“Possibly, sir.”
“But why Iran? As far as I’ve been briefed, there has never been any firm connection made between the Washington attack and Iran.”
“The Russians exported Kilos to a number of countries, but only two of them would be serious contenders for being the warhead deliverer: North Korea and Iran. In the months leading up to the attack, there was no heightening of tensions with North Korea that would have provided them with the incentive to attack us. On the other hand, there were a series of showdowns with Iran during that time period with a lot of tough talk and saber-rattling. It’s not a real leap to conclude that it was an Iranian submarine that delivered the warhead.”
“There’s no direct evidence of that, though. Is that correct?” the president asked.
“That’s correct, sir, although we do know that an Iranian Kilo, the Yunes, deployed on April ninth of that year and, in an unusual move, disappeared into the Indian Ocean. We lost contact with her shortly thereafter and had no contact until she reappeared in approximately the same location on June seventh. As you know, the Washington attack was on May fifteenth.”
“Was that an unusual deployment pattern for an Iranian submarine?”
“Yes, sir. It was a highly unusual pattern because Iranian Kilos rarely leave the Persian Gulf and rarely stay out for more than two weeks.”
“The Yunes was gone for almost two months,” noted the president. “Could she have gotten to the U.S. East Coast and back in that time?”
“Oh yes, sir,” said Lannis. “A modern day Kilo is certainly as capable as the diesel-electric boats we had in World War Two, and those old boats made plenty of transoceanic deployments. A month each way is plenty of time. The Kilo would probably run submerged during the day to avoid detection. That’s slow going, but at night she would run much faster, either on the surface or with a snorkel, powered by her diesels.”
“I can see why some people would conclude that Iran was the culprit,” said the president. “However, there’s no clear proof. The evidence is all circumstantial.” President Thornton grew contemplative and slipped back into his Vermont accent as he mused, almost as if to himself, “If George Adams attacks Iran, or any other Muslim country, it will be wicked bad!” Then, regaining his composure, the president continued, “There will also be uprisings and civil wars in most Western countries between their Muslim populations and the remainder of their citizens. Hell, Germany is probably three or four percent Muslim by now. France is probably five or six percent. That means five to ten million Muslims in each country. And the rest of Europe and the U.S. are almost in the same boat.”
“Adding to our concern, Mister President, is the fact that the annual hajj pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia begins this year in mid-September — just a few weeks away,” noted General Daramus. “Millions of Muslims from around the world will converge on Mecca and Medina in the next couple of weeks. Any nuclear weapon that hits, for example, near the Ka‘abah inside the Grand Mosque of Mecca would kill a million Muslims instantly. Probably twice that many would eventually die.”
“Jeezum Crow!” said the president again. He paused, staring blankly at his notepad for several seconds and then asked, “What else do we know about George Adams, Commander Wayne?”
“Sir, he graduated with honors from the U.S. Naval Academy with a degree in aerospace engineering. He has served on active duty for seventeen years, all in the nuclear-powered submarine community. His last duty station prior to the Louisiana was operations officer on the staff of the Commander, Submarine Force Atlantic Fleet.”
“What’s a guy with an aerospace engineering degree doing in submarines?”
“I don’t know, Mister President, but it was his first choice out of the Academy.”
“Well, it’s interesting,” said the president. “It probably says something about his personality, but I’m not sure what. I want to know more about him other than his professional résumé. I want to know about the man. What does he think about? What makes him tick? What’s really important to him? He’s running off toward the Middle East with one of our ballistic missile submarines, and we have no idea what his intentions are! Is he going to try to blow up the entire Muslim world, or is he going to focus on Iran? Does he have any reason to hate Muslims in general, or is his hatred confined to terrorists? Did he have friends or relatives who died in DC? You knew him personally, Commander. What’s your take?”
“He had friends who died in the attack, but no family members I’m aware of. From conversations I have had with him, I would say he definitely hates the terrorists, but I have never heard him say anything bad about Muslims in general. Personally, I would find it incredibly hard to believe George Adams was going to launch his missiles against the Muslim world. He sees the terrorists as murderers, but if he launched his missiles against populated cities, he would be no better than them. In fact, he would be worse… much worse.”
“You’re darn right he’d be much worse,” interjected General Daramus. “He’s got twenty-four ballistic missiles on that submarine.”
“Yes, sir, that’s correct,” said Lannis. “And each one has five independently targetable reentry vehicles — one hundred and twenty warheads in all.”
“Well that’s a hell of a lot worse!” said President Thornton. “So what else can you tell me about him?”
“I know he loves freedom and democracy, sir. He loves America, and he’s adamant about protecting her.”
“All right. Not surprising in a military man. Tell me something he doesn’t like.”
“Well, I know he doesn’t like the media.”
“Who does?” asked the president with a laugh. “I know why I don’t like them, but what’s his beef?”
“He thinks they are traitors, sir, because they published classified information during the War on Terrorism. He feels their role in weakening the Patriot Act and limiting executive powers was a key factor in allowing the terrorists to destroy DC.”
“Well, I can’t say he’s entirely wrong,” said the president. “What else is bugging him? There must be something else. Submarine captains don’t go hijack their own subs just because they don’t like something they read in the newspaper!”
“On several occasions, I heard him express the opinion ballistic missile submarines had become obsolete in the age of terrorism. He often asked the rhetorical question, ‘What good is a boomer on patrol against a bunch of terrorist thugs?’”
“Hmm… interesting,” said the president. “Did he ever say anything in particular about al-Qaeda?”
“Not specifically about al-Qaeda, sir. But he did express the opinion, ‘You can’t defeat fanaticism with moderation, and that’s what the West is trying to do.’”
“That’s very astute.” President Thornton seemed lost in thought for a minute and then continued, “It’s interesting. We have a confirmed patriot with a keen sense of honor and duty who feels his chosen military career path has become useless as a means for defending the homeland. He thinks the rest of us are on a misguided quest that is bound to result in total defeat.”
The president paused again and then asked Lannis, “Is he a Republican or a Democrat?”
“Sir?”
“You heard me — is he a Republican or a Democrat?”
“I don’t know for sure, Mister President, but judging from my personal conversations with him, I would say he’s probably a Republican.”
“And he’s from the South somewhere, if I remember correctly from the report… right?”