by James Rosone
The President smiled. He was impressed by the ability of his staff to see the problem and find a way to quickly solve it. This close collaboration between the private sector, allied and partner nations was key to getting the country’s communication system back in operation. Leaning forward, the President praised his team. “Director Perez, your team has done an outstanding job getting the communications network back up and running. I am also glad you put forth a strong case for going live with Trinity. I was skeptical about using such an intrusive surveillance program, and I know others in the room were as well. However, no one can dispute the results, or the speed in which it found these traitors within our midst. I want this program to stay ‘Eyes Only,’ and keep the circle of people that know about it small. The less people that know about this the better.”
The President’s Chief of Staff asserted, “We need to get these successes in the press. Lord knows the people need something; they are still reeling from the destruction of New York and Baltimore. That said, people are pretty pumped up about our nuking the living daylights out of the IR. Everyone knew someone who died in the vicious attacks,” Monty said, surveying the group.
“Jim, how are the Europeans taking all of this?” asked the President wanting to get a sense of the political situation with his allies.
“Like everyone else, they were shocked and surprised by the IR nukes in New York and Baltimore. They were also horrified at our response. They are saying we went overboard and should have shown some restraint. They are also crying foul about the environmental damage this is going to cause,” Jim said, knowing the President would have gone further if the others had not insisted on limiting the conventional nuclear attack. Stein had wanted to unleash more than a thousand nukes, hitting the entire Islamic Republic from North Africa and the Middle East to Asia.
The President was concerned about the environmental damage the nukes had caused, but found himself saying, “Perhaps they can show restraint when one of their cities is nuked. Are they mobilizing their forces yet? Will they be able to provide any sort of defense?” The President was clearly not expecting a satisfactory response.
General Branson moved to answer the question. “Mr. President, they have mobilized their entire reserve force. Germany is really stepping up. They just announced the conscription of three million additional soldiers, not that they will make a difference for at least six to twelve months.”
A holographic image of General Wade came to life. From his European post, he had been participating in the meeting via conference call. Now he interjected, “The EU is still in the process of pulling their active forces out of the cities and reequipping them with their combat equipment. The only units that are ready right now are the German 10th and 13th armored divisions and the Polish Army. Both German divisions have the latest Leopard 3C model tanks, and will be more than a match for the Russians. The Germans are also mobilizing three infantry divisions to begin setting up defensive positions in and around some of the major Polish cities. The Pols, for their part, are moving most of their armor and mechanized forces to the north and trusting the Germans to hold the center. The EU forces in Poland, Hungary and Romania have all been placed on alert and moved to their marshalling points. For the first week, they will be on their own until the Fifth (and then later the Sixth) Army are ready.”
The President butted in to ask, “Will the German divisions be enough?”
“These are their two best divisions. General Schoen is the area commander, and he is by far their best field general. I am confident they will hold the Russians for a few days, long enough for us to get at least part of the Fifth Army to the German border and ready to fight,” General Wade replied, his face set like flint.
Changing maps on the holographic display, General Branson began showing the North Atlantic and the British sector. “The Brits are going to secure Iceland and Norway. They will focus heavily on interdicting the Russian Navy and ensuring the sea lanes between North America and Europe continue to stay open. They are also going to be providing a large portion of the air support over Europe, since most of our airpower is still in the Middle East.”
Eric Clarke, the SecDef, interrupted to add, “We have 1,200 fighter drones, fresh from the factory. They are being formed into new fighter wings and will be sent to Europe within the next three days. It’s still going to be close to a month, maybe two, until we have most of the aircraft from the boneyards ready to go. Even then, we lack trained pilots. We’ve shortened the training period for our pilot program, but that means our pilots will be less trained and experienced when they go into battle. We are also calling back into service a lot of retired pilots who used to fly these aircraft when they were still on active duty.”
General Branson was used to the SecDef adding information during his brief, and continued on as if it never happened. “They will get their experience, just like the infantry will--through direct combat. The additional fighter drones and aircraft from the boneyards will help, especially the 500 A-10s. Those are incredible tank busters. My concern is that we have heard rumors that Russia has a new fighter, the MiG40. We are not sure of its capabilities, but from what we have heard, it uses some sort of new technology that makes the aircraft virtually invisible to the naked eye. If that is the case, then this new fighter is going to cause us some major problems.”
Sighing deeply, the President felt another migraine coming on. “Gentlemen, what I need to know is--do we have sufficient forces to hold on to our gains in the Middle East and prevent Russia from capturing Europe? If not, then this is the time to bring up any issue.”
Everyone in the room sat silently thinking for a moment about what the President had just asked. It was a good question that needed to be addressed before hostilities with Russia really started. Eric sat back in his chair and exhaled forcefully, and then leaned forward surveying everyone at the table before continuing.
“Mr. President, we are at a tipping point right now. We have just stabilized the situation in the Middle East, and that could change quickly if the Russians or Chinese decide to throw more troops into the mix. We have North Africa and the Straits of Gibraltar that still need to be secured, and then we have Europe.”
The world was finally at a critical moment where the dictatorial regimes finally had the military and economic advantage over the Democratic governments of the West. The decline of the US as a global influencer, and the rise of China, Russia and a united Middle East had given them the edge they had longed for. After nearly 70 years of planning, China finally had the technological and military might to not just challenge the US, but potentially remove them from their superpower status. As China secured Southeast Asia, their attention would likely turn to mineral rich Alaska and the fertile farmlands of the American West Coast.
The Secretary of Defense spoke up for the group, saying, “Unless some miracle or an act of God happens, and the EU army is able to mobilize and stop the Russians, I do not believe we will be able to hold Europe for more than six months. It is going to take us close to twelve months to field an army strong enough to defeat the Russians, and that assumes those forces will not be needed to reinforce the Middle East, Australia or our own West Coast.”
The President knew Eric was right; there was only so much the US could do with the current forces and equipment they had at hand. The military boneyard near Tucson, AZ was already being scavenged for equipment that could be reactivated and so too was the Navy’s Ghost Fleet. The President needed time…time to allow the American economy to deliver the tools of war needed to win. However, it was time that the democracies of the world did not have.
“You bring up some good points Eric. We can only defend and win if we prioritize our theaters of operation,” responded the President. He looked down at his tablet for some information before continuing. “What we need to do right now is to determine which combat zones we will divert most of our resources to, and then focus on establishing a delaying action in the others.”
General
Branson saw this as his opportunity to step in and provide his military opinion. “Mr. President, I recommend we finish operations in the Middle East. The Russians and Chinese have forces there, but that theater is not going to be their main area of operations. Let’s secure and stabilize that region so we can relocate those forces to Europe.”
“Next, I recommend that we move Asia to the backburner. I hate the idea of abandoning Asia, but until our carrier forces are built back up and Japan joins in, we are not going to be in a position to take China on and win. With that said, I recommend we continue to build up a defensive force in Australia and move to withdraw all forces from Japan and relocate them to Alaska. The Klondike is incredibly vulnerable to both Russia and China, and those forces in Japan could be the difference in deterring or preventing an attack there.”
“I also recommend that we begin a full evacuation of the Hawaiian Islands. The Chinese will certainly make a move for them. Once cut off, the civilian population on the island would begin to die off. The island also has limited military value because the naval and air facilities there have been wrecked by the Chinese sneak attack there. We are preparing our military forces to fight a guerilla war on the island and establish a continuous surveillance operation of the facilities once they do fall to the Chinese, but there is nothing we could do for the civilians. I recommend we begin a forced evacuation of the residents immediately, while we still have time.”
Secretary of State Jim Wise spoke up, “This is not going to look good in the public eye, Mr. President. I understand the need to prioritize the various theaters of operation, but it will appear that we are abandoning Asia and essentially surrendering to China. Is there some way we can continue to keep some sort of military pressure on the Chinese?”
Eric understood Jim’s concern as well and added, “He is right, Mr. President. It will appear that we are surrendering to China and ceding Asia to them. However, if we keep our submarine forces and the navy involved in Asia sinking Chinese shipping and going after other soft targets, then we can keep the public and the Chinese from believing we have ceded Asia to them.”
General Branson concurred. “These are good points Mr. President; I have to agree with their assessments. It is important we make the Chinese believe we have not completely surrendered the fight to them, especially in light of our withdrawing from the Hawaiian island, if we do in fact move forward with that plan.”
The President knew the next two weeks were going to be critical to the direction of the war and its outcome. The decisions being made right now would have a profound impact on the future history of the world. “Then it is settled. Asia will be moved to the backburner until we can defeat the IR and Russia. I want everything done to secure Israel and knock the IR out of the war immediately. Find a way to cripple them--starve them into submission if need be--but make sure that we bring that war to an end, or at least to a point where they are no longer a threat.”
“I also want a decision from the Japanese. Are they going to honor their defense pact with us and get involved in the war or not? If they choose to not honor the agreement, then I want General Branson to move forward with the full withdraw of US Forces from Japan to Alaska. We will not protect Japan from China if they are not willing to honor their defense agreement, nor will we allow the Japanese to intern our forces for the duration of the war,” the President said emphatically.
*******
Following what was probably the most important meeting of the war, the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs immediately began to get things moving. Sixty thousand soldiers who had just completed training were being transferred to Australia to add to the 48,000 troops already stationed there. They would comprise the bulk of US Forces in Australia. 11,000 Marines were sent to Alaska to aid the Army in defending critical naval and land points that could be used by either Russian or Chinese forces, and they began to build a host of defensive forts and positions all throughout the Klondike. All other US Forces shipped to Israel to assist General Gardner’s Third Army.
The Lion Licks His Wounds
Day Twenty-Five
23 December 2040
Islamic Republic Command Bunker beneath Riyadh
The Islamic Republic had been hit hard by the American nuclear response. The damage was still being assessed and communications across the Republic were sporadic at best. They had communications with their army in Amman, but little else was functioning.
“What is the status of our military? Do we still have a combat effective force?” asked Caliph Mohammed.
Zaheer Akhatar, the Caliph’s personal advisor laid out the news. “Our forces in Amman were unscathed by the American attack. We still have nearly three million regular and civilian militia forces ready for combat, though we lack the supplies for a long campaign. The rest of the Republic is in tatters. Our scientists, along with those from Russia and China, determined that the Americans used some sort of new bomb called a neutron bomb. When it detonates, it causes very little in the way of damage to the target, rather it emits a lethal dose of radiation to everyone within a 30-mile radius, and of course, emits a massive EMP. Near as we can tell, the Republic was hit with five of these devices. They hit Istanbul, Cairo, Riyadh, Baghdad and Tehran. These attacks were quickly followed up with 143 nuclear strikes, hitting every power plant, dam, hydroelectric dam, major seaport and logistical node in the entire Republic. The one exception was the province of Kuwait; the Chinese and Russian warships destroyed the American MIRVs targeting that area. The Americans also destroyed our largest 100 cities.”
“On a good note, the Chinese and Russian Navy was able to destroy forty-two nuclear missiles before they hit their targets. They are also connecting slave cables from their ships to our electrical grid to start providing localized power in parts of Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Oman.”
Caliph Mohammed sat in his chair for a minute, trying to digest what he had just been told. He stood up, motioning for everyone else to stay seated while he began to pace back and forth for a couple of minutes to try and decide what to do next. As he returned to his chair, he turned to his advisors and asked, “What options do we have left? Is the war still winnable?”
General Rafik Hamza, the overall commander of the IR military, knew the only option left was surrender, but he dared not suggest it. They had taken a calculated risk that the Americans would back down in light of the destruction of two of their cities. The introduction of a neutron bomb to the equation changed things immensely. Also, these missiles that the Americans used appeared to be the same as the ones that hit them at the outset of the war; their spies had told them that those were experimental missiles and that the U.S. did not have any more…they could not have been more wrong. If they were now mass producing these missiles, then the Republic did not have much time left to either win the war or surrender. They had also not taken into consideration the potential loss of their top 100 cities and their entire infrastructure.
The room was silent for a few awkward moments. Knowing someone had to deliver the bad news, General Hamza began, “Caliph Mohammed, we can continue to attack the American and Israeli forces through Jordan with our remaining forces and the supplies that we have left. When the Chinese and Russian forces move into position, we can begin a second offensive with them.”
“I gather from the tone of your voice that this is not how you would like to proceed?” asked the Caliph.
All eyes turned towards General Hamza to see what he would say next.
Rubbing his temples briefly, he said, “Caliph, we made a calculated risk that we could survive a nuclear strike by the Americans. We were wrong. We did not anticipate the use of a neutron bomb or the destruction of our top 100 cities. Our entire infrastructure--dams, power plants, bridges and roads--are being systematically destroyed by American drones now that our laser defense system is offline. We have no power practically anywhere in the Republic. Worse still, in many places, we have no water.”
He took a deep br
eath, knowing that he was about to risk his life with his next statement. “Caliph, I recommend that we pursue a ceasefire--not a peace agreement--a ceasefire. We can continue the war in a few months once the Russians attack the Americans and the Chinese continue their expansion. This will buy us time to pick up the pieces of the Republic and retain control of the country we have fought so hard to create.”
The Caliph sat back in his chair for a moment before responding. “Thank you for your direct and clear recommendation. We did make a calculation, and we were wrong. I happen to agree with you. I believe we should pursue a ceasefire. However, what do we do with China and Russia? The Chinese already have an Army group moving towards Amman, and Russia will have the 2nd Shock Army move down through Syria. What should we tell them?” asked the Caliph with a bit of uncertainty.
“This is an interesting question. I am not sure how they will respond. The Chinese will demand that we continue the war; the Russians will as well,” General Rafik acknowledged.
“There is an alternative. We can continue the war, and go along with them but just not commit our forces as aggressively as we have. Rather than continue to attack with our full force, we use the minimal amount of forces possible while we focus on trying to hold onto the land we have. We are still allowing the Chinese and Russians to use our land as a launch point, and we will be supporting them, but our focus will be on rebuilding our infrastructure and country,” said Talal bin Abdulaziz. He was hoping everyone else understood his point.
