LIARS the News Industry
Page 32
NORAD, COLORADO - Marine One descended from clear Colorado skies. Brisk, windy conditions made the landing a little touchy, but finally the wheels touched down on the small fence enclosed helicopter pad. The secret service was out in full force, standing at a distance.
The rotor blades gradually dropped in speed at long last coming to a complete stop. The hatch door opened, the President appeared descending the steps, half saluting the Marine guard, taking a few more steps before pausing to light up a cigarette.
One of the plain clothes agents approached the President directly as the remaining agents moved to encircle the President like some kind of human shield.
“This way, Mr. President.”
By this time Nelson Frank and Senator Jim Rooney had also stepped down from the helicopter and began following Martinez’s lanky, long strides. No one said a thing. Everyone within his administration had just one thing on their mind and they weren’t going to talk about it in public. NORAD had been chosen as Martinez's temporary safe house in as much for its proximity to Los Angeles and the security the underground facility offered from chemical and nuclear attack.
Minutes later the President and members of his administration sat in leather chairs lining both sides of a rectangular wood table. A small, black speaker-box sat in the middle, a flat-screen display hung on the wall at the far end opposite the President. The single ashtray, empty thirty minutes earlier, now had several butts, one still smoldering. This was not the normal photo-op; writing pads, pens and laptops lay strewn in front of each participant. Some chatted amongst themselves, while others were busy doodling with some portable, electronic device. Martinez busied himself by lighting up one more cigarette, then, with nose raised high like some Greek God, blew smoke rings at the overhanging, light fixture. There was a knock at the doorway and a NSA (National Security Administration) official entered the room and was immediately acknowledged by the Chief of Staff.
“What word do you have for the President?”
“Mr. President, it now appears the attacks were carried out using some kind of chemical agent. We also believe electromagnetic pulse bombs might have also been used due to the complete blackout that occurred at the target sites.”
“What were the targets?”
The President and his people had expectant, glowing faces like children on a Christmas morning getting ready to open up their presents. Everyone was expecting to hear the targets had been population centers, or the major financial districts like Wall Street, or Chicago Commodities Exchange. Martinez, Nelson, Rooney, and everyone sitting at the table waited with bated breath.
“Mr. President, it now appears several major news companies were the targets of the attack.”
“What!”
No one could believe what they just heard.
“Mr. President, right now, it appears that news companies were the focus of the attacks.”
The NSA Official could not help but notice the sudden change in atmosphere; the expressions of his audience instantly changed from eager, almost glowing faces to expressions etched with shock and dismay.
Martinez, still not believing his ears sprang upwards in his chair.
“The attacks were against news companies? Nothing else?”
“Yes, Mr. President.”
You could hear a pin drop.
“Mr. President, the military has been put on highest alert, the Air Force is providing cover over the largest metropolitan areas and all public and private air traffic has been grounded. The FBI, the NSA and Department of Defense are all mobilized.”
"What is the state of the news networks, are they still broadcasting?"
"No sir, the major networks are no longer broadcasting."
“No longer broadcasting?” growled the Chief of Staff with a gaze of disbelief. “Which ones?”
“None of them, sir. The news networks are not transmitting.”
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MANHATTAN, NY - The agent glanced at his watch and then eyed the surveillance monitor to see the prisoner sleeping. The Middle Eastern male was picked up during a raid of a terrorist safe house that had gone up in a horrific explosion. This guy was seen safeguarding the premises. Unfortunately, he was able to alert the other terrorists before he could be apprehended.
The tip off had come from an anonymous source. The call into the New York branch was traced to a pay phone from one of the Washington, D.C. neighborhoods. Investigators found no one willing to help identify who the anonymous caller might have been until they started throwing cash around. That was when the FBI discovered a black sedan was seen in the area, with two white male occupants. The identification of the do-gooders remained a mystery.
The prisoner’s driver’s license stated he was a Mr. Abu Mohammed, but it was a forgery. Running his photo through CIA matching software provided a single hit: Siratum Ferdaus. The photo ID showed a man suspected of being a low-level lieutenant in ‘Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula’...this was all the administration would need.
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“My fellow Americans. The nation was attacked by terrorists claiming to have ties to our mortal enemies, Al-Qaeda. I would like to assure you that I am doing everything in my power to protect you, the citizens of the United States. I will get this nation through this attack in the same way Franklin Delano Roosevelt got the country through the crisis of World War II, when our great nation was also attacked by those hostile to us.
“Tonight I have issued an Executive Order putting our nation on a war footing. I am also declaring with the evidence I have in hand that a “State of War” now exists between the United States and three countries in the Middle East. Iran, Syria and Uzbekistan have all played a part in the attack against our great country and they will be made to pay.
“I have been advised that under conditions of war the President possesses greater powers to act on behalf of the people. As such, I am hereby taking those steps I deem necessary for the welfare of the nation. The necessity of Congressional approval on my decisions is hereby overridden to keep Americans safe. My first act is to postpone the November election until the country’s safety can be assured. The Attorney General has been consulted as have the fourth Judicial Circuit. Each has concurred the President under conditions of war is within his legal rights to initiate such an injunction.
“My dear Americans, things will change for all of us. War forces its citizens to change…”
The President’s speech went on for nearly an hour. The shock of his actions would have immediate repercussions, and what remained of the press attempted to make up for the void of the major media figures that were no longer in the picture.
The news anchor, Terry Henderson, reported on National Government Radio, “President Nathan Martinez, the forty-eighth person to hold the office has declared the nation to be in a State of War. We’ve just gotten the results from our ‘spot poll’ of a selected group of Americans who watched the President’s speech. Here to explain the results of the poll is our analyst, Tosh Zanga. Tosh, what did your poll uncover?"
"Terry, the poll showed conclusively Americans support the idea of the President delaying the November elections, at least until the issue of this war is settled.”
“Fifty-two percent of those polled supported the President's actions, forty-eight percent were in opposition. The error was plus, or minus five percent.”
The analyst and news-anchor spent the next fifteen minutes discussing the theories behind the survey and what they meant before the public news channel went to a break.
Off the air, the news-anchor was incredulous at the polling results. The numbers just didn’t add up what with all the negative polling for the President.
Henderson, a new hire just out of journalism school and wet behind the ears, asked, “Tosh, how in the world did you get a favorable poll for what amounts to a seizing of power?”
“Simple. My boss jacked up the size of the minority respondents of the sample."
"Is th
at ethical?"
"No, of course not, but we are here to support the President.”
THE DAYS FOLLOWING