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General Branson was used to the SecDef adding information during his brief, and continued on as if it never happened. “They will get their experience, just like the infantry will — through direct combat. The additional fighter drones and aircraft from the boneyards will help, especially the 500 A-10s. Those are incredible tank busters. My concern is that we have heard rumors that Russia has a new fighter, the MiG40. We are not sure of its capabilities, but from what we have heard, it uses some sort of new technology that makes the aircraft virtually invisible to the naked eye. If that is the case, then this new fighter is going to cause us some major problems.”

Sighing deeply, the President felt another migraine coming on. “Gentlemen, what I need to know is — do we have sufficient forces to hold on to our gains in the Middle East and prevent Russia from capturing Europe? If not, then this is the time to bring up any issue.”

Everyone in the room sat silently thinking for a moment about what the President had just asked. It was a good question that needed to be addressed before hostilities with Russia really started. Eric sat back in his chair and exhaled forcefully, and then leaned forward surveying everyone at the table before continuing.

“Mr. President, we are at a tipping point right now. We have just stabilized the situation in the Middle East, and that could change quickly if the Russians or Chinese decide to throw more troops into the mix. We have North Africa and the Straits of Gibraltar that still need to be secured, and then we have Europe.”

The world was finally at a critical moment where the dictatorial regimes finally had the military and economic advantage over the Democratic governments of the West. The decline of the US as a global influencer, and the rise of China, Russia and a united Middle East had given them the edge they had longed for. After nearly 70 years of planning, China finally had the technological and military might to not just challenge the US, but potentially remove them from their superpower status. As China secured Southeast Asia, their attention would likely turn to mineral rich Alaska and the fertile farmlands of the American West Coast.

The Secretary of Defense spoke up for the group, saying, “Unless some miracle or an act of God happens, and the EU army is able to mobilize and stop the Russians, I do not believe we will be able to hold Europe for more than six months. It is going to take us close to twelve months to field an army strong enough to defeat the Russians, and that assumes those forces will not be needed to reinforce the Middle East, Australia or our own West Coast.”

The President knew Eric was right; there was only so much the US could do with the current forces and equipment they had at hand. The military boneyard near Tucson, AZ was already being scavenged for equipment that could be reactivated and so too was the Navy’s Ghost Fleet. The President needed time… time to allow the American economy to deliver the tools of war needed to win. However, it was time that the democracies of the world did not have.

“You bring up some good points Eric. We can only defend and win if we prioritize our theaters of operation,” responded the President. He looked down at his tablet for some information before continuing. “What we need to do right now is to determine which combat zones we will divert most of our resources to, and then focus on establishing a delaying action in the others.”

General Branson saw this as his opportunity to step in and provide his military opinion. “Mr. President, I recommend we finish operations in the Middle East. The Russians and Chinese have forces there, but that theater is not going to be their main area of operations. Let’s secure and stabilize that region so we can relocate those forces to Europe.”

“Next, I recommend that we move Asia to the backburner. I hate the idea of abandoning Asia, but until our carrier forces are built back up and Japan joins in, we are not going to be in a position to take China on and win. With that said, I recommend we continue to build up a defensive force in Australia and move to withdraw all forces from Japan and relocate them to Alaska. The Klondike is incredibly vulnerable to both Russia and China, and those forces in Japan could be the difference in deterring or preventing an attack there.”

“I also recommend that we begin a full evacuation of the Hawaiian Islands. The Chinese will certainly make a move for them. Once cut off, the civilian population on the island would begin to die off. The island also has limited military value because the naval and air facilities there have been wrecked by the Chinese sneak attack there. We are preparing our military forces to fight a guerilla war on the island and establish a continuous surveillance operation of the facilities once they do fall to the Chinese, but there is nothing we could do for the civilians. I recommend we begin a forced evacuation of the residents immediately, while we still have time.”

Secretary of State Jim Wise spoke up, “This is not going to look good in the public eye, Mr. President. I understand the need to prioritize the various theaters of operation, but it will appear that we are abandoning Asia and essentially surrendering to China. Is there some way we can continue to keep some sort of military pressure on the Chinese?”

Eric understood Jim’s concern as well and added, “He is right, Mr. President. It will appear that we are surrendering to China and ceding Asia to them. However, if we keep our submarine forces and the navy involved in Asia sinking Chinese shipping and going after other soft targets, then we can keep the public and the Chinese from believing we have ceded Asia to them.”

General Branson concurred. “These are good points Mr. President; I have to agree with their assessments. It is important we make the Chinese believe we have not completely surrendered the fight to them, especially in light of our withdrawing from the Hawaiian island, if we do in fact move forward with that plan.”

The President knew the next two weeks were going to be critical to the direction of the war and its outcome. The decisions being made right now would have a profound impact on the future history of the world. “Then it is settled. Asia will be moved to the backburner until we can defeat the IR and Russia. I want everything done to secure Israel and knock the IR out of the war immediately. Find a way to cripple them — starve them into submission if need be — but make sure that we bring that war to an end, or at least to a point where they are no longer a threat.”

“I also want a decision from the Japanese. Are they going to honor their defense pact with us and get involved in the war or not? If they choose to not honor the agreement, then I want General Branson to move forward with the full withdraw of US Forces from Japan to Alaska. We will not protect Japan from China if they are not willing to honor their defense agreement, nor will we allow the Japanese to intern our forces for the duration of the war,” the President said emphatically.

* * *

Following what was probably the most important meeting of the war, the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs immediately began to get things moving. Sixty thousand soldiers who had just completed training were being transferred to Australia to add to the 48,000 troops already stationed there. They would comprise the bulk of US Forces in Australia. 11,000 Marines were sent to Alaska to aid the Army in defending critical naval and land points that could be used by either Russian or Chinese forces, and they began to build a host of defensive forts and positions all throughout the Klondike. All other US Forces shipped to Israel to assist General Gardner’s Third Army.