"You have it, and not just my support for the creation of a Palestinian democracy. Once we finish this discussion, I'll begin briefing the congressional leadership, and I know they'll want to pass on to you their full sup-port.
"That's very kind. Please say a special thank-you to the Speaker of the House, who was kind enough to meet with Dmitri and myself when we were in the States last summer. Once this operation is successful and order is reestablished, I can assure you that one of my first acts as prime minister will be to ask the PLC to reestablish a completely new relationship with the United States, one based on openness, mutual trust, and shared interests, not the suspicion and hostilities of my predecessors."
"And likewise, you and your wife are invited to the White House at your soonest possible convenience. In fact, we'd be happy to facilitate your discussions with Prime Minister Doron at Camp David, if you'd like."
"You are most kind, Mr. President, and I am most grateful. And, with your permission, perhaps that is a good transition into the substance of the talks we need to have right now."
"Please, go right ahead."
"I have to confess that I'm very concerned about how this will all play out. In addition to the physical danger facing the Palestinian people, and your forces, there are enormous political and perceptual dangers we both face, and if you will forgive me, I believe it is best that I am candid with you about my concerns, and then we can figure out how best to address those concerns, if at all."
"By all means. You and I and our nations may not always see eye to eye, Mr. Prime Minister, but I want you to know I have the utmost respect for you, your people, and the challenges you face. I think history will show that the Palestinian people have no greater friend in the world than the American people, and I hope that you will find that you and your team have no greater friend than this administration."
With formalities out of the way, Sa'id got down to business.
"Mr. President, I need to know if the U.S. is prepared to send in military forces to help us establish control?"
"We are."
"How soon can you begin?"
"Will the PLC help us with intelligence and target packages?"
"We are preparing them now."
"My commanders advise me they could commence operations in six hours."
"Very well, then. Here's how I'd like the scenario to play out. As soon as we finish this call, I would ask that you call Prime Minister Doron and relay to him the substance of our call. I'd like to go on television at one o'clock local time and publicly declare that he is readying Israeli forces to invade the West Bank and Gaza."
Bennett and McCoy looked at each other, unsure where this was going. The president's voice suggested similar hesitation. "Why?"
"It's essential, Mr. President, that my people see the PLC — and me— defending them from Israeli aggression. To have any legitimacy at all, the PLC and I must be perceived as military victors of some kind, powerful enough to stand up to Doron and stop him in his tracks. That means Doron needs to declare war on us, and continue to mass his forces on the Green Line, fly his jet planes and helicopters over the territories." "OK, I'm with you."
"The Speaker of the PLC will then go on radio and TV to announce that the Islamic radicals have not only killed our leaders but now they are about to kill any hope of a Palestinian state whatsoever. He'll announce that the PLC is in negotiations with me to appoint me interim prime minister, but that I'm demanding a U.S. security force come in to rout out the radicals and defend us against an imminent Israeli invasion." "Keep going."
"I'll come on the air soon thereafter to explain for myself why we must band together against the Israelis. I'll explain that I've already opened up an initial dialogue with the White House. But I'll say that President MacPherson is resistant to the idea of the U.S. sending in forces. I'll say that the United States has absolutely no interest in becoming an occupying power, and that never in its history has the United States taken military action to directly oppose the Israelis."
Bennett could see where this was headed. He'd always been impressed with Ibrahim Sa'id, one of the wealthiest and most successful entrepreneurs in the Arab world. Now he was impressed even more.
"Now, it is absolutely critical," Sa'id continued, "that the PLC's move and my speech be seen as a reaction to Doron, a reaction to an imminent invasion by the Israelis. People have to see my appointment — and the possibility of U.S. military action — not as a sellout of the Palestinian revolution for in-dependence but as a defense of it. This is vital. Doron has to let himself be seen in the eyes of the Palestinian rank and file, and in the eyes of the world, as the aggressor, as someone who is about to swallow and reoccupy — perhaps forever — the West Bank and Gaza. Only that will give me the political justification for asking for U.S. intervention, and you the justification for agreeing to intervene. Otherwise, U.S. military action will be seen as a provocation against the Palestinians, not a protection of the Palestinians, something that would do irreparable harm to both of our interests. Mr. President, I cannot stress enough the importance of this distinction."
"Don't worry, I hear you," said MacPherson, also fascinated by where Sa'id was going. "You need Doron to look like the big bad wolf. And you need to look like the Palestinian savior, demanding the U.S. come to the rescue of the Palestinian cause."
"Not just demanding," Sa'id stressed. "My people and the world have to see me not just demanding U.S. action but somehow persuading you against your better judgment. There can be no hint that the U.S. is eager to do this. In fact, anything you can do over the next six hours to leak the word that many senior White House and State Department advisors are opposed to U.S. intervention, that would be very helpful."
"I must remind you, Mr. Prime Minister, it's midnight here in Washington, and nine p.m. on the West Coast. Most Americans aren't going to be tracking the nuances of this argument as carefully as you might think."
"Maybe not, but my immediate concern is the Arab press. Believe me, Mr. President, everyone in this part of the world is huddled with their families, listening to hour-by-hour coverage of the civil war. They'll be tracking every nuance of the next six hours more closely than you can possibly imagine. And this is my point. U.S. military force cannot just happen. We have a drama we must play out today. And every actor must do his or her part. The Israelis have to play the bad guys. Every Arab will expect this and it will certainly ring true. The PLC taking decisive action to forestall an Israeli invasion will be a surprise to many. We've not been as decisive in the past as we should have been. Many will be skeptical, and few will know who I am at all. Yes, they know I'm very wealthy, very successful. But through my speech and the interviews I do and the information the PLC and our other sources give out, we must build — in just a matter of hours — an impression of an Arab leader who commands international respect and can simultaneously stand up to Israel, and the Americans, and the terrorists in our midst. Does that all make sense?"
"It does," said MacPherson. "At what point do you want me to agree to send in forces?"
"At the last possible moment," Sa'id insisted. "The drama has to play over the course of many hours — back and forth, like a tennis match or the World Cup. Doron has to dismiss the PLC at first. Then dismiss me. Hour by hour, he needs to torque up the rhetoric until it is white hot, until every Palestinian believes Israeli tanks are going to mow them all down, scoop us all up, and deport us to Jordan, or the Sudan or Uganda somewhere. Likewise, all signs out of Washington have to be skeptical of my request — at best — or downright hostile to the notion of engaging in more warfare in the Middle East. Public perception in the territories — indeed, throughout the Arab world— has to get to the point that there is no hope, that all is lost, that the Pales tinians have defeated themselves and the Israelis are about to conquer us once and for all. At that point, I'll come on television and radio and virtually denounce you. I'll say that all the talk of American evenhandedness over the years was all lies, that if President MacPherson doesn't come and help us then it's just proof positive that he is a tool of the Zionist entity."