Shattered Trident - Страница 81

“Thank you, Mr. President, for your kind words. They are greatly appreciated,” accepted Simonis.

“Now, Commodore, before we end the VTC, do you have any questions for me?”

“Just one, Mr. President. There is a lot of scuttlebutt, rumors, which suggests that we will soon be at war with China. Are we truly that close?” asked Simonis with deep concern.

Myles sighed. “I’m afraid, Commodore, that we are on the brink of war. There are already rumors on the Internet concerning the loss of Santa Fe. References to the sinking of USS Maine and Pearl Harbor are coming up frequently in the media, with much the same result. I daresay that with the formal acknowledgement of a Chinese attack on one of our submarines, there will be significant congressional and public pressure for the United States to become an active participant on the side of the Littoral Alliance. I will keep Santa Fe’s loss secret for as long as I can, but the release of basic information in the near term is unavoidable.”

“It seems incredible!” remarked Simonis. “Do Congress and the public comprehend the risks of going to war with another nuclear superpower?”

“Some do. But most assume we’ll be able to ‘control’ the escalation, that China won’t risk national destruction. I find this assumption to be preposterous. Too much blood has been spilled; neither side has any inclination of backing down. Thus, escalation is all but inevitable. And yes, I firmly believe nuclear weapons will ultimately be used.”

Simonis looked shaken. “Surely this has been brought up in negotiations?”

Myles nodded. “Lord knows we’ve been beating that drum, Commodore. I’ve struggled hard to retain our neutrality, so we could serve as an uninvolved mediator. We’ve been soundly rebuffed by both sides—no one wants to listen.”

The president paused and took a deep breath. “I’ve studied Asian cultures for most of my life, Commodore, and the only way to get them to listen at this stage is to deal them a serious emotional shock. The last time we did this, in 1945, we had to use nuclear weapons to get our point across. That’s not an option today.”

When Jerry heard the president’s last statement, an off-the-wall idea popped into his head. Briefly considering it further, it seemed crazy. But it wasn’t any crazier than going to war with China. He knew he’d catch hell for this, but it sure beat the alternative.

“Mr. President, if I may,” Jerry interrupted.

Simonis whipped his head about in Jerry’s direction, shocked by his intrusion.

“Yes, of course, Captain,” Myles said.

“Mr. President, I’ve listened carefully to your explanation of the situation, and the significant limitations you’re facing in dealing with this conflict, so I have to ask this question.” Jerry swallowed hard, preparing himself. “Why don’t you use nuclear weapons to end this war?”

Both rooms erupted in chaos. Jerry saw the president’s stunned expression. Joanna’s jaw dropped in amazement at what she heard. A number of people were shouting. Simonis thundered, “That’s enough, Mitchell!”

“Quiet, please!” shouted President Myles. The roar slowly died down as the president also motioned for silence. “All right, Captain, please explain yourself.”

“Certainly, Mr. President, but you have to admit that my mere mentioning of the idea was a bit of a shock.”

Myles chuckled. “It most certainly… was.” The president’s tone and expression told Jerry he had his foot in the door.

“Mr. President, you’ve stated your conviction that this war will inevitably result in a nuclear exchange. If that is indeed the consensus of you and your advisors, then the preemptive use of nuclear weapons, as a demonstration, becomes a viable option. You’ve struggled to maintain the neutrality of the United States, consistently and openly pushing for a cease-fire and a negotiated settlement; neither of the warring parties are particularly happy with you or your policies right now. This means you are in the ideal position to actually employ nuclear weapons in a demonstrative fashion, and get away with it.”

As Jerry spoke, he saw Kirkpatrick lean forward, intrigued by what he was hearing, his right hand stroking his chin. Tilting toward the president, the NSA whispered something. Myles’s head snapped around. There was a hushed exchange, and Jerry noticed Kirkpatrick’s head nodding ever so slightly.

Myles turned back toward the mike. “What are you suggesting, Captain?”

“That you authorize the detonation of a number of nuclear weapons in the deep-water areas adjacent to the South and East China Seas. It will have to be more than two. You need to be more shocking than the last time, but your experts will have to determine the exact number. The weapons should be detonated simultaneously along the war zone. No one will miss this. The blast energy from the detonations will be conducted acoustically and seismically; they will literally be shots heard all around the world. If we explode them deep enough, there will be little venting of radiation into the atmosphere.

“Once you have the warring parties’ undivided attention, you give a speech that graphically articulates where this conflict is going, and the devastating consequences that will inevitably follow. You know better than I, sir, but I would think this would be highly shocking to the Japanese and Chinese at the very least. The beauty of it all is that if we do this properly, there is little risk of anyone getting hurt from the demonstration, and a reasonable chance that you’ll be able to stop the fighting.”

Jerry ended his proposal and sat down. Thigpen, just as stunned as everyone else, leaned over and whispered, “Skipper! Are you nucking futs!?!”

“Shh,” said Jerry.

After an awkward period of total silence, Myles spoke. “Commander Mitchell, I’ve already mentioned your resourcefulness, but this idea of yours is, well, a bit outlandish. However, my national security advisor is more than a little intrigued by your proposal and believes it has merit. Therefore, we’ll take it up for further discussion over here. If we have any questions, we know how to get ahold of you.”

Jerry nodded. “I’ll be here, Mr. President.”

“One last thing. That took a lot of courage, Captain. And I appreciate your candor and concern for our great nation. I won’t forget it. Good evening, everyone.”

Without a word, everyone in the conference room came to attention as the president departed. And before the connection was terminated, Jerry saw Kirkpatrick smile and give him a thumbs-up.

As the assembled officers filed out of the conference room, no one even came near Jerry Mitchell.

23. DESPERATION

12 September 2016

1000 Local Time

White House Situation Room

Washington, D.C.

“Mr. President, you cannot possibly be considering such a reckless and irresponsible proposal!” blurted Andy Lloyd.

“And yet, you support our direct involvement in the war against China,” Kirkpatrick shot back. “The result is the same, Mr. Secretary. Only the timing differs.”

“Nonsense, Ray! Escalation control may not be an exact science, but we have decades of experience in keeping the lid on the nuclear genie.”

“Try ‘black art,’ sir, a purely academic exercise. We have no practical experience of escalation control under the conditions of open conflict with another superpower—none whatsoever!”

“Gentlemen, please,” Myles exclaimed loudly. His raised voice commanded everyone’s attention, and the shouting ceased. “Thank you. Now, let us turn to the issue at hand. First, Andy, yes, I am considering it. Why? Because Commander Mitchell’s proposal is the only other option I’ve been given other than going to war with China or sitting back and doing nothing. Neither will end the fighting quickly, which is my ultimate goal.”

Lloyd and Kirkpatrick both slowly sat back down; chastised like young schoolboys caught fighting on the playground. Myles looked over at Patterson and waved for her to take a seat at the table. “Dr. Patterson, please join us. You’re the expert on environmental and nuclear issues, I’ll need to hear your views on this option as well.”

Joanna grabbed a chair next to her boss. She was still reeling from the VTC. Jerry’s proposal was shocking, to say the least, but that the president was seriously considering it compounded her amazement. Participating in an honest-to-God discussion on actually using nuclear weapons was surreal.

“All right, Andy, you lead off,” said Myles as he pointed to the secretary of state.

“Mr. President, nuclear weapons are the option of last resort, not the first. A demonstration right off the bat can be too easily misinterpreted, potentially leading to a hasty and poorly thought-out decision by an adversary to retaliate.” Lloyd paused, looking down at the table before finishing his argument. “And on the domestic front, Mr. President, a decision to employ nuclear weapons would be political suicide. Even if Mitchell is correct and the fighting does stop, the damage to your campaign would be irreparable.”

“So, let me see if I understand you,” summarized Myles. “We can’t use nuclear weapons immediately because they are nuclear weapons. We have to fail conventionally first before we can even begin to think the unthinkable. Correct?”

Lloyd initially opened his mouth to speak, but stopped. He wasn’t happy with the president’s summary, and his face showed it.