“He has a spotter,” Jessica stated, positioning herself between her fiancé and the woman. “I’m his spotter. Who the hell are you?”
She held up her identification card. “Anna Curtis, special assistant to General James Mattis. I’m here to discuss your nomination as Under Secretary of Defense — Comptroller.”
Jessica served Adam a bowl of pasta, then waited while he poured them each a glass of wine. “Shall we toast to your new career?
“I haven’t said yes.”
“You will. This isn’t something you turn down, Adam. I didn’t even know you knew ‘Mad Dog’ Mattis.”
“I served under him briefly, but he was the colonel’s friend. The last time I saw the general was six years ago at my father’s funeral.”
“With a nickname like ‘Mad Dog,’ I imagine he’s the shoot-first and ask questions later type.”
“The exact opposite. Yes, he’ll drop a quote here or there about Iran that may cause a few pulses to race, but when you’ve spent as much time in the sandbox as Mattis has, there’s a greater desire to maintain stability over engaging in another war.”
“Sounds like someone you could work under… what’s wrong?”
“I dunno. This whole thing feels out of left field. Hell, Jess, I’m not even qualified to attend half the meetings at Kemp; how can I even consider taking on a position like Under Secretary of Defense?”
“Trump’s president. Is he any more qualified than you?”
“To be Under Secretary or president?”
“Under Secretary. You’re already more qualified than him to be Commander-in-Chief.”
“I’m just not sure a majority of senators will agree with you. My own stepbrother laughed himself into a wheezing fit when I told him.”
“Randy will be there for you when it counts. Accept the nomination and see what happens. Worst case scenario — you’re back at Kemp managing defense projects in the blind.”
“Thanks.”
She laughed, forcing her sauce-covered kiss past his defenses.
4
Senator Robert Hardy Gibbons, Jr. banged his gavel. “Good morning. The committee meets today to consider the nomination of Captain Adam Ulysses Shariak to be Under Secretary of Defense— Comptroller. Before we begin, I want to welcome the eight senators who are new both to the Senate and to our committee. Joining us in 2017 are Senators Brian Ziarnik, Marcus Eberlein, Stephen Wood, and Vincent Renzulli on the Republican side and Senators Melanie Hurt, Jimmy Cain, Kevin Banks, and Joe Horning on the Democrat side. In the past this committee has worked across party lines to support our troops and their families and America’s national defense mission; it is in this spirit that I’ll begin.
“Having served two tours in Iraq as a member of the U.S. Army Signal Corps, it is my honor to introduce our nominee. Captain Adam Shariak comes from a military heritage; his paternal grandfather served in Korea, his father Colonel William Shariak served in Operation Desert Storm. Like his grandfather and father, Adam Shariak has served our country honorably and with distinction. In 2003 he deployed to Iraq with the Army’s 1st Battalion, 4th Aviation Regiment. While flying a combat mission, his Apache was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade. Somehow Captain Shariak managed to guide the airship away from a crowded marketplace where it crash-landed. The impact collapsed the Apache’s cockpit and snapped the femur in the captain’s left leg. Trapped and in terrible pain, Adam Shariak ordered his co-pilot to hide before the enemy arrived.
“Captain Shariak was captured, held in a bunker, and tortured. Despite a gangrenous left leg which he’d end up losing, he managed to escape. Although Captain Shariak has never worked in the Defense Department as a paper-pusher, I believe his credentials in the field make him uniquely qualified for this position, which is why I support his nomination to replace the outgoing Under Secretary of Defense — Comptroller. I know many of you have questions; we’ll begin with Senator Renzulli.”
The Republican from Connecticut leaned forward to speak into his microphone. “Captain Shariak, everyone in this chamber appreciates the sacrifices you have made for our country. My concern is the role you would play as one of the chief advisors to the Secretary of Defense. This committee has received so little background on you, yet the administration has pushed us to render a quick decision. I think many of us would like to know more about your beliefs as it pertains to the war on terror — particularly the escalating conflict against Islamic State. For instance, what is your opinion in regard to how President Obama handled ISIS?”
Translated: My brother, Senator Hall, is a Dem… what are my politics?
Adam Shariak took a deep breath. “Senator, we’re dealing with a complex, multi-pronged situation. I appreciate President Obama understood that dropping bombs on Syrian villages like the Russians were doing is not how you win the battle that could potentially decide whether Islam will be ruled by radicals or moderates.”
“Then you support President’s Obama’s failed policies?”
“As the DoD’s Comptroller, I will support whoever occupies the Oval Office.”
“That’s not what I asked. I asked if you support Obama’s failed policies when it comes to dealing with an enemy that wants to kill innocent Americans.”
“With all due respect, Senator, reducing the issue down to a yes or no question indicates a desire to make my nomination a political issue. You can certainly do that if you wish, but if you really want to know what I think about ISIS, then give me enough latitude to answer the question properly.”
Randy Hall leaned over to Jessica Marulli and whispered in her ear. “They have no idea who they’re dealing with.”
She smiled. “They’re about to find out.”
Senator Renzulli held out his hands. “Okay, Captain… enlighten us.”
“My Apache team escorted the first boots on the ground back in 2003. Whether or not you agreed with the invasion of Iraq, the Iraqi people, at that time, clearly supported our presence. The Iraqi army had agreed to cooperate with General Jay Gardner in order to control looting while working with us to bring the power and water utilities back on line. And then Rumsfeld did a one-eighty, replacing General Gardner with Paul Bremer, a civilian who had no concept of the lay-of-the-land or the historic conflict between the Sunnis and Shia.
“Bremer’s first decree was to ban all members of the Ba’ath Party from holding office; his second was to dismantle the Iraqi army. With two strokes of the pen, Bremer essentially took 400,000 well-trained Iraqi soldiers who had access to caches of hidden weapons and rendered them jobless, while excluding them from ever having a stake in their own country’s future. This is what is known in the military as a major cluster-fuck. The commandos quickly organized, turning Iraq into a Guerilla war zone. Instead of peace, Iraqi civilians suddenly had to deal with suicide bombers and cities without electricity, food, and water. It wasn’t long before al Qaeda, which was run by Sunnis and had never been in Iraq under Saddam, took root under the guidance of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
“Under Saddam’s rule, Iraq’s minority Sunni party controlled the middle-class. In 2006, Nouri al-Maliki — a Shiite — took over as Prime Minister. Instead of building a coalition government, he outwardly favored the Shiites while purposely neglecting to provide electricity and other essential services to Iraq’s Sunni Arab cities. Worse, he looked the other way while Shiite militias ran rampant, killing Sunnis wherever they went in what amounted to an ethnic cleansing.