“This will be World War III! The rest of the Middle-East, probably Russia, and maybe even China, will intercede openly. The United States will be drawn into the conflict. We will have to make the terrible decision to defend Israel with our military might, a decision we have fortunately never had to make before. You have done irreparable harm to the United States, sir.”
To which the scripted Israeli caller replied, “None of that will happen. No nation on earth really wanted the madmen in Iran to have nuclear weapons, much less to use them. They will bluster about Israel, but they will secretly heave a collective sigh of relief. We have studied the diplomatic fallout for months and are convinced that the Europeans lack the will to confront us militarily; the Russian Federation will respond with bombast and sanctions, but will stop short of war because of their fear of your country’s military might; and China will protest but will not violate its long-standing policy of avoiding foreign military interventions when their own security is not threatened.”
The phone lines were coated with frost when the calls were completed, but no threats were made by the United States or its counterparts. Consternation reigned in the halls of the White House, the Pentagon, and Congress; and the security status of America was elevated to red for the first time since the department of Homeland Security was established.
By 1130, every target had been hit; and Israeli follow-up footage was provided by their F-16A intelligence over-flights equipped with AN/ASD-83 wing pods, ISR pods for signal capture, and separate pods for photo reconnaissance. The Mossad’s assets confirmed at least a 90% destruction of the nuclear facility targets without any very serious collateral damage. The Mossad estimated that there were very few civilian casualties.
Sleeping on his lumpy mattress in the Safari Hotel on Bandari Street in Dar es Salaam, Sheep Dog was totally unaware of the horrific military strike in Iran. Even if he had been sitting awake in his chair, he would not have known. The hotel did not have television service; the electricity was turned off at night; so, there was no radio. The newspapers would not have the news until late morning. Sheep Dog would likely have to wait to learn the headlines and the details until Glen Gabler drove him to the Julius Nyerere International Airport late in the afternoon.
THE PREDATORS AND THEIR PREY
CHAPTER FIFTY
White House Oval Office: Daily Briefing, 0630
PRESENT: POTUS, SECRETARY OF STATE, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE, CHAIRMAN JCS, SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY, DCIA, DFBI, and AMBASSADOR TO ISRAEL
(by speaker telephone)
“We might as well have had this meeting at 2:30. I haven’t slept a wink since Cohen called me. I presume you have been equally afflicted with insomnia,” the president said.
Everyone nodded agreement.
“Well, let’s get to it. Give us the damages thus far Director Lang.”
“Mr. President, gentlemen, what we know more than we did at 2:30 comes largely from our own satellite photos and a set of excellent flyover passes with more close up detail on the Iranian nuclear sites. In general, every one of them that we know about has been seriously—probably irreparably—damaged. Take a look at these sequential shots of the Natanz and Bushehr facilities.”
A set of high-definition glossy color photos showed piles of dirt still smoking, and a few tattered remnants of concrete blocks and steel girders at each site. No building remained standing or even partially so.
“You remember how the Romans chafed and became frustrated after each new attack and partial defeat by the Carthaginians? When the Romans finally won the decisive Third Punic War, they marched in and leveled the city of Carthage then salted the land over and around it. These pictures give me the sense that this is what just happened to the cities of Iran,” the DFBI, Sinclair Y. Thompson, said.
“Are they all like that?” President Storebridge asked.
“Pretty much.”
“What retaliation has Iran made? How big a war do we have on our hands?”
“The Israelis appear to have been right, Mr. President. The Iranians have been silent.”
“What do you all think that means?”
“They’re biding their time before a massive nuclear strike on Israel—tit-for-tat,” said the Secretary of Defense, Michael Chisholm gloomily, “and we’ll be in it with both feet.”
“I agree,” said both Gerald Lang from the CIA and General Simons of the JCS.
“I plan to prepare for the worst and hope for the best. Nothing has happened, and I’ll take no news as good news, at least temporarily,” Jensen Dräger from Homeland Security said.
“Jeremy?”
“I might have some good news. The Swiss sent a message that Sofrekheneh himself wants to talk. He is flying in to meet with Kurt Haagensen, himself this evening. He wants you, Mr. President, me, Mr. Lang, and General Simons to be at the meeting. I haven’t replied yet. What do you want me to do?”
“It sounds like Sofrekheneh is on the ropes. Maybe we can capitalize on what is probably a fleeting opportunity. Meeting with the U.N. Secretary-General as a buffer has to be a plus. Set it up. If there is nothing else, let’s consider this meeting adjourned. Keep up the good work and keep me posted.”
Office of the Secretary General of the United Nations, New York City, 2130.
PRESENT: SECRETARY-GENERAL, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, PRESIDENT OF THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN, MINISTER OF STATE FOR THE REPUBLIC OF IRAN, SECRETARY OF STATE OF THE UNITED STATES, THE DCIA OF THE UNITED STATES, CHAIRMAN OF THE JCS OF THE UNITED STATES
The delegations of the two countries sat across from each other at the long conference table. Secretary-General Haagensen sat at the head of the table. The table contained only small sets of paper and a glass of water in front of each participant and a carafe of ice water at each end of the gleaming table.
Mahmoud Sofrekheneh was wearing a scruffy pair of chinos and a tee shirt, an obvious show of disrespect for the rest of the men who were all in custom designed dark suits and expensive ties. He scowled, much to the amusement of the other men.
The secretary-general opened the meeting, “I will generally sit back and observe, only venturing a thought as the occasion is appropriate. Since President Sofrekheneh has come from such a distance—and the hour is getting late—why don’t we have him speak first?”
Sofrekheneh gave an arrogant disdainful look at the other men then said, “We have been the subject of an unwarranted and vicious sneak attack by the Zionist Entity. Presumably the Jews were aided by American Jewry and the U.S. government.”
He waved off President Storebridge as he started to protest.
“This is only the latest in a long series of provocations by the Zionists against Iran and the peace loving peoples of Islam. Before you is a partial listing of the crimes perpetrated by the Zionists. I will limit myself to pointing out a few of the most egregious.”
President Sofrekheneh recited from memory Operation Opera, Operation Wooden Leg, Operation Orchard, the attacks on the intifada leaders, the murders of unconvicted alleged perpetrators of the “so-called Munich massacre”, the explosion of a tourist bus carrying Iranian officials and peace-loving Hamas members outside of Damascus in December, 2003, the fiendish murder of Hezbollah top leader, Imad Mughniyah in February, 2008, the murder orchestrated by former Mossad Chief, Meir Dagan of Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in the Gulf City-State of Dubai in his room at the Al-Bustan Rotana Hotel on January 19, 2010 and cited the complicity of British, German, Austrian, and French operatives.
“And I neglected to mention the murder of Bulgarian journalist Georgi Markov who died in England in 1978. A Scotland Yard autopsy revealed—imbedded in his leg—a BB studded with tiny holes. It had been shot into Markov with an umbrella rigged as a pellet gun. The holes in the BB had been packed with ricin. Sofrekheneh’s voice rose in volume and stridency as he said, “and it is perfectly well known that the Zionists were behind that murder of an innocent.”
He took a breath and a long sip of water.<
br />
“You will see in the papers I have provided, all documented by VEVAK as you may know it, or the SAVAMA; more correctly—the Sazman-e Ettela’at va Amniat-e Melli-e Iran, our Ministry of Intelligence and National Securitya list of over a thousand murders, mass murders, grand thefts, tortures, and atrocities that have fallen on the peace-loving Muslim peoples at the hands of the Zionist Entity and its collaborators. This is corroborated by our sister service, Joint Intelligence X of the ISI.”
Again, the U.S. president started to speak; but Sofrekheneh was still on his roll, and Storebridge held his peace again.
“We are also disturbed by a number of terroristic killings all over the world—nearly 500—that have occurred to some of our more prominent Muslim brethren and to innocent by-standers during the past year. We cannot definitely lay those killings at the feet of the Zionists, nor can we prove any complicity by the Great Satan in these crimes. Give us time; and we will. Minister Darzi, what is the fanciful name of the criminal who has done all of these acts of terrorism against our innocent people?”
Foreign Minister Ali Abu-Darzi spoke for the first time, “Yes, Mr. President, he has been called “The Shadow”.
Gerald Lang could not take any more, “You’re telling us that one man killed over 500 people—assassinated them—in places all over the world just in the past one year? ‘The Shadow’, oh, come now. Even you have to admit that your conclusion is pure fantasy. One man, indeed.”
“You are correct on that point, Mr. Lang. We do not think it to be the work of just one man. It is a terrorist organization. You Christians and your pets—the Jews—are such hypocrites. You profess such outrage against Muslims for being terrorists, while you have an organization that rivals anything you have ever accused Muslims of doing.”
“Mr. Secretary-General. I think it is my turn to speak,” President Storebridge finally found an opening.
“Yes, President Sofrekheneh, I think that would be appropriate and fair.”
Sofrekheneh pouted like a child, but yielded.
“I am not going to answer for any of the so-called crimes you have described. I am not at all sure that any or all of them ever occurred, and I don’t care. What is it you want? I’ll tell you what we want. There has been enough killing and destruction. You—yourself—have made that clear. We want the attack by the Israelis to remain what it is, an attack, and not to have it become a war. What would it take for you to listen to reason and to negotiate?”
Sofrekheneh made a change that—to anyone who was not familiar with him—would not have imagined could occur. He became a serious, crafty, sensible negotiator.
“Assuming you are serious,” he said, “my country has certain demands. If you meet those demands, we will bear our sorrows and wounds and will not retaliate against the Zionist State. Our demands are as follows:
First: You will force the United Nations to cancel all sanctions against our country immediately. Our people are on severe fuel rationing which impedes our ability to move and to do business. We are unable to buy more, but our domestic demand has not reduced. The head of our National Distribution Oil Products Company has reported to me that consumption was steady despite a twenty percent cut in rations just since December. This is a non-negotiable priority.
Second: You will reign in your lap-dog, the Zionist Entity. You will guarantee that there will be no more attacks. They will respect our air space. They will not spy on us. They will not impede our ability to do business throughout the world.
Third: You will impose controls—and if necessary, sanctions—on the Zionist Entity to prevent incursions into Lebanon.
Fourth: You will impose controls on the Zionist Entity and whatever other terrorist organizations you control to cease and desist from covert action assassinations.
Fifth: You have treated me with disrespect when I brought up the idea of “The Shadow”. While you may well use a different name—and even if you are not responsible—you will find out who this person or organization is, and terminate it. We will not believe in your sincerity unless and until you demonstrate a dead body. We will cooperate with you in any way you need to bring this terrorist to justice.
Sixth: You will pay us $6 billion U.S. immediately to cover our most pressing and serious losses, and you will pay us another $6 billion a year for ten years while we build a mountain over the radiation contaminated ground.
Seventh: You will unfreeze our assets being held illegally in your country. It is theft and kidnapping of our national treasure and pride, and it must stop.
Eighth: You will radically alter your policies aimed against the Islamic Republic of Iran and will restore our mutual relationship to full recognition—ambassadors, embassies, consulates, and the like. We will be granted diplomatic immunity, freedom to travel in and out of your country and around and about it without restrictions.”
He stopped abruptly; “that is all,” he said.
President Storebridge looked at the Iranian leader with something just short of astonishment. He mulled over what he had heard for a moment before he responded.
“President Sofrekheneh, what you have presented is at least a good first step in achieving better relations between our nations. It will take time and some political and diplomatic maneuvering to work out a mutually acceptable agreement on your requests. I will have my best people work on it and get back to you in a week—seven days. Is that satisfactory?”
“No, sir it is not. I will remain reluctantly in New York for twenty-four hours. If Minister Darzi and I have not heard a satisfactory reply from your side by then, I will make a simple telephone call and Yawm al-Qiyamah [Arabic: The Day of Judgment—the Apocalypse] will commence. Good day.”
He and Darzi stood up peremptorily and stalked out of the room.
When they were gone, the Secretary General asked, “Do any of you think that it is possible to negotiate with the man or that if you achieve an agreement, that it will be honored?”
There were no affirmatives.
White House Oval Office: Conference, 1830 Present: POTUS, VPOTUS, SECRETARY OF STATE, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE, SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY, CHAIRMAN JCS, DFBI, DCIA, ADCIA
“We have an unprecedented conundrum before us, gentlemen,” The president said. “You have all had the afternoon to prepare a response to the demands made by The president of the Islamic Republic of Iran. We will give the man a firm answer tomorrow morning; so, let me hear your recommendations. When you have all made your pitches, I will make a decision, and we will get it into formal language. Mr. Secretary of State?”
“Thank you Mr. President. Here is the proposal from State.”
He passed out a single sheet of paper to each man seated around the room.
“We see no alternative but to acquiesce to most of Sofrekheneh’s demands. Items 1 through 7 are unpalatable but are—in the last analysis—acceptable. It will take some spin doctoring to get the American public to accept the requirements. Politically, I think it may be a winner for us. We can come across as the broker of peace. Maybe there’ll even be a Nobel Peace Prize in the future, Mr. President. It would certainly be deserved.
“What we cannot accept is item 8. Our place in the world would be severely compromised if we cave in and give recognition to this terrorist extortionist. What we at State propose is a gradual and minimalist process towards normalization, say over the next fifteen to twenty years. We have to broker the immediate peace or risk World War III, but we also have to consider the future. To accomplish that, one element of the agreement must be a firm commitment on the Islamic nations’ part is to get the terrorist activity under control. We are giving up our most effective asset, and we need a quid pro quo.”
“Thank you, Jeremy. Mr. Secretary of Defense?”
“We’re okay with everything State has proposed. In this, we are the tool of enforcement and not policy. We can live with Sofrekheneh’s demands, but we don’t trust him to keep any of his promises. We would like to get the fleet into place, and the air f
orce up to strength in Iraq and Afghanistan during these first tense weeks. Israel has pretty much exhausted its military resources and is highly vulnerable right now. As for item 8, it is about as distasteful as all of the rest, and Defense won’t venture its opinion. That is up to the diplomats and politicians.”
“Thank you, Michael. General Simons?”
“I have nothing to add to what Secretary Chisholm said. I would personally like to carpet bomb the Iranians back into the seventh century, but that doesn’t seem likely to be the prevailing scenario here.”
“I have much the same feelings, General, but we are all stuck with reality. Mr. Dräger?”
“Homeland Security is on full red alert and will remain so until all of this is settled. CIA and NSA have mobilized all of their assets for the effort, and Defense is on board with every state National Guard unit on full alert for the duration. From the strictly Homeland Security point of view, we reluctantly favor giving in to all of Iran’s demands. Anything is better than a real war. Who knows where that could lead?”
“Thanks, Jensen. Any other thoughts from the FBI, Mr. Thompson?”
“Not really, sir. We are fully on board with Homeland Security. All of our special agents and other assets are operating with counterintelligence as first priority. If this goes on for any length of time, we will see a sharp upturn in crime in the country, but that can’t be helped in view of the gravity of the present situation.”
“We appreciate you help, as usual, Sinclair. Where is the CIA in all of this, Director Lang?”
“To be blunt, we hate it all; but, like everyone else in the room, we are onboard. There is area that we have glossed over that I would like to discuss, however. Items 3 and 4 are sticky for us. It is the Company’s conclusion that our Sheep Dog program has been successful beyond our original expectations. We think that is why Sofrekheneh is making this demand. We have gotten them nervous, outright afraid. They call our program, “The Shadow”, which indicates their superstitious natures coming out. That is exactly what we intended, and it is a winner. Why not just deny that we have anything to do with the assassinations and leave it at that?”
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