Now, as I thought back to those days, I realized how foolish and naïve I had been. What would have happened if I had just said “NO!” and refused to get on board that Goony Bird? What if we had all refused what we knew were ridiculous and illegal orders? It’s not like we were at war, where you have to do what you have to do. It was a fucking training exercise and that asshole would have cheerfully killed us all as long as it didn’t hurt his next promotion. What’s the worst that would have happened? He could have court-martialed me for refusing to obey an order, but I could have beaten that one at trial easily. My career would have been shot, but it was over with as soon as Hawkins got involved anyway. More importantly, two good men wouldn’t have had to die, and another good man wouldn’t have been crippled, and I don’t mean me. I had allowed my personal courage and sense of duty to override my duty to my fellow soldiers.
There was no way I was going to let Hawkins back into the service of the U.S. government!
Right after lunch Mindy told me that Newt was giving me five minutes at four to talk to him. I thanked her and had her clear my schedule for the afternoon. At half past three I walked over to his office and waited my turn. I was ushered in about five after four, and smiled as I wound my way through his offices. It was nicer than mine, by a long shot.
Ever since we had picked up some more seats in the House, Newt was a lot happier with me than before, when I was working with the Democrats. I was still planning on working with them, but I saw no need to rub it in his face. In fact, what I wanted to do now would be a sharp stick in the eye for the Democrats, and he was sure to appreciate it.
“Carl, good to see you again. How can I help you?”
“Thank you for seeing me, Newt, I appreciate it.”
He smiled expansively. “So, what brings you here?” I reached inside my jacket and pulled out the bio and photo of Hawkins and laid them on his desk. “What’s this? Who’s this fellow?” he asked.
“That would be the information on Lieutenant General Anthony Hawkins, who has been nominated by Bill Clinton as the Deputy Secretary of State under Warren Christopher.”
“So?”
“So, it’s not going to happen. I knew this guy back when I was in the Army. He is not qualified for a leadership position anywhere in the government. I don’t want to get into it because there are national security implications, but I won’t let him serve again. Nobody in the Senate or over at Clinton’s offices knows me or would listen to me, but they know you. I am asking that you contact somebody and have this nomination killed off.”
Newt had been sitting back in his chair lazily listening to me, but as I talked and got to the phrase ‘national security’ he straightened up. “Carl, we are in the House of Representatives, not the Senate. The Senate gets to ‘advise and consent’, not us.”
“I understand that, and it’s why I’m talking to you. I’m serious, though. If I have to crash his confirmation hearing and do it on live TV, I’ll do it, and if it costs me my office, I’ll pay the price.”
“You pull a stunt like that, and it will cost you your office! It will result in a Congressional censure and contempt of Congress charge, at the least!”
I nodded. “As I said, I will pay the price.”
He looked at me carefully. “You need to tell me what’s going on, Carl. What the hell is this national security nonsense?”
I shook my head. “I can’t tell you. It was classified Top Secret. I will have to pay that price as well, if I speak out in a public hearing.”
“Carl, I’m not sure what you expect out of me if you don’t tell me what is going on, or what happened, or whatever.”
“Newt, on this one you are going to have to trust me.”
He just shook his head. “Give me some time to make some phone calls, but don’t do anything stupid without talking to me first. If this is bullshit I will hang your balls out to dry in the noonday sun.”
“Fair enough.” I stood and took my leave of him. I flew home, and then had several drinks too many that night. Too damn much of that nightmare in Central America was being dredged up. Even Marilyn noticed I was being short and snappy with her.
Newt called me two days later. “Carl, the best I could do was set up a meeting with some people in the Senate, and you are going to have to explain this national security stuff to them.”
“When?”
“Thursday the 17th.”
That was next week. “Just let me know when and where,” I told him.
“You’d better know what you’re doing, Carl, or this is going to be a disaster.” Newt finished and hung up on me.
The meeting was in Newt’s office at two in the afternoon. I was waiting with him, just chatting over plans for 1993, as people began showing up. It was a meeting of the Washington Congressional and Senatorial elite — and me. The Senate Majority Whip, Wendell Ford, was present, as was the head of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Claiborne Pell, which was the committee that would have to hold the hearings on Hawkins. Probably because of the national security implications I was mentioning, the head of the Select Committee on Intelligence, David Boren, was present. The last to appear was a handler from the Clinton transition team named John Baldwin, who was one of Warren Christopher’s people, and Hawkins himself. The only Republicans in the room were me and Newt.
Hawkins came in last, pride and defiance in his stride, and almost sneered at me when he saw the junior pipsqueak who dared to threaten him. I gave him my most studied indifferent look, simply looking at him without blinking, dragging my gaze across him from right to left, and then slowly turning my head away.
It was Baldwin who spoke first, simply as a way to start the meeting. “Congressman Gingrich, it’s a pleasure to see you again. Allow me to introduce General Hawkins.”
Hawkins came forward and brushed past me, to shake Newt’s outstretched hand. “Congressman, thank you for seeing me, although I can’t understand what the problem might be.”
“That’s what we’re here to figure out, isn’t it, General. This is Congressman Buckman, who requested the meeting.”
Deigning to acknowledge me for the first time, Hawkins turned to me and stuck his hand out. “Congressman.”
“It’s good to see you again, Mister Hawkins.”
“That’s General Hawkins, if you please,” he responded.
John Baldwin interjected, “General Hawkins was a general in the United States Army, and it’s customary to refer to a retired officer by his rank.”
I put my most innocent face on and looked around the room. “Really? Well, I guess you could all call me Captain Buckman instead of Congressman Buckman, but that seems a little presumptuous of me.” I looked around the room innocently.
We all sat down, and the meeting started. “Carl, you asked us to this meeting, and I’m here because of the national security implications that you refused to tell Newt about. So, spit it out, son, what’s got your panties in a twist about this fellow?” said Boren, in his folksy Oklahoma twang.
“I find this entire meeting an insult!” interrupted Hawkins. “I have an exemplary record and everybody in this room knows it! I demand an apology!”
Baldwin laid a hand on Hawkins’ arm and shook his head silently.
“Calm down, General, we’ll figure this out,” commented Pell.
All eyes turned to me. It was show time.