Dragon Fire

The Situation Room, The White House, Washington, DC

John Hastings had been on the telephone to President Tao for four minutes, using interpreters and patiently letting the Chinese leader run through his prepared script. Then Tao cut into his own lecture with what Hastings could only later describe as a high-pitched yelp. At the same time, Tom Bloodworth’s voice broke through the hum of the war room: ‘Indian missile. The Agni. Launch pad north of Allahabad. Waiting for coordinates.’

Tao left his line open but never returned to it. Analysts later described as gold dust the disjointed conversations recorded in Washington from the Chinese war headquarters. They confirmed that China did have real-time satellite surveillance over India, which picked up the launch at exactly the same moment as it came through on Bloodworth’s screen. The analysts also discovered — although only much later, when the conflict was over — that Tao himself remained in charge, and they were able to break down the command structure and the relationship between him, General Leung and their subordinates. But most significantly, ninety seconds after ending his conversation with Hastings, Tao’s voice was identified as initiating the command. Although Tao’s mood and motive were hotly debated for months to come, it was widely believed that his decision had been made some time earlier and that India’s missile launch was only the catalyst with which he chose to activate it.