Spicer said, “Not necessary. In fact, we request that we know nothing else of your actions on the matter. As I said, we will wait one week, and then we will pursue this man with the full force of our capabilities.”
Fang sipped his own beer. “Would you have any idea where this man you are looking so hard for might be found?”
Spicer shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know, but if I just had to take a wild guess, I’d say he’s walking through Terminal One of Hong Kong International Airport right now, wearing a white shirt, khaki pants, and a black jacket. He’ll probably be sweating heavily, looking for a place to do some banking. After that he’ll spend as little time in HK as possible, before booking a flight out of the country.” Spicer downed the rest of his beer and said, “Only speculation on my part, you understand.”
Fang nodded slowly. “Of course.”
Spicer walked out of the restaurant a minute later with all the confidence in the world that Alexandru Dalca would be picked up in minutes. Other than the United States, no nation on earth had more against Alex Dalca than China. The danger that he could reveal something to the Americans about their operation to out American agents inside China would be bad for them, for the simple reason the operation was ultimately hijacked by ISIS and led to the death of many Americans.
Yes, China was after Dalca just as the United States had been after Dalca. But China had made no pledge to the man, and had nothing to gain by letting him live.
Spicer hailed a cab. The American CIA officer figured the Romanian would be dead by the end of the day.
74
The light over the camera turned red at exactly eight p.m., and President Jack Ryan, seated behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office, addressed his nation.
“Good evening. Tonight I want to tell you about some recent events of national and international importance. Several weeks ago, agents of the United States of America captured Abu Musa al-Matari, alive, here in America. Many details of his capture and subsequent incarceration must be kept secret to protect sources and methods, but I can say some things.
Through interviews with him, as well as the hard work of our military, intelligence, and diplomatic communities, we have uncovered key details about the terrorist attacks by the so-called Islamic State that have been carried out at home and abroad over the past several weeks.
“An intelligence leak of massive proportions took place here in the U.S. just over four years ago. It involved files of the Office of Personnel Management, and included a treasure trove of information about America’s federal employees. This hack was not perpetrated by a state actor, but rather by a company in India that an American firm with security clearances improperly partnered with. The material was copied by the Indian firm and kept on a computer server in India, and for several years this material was not exploited. Recently, however, the Indian company was compromised by a group of Romanian hackers. They obtained the data, realized what it was they had, and one employee of this concern sold some of the material to various foreign actors around the world with aims against the United States.
“We understand how the material was stolen and have made steps to make sure this will never happen again. We do believe we have retrieved all the electronic files, and are reasonably certain there exist no other copies, but we might never be able to know for sure.
“The loss of this material was, by any measure, an egregious failure of the United States government, and for that I am truly, truly sorry.
“Anyone who works in the military, federal law enforcement, or intelligence services in the United States swears an oath to America that states, in part, ‘I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic, and I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same.’
“Millions of men and women have served this nation with that pledge, with their faith, allegiance, and lives, but their best efforts were not returned to them by their government. Some, sadly, have recently lost their lives due to this fact. We owe all these men and women more than we can ever repay them. I owe them better. This shouldn’t have happened, but we will take steps to protect those still compromised.
“Upon learning the details of the OPM breach, my first inclination was to go back to the use of typewriters and then destroy the typewriter ribbons, holding all these crucial, sensitive documents in vaults protected by men sworn to preserve them and equipped to do so, no matter what the threat.
“But unfortunately, the world has moved on, and guys, guns, and gates alone can’t keep this material safe. We must work harder and put more effort into this, and I pledge to do that with my remaining time as your president.
“We also learned via interviews with Abu Musa al-Matari that the source for the material that exposed the members of the military and intelligence communities was a man al-Matari met in Kosovo some nine months ago. Through the diligent work of CIA director Jay Canfield, and DNI director Mary Pat Foley, along with the efforts of Attorney General Dan Murray, we have identified this man via human intelligence assets, as well as travel and immigration records. The man’s name is Sami bin Rashid, and he is not a member of ISIS, but rather a Saudi Arabian national and an employee of the Gulf Cooperation Council, an organization set up to further the political and economic aims of several oil-producing states. Our investigations show us that the objective of this man from the GCC in setting up the attacks in America was not to improve ISIS’s power and reach in the world. Instead, it was a cynical plot to increase the price of oil and to bring U.S. troops back into the Middle East en masse, to hold back Iran, the sworn enemy of many of these nations.
“Right now, many disaffected Muslims in the world are considering radicalization, joining ISIS, taking up arms against the West. Many have already done so, and they have paid a high price. Each day here in America we are seeing the after-effects of al-Matari’s operation in the form of copycats. It is important for those considering such a path to understand that all the self-radicalized here in America who followed al-Matari’s actions to their death were not doing it in the name of the global caliphate as they had thought, but they were instead doing the bidding of cynical Saudi Arabian business interests.
“I wonder if those seeking martyrdom will actually receive martyrdom while killing and dying for billionaire businessmen. If you pick up a gun today with aims of terrorism in the United States, you aren’t working for ISIS, you are working for fat cats in the wealthy Persian Gulf. Reflect on that a moment.”
Jack Ryan then said, “The question remains: Were the actions of this man bin Rashid sanctioned by his government, or was he a lone wolf? Is Saudi Arabia a problematic partner, or a determined foe?
“As yet we do not have that answer, the Saudis have denied in the strongest terms any involvement, and as President I see it as my job to tell you when we do not have proof of something, the same as when we do have proof. We will not punish Saudi Arabia diplomatically or economically for the actions of this man, unless new intelligence comes to light that implicates the Saudi Arabian government.”
President Ryan looked quietly into the camera a moment before saying, “We were able to derive one more key piece of intelligence from the terrorist we captured. The physical location and key players of the Global Islamic Media Front. This is the very sophisticated public relations and propaganda operation that fuels much of ISIS’s lore around the world. Through their television stations, websites, and satellite radio networks they have raised the call for thousands of foreigners to go fight in the Middle East, North Africa, or in other regions where ISIS holds territory, or to stay in their homelands and fight via terrorist acts.