He read through the bullet points and the highlighted portions of the brief. The overarching tone of the report suggested that the alignment of India with the Eastern Alliance had more to do with the perception that the US and Europe were in a considerably weakened state, and that if Russia and China pushed hard enough, the West would collapse, leaving them as the new world powers. By joining the Eastern Alliance, India must have believed that they were throwing their lot in with the winning side and stood to gain from an American defeat.
Before he could finish reading through the details, his Chief of Staff, Josh Morgan, walked into his study. “Are you ready for our guest?” he asked.
The President nodded, knowing he’d probably get more answers from the people he was about to meet than from reading a report put together by the CIA. Josh had pulled some strings to make this consultation happen so quickly.
In walked Aneesh Dayal, the US Ambassador to India, Vivek Chopra, a prominent businessman from New York who was deeply involved in the Indian-American community, and Neal Biswal, a cofounder of a major Silicon Valley IT company.
President Foss stood and walked toward his guests. He shook their hands and gestured for them to take a seat on the couches and chairs in the center of the room. He had wanted to meet with them in his private study as opposed to the Oval Office because he wanted the setting to be informal and more inviting. He needed honest answers if they were going to figure out how they were going to handle India.
“Thank you all for meeting with me on such short notice,” he said.
A steward finished pouring everyone the drink they’d requested, and a sandwich tray was also brought in and placed on the table in front of them. It was lunchtime, and Foss figured breaking bread with people, even those who adamantly disagreed with his politics, was a way to open things up.
“When the President requests a meeting to speak with you, you meet with him,” Vivek replied with a smile as he helped himself to a half an egg sandwich.
The President returned the smile briefly. “I’m struggling with some aspects of this war,” he began. “Mainly, how did America find itself at war with India? We’ve traditionally had good relations with India. I’m still trying to figure out exactly what happened that changed that dynamic.”
“I’m not a good person to ask that question, Mr. President,” answered Neal Biswal. “Most of my friends and employees were killed when the nuclear missile hit the Bay Area. The only reason my family and I are alive is because we were vacationing at Disney World in Florida when the attack happened. I believe this war started because your predecessor was a bloviating idiot who didn’t know what he was doing. I think India is at war with America because they see America as a global threat to world peace, and after our defeats in Europe and Asia, they saw an opportunity to pile on and take us out.” Neal Biswal spoke with anger and heat. His beliefs, and those of his company, were well known to the President, but Foss had still wanted his perspective.
“You don’t believe North Korea or China bear any blame for launching the nuclear weapon that destroyed Oakland?” the President bristled. Although he’d known what to expect from Neal, he was still shocked that the man before him blamed Gates for the destruction of Oakland when he had done everything in his power to save it.
Holding a hand up in surrender, Neal clarified his response. “You’re right. Gates didn’t launch the missiles at America, and I know the military did its best to try and shoot them down. I guess I’m just mad that of all the missiles to get through our missile defense shield, the Bay Area ended up taking it on the chin.”
“We’re all irate about that, Neal,” said Ambassador Dayal. “It could’ve been a lot worse if the interceptors hadn’t hit the other missiles though. We could have lost New York, Chicago, Washington D.C., and a few other cities.”
The President allowed Neal to vent for a few minutes, nodding as he listened. When he had said his piece and gotten some of his anger out of his system, the President moved in to prod for more information.
“Neal, you’re a businessman, and you seem to have a good grasp on the politics of what’s happening. When the Indian government first joined the war against us, the situation looked bleak for America. However, a year has passed, and the tides of the war have changed. Their military suffered a catastrophic defeat in the Russian Far East, and they’ve sustained heavy losses in Europe. Do they still believe they can defeat America? That they’re still on the right side of history in this war?”
Neal leaned back in the chair for a second to think. “I don’t have a lot of contact with people back in India, for obvious reasons, but I believe the initial optimism about a quick victory has evaporated. I think the reality of what it would take to fight and defeat the United States has started to set in. The initial war hawks in the Indian government and military are now facing the reality that their allies, Russia and China, are not in nearly as strong of a military position as they first believed they were.”
“I agree,” confirmed Vivek. “I think the initial optimism the government had about dethroning the US evaporated when their forces were soundly defeated in Siberia. I have some family living in Mumbai, and they tell me the average person on the street believes the war is a huge mistake. When the casualties from the battle were made known, a lot of people took to the streets to protest the war. They had been led to believe the war would be won quickly, and America was all but defeated — that it would be India, Russia, and China who would dominate the world. That belief has been shattered. I suspect when the casualty reports are released from the European battles that are taking place right now, any support within the government for the war will further evaporate.”
Foss took the information in while he formulated his next question. “OK, so if what you all are saying is true, and I have no reason to believe it’s not, how should we try to convince them to end their involvement in the war? I’d rather not have to launch cruise missiles at them, or potentially land troops near their borders. So how do we persuade them that staying in the war any further is not going to end well for them?”
There was a brief pause before Ambassador Dayal responded. “I propose we make them an offer. Give them an opportunity to end their involvement in the war peacefully, now. If they choose not to, then we start to use the Navy to launch cruise missiles at key aspects of their economy that are specifically supporting their war effort. Right now, the casualties they’re suffering are far away from their borders. If they start to lose people at home, that might be the needed catalyst to force real change.”
The President thought about that for a minute. He agreed with the ambassador’s assessment. It was time to make the Indian government an offer to end the war or face a further escalation.
Following the lunch and continued conversations with his guests, President Foss went to the next meeting, eager to hear what his spy agency had to report. When he entered the PEOC, he saw CIA Director Jedediah “JP” Perth, Tom McMillan, his National Security Advisor, Admiral Peter Meyers, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, and Secretary of Defense Jim Castle all eagerly waiting for him. This meeting was intentionally being kept small. Once the President had taken his seat, Josh, his Chief of Staff and senior advisor, took a seat next to him and the meeting began.
“Sir, I’ve called this meeting to brief you on the latest developments with Operation Strawman,” JP said, urgency in his voice. “I received a crucial message from our source in Moscow. There’s been a major development, and we need to discuss it with you now.”