“Let me describe just one resolution that was considered that year: United Nations General Assembly Resolution 55/36. It warned that ‘the proliferation of nuclear weapons in the region of the Middle East would pose a serious threat to international peace and security.’ It called for a ‘nuclear-weapon-free zone’ in the Middle East. Furthermore, the resolution called upon Israel ‘to accede to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons without further delay… and to renounce possession of nuclear weapons, and to place all its unsafeguarded nuclear facilities under [the safeguards of the] International Atomic Energy Agency.’
“A reasonable request, one would think. Yet the U.S. voted no. Why?”
An instant message popped up on Bennett’s computer.
It was from Dr. Mordechai in Jerusalem.
“This is unbelievable. Jonathan, do you see where he is headed?”
Bennett glanced at Rajiv and Costello. They had no idea.
But he did… all too clearly.
The Russian leader moved in for the kill.
Astonishingly, he did so echoing the very words the American president had once used to justify a previous war in the Middle East.
“Can the world morally justify one standard for Iraq and another for Israel? Is it right for the world to take action against a nation that defies sixteen Security Council resolutions, but do nothing against a nation that defies ninety-seven?
“Israel has answered decades of U.N. demands with decades of defiance. And now the world faces a test. The United Nations arrives at a difficult and defining moment. Are these resolutions to be enforced, or cast aside without consequence? Will the United Nations serve the purpose of its founding, or will it be irrelevant?
“Russia helped to give birth to the United Nations. We want the United Nations to be effective, and respectful, and successful. We want the resolutions of the world’s most important multilateral body to be enforced. And right now those resolutions are being unilaterally subverted by Israel. Our partnership of nations can meet the test before us by making clear what we now expect of the Israeli regime.
“If the Israeli regime wishes peace, it will immediately and unconditionally foreswear, disclose, and remove or destroy all weapons of mass destruction, long-range missiles, and all related material. Further, the Israeli regime must immediately allow IAEA and U.N. inspectors into its nuclear reactor at Dimona as well as all other nuclear, chemical, and biological research facilities.
“Toward this end, this afternoon Russia will introduce U.N. Security Council Resolution 2441, giving the State of Israel thirty days to comply with the steps I have just outlined. If Israel does comply fully, a new era of peace and prosperity will sweep the region, and the world will be more secure.
“But let there be no doubt: if Israel continues to go down the road of defiance, the international community will have no choice but to join together to enforce the U.N. resolutions related to Israel, just as the United States and her allies enforced the U.N. resolutions related to Iraq.”
Bennett watched as Gogolov left the platform.
For a moment an awkward silence filled the great hall, but then the General Assembly erupted in a standing ovation that went on minute after minute. Nearly all the delegates were on their feet, applauding wildly. Then the camera caught the Israeli ambassador storming up the center aisle. As he exited, the view switched to the U.S. ambassador, who sat in stunned disbelief.
Bennett, too, sat motionless. The gauntlet had just been laid down, and the White House was in shock.
31
MacPherson gathered his team in the Situation Room.
Jack Mitchell weighed in first.
He conceded Gogolov was a thug with blood on his hands but reminded his colleagues that Washington had dealt with such thugs before using diplomacy. What’s more, he argued, Gogolov’s real objectives were financial, not military.
“In the last three years, oil prices have plunged from over $60 a barrel to near $20 a barrel at the beginning of this year, in large part because of Israeli, Palestinian, and Iraqi oil flooding the markets,” Mitchell reminded the president. “This has caused tremendous economic hardship for Russia. Their GDP is falling. Unemployment is rising.
“And let’s not forget that forty percent of the Kremlin’s budget comes from the tax revenues paid by Russia’s oil and gas sector. Every $1 drop in the price of oil costs the Kremlin $1 billion in lost tax revenues. Gogolov is no doubt green with envy at all the wealth the Israelis are enjoying at the moment. But do we really think he’s going to go to war over it? Most likely Gogolov is simply making a play to drive up the price of oil, and so far he’s succeeding. Oil just hit $41.69 a barrel.”
MacPherson hoped he was right. “If that’s the case, what would you recommend we do?” he asked.
“For starters we need to shine a spotlight on Russia’s hypocrisy on the WMD issue. For crying out loud, they’ve been shipping nuclear technology to Iran — a card-carrying member of the Axis of Evil — for years. I think the public has a right to know just how complicit Russia is in the Iranian nuclear program. And believe me, Mr. President, my team at Langley has everything you’d ever need to make that case — satellite photography, audio intercepts, videotaped confessions by Iranian intelligence operatives we’ve captured, you name it.
“Second, the secretary of state and secretary of energy need to reassure our NATO allies that we won’t let Gogolov blackmail them by shutting off their gas and oil supplies. The Israelis and Palestinians can certainly supply Europe with what they need, so long as the Russians don’t start filling the Mediterranean with warships.
“Third, let’s remember that Zhirinovsky and Ilyushkin were ideologues. Gogolov, I believe, is driven by greed. That could be to our advantage, if we handle this right. We have an entire arsensal of economic carrots and sticks we can use if we need to. Russia wants to join the WTO. Let them. They want to become part of OPEC. Let’s talk to the Saudis and the Gulf states and see if we can make that happen. They want to sell us more grain. Fine, it’s a small price to pay to avoid a war.”
“You want me to accede to blackmail?” asked the president.
“It’s not blackmail,” Mitchell countered. “It’s diplomacy. Nick Warner does it every day. And nobody does it better.”
The secretary of state was visibly flattered. “How do we know if your analysis is right, Jack — that Gogolov’s real objective is money, not power?” Warner asked.
“We ask him,” Mitchell responded. “Let’s put some direct questions to Gogolov on the table and see if we can flush this guy out.”
“What kind of questions?” asked the president.
“Mr. Gogolov, are you open to an honest, peaceful discussion of ways to expand Russia’s economy and ways to further integrate Russia into the global economy? Are you interested in a new round of diplomacy regarding Russia’s desire to be accepted into the World Trade Organization? Are you open to finding ways to reduce American and European tariffs on Russian products as well as ways to promote peace in the Middle East? Or are you gathering an international coalition to loot the Israelis, to carry off silver and gold, and to seize as much plunder as you possibly can?”