“Admiral, before we discuss how we are going to respond to that particular attack, we need to assess the rest of the situation. General Branson, tell us about the situation on the ground.”
“The 3rd ID has taken the brunt of the IR attack in the Jordan Valley. The barrage did a considerable amount of damage to their vehicles, and they have been getting hit with multiple wave attacks of both infantry and light drone tanks. They are putting up a brave fight, but they are starting to fall back to their secondary positions.”
“Two brigade combat teams from the 1st ID are moving up to reinforce them as we speak in order to plug up the holes in the lines. The IDF was hit hard in their southern border, and just as it looked like they were going to have to fall back with the 6th Fleet, they hammered the IR with their cruise missiles. When the Marines began to land along the Gaza strip, the SCZ the IR force withdrew back towards the southern section of the SCZ to block the Marines from cornering them. Admiral Todd’s Air Wing and the Marine Air Wing should finish them off soon.”
“The IDF is holding the line along the Lebanon border and the 1st Armored Division completely blunted the IR armored assault. Those new Pershing tanks are performing far better than anyone expected. They absolutely pulverized those front line Chinese and Russian tanks that the IR is using,” said General Branson with a hint of a smile.
“LTG Gardner is requesting the XVIII Airborne Corps to reinforce him immediately. Third Corps and the IDF have taken a beating. General Gardner says they have already sustained 5,340 KIAs and about the same number of WIAs.”
“Mr. President, these are some heavy losses. This is close to 20,000 men and women killed and at least another 10,000 wounded in the first hour of the war. I recommend we surge troops to Israel and we hit the IR with some tactical nuclear weapons of our own,” Eric said as he looked at Admiral Juliano.
“I agree, Mr. President. The IR just hit us with nuclear weapons; we need to respond in kind or they are going to use them again,” said Admiral Julian as he highlighted a submarine that could be used on the holographic display. “We have a sub in the Arabian Gulf and another one not far from where the 5th Fleet was.”
“General Scott, Director Rubio, what are your thoughts on a proportional response to the IR’s use of tactical nuclear weapons?” asked the President, searching for more consensus on the use of nukes.
“The US has had a long-standing policy of proportional retaliation. The IR detonated three tactical nuclear weapons over the 5th Fleet; these weapons ranged in the 1 kiloton to 5 kiloton range. If we were to respond with tactical weapons in the 10 kiloton range, I believe that would be a proportional response. The next question is — what type of targets do we want to hit?” asked General Scott as he nodded towards Director Rubio.
“Not only has the IR conducted a nuclear attack against our forces, they have carried out sustained terrorist attacks against our country for the last two and a half months. More than 20,000 civilians have died from these attacks; they have also conducted continuous cyber-attacks against every facet of our economy. They have attacked our very way of life, and they are not done attacking us at home. Now that they have taken the gloves off, it’s time we do the same and hit them with that proverbial big stick we still have,” Rubio said, anger burning in his eyes.
“The IR laser missile defense system is going to be challenging to get through, but not impossible. The key to any laser defense system is power; I recommend that we conduct a series of strategic attacks against their critical infrastructure. It’s still experimental, but we can use our new hypersonic ramjet cruise missile, the X59. It travels at Mach 10, making it nearly impossible to acquire and target by laser. In addition, a laser needs to hit the missile for at least 3 seconds for it to cause enough heat to cause an explosion. The X59 travels too fast for that. It can carry 5,000 lbs. of high explosive warhead, or it can transport a variable nuclear warhead. We only have fifteen of them, but could begin full production immediately,” said General Adrian Rice, the Air Force Chief of Staff.
“Mr. President, the public is going to demand we hit the IR with nukes. They will want their pound of flesh after the last three months of terrorist attacks. We need the IR to understand that these types of attacks are not going to be tolerated and we will respond with overwhelming force.”
“I understand the frustration, Monty. I want to make sure we hit them hard, but I also want to make sure this does not spiral out of control either. With the 5th Fleet gone, what does our anti-ballistic missile defense capability look like in the Middle East now?”
“Sir, the 6th Fleet packs more than enough punch to deal with any ballistic missile attacks by the IR on either Israel or US Forces. Unless the IR starts to use more nuclear-tipped artillery rounds, we can take them down,” said Admiral Juliano.
“All right gentlemen, let’s hit the IR with a taste of their own medicine. Take out their power grid; hit them with the 30 kiloton warheads. Also, ensure that at least two of the missiles destroy their ability to export oil by destroying their two largest terminals. I also want the Straits of Hormuz heavily mined and some subs sitting out there to pick off any shipping, either entering or leaving. The minute their power is down and their laser defense system goes off line, I want those sites destroyed,” the President said and continued issuing orders.
“We need to disable their laser defense system quickly, and then we will systematically destroy their ability to continue this war.”
“Yes, Mr. President,” rang the chorus of voices.
With the plans in place to strike back at the IR, the President left with Monty to prepare his address to the American people.
It was dinner time in America and as families sat down to eat while glued to the news of the war, the President went on national TV and radio to explain the situation in the Middle East and the nuclear strike that the IR conducted against the US 5th Fleet. The President assured the American people that the US was responding in kind and soon the IR would feel the wrath of American nuclear weapons as well.
The following morning, the President made a second national address laying out the facts of the terrorist attacks against the US and the links between those attacks and the IR. The sheer number of casualties coming in from the Middle East was staggering as well. The President asked the Congress to issue a formal declaration of war against the Islamic Republic and declared a State of Emergency and martial law.
All Governors were asked to activate any of their National Guard units that had not been activated yet and to begin to use those forces to protect the critical infrastructure buildings and nodes in their states. Within an hour of war being formally declared, the President asked for all able-bodied men and women to join the Armed Forces to assist in the protection of their families, homeland and way of life.
The Islamic Republic responded to the President’s declaration of war and the nuclear attack on their own country by issuing one of their own. They vowed they would not stop until Israel was destroyed and the Americans were removed from the Middle East. Within hours, five additional terrorist attacks were carried out against civilian targets in the US, attacking several power plants and transmission nodes.
As police and first responders began to arrive, they were attacked by several terrorists who had chosen to stay behind and kill as many police as they could before detonating the remaining IEDs and vehicle borne IEDs they had lined along the roads. These attacks only furthered the hatred brewing between the Muslims and non-Muslims living in America, particularly when a small country church was attacked and all 103 parishioners were crucified on crosses on the county road leading to the church. There were 19 children among those crucified. Muslims all across America were starting to be attacked in retaliation. The police did their best to protect both groups of people, but it was becoming harder and harder to keep the two sides apart.