Protect And Defend

chapter 18

TEHRAN, IRAN

Ashani felt as if he had been sucked into some alternate universe where up was down and down was up. It was one thing to put on a brave face and plot a proper course of retribution, but this was simply nonsense. The man who had put them in this tenuous position was yet again going to be the chief propagandist in the next phase of the conflict. The last thing they needed was more inflamed rhetoric and promises of grand retribution. The council needed a reality check. Under normal circumstances Ashani would have never thought of confronting Amatullah in front of the Supreme Leader, but it was different now. Something had changed within him, and he had no doubt it was precipitated by his close brush with death earlier in the day.

He had always known Amatullah was perhaps the most reckless and arrogant man in the government. His inflammatory words more than anything else were what had gotten them into this national crisis. There was no limit to the man's ability to delude himself and others. He was incapable of understanding the obvious. Iran 's nuclear program was in shambles. Literally, not a speck of equipment was salvageable. All of their intelligence estimates told them that Israel had in excess of one hundred nuclear devices and America had so many they spent hundreds of millions of dollars decommissioning old ones. The idea that they could bring utter devastation to either country was simply ludicrous.

Emboldened by his near-death experience, Ashani looked at the diminutive leader and asked, "And just how are we going to destroy them?"

"What?" Amatullah was caught off guard by the question.

"I said, how are going to destroy them?" he asked with a slight edge.

"We will launch wave after wave of martyrs. We will target their infrastructure. We will bring their economy to its knees." Amatullah dismissed his intelligence boss with an irritating frown.

Ashani was not to be deterred. "The 9/11 attacks were nothing more than a twenty-four-hour flu for their economy. They bounced back even stronger than before."

"We will make 9/11 seem like it was nothing."

Ashani gave Amatullah a doubtful look. "And you think the Americans will sit there and take it?"

"Yes. They cannot afford to go to war with us. They have learned their lesson in Iraq."

"What if you're wrong? Suppose they are willing to go to war with us. According to you, they are behind this attack which by de facto means they are willing to risk open war."

"Never." Amatullah shook his head vigorously. "That is why they had Israel drop the bombs. They themselves did not have the courage to confront us."

The man's absolute confidence in his ability to predict what the Americans would do was unnerving. Ashani turned and looked at the Supreme Leader. "Mark my words. If we push the Americans too far, they will strike back."

"They will never invade," Amatullah said dismissively.

"I did not say they would invade. They will drop bombs, and plenty of them."

Amatullah scoffed at the threat. "And we will hit them everywhere. Not just in America, but all over the world. We will bring their aviation industry to its knees. We will disrupt oil flow and their economy will collapse."

Ashani shook his head sadly. "Escalation will lead to escalation. They will rain bombs down on us like nothing we have ever seen. Mark my words, they will destroy our entire air force on the first day, and then they will turn their sights on us." Ashani paused to look around the room, letting each man know that this time their own hides might be on the line. "It will take time for our martyrs to strike, and their success is not guaranteed. The Americans, on the other hand, have us surrounded. They have bases in Iraq and Afghanistan, and they have two aircraft carriers in the gulf. If war starts, they will send a third and maybe even a fourth and fifth carrier."

"Good," Amatullah proclaimed. "Let them pack all of their vaunted carriers into the gulf, where they will be that much easier to sink." He leaned forward and pointed at himself. "We control the Strait of Hormuz. Not them."

"You underestimate the Americans if you think they are dumb enough to put five carriers in the gulf. They will move their marine and navy air units to Qatar, the UAE, or Bahrain. They will have us surrounded on three sides."

"Never!" Amatullah shook his head vigorously. "Our Arab brothers would never commit such a treacherous act."

"Our Arab brothers are not exactly enthralled with our growing influence in Iraq. Don't be so sure of their support, and even if they do as you say, the Americans can operate from the Arabian Sea. They will decimate our entire infrastructure within one week. Every refinery, every pipeline and rail line will be severed. All telecommunications facilities and power plants will be demolished. Except in the north, of course, where they will leave everything in place and begin arming the Kurds. It will take years for our already fragile economy to recover, and we will have to deal with an insurrection in the north."

"You underestimate the strength of our people," Amatullah said dismissively. "Unlike the Americans, who are fat and lazy, our people know how to sacrifice and make do."

"And you," Ashani shot back, "overestimate your popularity with the people. Don't be so sure they won't turn on you when their power is out and they have no food on the table."

"You traitor!" Amatullah yelled. "How dare you!"

Ayatollah Najar reached over and grabbed Amatullah's arm. "Both of you," he said firmly, "need to remember who you are in the presence of."

Both Ashani and Amatullah looked at the Supreme Leader and then averted their eyes in either a sign of compliance or humiliation. The Supreme Leader sat stoically in his chair, his arms at his sides and his long fingers draped over his knees. By design or nature the man gave off an air of tranquility.

In a measured, confident voice he said, "We have been attacked." He took the time to look each man in the eye before moving on. "It is our just right to demand retribution in both blood and treasure." He glanced at his minister of Foreign Affairs. "You will take our case to the United Nations. Those responsible will have to pay." His gazed shifted to Ashani and Amatullah. "We must move carefully. It would appear that the United States has yet again used Israel to do the work of the devil."

Every man in the room save Ashani nodded in agreement.

"There is a chance," Ashani started, "that the United States did not have knowledge of this act."

"Do you think they are mourning our loss?"

"No, but I would like to remind the council that the Americans have rid us of both Saddam and the Taliban. We have a back channel with their government. I would like to see what I can find out before we take action."

"Lies," Amatullah bellowed. "That is what you will find out."

Ashani ignored Amatullah. "I do not see what harm it could do to hear what they have to say."

Amatullah tried to speak, but the Supreme Leader silenced him with a disapproving look. He took a moment to straighten his robes and then said, "The right hand does not always need to know what the left hand is doing."

Ashani had grown used to these imprecise proclamations from the Supreme Leader. It allowed him to keep his hands clean. The problem, as Ashani knew all too well, was that his edicts left too much room for interpretation.

"There is nothing wrong in finding out what the Americans have to say, but do not trust them. I will leave the details to all of you, but I want to be clear about one thing. This attack cannot go unpunished."

The members of the council nodded enthusiastically, and a few broke into applause. Ashani had the sinking feeling that they were going down a dangerous road paved with emotion and national pride. The thought of where it might lead them brought on a violent coughing fit. Ashani doubled over in pain. The other members of the council grew concerned until at last it stopped.

"Excuse me," Ashani said sheepishly. He felt a wetness on his chin and drew the back of his hand across his mouth. He looked down with embarrassment to see it was covered in blood.

The Supreme Leader looked at him with grave concern and said, "My son, you should be in the hospital."

"My apologies. I will go at once." Ashani stood and bowed. He felt a sudden shortness of breath. He took two steps toward the door, wavered, and collapsed.