A Touch Of War

by Isaac Stormm

  Chapter Thirteen

  May 20

  He detected something pressing his shoulder then tapping it. “Prime Minister.” It was one of the stewards. “It is twelve eighteen p.m. East Coast time. We wanted to let you know we’ll be beginning our descent into JFK.”

  He’d gotten a good sleep. No stirring or even a bathroom run. Nothing to bother him except the crazy time fluctuation which put him just two hours beyond when he dozed off still on Israeli time. He adjusted the knobs on his watch to line up the new hours and rubbed his heavy eyes into clearness as he yawned. Work to do. Can I convince Anderson it’s a trap? He should stand with us originally as intended. Both of us before the Security Council. Damn it. I know he won’t. But I’ve got to try.

  The landing was uneventful. A motorcade of one limousine tucked between armored Chevy Suburbans took him to the Israeli Embassy, but not before driving past One World Trade Center. The Freedom tower, its glass structure gleaming from the skyline’s glow, impressed him. The two yawning square holes where the original trade center stood, now provided waterfalls into the blackened foundation. He wanted to get out, pay his respects and just look the place over. Meditate. Too late tonight for that. He would do it before he left. Now, getting tucked in at the embassy lay ahead. Tomorrow he would start fresh and visit Temple Emanu-El synagogue on the Upper East Side before going to the U.N. There he would join the Rabbi in a prayer for strength. And Anderson.

  9:32 A.M.

  “Mr. Prime Minister,” Lesnar said, gripping his hand firmly. The two stood outside the entrance to the U.N. Shutters raced and flashed from a throng of press, mainly from the Middle East. A microphone managed to find itself in front of his face and questions hollered from somewhere behind him.

  “Do you think this could end up being the lowest point in U.S. and Israeli relations?”

  “Are you prepared to go to war, sir?”

  He didn’t let any body language tell. Just smiled and pushed the mike gently aside.

  Once through the door, questions continued being shouted through the glass windows lining the foyer.

  “Are you going to war?”

  “What if you don’t get what you want?”

  “Damn vultures,” he muttered, causing a chuckle from Lesnar. The rest of his Secret Service placed themselves in their assigned locations, three in front, two on either side and three in back. He was surprised they didn’t already know more than he did the way technology had advanced. Right there, he thought how silent Israelis can be when it comes to security. Anything else and there might be leaks. When it came to survival, inquiring minds be damned. No way was anybody going to talk.

  “You attacked us, Jew.” The voice sounded off to the right of him. The sound of their footsteps stopped. Grozner looked for the source. A group of three men, all bearded, one with a small Iranian flag on his lapel, stood in a doorway to an office, their faces locked stern with anger.

  Grozner wanted to rush them, beat the shit out of them or better yet, have his protection empty their pistols into their torsos. Civilized protocol be damned. He could see the headlines now. ‘Israeli Secret Service kills Iranians in the U.N.’ My, how that would go over well to rest of the world. He bundled up his emotions, took a deep breath then reached into a pocket and withdrew the vial to hold it in front of his face with a clear line of sight to the men. He shook it a little in defiance. Just who were these bastards? Press? Ambassador staff? He bet the latter. Got to get the hate going before the meeting.

  He put the vial back into his pocket and continued walking down the hall. He passed through a large entryway which introduced him to the Assembly Hall. He looked down one of the aisles between the rows of vacant booths where placards sat with the name of each member nation. The stage where leaders stood behind the solitary lectern with its green granite backdrop was also empty, save for a short bald man in gray overalls sweeping a wide broom upon the steps.

  “This way,” Lesnar said. They started down a slight incline to the front of the auditorium around the stage and into an antechamber which served as a waiting room. Blue pillowed benches and chairs lined both walls while another door was open, looking into the conference room where they would present their case.

  “I already have our people setting up the documents,” Lesnar said. “We can go on in.” They strode into a large hall with two long rectangular tables forming a v parted by an aisle that led to another long table where microphones and placards sat reading United States, Russian Federation, China, the United Kingdom and France. The permanent members of the body. Their seats were empty and laptops opened. Clerks conversed and placed the necessary papers with each one. The guards left his side and walked to different points around the room.

  Grozner sat down in a chair directly behind the placard marked Israel. Just then, he noticed the Iranian delegation come in with the three men he’d confronted. They didn’t carry laptops, just manila folders under an arm. His eyes followed them to their seats and someone put a name placard in front of them. It said Amji Kamir, Iranian Ambassador.

  My God, was he the one that called out? He was the one with the Iranian flag. He would try and figure it out as the man spoke.

  Lesnar sat down beside him, flipped the laptop on and brought the screen to life in blue color with a white framed window. The start screen transitioned to gray bolded words saying ‘SECURITY’ in Hebrew. Lesnar’s fingers tapped in a code word and the paper showing the lab results appeared. In the upper left corner, a box with a map featuring the suspected site waited to be selected, while on the right, satellite photographs of the site waited.

  The members of the Security Council began entering. To his left, the U.S. Ambassador led the gentlemen with the solemnness of a king’s coronation. They made no eye contact with anyone, just looked straight ahead and turned like at attention behind their chairs. They pulled them out on cue like puppets on a string and sat down like required dozens of times this year. They looked at their papers, and the U.S. Ambassador Trevor Murphy motioned for the Iranians to pick up their translation headphones.

  He leaned forward to the microphone. “We will begin this emergency meeting of the Security Council at this time,” he said. “We are here due to a complaint lodged by Israel and, as I understand it, Iran.” He looked over at the Iranians waiting for the translation to take and asked, “Is this correct?”

  “Yes,” Kamir said.

  “Very well then, I yield this time to Mr. Grozner.”

  He leaned back and Grozner pulled himself up to a microphone. He didn’t speak then, just yanked the vial from his pocket and held it over his head. “This is why I’m here. Through all their explanations about only wanting to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, as expected by many including my government, the quest for mankind’s most destructive weapon was too tempting to pass up.” He looked at Lesnar who selected the map of Iran. The same picture showed on the Security Council and Iranian machines. “This is what was detected by seismic stations on May fourteenth.” The screens turned into the familiar graphs showing the steady lines and quick fluctuating sine waves. Grozner’s face reddened. He looked over at the Iranians who broke eye contact immediately. He continued, “This year that is the date that falls on our Independence Day. The Iranians knew this and took every measure possible to conceal their act, by detonating it deep within a salt mine, to make sure all radioactive particles didn’t leak into the air. Thought they could fool everyone. But not us. And I’m convinced once the U.N. tests this sample, they will come to no other conclusion, that Iran used the good graces of the world community as nothing more than cover to possess the most destructive power on earth.” He set the vial down and followed it, pulling the chair up under him.

  Murphy motioned for a page to retrieve the vial. “Mr. Ambassador,” Murphy said to the Iranians, then took the vial and inspected it. “These are extremely serious charges the prime minister makes.” He held up the vial toward them. “What is your explanation for this?”

/>   Kamir rose and swept a hand down his tie, ridding it of some unseen lint. “I wish to give the council a series of photographs. They are all of a destroyed helicopter with the bodies in the process of being extricated.” He handed over a 12 by 10 inch print of a blackened cylinder to Murphy. “This was not caused by gunfire but by two advanced airborne fired guided missiles. I believe the Americans call them AMRAAM or something along those lines. You will see in the photograph I’m giving you the remnants of the rocket motor of one of these AMRAAMS. Please, take a look at the writing that is circled for you just above one of the rear guidance fins. It is English lettering giving the lot number, serial number and date of manufacture.”

  Murphy passed it along to the rest of the Council, each one spending a few seconds inspecting it.

  “Here are the results of such missiles fired and destruction of our property.” Kamir turned over another two similar sized pictures and eyed Grozner who stared back, both men using their eyes as silent weapons, as if to bore burning, painful mental holes through each other’s faces. Kamir broke the gaze and explained, “They are the remnants of two helicopters. Two men killed in one of them which was an Mi-24 Hind and three killed in the other which was an Mi-17 Hip, I believe it is called. This occurred far into our airspace when these two helicopters were hunting down the Zionists which illegally set foot on our land. These special soldiers, we believe, are responsible for killing several of our soldiers when they happened upon them by accident.”

  Grozner folded his arms and inhaled deeply.

  “Mr. Prime Minister,” Murphy said, holding up the vial, “could you please reveal the nature of how you came in possession of this evidence?”

  “That I’m afraid, sir, is a well-guarded state secret which I cannot reveal here. I can in privacy though.”

  “Very well,” Murphy replied.

  Grozner knew Murphy had to have all the intel involving the mission. He just needed to confirm it one-on-one.

  Kamir cleared his throat. “What he just said in as much proves it, Council. Cloak-and-dagger as you in the West call conflict in the shadows. But we call it evil and highly provocative. I might also add with great concern that we still do not rule out your American Air Force as being the one who fired those missiles.”

  “I can assure you, Mr. Kamir, we were not involved.”

  Good. The lie sounded authentic, with Murphy looking right at the Iranian. Grozner watched Lesnar maneuver the cursor to the satellite photos.

  “This is the suspected site,” Grozner said, still looking at the screen. “This is the source of the crystals.”

  “An Israeli lab is the source of those crystals,” Kamir stated. “Clever uses of technology to trick the world into coming down on their side, just as it did when their criminal state was created by this body.”

  Grozner watched Murphy shake his head.

  “We don’t need a history lesson, Mr. Kamir,” he said. “I am well aware of your country’s view of this organization. Needless to say, you both raise questions in which there is no easy answer. Your country’s willingness to be open-minded on this issue though, does help, in this regard.” He picked up the vial again and shook it slightly. “We would like to have access to the site where this material came from.”

  “With respect to the council, I cannot grant that request, as the site was destroyed by the Hebrews.”

  “Liar.” Grozner shot up from his desk. “The site was destroyed to keep people from discovering its true purpose.”

  Silence descended over them for a moment. “Ambassador Murphy, I must speak to you in private.”

  “As do I want to,” Kamir said. He started slapping the table with a hand. The two other men joined in, the slaps louder, quickening by the second. Then they stopped.

  “There is no need for that here,” Murphy said. “Mr. Prime Minister. We will test this vial, though I must say with certainty before all here that not everyone is going to believe the results. And there will be different reasons of course. I’m sure you realize that.”

  “I am aware of that, sir. That is why I came here personally. To lend my voice as spokesman for the Israeli people, who are united behind me.”

  “I would like to speak with the prime minister for a few minutes,” Murphy said. “Let us take a short recess.”

  Grozner nodded at Lesnar and followed Murphy into a spacious office almost the size of the prime minister’s. He held the vial in a closed hand and turned to lean against his desk facing Grozner, who sat in a lush velvet upholstered chair. He crossed his fingers, ready to sort through any kind of talking points he was to hear.

  “Prime Minister. What you have here is proof. I believe that, and so does the president,” Murphy said. “And I know that given events these past days, you may have doubted our resolve. But the president wants me to reassure you of his commitment to seeing your nation remain free of danger. That is why he feels that an opportunity has presented itself to resolve things peacefully, even if you believe it’s a sham. The Iranians are willing to let inspectors inside their country in three days. If they start stalling or playing some sort of hide and seek game, the president is willing to withdraw the inspectors and seek a resolution from the U.N.”

  “Authorizing military force?” Grozner wanted that commitment from Anderson though he knew he was wishing the impossible right now.

  “You know better than that, Prime Minister. No, a return of sanctions much greater than before.”

  “Then it’s up to us, I’m afraid. Would he get an authorization just for Israel? No.”

  Murphy squinted contorting his face into disbelief. “You seem resolved that no other options remain.”

  “I’m a realist, sir. Each day grows deadlier for my nation. I am obliged to wait only a certain time which passed by us on May fourteenth. I now have to realize that two knives are at my throat. The Iranians who want to cut my head off. And the Americans who desire to work out everything without pulling a trigger. Your leader changed from when I first spoke to him on this matter.”

  “People change their minds. The president wants to avoid what he views as nothing less than a war that could move far beyond the Middle East.”

  “I understand the caution. Of that there is no argument. Surely, he knows that this is all an elaborate bluff by the Iranians.”

  “Maybe. But then again, maybe not. Do you realize what the world’s reaction would be if we joined in an attack when they are giving us all the requests we first made about having access to their sites? We have to explore that option, even as obvious as it seems to you that this is but a ruse. The military option must be the last in a line of peaceful effort.”

  “So I take it there will be no resolution even condemning Iran?”

  “The other members of the council, well, Russia and China, mainly, will likely veto it.”

  “You wanted the proof. You got it. You even believe me. Yet you still believe you can negotiate a way out,” Grozner said, dismay in his voice. “When are you going to realize…” He stopped, shaking his head. No need to go on, but he did.

  “Mr. Murphy, when I was a young boy, of about seven, eight maybe,, my father told me of the Holocaust. I asked him did we win in the end. He said yes. Because we have our own nation now. But he added the same kind of people the Nazis were surrounded us, and there’s more of them. Regardless of that, he said the Jews made a vow of ‘Never Again,’ after the founding of our state. Through wars ever since then we’ve proven that. Now, none of that makes any difference. If we don’t act, what was only a dream of some demented minds will now become reality. ‘Never Again,’ Is part of me. Part of every Jew that walks the earth. And never more is it as important as now.” He got up. “Please tell your president exactly what I just told you. That is what guides me now.”

  “Mr. Prime Minister, do not go to war. I believe that you are just as much a man of peace as President Anderson. I know the pressure is much greater on you than he. But the glimmer of peace still shines. And he be
lieves that as long as there is the slightest chance, we should take it.”

  Grozner looked away. He didn’t want to convey he was bull-headed and resolute. He needed to come back a little gentler, lay the one thing he had yet to tell anyone before him.

  “Mr. Ambassador, ever since Israel’s founding, you have stood with us. All we are saying is for everyone to use their gut feeling about this. If they will, and I believe President Anderson already has, they’ll know there is no alternative. May I ask how long you have been following these events?”

  “From the moment the president called me telling me about the event on the fourteenth.”

  “Then you need no schooling on our situation. But, to show you I am a man who believes peace should always be the first option, I’m going to give the United Nations the benefit of the doubt. If they test the vile and the vile will come back as positive there was a nuclear explosion, I would like for you to at least try to build a coalition of Allied nations. You don’t have to move any armies or air forces anywhere. Just force the Iranians to let you have access to the site. To dig as much as you want to. There the answer lies. And there you’ll find the world’s patience come to an end. After that, I would like a guarantee of a resolution of force even if it is only by the United States saying that Israel can defend itself. I’m not asking you to go to war, I’m asking you to give us the authorization once you are a hundred percent certain. I am bending far more than anyone in my country ever expected me to. I may live to regret it. I may not. But no one can say I didn’t go the extra mile. I would like for you to go back out there and tell the Iranians the site must be inspected immediately and that you will suspend any other efforts to inspect their program until that site is dug. There can be no delay. You will have seventy-two hours to hear from them. If you don’t, events will unfold according to the Iranian’s’ actions.” He didn’t care about giving away the deadline. Should make them more aloof and willing to skip all the political doublespeak and get to the site.