Prelude to World War Three: The Rise of the Islamic Republic and the Rebirth of America

Escalation

The Chinese had been preparing for a confrontation with the US for nearly fifty years. Decades of cyber-attacks and theft of intellectual property had given the Chinese the advantage they needed to not just catch up to the Americans, but advance beyond them in multiple areas. For nearly thirty years, the Chinese had infiltrated various aspects of the American industrial control systems’ manufacturing base and embedded viruses and malware that were just waiting to be activated. The Chinese planned on not just dominating the Pacific, but replacing the US as the world’s leading Superpower.

“What is the status of the situation with the Americans? How are things progressing?” asked Jinping.

“Premier, the terrorist attacks in America continue to increase. The assaults against American forces in Mexico are also increasing as well. The IR was right — as this continues and their attack against Israel starts, it will draw forces away from the Pacific and limit the Americans’ options when Operation Red Dragon begins,” said Xi Lee, the Director for State Intelligence.

“The Navy is nearly ready as well. We have relocated our fleets to be within striking distance of the exercise location, and I have moved the majority of naval infantry to be ready for the ground invasion as soon as the order is given,” said Admiral Wei Shengli, the Commander of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) as he sneered at his Army counterpart.

The rivalry between the PLA, PLAN and PLAAF had been going on for decades, with each service commander believing they were the most important branch of service to the PRC. “Premier, we discussed this earlier. It would be the PLA that would lead the invasion of Taiwan, with the PLAN infantry creating a diversion. We do not want to split the PLAAF support between two different amphibious landing forces,” said General Fang Wanquan, the Commander the People’s Liberation Army.

The capabilities of the PLAN had increased over the last several years with the additional Supercarriers; their ability to go toe to toe with the US Navy was unmatched by any other group. It was also the naval infantry that was first to receive the new exoskeleton combat suits, outside of the Special Forces.

“Gentlemen, the attack will continue as planned. Admiral, your forces will destroy the Taiwanese Navy and neutralize the American bases at Guam and Okinawa. I want your naval infantry to capture the airfield at Guam.”

“Yes, Premier. I merely offered a second front to split the Taiwanese defenses,” said Admiral Shengli.

“I understand perfectly, Admiral. You want to show off your naval infantry and your new toys and you will…at Guam and then Okinawa. Taiwan is going to be a victory for the PLA. I do not want inter-service rivalries to compromise this operation. This is going to be our first engagement against the Americans, and we need to win so we can assert our dominance over the rest of Asia.”

“The Air Force is ready to deal with both Taiwan and the Americans on Guam. We are going to time our attack on Guam to coincide with the cruise missile attacks in order to overwhelm their defensive capability. As for Taiwan, we have moved 6,000 cruise missiles, along with 3,000 aircraft and 10,000 drone aircraft,” explained General Xu Qiliang with a smile and a nod towards the PLA commander.

“This had better work, General Qiliang. If the PLAAF is not successful, then it will make it very hard on the PLA and PLAN to accomplish their mission. I believe enough has been said about this matter; I want everyone to give me a status update at the next CMC meeting.”

“General Black, what is the status of operations in Mexico? How are things proceeding?”

“We are starting to see the rise of an insurgency. There have been multiple IED attacks against military patrols, sporadic rocketing of some of our bases, and some small engagements against our troops on patrol — but it’s nothing we cannot handle,” said General Black, the overall commander in charge of Operation Brimstone in Mexico.

“This is not going to turn into another Iraq or Afghanistan, is it?” asked General Branson.

“No sir, it is not. I still have 70 % of the Special Forces community in Mexico, along with additional military police and specialized counterinsurgency teams arriving every day. I have the SF guys busy hunting down any and all insurgent leads as soon as we learn who they are. We also have the entire country covered 24/7 with drones; if we spot a group of armed men moving to engage our patrols, then we engage them. The same happens when spotting someone putting down an IED. We have also placed bounties on the heads of the insurgent leaders, and will pay for any information that leads to their capture or death. We have seen a significant increase in the number of tips, and for the most part they are starting to pay off.”

“How are the work programs coming along there? Are we getting the various projects up and running?” asked General John Branson, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs.

“The Army Corp of Engineers has about 15 % of the identified projects underway; they anticipate having another 20 % started in the next couple of months. Even with 35 % of the projects active, it will employ roughly 800,000 people with high paying jobs, which when compared to what they previously had — it’s almost a miracle. I believe the insurgency will start to die out once more people are employed through the various reconstruction projects.”

“Generals, this is a top priority for the President, and not just because of the election in a few weeks. You all are aware of the increase in terrorist attacks here at home. The President wants to get things in Mexico stabilized soon so we can have more of our combat troops ready when and if they are needed,” said Eric Clarke, the Secretary of Defense.

“To that affect — General Black, I am re-tasking Delta Force back to the US, effective immediately. If these domestic attacks continue, the President may look to task Delta to work with the FBI and DHS in locating and terminating these terrorist cells,” the SecDef ordered.

“The loss of Delta Force is going to impact my mission, but I can live with it as long as you leave the rest of my A-Teams and the SEALs, at least for the next couple of months,” said General Black.

“Unless something else comes up, General, I have no intentions of taking any forces away from Mexico. We need that mission stabilized and ready to hand over to the Provisional Governing Authority (PGA). The President has also authorized the use of three security firms in Mexico: Ravenwood, DynCorp and Triple Canopy. They will start to show up once the PGA gets set up. They will provide a lot of the security for the DHS, Army Corp of Engineers and DOJ as they begin to setup operations.” An audible sigh was heard by the various generals.

“Gentlemen, I know not all of you agree with the President’s decision to intervene in Mexico. You may not love the thought of us integrating Mexico into the US, or the use of Private Military Contractors (PMCs) either. The President wants to stabilize the country to a point where a general referendum can be held. The people need to be able to begin national elections for Congressional and Senate seats, along with Governors and State legislature,” said the SecDef.

“I am not against the President’s plan — I mean, it will solve fifty years’ worth of problems between the US and Mexico. It’s just going to be a big adjustment,” said one of the divisional commanders.

General Adrian Rice, the Air Force Commander, placed his reading glasses on the conference table. “This is going to be an adjustment for us all; the Freedom Party is not going to be like the political parties of old; we are not going to get involved in conflicts abroad unless the United States is either going to gain from it or there is a direct and immediate threat.”

The DIA Director looked tired and complained, “I fully understand the party’s stated goals. It just feels like imperial expansionism.”

“Gentlemen, we all serve at the pleasure of the President. This is the strategy going forward. I suggest everyone make the best of the situation for the good of the nation, or look for positions in the private sector. You are the best officers in the military — that is why you all have been promoted, in some cases far ahead of your peers. The President wants the most qualified people in charge, not the ones who put in their time and believe that ‘now it’s their turn’” the SecDef said.

The meeting broke up and each commander went back to their respective offices to brief their own staffs and implement the orders given.