“Damn it Commander, you just lost more sailors in one day than we’ve lost on any day since World War Two! Don’t tell me about typhoons!”
“Sir, we could use some help here. We have detected and engaged elements of a Chinese invasion fleet heading for Kaohsiung. We think we destroyed the first wave…”
The admiral’s eyes bugged out, “You’ve attacked Chinese shipping? Are you fricken insane?”
Meade sighed. He remembered the surprise and the murmuring in the ranks when this admiral was appointed over the heads of more combat-oriented officers. Dunbar’s last assignment had been as head of the UN’s military observer mission in the Balkans. The appointment as CINCPAC was a plum — he was a politically well-connected officer. “Sir, if we are attacked we have the right to self-defense. We are exercising that right. Sir, my ship is dead in the water, anchored in the mouth of Kaohsiung Harbor, and almost blind and defenseless. I have almost 4,000 sailors and Marines to look after and I’m a damn speed bump in front of a full-scale Chinese invasion…” Meade was interrupted by a sailor.
“Sir, the other Harrier reports inbound cruise missiles…”
“How many?” Meade snapped.
“More than he can count.”
Meade was almost thankful for the deadly distraction, “Sir, I’ve got to go. We have inbound missiles and only one Phalanx to deal with them. I’ll have one of my staff brief you…” Meade handed the INMARSAT phone to a stunned lieutenant JG, “Admiral Dunbar wants to speak with you, Lieutenant.”
The White House Situation Room was abuzz with activity. It was now midnight. The President himself had arrived on the scene from his fund-raiser in Philadelphia and was getting briefed on the latest, largest, and potentially the last crisis to confront his almost completed term.
Jack Benson had come over from the CIA to augment the NSC staff as part of the night shift. Donna Klein would be in at 5:00 AM, get briefed by Benson on the night’s occurrences, and assist in providing the President his morning briefing. Now, however, the President was getting his crucial first assessment from exhausted advisors who had too little information to process (the White House’s classified and unclassified e-mail and Internet connections had gone down a couple of hours before, overloaded into paralysis by a crack Chinese hacker team). The room’s air was one of grim desperation — no one wanted to go down in history as starting and losing a major war with the People’s Republic of China.
Bob Lindley, the President’s NSC advisor, still had his tuxedo on. The bow tie had disappeared hours ago. Lindley summarized the events of the day, “Mr. President, we know the following about the Taiwan Straits crisis. First, there have been American casualties. Probably 500 sailors and Marines. Second, we think China has used nuclear weapons against Taiwan…”
“Nuclear weapons! My God…” the President put his hand to the bridge of his nose and forehead and squeezed.
NSC staffer Maus spoke up, “Sir, they weren’t really nukes in the classic sense. They were probably designed to inflict massive electro-magnetic damage. They were exploded in space over Taiwan.”
General Taylor interjected, “Very sophisticated use of weaponry, Mr. President. If the Chinese are using the nuclear-pumped E-bomb in this conflict it would severely impact U.S. forces and our technological superiority. We’d be reduced to fighting with Korean War-era technology if they continued using them. We’d have to respond with nuclear weapons to even the odds against their much larger army. Of course, submarines would be shielded from the effects…” General Taylor paused briefly, then looked at Jack Benson, “I didn’t think the Chinese had the E-bomb yet. Hell, we don’t have any in our stockpiles.”
“But we designed a few and tested a couple in the late ‘80s,” Benson mumbled, “and a few years ago the Chinese obtained the design and test data.” He cleared his throat, “At least we know what we’re up against.”
There was an embarrassed silence quickly broken by Lindley, “Look, gentlemen, we have a massive crisis to deal with here. Let’s not engage in recriminations. As I was saying, we think China detonated two nuclear weapons over Taiwan. These weapons severely damaged the communications, radar and computer systems on board four United States Navy ships that coincidentally happened to be in the Taiwan Strait at the time of the attack. When China launched a large anti-ship missile attack, these ships were hit and badly damaged. We think we have lost two ships, the Belleau Wood and the Dubuque. Third, a flight of four C-17s that were carrying U.S. Army troops to the UN peacekeeping mission in Indonesia are missing and presumed down in the area to the east of Taiwan. There were 104 Army and Air Force personnel on board. We have patrol aircraft out of Okinawa looking for any wreckage or survivors but we have had no luck so far. We think the emergency transmitters on board were probably disabled by the nuclear bombs. There are reports out of Japan that up to nine commercial aircraft are missing in the area too. Fourth, there are reports out of Panama, now confirmed by personnel attached to our embassy there, that the Panama Canal has been severely damaged. It will probably take months to repair. We are working to confirm reports that a Chinese freighter was involved in the accident.”
“Bastards,” General Taylor had been listening intently, matching every word from Lindley with what he considered truth from the briefing he received a few minutes before in the National Military Command Center. He looked up and remembered he was not in the Pentagon among his own kind, “That was no accident Mr. President. The Chinese are playing this game for keeps. That explosion was meant to do two things, slow down our Navy’s ability to reinforce the Pacific and warn us that China will do what it must to win this conflict.”
Maus looked at the general, “That’s a big assumption for something that could be an accident.”
The general shook his head in disbelief at the state of denial that permeated the room.
Lindley drew in a breath and looked at the papers in front of the President, “Finally, Mr. President, we think the U.S. Marines are in Taiwan.” The President looked up in shock. “Worse yet, sir, we think the Navy and Marines have attacked and sunk Chinese shipping.”
“They what?” the President demanded.
“It looks like our military started a war without your permission.” Lindley looked at General Taylor.
The President’s face lost color. He grabbed a glass of water and took a gulp, “Is that true, General?”
The general, trained to tell it like it was, replied, “Yes, Mr. President. The Belleau Wood Amphibious Ready Group suffered an unprovoked attack in international waters. Having been attacked, the Navy and Marine forces are authorized to defend themselves. In the emergency, they retreated to the nearest safe ground to care for their casualties and await orders. Your military is doing fine, sir. They were surprised by the initial Chinese attack but they have recovered as best they can and have defended themselves admirably.”
The President and civilian NSC staffers stared at the general like he was a man from Mars. The four uniformed NSC staffers smiled inwardly. The general was getting a first hand taste of what they had to deal with on a daily basis from this White House.
The President looked at the dark wooden table, then locked eyes with Taylor, “What are our military options, General?”
Taylor suppressed a sigh and looked at his Commander-in-Chief, “Not many right now. The Iraqi mobilization has tied down the Marine division stationed in Okinawa. In addition, we have most of the Army’s 1st Cavalry Division in Kuwait. Our forces in South Korea are on full alert because of the North Korean maneuvers. Most of the Army division based in Hawaii is now in Indonesia. Our nearest aircraft carrier is in the Persian Gulf watching Iraq. We have two aircraft carriers on the West Coast. One is undergoing repairs and the other just completed a nine-month cruise and is in its training cycle.”