European and Asian satellite imagery with a resolution of twenty-five meters or less, covering the western Xinjiang Autonomous Region. Then I had NSA exercise shutter control over all the American-owned commercial birds in the same target area. So the Chinese are blind.”
The president visibly perked up. “Good work, Nick.”
“Thank you, sir. And now …” Pappas flicked through the papers in his leather binder until he came to a white-covered folder that had a single, thick, diagonal blue line running from top left to bottom right. He opened the dossier. Inside sat a thin stack of National Security Agencypaperwork. “Second, NSA transmitted these Zulu-grade intercepts to me not half an hour ago. China’s Central Military Command has just assigned the task of interdiction and retrieval to its Army Aviation Unit.” The DCI’s stubby fingers played air piano on the NSA documents. “And that, ladies and gentlemen, is very good news.”
SECDEF’s eyes narrowed belligerently. “What’s so good about it?”
Pappas said, “I will let Margaret Nylos explain.” He paused to acknowledge the middle-aged woman sitting next to him. “Margaret is the national intelligence officer for China. She is responsible for keeping me up-to-date on all of China’s internal politics.”
The president said, “Miss Nylos?”
“Mr. President, this is hugely positive news because we believe it demonstrates irrefutable evidence of the growing rift within the PLA, a schism my people have been predicting for more than a year now. That split—between the elders who lead China’s conventional forces and the young generals who control its Special Operations units—has long-term strategic and tactical implications for us. It is a situation the United States can exploit to great advantage as we enter the next stage of our relationship with Beijing.”
Pappas noted the look of impatience on the president’s face, sipped at his water, and cleared his throat. “Thank you, Margaret. Of more immediate interest to us this morning, the assigning of AAU as the retrieval force is noteworthy because, unlike our American special operations units, the Chinese have never fully integrated their air and ground special operations forces. The AAU’s operations are highly centralized. They are headquartered in the Beijing Military District. Every one of the unit’s assets lie within sixty miles of the Chinese capital. And not one AAU aircraft has the capabilityof reaching the Xinjiang Autonomous Region without multiple refueling stops.”
Rockman interrupted: “Can’t they refuel in the air?”
Margaret Nylos said, “No, sir. The Chinese lag far behind the West in helicopter technology. In fact, most of the current operational Chinese helicopter designs have been adapted from Soviet or French models. As you will also recall, the United States sold China a squadron of MH-60 Black Hawk helicopters in 1991, in return for Beijing’s allowing NSA to establish six Russian listening posts in the Tian mountain range. But those helicopters lack spare parts, and our statistical models indicate that today, the majority of them are inoperable. I also think—”
“Thank
you, Margaret.” The DCI squirmed awkwardly. “The bottom line is that this development buys us the time we need to extract our people,” he said.
“Nick.” Rockman cupped his chin in his hand. “Refueling a squadron of aircraft can be accomplished in a matter of minutes. It seems to me we’re not going to gain but a few hours.”
The DCI’s head wagged negatively. He tapped the NSA intercepts with his middle finger. “Mr. Secretary, what we have here proves otherwise. The commanding officer of the Army Aviation Unit is China’s youngest major general. His name is Zhou Yi. Zhou just turned forty—a real up-and-comer. He has been pressing the political leadership to allocate more resources to such areas as Special Operations, information warfare, and other unconventional
The president visibly perked up. “Good work, Nick.”
“Thank you, sir. And now …” Pappas flicked through the papers in his leather binder until he came to a white-covered folder that had a single, thick, diagonal blue line running from top left to bottom right. He opened the dossier. Inside sat a thin stack of National Security Agencypaperwork. “Second, NSA transmitted these Zulu-grade intercepts to me not half an hour ago. China’s Central Military Command has just assigned the task of interdiction and retrieval to its Army Aviation Unit.” The DCI’s stubby fingers played air piano on the NSA documents. “And that, ladies and gentlemen, is very good news.”
SECDEF’s eyes narrowed belligerently. “What’s so good about it?”
Pappas said, “I will let Margaret Nylos explain.” He paused to acknowledge the middle-aged woman sitting next to him. “Margaret is the national intelligence officer for China. She is responsible for keeping me up-to-date on all of China’s internal politics.”
The president said, “Miss Nylos?”
“Mr. President, this is hugely positive news because we believe it demonstrates irrefutable evidence of the growing rift within the PLA, a schism my people have been predicting for more than a year now. That split—between the elders who lead China’s conventional forces and the young generals who control its Special Operations units—has long-term strategic and tactical implications for us. It is a situation the United States can exploit to great advantage as we enter the next stage of our relationship with Beijing.”
Pappas noted the look of impatience on the president’s face, sipped at his water, and cleared his throat. “Thank you, Margaret. Of more immediate interest to us this morning, the assigning of AAU as the retrieval force is noteworthy because, unlike our American special operations units, the Chinese have never fully integrated their air and ground special operations forces. The AAU’s operations are highly centralized. They are headquartered in the Beijing Military District. Every one of the unit’s assets lie within sixty miles of the Chinese capital. And not one AAU aircraft has the capabilityof reaching the Xinjiang Autonomous Region without multiple refueling stops.”
Rockman interrupted: “Can’t they refuel in the air?”
Margaret Nylos said, “No, sir. The Chinese lag far behind the West in helicopter technology. In fact, most of the current operational Chinese helicopter designs have been adapted from Soviet or French models. As you will also recall, the United States sold China a squadron of MH-60 Black Hawk helicopters in 1991, in return for Beijing’s allowing NSA to establish six Russian listening posts in the Tian mountain range. But those helicopters lack spare parts, and our statistical models indicate that today, the majority of them are inoperable. I also think—”
“Thank
you, Margaret.” The DCI squirmed awkwardly. “The bottom line is that this development buys us the time we need to extract our people,” he said.
“Nick.” Rockman cupped his chin in his hand. “Refueling a squadron of aircraft can be accomplished in a matter of minutes. It seems to me we’re not going to gain but a few hours.”
The DCI’s head wagged negatively. He tapped the NSA intercepts with his middle finger. “Mr. Secretary, what we have here proves otherwise. The commanding officer of the Army Aviation Unit is China’s youngest major general. His name is Zhou Yi. Zhou just turned forty—a real up-and-comer. He has been pressing the political leadership to allocate more resources to such areas as Special Operations, information warfare, and other unconventional
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