by James Rosone
AG Roberts had been a federal prosecutor prior to being named the AG. He was a tenacious prosecutor and had spent the first few years as AG repealing hundreds of presidential memos and directives that previous administrations had issued in direct violation of the Constitution. Churches were no longer required to report their attendance or their membership base. Sharia Law was no longer being tolerated in any city in America. The cities and townships that had allowed this now had to abide by the laws of the United States government, not Sharia.
The Sharia Law challenge had created a lot of problems between those who were Muslim and those who were not. There was a high tolerance for people to practice their own religious beliefs in America, but all religions had to respect and abide by the laws of the United States. Likewise, the sanctuary cities were no longer allowed. City governments that refused to enforce federal law were being denied all federal funding until they became compliant. The city governments that were still in violation after the one-year compliancy period were dissolved, and a state caretaker government was installed until a new election could be held.
AG Roberts had taken a lot of heat for his reforms within the DOJ and the legal system. His primary goal had been to reform the justice department back to its original stated purpose, to return the judiciary back to interpreting the law and constitution, no longer tolerating judges who legislate from the bench. Laws could be struck down or upheld, but no judge could impose a new law or opinion that could be interpreted as a new law. Roberts was a true constitutionalist and loyal party member.
“Excellent, I look forward to learning more about them tomorrow then. Jorge, can you please go ahead and give us your brief?”
“Yes Mr. President. The NSA intercepted several communiques between several known IR intelligence individuals and people in the US. They were not able to glean any usable information from the messages, but they believe they were coded messages for something, perhaps to activate some terrorist cells or just a status report on our operations in Mexico. They still have a few thousand soldiers and operatives operating in Mexico,” Jorge said as he clicked through several images of known IR intelligence agents suspected of being in the US and Mexico. Suddenly, a Secret Service agent walked over to the President and whispered something in his ear.
As the agent softly communicated something in the President’s ear, his eyes grew a little larger and his demeanor changed. “Sorry to interrupt Jorge--I was just informed by the Secret Service that we should turn on Fox News; there has been a terrorist attack in Philadelphia.”
An aide quickly changed the 3D holographic image in the situation room to Fox News, where a news update was being aired live from a shopping mall in Philadelphia. A Fox News woman by the name of Nina Short was in the process of providing an update on the situation at the mall as it developed.
“We are standing outside of the Mayfair Mall, where twenty minutes ago, five men were seen running into the food court entrance to the mall wearing baseball caps and dark sunglasses, each of them carrying an AR-15 style rifle with small backpacks.”
“We were able to interview a survivor who told us what she saw.” The camera panned to a woman who was clearly shaken and had blood spatters on her blouse. She explained, “As they entered the building, three of the men ran past the food court to the center of the mall and began to shoot everyone they could see. The two individuals at the door to the food court opened fire, shooting and reloading as they walked through the food court. After firing at people throughout the food court and mall for what felt like an eternity, they began to work their way back to the food court exit. Then I saw a security guard shoot two of the suspects before they killed him. One of the attackers was left behind by his partners while the other was able to retreat out of the mall. I was hiding under one of the tables, but managed to catch most of the event on my smartphone.”
The camera returned back to Nina Short as she continued, “Upon leaving the mall, the individuals then sped away in their vehicle. The FBI and police told us they have issued a BOLO for the suspects’ vehicle and are asking the public for help or video footage of the event.”
“–Enough. Turn it off. Do we know how many people were killed and do we have any idea who they are?”
“I just received an update from the agent in charge at scene right now,” said the Director of the FBI as she looked up from her tablet. “She is reporting 87 people killed and 107 people injured. The suspect who was shot by the security guard has been transported to a local hospital to be treated for his wounds.”
“She said they plan on questioning him as soon as he is out of surgery. We should have an ID on the suspect shortly as they run his prints and facial image against our databases,” Jane Smart said.
“Jane, I want answers soon. Find out who this person is and if this is a lone wolf attack or if this is related to our operation in Mexico or something else.”
“Yes, Mr. President. I believe I should excuse myself and work on this with my people right away, if I may leave?”
“Yes, please get us an update as soon as possible. Keep Jorge and James apprised of any changes; I want the NSA cross-checking this as well. A chorus of “Yes, Mr. President,” echoed throughout the room.
The President turned towards his National Security Advisor and said, “Mike, can you please give us a shorter version of your brief so we can be ready to handle this new situation as we receive more information?”
“Yes, Mr. President. The intercepts from the Middle East indicate something is going on. We have seen a lot of military orders and activity within the IR. They appear to be moving a lot of forces to the provinces of Syria, Jordan and Egypt. Some of these movements appear to coincide with a major military exercise that they are holding towards the end of the November; others appear to be new unit assignments to bases in those areas.”
“The cause for concern is that most of these units are their Tier 1 frontline units. The best equipped and trained units are all moving to within striking range of Israel, with the majority of these forces and support units being in position around the time of the exercise.”
“Why is this important, Mike?” asked the President.
“At first we did not think anything of this; however, the Chinese are conducting a massive naval and amphibious exercise throughout December, and the Russians are conducting a similar size exercise in Eastern Europe in the middle to the end of January. This is a lot of military activity by these three nations, all within a very close timeframe, suggesting this might be a coordinated effort of a much larger plan,” said Jim.
“Not to discount the information or your group’s analysis--are we sure this is not a legitimate exercise as opposed to something more sinister?” asked Monty, the President’s Chief of Staff.
“Perhaps. Right now there are several alternatives other than something more sinister. I’ve re-tasked a lot of our Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance (or ISR and HUMINT assets) to find more information. We will continue to monitor it and ensure nothing else is going on.”
“All right gentlemen. Let’s table this for the moment and focus on the immediate tasks at hand, stabilizing Mexico and reestablishing law and order. And let’s identify who these men are that perpetrated this dastardly terrorist attack today.”
“Yes, Mr. President,” chorused the whole room.
*******
02 October 2040
Riyadh, Islamic Republic
Royal Palace, Council Chamber Room
The IR had initiated the Mexican coup in mid-September, anticipating that the Americans would intervene in a month or two--not immediately. They had not anticipated the swiftness of the American military, or their ability to destroy the Mexican Army and occupy the country so quickly.
Nearly all past American interventions had been in the Middle East, Asia and Europe, far from America’s home bases. Unlike past interventions, Mexico shared a thousand-mile border with the US; nearly all of the military units involved were located within
a thousand miles of Mexico City, meaning there was very little in the way of logistical problems or far distances for their forces to travel.
“The Americans have secured Mexico faster than we originally thought they could. Our advisors were unfortunately not able to prevent the Mexican army from collapsing as quickly as it did either,” said Huseen, the Director of Intelligence.
“The MANPADS did bring down a number of helicopters, drones and aircraft; they should continue to destroy aircraft as the occupation continues. Some of the Mexican military units were smart and faded away quickly as soon as it became clear that the Americans had taken out the military leadership. They are now carrying out guerilla attacks as often as they can,” General Hamza said, ensuring that the Caliph knew that not everything had failed in the operation.
“Our operatives in the country are currently working to establish a grassroots level insurgency as we speak. It will take time, but they are confident attacks against the Americans will start to increase in the weeks and months to come,” said General Rafi, the IR Special Operations Commander.
“Excellent, General. Please continue the good work and keep us informed. I am disappointed in how fast Mexico was taken; I take solace in knowing that our Special Forces and military advisors have inflicted a lot of casualties and will continue to do so. For the rest of our plan to work, we need the level of violence to continue to increase in Mexico in order to tie down the American troops,” commanded the Caliph.
“On another note-- have the Americans figured out our involvement in the Philadelphia attack?” the Caliph inquired, hoping the answer was no.
“Not yet. They captured one of the attackers, but he did not know anything that would lead them back to us. I ordered the next group to begin their attack; they should begin tonight. The first group will begin their second attack in two days--they had to lay low and regroup after the mall attack. I’ll initiate the third group right away. By the time we have all eight groups active, the Americans are going to be going crazy,” Huseen said with a devilish grin.
Escalation
October 2040
Beijing, China
The Central Military Commission (CMC) Briefing
The Chinese had been preparing for a confrontation with the US for nearly fifty years. Decades of cyber-attacks and theft of intellectual property had given the Chinese the advantage they needed to not just catch up to the Americans, but advance beyond them in multiple areas. For nearly thirty years, the Chinese had infiltrated various aspects of the American industrial control systems’ manufacturing base and embedded viruses and malware that were just waiting to be activated. The Chinese planned on not just dominating the Pacific, but replacing the US as the world’s leading Superpower.
“What is the status of the situation with the Americans? How are things progressing?” asked Jinping.
“Premier, the terrorist attacks in America continue to increase. The assaults against American forces in Mexico are also increasing as well. The IR was right--as this continues and their attack against Israel starts, it will draw forces away from the Pacific and limit the Americans’ options when Operation Red Dragon begins,” said Xi Lee, the Director for State Intelligence.
“The Navy is nearly ready as well. We have relocated our fleets to be within striking distance of the exercise location, and I have moved the majority of naval infantry to be ready for the ground invasion as soon as the order is given,” said Admiral Wei Shengli, the Commander of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) as he sneered at his Army counterpart.
The rivalry between the PLA, PLAN and PLAAF had been going on for decades, with each service commander believing they were the most important branch of service to the PRC. “Premier, we discussed this earlier. It would be the PLA that would lead the invasion of Taiwan, with the PLAN infantry creating a diversion. We do not want to split the PLAAF support between two different amphibious landing forces,” said General Fang Wanquan, the Commander the People’s Liberation Army.
The capabilities of the PLAN had increased over the last several years with the additional Supercarriers; their ability to go toe to toe with the US Navy was unmatched by any other group. It was also the naval infantry that was first to receive the new exoskeleton combat suits, outside of the Special Forces.
“Gentlemen, the attack will continue as planned. Admiral, your forces will destroy the Taiwanese Navy and neutralize the American bases at Guam and Okinawa. I want your naval infantry to capture the airfield at Guam.”
“Yes, Premier. I merely offered a second front to split the Taiwanese defenses,” said Admiral Shengli.
“I understand perfectly, Admiral. You want to show off your naval infantry and your new toys and you will…at Guam and then Okinawa. Taiwan is going to be a victory for the PLA. I do not want inter-service rivalries to compromise this operation. This is going to be our first engagement against the Americans, and we need to win so we can assert our dominance over the rest of Asia.”
“The Air Force is ready to deal with both Taiwan and the Americans on Guam. We are going to time our attack on Guam to coincide with the cruise missile attacks in order to overwhelm their defensive capability. As for Taiwan, we have moved 6,000 cruise missiles, along with 3,000 aircraft and 10,000 drone aircraft,” explained General Xu Qiliang with a smile and a nod towards the PLA commander.
“This had better work, General Qiliang. If the PLAAF is not successful, then it will make it very hard on the PLA and PLAN to accomplish their mission. I believe enough has been said about this matter; I want everyone to give me a status update at the next CMC meeting.”
*******
Late October, 2040
Washington, DC
Pentagon – Joint Staff Meeting
“General Black, what is the status of operations in Mexico? How are things proceeding?”
“We are starting to see the rise of an insurgency. There have been multiple IED attacks against military patrols, sporadic rocketing of some of our bases, and some small engagements against our troops on patrol--but it’s nothing we cannot handle,” said General Black, the overall commander in charge of Operation Brimstone in Mexico.
“This is not going to turn into another Iraq or Afghanistan, is it?” asked General Branson.
“No sir, it is not. I still have 70% of the Special Forces community in Mexico, along with additional military police and specialized counterinsurgency teams arriving every day. I have the SF guys busy hunting down any and all insurgent leads as soon as we learn who they are. We also have the entire country covered 24/7 with drones; if we spot a group of armed men moving to engage our patrols, then we engage them. The same happens when spotting someone putting down an IED. We have also placed bounties on the heads of the insurgent leaders, and will pay for any information that leads to their capture or death. We have seen a significant increase in the number of tips, and for the most part they are starting to pay off.”
“How are the work programs coming along there? Are we getting the various projects up and running?” asked General John Branson, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs.
“The Army Corp of Engineers has about 15% of the identified projects underway; they anticipate having another 20% started in the next couple of months. Even with 35% of the projects active, it will employ roughly 800,000 people with high paying jobs, which when compared to what they previously had—it’s almost a miracle. I believe the insurgency will start to die out once more people are employed through the various reconstruction projects.”
“Generals, this is a top priority for the President, and not just because of the election in a few weeks. You all are aware of the increase in terrorist attacks here at home. The President wants to get things in Mexico stabilized soon so we can have more of our combat troops ready when and if they are needed,” said Eric Clarke, the Secretary of Defense.
“To that affect--General Black, I am re-tasking Delta Force back to the US, effective immediately. If these domestic attacks continue, the Preside
nt may look to task Delta to work with the FBI and DHS in locating and terminating these terrorist cells,” the SecDef ordered.
“The loss of Delta Force is going to impact my mission, but I can live with it as long as you leave the rest of my A-Teams and the SEALs, at least for the next couple of months,” said General Black.
“Unless something else comes up, General, I have no intentions of taking any forces away from Mexico. We need that mission stabilized and ready to hand over to the Provisional Governing Authority (PGA). The President has also authorized the use of three security firms in Mexico: Ravenwood, DynCorp and Triple Canopy. They will start to show up once the PGA gets set up. They will provide a lot of the security for the DHS, Army Corp of Engineers and DOJ as they begin to setup operations.” An audible sigh was heard by the various generals.
“Gentlemen, I know not all of you agree with the President’s decision to intervene in Mexico. You may not love the thought of us integrating Mexico into the US, or the use of Private Military Contractors (PMCs) either. The President wants to stabilize the country to a point where a general referendum can be held. The people need to be able to begin national elections for Congressional and Senate seats, along with Governors and State legislature,” said the SecDef.
“I am not against the President’s plan—I mean, it will solve fifty years’ worth of problems between the US and Mexico. It’s just going to be a big adjustment,” said one of the divisional commanders.
General Adrian Rice, the Air Force Commander, placed his reading glasses on the conference table. “This is going to be an adjustment for us all; the Freedom Party is not going to be like the political parties of old; we are not going to get involved in conflicts abroad unless the United States is either going to gain from it or there is a direct and immediate threat.”