“I think we’ve got plenty on our plate right now without having to digest that idea,” Chief of Staff Jerrod Hale interjected. He made it obvious he didn’t think much of the idea — but Freeman, Samson, Masters, and even Secretary of Defense Arthur Chastain suddenly wore thoughtful expressions as Hale continued, “You’ve got ten minutes before you need to be on the road for that speech, Mr. President. I suggest—”
Just then, there was a knock on the Oval Office door, and before the Secret Service agent could fully open it, Admiral George Balboa, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, stormed into the room. “I’m sorry, Mr. President,” he thundered, “but my aide was given a message by someone in the communications center that the meeting had been postponed an hour. But there’s no record of any such message. Then, as if by some weird coincidence, I find Brad Elliott outside in the reception area. Brad Elliott. Would somebody tell me what he’s doing?” And then Balboa noticed General Samson, Patrick McLanahan, and Jon Masters in the Oval Office, seated with the President and his military advisors. “Would somebody mind telling me what’s going on?”
“Brad Elliott?” the President asked in a suddenly squeaky voice. “He’s here?” And then everyone understood why Balboa was late for this meeting with the President. He smiled mischievously and shook his head, saying, “Nooo… no, Elliott wouldn’t dare.”
“Wouldn’t dare leave a phony message with my aide so he or his cronies can talk with the President of the United States alone about some cockamamie secret stealth bomber attack plan?” Balboa asked in a breathlessly sarcastic tone. “Hell, sir, I’m surprised he didn’t try to ambush my car with one of his robot drone missiles. But it worked, didn’t it? You’ve been talking about some covert air patrol of the Formosa Strait against the PLAN.”
“We’re discussing what China’s next move might be,” Freeman said, “and what we should do about it.”
“Do… what we should do?” Balboa asked, with considerable restraint evident in his voice. Balboa was a hot-tempered but dynamic and well-respected Navy veteran, strong-willed and intelligent, just the way Martindale liked his advisors. “Oh, yeah, the Air Force’s scheme to put those experimental ‘stealth’ B-52s out there.” Balboa said “B-52” as if it were the punch line to a very bad joke. “Mr. President, I’m prepared to brief you on the Joint Chiefs’ recommendation.”
“The carriers,” the President guessed. “Full-court press.”
“It’s the best response — maximum firepower if we need it, maximum visibility otherwise,” Balboa said. “Send both Independence and Washington into the Formosa Strait right away. When Vinson replaces Lincoln in the Arabian Sea, we send Lincoln into the theater until things calm down, then rotate it with Indy and send her home for her decommissioning party. ”
“I’m reminding the President that there are powerful elements of the Japanese parliament that see this administration as more hawkish when it comes to Asia in general and China in particular, and they’re fearful of us using military force if it means threatening trade and instigating military and economic conflict,” Freeman said. “The carriers are a powerful weapon — maybe too big a stick. The bombers could keep an eye on things without stirring up too much hostility.”
“He’s right, Admiral,” the President said. “Two, three carriers in the Formosa Strait — that’s an awful lot of firepower, almost Desert Storm-sized. It’s bound to make China nervous.”
“It’s supposed to make ’em nervous,” Balboa said with a loud laugh.
“Mr. President, we’re totally exposed right now. If the Chinese try an attack against Quemoy, Matsu, or any of Taiwan’s islands, we pound on ’em. My guess is, they’ll back off with two flattops parked in their front yards.
“Mr. President, the Chinese wouldn’t dare try an invasion of Taiwan,” Balboa went on with a confident tone, punctuated with an exasperated glance at Freeman, “but if they’re contemplating following up their attacks on Quemoy with a play on the island of Formosa itself, we can have the carriers standing by ready to respond. The carriers’ll discourage the Taiwanese from getting too frisky too. We’ll see to that.”
“The carriers aren’t in position, Admiral,” Freeman argued.
“We’ve got four frigates in the area ready to assist Taiwan, sir, plus land-based attack planes out of Okinawa,” Balboa said. “Plus the Taiwanese are no slouches when it comes to defending their islands. Indy will be on station in two days, and George will be on in five, tops. Just the news that two American carriers are on the way will scare that PLAN task force right back to base. They’ll back off, just like they did last March.”
“Admiral, we’re marching towards a huge naval confrontation by racing to put two aircraft carrier battle groups in the Formosa Strait to oppose China’s task force,” Freeman said. “Yes, it might scare them into retreating — or it might provoke them into firing first. Putting a couple of our EB-52 Megafortress stealth bombers in the area will keep things quiet and give us plenty of firepower in case the Chinese task force tries something. No one will know we ever had the Megafortress bombers on station.”
“Is that what you said about the B-2 attacks against Iran, General?” Balboa retorted. The conflict in the Persian Gulf region between Iran and the United States was still classified top secret, but the rumors and the heated debate over the mysterious attacks on Iran’s secret military bases and warships in the Gulf of Oman were just beginning. “ ‘No one would find out?’ Then why is it that half of Congress is calling for an investigation into an alleged illegal overflight of several Asian countries, including China, by a B-2 stealth bomber? Why is it that some loudmouth congresspersons are calling for the President’s impeachment?”
Jerrod Hale’s head jerked up angrily at that word, but before he could react, the President said, “Hold on, now, Admiral, but no one’s going to impeach me, and sure as hell no one’s going to intimidate me into responding or not responding.” That sentence was aimed as much at Balboa as it was at the few opposition party legislators who’d actually suggested an independent prosecutor investigate the President for his actions during the Iranian conflict. “The bottom line is, the B-2 stealth bomber attacks over Iran and the Persian Gulf forced the Iranians to stop their attacks and back off. If China, Afghanistan, and Congress are upset about us flying one lousy stealth bomber around to do the job, that’s tough.”
“Mr. President, the American people are upset because you conducted a secret, covert war,” Balboa said. He saw Hale’s face flush, but ignored him. “The American people don’t like secret wars, sir — the fallout from our escapades in Central America prove that.” Everyone realized that Balboa’s remark was aimed directly at the President, who, as the ex-vice president, had engineered many of those secret military missions in Central America in the aftermath of the James spy incident. Martindale had been severely criticized for initiating so many “dirty” skirmishes in Central America.
But Martindale could dish it out as well as take it. “You wouldn’t happen to be upset, Admiral,” the President said, “because I chose to keep the Abraham Lincoln carrier group out of the Persian Gulf but sent in a B-2 bomber to bust Iran’s chops; that I allowed the Lincoln to get shot at by the Iranians but didn’t give them a chance to retaliate?” It was no secret that many in the Navy were upset at precisely that point: Iran had attacked the USS Abraham Lincoln with long-range cruise missiles and shot down one of its E-3C Hawkeye radar planes, but the President had not allowed the Lincoln to spearhead a retaliatory strike.