“Yes, ma’am, it is, and you know it is, and I want your personal assurance that your navy, which is also at sea, will not interfere with their passage.”
“But why do you ask this? Why should we interfere– for that matter, what is the purpose of your ship movement?”
“Your word on the matter will suffice, Prime Minister,” Ryan told her. His right hand gripped a number 2 lead pencil.
“But, Mr. President, I fail to understand the purpose of this call.”
“The purpose of this call is to seek your personal assurance that the Indian navy will not interfere with the peaceful passage of United States Navy ships through the Arabian Sea.”
HE WAS SO weak, she thought, repeating himself that way. “Mr. President, I find your call unsettling. America has never spoken to us about such a matter before. You say you move warships close to my country, but not the purpose for the move. The movement of such vessels without an explanation is not the act of a friend.” What if she could make him back down?
WHAT DID I TELL YOU? the note from Ben Goodley read.
“Very well, Prime Minister, for the third time, will you give me your assurance that there will be no interference in this activity?”
“But why are you invading our waters?” she asked again.
“Very well.” Ryan paused, and then his voice changed.
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“Prime Minister, the purpose of the movement does not directly concern your country, but I assure you, those ships will sail on to their destination. Since their mission is one of importance to us, we will not, I repeat not, brook interference of any kind, and I must warn you that should any unidentified ship or aircraft approach our formation, there might be adverse consequences. No, please excuse me, there will be such consequences. To avoid that, I give you notice of the passage, and I request your personal assurance to the United States of America that there will be no attack on our ships.”
“And now you threaten me? Mr. President, I understand the stress which has come to you of late, but, please, you may not treat sovereign countries in this way.”
“Prime Minister, then I will speak very clearly. An overt act of war has been committed against the United States of America. Any interference with, or attack on, any part of our military will be deemed a further act of war, and whatever country commits such an act will face the most serious possible consequences.”
“But who has done this to you?”
“Prime Minister, that is not your concern unless you wish it to be. I think in the interests of both your country and mine, it would be well if your navy returned to port forthwith.”
“And you blame us, you order us?”
“I began with a request, Prime Minister. You saw fit to evade my request three times. I regard that as an unfriendly act. And so I have a new question: Is it your desire to be at war with the United States of America?”
“Mr. President–”
“Because if those ships don’t move, Prime Minister, you will be.” The pencil snapped in Ryan’s hand. “I think you may have associated yourself with the wrong friends, Prime Minister. I hope I am incorrect, but if my impression is correct, then your country could well pay dearly for that misjudgment. We have experienced a direct attack on our citizens. It is a particularly cruel and barbaric attack, utilizing weapons of mass destruction.” He enunciated these words very clearly. “This is not yet known to our citizens. That will soon change,” he told her. “When it does,
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Prime Minister, those guilty of launching that attack will face our justice. We will not send notes of protest. We will not call a special meeting of the UN Security Council in New York. We will make war, Prime Minister. We will make war with all the power and rage this country and her citizens can muster. Do you now understand what I am saying? Ordinary men, women, and now even children have been murdered within our borders by a foreign power. There has even been an attack upon my own child, Prime Minister. Does your country wish to be associated with those acts? If so, Prime Minister, if you wish to be part of that, then the war commences now.”
56
DEPLOYMENT
JESUS, JACK, YOU HAD ME convinced,” Jackson breathed.
“Our friend in the clergy won’t be as easy,” the President said. He rubbed his two sweaty hands together. “And we still don’t know if she’ll keep her word. Okay, Task Group COMEDY is at DEFCON 1. If they think it’s hostile, kill it. But for Christ’s sake, make sure that commander knows how to use his head.”
The Situation Room was quiet now, and President Ryan felt very alone, despite the people assembled around him. Secretary Bretano and the Joint Chiefs were there. Rutledge was there for State. Secretary Winston, because Ryan trusted his judgment. Goodley, because he was fully briefed in on all the intelligence information; plus his chief of staff and the usual bodyguards. They all showed their support, but it really didn’t help all that much. He alone had talked to India, because despite all the help and staff and advice, Jack Ryan was now the United States of America, and the country was going to war.
THE MEDIA POOL learned that over the Atlantic Ocean. America expected an attack at any time from the United Islamic Republic into the other Gulf states. They would be there to cover the story. They also learned about the forces being deployed.
“That’s all?” one of the more knowledgeable of them asked.
“That’s it for the moment,” the public affairs officer confirmed. “We hope that the show of force will be sufficient to deter the attack, but if not, it’s going to be exciting.”
“Exciting ain’t the word.”
Then the PAO told them why it was happening, and the
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windowless KC-135 that was taking them to Saudi Arabia became very quiet indeed.
KUWAIT ESSENTIALLY HAD two heavy brigades, complemented by a motorized reconnaissance brigade equipped with antitank weapons and designed to be a screening force on the border. The two heavy brigades, equipped and trained on the American model, were held back from the border in the usual way so as to be able to move to counter an incursion rather than having to meet the initial attack–possibly in the wrong place. The 10th U.S. Cavalry stood between and slightly behind those two. Overall command was somewhat equivocal. Colonel Ma-gruder was the most senior officer in time of service, and the most experienced tactician, but there were Kuwaitis more senior in rank–all three brigades were commanded by brigadier generals–and it was their country. On the other hand, the country was small enough to require only one primary command post, and Magruder was there, both to command his regiment and to advise the Kuwaiti commanders. The latter were both proud and nervous. They were understandably pleased by the strides their small country had made since 1990. No longer the comic-opera force which had disintegrated on the Iraqi invasion–though some sub-units had fought bravely–they had what looked on paper and to the eye like a very capable mechanized force. They were nervous because they were heavily outnumbered, and their mainly reservist soldiers had a long way to go before they met the American training standards to which they aspired. But the one thing they knew was gunnery. Shooting tanks is as enjoyable a pastime as it is a vital one; the empty slots in their formations were explained by the fact that twenty tanks were in the shop for replacement of their main gun tubes. That was being done by civilian contractors while the tank crews paced and waited.
The 10th Cav’s helicopters were flying around the country’s border, their Longbow radars looking deep into the UIR for movement, and so far seeing nothing of particular note. The Kuwaiti air force was standing a four-
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plane combat air patrol, with the rest of the force on high alert. Outmanned though they were, this would not be a repeat of 1990. The busiest people were the engineers, who were digging holes for all the tanks so that they could fight hull-down, with only their turrets showing. These were covered with netting to make them invisible from the air.
“And so, Colonel?” the senior Kuwaiti commander asked.
“Nothing wrong with your deployments, General,” Magruder replied, scanning the map again. He didn’t show everything he felt. Two or three weeks of intensive training would have been a blessing. He’d run one very simple exercise, one of his squadrons against the Kuwaiti 1 st Brigade, and even then he’d gone very easy on them. It wasn’t the time to break their confidence. They had enthusiasm, and their gunnery was about seventy percent of American standards, but they had a lot to learn about maneuver warfare. Well, it took time to raise an army, and more time to train field officers, and they were doing their best.