"They need you in the Situation Room, sir. They wouldn't say why, but they really want to see you ASAP!". He answered.
"This better be good!", I muttered, instantly realizing that whatever the reason was, I sure didn't want it to be good! That would mean something had gone very wrong somewhere in the world.
He followed me down the elevator and to the Situation Room. I remember hearing that Johnson had gone down there at night in his pajamas to run the Viet Nam War. I hoped it wasn't a precedent. I thought it might be, though. There is normally a flow and banter to conversations in the room, and now the air was icy and tense. An Army light bird was running the night shift. "You guys want me for something?", I asked.
He took a deep breath. "Yes, sir. It's Iraq. They have made their move. Heavy bombardment and an attack against Peshmerga positions both east and west of Kirkuk." I grunted and nodded. They had been surging back and forth for the last two weeks, feigning an attack and then backing down. Classic strategy, get your enemy used to your operational tactics, and then when he gets used to them, the next time you don't back down. You move forward. "Sir, they are using chemical weapons."
I stopped and stared at the lieutenant colonel, and then glanced around the room. The others were nodding somberly at this. "Seriously? They used gas? Is this confirmed?"
A major piped up from the corner. "Yes, sir, we are getting aerial confirmation from drones near Kirkuk, and it's worse than that."
"Talk to me, Major."
"They have hit at least two A-teams working with the Peshmerga. We had confirmation from a commo sergeant in one of them, and both are off the air. They are using mustard gas, and it's pretty ugly.", he continued.
I expelled my breath softly. "Ohhhhh ... shit!" Every eye in the room was on me. "All right, give me fifteen minutes to take a quick shower and dress. When I get back, I want a briefing. Start calling in the entire National Security Council, and tell the Joint Chiefs that we will begin operations shortly. Tell them to take the safeties off, because we will be going in hot and hard."
Everybody seemed to stand taller as I said that. I headed back upstairs, to find a worried Marilyn in a bathrobe. "What's wrong?", she asked.
"Don't worry. It's Iraq. You should go back to bed."
"Just like that? What are you doing?", she pressed.
I stopped in the bathroom door and faced her, trying to smile. "I have to take a shower and get dressed. I'll just be downstairs. Don't worry. We're fine and the kids are fine. I just have to go be Presidential for awhile." I turned back and stripped off my robe and pants. I didn't need my wife to worry that I was getting our country involved in a war where people were using weapons of mass destruction.
That's what it was, of course. Mustard gas was a chemical weapon, part of the unholy trinity of nuclear weapons, chemical weapons, and biological weapons. For years our country had active programs in all three areas, but we had renounced chemical and biological weapons for quite some time. Personally, with my previous life experience as a chemist, nerve gas and the other gasses just scared the living hell out of me. A thimbleful of Sarin was enough to kill everybody in a small town or city, and we and the Russians didn't have just thimblefuls, we had warehouses of this stuff spread around the world! The U.S. had been destroying it, as had Russia, but there was still some around.
Mustard gas was a blister agent, and dated back to World War I. It was nasty shit, and exposure can cause huge pus filled painful blisters on any exposed skin. It can also cause blindness and, if inhaled, can totally fuck up your lungs. Even better, if it doesn't kill you, it can cause cancer. The only really good thing about mustard gas is that it isn't incredibly lethal, unless you are breathing the shit straight. It mostly incapacitates the enemy, and overloads whatever medical support they have. It is persistent, so normally you can't enter the area for days or weeks after an application. Civilians, especially children and the elderly, are much more susceptible to mustard gas. Casualties would be very, very high.
More to the point, when the United States forswore using chemical or biological weaponry, part of the evil bargain was that we classed them with nuclear weapons, and proclaimed them equally evil. If you used them, we would retaliate with nukes. This was the first time since the First World War that anybody had used chemical weapons on American troops, and as sure as death and taxes, there would be calls for me to nuke Baghdad.
It was closer to twenty minutes before I made it out of the bathroom, and while I had shaved, I was only wearing khakis and a sport shirt and some loafers. Marilyn was still up, and had a glass of juice ready. I was tempted to tell her I would get something downstairs, but she was too worried. I smiled and drank my juice, and then gave her a big hug. "It will be fine. You should go back to bed. I'll talk to you later." With that I headed back out again.
I arrived back in the Situation Room and was still the only member of the NSC which had arrived, but that was only because I happened to live on the premises. I was promptly informed that everyone had been contacted and was either en route, or not available. Eric Shinseki was currently in Tel Aviv, meeting with Ehud Olmert, the new Prime Minister. Ariel Sharon had suffered an almost mortal stroke in January, and was now pretty much a vegetable.
I sat down at the end of the table, facing the big display screen. "Are there any changes? Are we sure they are using chemical weapons?", I asked.
Lieutenant Colonel Parker was still there, and was cueing up a map of northern Iraq. "Yes, sir. There is no question about it. We managed to get through to one of the A-teams, and the exec confirmed it. They took both high explosive and chemical rounds, and he confirmed the presence of mustard gas. Casualties have mostly been from the HE, but mustard gas can take up to 24 hours to show the symptoms. Still, he confirmed that gas rounds landed and the characteristic smell is present, and that skin blistering is beginning."
I nodded. I picked up the phone and reached the switchboard. "I need to speak to the Prime Minister of Israel as soon as possible. If he's in a meeting, ask somebody to break in. If that doesn't work, get the Ambassador or General Shinseki to break down the doors over there. Thank you." I hung up the phone. It was doubtful that the Prime Minister wouldn't take my call, but he might have been occupied or something.
Vice President McCain was the first person to arrive, followed closely by Frank Stouffer. "What's going on, Carl? Is it Iraq?"
I nodded. "Yes, and they are using mustard gas.", I answered.
John's eyes opened wide at that, though Frank didn't really react. He might not realize just how nasty the stuff was, and how bad a situation this was. Before John had a chance to ask me anything further, Condi Rice came in, dressed about as informally as the rest of us were. "Mister President?", she started, just as the phone in front of me rang.
I looked at the light bird. "Colonel, drag them down there and tell them what you've told me so far. I have to take this." The colonel motioned them to the other end of the room, and I picked up the phone. I stuck my left index finger in my left ear to drown out the babble around me, and held the phone up to my right ear. "Hello?"
"Mister President, this is Ehud Olmert speaking. You asked to speak to me?"
"Thank you for taking my call, Mister Prime Minister. I apologize, I truly do, but this is very important."
"Of course. How can Israel help you, sir?"
"Mister Prime Minister,", I started. "As I am sure General Shinseki has informed you, the United States intends to help defend the Kurds against an Iraqi attack. That attack has just begun, and it is our intention to respond. The response will begin within a matter of hours. Now, the last time the international community went to war with Iraq, in 1991, Hussein responded by firing missiles at your nation. We are very worried that he might do the same at this time, and I must inform you, sir, that he has already used poison gas against both Kurdish and American troops and civilians."