Transfer of Power

chapter 29
Rafique Aziz was showered, shaved, and back in the expensive suit he had worn for his historic visit to the White House. All of his men were still at their posts except one. That man was standing behind a television camera in the White House pressroom. The morning sun spilled in from the windows running along the side of the narrow room. Aziz stood behind the familiar podium at the front of the room and checked his watch. It was nearing eight. Behind him, mounted on a blue curtain, was the White House logo.

Aziz watched his man move from the camera to a control panel at the rear of the room. The man looked up from his position and yelled, "I started the two-minute countdown. All of the networks should be receiving the feed."

Aziz grinned, taking satisfaction that he was about to put into play another part of his ingenious plan. He was going to go over the heads of the military and the FBI once again. Like everything else, this had been planned. He was about to appeal to the American people and thus the politicians. The only new touch was that he would be able to incorporate the repelling of the early morning raid into his speech. That had got him excited. It had been very close. The hostages and the building were wired to blow, and Aziz had no doubt that any attempt by the Americans to free the hostages would result in a bloodbath. That was a price he was willing to pay. He did not want it to come to that, in the interest of self-preservation, but if it did, he wouldn't hesitate for a second to annihilate everybody, including himself.

The speech that he was about to give would serve to make sure that a raid by the FBI would never happen. Aziz had followed American politics closely and watched how the leaders handled conflicts, especially those with his new benefactor. Aziz had admiringly watched Saddam Hussein mimic the actions and rhetoric of Adolf Hitler. Just like Hitler in the days prior to World War II, Saddam knew how to push, pound, cajole, lie, cheat, and basically do whatever he wanted, right up to the point where his adversaries were prepared to put their foot down. Saddam had turned it into an art form, playing the weak United Nations and the political left in America and Europe for everything they were worth. Continually ignoring everything he had already agreed to, Saddam would flaunt his insolence in the face of the Western powers, and then, just as they were preparing to engage in military action, he would send his envoys to the UN. As the might of American warships and allied air power massed at his borders, he would act defiant until the very end, and then, and only when real action was imminent, he would back down.

Six months later the whole process would start over again, and each time the resolve of the arrogant Western powers would be weakened. Saddam had proven that the American politicians had no stomach for war. They loved their surgical strikes and cruise missiles, but were they really that effective? In Aziz's opinion the answer was no. if one bothered to look beyond the TV clips and sound bites, the damage the surgical strikes caused was minimal.

Aziz was prepared to take a cue from Saddam. It less than a minute he would offer the American people that olive branch, and in turn the stage would be set for his last demand, and his triumphant return to his country.

Aziz looked toward the camera and straightened his tie. He had originally considered giving this speech from the Oval Office, but had decided it would only serve to undermine the entire intent of his plan. The American people would be livid over him sitting in the president's chair. It had been hard for him to resist the temptation to give the speech from the same place that so many other presidents had addressed the nation, especially since he would have addressed the nation, especially since he would have loved nothing more than to rub the faces of the arrogant American public in the fact that he was in control of the White House. But now was not the time to prod and poke. Now was the time to pull back from the brink and get the politicians working for him.

Aziz's man at the back of the room held up his hands and started the countdown. Aziz placed both hands on the podium, and when the signal was given, he cleared his throat and began to recite his speech from memory.

"It is with a heavy heart that I come to you this morning." Looking somber and passive, Aziz stared into the camera with his dark eyes and said in perfect English, "I wish the American people no harm and wish for this conflict to come to a speedy conclusion. I apologize to the families of the men and women who have died in this conflict. I know that this will seem empty and hollow to many of you, but you must please understand that this is a war . . . a war that your military and political leaders have started. I beg you, as a nation, to ask yourselves in front of your God, who has harmed whom in this conflict?" Aziz stopped and looked into the camera, his face utterly devoid of aggression.

"Since the end of World War Two, the West . . . mostly you . . . the Americans and your Israeli allies, has killed over a half million of my Arab brothers. Over five hundred thousand human beings." Aziz again stopped and stared into the camera, wanting to stress this number. "You sit here in this great nation, with all of your wealth and comfort and technology, and you are numb to the pain and suffering that my people have gone through and continue to go through. I ask you for a moment to put yourself in my shoes, in the shoes of the Arab people. Who is the bigger barbarian, the terrorist who kills thirty people with a car bomb, or the president who gives the order to kill thousands by sending his air force to do his dirty work?

"This is a question that we will probably never come to agreement on, but it is one that, at the very least, we should understand is a universal tragedy. I have not come to you today to try and place blame, but rather to make the first step in putting all of this behind us. I have come to you seeking peace.

"When this conflict started, I warned your FBI that any attempt to retake this building would be futile. I further warned them that such an attempt would result in the execution of hostages. Despite these warnings, your arrogant FBI tried to sneak a group of their commandos into the building last night. Their attack was repelled, just as I told them it would be, and resulted in the death of an unknown number of their people. I had intended to kill one of your fellow countrymen this morning to punish the FBI and your leaders for their reckless actions . . . but I have decided to spare that person's life as an example of my good faith. I do not think it is right for an innocent person to pay with his life for the stupidity and arrogance of the small group of warmongers that run your country.

"It is my sincere hope that we can resolve this conflict peacefully, and it is you, the peace-loving American people, that I am appealing to. Enough blood has been shed. It is time for us to stop living as enemies." Pausing for a second, Aziz looked down and then back up. "But before we can do that, America must come to the Middle East peace table as a truly independent advocate, not the big brother of Israel. I have two demands left, and if those demands are met, I will give you back this great house, and the people in it, without further harm. The first of my demands is simple. By six o'clock today, the U.S. must convince the United Nations to lift all economic sanctions against Iraq. I fully understand the need to keep the blockade in place against materials that would enable Iraq to develop weapons of mass destruction, and I think those provisions should stay in place. My concern is that my Arab brothers and sisters are starving and dying because of a feud between the leaders of the West and the leaders of Iraq. This is wrong, and it should be ended.

"If this demand is not met by this evening"   Aziz's expression turned more stern   "I will be forced to kill one hostage every hour until it is met. Let me state again that any further attempt to free the hostages by force will be met with harsh punishment. With the push of one button, this whole building will crumble to the ground, killing everyone in it." Aziz continued his glare. "If my demand is met by this evening, I will release half of the remaining hostages, and then I will give you my last demand. If that demand is met"   Aziz shook his finger   "we can spare the innocent people that have been caught in the middle of this conflict, and we can begin mending fences among our two peoples."

Aziz glanced down for a second as if searching for something special. When he looked back up, he said, "I ask you, as citizens of this great nation, the greatest nation the earth has ever known, to help me make these first steps toward a lasting peace. I wish you all the best and will pray for you. Thank you, and may your God bless you."

Aziz nodded his head once, and his man at the back of the room cut the live feed. Walking quickly to his right Aziz grabbed his MP-5 and yanked at his tie. He started for the Situation Room, where he could gloat over his performance and watch the pundits dissect his every word.

* * *

Vice President Baxter sat with his mouth agape, watching for the second time Aziz's nationally televised address. The heavy armor-plated presidential limousine rocked ever so slightly as it raced across the Chain Bridge on its way from Langley back to the Naval Observatory. A stream of motorcycles, police cruisers, sedans, vans, Suburbans, and two other limousines both preceded and followed the black Cadillac. Dallas King sat next to Baxter on the spacious backseat, his digital phone held firmly to the left side of his face. King was already on his second call in as many minutes. He was in classic political-crisis mode and happy to be doing something other than obsessing over the imminent demise of his short-lived career. Before Aziz's original address had concluded, King had been punching numbers into his tiny phone and barking outdoors.

With one eye on the small color TV in the back of the limo, he nodded his head and then said, "No. Don't waste your time asking any of the regular questions. I couldn't care less who they voted for last time or if they plan on voting this time. I don't want to have to say it again. This is an issue that transcends party lines. I want the nuts and bolts, and I want them within the hour. We can go back and get specifics later." King stopped talking for a second and listened to the Democratic pollster on the other end. He started shaking his head in frustration.

"You're not listening to me. I don't want you to skew the results . . . at least not yet. I want to get an honest feel." King listened and nodded. "That's right. After we take a stance, we can go back and push for the numbers that will back us up, but for now I want to know what they think of this guy." King paused again and looked at the small TV. It had not been lost on King that Aziz came off very well on TV, a hell of a lot better than most of the politicians in this town. He was very well spoken, looked sincere, and was movie star handsome to boot.

"Don't' forget to get me the splits on the women versus the men. The soccer moms are going to eat this guy up." King paused once again and then said, "Yep, put together a dozen questions and call me back in five minutes."

Pulling the phone away from his face, King pushed the end button and looked to see his boss's reaction to the speech. Baxter's expression had turned from one of surprise to a mysterious frown. King asked, "What do you think?"

"We're f*cked," Mumbled Baxter without taking his eyes off the TV. "The press is going to go berserk over this failed raid."

Looking at his boss, King thought, You think they're mad about this? Just wait until they find out I gave one of them a tour of the building last month. King gathered himself. "The press will be fine. This story is so big and it's moving so fast this little speech will be old news by tomorrow morning."

"I don't think so," said Baxter, not yet prepared to look at any upside. "This little incident has congressional investigation' written all over it."

King looked at his boss, who was still staring at the TV with a look of defeat on his face. "This whole thing, from start to finish, has congressional investigation' written all over it, and this one incident will be a footnote . . . . Besides, we insulated ourselves from it. General Flood has already taken the blame, and he did it right in front of Director Roach . . . . the man who will eventually investigate the whole thing."

"I don't know . . . It still stinks."

"The whole thing stinks. You just have to remember, when this is all over, it's gonna be the guy who stinks the least who comes out smelling like a rose." King pointed at his boss. "And I'm going to make sure that guy is you."

"Dallas"   Baxter grimaced   "I don't think you're being realistic about this. All of this stuff is not just going to be swept under the rug. The press is going to want answers, and they are going to want to know if I authorized sending those men in last night."

King shifted sideways in his seat. He wanted to choke his boss and scream, "If only you had my problems!" Instead in a calming voice, he said, "For the last time, don't worry about the press. I can handle them. You need to get your spirits back up and start acting like the president. We're going to have to react to this new development, and if the polls come back the way I think they will, we really might have a chance to squeeze our way out of this mess."

Baxter turned his head toward his aide and asked, "How?"

"I haven't figured it out yet, but I will."

Baxter looked away from King and checked his watch. Then with a sigh, he said, "I suppose I'd better call a meeting with the National Security Council."

King nodded. "That would seem to be the next logical step."

Baxter waved his right hand as if shooing away a fly. "Take care of it."

"When and where?"

Twisting his lips, Baxter gazed out the window and said, "Ten o'clock at the Pentagon."