Another correspondent took up where the first had left off. He didn't wait to be recognized or for the spokesperson to finish. He simply jumped up and shouted, "But Chancellor Ruff of Germany is claiming that the soldiers of the Tenth Corps by obeying Malin's orders have made themselves willing accomplices to what he is calling a crime against German sovereignty."
The spokesperson, with specific instructions on what to ignore and what to respond to, turned his attention to this comment. "Chancellor Ruff might be right. Even if he were, however, the President feels that using the German Army to destroy the entire Tenth Corps, something that Chancellor Ruff has threatened to do, is the same as executing a person accused of a crime without a trial." The spokesperson paused, then added, "I would like to take this opportunity to point out again that even the duly elected German Parliament does not agree with Chancellor Ruff's decision. The call for an immediate cease-fire and an armistice negotiated by the European Council or the UN is a reasonable solution that President Wilson is more than willing to consider."
This last comment led to the next question. "Could President Wilson convince General Malin, who hasn't been willing to listen to Washington thus far, to agree to a cease-fire?"
The spokesperson, with a wry smile, responded. "That, at this point, is mere supposition. So long as the German government insists on resolving the issue by force of arms, I expect General Malin feels he has no choice but to respond in kind. It is now the Germans who have the responsibility of making the first move."
With that response, the balance of the press conference fell into a round of follow-on questions that attempted to draw out more details on the deployment of American forces to Europe. The spokesperson, not having this information, fended off these and other questions as best he could until they reached a previously determined time limit. Finished, he closed his folder and looked up; and over the chorus of shouts, he thanked the White House press corps and walked out of a room still reverberating from shouts of further questions. As she watched the manner in which her colleagues acted, Jan couldn't blame Wilson for opting to sit this press conference out.
Finished with her coffee and with watching, Wilson leaned over to the coffee table, put her empty cup down, and pressed the power button on the television's remote control. With a smile she sat up, looked at Jan, and told her that for the moment the show was over and she was ready to start their interview. Jan's cameraman and sound technician, who had been waiting in the outer office, were allowed in. While they prepared their equipment, Wilson prepared herself. She made no extraordinary efforts. Only a tug at her dark blue jacket, a smoothing of her skirt, and a quick check of her hair was all she needed. With a nod Wilson indicated that she was ready to start.
Well drilled, Jan's crew started to roll, giving her the thumbs-up when they were running. Skipping most of the preliminaries, Jan went straight to her first question. "President Wilson, I would like to pick up where Tim Allen of the UP left off during the press conference that was just held. While your prepared statement made it clear that the deployment of forces including alerting the 17th Airborne, redeployment of elements of the Navy and Marine Corps into the Baltic Sea, and increased readiness of Air Force units in Great Britainwas in response to the German actions this morning and would be used to support the Tenth Corps, your statement said nothing about the conditions under which those forces would be used and did not set a timetable for their use. Have conditions, including a timetable, already been determined, and has the German government been advised of these?"
Without batting an eye, Wilson looked at Jan and began to respond. "To answer the first part of your question, as far as I am concerned, the conditions that would dictate the use of additional U.S. forces from outside the theater have already been met." Wilson paused to allow the implications of that statement to sink in before continuing. "If you recall, Jan, I stated several days ago that I would respond to any hostile actions against the innocent men and women of the Tenth Corps by the Germans by doing everything in my power to rescue as many of them as possible. The deployment of additional forces to that theater of operations is the initial phase of that effort. As to when they will be employed, I am still taking that under consideration. It is still contingent on German reaction over the next day or two."
"Then," Jan asked, "you are committed but it is not, in your opinion, too late?"
Wilson smiled. "It is never too late for sanity to prevail. I will be more than willing to entertain reasonable proposals and enter negotiations with Chancellor Ruff's government, provided the fighting stops and I have some assurance that he and his government are dealing with us in good faith and not simply stalling while seeking a military advantage while we talk."
"Then, Madam President, we have not crossed the proverbial Rubicon. Our forces have not taken any actions that threaten to escalate this crisis any further, for the moment?"
"That, as you know, is very subjective. For example, although our aircraft based in Great Britain have not violated German airspace, the Air Force has established round-the-clock patrols. They're already using aircraft based in Great Britain over both the North Sea and the Baltic Sea, including E-3 airborne early warning and command and control aircraft flying in support of the Tenth Corps. Down links, using satellites and other secure communications nets, are already providing the Tenth Corps staff with information from the E-3s on German air operations."
The matter-of-fact manner in which Wilson was discussing the issue caused Jan to pause. Wilson was both calm and well prepared. This, coupled with no visible sign of stress or apprehension, made Jan wonder if the latest turn of affairs was not only expected but in fact had been planned for. Not wanting to lose momentum or give Wilson cause for concern, Jan popped the first question that came to her mind while she tried to figure a way of prying more information from Wilson. "Then it is your intention, Madam President, to use forces as they become available to assist the escape of the Tenth Corps?"
"As I said, Jan, employment of additional forces is contingent on German reaction." Shifting slightly in her chair, Wilson looked down at her nails, then back up at Jan. "I would like to take this opportunity to point out that I do understand the position of the German people and Chancellor Ruff's government. Yes, American forces, the Tenth Corps, have violated a number of international agreements. Yes, they have violated German territory and endangered the peace. But the Tenth Corps did not fire the first shot. Chancellor Ruff's government has over the past week continued to respond to my calls and those of my representatives for a peaceful and a negotiated settlement with demands that we cannot accept. I ask the American public as well as the German public to bear in mind throughout this crisis that it was the seizure of the nuclear weapons by force of arms at Sembach that started this chain of regrettable events. In the passions of the moment, we must not lose sight of the events that have brought us to this point, or of the real issues at hand."
Jan caught what Wilson was hinting at and jumped in. "You are, of course, referring to the nuclear weapons?"
A smile lit Wilson's face. "Exactly. The United States, operating as an agent of the Western nuclear powers, including Britain, France, Russia, and Israel, took direct action to secure nuclear weapons from an unstable government, one which had previously denounced nuclear proliferation. The seizure of those weapons by Germany, another nation that had previously denounced nuclear proliferation, the manner in which they were seized, and the resulting crisis are entirely separate issues from the intervention in the Ukraine."