Brown, Dale - Patrick McLanahan 06 (18 page)

 
          
“So
we shouldn’t expect too much help from our allies in
Asia
, should
Taiwan
come under attack,” National Security
Advisor Freeman summarized.

 
          
“Privately,
even secretly, I think we can count on
Japan
’s and
South Korea
’s support of any actions we undertake
against
China
,” Hartman said. “Both countries still rely on us for their security and
for general stability throughout
Asia
. If we
want to support
Taiwan
against
China
, I feel
Japan
and
South Korea
will support us.”

           
“So we’re it,” the President said.
“If the Chinese are going after
Taiwan
, we’re the only ones who seem to give a
shit.” He paused, and the Oval Office turned quiet—everyone knew that the
President was absolutely right. “And the bottom line is, I
do
give a shit. I don’t want war with mainland
China
, but I also don’t want mainland
China
taking
Taiwan
by force. They got
Hong Kong
back peacefully. If
Taiwan
and the mainland are going to be reunited,
it should be done peacefully too. It would hurt our country if
Taiwan
was taken back by force.”

 
          
“No
question,” Vice President Whiting joined in. “Trade, financial markets,
multinational business, our national debt structure, our standing in
Asia
would all suffer if
Taiwan
was attacked and absorbed by Communist
China.”

 
          
“Agreed,”
the President said. “Question is, if the Chinese are moving against
Taiwan
, what do we have to stop them?”

 
          
“Ordinarily,
I’d recommend instituting economic sanctions, pulling China’s
most-favored-nation trading status, setting up another embargo of high-tech and
military goods,” Hartman said. “But with
China
amassing this naval task force, I think
it’s beyond economic warfare. We should hear some military options—low-key,
quiet, not too bombastic.”

 
          
“We’ve
got two briefings set up for you, sir,” Freeman said. “Admiral Balboa will
brief the first recommendation, and Lieutenant General Terrill Samson from
Eighth Air Force will brief the second.”

 
          
“Okay,
let’s get to it,” the President said. “Where’s Admiral Balboa?”

 
          
Jerrod
Hale was on the phone instantly to the
White
House
Communications
Center
; he got his answer a few seconds later. “En
route, Mr. President,” he replied, and motioned for the Secret Service to show
the others in.

 
          
The
President got to his feet as Terrill Samson, Patrick McLanahan, and Jon Masters
were escorted into the Oval Office. “Damn, it’s good to see you again,
Patrick,” the President of the
United States
said warmly, as he greeted each of them.
“How the hell are you?”

 
          
“I’m
fine, Mr. President,” McLanahan said, shaking hands and receiving a brotherly
clasp on the shoulder. “I’m glad to see you, and
very
glad to see you here, where you belong.”

 
          
“Sometimes
I wish I was back in the Vice President’s office, working with troops like
you—lots of power but no responsibility,” Martin-dale said, rather wearily.
“How’s your wife? Wendy, right? Doing well, I hope.”

 
          
“She’s
well, thanks.”

 
          
“Shit
hot. It’s a miracle, after her accident. Congrats.” Martindale knew all about
the aerial duel between Wendy McLanahan in the original EB-52 Megafortress and
the thought-controlled fighter that had been piloted by the Russian deep-cover
spy Kenneth Francis James. “And thank you for what you and Tiger Jamieson did
over
Iran
and the
Persian
Gulf
. You averted
a major world oil crisis, and possibly another Desert Storm. Job well done.”

 
          
“I
hope we get a chance to talk about the recent cuts in the bomber force, sir,”
McLanahan said. “Speaking as a concerned and knowledgeable individual and not
just as a defense contractor, I have some ideas about the bomber force
structure that you should know. ”

 
          
“You
will get a chance to talk about it, I promise,” the President said. “You’ve
earned that right. Just keep in mind, the cuts were made long before I came
into office, and the money has already been spent on the back end. But we’ll
talk about all this later. I’ve heard some good things about what you and this
young man here have been doing.” The President shook hands with Jon Masters.
“Good to see you too, Dr. Masters. I’m looking forward to you naming a
satellite after me soon. Make it a good one, okay?”

 
          
“The
new space-based surveillance and targeting satellite needs a name,” Masters
said with a boyish grin. “At the risk of being accused of out-and-out
brown-nosing the President of the
United States
, I wonder if I should skip Taylor and
Clinton and go right to Martindale?” They all laughed—the answer to that one
was obvious.

 
          
“General,
good to see you again,” the President said as he shook hands with the big
three-star general. “I know I haven’t had time to thank you for all the hard
work you did getting Colonel McLanahan here back in the air for that Iranian
mission. Your work was instrumental in averting a certain disaster in the
Persian Gulf
. We were very impressed with the proposal
you wrote concerning this
Taiwan
reconnaissance/strike mission.”

 
          
“Thank
you, sir,” Samson responded. “I understand you’re getting a lot of political
heat for the things we did. You don’t have to take the fall for this alone,
sir.”

           
“I do, I will, and I’ll survive,
Terrill,” the President said. “Unless the opposition wants to suspend the
Constitution, I’m on solid ground. You worry about the mission we’re thinking
about sending your boys on, I’ll worry about the Democrats.” His weak smile
told Samson that he was more than just a little concerned about the political
pressure he was under.         _

 
          
“Jerrod’s
going to call me to go to that American Bar Association dinner thing in about
thirty minutes, so let’s get to it.” The President steered the three newcomers
over to places around the coffee table in front of the big Resolute desk in the
Oval Office. “Ellen, gents, I think you all know Air Force Lieutenant General
Terrill Samson, commander of Eighth Air Force and bomber guru. Let me introduce
Dr. Jonathan Colin Masters, boy genius, defense contractor, and reportedly the
smarter younger brother of Merlin the Magician. And this is ace bombardier Patrick
McLanahan. He and I have some stories that will curl your toes, if they ever
declassify them. You’ll never guess how close to the brink we’ve been together,
and how often we’ve been there.” The Presidential advisors, except Philip
Freeman, mumbled hellos and little else.

 
          
“Here’s
what’s going on, boys,” the President began, taking his seat at the head of the
circle, with Vice President Whiting beside him. “A few weeks ago, the
intelligence wonks said the PRC is massing a naval task force at Juidongshan,
of about forty ships, mostly small combatants but a few large destroyers and
frigates. The press reported it as minor ship movements associated with
Reunification Day celebrations. We believe the ships have some other purpose.
Meanwhile, the aircraft carrier
Mao
Zedong
moved into
Hong Kong
Harbor
, supposedly also participating in the
Reunification Day stuff—but then we learned it lifted anchor. Phil, bring us up
to speed.”

 
          
“In
a nutshell, sir: that task force is getting bigger, and the carrier’s on the
way to join them,” Philip Freeman began. “Estimated size of the PRC task force
right now is fifty-seven ships, including six Luda-class guided-missile
destroyers and twelve Jianghu-class frigates. Lots of support ships for surface
forces and submarines. The carrier
Mao
has departed
Hong
Kong
and is
heading north along the coast, apparently to join the Juidongshan task force.
The
Mao
is being escorted by four
Luda-
class destroyers, among others, so the PLAN
has almost all of their operational destroyers involved in this task force.

 
          
“Along
with the naval task force, we’ve noted increased activity at eleven army bases
and ten air force and naval air bases within six hundred miles of
Taipei
,
Taiwan
. We’re watching a gradual activation of
rocket artillery units at the army bases, with M-9 and M-l 1 ballistic
missiles. We’re estimating at least two hundred attack planes, one hundred
fighters, and fifty long-range bombers on line, each capable of carrying one or
two large anti-ship cruise missiles ... or nuclear weapons.”

 
          
There
was a muted “Oh, shit” from someone in the Oval Office. “Run down the
nuclear-capable forces for us, Phil,” the President asked somberly.

 
          
“
China
’s main nuclear threat comes from land-based
mobile missiles,” Freeman said, reciting data completely from memory. “The
Chinese have approximately one hundred mobile medium-range nuclear missiles,
each of which can carry multiple reentry warheads, plus approximately one
hundred mobile short-range single-warhead nuclear missiles similar to Scuds,
and a total of twelve intercontinental-range missiles. A few of these units
have been moved east arrayed against forces in the Pacific, although most are
still set against Russian and Indian forces in the southwest or north. Only two
nuclear-capable subs in the Chinese fleet; the Navy keeps very good track of
both of them when they put to sea, which is not very often. The H-6 bombers are
all nuclear capable, but with gravity bombs only—so far, the Chinese seem to
have no nuclear-capable air-launched cruise missiles. The bombers are not
considered a threat against a full-up American carrier or surface action group.

 
          
“With
the addition of the
Mao
carrier,
however, we can expect the addition of nuclear-capable anti-ship missiles,
particularly the SS-N-12 Granit,” Freeman concluded. “Supersonic, over
two-hundred-mile range, big warhead, radar-guided—a real threat if it gets past
the outer and middle ring of air defense in the carrier battle group. The
Sukhoi- 27 or -33 fighters deployed on the carrier can presumably deliver
nuclear gravity bombs, too.”

 
          
“Chance
of the Chinese using nukes for whatever they got in mind? ”

 
          
“Until
the Philippine conflict in 1994, it was considered low,” Freeman replied. “The
Chinese have always disavowed first use of special weapons—nuclear, chemical,
and biological. But
China
used a tactical nuclear weapon against
Philippine naval forces in 1994, and threatened to use them again in March of
1996 if
Taiwan
held their presidential elections and declared independence from the
mainland. They even mentioned military retaliation against the
United States
if we should interfere, and refused to deny
that they were in essence threatening to use nuclear weapons against the
United States
.