“If we were to support our communist brothers, what is our potential loss?” asked the chairman.
“Comrade, we not only lose the four billion a week, we also lose support from the British, European nations, some South American nations and many in the Pacific as well, including Australia. We potentially lose the technology we currently receive from those nations. Even more disturbing, we could lose our food imports. Comrades, we already have difficulties with the size of our population and we are moving towards solving these problems; however, when people are hungry, they tend to do a great many things that are not planned or expected and often not very pleasant. We have seen this in the past as well,” Che concluded.
“What about other communist nations? Do they not trade with us?” another asked.
“Comrades, none of our communist brothers has the money to trade for anything. You must understand, we all know communism is a political movement. What we are talking about is economics. These are two different things. If everyone were under a communist government, all things would be owned by the state and all products could be shared equally. But three quarters of the world are not under our influence. They trade openly and support their people through that trade. We decided to do the same and it has worked for us. It can continue to work for us if we desire to allow it.”
The discussion continued all morning. Some still could not understand why decreeing something or another would not necessarily make it happen. These tended to be the delegates without a western education or at least some western experiences. The delegates who received their formal education outside China understood completely. They were the ones now trying to get the others to understand what Che was saying. The final decision was a Chinese one, full of compromise and manipulation.
“It is decided then,” said the Chairman. “We will say nothing negatively about the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. However, we will secretly make contacts with the United States and offer some limited assistance. It must be made clear, however, that these efforts are informal and will never be acknowledged. Our political leaders will begin working with them to maintain our trading and possibly improve our relations with the west, without openly jeopardizing our communist ideals and policies,” he said stiffly. The Chairman banged the gavel and everyone left the room. Che was one of the last to leave. He almost doubted they would be able to pull it off.
“Thank you, gentlemen, for meeting with me at the White House,” the President said as he ushered four Congressmen and two Senators, including a grinning Senator Williamson, into the Oval Office. The meeting had been hurriedly set up when these same congressmen had said they were going to call a public hearing on the recent firings and shuffling in the various military departments. In every case, they had invested some political capital in the senior officers and were not going to let them go down without opposition. Jim Butler asked for the meeting so that everyone could ‘understand the feelings of the others and address the subject with the respect it deserved.’
It had been a masterful stroke to bring the men over after dinner for some drinks and a more relaxed setting. Through a couple of disgruntled employees Butler learned these senators and congressmen were hoping to spring a political trap on the President by calling into question his decision making and possible favoritism by the White House. There were also some questions about a few government contracts. The senators and congressmen thought they were in the right and might even get a public apology — something that could damage the President’s party. That changed once the meeting actually started. After a few pleasantries the President began.
“My friends, you have all voiced some concerns about a shake up in the Department of Defense. You should rightly be concerned and I am here to answer your questions fully and completely, understanding the Department of Defense comes under my purview as one of my departments. Necessarily, I may make changes as I deem necessary for the conducting of military operations,” he said flatly. Several of the men began fidgeting in their seats.
“You see, recently we have begun preparing this nation for a war. In each of the changes we made, grounds were sufficient to remove the individual in question and transfer them to other duties, also vital to our war effort. If any of the individuals decided to retire, their resignation was taken without prejudice and they were allowed to retire with their full rank and benefits. One thing I did not want to have was a lineup of courts martial. That would have embarrassed the nation or yourselves in the process. We did not need people becoming disenfranchised with our fighting forces or political leadership.”
“I wanted to discuss this with you tonight in a private setting so you could understand our reasoning.” The President picked up one of a foot high stack of records on the table beside him. “Here is one example. Two of you contacted my office regarding Vice Admiral Granger. In his case, he met with shipbuilding officials and was preparing the authorization of well over a trillion dollars in shipbuilding over the next two years. He made the statement that he was in charge of how the money would be spent and he would authorize it. I do not believe the Congress would have approved of what he was doing. He was further doing so without proper authorization from the chain of command. In digging further into his background, we found he authorized a number of sole source contracts within certain congressional districts or states that were supposed to be competed out. Upon going over his military record, there are a number of events that narrowly avoided the loss of a ship or plane related to his own incompetence. Along the way there are documented intercessions by some political leadership in Washington that steered his career. In this last case, he was attempting to make presidential policy and authorize expenditures without the approval of either myself or the Congress,” he said finally looking around the room. His gaze lingered on a few of the men. “Of course I shall not go into who has gone to bat for the Admiral in the past. I seriously doubt anyone would have supported the man if they had known his true record. And again, we cannot let this man’s actions hurt someone who may be innocent,” he said finally closing the folder.
“Now we shall take up Admiral Harris, the CNO. In his case….” The President took the men step by step through each of the records on the table, addressing each man removed from his position. The reports were damning. For those in the room it had been a wonder these men had ever risen to the positions they acquired. However, it was what was unsaid that affected the men more. In each case, there was something in writing tying these men to a congressman or senator who used influence to help them remain in power. If that ever got out, the political repercussions would have been devastating. With the current mood in the country, it would have meant the elected official being run out of town on a rail. They all knew when to fold their cards and it happened during the two hour meeting. Jim Butler sat at the back wall and said not a word. The man definitely knows politics, he thought.
In the end, there were few questions but no one wanted to pursue the matter further. After some refreshments, the President took the floor one last time. “My friends, I hope you now know why these unfortunate decisions had to be made. I want to continue to work closely with you and your staff to make this country great and I am sorry that officers in our armed services have painted the wrong picture for you. I will, of course, maintain these records so that they are not released to the public. If in the future you have questions of me or any of the departments under my administration, please contact me or my Chief of Staff. Thank you all for coming this evening,” he said as he shook each man’s hand and then walked with them to the main portico. He stood at the steps as each got in the special transportation and left.