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

Day Zero

Major General (MG) Garry Gardner was promoted to Lieutenant General (LTG) and given command of Third Corps, which consisted of three divisions. One was armored, one was a mechanized infantry division, and the third division consisted of light infantry modeled around the Brigade Combat Team’s concept that the Army was rebuilding.

LTG Garry Gardner had seen combat in Iraq and Afghanistan during the late 2010s, been in peacekeeping operations in the Ukraine, and recently had led the 3^rd ID in Mexico. He was a career soldier and had spent his military career in various combat arms units, steadily rising in rank. Once he had been selected for Brigadier General (BG), he had been offered the opportunity to obtain a doctorate degree at any university he wanted. Garry elected to pursue his doctorate from Carnegie Mellon University, where he obtained a Doctorate in Global Logistics Management and obtained a Master in Russian Studies at the same time.

Third Corps had been given the order to rapidly deploy to Israel and prepare for combat operations four weeks ago. Most of the soldiers had been arriving by commercial and military aircraft since they were given the order. Their equipment had just arrived eight days earlier and was being moved to numerous marshalling points as the soldiers and vehicles were being fully equipped for the combat operations that were expected to take place within the next 36 hours. The 1st Armored Division, commanded by MG George Twitty, was at 95 % strength and ready for action. The rest of the division was expected to be ready within the next 12 hours.

The 3rd Infantry Division, commanded by MG Brian Kennedy, was at 97 % strength and had deployed to marshalling points near Jerusalem with the IDF. The 1st Infantry Division, which was led by MG Paul Brown, had arrived two weeks ago and was at 89 % strength. Their equipment had arrived ahead of the battalions as personnel were still in transit to Israel. Most of the division had been in Mexico when they had been directed to proceed with all speed to Israel and join Third Corps.

Since a portion of the 1st ID was still in transit, the majority of the division was encamped in several locations near Tel Aviv, not far from the airport. It was expected that the remainder of the force would arrive over the next 12 hours. The military had commandeered over 400 commercial passenger aircraft from United Airlines, Delta, American Airways and Air Canada to move nearly 50,000 soldiers over a four-week period.

100 FedEx, DHL and UPS cargo aircraft were also being used to transport enormous amounts of munitions, MREs and other equipment that would be needed to sustain 60 days of continuous combat operations. This would normally be accomplished by the Army Material Command; however, with the short notice of this operation, what would normally be moved over a three-month period needed to be moved in 30 days. To ensure US Forces were coordinating with the IDF, LTG Gardner had located his HQ element near the IDF HQ and ensured he had more than enough Liaison Officers (LNO) and linguists in both HQ elements.

Major General Lance Peeler was the 2^nd Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF) commander. His forces were moving with the USS Gerald Ford Supercarrier and the rest of the US 6^th Fleet, which had left Naples five days earlier. Their mission was to be in striking distance of the Egyptian Coast and conduct an amphibious assault to secure the Suez Canal Zone (SCZ) and destroy the IR forces in the Sinai.

By securing the Suez and the Sinai, the MEF would control the crossing and would reduce the number of borders from which the IR forces could attack Israel. It would also effectively destroy approximately 80,000 IR forces in the Sinai. MG Peeler’s 20,000 Marines had been part of the initial assault against Mexico and was ready to get back into the fight, especially because of all of the damage and carnage the IR terrorist groups had inflicted across the US. It was time for some payback. They also had the support of 3,500 Marines and a Marine Air Wing at the Eilat Naval Air Station and Naval Base.

Vice Admiral Lisa Todd was the commander of the US 6^th Fleet based in Naples, Italy. She was the first female commander of a US Fleet. The 6^th Fleet consisted of the Supercarriers USS William Clinton and the USS Gerald Ford, which were to escort the 2^nd MEF to the Suez Canal Zone and assist the Marines in capturing it and destroying the IR forces in the Sinai. The fleet was also tasked with destroying all IR airfields within a 300-mile radius of the battlegroup.

The battlegroup had just received four additional anti-aircraft and missile defense ships prior to departing Naples. Three additional guided missile cruisers had also joined the battlegroup, bringing the total number of cruise missiles that could be launched from 820 to 1,400. Four munition replenishment ships had also joined the fleet, ensuring there would be more than enough munitions when the order was given to launch the attack.

The 5^th Fleet, which revolved around the Supercarrier USS George H. W. Bush, had been augmented with a second supercarrier. The USS Enterprise had left their home port of Eilat, Israel, to move into position near the Horn of Africa, where they could provide significant air support to operations in Jordan and Western Saudi Arabia. Unknown to Vice Admiral Jeremiah Lewis, their fleet was about to be attacked by over five hundred anti-ship missiles, to include 100 ballistic missiles, five of which were nuclear armed.

Near Amman, Jordan, General Abdullah Muhammed was receiving the final report on his tablet that all units were in place and ready to commence their attack. The past five years had seen a massive rebuilding of the IR military force. True to their word, the Russians and Chinese had provided the IR with tens of thousands of advanced military vehicles, including: the newest Main Battle Tanks (MBTs), infantry fighting vehicles, self-propelled artillery, multiple-launch rocket system (MLRS) vehicles, anti-aircraft and anti-missile vehicles.

The IR had also received the newest fourth and fifth generation stealth and conventional fighters and ground attack aircraft, including medium range bombers. With nearly 120,000 Russian and Chinese military advisors, the IR was as trained and ready to take on the Israeli and American forces as they were going to get. Knowing that their attack against the Americans would be quickly followed up by the Chinese, and then later the Russians, gave the IR the assurance their war would be successful.

“General Omar, order phase one of the attack to begin. Get our aircraft in the air. Once they are airborne, have the artillery and rocket forces begin their bombardment. Tell the forces in phase two to be prepared to start their attack shortly as well,” said General Abdullah Muhammed.

At 2315 hours’ local time in Israel, 1,600 IR aircraft and 4,300 drones took to the skies and began to head towards the Holy Land. At the same time, thousands of artillery and MLRS vehicles began their barrage from the borders of former Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and the Sinai, raining tens of thousands of rockets and artillery rounds all across Israel. As the rounds began to hit their targets, the IR fighters began to engage the Israeli and American aircraft flying over the country. The American and Israeli F35’s and F22’s began to attack the IR fighters, scoring six kills for each fighter they lost. At the time of the barrage, there were only 68 allied aircraft in the sky.

Once allied radar had detected the IR Air Armada leaving their airbases, word came down to scramble all available aircraft. Twenty additional aircraft took off just as the rockets began to hit the runways, preventing additional aircraft from getting airborne. Fortunately, the aircraft not immediately ready for takeoff were well-sheltered in their secured enclosures.

The Israeli Iron Dome System (IDS) immediately began to engage the rockets and artillery rounds heading towards the IDF bases, scoring a 91 % hit ratio of the targets engaged. Unfortunately, for every rocket or artillery round that was being targeted by the Iron Dome, two were still getting through to their targets without any resistance. Once it was determined that the volume of incoming fire was too numerous for the Iron Dome to protect everything, the Iron Dome switched from protecting civilian targets to shielding critical infrastructure and military bases. While the IDS was engaging these targets, the fixed and mobile laser and railgun defense systems started to attack the IR aircraft and drones that were beginning to swarm over the skies of Israel.

Within the first twenty minutes, several of the fixed land-based laser systems went offline as power transmission nodes and energy generation plants were being destroyed. Power was starting to go out all across Israel. Despite backup generators coming online, their limited generation capability was reducing the number of shots the lasers could fire per minute.

Captain Brian Jordan was serving his last tour in the Navy as the Captain of the USS George H. W. Bush supercarrier. After 30 years in the Navy, it was time to retire to that dream house his wife had insisted they build in Tennessee near where two of their four children lived. This was his final tour. As Captain Jordan sat in the Combat Information Center (or CIC as they call it), an alarm went off indicating the E5 advanced surveillance drone had detected a threat to the battlegroup.

The E5 surveillance drone had been in service with the Navy since the late 2020s; the drone used stealth technology and could stay aloft for as long as thirty-six hours. It typically loitered at an altitude of 60,000 ft., providing hundreds of miles of surveillance coverage for the battlegroup. As data from the drone was being received, the threat board began to show hundreds of aircraft and drones heading towards the carrier group. Dozens of smaller missile boats were detected on a course that would bring them into striking distance of the battlegroup as well.

“Sound general quarters, and someone get the Admiral in here quickly! Commander, activate the battlegroup’s automated defense system. CAG, get your aircraft in the air and engage those fighters and the bomber group.”

In walked Vice Admiral Jeremiah Lewis, moving briskly. “Captain Jordan — what are we facing?”

“Sir, we are tracking 62 missile boats, most likely equipped with four Exocet missiles each. There are also 60 medium bombers, 230 Su-43s and 600 drones heading towards the battlegroup,” said Captain Jordan.

“How far until the first missiles come into range?”

“Six minutes,” said one of the Petty Officers.

“How long do we have until those fighters and bombers are in range to launch their missiles?”

“Roughly 12 minutes if they launch from optimal range; if they launch from maximum range, then its closer to nine minutes,” said a Petty Officer at one of the radar stations.

“Captain, the fighter CAP from the Enterprise and our ship are going supersonic to engage those fighters and bombers. All of our drones are also in the air — 90 fighter drones to their 600,” said one of the officers manning the battlegroup communication stations.

“The CAG is launching aircraft as fast as he can, about four aircraft a minute right now,” said one of the air boss commanders. The Admiral began to issue attack orders to the ships in the battlegroup and ordered the frigates to move further out towards the incoming missile boats to increase the battlegroup’s missile defense shield.

The three cruisers in the fleet began to launch their anti-ship missiles and started to engage the smaller IR missile boats with their railgun turrets. Just as the Admiral was thinking this could not get any worse, their “eye in the sky” detected multiple ballistic missile launches tracking towards the battlegroup.

Suddenly, one of the destroyers in the battlegroup detected multiple torpedoes in the water. Several torpedoes had locked onto the cruisers protecting the carriers, the ships began evasive maneuvers and increased speed while launching torpedo counter measures. Four of the eight torpedoes went for the decoys while the remaining torpedoes zeroed in on two of the cruisers. Both cruisers were hit and began to list heavily to one side. Both cruisers began to sink within minutes of the torpedo hits, depriving the carriers of much needed anti-aircraft and anti-missile defenses from their advanced railguns.

The destroyer quickly moved to engage the submarines, and fired off two torpedoes of their own. Several of the anti-submarine helicopters began to report multiple submarine contacts; they too began dropping torpedoes in an attempt to chase them off while the destroyers attacked them. Within minutes, the sounds of several submarine hulls imploding could be heard as the torpedoes made impact.

In the skies over the battlegroup, the Su-43’s began to launch anti-ship missiles, adding to the fray of missiles the smaller attack boats had launched. As the missiles fired, it looked like streaks of lightning stabbing in the direction of the American fleet as they began their journey to their targets. Between the IR missile boats and the Su-43’s, 480 Exocets were fired at the battlegroup in an attempt to overwhelm their defensive capabilities. Twenty-eight missiles made it through the laser and missile screen and began to score hits against the battlegroup. While the Exocets were closing in on the fleet, the bombers began to launch their two Russian-made P-270s Moskits (also known as SS-N-22D Sunburn anti-ship missiles). These missiles travel at three times the speed of sound, carrying 710 lbs. of high explosives.

The ocean around the battlegroup was being lit up like the 4^th of July as hundreds of missiles, lasers and railguns were being fired. Missiles were exploding in an almost constant rolling of thunder. Despite the enormous success of the battlegroups defensive screen, eight frigates, seven destroyers and all three of the remaining guided missile ships were hit by the remnants of the Exocets missile barrage. Bright flashes of light could be seen for miles as the missiles were hitting their targets and the subsequent flames raged out of control on the damaged ships. The sea was starting to look as if it itself was on fire as diesel from the ships began to leak and burn on the surface of the sea. One Exocet hit the Enterprise, causing the ship to shudder slightly despite inflicting minimal damage, while three missiles hit the Bush, causing damage to the flight deck. Several aircraft that were still trying to take off were obliterated, and one of the elevators that was descending in order to move another fighter to the flight deck imploded. Several fires could be seen in the night sky from the Bush, while her crew immediately went to work putting them out and trying to repair the flight deck so they could launch more aircraft.

As the Exocets were hitting the fleet, 120 Sunburns began their final approach. Ninety-eight of the missiles were destroyed by the anti-missile laser defense system, while 22 missiles scored hits all across the fleet. The Enterprise took two more hits, one near the waterline causing significant damage to the crew quarters area and the second hitting just below the hanger deck that housed the aircraft munitions. As the missile exploded, it caused several secondary explosions, which tore through the hanger deck and two decks below, killing hundreds of crewmen in a fiery cauldron of death.

Two of the cruisers blew up shortly after being hit with the second round of missiles. The Bush was hit by five Sunburn missiles, scoring several hits just above the waterline. One shell hit the hanger deck, killing many members of the aircraft maintenance crew. The remaining missile hit near the engine room, shutting down one of the engines. The George H. W. Bush was severely damaged and starting to burn; she was also starting to list to one side.

As the ballistic missiles began their descent on the remains of the fleet, the last anti-missile frigate began to engage the missiles with its SM3s and the one pulse laser that was still operational. The Captain of the ship was not optimistic of their chances to destroy all of the incoming barrage; they had already expended 70 % of their own missiles, and the batteries for the pulse laser were low from engaging the last two waves of rockets.

The battle lasted less than twenty-five minutes. Admiral Jeremiah Lewis knew he had lost his fleet as the third wave of missiles, this time the ballistic ones, began to rain down on the remains of the 5^th Fleet. Three of the five nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles detonated at various positions over the fleet. The carrier George H. W. Bush took a direct hit and was completely destroyed, disappearing below the waves before the blast evaporated. The Enterprise was on the edge of two different blast zones; the carrier was battered on both sides from the blast and began to burn badly. Once the fires reached the ship’s jet fuel, the carrier sank, taking all hands with her.

Two of the ships in the fleet were outside of the blast zones and survived to report on the engagement. The mood of those who had lived through the attack was grim.

Still unaware of the events that had taken place, 6^th Fleet was moving into position. Vice Admiral Lisa Todd was being groomed to become a four-star admiral and had just taken command of the fleet in June. As the battlegroup neared Israel, Admiral Todd began to spend most of her time in the CIC with the ship’s Captain. She had a gut feeling the IR was going to launch a pre-emptive attack, and was determined not to be caught off guard.

“Captain Carr, we are now less than one hundred miles from our patrol position. Are we detecting any additional increase in activity at the IR airbases or ports?” she asked.

The captain looked to his intelligence officer to provide the answer.

“The E5 has spotted a number of aircraft taking off from various airbases in Egypt; the activity just started less than five minutes ago. The analysts are still trying to determine what they are up to. There are already a number of IR ships on patrols, though we are seeing additional activity in the ports.”

“Captain, let’s go ahead and move the fleet to general quarters. I have a feeling something is up with the IR and I do not want to be caught flatfooted. Launch the Air Wing, but keep them in orbit over the fleet and be ready for whatever may happen over the next couple of hours,” said Admiral Todd as her intuition and training told her an attack was imminent.

“I understand your concern, Admiral. Perhaps we should increase the fleet’s speed and get closer to our shore-based air cover,” said Captain Carr.

“I agree, let’s make haste. Have the MEF ships tighten up their position and order them to prepare to conduct their amphibious assault of the IR attacks. I want the MEF to head straight for the beaches and secure their targets if the IR decides to start the party early.”

The quick thinking and gut instincts of Admiral Todd were probably the only thing that saved the 6^th Fleet from the fate of the 5^th. When the IR missile boats and aircraft began to head towards the fleet to fire their Exocets and Sunburn missiles, the fleet was in position to attack them at maximum range and keep them from getting within reach of their missiles.

With the entire carrier Air Wing already in the sky, they were in quick position to attack the IR fighters and bombers before they were able to get into range. Essentially, the entire IR attacking force had been stopped, with the majority of the assailants destroyed. Only five Exocets and two Sunburns hit the fleet, sinking one destroyer who took two hits and a frigate who took a hit to their missile magazine. The other impacts were absorbed by the rest of the fleet, with no catastrophic damage done.

With the attack blunted, the 6^th Fleet began to launch hundreds of cruise missiles at their assigned targets all across Egypt and the Sinai. The MEF began to move into position to assault the Suez Canal Zone (SCZ), while the Marine Air Wing began softening up the IR ground forces in the Sinai.

The E5 sentry drone began to detect the sheer volume of missile and artillery fire being directed all across Israel. Admiral Todd directed 50 of the cruise missiles to go after the artillery and MLRS vehicles in the Sinai. Her hope was to reduce the volume of fire being poured across the border and to minimize the possibility of it being redirected at the MEF. She directed half of the Air Wing to engage the IR fighters that had survived attacks by the Air Force and the IDF, and ordered another 400 cruise missiles to hit IR troop, missile and artillery positions all across the Jordan Valley, Lebanon and Syrian border.

What concerned Admiral Todd the most was the fight underway with the 5^th Fleet. It looked as if they were being completely overwhelmed by the IR, and then 100 ballistic missiles showed up on the threat board. Within a minute, it was clear to see that they were being targeted at the 5^th Fleet and not Israel. Her heart sank several minutes later as the screen monitoring the missiles and the fleet whited out and then slowly returned; she instantly realized one or more nuclear devices had gone off over the 5^th Fleet. For all intents and purposes, the 5^th Fleet ceased to exist, which was a devastating loss for the US Navy.

Lieutenant General Garry Gardner’s Third Corps was just about ready for full combat operations; they were still waiting on a few thousand troops to arrive and for additional munitions that were being flown in from the States. He had the 1^st Armored Division, also known as “Old Ironside,” moving to marshalling position in the northeast of Israel near the Golan Heights, where intelligence reported the largest concentration of IR armored units. Ironside had recently received the new M36 Pershing MBTs. This was the newest tank in the Army, replacing the venerable M1A4 Abrams MBT that had been in service for nearly 60 years.

The Pershing was made of a new secret type of alloy that was five times stronger than the armor used in the Abrams; the tank was also the first in the world to field a magnetic railgun, giving it an incredible range and punch. The railgun and fire control system could also switch from ground attack mode to air attack, making the vehicle extremely versatile. When in ground attack mode, the Pershing could hit targets as far away as fifteen miles and could fire one round every twenty seconds for a sustained ten minutes before it had to drop its rate of fire to one round per minute to recharge its battery bank. The US had roughly 400 Pershings in service, until the manufacturing sector got up to speed. The DOD had ordered roughly 2,800 units for the Army and Marines.

The 1^st Infantry Division, also known as ‘The Big Red One,’ was being moved towards the Jordan Valley to reinforce what would certainly be a bloody battle for Jerusalem. The 3^rd Infantry Division was marshalling around the Tel Aviv area and was going to be used as a floating reserve to plug any holes in the line or exploit any breakouts. General Gardner was in a planning meeting with his IDF counterparts, despite it being nearly midnight, discussing the coming operation and what the contingency plans were should the IR launch their attack before the US officially declared war.

Suddenly, the “enemy incoming” rocket/aircraft alarms began to wail and an IDF captain came into the room announcing that the IR had just launched a massive missile and artillery attack all across Israel. The IDF commanders immediately ordered all aircraft that could get airborne to do so immediately. As the staff was moving to the Joint Command and Control Bunker, where the war was going to be run from, a naval officer approached General Gardner, whispering in his ear that the US 5^th and 6^th Fleets were both under attack as well.

As General Gardner walked into the Joint Command and Control Bunker, an Air Force Colonel said they were scrambling all available aircraft and that the aircraft currently on patrol were engaging IR fighters, though they were outnumbered 15:1.

“General Williams, get word back to US Central Command (CENTCOM) and US European Command (EUCOM) that we are under attack by IR forces and we are engaging them. Tell them we will need all the available resources they can provide, and get the CG on the horn. I need to talk with him. Also, make sure the Pentagon is kept in the loop.”

“We are already on it, sir. General Wade said he would like to talk with you as soon as you are available,” said Brigadier General Peter Williams, LTG Gardner’s Chief of Staff.

“Sir, we are tracking over 300 missiles heading towards our position; there are also 600 rockets heading towards the airport and the 1^st ID’s marshalling points,” said an Air Force Major, who was tracking inbound threats with four other NCOs.

“Make sure General Twitty knows he has incoming and to disperse his force. What is the status on our air defense systems? Are they engaging yet?”

“Yes Sir. The mobile laser batteries and anti-air railgun systems are engaging the incoming artillery, missiles and enemy aircraft penetrating our fighter cover,” said an Army Lieutenant Colonel (LTC), who, along with six other soldiers, was controlling and coordinating the Army’s air defense efforts. The mixed use of lasers and railguns provided an incredible layered defensive system. The railguns had a range of 15 to 20 miles and had a quick rate of fire, while the laser systems could hit targets as far away as several thousand miles in the case of a ballistic missile, or several hundred miles in the case of an aircraft. The primary difference, and the reason why they worked as an integrated defensive system, was that the lasers could only fire once every twenty to thirty seconds while the railguns could fire one round every three seconds.

“If our MLRSs have not started to attack the IR artillery, make sure they are on it. We have to cut the volume of fire down or they are going to cut us to pieces,” directed General Gardner.

Sergeant Jordy Nelson and his squad were putting the finishing touches on their machine gun bunker as part of the Jordan Valley defensive line. The Big Red One was assigned a five-mile area of the valley that, if taken, would give the enemy a clear path to Jerusalem. The Americans were given this patch of ground to defend because this was also the most direct route for American forces to invade the IR from and move towards Amman. Hundreds of machine gun and anti-tank missile and railgun bunkers had been constructed over the past several days as the 1^st ID began to settle into their positions until the invasion order was given.

“Private Miller, how much ammo did you guys bring back with you?” asked Sgt. Nelson as he walked towards several of the younger soldiers.

“We brought ten thousand rounds for the M240, ten thousand rounds for the M5 AIR.”

“Excellent work guys. I want the ammunition and power packs split between the two bunkers so — EVERYONE get down! Incoming!”

The Sgt.’s team immediately jumped into the trench between the two bunkers and ran for shelter as the artillery rounds began to land all across the Jordan Valley and endanger their positions.

“What in the name of all things holy is going on? What are we supposed to do now?” Sgt. Nelson thought. Looking at the scared soldiers in his team, he began to collect himself and told everyone in the bunkers, “Be ready for anything, and if you see something, report it to me. If it fires at you, then light it up.”

As the artillery barrage continued, IR Infantry Fighting Vehicles (IFVs), Light Drone Tanks (LDTs) and MBT’s began to advance towards the Israeli and American positions. As they neared, they began pouring their own direct fire into gun positions and vehicles that the artillery had not destroyed.

“Sgt. Nelson, we have enemy tanks and IFVs advancing towards our lines,” said one of the privates. Nelson grabbed his binoculars and began to scan the field in front of their position. Just twenty minutes earlier, it had been a lush green valley; now it looked like an alien planet or the moon as artillery and missiles continued to impact all around their positions. Despite the heavy artillery barrage, American soldiers began to fire their Anti-Tank (AT) missiles at the light-drone tanks and main battle tanks, leaving the heavier railgun positions to attack the IFVs. Thousands of tracers were zipping back and forth across the battlefield as both armies were locked in a desperate fight to destroy one another.

The IFVs began to take heavy fire from the railguns, with more than half of them being destroyed. The remaining vehicles began to disgorge their infantry, who attacked the American missile and gun positions. Tanks and IFVs can provide great direct fire, but they are vulnerable to AT equipped infantry and the larger caliber AT railguns, which is why they travel with their own supporting infantry.

“Everyone — begin firing at those infantry!” shouted Sgt. Nelson as he raised his own rifle and took aim at the several dozen infantry about 800 meters in front of his position. As Sgt. Nelson was engaging one enemy soldier after another, an artillery round landed in the center of a small cluster of enemy soldiers, throwing their torn bodies into the air and across the ground like rag dolls. The smell of smoke, cordite and burnt flesh was starting to permeate the entire valley.

Within an hour of continuous firing across the American lines, it was becoming apparent they were going to have to fall back to their secondary positions. The IR was attacking with massive human wave assaults and continuous direct fire from the hundreds of MBTs and IFVs supporting the infantry. The second and third waves began to arrive. The casualties and damage caused by the twenty-minute barrage had weakened numerous positions along the American and Israeli positions, creating multiple gaps that the IR were starting to exploit.

Despite the carnage and numerically superior Islamic army, the training and equipment used by the American and Israeli forces showed why they were the most formidable soldiers in the world.

Eric Clarke, the SecDef, and General Branson, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, were still being fed data by their aides about the attack underway in Israel, trying to ascertain the status of US Forces, when Mike Williams, the National Security Director, and his two aides walked into the room. They quickly took their assigned seats and began to assimilate the same information the SecDef and General were looking at.

The situation was starting to look grim particularly with the 5^th Fleet in the Gulf of Aiden near the Horn of Africa. Jim Wise, the Secretary of State, walked in with Monty and appeared to be in a heated discussion. “Those dirty, heartless swine! They really attacked our Embassy and executed the entire staff, including the Ambassador?” asked Monty in a rather loud voice.

All conversations stopped, and everyone looked at Jim Wise for clarification. Just then the President walked in; he surveyed the room and walked to his seat at the head of the table. An aide quickly placed a half frozen 20 oz. Red Bull on the table for the President. A can that large usually meant the President had a stressed-induced headache, which he liked to pacify with excessive amounts of caffeine. Not being a coffee drinker, his choice of poison had been Red Bulls — always had been throughout his life.

“Jim and Monty, sit down and tell us first what happened to our Embassy. Then we will get right into the rest of the information.” The President sighed deeply, thinking to himself, “Perhaps we should have acted sooner and prevented this; we lost the advantage and now we are paying for it.”

“Mr. President, our Embassy in Riyadh has been taken over and burned to the ground. Just as the attacks were getting underway, the Embassy said they were coming under heavy attack by several armored vehicles and a tank. The walls were quickly destroyed and soldiers stormed the building.”

“The Marines put up a heck of a fight and managed to destroy all the classified data and the servers before they were killed. One of our diplomats was on his way to the Embassy when he saw the attack begin, and he moved away to a point where he could observe the situation and relay it back to us. Shortly after the IR forces had secured the Embassy, they walked everyone out of the building that had surrendered,” Jim Wise said as he continued.

“The Ambassador was among the nineteen people captured. They were lined up against a wall as news crews began to film, and an officer walked up to each person and shot them in the head. They killed everyone at the Embassy. Our diplomat filmed it with his video phone and managed to send the video and a short message before he too was apprehended. We have not heard anything from him since,” said Secretary Wise, sounding tired but seething with anger.

The President sat back in his chair, looking up at the ceiling for a second before turning back to face everyone at the table. “First things first, I want everyone at their Embassy arrested and detained. We’ll figure out what we are going to do with them later.”

“I know the situation is bad from the looks on your faces, and from what I can see on the screens. Of course, it does not help that the media is giving the world a front row seat as well. General Branson, start from the beginning and bring us up to speed on the situation on the ground and how we are faring.”

“Around midnight Israeli local time, the Islamic Republic launched an all-out attack against Israeli and American Forces, starting with a massive rocket and artillery barrage.”

“Intelligence was alerted minutes before the attack, allowing the air and rocket defenses a couple of minutes warning, but not much more. The majority of the IDF airbases (and the two airbases we are operating out of) have been temporarily taken out of commission until the runways can be fixed. The IR also conducted a massive cyber-attack against the Israeli energy grid, causing further problems with our Command Control and Communications (C3),” explained General Branson as he continued his update.

“Vice Admiral Todd from the 6^th Fleet thought something was odd with the behavior of the IR forces in Egypt and brought her fleet to battle stations, ordering her Air Wings to get airborne. Shortly after that, the IR fleet and land-based systems began to launch a massive barrage of cruise missiles at the fleet. Over 300 IR aircraft also vectored in to attack the fleet.”

“Because she had brought her fleet to battle stations and had her Air Wings already above the fleet, they were able to interdict over 95 % of the incoming missiles. They destroyed over 50 IR ships and shot down 247 IR aircraft. The rest fled the area back to their home bases—”

“—I sure hope she was able to hit them back,” interjected the President.

“She was. The fleet attacked every airfield in Egypt and destroyed the naval ports. She also ordered the Marines to secure the Suez Canal Zone and attack the IR forces attacking the IDF in the Sinai.”

“This is great news, General. Tell her to keep beating the tar out of them,” said the President, showing a bit of excitement at the thought of really hurting the IR.

“Mr. President, I need to interject something. Sorry, General Branson, but I need to talk to the President about the 5^th Fleet. I just received a FLASH message from Admiral Todd,” said Admiral Lewis Juliano with a look of sheer horror on his face.

“What is it Admiral?” asked the President.

“Sir, I just received word from Admiral Todd. The 5^th Fleet has been destroyed; they were hit with multiple nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles. We’ve lost the supercarriers George H. W. Bush and the Enterprise, along their entire support fleet. 13,370 Sailors and Marines are gone,” said the CNO as he sunk into his chair.

The room fell silent for a minute as everyone began to digest what they were just told. The loss of two supercarriers and more than 13,000 Sailors and Marines was a lot to take in.

“Admiral, before we discuss how we are going to respond to that particular attack, we need to assess the rest of the situation. General Branson, tell us about the situation on the ground.”

“The 3^rd ID has taken the brunt of the IR attack in the Jordan Valley. The barrage did a considerable amount of damage to their vehicles, and they have been getting hit with multiple wave attacks of both infantry and light drone tanks. They are putting up a brave fight, but they are starting to fall back to their secondary positions.”

“Two brigade combat teams from the 1^st ID are moving up to reinforce them as we speak in order to plug up the holes in the lines. The IDF was hit hard in their southern border, and just as it looked like they were going to have to fall back with the 6^th Fleet, they hammered the IR with their cruise missiles. When the Marines began to land along the Gaza strip, the SCZ the IR force withdrew back towards the southern section of the SCZ to block the Marines from cornering them. Admiral Todd’s Air Wing and the Marine Air Wing should finish them off soon.”

“The IDF is holding the line along the Lebanon border and the 1^st Armored Division completely blunted the IR armored assault. Those new Pershing tanks are performing far better than anyone expected. They absolutely pulverized those front line Chinese and Russian tanks that the IR is using,” said General Branson with a hint of a smile.

“LTG Gardner is requesting the XVIII Airborne Corps to reinforce him immediately. Third Corps and the IDF have taken a beating. General Gardner says they have already sustained 5,340 KIAs and about the same number of WIAs.”

“Mr. President, these are some heavy losses. This is close to 20,000 men and women killed and at least another 10,000 wounded in the first hour of the war. I recommend we surge troops to Israel and we hit the IR with some tactical nuclear weapons of our own,” Eric said as he looked at Admiral Juliano.

“I agree, Mr. President. The IR just hit us with nuclear weapons; we need to respond in kind or they are going to use them again,” said Admiral Julian as he highlighted a submarine that could be used on the holographic display. “We have a sub in the Arabian Gulf and another one not far from where the 5^th Fleet was.”

“General Scott, Director Rubio, what are your thoughts on a proportional response to the IR’s use of tactical nuclear weapons?” asked the President, searching for more consensus on the use of nukes.

“The US has had a long-standing policy of proportional retaliation. The IR detonated three tactical nuclear weapons over the 5^th Fleet; these weapons ranged in the 1 kiloton to 5 kiloton range. If we were to respond with tactical weapons in the 10 kiloton range, I believe that would be a proportional response. The next question is — what type of targets do we want to hit?” asked General Scott as he nodded towards Director Rubio.

“Not only has the IR conducted a nuclear attack against our forces, they have carried out sustained terrorist attacks against our country for the last two and a half months. More than 20,000 civilians have died from these attacks; they have also conducted continuous cyber-attacks against every facet of our economy. They have attacked our very way of life, and they are not done attacking us at home. Now that they have taken the gloves off, it’s time we do the same and hit them with that proverbial big stick we still have,” Rubio said, anger burning in his eyes.

“The IR laser missile defense system is going to be challenging to get through, but not impossible. The key to any laser defense system is power; I recommend that we conduct a series of strategic attacks against their critical infrastructure. It’s still experimental, but we can use our new hypersonic ramjet cruise missile, the X59. It travels at Mach 10, making it nearly impossible to acquire and target by laser. In addition, a laser needs to hit the missile for at least 3 seconds for it to cause enough heat to cause an explosion. The X59 travels too fast for that. It can carry 5,000 lbs. of high explosive warhead, or it can transport a variable nuclear warhead. We only have fifteen of them, but could begin full production immediately,” said General Adrian Rice, the Air Force Chief of Staff.

“Mr. President, the public is going to demand we hit the IR with nukes. They will want their pound of flesh after the last three months of terrorist attacks. We need the IR to understand that these types of attacks are not going to be tolerated and we will respond with overwhelming force.”

“I understand the frustration, Monty. I want to make sure we hit them hard, but I also want to make sure this does not spiral out of control either. With the 5^th Fleet gone, what does our anti-ballistic missile defense capability look like in the Middle East now?”

“Sir, the 6^th Fleet packs more than enough punch to deal with any ballistic missile attacks by the IR on either Israel or US Forces. Unless the IR starts to use more nuclear-tipped artillery rounds, we can take them down,” said Admiral Juliano.

“All right gentlemen, let’s hit the IR with a taste of their own medicine. Take out their power grid; hit them with the 30 kiloton warheads. Also, ensure that at least two of the missiles destroy their ability to export oil by destroying their two largest terminals. I also want the Straits of Hormuz heavily mined and some subs sitting out there to pick off any shipping, either entering or leaving. The minute their power is down and their laser defense system goes off line, I want those sites destroyed,” the President said and continued issuing orders.

“We need to disable their laser defense system quickly, and then we will systematically destroy their ability to continue this war.”

“Yes, Mr. President,” rang the chorus of voices.

With the plans in place to strike back at the IR, the President left with Monty to prepare his address to the American people.

It was dinner time in America and as families sat down to eat while glued to the news of the war, the President went on national TV and radio to explain the situation in the Middle East and the nuclear strike that the IR conducted against the US 5^th Fleet. The President assured the American people that the US was responding in kind and soon the IR would feel the wrath of American nuclear weapons as well.

The following morning, the President made a second national address laying out the facts of the terrorist attacks against the US and the links between those attacks and the IR. The sheer number of casualties coming in from the Middle East was staggering as well. The President asked the Congress to issue a formal declaration of war against the Islamic Republic and declared a State of Emergency and martial law.

All Governors were asked to activate any of their National Guard units that had not been activated yet and to begin to use those forces to protect the critical infrastructure buildings and nodes in their states. Within an hour of war being formally declared, the President asked for all able-bodied men and women to join the Armed Forces to assist in the protection of their families, homeland and way of life.

The Islamic Republic responded to the President’s declaration of war and the nuclear attack on their own country by issuing one of their own. They vowed they would not stop until Israel was destroyed and the Americans were removed from the Middle East. Within hours, five additional terrorist attacks were carried out against civilian targets in the US, attacking several power plants and transmission nodes.

As police and first responders began to arrive, they were attacked by several terrorists who had chosen to stay behind and kill as many police as they could before detonating the remaining IEDs and vehicle borne IEDs they had lined along the roads. These attacks only furthered the hatred brewing between the Muslims and non-Muslims living in America, particularly when a small country church was attacked and all 103 parishioners were crucified on crosses on the county road leading to the church. There were 19 children among those crucified. Muslims all across America were starting to be attacked in retaliation. The police did their best to protect both groups of people, but it was becoming harder and harder to keep the two sides apart.

The US struck the Islamic Republic’s power generation plant at Ras Tanura on the Arabian Gulf, the Abqaiq plant in the same area, and also the Ar Riyad plant, destroying 13,391 Megawatts of power production and effectively disrupting 60 % of the power generation capability in the heart of the IR. The city of Buqayq was completely destroyed in the nuclear attack, along with the city of Ras Tanura, Al Khobar and its oil terminals and port.

Several power generation plants in Iran, Iraq and Egypt were also destroyed, along with the cities they were near. The IR government denounced these attacks, citing the hundreds of thousands of civilians killed, and demanded the US be sanctioned by the United Nations. The Russian government immediately denounced this blatant attack against civilian targets by the US, as did China.

The European Union asked that all parties refrain from further use of nuclear weapons and asked for a pledge to keep the war conventional. The President of the United States announced that any further IR use of nuclear weapons against US Forces or Israel would result in a substantial nuclear response by the US.

General Gardner had been awake for nearly 30 hours as reports from the frontlines continued to pour in. The 1^st Armored Division had gone from being on the defensive to taking the fight to the enemy. They had broken out of the Golan Heights and were pushing the IR forces back to Damascus. Because of the success of 1^st Armored Division, the IDF had been able to rout out the IR forces in Lebanon and began to shift forces from that front towards Jerusalem.

One of the Colonels running the J3 or Joint Operations group for Third Corps gave an update on the situation on the ground. “The 1^st ID has been in constant contact with IR armor and IFVs for nearly 24 hours; they had to fall back past Jericho and found themselves less than four miles from Jerusalem. The IDF moved two additional battalions of light infantry just before dawn to reinforce American/Israeli forces and took up positions throughout the hills approaching Jerusalem.”

“Tell General Twitty I need him to commit the rest of his division to the defense of Jerusalem. Unless the Israelis tell us otherwise, we are going to turn Jerusalem into a meat grinder,” said LTG Gardner. He was reading from one tablet and then another, each with up-to-date aerial reconnaissance and reports from the front.

“General Twitty is already on it. He moved his HQ to the west side of Jerusalem so he could be closer to the battle. I also have that report you asked for and photos of that platoon from 1^st ID that had been captured yesterday. It would appear the rumors are true. The IR crucified all of the prisoners to motivate their own forces, showing that even the Americans can be beat,” said Brigadier General Peter Williams with a look of anger and disgust on his face.

“This is getting out of control. They are not only killing those who are wounded or captured — they are now crucifying them? How many prisoners of theirs do we have?”

“A few thousand. Most of them are from 1^st Armors AO,” said General Williams.

“Hmm…I’m not going to kill their prisoners, at least not yet, but since they are making this a religious war, then let’s hit them where it hurts. Tell General Twitty he is to destroy the Al Aqsa Mosque near the Temple Mount; I want it flattened as soon as possible.”

“I am not sure the Israelis will let us blow it up sir. They currently protect it right now,” said Williams.

“I will take full responsibility for this, and if the President or the SecDef wants to relieve me of command, then so be it. I will not let our soldiers be crucified by these jihadists and not retaliate.”

“I believe we should coordinate this with the IDF; perhaps we can arrange to have a film crew on scene to video its destruction.”

“Make it happen.”

The Israeli cities were being devastated from the almost constant missile and artillery barrages. The IDS was extremely effective, but even it could be overwhelmed given sufficient firepower. Multiple power plants had been taken offline from cyber-attacks or from damage sustained from the barrages, and this was starting to have an impact on the IDF’s ability to sustain its rocket and missile defense systems. The IDS was running out of missiles; the railgun and laser systems were running out of power. Their own self-sustaining power generation could provide enough power for air defense but with a continuous barrage all across the country for more than 18 hours, they needed additional power to sustain their defensive effort.

Word spread quickly through the American and Israeli ranks about the crucifixions, which only spurned them to fight harder. As the fighting continued, the 1^st ID stopped taking prisoners and killed any wounded or surrendering IR soldiers they saw. Without informing the Israeli Prime Minister or his own higher command, the IDF Major, who was in charge of the soldiers guarding the Al Aqsa Mosque, let soldiers from the 3^rd ID place explosives throughout the Mosque and stood by as they detonated them.

Within seconds, the entire building collapsed and was nothing more than a smoking ruin. The people that had not fled Jerusalem could not believe the Mosque had just been destroyed. No one knew if it was an errant missile that destroyed it or if it was intentional. It did not take long for pictures and video of its destruction to spread across social media.

A BBC news crew who had been filming the fighting from a vantage point near the Mosque was reporting on the battle that was taking place a few miles from Jerusalem when they saw a number of soldiers entering the Mosque, then leaving just as quickly; a couple of minutes later the Mosque was completely destroyed. Every Muslim around the world saw the destruction of this Holy site and many began to take to the streets shouting, “Death to Israel and America!”

The Israeli Prime Minister was quick to denounce the destruction, saying the IDF had no part in its demolition and quickly blamed the Americans. General Gardner provided a short statement to the media saying that he had authorized the destruction of the Al Aqsa Mosque of his own volition in retaliation for IR units crucifying captured American soldiers, of which there was plenty of video evidence. Had the situation on the ground not been so precarious, the Israeli Prime Minister would have insisted on General Gardner being replaced. As it was, Jerusalem might have fallen within the next day if the 3^rd ID were not able to stop the IR.

General Abdullah Muhammed could not believe the success his army was having against the Americans and Israelis. Admiral Jaffa Mustafa had come through and destroyed the entire 5^th Fleet! Two aircraft carriers and all of their support ships — if only he had been able to destroy the carriers in the Mediterranean, his victory could almost be assured. Those two carriers had destroyed his Sinai force, which would have placed additional pressure on the IDF.

The campaign in the Jordan Valley was going swimmingly; the American 1^st ID had put up a fight, but ultimately they had to fall back. Even with the American 3^rd infantry division coming to their rescue, it was only a matter of time before Jerusalem would fall. He had two hundred thousand light infantry moving into the valley to begin the final assault to take Jerusalem.

“General Muhammed, General Hamza wants to know what we are doing to stop the Americans from advancing and capturing Damascus. They are at the outskirts of the city already,” said General Ishmael Omar, General Muhammed’s Chief of Staff.

“Tell General Hamza I have ordered three divisions of armor to reinforce Damascus. I am also diverting additional attack aircraft and helicopters as well. That should satisfy him…doesn’t he realize the goal is to cut Israel in half? Damascus is not important. Capturing Jerusalem is.”

“I will inform him right away sir. Before I leave, we received word that our forces have captured Eilat and the American Israeli naval base there.”

“The IDF retreated to the Ovda IAF airbase. General Ibrahim also reported that he had finally secured Ir Ovot all the way to Dinoma on the eastern side of the Sea of Galilee. He has asked for permission to use his reserves as he makes a push to capture Be’er Sheva.”

“Tell him he has permission to use his reserves and prepare to fight the American Marines. Once he secures his objectives, he needs to be ready to move towards the Sinai and push those Americans into the Sea.”

IR forces were starting to break through the Jordan Valley defenses; they had poured over 600,000 soldiers into the valley to fight 12,500 American soldiers and roughly 60,000 Israelis. After 24 hours of hard fighting, they were now less than four miles from capturing Jerusalem. Then the news that the Americans had destroyed the Al Aqsa Mosque sent every soldier into a religious frenzy against the Americans. Hundreds of thousands of Muslims began to protest in virtually every major city in the world. Close to two million people from Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia were moving towards Mecca to pray and to volunteer to fight against the Americans and destroy the spawns of Satan, the Jews.

Caliph Mohammed played this up in numerous broadcasts he televised from a hidden underground bunker. The IR Public Relations (PR) Ministry was broadcasting news reels of the destruction of the US 5^th Fleet and the nuclear detonations destroying the Americans. Videos of the massive missile and artillery barrages pouring into Israel, videos from the frontlines showing destroyed Israeli and American armored vehicles and the startling images from the West, the images of Israeli and American soldiers hanging from crosses with the city of Jerusalem in the distance, all of these played on near-constant loops on any television station that the IR could control.

Shortly after those videos were shown, the Pope came out with a statement. He was less ornately dressed than on some other occasions, but the gravity of the situation called for quick action and less ceremony. “This treatment of Christians and Jews is intolerable. If the IR succeeds in capturing Jerusalem, they could destroy everything sacred to the Christian and Jewish religions. I declare that this wanton destruction and desecration of life by the IR is a crime, not just against humanity, but against the Christian and Jewish religions. I call on my brothers and sisters in faith to stand together against these horrible atrocities. We must take up the call to action.”

Within days, tens of thousands of Catholics and Protestants from across Europe were either joining the military or looking for ways to join the Israeli Defense Force Militia units that were originally established by the Vatican but quickly began to spring up in Italy, Germany, Poland, the United Kingdom, and Ireland. This movement quickly spread to South America, where the word of the Pope carried a lot of weight.

The Vatican had all but called this a Holy War against Islam. Tens of thousands of Muslims in Italy began to converge on the Vatican in protest; very quickly, the Muslim communities across Europe began to riot and take to the streets, attacking Christians and Jews in response to the Pope’s message.

Within hours of the Pope’s message, tens of thousands of Muslims converged on Washington, DC in protest. Several hundred young men used the protest as a cover to get close to the Capital building before launching their attack. They broke from the protest march and ran for the various Capital building exits, shooting police and security guards as they encountered them. Several dozen attackers were engaging the Capital Police near the main entrance while a group of seven individuals managed to break into one of the emergency exits. Within seconds, they were running through the hallways of the Capital, throwing grenades into offices and shooting everyone they encountered. Two other groups of attackers were able to enter other emergency exits and began their assault.

As additional police officers and SWAT members engaged the attackers, they were able to block them from the House Chamber, where a number of the senior Congressional leadership had evacuated to. A similar attack was also underway at the Senate building and two other government agencies within DC. The protest rally quickly spiraled out of control as police began to shoot the protesters and several gunmen hidden amongst the crowd continued to shoot at the police.

Thirty minutes after the start of the attacks against the Capital building and the Senate, the President activated the Continuity of Government (COG) plan, which began the dispersal of all elected officials to various command bunkers as the US Government went underground. The President also moved the American military to DEFCON One, bringing all US Forces to the highest level of readiness. This placed all US overseas military bases on a war footing in anticipation of combat operations.

Rioting and protests were starting to spring up all across the US as the various Muslim communities reacted to the destruction of the Al Aqsa Mosque and the Pope’s message. Other Muslim groups began denouncing the barbaric acts the IR was perpetrating on the US and Israeli soldiers with the crucifixions, pleading for all sides to remain calm.

“Mr. President, the rioting is starting to get out of control in some cities. Just as we believe things are starting to calm down, some nut job starts shooting Muslims or Christians or Jews, and once again the situation is a boiling cauldron of fury and rage. The National Guard is still mobilizing and getting into position in the major cities, but something has to give,” said FBI Director Jane Smart.

“We need to give it some time, Director. Order is not going to be restored immediately; the National Guard needs time to get in place, DHS is still getting the detention processing camps established and so on. I just authorized curfews, as well as the use of deadly force with the rioters; if things do not calm down over the next 48 hours, we’ll look at the situation again.”

“I understand, Mr. President. We have more than just a detention problem. There are literally hundreds of cities experiencing this problem; the gangs in some of the major cities are also taking advantage of the situation. On top of it all, I have the ACLU breathing down my neck crying foul everywhere,” complained the Director of DHS.

“This war is almost 48 hours old; I do not give a crap what the ACLU says right now. We are under martial law and under the 2015 and 2039 Defense Authorization Act, I am operating within the legal bounds of the law. Let’s move on to a status update on the war — where do we stand, General Branson?” asked the President, clearly frustrated.

“Mr. President, everyone is aware of the atrocities the IR has been committing against our Forces. I’d fire and replace General Gardner for destroying the Al Aqsa Mosque, but right now he is in the thick of it and I think pulling him out would cause more problems than it would solve,” said Branson.

“I agree, but as you said, it would cause more issues at this moment, so we are stuck having to turn a blind eye to it at the moment. Please continue.”

“The 1^st ID is less than two miles from Jerusalem; in some locations, the IR forces are even closer to the city. Our forces have been getting mauled and they have been in almost continuous combat for nearly 48 hours. General Gardner has ordered the rest of the 3^rd ID in to reinforce them; the 1^st armored division broke through the IR lines and quickly advanced to the outskirts of Damascus. Gardner has ordered them to swing south and try to put more pressure on the IR forces in the Jordan Valley.”

“The 2^nd MEF has secured the Sinai and the SCZ. The 6^th Fleet is reporting a massive troop movement from Cairo heading toward the SCZ; the Marine Air Wing is engaging them along with the 6^th Fleet. I’ve directed Admiral Todd to do what she can to assist our troops in the valley. We still do not have air supremacy, but the more pressure we can put on the IR air forces, the better,” said Branson.

“Where is the rest of the Air Force in all of this? When will we have control of the skies and start to pound these guys into the dirt?” asked the President.

“Soon, Mr. President. We are moving the USS Intrepid to the Mediterranean. Their battlegroup should be on station in four days; they are sailing at flank speed,” said Admiral Juliano.

“The 81^st Fighter Drone Wing has arrived in Sigonella Naval Airbase, Italy. The Wing consists of 1,000 F38 air superiority drones and 600 FA38 ground attack drones. The 80^th Fighter Drone Wing has arrived at Aviano Air Base, Italy; they consist of the same number and type of aircraft. The 80^th is engaging the IR Air Force in Turkey and their naval assets left in the area. The 81^st is going to focus solely on providing support to our forces in Israel once our forward airbases in Crete are back to being operational. As soon as air superiority has been achieved over Israel (or as close as we can get to it), the ground attack drones will move to their forward bases so they can provide quicker ground support.”

“The 80^th ground attack aircraft will also move to Israel as soon as possible. I’ve ordered two additional JF35 squadrons to the region, and our cyber guys are wreaking havoc on the remaining US aircraft they have. So far we’ve managed to keep them grounded, so I’d call that a win,” declared General Adrian Rice, the Air Force Chief of Staff.

“How soon until additional reinforcements are going to arrive?” asked the President.

“We lost two transports carrying reinforcements a few hours ago. Once the Air Force can provide additional air cover, we have another 3,000 troops waiting in Italy. Most of the XVIII Airborne Corps is still in Mexico, so they are not going to be available for at least another week. The issue we face is getting enough troops mobilized and deployed to Israel to make a difference.”

“The troops we would traditionally have available are either tied down in Mexico, already deployed in Israel, or conducting anti-terrorism activities here in the US. We have one brigade from the 82^nd that is en-route to Italy and will be ready to jump into Israel as soon as there is an opportunity,” said General Jeremiah Smith, the Army Chief of Staff. A worried look covered his face. “With your permission, I would like to prepare Fifth Corps to head to Israel as quickly as possible.”

“How soon could they get there?” asked the President.

“I have the orders drafted and the Corps has been placed on ready alert for deployment; we can start to have them move to Norfolk for embarkation immediately. They should arrive in nine days with their full equipment load,” said General Smith.

“Before we deploy more troops to Israel, we need to secure the Straits of Gibraltar. The British are holding their end; the issue is the IR side. At first, they posed no significant problem once our aircraft from Britain paid them a visit, but I am concerned that this may change now that we are going to need to move a lot more ships through there,” posited General Tyler Black, the Commandant of the Marine Corps. General Black looked like your typical Marine; he had a bulldog of a face and could stare down just about anyone. His first concern was his Marines, then his country.

“I suppose you have a plan, General?” asked the President, raising an eyebrow at the General.

“I do, Mr. President. I have the 4th MEF about a day away from the Straights as they move to reinforce the 2^nd MEF in the Sinai and the SCZ. I would like to drop a battalion and their equipment to secure the area; the British Forces on Gibraltar have said they would provide air support for the battalion and, if needed, medical support.”

“All right, General. Secure the area, and then get the rest of those Marines to the 2^nd MEF. General Gardner has ordered one of your Brigades there to retake our base at Eilat. The situation around Jerusalem is only getting worse, so the more Marines we can get in country, the better.” The President looked exhausted, practically haggard from lack of sleep and immense pressure.

“Mr. President, we need to make a decision about Jerusalem and whether we want General Gardner to hold it or withdraw to a more defensible position,” interjected General Branson, pouring himself a refill of his coffee.

“I’m afraid the IR has already made that decision for us, General. If we surrender the city, they are going to kill everyone in it and destroy any Jewish and Christian historical sites. We need General Gardner to hold the city at all cost, even if it means house to house fighting. The civilians need more time to evacuate. I spoke with the Israeli Prime Minister, and he said they are evacuating as many civilians as possible out of Israel to Italy.” The President let out a heavy sigh. “Generals, you all have your orders…continue to manage the war as we have discussed, and have your updates ready for our next meeting in…four hours.”

“Henry, you need to make another address to the nation soon. The people need to be reassured that things are OK and we are in control. The COG has really spooked a lot of people; there are lines of people fleeing the major cities, heading to the countryside. People are not showing up for work and basic services are starting to break down,” explained Monty.

“You are right as usual. Please schedule a broadcast for 5pm today. When is our domestic briefing?”

“In a couple of hours. You have some time to catch a short nap, if that is what you were thinking.”

“Thank you, Monty. You know, aside from my wife, you probably know me better than anyone else.”

The President made his third address to the nation in a few hours, this time to reassure the American people that things were fine and they should return back to their homes and jobs. The President informed the public that the National Guard would remain on the streets with the police to help maintain law and order. The best thing people could do for the war effort was to return back to their homes and their businesses as the country and the soldiers in the Middle East needed their support.

In this same period, the FBI and DHS had apprehended 74 individuals prior to them being able to carry out further attacks. This brought the total number of captures to 329 terrorists. Four hundred and sixty-two thousand people had applied to join the military in the first 48 hours of the war. People were angry, and they wanted payback.

Despite large numbers of people wanting to leave the big cities after the initial use of nuclear weapons by the IR and the attacks on the Senate and Capital buildings, American nationalism was at an all-time high. Riots and demonstrations both for and against the war, along with pro-Muslim and anti-Muslim rallies continued. Some turned violent, and there was a lot of vigilante justice going on; local and federal law enforcement was doing their best to maintain law and order, though they fell short often.

“Caliph Mohammed, I bring good news, General Muhammed has finally captured Jerusalem. The American and Israeli forces have fallen back to less than ten miles from Tel Aviv; General Hamza believes his forces will be able to secure Tel Aviv within the next three days.”

“Our Air Force has taken a terrible beating, Caliph. We have lost nearly 1,200 aircraft since the start of operations, and 4,000 fighter drones were destroyed. We still have 2,300 fighter drones, but these constitute the last of our operational Air Force,” said General Ishmael Malik, the Commanding General of the IR Air Forces.

“General Hamza, I am pleased that we have finally secured Jerusalem. General Malik, you bring up a major concern. Have we been able to get our laser defense systems operational yet?”

“Yes, we have about 40 % of them back online. The Americans were able to destroy ten of our sixteen ground-based sites with cruise missiles. The majority of our mobile defense systems are at the frontline, leaving us vulnerable. We have started to pull some of them to help protect our critical infrastructure. The Russians are helping by connecting their power transmission nodes into ours. As they are able to provide more electricity, we should have the rest of our laser batteries operational,” explained General Malik with an optimistic look on his face.

“It was a smart move on the Americans’ part to destroy our power plants. Aside from shutting down our laser defense systems, it has plunged most of the Republic into the dark.”

“Fortunately, we also have a lot of industrial grade generators and two Russian nuclear powered ships in port; they are providing a substantial amount of power,” said Admiral Mustafa.

“Their attempt to take out the reactors at Fordo failed, though we are letting them believe they destroyed them. We have that weak idiot President Obama to thank for giving us the time to reinforce it beyond their capability to destroy it so many years ago,” said General Malik.

“The American cruise missiles are really starting to cause some problems aside from electricity shortages; they are attempting to destroy our infrastructure, making movement across the Republic incredibly difficult. It is making it hard to move additional reinforcements and supplies to the frontlines.”

“We have over two million volunteers in Mecca and Medina right now that need to be transported to the front. A lot of them are being moved by commercial busses, which is helping; once they arrive, we are providing them with basic small arms rifles and a minimal amount of ammunition. General Muhammed is having them formed into shock brigades — he plans on using them as human wave attacks and then his professional units will follow in behind them,” said Malik.

“Let us hope that with these numbers we will be able to overwhelm their defenses and finally crush the Jews.”

“Caliph Mohammed, if I may — I would like to discuss our operatives in the US. The Americans have captured 90 % of our remaining operatives; it is going to be difficult for us to carry out the final attack once the nuclear packages have been delivered,” said Huseen ibn Abdullah the Director of IR Intelligence.

“Abdullah, your agents have exceeded our wildest dreams in attacking the Americans. Over 20,000 of them have been killed, and you have struck fear in their hearts. I would like all operations there to stop until we are ready for the final attack. Let’s conserve the few remaining agents we have for our final act of destruction,” replied Caliph Mohammed, smiling broadly at the thought of detonating two nuclear bombs inside the US.