Prelude to World War III: The Rise of the Islamic Republic and the Rebirth of America

by James Rosone

  For some reason, he was amazingly thirsty and his throat was dry. As he walked into the Starbucks, he saw what he was looking for--the cooler filled with bottles of water. He grabbed several bottles of water and started walking back towards his command vehicle, a black Chevy Suburban with a reinforced brush guard and bullet proof windows and doors. The sound of automatic fire emanating from the police station was intense; the police were clearly putting up one heck of a fight.

  Ten minutes went by quickly; everyone had returned to the vehicles. Some were bloodied, and others were carrying a wounded comrade. “Ibrahim, we cleared the first two floors of the police station and the holding cells. We released 86 prisoners; we made sure to arm all of them and told them to go cause as much havoc as they could. Khalid lost five of his twelve guys; two of my guys were killed clearing the buildings around here,” Mohammed said as he climbed into his vehicle and took a long drink from a bottle of water Ibrahim had liberated from the Starbucks. They all started to drive away from the carnage they had just inflicted.

  Dozens of sirens could be heard as three police cruisers drove past their vehicles, heading towards the police headquarters. “How did you lose two men while clearing that office building?”

  “Several employees apparently had concealed weapons. As soon as the shooting started, they quickly shot two of my guys before they were gunned down themselves,” explained Mohammed.

  “Make sure all of the men are aware that anyone they see could be armed, so we should treat them all as hostiles. Now we will head back to the warehouse to rearm and get ready for our next mission.”

  Grabbing his cell phone, Ibrahim made a quick call to Sami Abbas. He had recruited Sami two years ago to be the group’s primary hacker. His mission today was to disable the traffic cameras in the city and delete the hard drives. “Sami, this is Ibrahim. Have you completed your task?”

  “Yes, Ibrahim. It has been done. The cameras are disabled and the hard drives are deleted. Do you want me to start hacking into the power grid?”

  “Yes, do what you can. Any destruction and distraction you can provide will greatly aid the cause.”

  “I’m on it,” said Sami as he hung up.

  *******

  The month of October and going into the Presidential election was a month of pure terror across most of the US. Sixty-eight terrorist attacks had taken place striking malls, movie theaters, restaurants, business offices, hospitals and police stations since the 2nd of October. The entire American way of life and freedom of movement was under attack by Islamic extremists. 42,375 Americans had been killed by these horrific attacks, which were now starting to alienate anyone who looked as if they came from the Middle East or practiced Islam.

  Mosques were starting to be attacked in retaliation for attacks against churches and synagogues. When a Muslim group in Washington DC held a rally to denounce the attacks against Muslims in America, they themselves were attacked by armed factions within the US population who had had enough of the attacks being carried out by Muslim extremists and looked for a way to vent their anger.

  As the election neared, the three political parties made their case to the American people. The Democrats were saying that the US needed to reconcile its past with Islam and the Middle East to achieve true peace. The Republicans were demanding war against the Islamic Republic. The FP continued to stress the economic revival taking place in the US and emphasized the successful capture of hundreds of Islamic extremists before they were able to execute their attacks.

  *******

  November 2040

  Election Night

  White House

  “Mr. President, it would appear that you are going to win by a landslide. Forty states are reporting results in so far, and you’ve won 38 of them,” said Monty as he muted the television in the residence.

  “I think you are right Monty; it looks like this is as good a time as any to declare victory. We’ve clearly won enough electoral votes to claim it.”

  “I agree. Four more years Mr. President--we did it,” said Monty. He smiled and thought to himself, “Four more years. Four more years to right this country and the world.”

  *******

  Thanksgiving Weekend, 2040

  Washington, DC

  White House Situation Room

  The President had planned on celebrating Thanksgiving with the troops in Mexico, but due to multiple credible assignation plots, the trip had been cancelled. So the President enjoyed his Thanksgiving dinner with his family at the White House, and as was customary in the Stein family, they overate and sat around watching football. Unfortunately, things around the world forced the President back to work halfway through the 4th quarter of the afternoon game.

  “I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving; it is unfortunate that we have to shorten our holiday, but the issue with the IR needs to be resolved.”

  “Mr. President, we have collected enough evidence from the DOJ, FBI, DIA and the CIA to present a clear case to both the American people and to Congress to declare war on the Islamic Republic. There is no refuting the evidence; the question now is--when do we start launching cruise missiles?” asked Director Rubio, the head of the CIA.

  “General Branson, what is the state of our military forces? How soon can we be in a position to strike at the IR?” asked the President.

  “We have begun a quiet shift in forces from Mexico and other combat divisions from the states to various ports on the East Coast to be moved by transport. We have moved over 400 Special Forces personnel to Israel along with a full Air Wing of F35s. We also have most of Third Corps arriving over the weekend.”

  “Fortunately, the IR is also moving a lot of their forces into the local region for their ‘supposed’ exercise. I suggest we launch our attack soon to pre-empt them and catch the bulk of their forces by surprise before they can get fully organized,” said Branson.

  “So, what is the timeline, General? How soon will we have sufficient forces in place to launch an attack?”

  “Three more days, Mr. President. In ten days, we’ll have Second Corps at the Haifa port ready to offload and enter the fight as well.”

  “All right then. Let’s plan to launch our attack on December 1st, five days from now. That gives us a bit more time to get that Corps closer to the action. We also need to start coordinating things with the Israelis.”

  The Commandant of the Marine Corps spoke up and added, “Sir, the entire 1st Marine Expeditionary Force of 20,000 Marines is also already linking up with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean.”

  “Excellent.”

  “I would hold off on making any major announcements, Mr. President, until the day before or the day of the attack. If possible, I would wait until you have given the order. We do not want to lose the element of surprise,” said LTG Rick Scott, the Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA).

  “I agree, General Scott. I will hold off on any announcement until the attack order has been given. Jim, you have a lot of work to do in a short amount of time on the diplomatic front. Eric, I want you to begin a rapid mobilization of National Guard and Reserve units immediately. Activate the units that we know we are going to need, and get the second echelon of forces ready to deploy to Israel as well. I also want more Marines heading that way; once this kicks off, we are going to need to secure the Suez and a number of other areas that will need their skill set,” said the President. He took a deep breath and held it for a minute before letting it out.

  “We also need to be ready in case they go nuclear. What are our options and how do we want to respond? I would like an answer to that question for tomorrow’s meeting so we can begin to position specific weapons.”

  “Yes, Mr. President” the men replied in unison. The President got up to leave and return to his family at the residence.

  The Chosen People

  29 November 2040

  Beijing, China

  Central Military Commission

  General Fan Changlong, the Vice Cha
irman of the CMC, had called an emergency meeting to discuss the imminent attack to take place by the Islamic Republic. “General Changlong, the IR has been conducting terrorist attacks against the Americans for the past ten weeks. What is new about this situation?” asked Zhang Jinping, the Premier of China.

  “Premier, our intelligence operatives within the US military have confirmed that the Americans are planning to declare war on the IR on December 1st. Their attack will originate from Israel and will include several seaborne invasions as well,” said General Changlong, looking at General Zhang Yang, the Minister of Defense.

  “Premier, the information has been confirmed by other sources as well. Our cyber command has decoded numerous orders for ships, aircraft and munitions to be moved to Israel,” said the Defense Minister.

  “Hmm…I suppose this could work to our advantage. I had hoped the coming conflict between the US and the IR could have been held off until the start of the New Year.”

  “The American intelligence agencies have traced all of the terrorist attacks to the IR; I suspect they were waiting until they have everything in place and then planned to present the case to their people and to the world,” said Xi Lee, the Director of State Intelligence.

  “I never understood the Americans’ need to justify their actions to the rest of the world. They somehow believe they need the world’s permission to act in their own self-defense.”

  “Premier, this presents us with a unique opportunity. Rather than waiting until the New Year to launch our attack, we could launch our attack on December 7th. The Americans will be heavily engaged in the Middle East by that point, and they will not have the forces available to prevent us from taking Guam and Taiwan,” said Admiral Wei Shengli.

  “Admiral, you do realize the date you have recommended for the attack is the same day the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor?” asked the Premier.

  “I do. This time we will finish what the Japanese could not.”

  “Very well. Proceed with the modified timetable, but make sure we do as little as possible to draw any major attention from the Americans prior to our attack. It has to be a complete surprise if this is going to work to our advantage.”

  *******

  29 November 2040

  Riyadh, Islamic Republic

  Command Bunker

  “Caliph Abbas, our intelligence assets are reporting that the American 5th fleet in Eilat has put to sea and is currently heading on a course towards the Indian Ocean. Our reconnaissance flights out of Egypt have spotted the American 6th fleet moving towards the Suez,” said General Rafik Hamza, the Military Commander of the Islamic Republic.

  General Hamza had been the second in command of the Saudi Royal Army before the formation of the Republic. He had been trained by the American military and had attended the finest American schools, so he knew the capabilities of the American military and quickly recognized these movements as a precursor to what will most likely be an attack on the IR by the Americans.

  “What about the Israelis? Has their military posture changed in the last 48 hours?” asked Caliph Abbas.

  “The Israeli Defense Force (IDF) has called up their entire reserve force for what they are calling a ‘military readiness drill.’ Most of their military forces are starting to leave their bases and moving to forward defensive positions. We are also seeing a repositioning of their air defenses and anti-missile laser defense systems. Our assumption is that they are moving them around in case we had them pre-positioned by artillery or missiles,” explained Huseen ibn Abdullah, the Director of Intelligence, as he laid down a tablet that he had been reading from.

  “Caliph, we need to launch the invasion immediately. The Americans and the Israelis have seen through our deception and know we are positioning to launch a first strike against Israel.”

  “The Americans have also determined that we are behind the terrorist attacks on their homeland. They have held off on attacking us until their military is in position to strike us,” said the Director of Intelligence.

  “How soon until the nuclear devices are in American ports?”

  “The ships are at sea now. In concert with the Russians and Chinese, I have redirected the ship that was heading to the Port of Los Angeles to move to Baltimore Harbor, and the other ship is heading towards New York Harbor. It will not be in position for another seven days,” said Admiral Jaffa Mustafa, Commander of the Islamic Republic’s Naval Forces.

  “Why the change?” asked Caliph Mohammed.

  “The Russians asked that we use the devices to hit two of the larger East Coast ports. This would hinder their ability to move supplies and reinforcements overseas, and would cause considerable infrastructure and civilian deaths. The Chinese have also asked that we not attack the Port of LA; they have a surprise for the Americans that require the port to remain intact,” the Intelligence Director said, nodding towards the head of the military.

  “Thank you for the clarification, General Muhammed. What is the likelihood of success if you were to launch your attack immediately?”

  “Pending the Navy is able to keep the American carriers occupied and the Air Force is able to overwhelm the American and Israeli Air Forces, my land force should be able to cut Israel in half within 72 to 96 hours. At that point, we will be able to destroy them piecemeal,” said General Abdullah Muhammed. He was the military commander on the ground who would lead the Islamic Republic forces in their invasion of Israel.

  Prior to the formation of the Republic, Abdullah had been a general in the Iraqi Army; he too had been trained by the Americans and had initially fought against them during the invasion of Iraq in 2003 when he had been an officer in the Republican Guard.

  “General Hamza, how quickly do you believe we will be able to overwhelm the American and Israeli laser defense systems?”

  “Nothing is certain or guaranteed when fighting the Israelis and especially the Americans. Our initial assault calls for a massive overwhelming of their systems. We will be using the newest version of the Russian 9A53 Tornado multiple rocket launch vehicles to send an assortment of no less than 20,000 120/220/330mm rockets at targets all across Israel, with the vast majority being targeted against their airfields and air defense systems. 90% of these rockets will be launched over a six-hour period. This will provide our aircraft six hours to engage the American and Israeli Air Forces and destroy them.”

  “Following the first two waves of fighters, our bombers will launch an additional 300 cruise missiles, specifically targeting the Israeli power generation plants and major transmission nodes. This will disable electricity all across the country, further hindering their ability to coordinate their defenses. The third and fourth wave of aircraft will be our fighter bombers, who are assigned to attacking and destroying the Israeli missile and air defense capabilities as they are identified. We will have twelve airborne early warning and control aircraft aloft to assist in directing the air battle.”

  “The Navy will send all of their missile boats against the American fleet heading towards the Horn of Africa. Between the ten attack submarines and sixty missile boats, they will attack the fleet with over 400 anti-ship missiles. We are also launching 100 ballistic missiles from our OTR-21 Tochka vehicles at the carrier battlegroup. Five of the missiles are armed with a five kiloton nuclear warhead. It’s just enough power to destroy the fleet and minimize fallout to the area. It is possible the Americans will respond with nuclear weapons in retaliation. However, despite this concern, the opportunity to destroy two of their seven operational carriers is worth the risk.” General Hamza nodded towards General Muhammed to take over.

  “Once the missiles have launched, we have 1,200 various artillery pieces that will begin to fire into the prepared Israeli defensive positions. The artillery will be able to fire a continuous barrage for several hours, providing covering fire for our armored forces as they advance to engage and destroy the IDF and Americans. I assure you, this will not be a repeat of the Six Day War or the War of 1973. This time, Israe
l will be destroyed.” General Hamza spoke with a confident swagger of a man who had thought about this moment for a long time.

  “Then, Generals, let’s proceed with the attack. General Hamza, the attack will commence on your order once you have returned to your field headquarters. The rest of us shall continue to remain in the bunkers; we need the leadership to leave for their separate bunkers in case the Israelis or Americans get a lucky shot off and destroy this position.”

  With that, the military members left to quickly return to their units and begin to issue the orders that would start World War III and the annihilation of the Jewish State.

  Day Zero

  29 November 2040

  Tel Aviv, Israel

  Third Corps HQ

  Major General (MG) Garry Gardner was promoted to Lieutenant General (LTG) and given command of Third Corps, which consisted of three divisions. One was armored, one was a mechanized infantry division, and the third division consisted of light infantry modeled around the Brigade Combat Team’s concept that the Army was rebuilding.

  LTG Garry Gardner had seen combat in Iraq and Afghanistan during the late 2010s, been in peacekeeping operations in the Ukraine, and recently had led the 3rd ID in Mexico. He was a career soldier and had spent his military career in various combat arms units, steadily rising in rank. Once he had been selected for Brigadier General (BG), he had been offered the opportunity to obtain a doctorate degree at any university he wanted. Garry elected to pursue his doctorate from Carnegie Mellon University, where he obtained a Doctorate in Global Logistics Management and obtained a Master in Russian Studies at the same time.

  Third Corps had been given the order to rapidly deploy to Israel and prepare for combat operations four weeks ago. Most of the soldiers had been arriving by commercial and military aircraft since they were given the order. Their equipment had just arrived eight days earlier and was being moved to numerous marshalling points as the soldiers and vehicles were being fully equipped for the combat operations that were expected to take place within the next 36 hours. The 1st Armored Division, commanded by MG George Twitty, was at 95% strength and ready for action. The rest of the division was expected to be ready within the next 12 hours.