“So, what is the timeline, General? How soon will we have sufficient forces in place to launch an attack?”
“Three more days, Mr. President. In ten days, we’ll have Second Corps at the Haifa port ready to offload and enter the fight as well.”
“All right then. Let’s plan to launch our attack on December 1st, five days from now. That gives us a bit more time to get that Corps closer to the action. We also need to start coordinating things with the Israelis.”
The Commandant of the Marine Corps spoke up and added, “Sir, the entire 1st Marine Expeditionary Force of 20,000 Marines is also already linking up with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean.”
“Excellent.”
“I would hold off on making any major announcements, Mr. President, until the day before or the day of the attack. If possible, I would wait until you have given the order. We do not want to lose the element of surprise,” said LTG Rick Scott, the Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA).
“I agree, General Scott. I will hold off on any announcement until the attack order has been given. Jim, you have a lot of work to do in a short amount of time on the diplomatic front. Eric, I want you to begin a rapid mobilization of National Guard and Reserve units immediately. Activate the units that we know we are going to need, and get the second echelon of forces ready to deploy to Israel as well. I also want more Marines heading that way; once this kicks off, we are going to need to secure the Suez and a number of other areas that will need their skill set,” said the President. He took a deep breath and held it for a minute before letting it out.
“We also need to be ready in case they go nuclear. What are our options and how do we want to respond? I would like an answer to that question for tomorrow’s meeting so we can begin to position specific weapons.”
“Yes, Mr. President” the men replied in unison. The President got up to leave and return to his family at the residence.
The Chosen People
General Fan Changlong, the Vice Chairman of the CMC, had called an emergency meeting to discuss the imminent attack to take place by the Islamic Republic. “General Changlong, the IR has been conducting terrorist attacks against the Americans for the past ten weeks. What is new about this situation?” asked Zhang Jinping, the Premier of China.
“Premier, our intelligence operatives within the US military have confirmed that the Americans are planning to declare war on the IR on December 1st. Their attack will originate from Israel and will include several seaborne invasions as well,” said General Changlong, looking at General Zhang Yang, the Minister of Defense.
“Premier, the information has been confirmed by other sources as well. Our cyber command has decoded numerous orders for ships, aircraft and munitions to be moved to Israel,” said the Defense Minister.
“Hmm…I suppose this could work to our advantage. I had hoped the coming conflict between the US and the IR could have been held off until the start of the New Year.”
“The American intelligence agencies have traced all of the terrorist attacks to the IR; I suspect they were waiting until they have everything in place and then planned to present the case to their people and to the world,” said Xi Lee, the Director of State Intelligence.
“I never understood the Americans’ need to justify their actions to the rest of the world. They somehow believe they need the world’s permission to act in their own self-defense.”
“Premier, this presents us with a unique opportunity. Rather than waiting until the New Year to launch our attack, we could launch our attack on December 7th. The Americans will be heavily engaged in the Middle East by that point, and they will not have the forces available to prevent us from taking Guam and Taiwan,” said Admiral Wei Shengli.
“Admiral, you do realize the date you have recommended for the attack is the same day the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor?” asked the Premier.
“I do. This time we will finish what the Japanese could not.”
“Very well. Proceed with the modified timetable, but make sure we do as little as possible to draw any major attention from the Americans prior to our attack. It has to be a complete surprise if this is going to work to our advantage.”
“Caliph Abbas, our intelligence assets are reporting that the American 5th fleet in Eilat has put to sea and is currently heading on a course towards the Indian Ocean. Our reconnaissance flights out of Egypt have spotted the American 6th fleet moving towards the Suez,” said General Rafik Hamza, the Military Commander of the Islamic Republic.
General Hamza had been the second in command of the Saudi Royal Army before the formation of the Republic. He had been trained by the American military and had attended the finest American schools, so he knew the capabilities of the American military and quickly recognized these movements as a precursor to what will most likely be an attack on the IR by the Americans.
“What about the Israelis? Has their military posture changed in the last 48 hours?” asked Caliph Abbas.
“The Israeli Defense Force (IDF) has called up their entire reserve force for what they are calling a ‘military readiness drill.’ Most of their military forces are starting to leave their bases and moving to forward defensive positions. We are also seeing a repositioning of their air defenses and anti-missile laser defense systems. Our assumption is that they are moving them around in case we had them pre-positioned by artillery or missiles,” explained Huseen ibn Abdullah, the Director of Intelligence, as he laid down a tablet that he had been reading from.
“Caliph, we need to launch the invasion immediately. The Americans and the Israelis have seen through our deception and know we are positioning to launch a first strike against Israel.”
“The Americans have also determined that we are behind the terrorist attacks on their homeland. They have held off on attacking us until their military is in position to strike us,” said the Director of Intelligence.
“How soon until the nuclear devices are in American ports?”
“The ships are at sea now. In concert with the Russians and Chinese, I have redirected the ship that was heading to the Port of Los Angeles to move to Baltimore Harbor, and the other ship is heading towards New York Harbor. It will not be in position for another seven days,” said Admiral Jaffa Mustafa, Commander of the Islamic Republic’s Naval Forces.
“Why the change?” asked Caliph Mohammed.
“The Russians asked that we use the devices to hit two of the larger East Coast ports. This would hinder their ability to move supplies and reinforcements overseas, and would cause considerable infrastructure and civilian deaths. The Chinese have also asked that we not attack the Port of LA; they have a surprise for the Americans that require the port to remain intact,” the Intelligence Director said, nodding towards the head of the military.
“Thank you for the clarification, General Muhammed. What is the likelihood of success if you were to launch your attack immediately?”
“Pending the Navy is able to keep the American carriers occupied and the Air Force is able to overwhelm the American and Israeli Air Forces, my land force should be able to cut Israel in half within 72 to 96 hours. At that point, we will be able to destroy them piecemeal,” said General Abdullah Muhammed. He was the military commander on the ground who would lead the Islamic Republic forces in their invasion of Israel.
Prior to the formation of the Republic, Abdullah had been a general in the Iraqi Army; he too had been trained by the Americans and had initially fought against them during the invasion of Iraq in 2003 when he had been an officer in the Republican Guard.