He smoothed the wave of hair on his forehead and took stock of the faces watching him.
‘The Soviet Union has accused the United States Navy of aggression. I refute that. Soviet General Secretary and President, Nikolai Savkin, has described the NATO manoeuvres in the Norwegian Sea as provocative. They are not. The Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet Navy, Admiral Grekov, asks if the manoeuvres are a preparation for war. The answer is an emphatic NO. And Admiral Grekov.…’
McGuire pulled a sardonic smile. In front of him pens scribbled furiously.
‘… is a distinguished naval commander, and knows better than to make such an asinine suggestion.
‘Let me first deal with what happened yesterday, those pictures on TV last night, showing our fighters intercepting a Soviet warplane, which — it turned out — happened to be carrying an American camera team. The aircraft carrier Eisenhower — on a regular NATO exercise, notified in advance to the Russians — was in international waters, flying aircraft off of its deck. To comply with international safety rules any plane approaching a carrier with a hot deck is warned of the danger, and asked to keep a safe distance.
‘The Soviet Bear reconnaissance bomber was asked that yesterday, but refused. In the interests, presumably, of producing the sort of TV pictures screened last night.
‘Now, the question of the exercise itself. It’s not provocative. It’s defensive. It happens every two years, and the Soviets have not made a fuss about it before.
‘How come it’s defensive? First — and I’ve got to give you some figures here — first, because the Kola Peninsula is home to seventy-five per cent of the Soviets’ submarine-launched nuclear missiles. Over two thousand nuclear warheads, capable of wiping out most of the USA, are installed in submarines operating from the Barents Sea. It is the right and duty of our navy to try to ensure those missiles could never be fired at us.
‘Second — the Kola Peninsula provides bases for over eighty per cent of the submarines the Soviets would use to try to sink US ships reinforcing Europe in wartime. Ships that would be laden with US soldiers, airmen and their equipment needed to save Western Europe from a Soviet invasion. It is the right and duty of NATO navies to ensure those reinforcements would not end up at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. And the best way to do that is to stop those Soviet subs from ever getting into the Atlantic.
‘Third — if the Soviets were ever to start a war, the north of Norway could be their first objective. The way to stop them invading is air power. That’s why the carrier Eisenhower is in this exercise. To defend a NATO ally.
‘Finally, ladies and gentlemen, let me give it to you straight. The United States will never be the one to start a war with the Soviet Union, but if they start one, we will be prepared.
‘Now, if you have any questions.…’
Hands shot up in the front row. McGuire pointed to the dark-haired doyen of the White House press corps.
‘Yes, Sam.’
‘Mr President, is it true that NATO submarines are exercising closer to Soviet home waters than ever before? And if that’s the case, isn’t it open to interpretation as provocative at a time of greater East-West military détente?’
‘Now, Sam. You know I can’t talk about where our submarines patrol. I’ve just told you about the threat we face from nuclear missiles. The subs do what they have to do. But the Soviets can’t see our subs — so how can they be provocative.’
A ripple of polite amusement swept the room. He pointed to another hand.
‘Talking of provocation, Mr President, what about the Rostov and the MiGs headed for Cuba?’
‘Is that where they’re going?’
‘What’re you going to do about it, Mr President?’
‘The Soviets haven’t said where they’re sending those fighters. They know our views about changing the military balance around the USA. The MiGs don’t threaten us yet. If they become a threat, then I’ll do something about it.’
‘What… what’ll you do, Mr Pres…’
McGuire cut him short and smiled at a woman from the Washington Post.
‘Laura…’
‘Why do you think Mr Savkin is so concerned about the naval exercise this year?’
‘You’ll have to ask him that.’
‘He says we’re being unneccessarily aggressive. Have you given instructions to the Navy to avoid doing anything which the Soviets might interpret as provocative, Mr President?’
‘No. The Navy’s doing what it does every two years or so. Normal manoeuvres. No special instructions.’
‘But if Mr Savkin’s out to make trouble, some people feel it’d do no harm to hold back a little, Mr President…’
‘I don’t accept your premise…’
‘What about the other navies in the exercise? The British, for example. Can you be sure they won’t do something to provoke the Russians?’
His blue eyes locked onto hers. What did she know? Reynolds had told him the Brits had a submarine gone AWOL. Had she heard it, too?
‘Our NATO allies are at least as experienced as us in handling the Soviets,’ was his non-committal reply.
‘Last question, ladies and gentlemen,’ the press spokesman called from behind the President’s shoulder.
‘Sir, d’you think President Savkin’s trying to deflect attention from the problems he’s having with perestroika?’
‘I’m sorry. That’s one for him to answer, not me. Thank you, folks. Have a good day.’
McGuire glanced at the cameras and turned to leave. He knew he’d disappointed them, but he’d had one simple message to put across, and he’d given it them.
‘That was one goddam wasted morning!’
The bored male voice came from somewhere in the middle of the room, loud enough for McGuire to hear. But he didn’t care.
‘Press conference okay?’ Reynolds asked anxiously, back in ‘the bunker’. Presidents had a habit of being provoked into unwise statements by the media.
McGuire shaped his thumb and index finger into a bullseye.
‘They got what I wanted, not what they wanted.’
Reynolds grinned, then pulled a folder from his briefcase and spread the contents on the maple-wood table.
‘Intelligence agencies have been working nights,’ Reynolds joked, flicking the pages of the files in front of him.
‘First the easy bit,’ he continued. ‘Defense Intelligence Agency reports the Rostov’s going slow. Still headed for the Caribbean, but not in any hurry. Still nothing from the satellites that tells us it’s Cuba, but humint sources in Havana say Castro’s pretty happy about something, and he’s not got much else to smile about right now.’
‘They threw me a question on the MiGs. Some time I’m going to have to change my line. The question is, when do those fighters become a threat? That’s when I’ll have to say something different.’
‘The Pentagon’s working on an options brief. They’ll have it for you tomorrow.’
Reynolds sounded impatient. He shoved the Rostov file to one side.
‘Listen. The CIA’s got something new out of Moscow. This stuff’s hot!’
‘Give it to me, Tom.’
‘Savkin’s just lost his majority on the Politburo. Only he doesn’t know it yet. The faction that supports his reforms of the economy is now in a minority. Secretly the opposition to Savkin has decided to put the brakes on. They want to freeze prices, reintroduce subsidies on food, and break the link between pay and output. Strikes are spreading like crazy; they reckon it’s the only way to stop them turning into riots.’
‘Is that reliable information?’