As he entered, the members of the national security team and the White House communications director were getting settled into their seats. As the president entered, they all shot back up in unison out of respect.
“Good morning and thank you for coming in at this early hour,” said the president. He noticed the puzzled looks on their faces. “Well, sorry. I realize it’s been a long night for you all. Thank you for your efforts. Please sit down and tell me where we stand.”
The Joint Chiefs and the CIA director joined the director of National Intelligence in laying out the facts. Since the attack on their nuclear facility, the rhetoric out of Tehran had escalated daily. The terrorist attack had been undertaken by their proxy, the Houthi Shiite rebels in Yemen, who’d acted on behalf of the Tehran government for many years. They were just one of half a dozen well-funded groups throughout the Middle East who waged war on Western and Israeli interests.
“All right, before we address the issue of our response, especially in light of the American delegation being there, including my secretary of state, what are we doing to bolster our presence in the Persian Gulf?”
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs replied, “Sir, the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group had been operating off the coast of Somalia as we pulled troops and assets out of that country and redistributed them into Northern Africa following the Isfahan incident.
“As you know, the Nimitz was long overdue for a return to port in Bremerton, Washington, after a thirteen-month deployment. However, its skipper has assured us his people are ready to go where their Commander-in-Chief sees fit.”
“Please thank Admiral Kirk for me.” Rear Admiral David Kirk, a Hershey, Pennsylvania, native, had recently been named the new commander of the massive aircraft carrier and the flotilla of ships that surround it. “What do you have in mind for the Nimitz?”
“Mr. President, after the attack on the nuclear facility, we began the process of redeploying the Nimitz to the region. They will be entering the Straits of Hormuz within forty-eight hours. However, sir, we might need to rethink deploying the Nimitz into the Persian Gulf.”
“Why is that?”
“If the conflict between Iran and Israel escalates further into a hot war, the relatively small and nearly landlocked body of water is an anti-ship missile engagement zone. It’s rife with other potential threats that are difficult for the carrier strike group to counter, like small-boat swarm attacks, naval mines, and the Iranian’s nontraditional submarine operations.”
Days after President Helton’s inauguration, the Iranian Navy towed a refurbished mock aircraft carrier into the Strait of Hormuz, which links the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman. The movement of the heavily modified barge designed in the likeness of an American flattop aircraft carrier immediately drew the attention of U.S. intelligence.
Satellite imagery revealed the mock carrier being towed into the center of the strait one day, and the next day, a large crosshair had been painted on its top deck. On day three, several fast boats operated by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard were filmed swarming the faux carrier, firing surface-to-surface missiles at the bow. The explosion, most likely generated by fuel containers stored in the front of the barge, could be seen throughout the coastal areas of the Persian Gulf and by astronauts aboard the International Space Station.
It was clearly viewed as a provocation and a message to the first-year president that Tehran was not to be trifled with. After years of being kept in check with sanctions, they were prepared to flex their muscles, apparently.
The president furrowed his brow. The Nimitz Carrier Strike Group would’ve been seen as an effective deterrent to any military action by the Iranians. “What do you suggest we do in the meantime?”
“Sir, we have an Ohio-class submarine, the USS Georgia, in the region. We can send her into the Persian Gulf, you know, high profile, to send a message. The Iranians have nothing to counteract a vessel like the Georgia, which is packed with Tomahawk cruise missiles and our special operations forces.”
“When could it arrive?”
“By tomorrow afternoon, sir.”
“Do it, General. Let them know we mean business.”
CHAPTER NINE
Saturday, October 19
Holiday Inn Abu Dhabi
Peter Albright stood at the window of his upper-level hotel room in the Holiday Inn Abu Dhabi. He had a bird’s-eye of the activity taking place around the National Exhibition Centre, where the terrorist attack had taken place. Large crowds had gathered around the Embassy of Iran, just across Al Maarid Street at the back of the conference location. Likewise, a contingent of U.S. military vehicles had gathered around the U.S. embassy a mere block away.
Peter had just hung up with a friend and college classmate at the University of Miami who worked as a member of the Department of Defense communications team inside the Pentagon. The two had dated while in college, but there was nothing serious other than the usual kids-just-left-home-time-to-play relationship. They still got together for the occasional drink or dinner, followed by a noncommittal sleepover. It worked for both of the young DC professionals, who were trying to advance their careers rather than seeking to settle down.
Jenna Alan loved government. Her father had been a local politician with designs on higher office before a heart attack struck him while Jenna was obtaining her degree in broadcast journalism. In recent months, she’d been assigned press briefing duty and frequently took to the podium when her boss was traveling with the secretary of defense. Unlike Peter, who didn’t have that inside connection with the secretary of state, Jenna was always in the know when it came to the Pentagon’s inner workings.
She’d told Peter about the redeployment of the Nimitz strike group and the USS Georgia toward the Persian Gulf. The drums of war were beginning to beat louder, Peter had thought to himself as he listened to her detail the Pentagon’s moves, off the record, of course. The two had a very trusting relationship, allowing them to share information without fear of reading about it online later that day.
Like a good soldier, Peter had filed his press pool report soon after he’d been evacuated from the conference center. Unable to sleep, he’d ordered dinner and half a dozen Heinekens to relieve the stress. He sent out a text message blast to family and friends, letting them know he was safe. Then he sat down to write the best news article for the Washington Times he’d ever produced. He was the only journalist who’d witnessed the attack firsthand and lived to tell about it.
During his extensive self-edits, he chose to remove the details related to his killing of a terrorist and the use of the grenade to escape. He feared bringing unnecessary heat on his family. By midmorning in the States, his reporting was being cited and shared by every news agency in the country. He’d already received several requests to appear on camera for interviews as soon as he returned home.
The other big story of the news day was the president’s anticipated response. Peter knew the secretary of state and her team were never in imminent danger. Per the schedule, which was widely disseminated, she and the Israeli delegation had been having a preconference meeting on the top floor of the center. This fact struck Peter as odd, in that the terrorists could’ve easily deployed rocket-propelled grenade launchers to fire upon the upper levels. Either they weren’t prepared, or they were amateurs. That was not for him to speculate, so he didn’t in his reporting.