination of the rebel Nationalists’ major weapons of war, and the
erosion of the Western alliance structure in
Asia
, means that the Nationalists are
defenseless. They can choose reunification ... or death.” “But what about the
Americans, Comrade Admiral?” Jiang asked. “Will we not soon face the wrath of
the American military? Certainly the threat from them has not yet diminished?”

 
          
“The
United
States
dares not attack us now—they are in the wrong, and will be forever
chastised throughtout the world if they attack,” Sun said confidently. “The
North Korean Peoples Army is massing on the demilitarized zone and will
probably attack, and now the Iranians have captured proof of additional
American aggression against them, so the conflict in the
Persian Gulf
may threaten to reignite. These conflicts
will occupy all of
Americas
attention—
Taiwan
is not as serious a concern to the
United States
compared to
Korea
or the
Persian Gulf
.”

 
          
“You
are obviously correct,” a Politburo member commented, “because the
United States
does not directly threaten
China
as yet. They have their nuclear missiles
and bombers on alert, but even their lawmakers are opposed to their deployment
and urge negotiations. They may even sponsor legislation to kill President
Martindale’s attempt to recognize the rebel Nationalist governments
independence, and support reunification.”

 
          
“We
do not know what will happen in Washington, comrade,” Sun Ji Guoming said. “But
all in all, it does not matter.
America
is confused and splintered, and it has
confused and fractured its Asian alliances as well. It can no longer oppose
us.”

 
          
“But
what about the invasion of
Quemoy
?”
Jiang asked. “Our troops are restless as medieval warhorses, biting at the bit
and ready to honor themselves in battle. Why not begin the attack now?”

 
          
“Is
there still a danger of radiation or fallout from the surface-to-air missile
attack?” one of the Politburo members asked. “Is this why you do not begin the
invasion?”

 
          
“It
is not because of radiation, comrade,” Sun replied. “We do not invade because
we do not
need
to invade.”

           
“What. . . ?”

 
          
“Sun-tzu
teaches us that victory is best achieved by attacking an enemy’s
tao
instead of its armies or cities,”
Sun explained. “We have three hundred thousand troops stationed around
Quemoy
Bay
, ready to begin the assault. We may take
the island and capture nearly fifty thousand rebel troops anytime we wish. So
we have already won the battle, comrades. With the tip of our sword touching
the rebels’ chest, we do not need to thrust it into their heart to prove our
domination or power. The rebels have been defeated, but it would be better for
them to surrender to us. I expect to receive terms of surrender at any moment.”