The US government leadership was also split on their feelings about David Manning and Henry Glickstein’s Red Cell claims. Some in the government believed that David and Henry were lunatics, and that the whole story was some type of hoax. The NSA fell into this camp.
The more extremist news agencies were calling it a conspiracy theory. The national security advisor loved to quote these reports, when it suited him. The CIA director had his suspicions why that was. The NSA had done lobbying work for a lot of different firms. Some with heavy ties to China. That was something that he was quietly looking in to.
Director Buckingham was on the other side of the fence when it came to the Red Cell. He had seen enough to know that there was a good amount of truth behind David Manning’s story.
These extremist news agencies, Director Buckingham knew, sometimes got tidbits of news from sources that originated in China. Some NSA reports even showed that Cheng Jinshan’s cyberoperations center pumped up these extremist news networks by using millions of fake social network accounts.
But there was just enough doubt in David Manning’s Red Cell story to cause the US to go soft in its objections to China. A few of the eighteen “missing” personnel had contacted their loved ones, for instance. They had left messages that supported the idea that they were on legitimate personal or business trips. Director Buckingham’s CIA analysts thought that these messages were coerced or outright faked. But the CIA’s own intelligence reports in China had found that no one in the Chinese government leadership circles knew anything about the Red Cell. And that was very odd.
The aligned US strategy was to use trusted Chinese back channels and organic intelligence to gather more information on the Red Cell. Only then would they present options to the president.
The Iran-US conflict was the bigger issue, the argument went. The problems with China were considered second-tier.
The CIA director knew better. So too, he thought, should all the members sitting at this table. But there were too many politicians in this room. Men who should have been chosen for their nonpartisan expertise in military, intelligence, or international relations. But these days, many elected officials were mixing up their politics with national security policy. And so men like the NSA were now advising the president, relying on information stripped from partisan news columns, and downplaying the US intelligence agencies’ daily briefings.
The thought infuriated Buckingham, who himself had been both a politician and a military officer in his past careers. But when he had sworn the oath taking this job, one hand on the Constitution of the United States, he’d promised himself that no matter what, he would always put country over party affiliation.
The president held up his hand at the laughter. “Gentlemen, that will be enough of that. Director Buckingham, please continue.”
The CIA director took the slide clicker and advanced to his section of the brief. On the screen at the front of the room, a zoomed-in image of the Red Cell island appeared. There was a long runway with a dozen aircraft visible on the line. Several hangars. A few helicopters. A scattering of buildings in several locations.
“This is the island where we believe the American Red Cell operation was held.”
The screen changed from a satellite image to an infrared image. Dozens more jets and helicopters were visible under the hangars. On the opposite side were several areas of intense heat.
A red circle came up around the heat signatures. “From our interviews with David Manning and Henry Glickstein, as well as our recent intelligence collection efforts, we believe this is where all eighteen Americans are still being held. The island is getting daily heavy transport flights in from several mainland air bases. And we’ve confirmed at least one submarine is in the island’s pen.”
“The island holds a submarine?” asked the president.
The director nodded. “The island is constructed to hold at least one submarine in a protected pen. Our reconnaissance analysis showed several design features on the island intended to shield submarines and aircraft from EMP attack. We’ve seen this feature at other Chinese military bases, including their submarine base at Yulin. It’s essentially a big cave in a mountain — big enough to fit multiple vessels inside. Our theory is that the Chinese would neutralize US military assets in the region with a large-scale EMP attack and come out relatively unharmed themselves.”
“Would that really work?”
The chairman of the joint chiefs of staff said, “We have modeled a few scenarios, sir. In theory, it could provide them with a distinct advantage. Especially if they were privy to the timing of the attack, and we weren’t.”
“Wonderful. Continue, Director Buckingham. I’ve got about five more minutes. Let’s get to the part where you tell me what the hell you think they’re up to, and what you want my approval to do about it.”
The slide changed to show several images of US ships, aircraft, and troops. There were also insignia for a few military units on the bottom of the slide.
“Sir, I understand that we can’t ignore the threat of war with Iran,” the director said. “While the seeds of this war may indeed have been planted by the Chinese, the continued threat from Iran is very real. You’ve been briefed on this, and we are committed to a strong military response. This may, however, play into the hands of the Chinese if they did intend for an Iranian conflict to tie up our military. General, if you would.” The director handed the clicker to the Army general.
General Schwartz said, “Sir, this is Task Force SILVERSMITH. Each of the military units on this slide is in one of two camps. Either they are special operations units that have not yet been activated for the Iranian response plan, or they are units that are so new, they are not yet operational.”
“What does that mean, not yet operational?”
“Sir, for example — the F-35 units depicted here are brand-new. They’re conducting their initial training and readiness qualifications. We didn’t expect to deploy them for at least another year. But the men are capable, and the equipment works. The same goes for the aircraft carrier, the USS Ford.”
“Understood.”
“Mr. President, our request is this: we want to activate these assets in secret, moving them to strategic locations that would allow them to respond to an imminent Chinese military threat, if needed.”
“So you are just going to move everyone over to West Coast bases?”
“No, sir. We’re going to move these assets to places where they wouldn’t normally be stationed. Based on the Red Cell debrief, we’re worried that staging these assets in regular locations could be too risky. If the balloon goes up, they could be taken out. We will treat these alternate locations with the utmost secrecy. These units will be used as insurance in case the Chinese really do attempt an attack on American forces.”
The NSA said, “Sir, I’m not sure about this. Shouldn’t we slow down and think for a moment? The Chinese have denied having possession of these Americans. We have reports that some of these guys are just on business trips, and have actually called their wives and families. I think all this talk about China is just a distraction. Let’s be more deliberate. Iran is the obvious issue that needs to be dealt with. For crying out loud, they attacked us in the Persian Gulf. We have evidence of that. The China evidence is tenuous at best.”
The president rubbed his chin, looking around the table. “Director Buckingham, I think it’s always prudent to buy a good insurance plan. Your request is approved. Admiral, if the Iranian submarines sink anything, then I want a swift and immediate response. Until then, no preemptive strikes. Clear?”