by Dave Edlund
It was 5:25 in the evening when Marge knocked on his office door and then opened it. “Mr. Bryan, are you awake?”
He rose from his slumber on the couch. “Yes Marge, what is it?”
“I have the foreign minister from Venezuela on the phone. He says you had requested his call?”
“Yes, Marge. I did. Give me a minute to shake the cob webs out and then put it through, please. Oh, and after you put the call through, would you mind bringing me a fresh cup of coffee? Thank you.”
“Yes, sir.” She closed the office door.
Secretary of State Paul Bryan stretched and then seated himself at his desk, still in his stocking feet. His phone buzzed and he picked up the handset. “This is Secretary of State Paul Bryan.”
“Mr. Secretary, this is Roberto Maldonado, Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. I believe you have requested this conversation.”
“Yes, Señor Maldonado, I did. Thank you. Has Señor Santos shared with you our conversation earlier today?”
“Portions, yes. Am I supposed to be intimidated by your posturing and threats?”
“Señor Maldonado. I hope that you will listen carefully and choose your course of action wisely. As I explained to Señor Santos, my government has overwhelming evidence that the Venezuelan government has directly organized and funded terrorist attacks against citizens of the United States and other countries. We know that these attacks are meant to disrupt research aimed at developing synthetic routes to petroleum.”
“Preposterous! My government does not support terrorism! On the contrary, I suggest it is the United States that fosters terrorism through your sales of weapons and clandestine efforts to overthrow sovereign governments.”
“Señor Maldonado, you have no audience here. It is just you and me. We are both well aware of the truth, so save your rhetoric for the world stage.”
“I believe this conversation has reached its end. I have no time for your threats.”
“I assure you that I am not making idle threats. The President has instructed me to use all possible diplomatic means to avoid the necessity of a military strike. Although he has no reservation about destroying your military capability, we do not wish to harm innocent civilians. Our quarrel is not with the people of Venezuela, but with its government.”
“Very well. You can report to your President that you have done your job. Now let me give you a warning—do not underestimate the will and strength of Venezuela. We have many powerful allies who have pledged support against Yankee aggression. Your president should show more concern for the loss of American lives.”
And then the line went dead. The minister of foreign affairs had actually hung up on him! Paul Bryan had never had another professional diplomat hang up on him before.
This did not go as well as he had hoped. The reference to powerful allies was surely an acknowledgement of the alliance with Russia. Could there be other allies as well? Maybe Iran? The involvement of Iran was suggested in the intelligence reports, but proof of a formal alliance had not been produced. The secretary of state felt his stomach churning… maybe another cup of coffee wasn’t such a good idea.
General Hendrickson had assured the President that a military strike would be swift and decisive, contained within the borders of Venezuela. But if Russia entered the conflict and then Iran, how could the fighting be contained? How could a third world war be avoided?
With great trepidation, Paul Bryan phoned the President’s chief of staff. Twenty minutes later he was sitting in the Oval Office.
“Mr. President, I am sorry to report that I was not successful. My conversation with Señor Maldonado did not go as well as I had hoped.”
“He just blew you off, Paul? Is that what happened?”
“Yes, Mr. President. That’s exactly what happened. He offered only the weakest of denials when I confronted him on the terrorist attacks. And he completely brushed aside any concern of retaliatory military strikes against his country’s assets. He made reference to powerful allies. I assume he is referring to Russia. But he could also mean Iran. What do the Joint Chiefs think about that possibility?”
“Well, I suppose I’m not surprised. Garza has been spewing hostile rhetoric aimed at the U.S., and Western countries in general, ever since he took office. It was worth a try, though. The military thinks that Iran has no stomach for all-out war with us—they saw what happened in Iraq and don’t want to risk the same thing happening in their sand box—no pun intended.”
“I see.”
“Don’t be hard on yourself, Paul. You did all I could ask. It was a long shot, but worth a try to save civilian lives. As much as I’d like to see that bastard Garza out of business, I wish no harm to the Venezuelan people.”
“We could try to open a dialog through the Colombian government.”
“Unfortunately, Paul, the time for choices has passed. I’ll let General Hendrickson know that he has a green light to proceed with Operation Checkmate, as soon as possible.”
“Mr. President, I think it would be a good idea to tee up Colonel Pierson. It was his people, the Strategic Global Intervention Team, that both foiled the terrorist attack led by Ramirez and encountered the Russian spetsnaz sniper team on Chernabura Island. And it was also Colonel Pierson’s team that led the intel work on this case.”
“Good idea, Paul.” President Taylor stood and paced slowly in front of his desk. “I read the report. Pierson’s men were aided by a civilian, a man named Savage. Pretty handy in a tight spot. Most men would crumble under that pressure.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Follow up with the Colonel. Make sure he remains available until this operation is completed. How is it going with the Security Council?”
“We’re making progress, sir. I’ll be leaving shortly for meetings this evening at the U.N. I’ve already briefed most of the permanent members, excluding Russia, of course. If all goes well, I expect to have the commitment of the Security Council this evening to support our resolution, but it is my sincere hope, sir, that we don’t have to go that far. Also, the secretary general has already agreed to support our position, should we ask for it.”
“You’re doing a fine job, Paul. I know this past week has been very demanding. Unfortunately, it goes with the job. Try to get some rest on the chopper to New York. I need you to stand beside me to the end. Will you do that?”
“Of course, Mr. President.”
Bryan reviewed the current membership list of the United Nations Security Council for the fourth time that day. The list contained the names of fifteen member nations, including the five permanent members: China, France, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, and the United States. At the moment, Bryan’s mind was focused on the ten non-permanent member countries voted onto the Security Council by the permanent members. At 9:00 P.M., Secretary of State Bryan would provide a detailed briefing with all of the Security Council members except Russia.
He had already set the stage for the meeting, and tonight he would be asking for firm support of a possible U.S.-backed resolution authorizing broad sanctions, including freezing all assets of, and imposing a complete trade embargo against, the Russian Federation. In addition, a second U.S.-backed resolution would authorize immediate and unrestrained military actions against Russia should it carry out acts of aggression, or support acts of aggression, against the United States or allies of the United States.
In order to gain such unprecedented support aimed at another member of the Security Council, Paul Bryan would present highly-classified surveillance and intelligence information, including sharing details of capabilities he would prefer were left to one’s imagination.
He would argue that Russia was actively supporting a vast machination orchestrated by the government of Venezuela to deprive all the world of the knowledge to synthesize oil from resources available to all countries. Therefore, it was proper for the U.N. to act as one and decisively oppose the aggressive and illegal acts of the Russi
an Federation.
China was the wild card. If China exercised its influence over other members, the U.S.-backed resolutions would be dead. Bryan’s plan was to secure the unqualified support of the other Security Council members, and then play upon the long-held fear the Chinese have of Russian invasion and domination. Bryan did not harbor any illusions that he could secure a vote of support from the Chinese ambassador, but he did think he could convince him to abstain. And that was all he needed.
Bryan boarded the Marine helicopter on the White House lawn shortly before 7:00 P.M. He ate a ham and cheese sandwich on board as the chopper flew to the U.N. headquarters in New York. That would have to do for dinner. Accompanied by two aides, Bryan didn’t waste any time upon arrival at the United Nations. He and his aides signed in and were escorted to a reserved and secure conference room where they met the United States ambassador to the U.N. She had suggested that Bryan conduct this briefing personally to convey the gravity of the situation.
A wheeled cart holding large silver carafes of coffee, regular and decaf, and one smaller silver carafe that contained hot water was rolled into the meeting room. The aides laid bound and numbered briefings—basically copies of the slides that Secretary of State Bryan would present shortly—at each place around the oval polished mahogany table. The presentation was brought up on the screen, and a quick practice run was conducted. The message was far too important to allow poor preparation to distract his audience. Bryan was not about to overlook the art of the sell.
Exactly on schedule, the U.N. ambassadors arrived and shuffled into the meeting room. The American ambassador greeted each of her colleagues as they entered. France and the United Kingdom sat on the right of the Security Council President’s seat at the head of the table. As luck would have it, the rotating position was currently occupied by the United States. Every month the presidency rotated through the five permanent members in alphabetical order. Next month France would again have the honor, followed by the People’s Republic of China the following month.
China sat at the left side of the table, also next to the president’s seat. The non-permanent member nations—Ukraine, Georgia, Singapore, Poland, Australia, Canada, Ireland, Netherlands, Germany, and Brazil—occupied the remaining seats.
Conspicuously absent was the ambassador from Russia.
Bryan was pleased that the audience was largely sympathetic to his position. Many of the non-permanent member nations historically did not trust Russia and were fearful of her military ambitions.
Paul Bryan seated himself in the president’s chair. He had met with the Security Council previously, and as before, he sensed the aura of power that accompanied this body. After the usual chitchat and small talk, Bryan cleared his throat and began the meeting.
“First, I want to thank all of you for agreeing to meet tonight on short notice as well as under rather unusual circumstances. So, let me get straight to the point. First slide please.” One of Bryan’s aides began the presentation. All eyes were focused on the projection screen. Bryan stood and approached the screen. He was a dynamic speaker, and he always felt the need to use physical gestures to make a point, to connect with his audience.
Bryan began the process of laying out the case that Venezuela was carrying out a systematic and concerted plan to execute scientists working in the field of abiogenic oil formation. The goal, he explained, was to prevent these researchers from discovering routes to manufacture petroleum from water and certain minerals, widely available.
Eyes were darting between the screen and the briefing book. Bryan’s aides were carefully watching each ambassador, looking for signs that they were not following along or were dismissing the material. So far, so good.
“This brings me to Russia, the subject of this meeting as you are all well aware. On the 24th of September, barely three weeks ago, the Russian submarine Saint Petersburg sailed into United States’ territorial waters in the Aleutian Island chain to carry out a clandestine operation. We have irrefutable evidence of this act—you will find copies of the sonar data in your briefing book. We were able to capture these data because a U.S. submarine, the New Mexico, was on routine patrol in the vicinity.”
The ambassador from China interrupted, “Excuse me. It is not unusual for submarines of one nation to stray into the territorial waters of another, especially since most countries claim sovereign rights out to 200 miles from shore.”
“You are most correct, Mr. Ambassador,” replied Bryan in his most calm and polite demeanor. “However, the Saint Petersburg was tracked on a course that took her directly from the deep Pacific water, passing over the continental shelf of the Aleutian Island chain. She sailed to within a few miles of Chernabura Island, part of Alaska, where she inserted two commando teams. The Saint Petersburg then loitered in the area, never traveling farther than ten miles from the island, for many hours until one of the commando teams attempted to return to the submarine for extraction. This is all covered in your briefing book, including a chart showing the track of the Saint Petersburg and her location when she inserted the commando teams.”
The U.K. ambassador spoke up, trying to help his good friend and ally. “I was under the impression that the so-called commando teams were, in fact, terrorist strike teams.”
“Yes, premeditated murder of civilians was, in fact, the intent. The first team inserted was a multinational terrorist group backed by Venezuela and lead by Pablo ‘Ricky’ Ramirez. Their objective was to murder seven civilian scientists and students conducting seminal work aimed at understanding the chemical routes to oil formation from water and certain types of minerals. Through a combination of luck and good intel work, we were able to get a counterterrorism team on the island, and the terrorists were defeated.” No need to mention the role of Peter Savage in the whole affair and reveal how close the terrorists had come to succeeding.
Other than Bryan’s voice, the room was completely silent as thirteen pairs of astonished eyes were fixed on Secretary of State Bryan.
“Ramirez was captured. However, while he was being questioned a sniper team took him out—two Russian naval spetsnaz soldiers. The spetsnaz sniper team was the second group inserted from the Saint Petersburg. Again, ladies and gentlemen, all this information is covered in your briefing book. The sonar data pinpoints the time, location, and type of vehicle used to insert each team. There are no doubts.”
“This is preposterous,” said the Chinese ambassador. He slapped closed the briefing booklet, punctuating his objection. “Sonar data is one thing, but you cannot identify a soldier’s affiliation from sonar data.”
“Again, sir, I must agree with your astute observation. However, we can say with absolute confidence that the sniper team is spetsnaz because… we captured them.”
Bryan was in his element. He had everyone in the room within his control, and he relished it. The Chinese ambassador was dumbfounded. He could never have predicted that spetsnaz soldiers would have been captured while conducting a covert mission on U.S. soil. My God! If Russia was so brazen, what did that mean for Sino-Russian relations? Could China ever trust that Russian aggression would not be directed at them?
“In short, the New Mexico chased off the Saint Petersburg just before she would have extracted the two spetsnaz soldiers. We recovered them, along with their diver tow vehicle, weapons, and supplies. The two men are currently being held incommunicado at a secure military location. Both men are being treated well, in accordance with the Geneva Convention. The men wore uniforms identifying them as Russian naval spetsnaz, and during questioning they provided name, rank, serial number, and unit affiliation.”
“And what does Russia say about this?” asked the French ambassador, motioning with his hand to the empty chair.
“My government has chosen not to inform the Russian government just yet. Because of the bold and provocative nature of this act of aggression, we instead chose to work through the United Nations. If we can secure your collective support for the two resolutions we wish to
put forward, then our plan is to confront Russia with the facts as I have laid them out before all of you.”
“But the proposed resolutions cannot be binding unless they pass vote by the Security Council, and Russia, as a permanent member, can simply veto them.” This observation was offered by the Brazilian ambassador. He was less fearful of Russian aggression than he was of the government led by Enrique Garza—a maniacal ruler who coveted dominion over all of Latin America.
“Yes, Russia would certainly block formal passage of the proposed resolutions. But the secretary general backs our position and with his support, and yours, we can pass non-binding resolutions and demonstrate solidarity. Furthermore, the secretary general has offered his full support to place the matter before the General Assembly, and with a two-thirds vote in favor, the resolutions will pass as binding.”
The ambassador from Brazil nodded, satisfied with the explanation.
Secretary of State Bryan continued, “My government firmly believes… I believe… that Russia will not take a stand against the United States and the international community in light of comprehensive and compelling evidence of their unbridled and blatant acts of aggression against the United States and the international community as a whole. The proposed resolutions are the proverbial stick that we will use to beat Russia if she refuses to behave as a civilized country.
“This is not just about U.S.-Russian relations. Surely you see that if Russia is bold enough to insert military Special Forces, terrorist teams, and combat submarines into our waters and onto our soil, Russia will not hesitate to do so to each and every country represented at this meeting to realize her ambitions.”
Paul Bryan paused and allowed that thought to be absorbed. It was clear that the U.N. ambassadors seated around the table were doing just that. None of these countries, save the United States, was powerful enough to seriously engage and defeat Russia in an all-out war. What signal would they be sending to the Russian government if they turned their backs on these events? The answer was clear, and no one wanted that message to be received by Moscow.
