Lieutenant Jim Cruiser, sitting on the front row with Brannigan and Ensign Orlando Taylor, showed a serious expression. "What you're describing seems to be a situation that could lead to a world war."
"We're already in a world war, Jim,"
Joplin replied. "And your main duty in this upcoming operation is to keep a lid on this volatile situation. A small force of Iranians and Arabs is now in the Gharawdara Highlands in the border country. They are called the Zaheya, which is a Farsi acronym for Strike Force Vengeance. This includes Arabs you've fought before when they were an armored car company. And, as I'm sure you remember, they are led by a deserter from the British Army. I must warn you that he has whipped them into an elite unit of infantry. So you may anticipate that they will be much harder to deal with in the future."
Mike Assad interjected, "We'll deal with 'em, alright, Dr. Joplin. Don't worry about that."
"There is no doubt in my mind you can handle it, Mike," Joplin said, keeping his apprehension to himself. "They are joined by some hard-core Iranian Army Special Forces who have completed a most demanding program of training and preparation. These men are totally dedicated to their national aims. So your work is cut out for you."
"How many of them are there?" Joe Miskoski asked.
"A few more than you," Joplin said.
Brannigan frowned. "I thought you were talking about a world war. But we're not dealing with forces of thousands or even hundreds of troops here. This is literally a clash of dozens. I don't understand."
"I'll try to explain this complicated and confusing issue to you," Joplin said patiently. "Neither we nor the Iranians want a big to-do to settle this thing. The bigger it is, the more dangerous it becomes for everybody concerned. And believe me, it would fuel the fire of this world war we're now involved in. The Iranians want a foothold in Afghanistan to renew the Pashtun revolt. They plan to accomplish this illegal goal unobtrusively."
"Well, hell!" Connie Concord said. "Why not just bomb 'em to ashes?"
"We could certainly do that," Joplin said. "But that would cause a backlash in the Middle East. Therefore we must follow Iran's example and also be as low-key as possible."
CPO Matt Gunnarson raised his hand. "What is so important about Afghanistan to the Iranians?"
"They can accomplish two things in that country," Joplin replied. "First they have an immediate expansion of their territory; and second, by ruling Afghanistan it would be only a matter of time before they took over Pakistan. If that happened, the international implications are bound to be catastrophic. It would be exactly like the situation that brought about the start of World War One. Before that conflict erupted, the leaders of the affected European nations--the kings, emperors, czars, and what have you--were more afraid of what would be thought of them if they didn't go to war, rather than if they did."
"Excuse me, Dr. Joplin," Puglisi said, "but what the fuck are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about egotistical assholes within the Islam world not wanting to be considered candy-asses," Joplin said, choosing words the SEAL could relate to as a fighting man. "Their only consideration would be whose side to be on in the inevitable war to come."
"Alright!" Puglisi said. "I can dig it."
"So if the thing is settled in a small, unobtrusive manner, then the government in Tehran can back off without losing face if they are defeated here in Operation Battleline," Joplin said. "The problem goes away."
"That's fine if the Iranians lose," Gutsy Olson remarked. "But what if we lose?"
Joplin took a deep breath. "My dear friends, you cannot lose! The country couldn't afford it. You see, we don't have the luxury the Iranians have. If you're kicked off that mountain, then Israel will move in big time to squelch Iran's master plan. As you know, they will employ considerable force that would entail the use of one of their own WMDs. Such a destructive attack would change the present global situation for the worse. Muslims in all parts of the world would rise up, including those in Indonesia, Bangladesh, India, Turkey, Nigeria, and even China. All in all, we're talking about one point two billion people who would respond in a most violent way."
"Then nuke all the motherfuckers," Monty Sturgis, one of the new guys, suggested with a smile.
"That wouldn't be very good for this planet we're living on," Joplin replied. "It would be a thousand times worse than what Israel would do."
"Excuse me, Dr. Joplin," Chad Murchison said. "Couldn't our government proscribe Israel from taking such a cataclysmic step?"
"They would not listen," Joplin said.
"How do we know that?" Brannigan asked.
"Because the Israelis said so," Joplin replied. "Having a Persian Empire ruled by people who have sworn to wipe Israel off the map is not the same as dealing with Hamas in Palestine or Hezbollah in Lebanon. The leaders in Jerusalem are not willing to take that chance." He shrugged. "Therefore--and please forgive the cliche-losing is not an option. With your victory in a contained campaign, all those big problems will go away."
Somewhere within the group of SEALs could be heard a single utterance of frustration. "Shit!"
"Yeah," Joplin agreed. "Any questions?" When nobody spoke, he gave them another smile. "No matter the circumstances, I really enjoy being with you again." He stepped back as Carey retook the floor.
The operations officer took a moment to study the faces of the Brigands. Everyone was glum, showing that Joplin's dissertation had convinced them of the seriousness of the upcoming operation. Carey cleared his throat. "Ahem. So, although it is not necessary but customary, I will continue this briefing with the mission statement. You are to engage and defeat the Iranian forces now occupying an area of the Gharawdara Highlands on the Iran-Afghanistan border. The reasons behind all this have been rather well presented by Dr. Joplin, so we'll move on to the execution."
The SEALs all had their notebooks out, with ballpoint pens poised to begin taking notes.
Carey continued, "On seven June at oh-six-hundred hours you will depart from Shelor Field via an Air Force Pave Low chopper to fly up into the Gharawdara Highlands. Your destination is a stronghold formerly used by that Pashtun rebel group mentioned earlier. There are excellent defensive positions already constructed that you can occupy as well as a number of caves available for bunkers and storage areas. These are artillery-and bombproof."
"Sir," Dave Leibowitz said, raising his hand. "Before you go any further, I'd like to know if we have any assets available."
"There is one," Carey said, "and you already know about him. It's the guy code-named Aladdin."
"Wait a minute!" Brannigan blurted. "Isn't he the one who is such a mystery to our own intelligence community?"
"Yes," Carey answered. "I would like to emphasize that he has been officially--I say again--officially approved. Since I spoke to you last he has managed to get off a couple more transmissions. That's how we know the physical setup of your base camp. One more thing: There will be neither discussion nor argument about his reliability."
"Aye, sir," Brannigan grumpily acknowledged.
"To continue," Carey said. "The choppers will land on an LZ behind the base camp. It is a small, flat area that can accommodate aerial deliveries and extractions, including medevacs. After offloading, you will proceed down to the former Pashtun area and establish your base camp. When it is properly prepared, you will launch your operations. Any questions about that?"