Lone Star Rising

by Kurt Winans

  “Good morning Chris. I suppose so considering the trying conditions.”

  As one of the many byproducts of a decade’s long friendship, Christopher Westin knew the response had been code for the man not having slept nearly at all. With that in mind he replied, “Yes sir, I didn’t sleep well either.”

  As a non-familiar aide then came forth with a cup of coffee for the President, and offered the same to Mr. Westin, the young man asked, “Mr. President?”

  “Yes.”

  “Sir, I received a communication from Mrs. Dawson instructing me to tend to your calendar for the day during her absence. Does that meet with your approval sir, or would you prefer that someone else handle those duties?”

  While reaching for the coffee that would rewarm his bones, Jordan Harwell replied, “If Mrs. Dawson has selected you to fill in for her, then that will be fine with me.”

  “Thank you sir, I will do my best to uphold that faith in me. Now sir your calendar shows that the Secretary of Defense will be your first scheduled appointment at eight o’clock.”

  “Alright, what comes after that?”

  “You have an appointment with the Director of Homeland Security at ten, but I just received a phone call from him a few moments ago. Sir, he requests that you call his office at your earliest convenience.”

  “I understand. Now please inform me of any other appointments throughout the remainder of the day at least thirty minutes beforehand unless you will be interrupting a current meeting. In that event I will want to know further in advance. Is that clear?”

  “Yes Mr. President, I understand.”

  Throughout the next thirty minutes the President and his Chief of Staff had the opportunity to discuss several matters and visually scan a few files; all while sipping on strong cups of coffee and munching on their joint dietary weakness of pastry. As had been requested, President Harwell also spoke on the phone with the Director of Homeland Security. When finished with that call, he turned to his Chief of Staff and said, “Well Chris, the Director has just given us something else to think about.”

  “What’s that sir?”

  “Nothing that can’t wait until after the briefing about Syria, but I’m glad that he brought his thoughts to my attention. We can discuss it with the Director at greater length when he gets here. Now then, where were we?”

  Somewhat surprised by the President’s lack of short term memory, he replied, “We were discussing the impact of our domestic oil reserves without those of Texas sir.”

  “Oh yes, that’s right.”

  That resumed discussion was then interrupted and would be placed on hold for the time being as the Secretary of Defense reported as ordered to the oval office promptly at eight o’clock. Within minutes after that, he, the President, and Christopher Westin had made their way into the situation room where the scheduled briefing would take place under the cloak of secrecy. Once inside the secured chamber, he turned toward President Harwell and asked, “With your permission sir?”

  “Certainly Mr. Secretary, please proceed.”

  Assisted by visual aids now displayed upon a wall of flat screens, the Secretary began his briefing. The numbers from the sweeping attack upon Syria were positive in nearly every aspect of the intended mission, and throughout the next twenty minutes each was covered in detail. Among the reports of what had been destroyed within the enemy’s homeland, President Harwell and the remainder of those within the situation room were also informed that losses to American military personnel were almost non-existent. The four missile cruisers within the task force that surrounded the supercarrier USS George H.W. Bush had been quite effective in targeting strategic cities and military bases with their long range barrage, while the air wing from the carrier along with air force missions from bases in neighboring Turkey had delivered their venomous arsenal with more pinpoint accuracy. Satellite imagery obtained a few hours after the completed attack had provided proof that the capitol city of Damascus was significantly damaged, while that same imagery revealed that a half dozen other population centers to the north from Homs to Aleppo and the large port city of Latakia were also burning.

  There had been little tangible resistance from the ground, but in a few instances fighter aircraft from the carrier wing had been engaged by the Syrian Air Force. Unfortunately for the Syrians, their numbers of planes and the skill for such an undertaking had been inferior to that of the American forces. As a result, more than a dozen of their defensive craft had been shot down or blown to bits. Nevertheless, the various engagements did provide the Syrians with a rare achievement in modern aviation combat. They were able to force one American aircrew of two men to bailout over the desert when their plane was badly damaged and could not return to the carrier or sea intact. Of greater significance was another American fighter that had been completely obliterated by a missile while killing the crew in the process. It was but the smallest taste of victory in the grand scope of the day to be sure, but it did allow the Syrians a level of hope that they were not entirely defenseless.

  When hearing the report of positive results, President Harwell asked, “And what of the insurgent ground forces?”

  “Sir each of our seal teams and special operation forces of army rangers have reported in. They are each engaged in different scenarios of course, but all are going according to mission specifications at this time. We will continue to monitor their progress as they can safely communicate with friendly forces, and we shall keep you updated with any relevant news.”

  “And the fourth fleet task force?”

  “I have spoken directly with Rear Admiral Rutherford via a satellite video conference call sir, and he informed me that all is well with the task force at the present time. He awaits your order to launch a second attack wave.”

  “Very well Mr. Secretary, consider that order to be given.”

  “Yes sir.”

  “And inform Admiral Rutherford to continue with his assault until ordered to cease. Those from Syria who perpetrated the attack upon United States soil and its citizens created a much higher death toll than that of Pearl Harbor, and their treachery shall not be forgotten. History shows that we as a nation didn’t have the ability to strike back with such immediate vengeance against the Empire of Japan in the months following that attack, but this is a different time. We have that needed strength now, so Syria and those within who are responsible are going to pay dearly for what they have done to the United States!”

  “Yes sir. And may I say that I share your desire to punish those responsible. I will inform Admiral Rutherford of your orders immediately.”

  “Thank you Mr. Secretary.”

  “Yes sir.”

  “By the way, what is being done about the two pilots who needed to bail out?”

  “Admiral Rutherford has deployed a recovery mission from the carrier sir, but at this time I have no word as to their progress.”

  “I understand, and thank you Mr. Secretary. Please inform me when more is known.”

  “Yes sir Mr. President.”

  Any positive feelings brought forth by the implied success of the initial attack upon Syria were short lived for President Harwell, as soon after that briefing, he and his Chief of Staff met with the Director of Homeland Security. After asking the man to have a seat in the oval office, President Harwell instructed, “Director, please tell Mr. Westin what you said to me on the phone earlier this morning.”

  “Yes Mr. President, but let me begin by apologizing for adding to the weight of the day.”

  “There’s no need Director, you have simply pointed out something of importance that somehow escaped not only me, but my entire staff. Don’t apologize for that; just explain what the issue is and help us to understand how we can fix it.”

  “Very well Mr. President, and thank you. So then Mr. Westin, about four o’clock this morning I suddenly realized that we, or I, had been thinking about this particular situation from the wrong angle. We had been moving forward under the assumption that ou
r southern border with Mexico had been dramatically shortened, and therefore it would be easier to defend. Although that geographic assessment is a reality without question, the latter point is debatable. Be that as it may, a different challenge has been created as a consequence of the altered border. While I was pondering over perceived weak spots along remote border regions in California, Arizona, and New Mexico, and how the reassignment of agents relieved of their duty in Texas could bolster them, it suddenly hit me.”

  Christopher Westin, known for his impatience during an always demanding schedule, waited through five seconds of silence. Then he curtly asked, “What hit you Director?”

  “Although our border with Mexico has been shortened, we now have a lengthier border with the Republic of Texas which stretches along parts of New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana. To amplify the challenge which the increased mileage presents, the number of established highways and roads crossing over that newly formed border is significantly higher than those that entered Texas from Mexico.”

  “Define significantly higher Director. Do you have an exact number of how many?”

  “My staff is working on an exact number as we speak, but I would ballpark that number to be somewhere close to one hundred crossings.”

  After looking back at the President for a few seconds, Christopher Westin returned his stare to the Director and replied, “One hundred crossings? That can’t be right!”

  “As I said before, that’s an estimate. And beyond those, we will also need to account for all the wide open flat terrain in various regions of that border. Such unmanned terrain could provide almost limitless easy access for crossing.”

  President Harwell then spoke by asking, “Director, how many established crossings did we have between Texas and Mexico?”

  “Including a few toll bridges over the Rio Grande, there were roughly twenty-five.”

  “Well that’s substantially less than the theoretical number which we now face.”

  “Yes sir.”

  “Does your department have enough Customs and Border Patrol agents to effectively cover such an increase?”

  “Not at this time sir. Recent Congressional budget cuts to Homeland Security have left our division of Customs and Border Patrol rather thin.”

  Christopher Westin interjected by saying, “Then let’s pull some agents away from the Canadian border. They are far less of a threat than that of Mexico.”

  The Director replied, “That would not be prudent to weaken one border, hostile or not, to bolster another. Besides Mr. Westin, the southern border in question is with Texas now, not Mexico.”

  “That’s not really the point Director. An open border is an open border.”

  “Well Mr. Westin that’s contradictory to what you just said about Canada being less of threat, but that can be debated at another time. In this case however we must try to remember another important aspect with regard to the new border.”

  While beginning to fume over having his thought process deemed as contradictory, Christopher Westin asked quite bluntly, “And what aspect is that Director?”

  “Texas wanted to separate from the United States, so I’m not sure that the people living in Texas, citizens or not, will be in a hurry to cross over into any of the four states that border it.”

  With his tone raised another notch, the reply was adamant, “That could be a very shortsighted observation on your part sir, and such a belief would not be in harmony with the scope of your duties.”

  “Mr. Westin, it would be in the best interest of the United States to form an allied relationship with the Republic of Texas for reasons that are far too numerous to discuss at the present moment. One way to foster good will toward such a relationship would be to not threaten their borders. We should not behave as though none of the Texas citizens would be welcomed into the United States for visitation purposes of either a business or pleasure intent. Beyond that point sir, I’m fully aware as to the scope of what my duties are. While I admire you for how you juggle all that is on your plate, you sir have no right to question my resolve even if you had the authority to do so!”

  Realizing that his Chief of Staff and friend of many decades was becoming cornered by the Director, President Harwell came to his aid by saying, “Alright gentlemen, let’s not get carried away by arguing over which of you has more authority in the given situation. We all have positions which carry with them tremendous responsibility and pressure, and each of us go about our authoritative jobs with the help of many other people. Now Director, let’s assume for the moment that shifting agents from the Canadian border isn’t a viable option. Which areas do you see as the most troublesome along the border with Texas?”

  “Well sir, that depends on how you define troublesome. Are we really worried about the citizens of Texas entering the United States unmonitored, or are we more concerned with the illegals from other countries that may have already been living in Texas?”

  “That’s a good question, and one that should certainly be addressed with more scrutiny in the future. For the moment though, why don’t we just work on securing the borders from all who wish to enter?”

  “Very well sir.”

  “Good. So then once again, which areas concern you the most for entry into the United States?”

  “The first would be El Paso without a doubt sir. The city and surrounding suburbs border both Mexico and the state of New Mexico in the western most tip of Texas. On a daily basis there’s a large volume of vehicle traffic that can enter Texas from Mexico via feeder roadways. From there those vehicles can use interstate ten or a handful of other paved options in the region to enter the United States through New Mexico.”

  “Understood, what else?”

  “Well before I go on sir, I must add one more point to El Paso. With Texas moving their National Guard units into position at all established border crossings, including those near El Paso, they are showing a desire to shore up their border with Mexico.”

  “If that’s true Director, then why is that region your highest concern along our border with Texas?”

  “Because Mr. President, it still remains as the shortest distance through Texas into the United States from Mexico. Should Mr. Westin be correct in his belief that the Republic of Texas will allow illegals to pass through that short distance of their territory into ours, then it could cause a major problem in southern New Mexico.”

  “I see. Your point is well taken, and we should therefore prepare ourselves for that scenario. Can you and those within your department see to that Director?”

  “Certainly Mr. President, we can position those agents recently pulled back from the region to set up a new border control sector at the New Mexico state line.”

  “Excellent, now what other areas do you consider to be troublesome?”

  “In my opinion sir, the next highest priority should be that of Texarkana which is located on the former state line of Texas and Arkansas.”

  “And why is that a concern to you?”

  “Well sir, although there’s not the element of a third nation such as Mexico in that instance, Texarkana does have multiple crossings of highways and streets within the city which exceed that of El Paso. In that regard it could be more challenging for us to effectively monitor not only who, but where they are crossing. The city and surrounding suburbs do contain a smaller population base than that of El Paso, but as the area sits directly on a former state line, it probably has a significantly higher percentage of their population which lives and works on opposite sides of that line. Adding to the mix would be the close proximity of both Louisiana and Oklahoma, as each state also contributes a number of commuting citizens into the city and the northeast Texas suburbs just west of it for employment. I believe that entire region needs to be closely monitored for illegal entry, but we need to be careful with how we proceed. If the United States were to simply close the border to everyday crossings without further consideration or study, the resulting implications upon the ongoing c
ommerce would most certainly become a major concern.”

  “Well I can see how a multitude of issues could arise if we followed that course of action, so we will leave the border open for now. Now I suggest you relocate whatever agents you can spare who were stationed along the Rio Grande to Texarkana so that we can at least attempt to monitor the flow of entry and exit.”

  “Yes Mr. President.”

  “I also suggest that you inform the State Department of your concerns, and our current discussion, so that they can be brought up to speed. It is inevitable that our representatives will meet with a counterpart from Texas, and when they do, the emphasis upon those border regions can be addressed. Those discussions will most probably lead to something mutually beneficial to all in the region such as work visas, but until then, we will have to trust that the influx of illegal entries shall be minimal.”

  “Yes sir.”

  “Alright, then what course of action do you recommend that we take for the remainder of our lengthened border until more agents can be hired and trained to fill the void?”

  “That would be to call upon the National Guard from each of the four bordering states to help. If we use them in conjunction with a thin line of agents which have been pulled back from their positions in Texas, we should be able to monitor the newly formed border with at least some level of efficiency.”

  “While at the same time maintaining what you have labeled as a non-threatening posture toward Texas for the sake of diplomacy?”

  “That would be the goal sir.”

  Looking first at his Chief of Staff for any possible reaction to the proposal, and then back at the Director of Homeland Security, President Harwell took a deep breath and said, “Alright gentlemen, let’s explore that possibility.”