The next step, precombat inspections, would take place that afternoon. While Cerro was checking the soldiers and their combat loads, First Sergeant Duncan and the executive officer had to check the loads that would be carried under the helicopters. Those loads included antitank mines, barbed wire, sandbags, five-gallon cans of water, extra rations, antitank guided missiles, small-arms ammunition, and, to assist in hauling these items around, two hummvees.
When everyone had dispersed, Cerro looked at his watch. He considered the timetable he had set up for preparation and inspection. There was more than enough time to do what was necessary, get some sleep, and make the 0545-hour liftoff the following morning. Getting ready and getting there were easy. It was after they got there that things would get interesting.
His first concern was having enough time to prepare his position before the Libyans attacked. His second was holding, once they were attacked, until relieved. Provided the intelligence officer was correct and his planning and the company's preparation were sound, they would have just enough time to prepare their positions. Holding on, however, was as much a matter of luck as it was of preparation. Success would come if he guessed right and the enemy cooperated, hitting Cerro's unit where he expected them. If, however, the enemy did not cooperate and did something unexpected, or showed up in greater strength than expected or earlier than anticipated, things would be rough.
For now, however, there was nothing for him to do. Looking about, Cerro saw his officers and NCOs going about their jobs. Rather than become a nuisance, he decided to find himself a quiet spot and have his breakfast. Walking over to where his rucksack was, Cerro reached down, stuck his hand inside, and rummaged about until he found an MRE. Pulling it out, he looked at the brown plastic bag. When he saw it was chicken a la king, Cerro made a face. It ranked next to the notorious pork pattie. The main course of micro chicken chunks and unidentified green, brown, and red particles were suspended in a tan gravy that had the consistency of vomit. As a joke, First Sergeant Duncan started the rumor that feeding chicken a la king to prisoners of war constituted a war crime. At least, Cerro thought, the crackers and candy would be edible.
Sitting in a hotel room, surrounded by equipment, suitcases, and clothing that still had store tags hanging from it, Jan Fields prepared for her next story. Originally brought out of Egypt to cover the meeting of the NATO ministers scheduled for 21 December, she was supposed to have a full day to recover and prepare herself. Her arrival in London, however, coincided with the surprise announcement that the President of the United States and the Soviet premier would meet in Reykjavik on the twenty-first. Instead of twenty-four hours, she was given less than four to pick up whatever winter clothing she needed before being rushed off to Iceland.
Caught in the eye of the storm, Jan had not kept up with all of the developments emanating from the conflict in Africa. Though appalled by the alleged use of chemical weapons and condemning Soviet intervention, most European nations had so far remained aloof and uncommitted. Active and increasing participation in the conflict by U.S. naval and ground forces, however, was forcing a decision upon those nations.
Italy, home base of the 6th Fleet, was the first to be drawn in. That government's decision to allow continued use of bases and facilities drew violent criticism from the Italian Communist party and an exchange of angry notes with the Soviet Union. Next came Britain, the home base for the F-111s that had hit Al Fasher. A letter of concern over the use of British bases for American aircraft involved in the war was sent from the premier of the Soviet Union to the British prime minister. The Soviet note was greeted with the announcement that ships of the Royal Navy would join the American 6th Fleet to ensure Egypt's sovereignty and free navigation of the Suez Canal. The Soviet response to the British announcement drew Turkey into the growing conflict. Transfer of ships from the Soviet Black Sea Squadron required traversing the Dardanelles. Turkey, a loyal NATO member, technically could not restrict the movement, as the conflict in Egypt was not a NATO matter. The issue was therefore officially ignored.
The next Soviet move, however, prompted out of necessity by the Al Fasher raid, could not be ignored by Turkey. A Soviet request to the Turkish government for permission for Soviet military aircraft to overfly Turkish air space was denied. In their response the Turkish government reminded the Soviet Union of preconflict agreements concerning overflights and the number of Aeroflot aircraft that were permitted into Turkish air space. The reaction by the Soviet Union was a harsh response and moves by the Black Sea Squadron that could only be interpreted as threatening.
Unable to maintain total neutrality, NATO called an emergency meeting of its ministers. This act alone, meant to be a low-key affair to discuss the position NATO should take in an open forum, caused concern in the Soviet Union. Within twelve hours of the announcement of the NATO meeting, Warsaw Pact units were placed in a higher state of vigilance. The Soviet move was nothing more than a gesture. As NATO is a military alliance, a military response was used to demonstrate Soviet concerns. Within six hours of the Soviet increase in vigilance, NATO units were ordered to an increased state of vigilance.
Seeing the situation deteriorating, on the nineteenth of December the President of the United States called for a meeting between the principals involved in the conflict. Egypt rejected this proposal out of hand, claiming that it would not negotiate while its 1st Army was being held hostage by Soviet forces. Libya followed suit in rejecting such talks, though its reasoning was questionable and unclear. The American President did not give up. He was determined to take positive action in order to avoid a full-fledged confrontation between the two great powers. In a message to the Soviet premier he insisted that a meeting take place immediately, even if it was just the two of them. That message, carefully leaked to the press corps, was greeted with great enthusiasm worldwide. Lost in that enthusiasm, however, was the President's warning that no agreement would be possible without Egypt's participation or agreement.
Reviewing the draft script and the background information provided by the WNN crew's field producer, Jan was appalled by its lack of depth. There were many words but no complete thoughts, lots of sweeping statements and cliches but no focus. It was as if the field producer were trying to cram the history of the Western world since World War II into a ninety-second news spot. Fay, Jan thought, would never have handed her garbage like that.
The sudden thought of Fay brought Jan's preparation to an abrupt halt. Fay, of course, couldn't help. She was dead. The last time Jan had seen her friend was in a hospital in Cairo, lying on a tile floor in a pool of her own blood, covered by a bloodstained sheet. Fay's death bothered Jan like nothing else she had ever experienced. The revulsion and despair were natural, human reactions. Given the circumstances, they were expected. But what really bothered Jan was her sudden feeling of relief. Fay's death left Jan's life less complicated. Scott Dixon was now unencumbered by a wife, even a divorced one.
That line of logic — so cold, so selfish, so spontaneous — appalled Jan more than anything else. Had she, in her years as a correspondent, become so cynical, so hardened to the horrors and woes of the world around her, that she no longer felt them? Had her training to look at the facts only and treat the human side of tragedy only as an adjunct to a story diminished her own ability to feel?