Peacekeepers

by James Rosone

  “He should have thought about that before he allowed his country to be used as a launchpad to attack our country,” the President said, but then he paused. Shaking his head, he looked back at Kagel. “Tell him we’ll do our best to avoid attacking his facilities, but he has to keep the UN from using them against us. We can’t allow them to be used indiscriminately.”

  She nodded, then lifted the receiver back to her ear and relayed the message. She gave him a slight smile and thumbs-up. The warning had been delivered and received.

  “Sir,” one of the military aides said as he walked over to the President, “I have the Chinese Foreign Minister on the line.” He held out an encrypted smartphone.

  All eyes turned to look at the President when he took the phone. He placed the phone on speaker and then set it down in front of him so the others in the room could hear.

  “Minister Wu, this is President Sachs.”

  “Mr. President, I was just informed that American forces savagely attacked two of our naval destroyers in Canadian waters and shot down four of our fighter planes in Canadian airspace. This is utterly unacceptable. This is nothing short of an act of war against the United Nations peacekeeping force and the People’s Republic of China!” the Chinese Foreign Minister shouted angrily at him. His typically excellent English had become much more heavily accented as his anger got the best of him.

  “Minister Wu, your ships attacked and destroyed four American helicopters that were attempting to recover our carrier from its renegade crew,” replied Sachs angrily. “We only attacked your ships in self-defense and retaliation for the destruction of our helicopters.”

  “Those helicopters had crossed into Canadian airspace and were attacking a ship under control of the United Nations. You can’t attack the UN and expect to get away with it.”

  “That ship belongs to the United States Navy, not the UN, and we are recovering our ship. If China, or any other nation, attacks our military forces again, I will order those military units destroyed. I highly suggest that your nation end this military buildup you’re doing in Mexico, Panama, and Canada before it leads to war,” the President shouted back.

  There was a brief pause on the other end. The Chinese Foreign Minister was probably weighing what to say next.

  “Mr. President, you have until January 20th to leave office, when your term as President officially ends. If you don’t adhere to the United Nations’ resolution, the world will remove you, violently if necessary. Your successor must take his rightful place as President. Good day!” he said and then hung up on them.

  Vice President Luke Powers, who usually stayed silent in these meetings, remarked, “I think that went better than expected.” That elicited a few snickers in the room, which helped to alleviate some of the tension.

  The Vice President then looked at the Secretary of Defense and nodded, as if giving him instructions to say something.

  Chuck McElroy looked at the President. “Sir, the Vice President and I, along with the Joint Chiefs, believe this situation is going to spiral out of control now that we have taken this military action to recover our ship. I believe we should move forward with initiating Operation Fortress.”

  “I have to agree with their assessment, Mr. President,” Secretary Kagel said. “If we wait much longer, the UN is going to hit us. They’re going to be screaming for blood after this raid.”

  Taking a moment to think about it, the President steepled his fingers and stared down at the notepad in front of him. He felt like the weight of the world was resting on his shoulders. What he said in the next few minutes would have a profound impact on the future course of not just his country, but the world at large. The Pentagon had initially planned to begin Operation Fortress on January 15th, if it genuinely looked like the UN would not back down. Now his advisors were telling him he should speed it up by a week.

  Sachs lifted his head up to look at his Vice President. “Luke, you’ve been involved in all the same meetings I have. You’ve met with the congressional leaders, cabinet secretaries, and some of our key allies we still have left. Do you really believe a conflict is inevitable?” he asked.

  Luke was typically a quiet, reserved man. He prided himself on listening more than he spoke. In a way, he was the polar opposite of the President, but that also made him a good VP. He was the yin to the President’s yang, and that had served them both well. He took a deep breath and let it out, as if carefully calculating his response.

  “I think the wheels leading to a conflict were set in motion a very long time ago, Mr. President,” he began. “While I would normally advise that we just not play the game, that we sit on the sidelines and let the world sort out its own problems—we can’t do that this time. For one reason or another, some outside force has conspired to take us down. It reminds me of what that Harvard professor Graham Allison said about the Thucydides Trap. When a rising power causes fear in an established power, it almost always escalates toward war as the rising power looks to unseat the reigning power. In our case, an alliance has formed to replace America as the established power, and for better or worse, we now have to deal with it.”

  He sighed briefly as he surveyed the others in the room. Everyone was clearly hanging on his every word. “I believe a conflict will happen, whether we attack them first or we wait to be attacked. If we seize the initiative, we can at least ensure we get the first couple of punches in, and that might be all that’s needed to win this looming fight.”

  The President nodded at what seemed like sound advice. Then he looked at his senior advisors. “If we attack now, are our forces ready?” he asked. “Is everyone in place? Because once the missiles and bullets start to fly, it’s going to be go-go-go. There won’t be time to wait for more forces to show up. We’re going to have to go with whatever forces we have ready and nearby.”

  Chuck looked at General Peterson, who nodded. “We had planned to initiate combat operations by the 15th, Mr. President. We could move that forward a few days, but not much more. We’re waiting on having a few more brigades deploy near the border and further rebalancing our National Guard forces to key areas.”

  Sighing, the President looked at the two of them, examining their countenances. Then he shifted his gaze to the Secretary of State, who likewise nodded in agreement.

  “All right, ladies and gentlemen. Issue the warning orders. Combat operations start on the 13th then. General, defeat this enemy force and protect the territorial integrity of our country. Use whatever force is necessary, short of nuclear war.”

  With the decision made, a burst of activity began. The generals issued the orders, and once these actions had started, the series of events would be all but impossible to stop. For better or worse, the nation was now moving to war. On January 13th, 2021, the world would be reminded once again why America was the most powerful military on earth.

  Chapter 9

  Thucydides's Trap

  January 1, 2021

  From the Associated Press:

  In a spectacular midnight raid, the US Marines and Navy SEALs carried out a heliborne assault last night to recapture the supercarrier USS Nimitz, anchored just off the coast of Victoria, British Columbia.

  It was exactly sixteen days ago when the captain, Terry Pearl, along with roughly six hundred members of his crew, defected with the ship to join the United Nations–led military force building up in Canada and Mexico. The Pentagon confirmed this morning that at least fifty-two Marines were killed in the assault, with many more wounded in the short but violent fight that ensued on the ship.

  The raid lasted roughly forty minutes before the remaining defenders were convinced to surrender. Rather than lose the rest of their men defending a ship that would ultimately be captured, the German Naval Commander in charge of the French and German Marines responsible for the defense of the ship surrendered to the US Marines.

  More than 110 French, German, and American sailors died while trying to resist the heliborne assault and capture of the Nimitz. The P
entagon confirmed that more than 160 French and German military personnel are now being held as prisoners at the US naval facility on Whidbey Island. The Navy has confirmed that they have detained all officers and enlisted members of the Nimitz that participated in the coup d’état, to include Captain Terry Pearl. Rear Admiral Thomas Ward, however, was not on the ship at the time it was raided and is believed to still be on Canadian soil.

  Responding to the events, the Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Chester Smith, stated, “It’s a sad and terrible day when we lose a sailor or Marine. It’s an even greater travesty when those sailors are lost because of the misguided decisions of their commanding officers. I can assure you, the Navy will be fully prosecuting the leaders of this coup d’état under the Uniformed Code of Military Justice. Regardless of their political disagreements, these officers and senior enlisted personnel not only betrayed their oath of office, they betrayed their country.”

  Admiral Smith also confirmed that during the heliborne assault, four US Marine gunships attacked and destroyed two Canadian Navy patrol boats that may have been trying to come to the aid of the defenders. During the confusion and melee that ensued, two Chinese Navy Luyang I–class destroyers operating under the guidance of the UN peacekeeping force fired multiple surface-to-air missiles at the Marine gunships. The admiral confirmed that all four Super Cobra attack helicopters were destroyed. There were no survivors.

  In retaliation, and in defense of the ongoing heliborne assault, US Naval aircraft attacked the Chinese destroyers, causing significant damage to both ships and neutralizing them as a threat.

  High above in the skies, four Chinese Air Force J-11 fighters attacked the American F/A-18 Super Hornets that had attacked the Chinese naval ships. The J-11s fired air-to-air missiles, shooting one of the American fighters down. The pilot was able to eject and was safely recovered. During this aerial engagement, all four Chinese J-11s were shot down by US Navy F-35 stealth fighters.

  This marked the first time the F-35 has seen aerial combat. Following this brief aerial engagement, the Canadian government, along with the UN military commander, General Guy McKenzie, ordered all aircraft to stay away from the border area in an attempt to prevent the situation from escalating further.

  *******

  From the Guardian newspaper:

  President Sachs ordered an attack against UN naval peacekeeping ships in the Salish Sea, just off the coast of Victoria, British Columbia. Two Chinese naval ships were brutally attacked by US naval forces after they shot down four US Marine helicopters that were part of a much larger heliborne air assault to recapture the USS Nimitz, the American supercarrier whose commander had defected with their ship to join the growing Canadian peacekeeping force in Canada. It is unclear how the UN and the world will react to this hostile military provocation by the Sachs administration.

  *******

  From the South China Morning Post:

  President Chen Baohua denounced the American attack on the UN naval ships as a blatant and premeditated attack on the world. President Chen said in a public address that “this wanton attack by President Sachs on the UN naval force and the downing of four People’s Liberation Army Air Force fighters will not go unanswered.”

  *******

  Ontario, Canada

  Canadian Forces Base Petawawa

  Holding the phone tightly, General McKenzie tried to bite his tongue as Secretary-General Johann Behr demanded to know how the UN naval ships in Victoria could have been so brutally attacked and the Nimitz captured.

  Politicians always think they know how to fight a war better than the generals and admirals, he thought in disgust.

  “Sir, if you’ll recall, I requested that we put our naval task force to sea and not stay in the confines of the Salish Sea. It was an indefensible position, and it left our ships vulnerable to attack,” McKenzie responded aloud. He held the phone receiver away from his ear while Johann shouted about how this attack could ruin everything.

  Once Johann had said his piece, McKenzie calmly replied, “This was not a one-sided disaster. We gained valuable information from the short engagement, and we can use this as the validation we need to start military operations. I’ll agree the loss of those ships will hurt us militarily, especially out west, but again, this gives our forces the justification to begin military operations immediately. As a matter of fact, the Chinese are asking me for permission to start their part of this plan. Do I have your authorization to let them begin?”

  A short pause ensued before McKenzie heard the answer he was waiting for. A smile spread across his face. Albeit they’d be moving their timeline up by a couple of weeks, but they could make it work.

  When he hung up the phone, he had a coded message sent to the German and Chinese navies to begin Operation Paukenschlag, or Drumbeat in English. This was the secret mission that would permanently put a dent in the American Navy and Air Force before the war even started.

  With his naval orders issued, it was now time to move the command element of the UN force to the former NATO command bunker at CFB North Bay. The Americans would be coming after him with a vengeance, and he had no plans to get vaporized by one of the bunker-buster bombs for which the Americans were so well known.

  *******

  Bellingham, Washington

  A week after his trip to the Costco, Jake Baine got a call from his old company commander from Iraq, Captain Al Slevin. It had been nearly three years since they’d seen each other. Slevin had been promoted to major in the time that had elapsed.

  “I was wondering if you could stop by our old armory on Sunday after we’re done for the day,” Major Slevin invited. “A bunch of the guys want to have a few beers together and catch up.”

  Truthfully, Jake was very excited about the call and the invitation—he missed the camaraderie of his old unit. However, he sensed that there was something else going on. Rather than press the issue, though, Jake just responded, “Sure, sounds like a plan,” and figured he’d decode the mystery when he got there.

  The rest of the week went by expeditiously. There was an awful lot of chatter at work about the standoff between the UN and the President. Jake did his best to bite his tongue and stay out of it.

  When Saturday rolled around, Jake spent most of the day out at his hunting lodge up in the nearby mountains. His great-grandfather had bought two hundred acres of land back in the 1940s, following the end of World War II. He’d built a small house, which was originally a one-room log cabin but had been expanded over time into a four-bedroom retreat. When Jake’s father had died last year, he’d inherited the property and built two small bunkers there to hide his emergency supplies. Jake didn’t consider himself to be an over-the-top prepper, but he did want to make sure that he had enough supplies to make sure his wife and a few close friends could survive whatever happened.

  Jake’s original concern wasn’t so much a civil war or foreign invasion as it was the world’s electrical grid being wiped out by a solar flare or taken down by some rogue hacker group. He felt those were far more likely events. Even if the grimmest predictions of global warming came true, at an elevation of two thousand feet, he and his family were well above the danger zone of rising flood waters.

  He and Marcy actually spent a fair number of their Saturdays getting the cabin dusted, cleaned, and stocked with goods they might need in the near future. Like the bunker in his backyard, Jake had a couple of shipping containers buried on the property. He’d gone to great lengths to make sure they would be hidden in plain sight. Marcy had created a vegetable garden over the top of one, and Jake had purchased an old, rusty, beat-up car to be placed over the other. Their entrances were connected by a third shipping container, which acted like a hallway between them. On top of that container was a smokehouse, which had the secret entrance allowing him to access his underground facility.

  When Sunday afternoon came, Jake hopped in his truck and drove the fifty miles to his old National Guard armory to meet up with some old friends.
By the time he arrived, it was dark, and they had dismissed everyone for the day. Jake walked up to the side entrance and pulled on the handle—sure enough, it was unlocked. Knowing the place like the back of his hand, he walked over to the room that acted as the bar.

  He saw Major Slevin there, along with two of his other buddies from back in the day. There were also two other faces he didn’t recognize.

  “Jake, it’s good to see you,” said Major Slevin with a smile. He sauntered up to him and the two shook hands.

  “You too, sir. I can’t believe they made you a major,” Jake joked good-naturedly.

  “Yeah, well, you know what they say—if you stick around long enough, they promote you,” Slevin responded with a smirk.

  One of the staff sergeants piped up. “Hey, it’s good to see you, Jake. I hear you’re working for the county in one of them cushy government jobs.” Jake suddenly realized how much time had passed; the young man before him had been a buck sergeant when Jake had still been in the unit.

  “It’s good to see you too,” Jake responded. “Yeah, the office job is easy, but it’s boring…so, why did you all have me drive fifty miles down here to see you on a Sunday evening? What’s going on?”

  “Let’s go take a seat over here,” Major Slevin said, ushering him over to the more comfortable seating area. “George, why don’t you go lock the place up. Let’s make sure no one else is lingering around who could possibly hear our conversation.”

  Eventually, they all found themselves sitting around one of the tables, sipping on a beer. “Look, a fight’s coming and there isn’t much any of us can do about it,” Slevin began. “The governor wants the National Guard to side with him and this UN force. Meanwhile, big Army federalizing us before that could happen and putting us under their control. Most of the state’s Guard units have already deployed elsewhere. We’re one of the few that’s sticking around. In either case, things are about to get messy. What many of us in the unit are trying to do is prepare to wage a guerilla fight once we fall behind enemy lines.”