a few minutes.”
She regarded him speculatively. “Maybe that’s better for now.”
“You know about NGOs–nongovernmental organizations,” he began.
“They’re always a factor in policy decisions, regardless of whether the
government wants to admit it or not. These groups have more power than
many of the strongest lobbies in the United States. Things like the
American Red Cross, the Ralph Nader groups, the nonprofit corporations-”
“And Greenpeace,” she finished. “I understand that part, but why is
it important now?”
Tombstone pointed to a large map on the wall behind him. “The
Aleutian Islands, that’s why. They stretch from the tip of Alaska in a
long, south-curving arc over to Russia. At the closest point, the last
Aleutian Island is only eleven miles from Russian soil. For centuries, the
people who lived there wandered back and forth between the two countries,
ignoring all the political boundaries that we set up from five thousand
miles away. But during the Cold War, that changed.”
“Because they’re so close to Russia?”
He nodded. “During the days when we were concerned about Russian
submarines, the Aleutian Islands contained some of the most advanced
listening posts and tracking stations in the world. In addition to that,
here on Adak, four P-3C Orion squadrons were stationed in case we ever
escalated into full-out war. Up to the north of the Aleutian Islands, in
the Bering Sea, the Soviets used to conduct regular ballistic missile
patrols. With the long-range missiles on the Delta-IV and the Typhoon
ballistic missile submarines, those boats damn near don’t have to leave
port to strike any place in the continental United States. But they
deployed them to the North Sea, under the ice, to make them harder to
find.” He shook his head. “You wouldn’t believe what a tactical nightmare
it is, trying to track a submarine under the ice. Sonar echoes off the ice
overhead as well as off the ocean bottom. The water is so cold that
there’s virtually no temperature gradient. Sound energy travels straight
to the bottom and, if you’re lucky, might reflect back up to be detected.
Add to that the noise caused by ice floes, icebergs calving, and hordes of
snapping shrimp, and you’ve got a virtually sonar-proof environment.”
“So that’s the reason for the Aleutian Island stations. But how does
that fit in with Greenpeace?”
“Downsizing. We can’t afford to maintain all these stations, so it’s
essential that we convince the American people that they’re not really
needed anymore.”
“And you’re saying that’s not true?” She reached almost reflectively
for her tape recorder, and then forced herself to stillness.
“I’m not saying anything. We’re off the record, remember? And as to
how Greenpeace fits into this–well, they’re a very powerful organization.
In the last fifteen years, they’ve developed an array of international
contacts and supporters. Most of the time, we’ve been at loggerheads with
them. If we do anything except make a full-out push on the search for
survivors, the Greenpeace advocates who haunt the halls of Congress will
claim that the United States military left them out to die. No one will
ever question why they were up there in the first place in a boat not well
suited for those waters, or whether some fault on their part led to this
tragedy. Instead, it will become all our fault. The military is the
favorite punching bag for every problem in the world these days. Someday
soon, I expect to see the Navy blamed for crime in the streets and welfare
problems.”
“That’s not fair,” Pamela said sharply. “Many of the things I’ve
reported on were the United States Navy’s fault. The problems with women
on ships, the death of that aviator–don’t tell me that some of these
weren’t caused by the Navy pushing through unqualified people.”
“We’ve had our problems, true,” Tombstone acknowledged. “But no more
than any large organization. You’re talking about somewhere around half a
million people–the United States Navy is a huge organization, Pamela.
You’re going to get some bad apples in it. There’s no way to screen them
all out.”
“So you’re saying this search for survivors is primarily politically
motivated?” She shook her head. “The Tombstone I knew ten years ago