As for the new Soviet hero, so far he had managed to keep his own feelings in check — about shooting down the American escape craft, mistaking it for a new weapon. But the honors and celebrations of his so-called great exploits by the general secretary — reflecting, of course, on the general secretary — were beginning to get to him. Yes, he was proud of what he and his men had accomplished. He believed in their mission, had fought for it, in fact. But it wasn't so easy to shut out of his mind what those men in that helpless craft had suffered… Had death been instantaneous? Who knew? He had to hope so. If it had happened to him, he knew he would have wanted it swiftly. There was no special honor or nobility in suffering. That was for martyrs and sick would-be heroes. He hoped he was neither of these. Ever since it had happened — or rather, ever since he had found out what he had done — he had thought about a simpler time when air war was plane against plane… He had read avidly as a boy the accounts of wartime "dog fights," as they were called, between airmen in World War I and in World War II. He had always preferred that one-on-one confrontation, between fighting men who depended on their own skill and managed to have some respect for each other. The notion might be romantic — heaven forbid that he should reveal that side of his character except to his wife in bed — but he still secretly longed for that kind of combat… All right, he chided himself, enough of this. You are also a patriot, and it's undermining your usefulness to go about wringing your hands…
"Now to the situation in the Persian Gulf region and the status of Operation Feather, " the general secretary said, breaking through Govorov's thoughts.
Czilikov recognized his cue. "Yes sir, there is much to report. In the weeks since the destruction of the space station Armstrong, we have consolidated our forces in the region, strengthening not only the battlefield units in each tactical location but moving to unify the entire triple theater forces — the Persian Gulf flotilla, the Iraqi unified command in the west, and the Iran-Afghanistan command in the east. Complete unification is still weeks away. Our movement has been delayed by American naval troops in the southern Persian Gulf whose efforts have been helped by seagoing and aviation forces."
The general secretary cut in. "I am beginning to believe, Admiral Chercherovin, that our forces will never take control of the Persian Gulf. Your plan to attempt to move your flotilla southward to reinforce air strikes against Bandar-Abbas and the other southern Iran airfields seems to be stalled once again.
"Both sides are at an impasse, Sir," the admiral said. "The advantage is with the ground-based defenders. They can move air-to-air missile batteries into thee area faster than we can move carrier-based fighter-bombers to the Brezhnev."
"Supersonic low-altitude bombers from the Southern TVD have had success attacking Iranian forward enemy positions," Chief Marshal Rhomerdunov said. "Enemy advances to positions of tactical advantage have all been stopped or neutralized by small-scale Tu-26 bomber attacks. The Tupolev-26s are virtually invulnerable in the central mountains of Iran—"
"Yet the strikes are strategically useless," the general secretary said. "They are not offensive moves, they gain absolutely no ground nor do they advance the objectives of Operation Feather. They are mere reactions to American offensives. If this war of attrition goes on, sooner or later the side on the offensive will take control. That should be us. Must be. At present it clearly is not."
The general secretary turned to Czilikov. "The solution is obvious to me. Of the three tactical theaters of operation, the weakest is obviously the Persian Gulf flotilla. We have a limited number of vessels in the gulf with almost no hope of replenishment or reinforcement. We have only two sources of refueling these vessels, and we are under constant danger from attack by Iranian guerrillas on the Kharg Island and Abadan petroleum shipping ports. The carrier Brezhnev must use so much of its own resources for fleet self-protection that it is all but useless as a support vessel for other land-based strikes… Admiral Chercherovin, what can you say to this? Your efforts in securing the coastal ports in the initial phases of Feather were laudable, but now that big, expensive, vulnerable fleet stuck in the northern Persian Gulf is impotent. I just read a report that four Iranian madmen carrying bazookas in an inflatable rubber speedboat inflicted extensive damage on the cruiser Dzerzhinsky before being destroyed. Is that how the great Soviet navy is going to go down in defeat? By crazed Muslims in toy rafts?"
"No, Sir—"
"The time has come, gentlemen, to make another decision on the direction of this conflict. There has been considerable pressure from the West to withdraw from Iran. The economic embargoes against our country are beginning to be felt. We are drawing off valuable resources to maintain an uneasy stalemate that threatens to blow up in our faces, while imports of needed raw materials and food are being halted." He sat, slowly folded his hands, and let his eyes wander across the highly polished table surface. "Perhaps we should withdraw from the region…"
No reaction from any of the civilian or military members of the Stavka — except for Govorov. He put both palms down on the table as if to push himself up to his feet in anger.
The general secretary was looking directly at Govorov when he made his announcement, and a knowing smile creased his face. "Or perhaps I should dismiss all of you — except Marshaf Govorov, of course — and replace you with a military council that will show some leadership, some initiative, some damned backbone."
Czilikov's face turned crimson. The general secretary ignored it. "I pledged to this council once that I would not become the first general secretary of the Soviet Untion to retreat in the face of inferior forces and I will keep that promise. In fact, I will never retreat."
He stood and pointed a finger at Govorov while addressing the other Stavka members. "How can you sit here after we have just honored such a soldier as Marshal Govorov, a man who risked his life to give this nation the advantage we so badly needed and wanted, and then, with your silence, acquiesce in a plan for surrender and withdrawal?"
"What would you have us suggest, Sir?" Czilikov said. "A nuclear strike against the Nimitz carrier group? An atomic cruise-missile strike against Bandar-Abbas? Perhaps a flight of SS-20 missiles targeted against the American fleet? We can blow the United Arab Emirates off the map and create a whole new Strait of Hormuz…"
The general secretary seemed to ignore the outburst. "I want a plan for breaking this stalemate and accomplishing the goals of Operation Feather." He turned to Govorov. "Put yourself in the shoes of the minister of defense. What would you suggest?"
Govorov understood he was being wedged between the minister of defense and the general secretary. Some unfriendly space. Well, he'd made a career out of speaking his mind…
"I must agree with you, sir, it was important for our forces to halt their advances while the space station Armstrong was being neutralized. A stalemate-breaking offensive such as the one we were talking about could have triggered a larger response, perhaps even a theater nuclear response from the Americans. Now Armstrong Station is no longer a ducat. So I believe it is necessary to secure a strong foothold in the region, act quickly and decisively."
He paused for a breath and to have his head handed to him — and when he saw they were waiting for more substance and less speech, pressed on….
"I would suggest that two major operations begin as soon as possible. The first would be designed to break down the land-based emplacements of the American rapid deployment forces by overwhelming them, then attacking and occupying their positions; the second would be to command and hold the region from the Arabian Sea to the Strait of Hormuz and control the access to the gulf…"