The Iran War

by Jack Strain

  Meanwhile, Ahmed Hakami flew his Tornado nap of the earth to avoid ground fire or SAMs and approached the now burning air base this time from the east. He was out of Brimstone missiles and instead opened up with his twin Mauser BK-27 auto-cannons and started firing at the now smoking array of planes that he struck five minutes ago.

  He fired more than one hundred rounds when his plane was lit up by multiple airborne active radars. He immediately turned a hard left and increased speed leaving behind an air base in flames. He now was searching for infidel airplanes so that he could engage them one last time before it was his time to join his cousin in paradise. He was making radical jinks left and right and was about to gain altitude when four separate AMRAAM missiles fired by two angry Raptor pilots struck his aircraft.

  He felt nothing when multiple missile warheads exploded ten feet from his plane causing a fiery explosion in the clear blue skies, and the debris rained down on to the desert floor.

  If Bahadur Rahimi was right, then the cousins had just redeemed themselves in the eyes of Allah and were on their way to eternal paradise. They left behind a burning American air base, an unknown number of dead and wounded, hundreds of millions - perhaps billions - in destroyed equipment, and left every American serving in harm’s way wondering if they can still trust their Arab allies or were they just waiting to plunge a knife through their throats.

  In this new war on terror, it would seem as if terror was gaining the upper hand.

  Chapter Thirty One

  October 20th

  FOX News Special News Alert

  “Good evening, I’m Will Henderson, and you’re watching a Fox News breaking news alert. Where to begin on this dark day. Since yesterday, Fox News has been covering the deadliest attack against American military forces since the Korean War. We now know that two members of the Royal Saudi Air Force, Ahmed Hakami and Khalid Rashid, cousins, flew their jet-bombers against the massive American air base at al Udeid in Qatar and inflicted horrifying casualties and damage to the base.

  “The Pentagon is not releasing any official numbers as of yet, but Fox News has been able to confirm that preliminary numbers of dead American military personnel total more than six hundred and well over a thousand wounded. The number of dead is extraordinarily high since two of the jumbo jets were packed with arriving soldiers, but thankfully the third plane was hit but had already unloaded more than half of their passengers, or the death toll would be even higher.

  “There has been no official word from the president who is on the way to NYC to bury his daughter Liliana. Fox News will be covering this solemn occasion in about ninety minutes. We are being told that Secretary of Defense Mahler will be holding a news conference in about an hour and hopefully we will learn more details about this deadly attack.

  “Now for other news, three separate mosques are on fire in Texas after word of the deadly terror attack became public. We can confirm that a mosque in Austin is in flames, another in Fort Worth, and a combination of gunfire and a firebombing is being reported in a large newly constructed mosque on the outskirts of Houston.

  “Texans are angry. Americans are angry. Let’s cut to our local Fox News affiliate in Houston covering a protest that turned violent. Debra, can you hear me? What’s going on in Houston?”

  A veteran local reporter, Debra Tatum was tall, blonde and strikingly beautiful, but she resisted the typical fluff pieces pretty blondes sometimes get stuck within local news and instead built a solid career on serious journalism. In the background, the camera slowly panned left to right and captured the chaos. Hundreds of people were chanting “Muslims Go Home! Muslims Go Home!” while flames and heavy black smoke were pouring out of the large mosque. Dozens of local worshipers could be seen trying to fight the flames, but the camera suddenly pitched to the right as rocks and other debris could be seen landing all around those trying to fight the fire.

  Holding her left hand to her ear to hear the question, Tatum said, “Will, as you can see here, there is literally fury in the streets of Houston. This started out as a vigil for three families who lost loved ones today in the terror attack in Qatar. A local minister was planning a moonlight vigil through the neighborhood when another large group began converging on one of the largest mosques in Houston. This group was not led by a minister, this group was angry, and we now know armed and ready for violence.”

  Henderson asked, “Where’s the police and fire presence, Debra? That fire sure looks like it is out of control.”

  Tatum nodded back emphatically, “You are absolutely right, Will. There is a police presence here, but I have to tell you that from what we are hearing they let this get out of hand and some are saying that more than a few sympathize with the protesters. In Texas and especially Houston more than sixty percent of the serving officers are former military. They, like their fellow Texans, are furious.

  “Apparently, when several Muslim clerics came out to do interviews with a local paper, the locals erupted in violence and rushed the clerics and began attacking them. Men from the mosque came out to help, and a brawl erupted on the lawn. No one knows for certain who fired the first shots, but an eyewitness claims to have seen gunfire come from the mosque scattering some of the protesters which allowed the greatly outnumbered Muslim congregants to race back inside. That’s when gunfire erupted from the protesters, and you can see bullet holes and shattered windows along the frontage and then a fire broke out. Again, we can’t be certain who is responsible, but needless to say this isn’t over.”

  The veteran Fox anchor cut in and asked, “What about the fire department, where are they?”

  “Well, Will, that’s another developing story we are following up on tonight. Keep in mind this is unconfirmed, but we have reports of two local fire stations who had their garages blocked to prevent them from coming out to fight the fire and by the looks of it, it’s probably too late anyway.

  “However, I can report that several police officers bravely entered the burning mosque and began leading dozens to safety and several were injured when struck by rocks and debris that the protesters threw as they exited the burning building. Back to you, Will.”

  The feed went back to the Fox News anchor desk, and Will Henderson paused and then said, “Obviously, we will be covering this breaking story as it unfolds. Now let’s turn to the news in Asia as the North Korean military conducts a series of very provocative missile drills accompanied by threats to wash Americans in a sea of fire if they were attacked . . .”

  Air Force One

  Dutch Schultz knew this was going to be a rough day. The first daughter, Liliana, was being put to rest today, and the president’s Chief of Staff would have given anything in the world to let his friend grieve and try to find some peace but knew it was impossible. The news from around the world and here in the States just kept getting worse. The nation needed their president today, and someone had to be the one to make sure he did his job.

  Schultz leaned his head against the door of the Presidential Suite on Air Force One to listen, didn’t hear anything, so he knocked and walked in to find the president sitting at his desk with Marija and the president’s sons, Declan and Duncan, sitting on the leather couch under the 50-inch TV that was turned on to FOX News but emitted no sound. In fact, no one was saying anything.

  Somewhat hesitantly, Schultz said, “Excuse me folks, but Douglas, we need you for the national security briefing in the conference room. There have been some developments that I think need your attention.”

  The auburn-haired former model immediately flashed her dark, sultry eyes at him and expressed her dissatisfaction. “No Dutch, not today. Leave him be.”

  Dutch shrugged his shoulders and with a pained expression said, “Marija, you know I don’t want to do this now. I’m sorry, but this can’t wait.”

  Clearly agitated, Duncan suddenly stood and testily exclaimed, “For Christ’s sake Dutch, right now? You really need him right this very minute? Can’t you see that he needs today to be with his
family? You handle it.”

  Ignoring his well-meaning wife and son, Dutch turned towards the president and said, “Douglas, there are some things only you can make the call about, not me. I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important.”

  In a voice devoid of emotion, Wolfe mumbled, “Fine. Let’s get this over with.”

  President Wolfe wearily got up from his chair and ignored his wife who reached out to touch his hand. He didn’t even seem to notice the gesture, leaving a deeply concerned first lady and his two sons filled with worry in the Presidential Suite.

  The two men entered the conference room and took a seat. As a security precaution, the vice president never travels with the president, so she was being patched in via a secure digital feed while flying on Air Force Two. Already seated were National Security Advisor Michael Wright, acting Secretary of State Eliot Adelman, Attorney General Archer Stetson, and Chief Strategist Baxter Davis. The other defense, national security, and intelligence folks remained in Washington but were being patched in via secure teleconferencing.

  The former Army intelligence officer, Wright stood and with his sharp piercing eyes scanned the room one last time and began the briefing, “Good morning, Mr. President, I know this is not easy for you, sir, but thank you for attending. Let’s address the terror threat first. Obviously, we are still breaking down the details of yesterday’s attack in Qatar. We have confirmed that these cousins were highly trained, experienced pilots of the Royal Saudi Air Force who have each flown dozens of combat missions in Syria and Yemen and were not considered a security risk.”

  A visibly tense Baxter Davis interrupted with a sarcastic sneer. “What genius made that assessment? Goddamned backstabbing bastards. Can’t trust any of those desert sheiks.”

  An annoyed Wright shot an evil look towards the president’s Chief Strategist and then continued, “Not now, Baxter. Let’s stay productive. The bastards pulled off the perfect attack. They knew the layout of the air base, knew where we were vulnerable and that our surface-to-air missile batteries would not engage because the IFF (identification friend/foe transponders) thought they were friendlies. They staged that fake emergency landing, so our planes and people were sitting ducks.”

  Secretary Adelman asked, “What’s the final count on casualties?”

  “As it stands now, we have confirmed six hundred and thirty-seven dead, those two planes full of soldiers were almost complete losses, another five hundred plus wounded, twenty-seven planes, including six F-22’s and other assorted transports. The base is damaged, but we are flying combat missions even now as we speak. Engineers patched up the runways and cleared most of the wreckage, though our tempo of operations will be slowed down for another twenty-four hours or so.”

  Baxter cut in again, “What are we doing about our so-called allies?”

  “We have established an air exclusion zones around our main assets in the theater with orders to shoot down without warning if any non-American plane crosses this boundary. Our Gulf allies are not happy with this arrangement, but they were not given any other choice. We shot down a UAE plane four hours ago that came too close to the aircraft carrier Stennis.”

  Dutch was listening but focused almost entirely on the president. Nothing. Not a single question. Blank expression, he looked as if he was in a daze. He also caught several uncomfortable glances from those in the room who were trying to gauge the president and clearly, they were as disconcerted as he was at the moment. So, he decided to prompt his friend, “Mr. President, are you okay with this shoot down policy?”

  For about ten seconds the question hung uncomfortably in the air like a slow, dark billowing cloud on a summer day until he said in a voice devoid of emotion, “Fine. Whatever it takes. Just make sure this doesn’t happen again.”

  Secretary Mahler, too, was watching the president and not liking what he was seeing. He never had children. He was married to the Corps but knew what it was to experience loss when his Marines died under his command. It cuts deep, maybe not as deep as a child, but a good commander loves his troops. But you keep it together for the others still fighting, and if you couldn’t then you were relieved. Simple as that. However, relieving an officer in the field is not the same as a sitting president.

  From the video monitor, Secretary Mahler said, “Mr. President, making sure it doesn’t happen again may be a lot easier if we start thinking about winding this thing down some. At this point, we’re bombing the rubble.”

  Wright immediately turned his head towards the president and said in a loud, agitated voice, “Are you kidding me, Jim? For Christ’s sake, we lost hundreds of our people yesterday, and now you want to cut and run? How in the hell is that going to look?”

  No one accuses Jimbo Mahler of cutting and running. He pointed an angry finger right at the screen, and with a voice full of contempt, he said, “Now you know goddamn well that I’m not saying pull out a white flag. Get your head out of your ass for a minute and listen. The Islamic Republic of Iran is a smoking ruin. We have destroyed eighty percent of their oil infrastructure, wrecked the power grid, sunk their navy, shot down their planes, taken out eighty percent of their ballistic missiles, blown up their terror camps, and bombed out their nuclear program - all in less than a week of round-the-clock strategic bombing and cyber attacks. My people are telling me that they don’t have a functioning government and the loss of basic services will leave seventy million Iranians under a threat of starvation and disease for months. For fuck’s sake, it’s over. We’ve won.”

  Vice President Martha Brentwood looked skeptical and said, “I think declaring victory seems premature to me at this time. Besides, how can we really know without seeing things on the ground for ourselves?”

  “With all due respect Madam Vice President, it is time to de-escalate things right now. Let international aid agencies come in and clean up the mess. That’s what the president said from the beginning. No more nation building, right, sir?”

  The former Marine general’s words hung in the room, waiting for the president to respond, but instead, he just sat with his chin resting on his hands. His eyes seemed drawn to the window watching the clouds flow past.

  The acting Secretary of State had been in government service more than three decades, served three Presidents, but had never witnessed one so damaged as what he was watching right now. He shot the Chief of Staff a sharp look and thought, Jesus Christ, the man looks like he’s fallen apart. He can’t make any decisions in this state of mind.

  Deciding to break the awkward silence, Adelman’s heavy Manhattan accent and powerful voice carried strongly in the enclosed room, “General- sorry, Mr. Secretary - say your right and the Iranians aren’t a threat any longer. Then who is?”

  Baxter Davis couldn’t help but add, “Who isn’t a threat right now? Look, we kicked over the hornet’s nest, and now they are going to start coming out of their hiding places all over the globe looking to hurt Americans. I say keep hitting them until they call for a surrender. Let them admit it to the world that we’ve beat them, and only then do we stop and start sending aid packages with little American flags on them.”

  Adelman did not even attempt to hide his loathing of Baxter and said with a voice full of venom, “Weren’t you listening? Secretary Mahler already said they don’t have a functioning government now, so who in the hell is going to call for some surrender? Plus, let’s not forget every single day we are racking up more dead civilians and the world is watching. We are holding together this anti-terror coalition by the skin of our teeth. We shoot down any more Allied planes, and all bets are off.”

  Trying to cover for the president, Dutch awkwardly said, “Mr. President, sounds like a pretty compelling case to put a temporary bombing halt in place…let emergency medical supplies and food to cross the border. Let the media show some video footage of that for a change. What do you think, sir?”

  Wolfe’s blank expression never changed, he simply nodded but didn’t say anything else.

  Dutch added, �
��Jimbo, other than Iran, where do things stand with the other phases of Avenging Angel?”

  Clearly exasperated by some of the responses, the former combat commander pursed his lips as if stifling what he really wanted to say and then spoke in a clipped tone. “Over the past twenty-four hours, we have struck multiple targets across the globe and gotten some especially good kills against Boko Haram forces in Nigeria. Took out five terror training sites in Sudan and landed a Marine Expeditionary Unit in Somalia along with some Special Forces on the ground.

  “We are hitting key staging areas for al-Shabaab terror groups and killed more than two hundred or so in the past three days. A French Marine battalion and some attack helicopters will be rendezvousing with our forces by tomorrow, and we will be conducting some joint missions in the days ahead.

  “We continue to strike Taliban bases in Pakistan. We are not getting as many good kills since the first round of air attacks, as most of the remaining camps closed up shop and headed for the mountains. However, we have taken out hundreds of tons of weapons and supply caches. My intel people are telling me that it looks like they won’t be able to mount a major offensive for six months.

  “As far as operations in Syria, we have significant numbers of Special Operations units on the ground and continue to close with Rahami’s forces in Syria. Mr. President, the entire 82nd Airborne is now in the country along with the 2nd Cavalry Regiment. They are conducting major operations along the Syrian/Iraqi border region and have more than a dozen confirmed kills against members of Allah’s Avengers.