Rogue Forces

“We would’ve handled them just fine, sir,” Wayne Macomber said.

“I’m glad you think so, Mr. Macomber, but I disagree,” Phoenix said. “You told me yourself you were low on ammo and power. I appreciate the fear factor involved in the Tin Man and CID, but those Turkish troops had marched almost two hundred miles inside Iraq. They weren’t going to run.” Whack lowered his eyes and said nothing in response; he knew the vice president was right.

“Mr. Vice President, I think General McLanahan may be correct,” Jaffar said. “I do not know about these classified things that Dr. Masters speaks of, but I do know generals in the field, and they do not take defeat well. We pushed around a small security unit today and made them back off, but they outnumber us here.

“The Turks have two brigades surrounding Mosul and deployed to the south of us,” Jaffar went on. “The Iraqi army has sufficient units in hiding to contain them, if that becomes necessary. But my brigade is the only significant force facing the two Turkish brigades to our north. That is where I will concentrate my forces and prepare for any action by the Turks.” He stood and put on his helmet. “General McLanahan, you will deploy your reconnaissance aircraft and ground teams to the northern approach sectors, as far north as you can go without making contact, and warn of any advances by the Turks.”

“Yes, Colonel,” Patrick said. “I’m also concerned about the Turkish air forces, particularly the Second Tactical Air Force’s F-15Es, A-10s, and AC-130 gunships based in Diyarbakir. If they decide to bring them in, they could decimate our forces.”

“What do you propose, Patrick?” Vice President Phoenix asked.

“Sir, you have to convince President Gardner that we need surveillance of Diyarbakir and a plan to respond should the Turks launch a massive attack against us.” Patrick produced a Secure Digital memory card in a plastic case. “This is my proposed reconnaissance schedule and attack plan. Our primary reconnaissance platform is a constellation of microsatellites that Sky Masters Incorporated can place in orbit to provide continuous coverage of Turkey. They can be launched within hours. The attack plan centers around using specialized modules in our XC-57 aircraft that can disrupt and destroy the command and control facilities at Diyarbakir.”

“I thought the XC-57 was just a transport and reconnaissance plane, Patrick,” Phoenix said with a knowing smile.

“Until we attack Diyarbakir, sir, that’s all it is,” Patrick said. “The attack will be with a combination of netrusion—network intrusion—to confuse and overload their networks, followed by high-power microwave weapons to destroy the electronics aboard any operating aircraft or facility. We can follow up with bomber attacks if necessary.”

“Bomber attacks?”

“The Seventh Air Expeditionary Squadron,” Patrick said. “It’s a small B-1B Lancer bomber unit formed by an engineering group in Palmdale, California, that takes planes in flyable storage and makes them operational again. They currently have seven bombers deployed to the United Arab Emirates. They’ve been used to fly contingency support missions for Second Regiment and other Army units in Iraq.”

“Are they an Air Force unit, Patrick?”

“They have an Air Force designation, I believe they’re organized under Air Force Matériel Command, and they’re commanded by an Air Force lieutenant colonel,” Patrick replied, “but most of the members are civilians.”

“Is the entire military being taken over by contractors, Patrick?” Phoenix asked wryly. He nodded somberly. “I don’t like the idea of bombing Turkey, even if they strike at us directly, but if that’s the final option, it sounds sufficiently small and powerful to do the job without causing a world war to break out between NATO allies.”

“My thoughts exactly, sir.”

“I’ll present your plan to Washington, Patrick,” Phoenix said, “but let’s hope we don’t go anywhere near that level of escalation.” He turned to the Iraqi commander. “Colonel Jaffar, I know this is your country and your army, but I urge you to practice the same restraint you showed today. We don’t want to get into a shooting war with the Turks. This business with the classified boxes from that wreckage is of no consequence if lives are at stake.”

“With respect, sir, you are wrong two ways,” Jaffar said. “As I said, I do not know or care about black boxes. But this is not about black boxes—this is about a foreign army invading my home. And I did not practice restraint with the Turks today. We had them outnumbered; there was no reason to fight unless they chose to do so. They were the ones who showed restraint, not I. But if the Turks do return, they will come in large numbers, and then we will fight. General McLanahan, I expect a briefing on your deployment plan within the hour.”

“I’ll be ready, Colonel,” Patrick said.