piece of evidence is that
last January an account controlled by Kim received a deposit of one billion
Swiss francs from an Iranian bank.
“We believe the Las Vegas bomb was of
North Korean origin, Mr. President.”
Rick noted the qualifications in that
careful statement, but of course Hendrickson would hedge.
He spoke: “Aaron told me last night, so
I’ve had a little more time to absorb it. But I’d like to hear your initial
reactions.”
Dorn said, “OK, now we can start
developing a specific strategy. How much confidence do we have in this
information? That’s question one. Two, with that figured out, what actions do
we take? Three, do we put this out and if so, to whom?”
“I think we put it out there,” said Yu.
“It’s going to leak. We can’t have as many agencies and people as we need
working on our response without a leak; it’s a given.”
“Before we do that, we probably should
privately brief key ambassadors; and let the president make a few calls to
heads of state, before we do that,” said Battista.
“Don’t forget briefing congressional
leaders,” Guarini added, to a chorus of agreement from all but the vice
president.
“That’s only window dressing!” said Griffith. “What really
matters is what this administration is going to do about the fact that North Korea
enabled terrorists to kill tens of thousands of Americans on June thirteenth.
And it’s not just about what they did .
It’s about blocking what they may do next .We must act!”
Martin’s eyes narrowed. There he goes again, half-cocked! “Bruce, what about John’s first point—what ’s our
confidence in Paternity ?”
“Mr. President, we’ve just seen the
evidence and it’s solid. Aaron says he has no doubts. That’s good enough for
me!”
“George Tenet
believed Saddam had WMD and he was dead wrong.”
The VP interlaced his fingers and leaned
forward, forearms on the table. His voice rang with conviction: “This is not
the same situation, not even close! One—Paternity is a proven technolog y. Two—we’re not guessing Kim has nuclear weapons; h e’s shown the world by testing them. Three—Kim has a record: He sold missiles to Iran and Pakistan and helped Syria build a nuclear reactor to make plutonium. Four—the stakes are much higher now.
If Kim continues to pass nukes to terrorists, more cities will be destroyed. America will
come apart if that happens!”
The president, sitting with legs crossed
in his back-tilted chair, thought about asking Griffith what he recommended but didn’t want
that discussion now. Scrambling like a quarterback, he lobbed a pass. “Bart,
you haven’t said much yet.”
“That’s right, sir. I really need the
full briefing first. Sam and I should get up to speed.”
Martin nodded. Good ol’ Bart! He always gets it.
“Right! Let’s wrap this up so you and Sam
can do just that. Aaron, Bruce, and I need Bart for a meeting in an hour, so
get to it now. Bruce, see you at ten thirty.”
Right on schedule, Guarini and Griffith
returned to the Oval Office. Martin motioned to the couches and sank into a
wingback chair facing them.
“Bruc e, last nigh t I came to an important conclusion.
The gravity and complexity of this situation requires unprecedented measures.
No administration since Lincoln’s has faced such
a combination of destruction and danger within America’s borders.
On top of that, there are huge challenges abroad, beginning with the one we
spoke about an hour ago. There is simply too much presidential-level decision
making and leadership for me to do it all. I’ve decided to give you a very
large, critically important set of responsibilities.”
Martin paused, looking intently into Griffith’s eyes, seeing
curiosity, caution, and ambition. “Bruce, I’m putting you in charge of
recovery, reconstruction, and internal security. Your authority and
responsibility will be second only to mine in those areas.”
The two gazed at each other,
last January an account controlled by Kim received a deposit of one billion
Swiss francs from an Iranian bank.
“We believe the Las Vegas bomb was of
North Korean origin, Mr. President.”
Rick noted the qualifications in that
careful statement, but of course Hendrickson would hedge.
He spoke: “Aaron told me last night, so
I’ve had a little more time to absorb it. But I’d like to hear your initial
reactions.”
Dorn said, “OK, now we can start
developing a specific strategy. How much confidence do we have in this
information? That’s question one. Two, with that figured out, what actions do
we take? Three, do we put this out and if so, to whom?”
“I think we put it out there,” said Yu.
“It’s going to leak. We can’t have as many agencies and people as we need
working on our response without a leak; it’s a given.”
“Before we do that, we probably should
privately brief key ambassadors; and let the president make a few calls to
heads of state, before we do that,” said Battista.
“Don’t forget briefing congressional
leaders,” Guarini added, to a chorus of agreement from all but the vice
president.
“That’s only window dressing!” said Griffith. “What really
matters is what this administration is going to do about the fact that North Korea
enabled terrorists to kill tens of thousands of Americans on June thirteenth.
And it’s not just about what they did .
It’s about blocking what they may do next .We must act!”
Martin’s eyes narrowed. There he goes again, half-cocked! “Bruce, what about John’s first point—what ’s our
confidence in Paternity ?”
“Mr. President, we’ve just seen the
evidence and it’s solid. Aaron says he has no doubts. That’s good enough for
me!”
“George Tenet
believed Saddam had WMD and he was dead wrong.”
The VP interlaced his fingers and leaned
forward, forearms on the table. His voice rang with conviction: “This is not
the same situation, not even close! One—Paternity is a proven technolog y. Two—we’re not guessing Kim has nuclear weapons; h e’s shown the world by testing them. Three—Kim has a record: He sold missiles to Iran and Pakistan and helped Syria build a nuclear reactor to make plutonium. Four—the stakes are much higher now.
If Kim continues to pass nukes to terrorists, more cities will be destroyed. America will
come apart if that happens!”
The president, sitting with legs crossed
in his back-tilted chair, thought about asking Griffith what he recommended but didn’t want
that discussion now. Scrambling like a quarterback, he lobbed a pass. “Bart,
you haven’t said much yet.”
“That’s right, sir. I really need the
full briefing first. Sam and I should get up to speed.”
Martin nodded. Good ol’ Bart! He always gets it.
“Right! Let’s wrap this up so you and Sam
can do just that. Aaron, Bruce, and I need Bart for a meeting in an hour, so
get to it now. Bruce, see you at ten thirty.”
Right on schedule, Guarini and Griffith
returned to the Oval Office. Martin motioned to the couches and sank into a
wingback chair facing them.
“Bruc e, last nigh t I came to an important conclusion.
The gravity and complexity of this situation requires unprecedented measures.
No administration since Lincoln’s has faced such
a combination of destruction and danger within America’s borders.
On top of that, there are huge challenges abroad, beginning with the one we
spoke about an hour ago. There is simply too much presidential-level decision
making and leadership for me to do it all. I’ve decided to give you a very
large, critically important set of responsibilities.”
Martin paused, looking intently into Griffith’s eyes, seeing
curiosity, caution, and ambition. “Bruce, I’m putting you in charge of
recovery, reconstruction, and internal security. Your authority and
responsibility will be second only to mine in those areas.”
The two gazed at each other,
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