The Beijing conspiracy

CHAPTER 78

T om McNamara, the CIA’s Director of Operations, and Curtis O’Connor looked thoughtful as they sat down to watch al-Jazeera’s video of Dr Khalid Kadeer’s third and final warning. They were not the only ones watching. Undetected by the system, al-Falid had flown back into the United States on his American passport.

President Bolton had assembled his war cabinet, although this time the numbers in the Situation Room beneath the Oval Office were smaller. Bolton was not going to tolerate the sort of discussion that had taken place under President Harrison’s stewardship. For a start, the new President had declared that only one intelligence representative would be present – the newly appointed Director of National Intelligence. Bolton had a very clear idea of where he was going without the waters being muddied by analysis of intelligence by the CIA, especially officers like Curtis O’Connor. Dan Esposito was furious as he had also been excluded and told to concentrate on the President’s re-election.

‘The alpha has rotated for the first time and soon it will rotate again and the prime of 137 will unleash its fury,’ Kadeer began. As usual, his manner was calm and reasonable.

‘As the great Prophet, peace be upon him, will attest, the loss of any life is unfortunate but doubly unfortunate when the solution is in your hands. We do not wish to change your society yet you seem to think you have a right to change ours. Your leaders talk about imposing democracy on us. In your democracies you allow notorious prisons like Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay without any hope of a fair trial for those who are incarcerated. Some have been held there for over five years. For Muslims in China, the position is the same and torture is commonplace. We are beginning to wonder whether freedom and human rights are privileges that are available for all or only to those of you who agree with your governments and their imperialistic views of the world.’ Kadeer paused to allow his message to take effect.

‘Our demands are simple and fair. Firstly, we want to see an end to the suffering of the Palestinian people and the establishment of a viable and prosperous Palestinian State at peace with her neighbours.’

‘Secondly, we want you to withdraw your forces from our holy lands. You do not have a right to use military force to secure oil for your gas guzzling SUVs and four-wheel drives. Thirdly, we want you to withdraw your support for corrupt regimes like those in Saudi Arabia and Egypt where our people are persecuted. Fourthly, the West is to stop turning a blind eye to the Beijing government’s relentless murder of innocent Muslims and other ordinary citizens. The Han Chinese see the Beijing Olympics as their entree card into global society. If you in the West continue to support this event without demanding the freedom of speech and religion you are so keen to impose on the Middle East, you will all pay a terrible price. Finally, just as we do not wish to interfere in the affairs of Christianity, we seek an agreement that you will cease interfering in the affairs of Islam. You have a choice. You can sit down and negotiate the peace we all desire, or you will meet us again when the alpha rotates for the second and final time. This is your last warning.’

No one spoke. The cabinet members were keen to hear the new President’s views although few were prepared for the vehemence of what followed.

‘These little bastards are going to regret this,’ President Bolton began. He turned to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. ‘I want a report on how soon we can double the Armed Forces,’ he said.

The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs struggled to hide his alarm. ‘That would involve the draft, Mr President.’

‘I know that General, goddamn it!’ President Bolton spat back, slamming his fist on to the table. ‘Let’s get one thing straight,’ the President demanded, his cold eyes staring down each member of his cabinet in turn. ‘This is war and this cabinet’s going to be very different from the last one. No more debates. No more roadblocks and speed humps, and no more negative analysis. This year’s only got a few more weeks to run but by the time I give my State of the Union address early next year, I want to map out a war footing for the whole nation,’ the President snarled, convinced that where the previous President had failed, he would succeed.

‘This country faces two threats, and if they’re not dealt with and crushed they will overwhelm our civilisation as we know it. The first one is Islam. They’re already running for Congress and parliament in other countries like Australia. If these little bastards get their way we’ll all be in a fucking mosque attending prayers every other hour of the day and our women will be stumbling around in burqas. I’m not going to stand by and let that happen. Instead of leaving the problem to a few thousand in the military, the whole nation is going to be geared to defeat them, and that includes taking on Syria and Iran,’ the President added, turning back to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs.

‘I want your options for attacks on both those countries. If the President of Iran thinks he can develop nuclear weapons to wipe Israel off the map he’s got another think coming. Those plans are to include options for ground invasion. In the meantime, I want another nuclear carrier group deployed into the Gulf.’

Bolton was making sure his defiant military message could not possibly be misread.