in Washington, warned the President that any military violation of this zone
would be regarded as, and I quote, ‘a most serious trespass into internal
affairs relating to the security of the Union of Soviet Sovereign Republics
constituting severe and destabilizing provocation.'”
Flashbulbs continued to pop and snap; the cameras continued their soft,
mechanical clatter. Magruder gripped the sides of the podium and stared back
at the expectant faces.
“At that time, the United States categorically rejected all Soviet claims
that their invasion of Norway and Finland was anything other than raw, naked
aggression. Within a short time, the President had dispatched an aircraft
carrier battle group to the Norwegian Sea. Their orders were to test the
Soviet exclusion zone and to demonstrate our solidarity with our old friends
and allies, the free people of Norway.”
And what a battle it had been convincing the President that such orders
were necessary, Magruder thought, as he continued to summarize the rapid-paced
events of the past two weeks. The apparent dissolution of the Russian empire
and the death of Soviet Communism had seemed to herald a new age in foreign
relations … and an end to the old world of military alliances and defense
treaties. For three years, both the President and Congress had favored a
staunchly isolationist policy; since the breakup of NATO and the loss of U.S.
bases in Great Britain, there’d been an almost pre-World War II eagerness to
concentrate on the social and economic problems facing Americans at home and
let an ungrateful Europe find its own solutions.
Worse, the loss of European bases meant that Norway teetered at the end
of a long and fragile logistics bridge. With Britain refusing to help–a
situation undreamed of in the energetic years of the NATO alliance–almost any
useful American intervention in Norway seemed doomed to failure.
But Norway was still a loyal friend. There were plenty of men and women
in the military–and among the President’s own advisors–who could not sit by
and silently watch the rape of one of the most actively pro-American countries
in Europe. The deployment of a carrier battle group would be a way to
demonstrate support, to send a warning to Moscow that the marshals had
overstepped themselves … and maybe, just maybe, Jefferson’s presence in the
area might serve to deter further aggression.
“Until June 12, Soviet activities were confined exclusively to
Scandinavia,” Magruder continued. “At that time an incident over the
Norwegian Sea near Iceland escalated into a major air battle. Long-range
Russian bombers launched cruise missiles which damaged U.S. facilities at
Keflavik, and several of our aircraft were shot down.
“The next day, the President moved the defense readiness posture of our
military to DEFCON 2 and authorized our carrier group, led by the U.S.S.
Thomas Jefferson, to proceed east and actively aid our Norwegian allies in the
defense of their country.
“We now come to the events of two days ago. We made no immediate public
announcement because we feared that a premature release of information to the
press could be of some use to the enemy, who, as you all know, watches CNN,
ACN, and the other American networks as avidly as we do here in the Pentagon.”
There was a gentle ripple of laughter at that, and Magruder smiled. The
Pentagon was always sensitive to charges of deliberate censorship. Admiral
Brandon Scott, the current chairman of the Joint Chiefs, had been most
explicit about the problem when he’d briefed Magruder that morning. “Whatever
you do, Tom, don’t let them smell a cover-up. If they think we were
maintaining a press blackout to hide the fact that we lost a battle, they’ll
be at our throats!”
So far, it seemed, the men and women in the room were with him. There
were a few disbelieving looks, a few raised eyebrows, but most were simply
listening as they took notes, snapped photos, or held the microphones of
portable tape recorders aloft in eager hands.
But the fact of the matter was that, so far, the crisis off the Norwegian
coast was a defeat.
“I can now tell you that, two days ago on Monday, June 16, elements of
Carrier Air Wing 20, operating off the deck of the Thomas Jefferson, attacked