The agreements were in place; it was now for both presidents to make a joint press conference to the assembled multitude of media organisations.
This time, the Russian media, were freed to report as it was spoken; it had taken three days before the speeches were agreed by both parties. In the end, there was agreement as to the content.
Both presidents would take the podium at the same time; each would speak for five minutes and then the other for a similar time and so on to a conclusion.
The presentation had been timed at forty minutes, and there would be no questions from the assembled media. The wording was so precise that no unrehearsed comment or misinterpretation from either president could be allowed.
Tensions had already eased around the world; there was a feeling of relief in most places. This had for most been the closest that they had seen to war.
All of the military forces that had mobilised and had raised their level of alert readiness had started to stand down. There was a mood of optimism that had not been seen in the world for many years. Some idea of where the discussions in Geneva had been heading leaked. The media were always there to offer their interpretation, and to bring in their so-called experts to offer their profundity of the situation. The experts well-meaning and no doubt very knowledgeable were invariably wrong. Most were academics, and they certainly didn’t have the full details of the many issues and areas covered in Geneva.
They could only at best fill up five minutes of TV time. The think tank was in the thick of it all the time; they, of course, were to a large part academic, but they had been there at the start, and they were well placed to understand the machinations and the variables.
They had already moved on to another issue for them to solve, but that would be a solution sometime in the future. They were going to resolve the Middle East question, the ongoing issue relating to Israel and its neighbours, as well as the resolution of the strife in many of the countries since the Arab spring.
The presentation of the presidents had been set up for 2 p.m. A worldwide viewing audience of unprecedented numbers would be watching. Both of them, accomplished as both of them were in the public forum, were a little nervous at the enormity of this.
The President of Russia was the first to speak; it seemed logical as it was to be perceived that he was forced to act due to American aggression. No such words as aggression at this presentation, though; it was to be couched in solid diplomatic language.
He spoke for the first five minutes about the abiding friendship between our two great countries, the parallels in their cultures. He spoke about the new Russia, a democratic and free society that had no desire and intent to become involved in armed conflict with their neighbours.
It was the right touch for this presentation. The American president was in a similar vein although he added clearly his wishes to help the people of Afghanistan, to lead them on the road to economic sustainability and to be able to hold their head up high in the world as an equal.
The initial five minutes by the presidents over, they then spoke in more details about the events leading up to the current situation.
They elaborated on the situation moving forward, the plans for the future, the openness and longed for peace in this challenging part of the world.
The Russian president spoke in detail about the concern that an American intervention in Afghanistan would impact on to our former members of the Russian Federation, countries that Russia holds dear to our hearts.
The American president spoke of the reasons for entering Afghanistan, the benefits for the people, and how it would transform not only Afghanistan but the region.
The fundamentalists had been dealt a blow; the senseless violence had abated.
It was a highly skilled, extremely well-prepared presentation, with the necessary diplomatically structured wording necessary at moments such as this.
Both the presidents outlined, almost in a bullet point fashion, the outcome of the discussions, the economic agreements reached, the planned distribution of the resources.
The Russian president spoke of how Russia would control oil distribution into Europe. The American president did not talk about lithium.
The withdrawal back to Russia was outlined; the plans for closer cooperation and discussions to ensure such a situation never eventuated again, reaffirming our mutual friendship.
There was mention of the solving of the massive fuel import bill for Afghanistan using Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.
The American president gave a concise, and detailed breakdown of benefits to the people of Afghanistan, of how there was to be a major transformation in the economics of the country. Afghanistan was not to stay a debtor nation and within two years it would no longer require financial support from the West.
The role of the administrators was explained, and their putting in place of systems that would ultimately be handed over to the Afghan people.
The presentation lasted for exactly forty minutes and concluded.
These two people were consummate politicians; they had said what was needed to be said, warm handshakes and hugs obligatory, and left briskly.
The doomsday clock went back five minutes at the conclusion. The world breathed a sigh of relief; many countries experienced partying on the streets. The majority of people had sensed the volatility that would have occurred in the world if a resolution had not been forthcoming.
There are those that would say that the cost of the mineral wealth was too high; others who would say that the rewards regarding world stability justified all that had happened.
It was not only a safer world; it was to experience dramatic reductions in the level of damaging atmospheric pollution with the move towards electrically powered transportation.
The rogue nations that had held the free world ransom over an oil barrel would find that once, the full impact of lithium started to impact on their economies they would be obliged to act in a more conciliatory and agreeable manner.
Their excesses and their oblique support of renegade and fundamentalist groups would be severely hampered; their economies would require their full attention.
All of these scenarios had been seen by the team; they were already planning on how to deal with this.
Chapter 30
The day had come for a presidential statement from the White House. The contents of the speech had been known for a long time; long before the final agreement with Russia. This was to be the crowning moment for the president. He was not the same personable president who had expressed early enthusiasm at that first meeting in the White House. He was, however, a person who had been integral to the plan, not always in a direct manner, but behind the scenes, oiling the wheels of government, keeping the focus of the politicians in Washington as it was needed. He was an exceptional political animal.
His story and his meteoric rise is a story worth recounting before his moment in history. He had first become associated with the think tank as a business advisor; a title he did not intend to keep for long. Mainstream politics was where he wanted to be.
First, he needed to be elected to the U.S. Senate in Washington.
He had reasoned to get there that marriage was the quickest way. With his winning charm, he had wooed for the hand of Charlotte, the 25-year-old daughter of a Michigan philanthropist by the name of Herbert Rightway. He was serious old money, who made healthy donations to both the main political parties in the country.
Our erstwhile presidential hopeful, or at least for the moment, our Senate hopeful had no concern as to which party was for him, his only concern was the ultimate price. They were duly married in style in Rightway’s upper Michigan mansion on the lakeside. Only the best people received invites.
Charlotte, with her supermodel looks, her ability to charm, and her father’s contacts was just the right person. In the mind of our future senator, she was not the greatest intellect, but he would forgive her for this. He was on his way.
Our smart political operator wi
th the right connections and the highly acceptable politician’s wife was nominated and duly elected to represent Michigan.
The rise from there was meteoric; his term in the Senate was only to last a short period of time before the highest office in the land was a possibility. He was well known to the population; he used the media with the aplomb and skill of a consummate professional. The public trusted him; he always seemed to say the right words, to be on the right issues, and to show the common-sense and wisdom that the electorate always hopes to see in their elected officials.
The president raised himself to the microphone and spoke. He had been waiting his whole life for this moment.
‘I stand before you today as a proud American. This is a day for us to celebrate. Before we do, let us reflect on the situation as it has unfolded. I was involved in the planning of the events that we reflect on today as a business advisor to the president; here I am today as the president of this great country.
‘I came onboard in an advisory capacity to a think tank; that had evaluated the premise that the mineral wealth of Afghanistan was substantial but unattainable, given the situation that was to be found in that country.
‘They evaluated a scenario whereby not only could that wealth be attained, but that it would have the ability to transform Afghanistan and to raise the people there from the centuries of drudgery and poverty that they had endured. It was an ambitious and idealistic plan, daring in its scope.
‘As we know, there were issues that prevented our realising that plan. The possibility of negotiating with a moderate Taliban, where we may have structured a deal, would not have remained sustainable. The radical element of that organisation, plus all their foreign fighters would never have agreed to such an arrangement, and as such would have continued to destabilise and cause mayhem.
‘Then there was the central government, the Warlords and the various interests around the country who would never agree, due to their inherited manner of corruption and tribal infighting. We could not allow this condition in the country to continue.
‘I should make it clear that I was an occasional member of the think tank, and there are others more deserving of credit.
‘I will be making those persons known and acknowledging them with the highest accolades that can be accorded.
‘It is easy for a person such as I at this point in time to take all the credit, but I feel humbled by these people. These people did not always feel comfortable with the actions that were committed, but nevertheless stayed at their post.
‘I must also remember those in the region that suffered anguish in their allotted actions, those who physically suffered, and those who ultimately lost their lives.
‘Many of those will remain forever nameless, although those of us who know them and their courage and bravery will ensure that this grateful nation, this grateful world will reward them and their families in the manner that they deserve.
‘We, in the place of power, always have a tendency to deal with the reality and the impending reality placed in front of us. The think tank could extend their minds into the infinite variables.
‘Whereas what they had first seen, the attainment of that mineral wealth and in particular one mineral, other possibilities and scenarios started to be revealed.
‘Let me outline where their thought processes started to lead them. They recognised that if we had seen the possibility of securing the mineral wealth for the Afghani people and ourselves, then their neighbours to the north would have, as well.
‘Whereas in the ’80s, the Soviet Union had entered Afghanistan for strategic reasons, it had left within a ten-year period, with little to show for it except a great loss of life, modern day Russia could be tempted to go back for the appreciable wealth that was now apparent.
‘Here to them was a situation whereby the invasion would pay for itself and ultimately make a profit. It was a unique situation, which the leadership in Moscow could sell to their people. They may claim to be free and open, but in reality, their press is anything but that, and they could engineer the acceptance by the people of Russia.
‘This raised a further question to our team of dedicated persons. If they intended to enter Afghanistan, then how would they reach it? The Soviet Union had collapsed; they no longer controlled those countries to the North of Afghanistan. What would they do, we have now found out? They attempted a discussion with those countries, but no country would want their former occupier on their north and south borders. Ultimately, Russia exerted military control and moved through. They will no doubt attempt eventually to install puppet regimes in those countries, whereas we in the west will endeavour to assist them in maintaining their independence.
‘It was always apparent that Russia would endeavour to expand its borders; it is within their psyche whether Tsarist, communist or democratic to control the countries that border on to it. There was never any illusion that this was going to occur in time. We saw their actions in the Ukraine.
‘Our team had seen all those scenarios; they had worked them through with the myriad of possibilities that were placed in front of them.
‘Let us return to Afghanistan, and what we have now. We, on behalf of the people of Afghanistan have claimed all of the mineral resources of that country. We will honour any agreements that foreign companies had in place, subject to the following: that they had obtained those agreements without fraudulent behaviour, that they have actively invested in those mining locations, and that they have achievable plans for those mines and oil and natural gas reserves.
‘We are in discussions with the Chinese and Indian governments on such matters, as it appears that they may have valid claims.
‘We should also be clear that fifty per cent of any profits would belong to the Afghan people. This money will be held in trust; it will not be given to any government department or official, any Warlord or regional commander until it can be proven that they are capable, scrupulously honest, and genuinely concerned for the betterment of their country and their people.
‘We are setting up a complex and disciplined team of financial and economic experts, coupled with a governance team that will be the ultimate authority for that country.
‘Any aspersions of corruption, dishonesty, nepotism, will automatically exclude those persons from public office in the country.
‘All mining claims that had been divided up due to cronyism and other methods, and have had no activity and no investment will be invalidated. The disparity of imports to exports which is currently over $5 billion in the negative for Afghanistan will end.
‘The country will earn its way in the world. It holds some of the largest reserves of many key minerals in the world, and it is believed that these assayed reserves may be conservative.
‘Let me hold up the example of oil. Afghanistan currently imports $3.5 billion of fuel per year, while they sit on reserves of $180 billion. They do not have the refining capacity at the present moment, and our experts in the country are evaluating what can be done in the short term. It may be possible to utilise refining capacity in Uzbekistan for the time being. That will further assist that country in resisting the yoke of Mother Russia.
‘No foreign troops, or at least no substantial numbers of foreign troops are to remain in the country. We are not a conquering force. That has never been our intention. We are there to assist the people, and to remove the influence of the disparate groups who thrive in such environments.
‘There is one resource that interests us greatly, a metal by the name of lithium. The largest reserves in the world are believed to be present in the country.
‘It is a key component of rechargeable batteries for smart phones, laptops and in the future, electric cars.
‘We now have sufficient lithium to drive forward the introduction of electric cars and urban utility vehicles. Currently, car companies in the USA are embracing this technology but have been in part limited by the supply of lithium. We will ensure that supply, and we will ensure that we are t
he leaders in that technology. Our car industry will become resurgent again, and to that end we will be introducing legislation to ensure that fifty per cent of all new cars in the USA will be electric powered in five years. All utility vehicles and urban transportation operating within a fifty miles’ radius of their nominated base will be electric within the same period.
‘The world will take our lead, and we will supply the majority of the key ingredient for the required batteries.
‘I am firm in my belief that not only will America become the dominant economy in the world within the next two years; we will lead the world in the reduction of the dependence on fossil fuels, and start the fight back on global warming and climate change.
‘Our ability in halting the advance of Russia has tempered their desire to head down the road of imperialism for the immediate future, and its subjugation of other sovereign countries. This was largely achieved without the might of the military of two powers facing each other across a battlefield.
‘We are clearly the dominant superpower militarily, although the success of revitalising Afghanistan, and putting it and the region back on the path of forward thinking was achieved with minimal military intervention.
‘This is a great moment for this country. It is a defining moment that will go down in history. It is a time when we changed the course of human history. A time when radicalism, fundamentalism, and terrorism were all dealt mortal blows.
‘Our vigilance will always be required; there are always pariah’s that will find the weak spots in our defences.
‘We as a nation and a responsible member of the world community are able to hold our heads up high. We, because of the initial evaluating and hypothesising of a small group of people have brought not only us, but also Afghanistan, and a vast number of people into an enlightened, safer and more optimistic world.
Prelude To War: World War 3 (Steve Case Thriller Book 1) Page 24