"But I cannot count on help from the United States?"
"Not military help, Mrs. Salaam."
"No matter how many Americans are killed if Zuwayy attacks?"
"We're concerned about any loss of life, American or not," Thorn said. "We have condemned any use of nuclear weapons anywhere in the world, and if there was a threat against the United States, we would take swift and deadly action."
"Pretty brave words, Mr. President-how about putting them into action?"
Thorn paused, letting the caustic remark wash over and past him; then: "But… the United States will not interfere militarily in the affairs of sovereign nations, Mrs. Salaam. We are not a police force-you can't dial 911 and get an American aircraft carrier battle group to protect you because a deal you made goes south.
"We will discuss and analyze the situation there, Mrs. Salaam, and we'll decide on a course of action," Thorn said. "But I suggest you give the man what he wants until you have the backing of your fellow Arab nations and can rally enough support to counteract his threats."
"I don't believe you would actually turn your back on Egypt, Mr. President," Susan said. "You would actually stand back and watch as Libya destroys Africa's largest oil field and kills tens of thousands of innocent workers, when all it would take is to sail a few ships through the Gulf of Sidra and show him that you disapprove of his threat? What kind of superpower leader are you?"
"A superpower that shouldn't need to throw its military weight around to promote peace, Madame Salaam," Thorn said. "Peace comes in many different packages and for many different prices, Madame. You appear to be too proud to give in to Idris's threats, but not proud enough to ask the United States to invade Libya and kill its leader. This is a situation I'd rather not have the United States involved in. Once we learn more about the situation and have had time to confer, we'll contact you if we feel we can be of help.
"But again, I suggest you think about saving lives and give Idris or Zuwayy or whatever his real name is whatever he wants. From what you said, he's still willing to pay for the shares of the partnership-you just need to take the money out of his earnings over a period of time. Why not agree to that for now? You all continue to pump oil and make money: Most importantly, everyone lives."
"Thank you for your suggestion, Mr. President," Salaam said sarcastically. "It must be a great comfort to you, giving sage advice from six thousand miles away, from the safety of your continent and your bombers and missile shield."
"I wish you luck, Madame President," Thorn said. But the call had already been terminated by then.
Kercheval shook his head. "Ouch," he said. "That had to hurt." But Thomas Thorn looked fairly unperturbed-he went back to his computer and started to make notes about the conversation. "You're really not going to do anything, Mr. President?" he asked incredulously. "You're not going to reposition the fleet?"
"I'm going to do what I said I'd do, Edward-I'm going to ask for an independent assessment of the situation, get some satellites repositioned over there to keep an eye on things, and when we have our own take on what's really going on, I'll make a decision," Thorn said as he typed. "But no, I'm not going to send any ships anywhere near there. Robert's right-it's too dangerous. They're likely to be caught in the crossfire."
"That 'crossfire' could be a nuclear war" Kercheval said. "If Salaam is correct, tens of thousands of lives could be lost."
"I'm aware of that, Edward," Thorn said. "But my problem is not to go rushing in and risk American lives in a fight we didn't start and one in which we don't know what's going on. I'll direct CIA to brief me on the current political situation in Egypt and Libya; I'll get Justice to brief me on the situation with that oil partnership; and I'll get Robert to brief me on the military situation and the threat to our forces in the Med. Until then, I'll direct all U.S. forces to stay away from the area, and I'm directing you to issue a warning to all American citizens not to travel to Egypt-in case there are any Americans still in Egypt, after what happened in Mersa Matruh."
Edward Kercheval shook his head in undisguised disbelief. "I'll get right on it, Mr. President," he said, and he departed. There was no secret of their almost continual policy disagreements-their debates, sometimes emerging as outright contradictions, were legendary. But their disagreements served two purposes: One, that Thomas Thorn didn't hire yes-men to serve him in his Cabinet; and second, it showed that Thorn was firmly in charge. Edward Kercheval was considered one of the world's most respected political and foreign affairs experts-and for him to continue to serve under Thomas Thorn, a relative foreign affairs rookie, was a sideways tribute to both Kercheval's and the President's personal integrity. No one understood how it worked, but it did.
After he departed, Goff looked at his longtime friend and waited for him to say something; when he didn't, and the aggravation factor built up to the point he couldn't contain it any longer, he asked, "So, what are you really going to do, Thomas?"
"I already said what I want done."
"You're really going to do nothing? What if Libya really does attack Egypt? Could we stand the political heat and world condemnation if we received a credible warning directly from the Egyptian president but did nothing?"
"I'm not doing 'nothing.' I'm going to independently assess the situation…"
"I heard what you said. But you're not going to call Zuwayy? You don't want to position a few more bombers over in the region, say, in England or Diego Garcia?"
"No."
Goff nodded knowingly and smiled. "I get it. You want me to find out where McLanahan and his forces aremaybe give them a heads-up?"
"I especially don't want you to do that," Thorn said firmly. "In fact, I'm going to direct the Justice Department to shut Sky Masters down. I want all their planes grounded. And if McLanahan and the Night Stalkers are in the country, which I believe they are right now, I want them detained."
"You're serious?" Goff asked incredulously. "You really don't want to get involved in this thing at all, no matter how covertly we try or no matter how much it might cost you politically?" '"
'That's right," Thorn said. "You know, Bob, I'm really impressed with McLanahan and his bunch. They got their teeth knocked in pretty good from what we can tell, and they still fought like badgers. Their aircraft acquitted themselves pretty well, if all the reports about attacked Libyan bases and destroyed airfields are all attributed to them.
"But that's precisely the reason we need to put a muzzle on them: They're too good. They did so well that Zuwayy of Libya might attack Egypt with nuclear weapons. That's why we need to shut him down. Unless I can somehow bring him and his people under control again, he's got to be shut down."
"That's easy," Goff said with a wry smile. "Ask him to join your Cabinet. Make him your national security adviser. Make him defect from Martindale's team and join yours."
"You're my national security adviser, Robert-I don't need another one."
"I'm not your national security adviser, Thomas-I'm your national security nudjen," Goff said. "I haven't told you a thing in twenty years. You need a guy like McLanahan to tell you when you're wrong."
"I want McLanahan in jail, Robert, not in the White House," Thomas Thorn said stonily. "He's a loose cannon. I want him shut down and shut off."
"O-kay," Goff said. "So… that means you're not going to ring him up on your little subcutaneous walkie-talkie, then?" Thorn scowled at him, then turned back to his computer. Goff smiled and got up to leave.