“The IRs placement of mobile and fixed anti-missile/aircraft laser defense systems guarding Israel will make it hard for them to use their nuclear weapons too,” Nicolai interjected.
“What forces do the Americans have in the area that they could use to help Israel?”
“They have a carrier battle group operating in the Eastern Mediterranean and another in the Indian Ocean/Red Sea area along with a Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF) with about 2,500 Marines. The MEF is about the only unit that could quickly come to their aid. Though there is still an airborne battalion in Italy; that would add another 550 paratroopers to the mix,” General Sergun said as he lit another cigarette, ignoring General Gerasimov’s request to share one with him.
“It sounds like our hopes and dreams are being answered. The Americans will be bogged down in Mexico and then Israel. They really won’t be able to provide any meaningful support to the EU,” the President said with a wicked grin on his face.
“That is true. The next test will be Great Britain and the EU,” Sergun said.
“Yes, but they do not pose a serious threat to our forces. Our Air Force is on par with theirs these days and they do not have the ground forces needed to stop us,” Gerasimov said.
“Let’s hold a military exercise in mid-January along the NATO lines. We’ll make this a joint exercise with our Belarus and Eastern Ukrainian allies. We need to make sure we include NATO officers to ensure we defuse their apprehension. Once the IR attack is in full motion against the US and Israel, then we can make our move.”
“True, Mr. President. We had planned to attack the EU next fall; the IR is going to make us move our timeline up sooner than we had anticipated. If we coincide our winter training exercise with the timing of the IR’s attack, we could redirect the training to a full-on invasion of the EU and a combined first strike against the Americans. Our forces will have been dispersed and have crossed into the EU, so neither the EU nor the Americans would launch nuclear weapons at them,” General Sergun said devilishly.
“Despite our forces being dispersed, the Americans will respond with nuclear weapons if we use them on their troops; it’s part of their standard procedures.”
“Mr. President, to launch nuclear weapons the Americans need their President to authorize it, if he is not available then it passes down to the Vice President, next it goes to the Speaker of the House. All of these people will be at the inauguration and if the IR plan works, they will have decapitated all of the people in the line of succession that could authorize an attack,” said General Gerasimov.
“What is the state of our ballistic missile defense system?”
“We have twenty-one pulse beam batteries covering the likely approaches their missiles would take from either submarine launch or their missile silos. In addition, we have recently launched four new weather satellites that are part of our space-based laser missile defense system. Our primary concern would be their stealth bombers; we may be able to identify some of them, but more than a few would slip through our defenses,” said General Sergun.
“The question we have to ask is this — can we inflict enough crippling damage to knock the Americans out of the war at the start and secure the rest of Europe? And can we absorb the damage the Americans are most likely to inflict?” asked President Fradkov. “The other question is — will the Chinese play their part and strike the American West Coast and their Pacific Fleet?”
“During our last talks with the Chinese, they seemed like they would do their part. They want to absorb Southeast Asia and the Rice Bowl it would bring; they may even look to secure Australia if the Americans are knocked out of the equation. The hardest challenge our forces and the Chinese will have is ensuring we coordinate our attacks to coincide with the Islamic Republic’s assault,” General Gerasimov said.
“Yes, it will be a challenge trying to synchronize everything, but I am not sure we will have an opportunity like this ever again. If we and the Chinese choose not to join in this attack, the Americans will recover quickly and obliterate the Islamic Republic. If we limit our first strike to purely military targets, chances are if the Americans respond, they will likewise limit their strikes to our military facilities as well. The GRU believes our missile defense will help reduce the number of potential strikes we would absorb; our only real concern is wondering how effective the Americans missile defense system is,” said General Sergun.
“Let’s move forward as if we are going to execute this operation with the IR and the Chinese; if we need to cancel the operation, we can do so right up until the last minute if we believe the Chinese are not going to be able to pull off their end, perhaps we even let the Chinese launch the first attack and while the Americans are responding to that threat, we hit them,” said the President.
South of the Border
“Colonel Zedillo, we have received final confirmation. We are to begin the coup immediately. Send the word to our people to start arresting the various commanders and military officers we know will not cooperate and replace them with ones that will. I want this done within the next two hours. We are to commence with the coup by the end of the day” General Galván said.
“Yes, General. We shall have everyone in position soon,” Colonel Zedillo said as he began to send a coded text message to let everyone know the coup was going to take place that day.
General Guillermo Galván was an egotistical narcissist who had a god complex. He truly believed he could one day become President or take control of the country and lead Mexico to new greatness. His tenacity, skill and determination had led him to become the second highest ranking general in the Mexican Army. For years he had fought the cartels, until two years ago when he was approached by a member of the IR intelligence service. They had offered him five hundred million NAD to stop attacking the cartels and to start cooperating with them.
The IR’s goal was for him to form a partnership with the cartels to take over the country and ensure the Americans would not pose a threat to his government once he completed his overthrow of the current government. If he was able to successfully plan and execute the coup, he would have their full support to become the new President. He would need to continue to turn a blind eye to the cartels and to change his country’s stance towards the US. The IR reasoned with the General that by incorporating the cartels into the government, a prearranged percentage of revenue made by the sale of drugs globally would be given to the government. The IR would then ask for permission to base soldiers in Mexico and he should accept.
Colonel Jose Zedillo was the commander of the soldiers that protected the Presidential Palace and the Mexican government. General Galván had been able to recruit most of his officers with money provided by the IR and assurances that they would receive promotions and more authority under his regime.
When the coup finally happened, it transpired quickly, despite some army units refusing to be a part of it. Their commanding officers were quickly eliminated as well as any other individuals who wanted to resist. The IR had numerous Special Forces groups assisting the Mexican Army with securing important government institutions and military bases as well as eliminating opposition and potential opposition leaders. The first two days of the coup were bloody; thousands of people within the government, media, and individuals identified by the Islamic Republic intelligence network were killed and others with needed skills and political leanings contrary to America were installed. Within two days, the entire country had been secured with help from the military; the police had no resistance or violence from the cartels.