He should have been in tweeds, the President thought. On the other hand, the Medal of Honor that he wore looked more appropriate with army green. He had commanded the 82 ^ nd Airborne Division earlier on in his career, he remembered. The two incidents in Fayetteville would have hit him particularly hard. Paratroopers and their wives and girlfriends and children had been killed and injured in both.
"Mr. President," General Frampton said quietly. "I would like to know more about the motives of these people. Horrible though these incidents are, these terrorist acts have no real military impact on us at all except in media terms. I do not wish to belittle the importance of public opinion, but I would like to understand better what these people hope to achieve."
The Director of Central Intelligence had been unable to attend the meeting. He had been laid low with a virus and an ever-increasing distaste for Vernon Slade. In his place he sent his Deputy Director of Operations, William Martin.
"Mr. President," said Martin. "Do you mind if I make a contribution here?"
The President nodded.
Martin continued. "I read a report recently by a man named Lee Cochrane. He runs the Congressional Task Force on Terrorism. He puts forward some interesting theories."
"Cochrane argues that we, in America, interpret terrorism far too simplistically. A terrorist blows up a building and we assume that the destruction of that specific building is the object of the exercise. The choice of building, in fact, is probably irrelevant. The significant element in many cases is the symbolism of the act of terror – not the specifics.
"Cochrane further states that we are evaluating acts of terror in the wrong time frame. We think in terms of immediate results. In contrast, many of the cultures we are up against are prepared to think in terms of decades or even longer. They have a strategic vision that we lack."
GeorgieFalls knitted his brow.
"Let me give you an example," said Martin. "I'll use Yaibo, the Japanese terrorist group, but the principles could apply to any other faction."
The President looked encouraging. General Frampton's drooping eyelids had risen a fraction. His interest was fully engaged. The hunt for these people was personal. No one was going to fuck with the 82 ^ nd and get away with it.
"Yaibo were quite successful in Japan for a while. Leaving out their long-term political aims, their acts of terror gave them influence. Corporations paid them protection money. Politicians voted in certain ways at their request. Senior government officials bent regulations or made other accommodations. All did this because they were afraid of Yaibo. So Yaibo had power and influence out of all proportion to their size. They were unable to change the Japanese political system fundamentally as their manifesto demands, but in other practical ways they were effective. Terrorism worked.
"Yaibo overreached themselves and, after losing much strength, they got forced out of Japan. They fled who knows where to lick their wounds and consolidate, but Lee Cochrane surmises that they are determined at some point to return to Japan. Accordingly, they are mounting attacks in the U.S. to raise their stock in Japan. They are saying, in effect, if we can strike with relative impunity at the most powerful nation on earth, then we are a force to be reckoned with and you people in Japan should pay attention."
"Why the U.S.?" said the Director.
"Because we give them the most media bang for their buck," said Martin. "Because we don't take terrorism seriously and we are vulnerable. Because we are the big guy on the block and they are jealous. Because we are constrained for all kinds of reasons from reacting properly. Because we are a shackled giant and we put on our own shackles."
Frampton rubbed his jaw slowly. "So Yaibo, for instance, attack soft targets in the U.S. instead of hard targets in Japan to raise their stock in Japan. It all seems very indirect to me."
"That's because you're thinking like a direct gung-ho American," said Martin. "And you're forgetting that it is a small world these days. Think instead of something like three-dimensional pool. Cause and effect can be kind of complicated if you don't know how to play, but it's all connected. You bounce a ball off one side to hit another, and maybe the effect ripples on. Let me put it another way. When we invaded Grenada, we weren't just invading Grenada. When we hit Panama, that was not just about Panama. We were making a point, we were sending a message, and above all, we were showing that we were deadly serious. And only incidentally, Grenada and Panama got taken out and our people got practice for bigger and better things."
There was silence in the room. Government and politics was mostly about firefighting, about reacting. Thinking long term – ‘the vision thing,’ as President George Bush had put it – was not high on the list of priorities. It was disconcerting to think that terrorists might have a ‘vision thing’ of their own.
"Director Martin is making good sense, Mr. President," said the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, "and I have a feeling for the Japanese agenda. But other groups seem to be involved in this. Certainly, we have identified Moslem fundamentalists."
"Lee Cochrane," said Martin, "makes the point that these kind of indirect objectives can be layered. Each individual group pursues its own objectives, but by working together another objective or, indeed, several can also be attained. As to what that is in this case, I really don't know. But if you accept Cochrane's premise, then what has happened makes a great deal more sense. Certainly, we know that multiple elements are involved."
The president was impressed by what Martin had to say, but it was not addressing the immediate issue. American citizens had been killed and a response was called for.
"If different nationalities are involved," said the President, "then they have got to get together somewhere to organize and train. These operations have been slick. They aren't just spontaneous outbursts. These have been planned and rehearsed. So where are they coming from? Libya? Cuba? Syria? Iraq? Iran? Lebanon?"
"We have found safe houses," said the FBI Director, "but there it ends. The people we have arrested are cutouts. So far, everything we have experienced could have been planned here in the U.S. or, indeed, anywhere. There is no definite link to any one base or any one organization. There may not be any central command. We just don't know. What we are experiencing is unprecedented." He paused and took a deep breath. "I'm deeply sorry, Mr. President. We are doing the best we can."
"I understand there was a kidnapping which may be connected to the Bastogne Inn business?" said the President.
"An Irish citizen, not an American," said the National Security Advisor.
"My mother was Irish," said the President. "I would not like to have seen her kidnapped while a guest in this great country of ours – and I would remind you, sir, that one-sixth of our entire population is of Irish decent. Well over forty-two million. There is a certain electoral majesty in that, is there not, Mr. Advisor."
Vernon V. Slade had absolutely no idea how to deal with the President when he was in this mood. It was as if the ghost of every past U.S. president was at his shoulder. A man who had risen to his high office by seeking to please everybody, he was becoming increasingly decisive. It was disconcerting.
"It is a difficult case, Mr. President," said the FBI Director. "We've accounted for every legitimate helicopter flight at that time and cross-checked flight control records. Nothing. Then we checked with the military. There was an exercise on at the time with the aircraft flying out of Pope. They were testing the integration of AWACS and JSTARS."
"And what is the bottom line, Mr. Director," said the President.