Yes, they had started offensives all along the five-mile front and were pushing forward. He had urged his air force to step up the attacks on the supply lines day and night.
An aide hurried in and motioned to the telephone. General Jablah picked up the phone.
“Yes?”
“General. Major Duma from the far northern sector with the thirty-fourth Regiment. We have been attacked by at least two nerve gas artillery shells. Twenty-seven of our men died before we knew what had happened. The area has been evacuated. The gas blew into a small village, and thirty women and children there died. We have pounded the artillery unit with counterbattery, and two of our planes have bombed the unit. We’re not sure of the results.”
“The bastards. Order a regimental attack on that sector at once, and overrun that artillery unit and slaughter every man in the area. I want it done now. Hussein can’t be allowed to use nerve gas. Get your attack formed and moving within an hour. Call in massive air support. I want that artillery unit smashed before dark.”
He hung up the phone and put a large red marker on the map where the thirty-fourth Regiment battled. After checking with two more commanders, he put a push in that area. If they could get a good run, they might be able to smash forward three or four miles this side of the Iraqi border, wheel right, and cut off one of the deeper incursions of the Iraqis in the center of the front. Then he called on all the air he had to plow up the ground where that artillery battery was. If it had moved, they must find it.
It was nearly two hours after the nuclear blast in the Iraqi desert that an aide came in and turned on the TV set in the general’s office.
“You should see this, General.” The major tuned to CCN, which had a news special in progress.
“As near as anyone can tell, the nuclear blast took place in Iraq’s western desert, a hundred miles from Saudi Arabia’s border and about two hundred miles from the Syrian boundary. Iraq has not commented on the blast, but seismic recorders in Cairo and Tel Aviv report a disturbance equal to a five-point-five earthquake.
“When translated into nuclear energy terms, that would mean a nuclear blast in the five- to eight-megaton range. It has long been suspected that Iraq was working on constructing one or more nuclear weapons. No one will comment on what caused the blast. Rumors have also been circulated that the Iraqis had a nerve gas and biological warfare agent plant somewhere near the same area.
“Our correspondents are waiting now for an official statement from military headquarters in Baghdad. Yes, I understand our correspondent in Baghdad is ready.”
The scene shifted to a man in shirtsleeves standing in front of a building.
“Yes, Jose Phillips in Baghdad for CNN. It has been confirmed by Iraqi military authorities that a nuclear blast did take place in its western desert. This is the official statement that the Iraqi high command gave to us on videotape.”
“Iraq has been attacked by warmongering elements in the United States who dropped a nuclear weapon on a defenseless scientific laboratory and research center working on cures for cancer and AIDS in western Iraq. There has been a considerable death toll at the facility including two world-renowned scientists. A hundred and forty-eight scientists and lab workers perished, along with a security force of twenty-four.
“All roads leading into the area have been blocked off. Our own nuclear disaster team will move into the drop zone as soon as it is safe to do so. Our experts tell us that there will be a dead zone about ten miles square at this spot for up to five hundred years.
“Iraq will present a motion of condemnation tomorrow at the United Nations General Assembly and Security Council against the United States. We will ask for a worldwide embargo against the United States for this savage and unparalleled attack by a superpower on a developing nation.
“We have proof of U.S. involvement. United States Air Force helicopters were seen in the area of the bomb blast, as well as U.S. Marines that attacked the security forces at the scientific research center. Because of the intense vaporization of the downed helicopters near the complex, no physical evidence remains of the U.S. sadistic attack on a peace-loving people.”
The general turned away from the set. He’d heard enough of the Iraqi lies. A new voice brought him back to the TV.
“We now have an official comment from the United States in response to the diatribe from Saddam Hussein.”
The general turned to the set.
“The United States ambassador to the United Nations says he will oppose any censure motion in that body and that the U.S. has solid evidence that Iraq was producing a deadly nerve gas in the area. There is further satellite evidence that the nerve gas has been loaded into Scud missiles and artillery rounds. The same area is the home of Iraq’s development laboratories and test facilities for the nation’s continuing effort to produce nuclear weapons.
“Our scientists report to me that the size of the nuclear blast, estimated at five to eight megatons, is consistent with the size of a burst that could be triggered in early experiments with harnessing nuclear power. We also now have a report from the battle front in Syria, that more than fifty people, both military and civilians, have been killed by artillery shells from Iraq that contained deadly nerve gas. Iraq will be taken to task with the next meeting of the Security Council to explain this deadly development in the aggressive war it is now fighting in Syria.”
General F. Jablah smiled for the first time that day. He had an offensive going, and Saddam was just caught using nerve gas in an attack. Saddam had also lost his poison gas and nuclear weapons manufacturing and development facility in the desert. The war might be over sooner than everyone thought.
Late the night before, Murdock had landed on the carrier in a COD and hustled his four previously wounded men to sick bay to have the medics look over their wounds, put on clean bandages, and generally check them out.
The medics examined Ching, Lampedusa, Franklin, and Holt. All were rebandaged and sent back to light duty. Murdock had continued into the hospital section and talked with the doctors about Lieutenant (j.g.) DeWitt. The JG was out of danger, his lung had weathered the minor puncture, and he was on his way to recovery. The doctor said it would take at least two or three weeks of hospital time, then he could get out of the hospital for extremely light duty for another two months.
Adams was chafing about his confinement.
“Hell, Skipper, at least let me clean my weapon and polish your boots or something. I’m going crazy in this damn place. It’s so clean it gives me hives.”
Murdock chuckled. Told him his arm was healing, but they wanted to watch it for another week, then he’d be off his leash. He growled about it and went back to his Playboy magazine.
Bill Bradford with the stomach wound looked the best of the three. He, too, would need another week under the white sheets before he could be released.
Don Stroh found Murdock in the sick bay and shadowed him back up to the SEALs’ assembly room.
“Look, about that foul-up with the choppers.”
“I’ve challenged that son of a bitch to a duel. Forty-fives at twenty feet. Twelve rounds. The man who lives wins. They could just as well have put us on board. They weren’t overloaded. Yeah, I know, the brass didn’t want any more casualties at the site than they could help. But they just sold out thirteen SEALs for the chance, the fucking chance, that the twenty-four Iraqis might get caught in the blast. We were ten miles out for kereist sakes.”