State Of The Union

“Foreign policy on both sides seemed singularly focused on winning the Cold War. After we created NATO, the Soviets created the Warsaw Pact. There didn’t seem to be a local conflict anywhere in the world where the U.S. didn’t choose one side and the Soviets another. This maneuvering eventually gave way to the arms race, where both sides competed to have the most advanced military weapons possible.”

“And what brought about the end of the Cold War?”

“That was actually a year before I was graduating and it was all we talked about,” replied Harvath. “There were a lot of theories floating around, but the one that made the most sense to me was that we simply outspent the Soviets. That’s how we won the Cold War.”

“Are you aware, Agent Harvath, of how that affected defense planning by the United States?” asked the secretary.

“Sure,” answered Harvath. “The Berlin Wall came down in November of 1989. Germany then united less than a year later and joined NATO. The Warsaw Pact disbanded and we signed a conventional arms control treaty that provided for major cuts in both American and Soviet forces. Basically, all of the intense debating over nuclear policy came to a sudden and screeching halt.

“Our greatest enemy was defeated, so we began slashing our military spending starting with our presence on the European continent and then what we had invested here at home. The once formidable Red Army was suffering from not only a lack of supplies, but also from a lack of morale. If they couldn’t even put down revolts in their own country, how could we expect them to pose any threat to us? They were finished.”

“Or so we thought,” replied the defense secretary.

“What are you talking about?” asked Harvath.

“What if the Cold War hadn’t ended?” said the president.

“Are we talking about a hypothetical here? Like what if there had been a different outcome?” asked Harvath.

“No,” replied President Rutledge. “What if the Cold War didn’t end? What if we thought it had ended, but the Soviets were just playing possum?”

“That would be the greatest Trojan horse in history. But it would be virtually impossible. I mean, look at the condition their country has been in since the end of the Cold War-life expectancy falling, rampant corruption, fifty percent annual inflation. A lot of people could argue that it is worse now than it has ever been.”

“And many opinion polls out of Russia would agree with you,” offered the defense secretary. “An overwhelming percentage of middle-aged and older Russians believe that their lives were significantly better under Communism.”

“But why are we even talking about this?” asked Harvath.

“Agent Harvath, do you have any idea how much the international community, both private and public, has funneled, into Russia since the early nineties?”

“I don’t have an exact figure, but it has to be in the billions of dollars.”

“Try tens of billions. Of which, several billion have gone astray.”

“I’ve read about that,” said Harvath. “The Russian mafia has slithered its tentacles very thoroughly into the Russian banking system, right?”

“You’re half right. As far as we’re concerned, there is no Russian mafia.”

“No Russian mafia? What are you talking about?”

“After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the KGB underwent several face-lifts. When it emerged, it had a new name, had placed one of its own colonels in the president’s seat in the Kremlin, and was making megabucks by taking even greater control of its country’s illegal activities,” said the secretary.

“Are you telling me the Russian mob is actually run by the Russian Federal Security Bureau, formerly known as the KGB?”

“You catch on quick, kid,” said Defense Secretary Hilliman.

Harvath ignored the remark and studied the graying, sixty-some-thing Defense secretary with his neatly pressed Brooks Brothers suit, wire rim glasses, and blue silk tie. “I guess not,” said Harvath. “With all due respect, does this have something to do with Gary and the deaths of the Army Intelligence operatives from Berlin? Because this isn’t making any sense.”

“That’s enough of the questions, Bob,” interjected the president. “Let’s focus on the answers.”

“Yes, Mr. President,” responded Hilliman, as he placed his briefcase on the table and extracted a large manila envelope. He fished out an eight-by-ten color photograph, handed it across the table to Harvath, and said, “Three days ago, security staff at the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, received a tip and discovered a Russian suitcase nuke hidden within the NASCAR Silicon Motor Speedway exhibit.”

Harvath was at a loss for words. “I can’t believe this. TheRussians? That’s insane. Why would they do something like that? Are you positive the device was one of theirs?”

“There’s no question. Both the Cyrillic markings and laboratory tests on the fissile material have come up positive for Russia.”

“How could they have gotten a suitcase nuke into the United States?

“During the Cold War, our borders were a lot more porous than they are now,” said the Secretary.