Brown, Dale - Patrick McLanahan 06 (53 page)

 
          
“I’m
honored, Mr. Ambassador, but as you know, I have already announced our
intention of recognizing the Republic of China as an independent and sovereign
nation,” President Martindale said. “In our view, the Republic of China has
established a strong and viable democratic government and society, equal to
that of any nation in Asia, and therefore has earned the chance to grow and
develop as an independent nation. I don’t wish to offend the People’s Republic
of China, but I am prepared to support Taiwan’s right to become independent. I
hope that your country would recognize the reality of this situation and
peacefully come to terms with President Lee. ”

 
          
“With
the support of the United States, we are prepared to do just that, sir,” Hou
said. “We understand that you must still repeal the Taiwan Relations Act of
1979 and seek ratification of the proposal by your senate. The government of
the People’s Republic of China humbly asks that you simply attach an addendum
to your proposal, agreeing
in principle
only
to the notion of the people of Chinese Taipei seeking autonomy until
the laws of the People’s Republic of China can be liberalized, but fully
endorsing the goal of reuniting the two Chinas by the year 2005. You would then
have no need to expend political capital in repealing an existing law, and you
ensure the support of your senate by seeking a worthy and satisfying goal, one
that has already been endorsed by most of the world’s national leaders.”

 
          
“I
will take that idea under advisement, Mr. Ambassador,” the President said.
“Thank you for your time and assistance. Good night, Mr. Ambassador.” Hou was
still thanking Martindale profusely for his time and patience when the
President hung up. The President took a deep breath, then a sip of coffee.
“Well, either Hou was a very convincing bullshitter or one sincere Chinese.
They admitted they screwed the pooch.”

 
          
“They
admitted they overreacted, but they didn’t admit they were wrong or not responsible,”
Freeman pointed out. “I still think they’re too easy going about all this.
Hundreds of Chinese citizens and soldiers were just killed, supposedly by
Taiwanese and American sneak attacks, and their ambassador is
apologizing?
Doesn’t feel right to me.”

 
          
“Still
think it’s a setup, Phil?” the President asked. “Still think China started it
all, hoping to start an invasion?”

 
          
“As
far as would the PRC risk attacking their own ships just to force a showdown
with Taiwan?” He paused for a moment, then said, “I won’t speculate. I suppose
it’s possible ...”

 
          
Admiral
Balboa shook his head and gave a sound of disagreement that sounded like an
exasperated snort. Balboa was shorter and not as lean or athletic as Freeman,
but he compensated for a lack of stature with an animated, expressive, restless
demeanor that could not be ignored. He said,
“Ex-cuse
me, General Freeman, but in my opinion, it’s ridiculous to
suggest that the Chinese would shoot four torpedoes at its own warships just to
hope
to provoke Taiwan into starting
a war. I think we can rule that idea out.”

 
          
“Fm
not ruling anything out, Admiral,” Freeman said, “but Til agree, it’s pretty
unlikely. But this incident is only ninety minutes old. It’s just too early to
know anything. Everything that Mr. Plank said rings true with me, tells me that
perhaps the Chinese set this whole thing up.”

 
          
“Like
you said, General,” Balboa interjected, “the invasion plans on Matsu were in
place and well known for over a year. Taiwan’s been threatening to sink that
carrier if it ever entered the Formosa Strait. None of this is a big surprise.”

 
          
“Well,
the press has latched on to this incident like it’s the beginning of World War
Three,” the President said irritably. He glanced at his watch, then looked at
Jerrod Hale, his chief of staff. “Jer, have Chuck work up a media point paper
for me for tonight. I want it made clear that I view these incidents with great
concern, and I make myself available at any time to assist in negotiations for
peace. I’m calling for a cessation of all hostilities in the Formosa Strait
immediately.”

 
          
“You
may want to consider a line acknowledging our culpability in the escalation of
this conflict, sir,” Hale said. “We can’t kill a hundred civilians and then
say, ‘Everyone, back off or else.’ ”

 
          
“I
don’t want it to look like I’m the one that started it all, either, Jerrod.”

 
          
“I’d
consider mentioning the call from Ambassador Hou, the pledge of cooperation,
and your pledge to remove all armed patrol aircraft from the region,” Hale
said. “You’re going to come under tough scrutiny anyway—now’s not the time to
be evasive.”

 
          
“You’re
right. Let’s set up a press conference for tomorrow morning.” The President
turned to Robert Plank and asked, “What’s China’s military up to these days,
Bob? They’ve been pretty quiet over the past few weeks, haven’t they?”

 
          
“Quiet,
except of course for this carrier group that they claim just got attacked by
Taiwan,” Plank replied. “It’s incredible to me how much the balance of power
shifts when that carrier relocates—it’s the biggest warship and most powerful
battle group in the South China Sea region. Its escorts are considered
third-rate, but the carrier group represents a significant threat to the entire
region. The South China Sea belongs to China now.”

 
          
“I
think that’s a little premature, Bob,” Freeman interjected. Director of Central
Intelligence Robert Plank was another one of President Martindale’s political
supporters, a partner in a prestigious Atlanta law firm before cochairing the
President’s election committee and running the campaign in the strategically
important southeastern states. Plank knew little about politics and nothing
about running an intelligence bureau. To his credit, he knew people, he knew
international law, and he knew how to manage a team and manage a crisis. But in
Philip Freeman’s eyes, Plank was pretty much disengaged from the everyday
business of the intelligence game and really put his skills to work only in
tight situations.

 
          
“The
Agency has their best team on the case,” Plank said to the President, ignoring
Freeman. “I can have someone brief you on China’s specific military standing.”

 
          
“What’s
China’s next move, Bob?” the President asked.

 
          
“I
think they’ll sit and wait, hope this blows over, keep the pressure on Taiwan
and us, and see what we’ll do about it,” Plank replied. “I see no reason
whatsoever to get excited over yet another shoving match between the two
Chinas.”

 
          
“This
is not a damned ‘shoving match,’ Bob—the Chinese brought nukes into the region
and used them against
Quemoy
!” Freeman retorted.

 
          
“I
think there’s a power play going on in the Central Military Commission, and the
nukes were not Jiang’s idea,” Plank said earnestly. “The dispersal of the
Chinese carrier battle force, after spending so much time and money in assembling
it, is proof that whoever came up with the nuke idea has been discredited. It
would be a mistake, in my estimation, to escalate this thing any further by any
overt actions on our part. We should definitely exclude the modified B-52
things from the area. B-52s have always had a very negative connotation—as in
‘doomsday,’ as in ‘global thermonuclear war.’ ”

 
          
“I
agree,” Balboa interjected. “Things have been messed up pretty good with the
Megafortress fiasco. But we need a presence in the Strait— we needed it two
weeks ago, but now we need it more than ever. The
Independence
is fired up and ready to depart Yokosuka—I suggest we
let it head down the Strait to assist the
Duncan
and
]ames Daniel.
It was supposed to
be in Hong Kong for Reunification Day ceremonies, but I don’t think that’s a
good idea now, for obvious reasons. The Vice President was supposed to be in
Hong Kong for Reunification Day—is she still planning on attending the carrier
rendezvous?”

 
          
“As
far as I’m aware, she’s still on,” the President said. He turned to his
national security advisor. “Phil? You agree with the plan to send the carrier
into the Strait now?”

 
          
Freeman
hesitated—which angered Balboa, although he kept silent. Finally: “Sir, the
only problem in this whole thing is that I feel we’re being led around by the
nose by the PRC,” Freeman said. “I smell a setup. Perhaps we should wait until
Director Plank has a chance to investigate the incidents further before we send
Independence
into the area.”

 
          
“Always
gotta be the odd man out, don’t you, General? ” Balboa asked with undisguised
exasperation. “With all due respect, General, I think it’s
you
that’s being led around by the nose—not by the PRC, but by
Elliott, McLanahan, and Samson. We gave them a shot, and they couldn’t come through,
thanks to Elliott. If things get really hairy for the
Independence,
we can triple-team China with all three carriers—the
Washington
will be on station in a few
days, and
Carl Vinson
will be right
behind it.”

 
          
“We
should continue air patrols over the Strait—”

 
          
“We
can send the P-3s out of Misawa or the S-2s shore-based at At- sugi,” Balboa
said. “If things get out of hand, we can send in F/A-18 Hornet fighter-bombers
out of
Okinawa
. I think we can count on the Navy guys to
simply observe, and not
start,
World
War Three over there. U.S. presence should be a major stabilizing influence in
Asia, not a destabilizing one.”

 
          
Balboa
was the definition of interservice bigotry, the President decided, but now was
not the time to argue about any lack of objectivity he might be displaying.
“Philip, anything else?” the President asked. When Freeman had no reply, he
continued, “Have Defense draw up a plan of action; I want the
Independence
moving as soon as possible.
Don’t delay getting whatever help is needed for the frigates, but I want it
known that
Independence
is going
there to assist in recovery efforts only.” He paused for a moment, then added,
“Just for my own peace of mind, Admiral—none of our carriers carry any nuclear
weapons, right?”

 
          
“Absolutely
not, Mr. President,” Balboa said. “All special weapons— nuclear, biological,
and chemical—were removed from all Navy warships except ballistic missile
submarines at least five years ago. None exist in the surface fleet.”

 
          
“Not
even pieces of one? No nuclear components?” the President asked. It was a
well-known fact that the U.S. government “fudged” information on nuclear
weapons aboard Navy vessels to bypass a country’s “nuclear-free” policy by
simply dismantling the weapons on board, so technically there were only
“nuclear components” on board, not “nuclear weapons.”

 
          
“No
nuclear components either, sir,” Balboa said. “Of course, we still have nuclear
delivery components in the field—aircraft, missiles, et cetera—but I can
certify to you that we have no nuclear weapons or nuclear weapon components in
the field at this time.”

 
          
“Good—because
you
will
have to certify it, in
writing,” the President said. “Make your commanders do it, too.”

 
          
“The
security review that you ordered was completed on both Sky Masters, Inc., and
the Megafortress project office at Edwards Air Force Base—all clean,” Freeman
interjected. “No special weapons have been detected, no special-weapon delivery
subsystems have been installed or ordered or designed.”

 
          
“Good—I
want that report in writing as well, Philip,” the President said. “Next,
Admiral Balboa, get together with the Chiefs and Secretary Chastain and put the
Megafortresses back in mothballs. Get them off Guam and back in the States
soonest. We gave them a try, and it didn’t work. Then get together with Naval
Investigative Services and the Justice Department and start an investigation on
those missile launches and the attack on the Chinese ferry. We might have to
sacrifice some heads to show the world we’re not on the warpath.”