Grenades were tossed and shoulder fired missiles slammed into the confused troops. Some of the more experienced ones knew that they needed to keep low and return fire, even if they didn’t exactly know where the enemy was.
Captain Miller was frantically trying to get a perimeter established and was yelling for his men to take cover. He had just sent one of his Corporals to pass the word to pull back down the road when a bullet blew through his lower jaw, severing his tongue and taking out most of his teeth. He was knocked to the ground and lay with his eyes open, uncomprehending what had just happened.”
He realized that someone was above him speaking but he couldn’t hear what they were saying. Suddenly he was being dragged by his backpack along the road for several feet. Another man appeared before him and then everything went dark. He was spared the Apache Helicopters firing 1200 rounds of 30mm bullets a minute, 8 Hellfire rockets and 36 Hydra 70 missiles.
The six AH-64D Apache choppers strafed and bombed all along the culvert beside the road. There was nowhere for the US troops to go. Lieutenant Dawkins realized that they were in no position to resist and held up a white flag. Actually it was a white tee shirt. It was a few long minutes before the firing ceased. When it died down, he stood up and waved the flag over his head.
The choppers were still on station and it made him very nervous as he stood in the middle of the road.
“You can drop the flag but keep your hands up,” a voice from the tree line yelled.
The young Lieutenant threw down the flag but remained standing still with his hands over his head.
“Walk back to the tree line. Captain Crow will meet you.”
Making sure to keep his hands held high he walked toward the trees. A man stepped out and motioned for him to approach.
“You are?” the Captain asked.
“Sir. Lieutenant Dawkins.”
“Lieutenant. I’m Captain Crow. Do you wish to surrender your troops?”
“Yes sir. We are not in a position to defend ourselves properly. I see no need to sacrifice the remaining men.”
“Very well Lieutenant Dawkins. Have your men remove everything except their tee shirts, pants and boots. Everything else they are to leave. Anyone caught with any kind of weapon will be immediately shot. That means guns, grenades and knives.
“Yes sir. I’ll tell the men. What about the wounded?”
“I have already sent for a dust off. We have twenty inbound choppers as we speak.”
“Thank you sir. May I go tell the men?”
“Yes but remember, we don’t want to find anything that can be used as a weapon.”
“I understand Captain,” he said and saluted smartly.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
“Are you telling me that a ragtag bunch of militia ambushed and killed over fifteen hundred of our men while wounding over twenty-five hundred and capturing the rest? Is that what you are telling me?” General Ascot asked. His eyes bored into the Major making the report.
“Sir, that was the message,” the Major said, sweat running down the back of his neck.
The General had a reputation for shooting the messenger.
“And just how is that possible, will you tell me that Major Heller?”
“Sir, I don’t know all of the particulars. Evidently they were waiting for our troops and then jumped them when they were taking a break.”
“Damn it Major. How in the hell did they know when they would take a break? Why were they right at that exact spot? Where the hell was the drone?” he said, his voice rising with every question.
“I don’t know General.”
“Son, when you report something like this to me, you had better have answers. Now get your ass out of here and find out exactly what happened before you report back,” slapping his hand on the desk.
“Yes sir. Right away sir,” the Major said and saluted.
The General let him stand there for almost a minute before he finally saluted back.
****
President James Jason and Vice President Zack Folly sat around a large conference table that had been brought in to the Nashville Capital Building. If the new President of the American Republic States were to look out the window toward 6th Avenue, he would be able to see reminders of the first American Civil War. There was a statue of General Andrew Jackson and the Bell of Freedom. If he really looked hard he might even be able to see the tomb of President James Polk.
Unfortunately, they were not there for the history or the scenery. They were in the midst of forming a new government. Seated around the table were the newly appointed advisors. The purpose of the meeting was to review the old United States of America Constitution and to look at it from a practical standpoint. They wanted to keep the essential elements, especially the Bill of Rights and revise that which was no longer valid.
“My opinion,” President Jason said, “Would be to simplify government and keep the number of members to the minimum necessary to get the job done. Large government is nothing more than a money sucking machine that bleeds the taxpayers.”
“How do we even begin?” Mary Lake, the new Chief of Internal Affairs asked.
“How about starting with my office? The job of the President,” he said and they all looked at him quizzically. “Look, the way I see it the President is not a King. He should have certain rules he has to follow. Backdoor deals, money under the table and secret agendas should not be allowed. That’s what got us into the mess in the first place. The President should set the tone for the country. Our public lives and our private lives should emulate what the country represents,” he said.
“You’re saying that the President should be transparent in the things he does?” Beau Zimmerman the Internal Affairs Chief said.
“Yes. Why shouldn’t the President be accountable to the people on more than the month before elections? Every President polishes his or her accomplishments and tries to bury their indiscretions. Here is what I propose. First, the President should only be allowed to serve one term. It should be for six years. At the end of the first three years in office, an audit should be done including a poll of the American Republic citizens. The poll should represent at least ten percent of the total adult population. If the President doesn’t receive an approval rating of at least fifty-one percent, he is out. The Vice President finishes out the term,” he said.
It was totally silent in the room. Even the air conditioner seemed to be whispering.
“Let me get this straight. If the people don’t like the job the President is doing they can fire him?” the Vice President asked.
“Certainly. Why not? Why would you want someone in the highest office in the land that is doing a unacceptable job? If you can’t make at least fifty-one percent happy, you aren’t getting the job done to begin with. Toss them out.”
“And the Vice President then becomes the President?”
“Correct. At the end of the three years he can then run for President, but just like his predecessor, he has to have a fifty-one percent approval rating. If not, then he isn’t eligible to run again.
“Wow,” Mary Lake said, shaking her head.
“Wow is right,” General MacMillan, the new Military Supreme Chief echoed.
“That would certainly make sure the President was doing what he was elected to do,” Treasury Chief Allen added.
“Isn’t that the way it should be? Why should the people have to put up with an ineffective leader or one that promises everything and delivers nothing? Think about how many Presidents we have had in the past who have done just that?” Jason said.
“Any other conditions?”
“They should be at least forty-five years old, an American Citizen with proof of birth in the American Republic and have served in one branch of the military.”
“Why?” Judicial Chief Jackson Miller asked.
“How can you be the Commander-in-Chief if you have never been in the military? How do you know the hardships they face, the risks they take, what the budg
et cuts do to their morale and performance unless you have experienced them? It’s easy to commit our troops to fight for someone else’s problems if you’re not the one that could die or be maimed. They don’t have to have been an officer, just to have served and left with an Honorable Discharge.”
“Doesn’t that limit the number of people that can become President?”
“Yes it does, so what? People, if you are not willing to serve your country, then why should you be given a free pass on everything? I have no use for those that hide behind their parent’s money to get out of serving in the military. Hell, if I had my way, every able bodied citizen would be required to spend at least two years in the service of their country,” he said.
That was met with silence once again.
“You’re talking about a draft?”
“No. I’m talking about a duty,” Jason replied.
The next four hours were spent articulating the job duties and requirements to hold the office of the President of the American Republic.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
“Ladies and Gentlemen, the Vice President of the United States, Hanna Cole.”
A polite applause rippled through the crowd gathered to hear her first news conference. She looked out over the array of microphones crammed in every conceivable space on the dais.
“Thank you. First I would like to say that it is a privilege to be serving with the President of the United States, Benjamin Quasim. Having worked so closely with him over the past years we have formed a solid working relationship that will forge a better nation.
I have long admired the leadership of the President and look forward to working with him hand in hand over the next two years. I was a little doubtful about giving up the position of Secretary of State but the President reminded me of the greater good.”
She paused but no one clapped. She frowned and then quickly plastered on her game face.
“The President and I have met briefly to determine the course of action that must be taken during the difficult months ahead. This is the United States of American. It is one nation. It is not three nations nor two nations, but one. Those who think they can go off on their own and do as they please are certainly not true Americans.
The President and I have made a pact that the rogue nations calling themselves the American Republic of States will not be allowed to continue. We have only one President and every state answers to his Administration. I stand before you today to let you know that the President and I will not stop until our streets are safe, guns are removed from citizen's hands, and America is united. Thank you,” she said and stepped away from the microphones.
Immediately reporters started shouting out questions but she chose to ignore them. Instead she turned to her Executive Assistant and whispered something. The assistant stepped to the microphone and held up her hands. She waited until it got quiet again.
“Vice President Cole has asked me to have you hold your questions until after she has had a chance to assimilate her job responsibilities and to have detailed briefings with the President. Once that has taken place she will hold another press conference and answer your questions.”
Immediately more questions were shouted but the two made their way out of the room leaving them clamoring.
****
“Geez. I hate this stuff,” General Adams said.
“There is something fundamentally wrong with killing other American soldiers,” Colonel Timmons agreed.
“What the hell went wrong with this country? I mean, how did we drift so far off center?”
“Baby step by baby step. Think about it for a second General. Starting with John Kennedy, youthful and full of life. Going to lead the nation to being the most powerful, successful country in the world. Going to the moon. Good stuff but then the dark side started to happen. Marilyn Monroe, the Bay of Pigs, a finger on the trigger to start a nuclear war with Russia. It was at that point in time that the morals of the country started to waver.”
“That’s a bit of an oversimplification don’t you think?” Adams asked.
“Really? Look at who was next. LBJ. Crude, big mouthed, classless and too dumb to get to the White House without directions. He wanted to run the Vietnam War from Washington DC. Totally inept. He is the reason we have fifty-eight thousand Americans dead. It was his stupidity.”
“And Nixon was any better?” Adams replied.
“In a lot of ways. At least he did get us out of Vietnam. Yeah, it took too damn long but he kept his promise to get us out of LBJ’s mess. And then you have Carter and Ford. Two bumbling morons that if you put their IQs together you may match a turnip.”
“Holy smokes, Major. How long have you been letting this build up?”
“Too damn long. What the hell is wrong with the American people? Do they really think that Clinton’s lying to the citizens of the country right on national television should be forgiven? What he does in his personal life doesn’t count? The hell it doesn’t. What is the message he is sending? Hey, I’m the President and it’s okay me to screw around.”
“Major that isn’t exactly what I was talking about. What I mean is that it is wrong to fight against fellow Americans. That’s all I was saying.”
“And I’m saying we got to this point because little by little we let our morals slip. Our country's fundamental belief in God has been left out of the equation. Heck, now you're considered a religious nut if you even mention God. Money and power are the new gods. General, that’s what has gotten us to this point.”
“So, how about those Cubs?” the General said, trying to get him off the subject and lighten the mood. The Major was probably right but that isn’t where he had intended for the discussion to go.
“Have you talked to the new President yet?” the Major asked.
“Heavens no. Why would he want to talk to me? I’m a retired General. He has General MacMillan to talk to. He doesn’t need my opinion about anything.”
“I don’t know. It’s going to be a long war. We have done a lot of damage to the US troops. At some point I’ll bet he will want to talk to you.”
****
President Quasim and Vice President Cole were in the Oval Office with General Ascot. It was tense, as almost every meeting had been in the past several months. The President was dressed in jeans and a Stanford sweatshirt. Hanna Cole had on a black pants suit with a light blue pinstripe. Her eggshell blouse was buttoned to the neck.
“General Ascot, I know that I just recently appointed you to head up the military but can you explain why a group of militia were able to overcome our regular Army and Marines? I mean, how could they have done such damage? On top of the dead and wounded, they took six-thousand soldiers prisoner. Six-thousand. They had only two thousand troops. Would you explain that to me so that I can better understand?” he said trying to keep his temper in check.
“Sir. They knew we were coming. They took control of the drone somehow and waited until we took a break while the drone was being replaced. They had Apache Helicopters ready to come in the minute we started defending. The plan was tactically sound. Somehow I believe they are still getting word of our plans.”
“I see. So everything is the fault of someone else, is that what I’m hearing?” he asked.
“No sir. But you assured us that no leaks would occur from the White House. Respectfully sir, that is the only place they could have come from.”
“So the White House staff leaked the plans?” he said starting to get tense.
“Sir. The people involved with the plans from the military were with the team. No one is stupid enough to leak the information knowing that they could get killed. Think about it. Who could have leaked the information and stayed safe and sound? That can only be someone here.”
“That’s bullshit,” Hanna interjected.
“Why is that?” he asked, turning to face her.
“No one here is going to give out vital information that will aid the enemy. That is just an excuse for poor planning.
Why did you only have one drone? You should have had a backup to cover such a contingency,” she said.
“Ms. Vice President, have you ever been involved in military tactical planning? Have you ever gone out and put your life on the line? I have. Many times. I can assure you that we try to plan for every contingency. Sometimes unexpected things crop up. Have you ever read about D-Day and all the planning that went into that endeavor? Hundreds of things went wrong. It’s one of the rules of war. If it can go wrong, it probably will. We try to plan for that probability,” he said calmly.
“Well, obviously you didn’t plan well enough.”
“Perhaps you would like to come along on the next mission...”
“Stop. General that is enough.”
“Yes sir,” he said.
“I understand what you’re saying. We did a cursory sweep of the White House but we need to look deeper. I have a tendency to agree that the problem may be someone here. I hate to think it, but you may be right. It is starting to look that way. As you said, no one would leak the information knowing that it would most likely get them killed. It has to be someone who has no real risk associated.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” the General replied.
“Here is what I would like for you to do. I want you to send me a full battle plan for some mission. I want it to be no more or no less than what you regularly send. We will track its progress from the time it arrives until it is on my desk. Then we will follow it until it arrives back to you with my approval. Obviously it won’t be a real mission. That should allow us to find out if the leak is here in the White House or someplace in between,” Quasim said.
“I wholeheartedly agree. I think that is an excellent plan sir.”
“Hanna, what do you think?”
“At least we will know if it is a leak or inept planning,” she quipped.
The General didn’t bite. He did however want to smack her in her condescending face.
A NATION AT WAR - The Second Civil War Book II (The Second Civil War - BOOK II 1) Page 9