To say that the atmosphere inside the large conference room was tense and agitated would have been a gross understatement. Most of the eleven men present wore military uniforms but a few were in civilian suits. The voice levels of the
‘discussion’ was quite high, with the military men in particular prone to nearly shout at the ones contradicting them. However, the room fell mostly silent when a junior army officer manning the telephones answered a call after a short hesitation: an earlier call to the Prime Minister’s office had warned that an important call from an American military officer would come in at the Parliament’s main conference room at this hour and had enjoined that Pakistani leaders be in attendance. However, with many of the top military leaders now dead, crushed inside their destroyed headquarters buildings or operations centers, most of the men present were mere deputies.
‘’Hello?’
The junior officer then heard the voice of one of the telephone operators of the Parliament building.
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‘’Sir, I have an incoming call from Kabul, for the quote ‘government of Pakistan’, unquote. Shall I switch it to you, sir?’
‘’Please do, miss.’ replied the young captain, who then put the call on ‘speaker’
and raised the volume to the maximum as the noise of the line being transferred was heard. A female voice then came out of the telephone set, speaking in English.
‘’This is General of the Army Ingrid Dows, Commander of the Afghanistan Theater of Operations. I wish to speak to the present leader of the Pakistani government and to his cabinet.’
‘’One moment, please!’ replied the captain, who then looked at the ten men now staring at him and the telephone: in truth, the question of who was now truly in charge in Pakistan, with so many leaders of the military junta now dead, was a contentious one indeed. The deputy prime minister of the junta and deputy of the now dead Lieutenant General Nasir Zarqat, who had led the military coup against the government of Prime Minister Mohammed Sharif, then spoke into his own telephone set.
‘’This is Major General Hazeem Farhat, Deputy Prime Minister of Pakistan’s Supreme Defense Council. I am presently with the surviving leaders of my government.’
‘’You will do, General Farhat.’ said the female voice on the phone as if she was simply stating a simple fact. ‘’I am calling now to give an ultimatum to Pakistan, in the name of the United States of America. Before you protest the goal of my call, hear me out and listen well, as I won’t repeat myself. You don’t want me to hang up right now, General Farhat.’
Farhat swallowed the hard ball in his throat before replying to that: he was now speaking with a woman whose fearsome reputation as a military leader and strategist was legendary around the World and who had beaten to submission such foes as Russia and Communist China.
‘’We are listening, General Dows.’
‘’Good! To resume things as they happened during the last two months, the armed forces of the United States entered Afghanistan after the then Taliban government of Afghanistan refused to hand over to us the Al-Qaeda terrorists who murdered over 3,500 innocent American civilians. The Taliban also declared their support and protection for those Al-Qaeda leaders sheltering inside Afghanistan with their followers. As you know already, that decision by the Taliban to shield Al-Qaeda leaders cost them dearly, with the Taliban surviving leaders either in hiding or in exile
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inside Pakistan. Unfortunately for Pakistan, your military, which had been supporting both the Taliban and Al-Qaeda, refused to cut that support and took over by force the government of Prime Minister Sharif when the latter tried to bring some sense to the Pakistani military leaders. Your Lieutenant General Zarqat then compounded that stupidity by quote ‘declaring war’ on the United States forces in Afghanistan. Well, you now know what declaring war on the United States can bring to you, General Farhat.
You have now lost your nuclear arsenal, your fleet of combat aircraft, your various primary military headquarters and your main ammunition depots across Pakistan, and I am far from finished, I assure you.’
‘’And what exactly do you want from us, General Dows?’
‘’What the United States want are the Al-Qaeda leaders hiding and sheltering inside Pakistan, starting with Osama Bin Laden, plus the surviving Taliban government leaders. We also want all the training camps used by both Al-Qaeda and the Taliban to train their fighters and terrorists to be forcibly closed and destroyed by the Pakistani Army. Your ISI, whatever is left of it, is to stop for good any support it was providing to the Taliban and to Al-Qaeda and to cease its destabilizing activities in Afghanistan.
Better still, you could defang your ISI and abolish it, thus eliminating a major factor of instability in the region. Your fears of potential Indian influence in Afghanistan were nothing more than a smokescreen for the ISI’s quest for political power, as its recent coup demonstrated. Finally, Pakistan will have to regain full control of its Pashto tribal territories along the border with Afghanistan, so that surviving Taliban forces could no longer attack us. Pakistan has been abdicating its authority in those border regions for far too long already and letting chaos and anarcy reign inside your tribal territories. If you don’t do that, then the United States will do it for you via a long-term campaign of air and missile bombardment. As of now, you probably noticed that our bombardment has stopped at eight o’clock this morning. That is however only temporary and your response to my ultimatum will decide its termination or continuation. If by tomorrow at noon you have not started handing over to us the Al-Qaeda and Taliban leaders sheltering inside your country, then our bombardment program will resume, with four fresh missile strikes every hour on Pakistan. Our strikes will be aimed only at military targets and at the infrastructures supporting your military. Civilian infrastructures and population centers will not be targetted by us, as our war is not against the Pakistani people but against religious extremists and fanatics supported by your military. The targets for our hourly strikes will not be announced in advance and may happen around
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the whole of your country, and this until you start handing over to us those Al-Qaeda and Taliban leaders. The moment you start handing those bastards to us, I will suspend my bombardment program until I can see that you are being serious about adressing my ultimatum. If you refuse and persist in protecting the Taliban and Al-Qaeda assets located inside your country, then the United States will continue its bombardment campaign and will throw the whole of Pakistan back to the Stone Age. Know that I have already talked with the Government of India and have obtained a pledge that the India armed forces will not use our bombardment campaign to attack Pakistan. Instead, the Indian armed forces will simply hold their present border with Pakistan. Thus, your army units manning the border with India will be free to go clean up and restore order inside your tribal territories. That is the gist of my ultimatum, General Farhat. Think well before rejecting it.’
‘’But that’s pure tyranny on the part of the United States, General Dows! No country should have the right to impose such conditions on another country and...’
‘’YOU WANT TO SEE IF I AM SERIOUS ABOUT THIS ULTIMATUM, GENERAL
FARHAT? DON’T PUSH YOUR LUCK! I WANT TO SEE AL-QAEDA AND TALIBAN
LEADERS ARRIVE IN HANDCUFFS AT YOUR BORDER POINTS IN SPIN BOLDAK
AND AT THE KHYBER PASS BY NO LATER THAN NOON TOMORROW.
GOODBYE!’
The line was then cut, leaving a most flustered Farhat to stare at his telephone. He then looked around at the other men in the room, utterly unable to take such a weighty decision by himself.
‘’I am afraid that this young woman is not bluffing, my friends. We better decide on our response to her ultimatum, and quickly.’
10:34 (Afghanistan Time)
Sunday, September 9, 2001 ‘C’
Afghan border post, west of the Khyber Pass
Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan
‘’LIEUTENANT, A PAKISTANI MILITARY CONVOY IS APPROACHING!’
Alerted by one of her marines, Greta Visby ran out of the small sandbag bunker which had been built next to the ruins of the original border post hut, closely followed by Major Roger Snider, the intelligence officer for the Sixt Marine Regiment. Using her binoculars
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once next to the road chicane of the border crossing, she examined quickly the small convoy of four Pakistani Army light vehicles approaching the border post.
‘’They are flying a white flag, sir. We may be about to get some good news, in view of the hour for their coming.’
‘’You may be right, Lieutenant Visby. God, it would really be nice if the Pakistanis truly decided to obey our ultimatum.’
‘’It would certainly save the lives of many of our soldiers if this could shorten our stay in Afghanistan, Major.’
Snider gave her a cautious look on hearing that.
‘’Even if the Pakistanis comply with the terms of our ultimatum, we will still need to clean up Afghanistan of those Taliban barbarians: they were a true cancer for this country. We still need in particular to sanitize the Kandahar Province, which was their spiritual bastion and birthplace. That fight will need quite a few more weeks to get it to a favorable conclusion.’
That poured a cold shower over Greta’s spirits, as she fully realized how hard that fight could prove to be.
‘’And once the Taliban will have been eradicated, sir, what next? Who will govern Afghanistan? Us?’
‘’Hell no! Neither General Dows nor President Bush wants to stay longer than necessary in this shithole of a supposed country. It is too divided into ethnic groups wich generally distrust and hate each other and still harbors a number of power-hungry warlords, each vying to control as much of the country as they could. I understand that General Dows is presently working on a possible solution to that problem.’
‘’General Dows...’ said Greta in a thoughtful tone. ‘’Where would be our country if not for her past services?’
‘’If not for her, Lieutenant, the United States would be a radioactive wasteland.
Only her insightful defensive plans saved our country from that Russian sneak nuclear attack using submarines launching missiles from inside our coastal waters in 1996. She truly deserves a place of honor in our historical pantheon.’
Greta could only nod in agreement at that while watching the Pakistani vehicles roll slowly towards the road chicane of her border post. The lead vehicle, a Toyota jeep, stopped some ten paces short of the chicane, with a Pakistani officer and two soldiers then stepping out of their vehicle. A big grin appeared on Snider’s face when the
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Pakistanis pulled out of the jeep a tall and thin bearded man wearing shackles around his wrists and ankles.
‘’Osama Bin Laden! Now we’re talking!’
Snider then signaled to the strong party of marines he had brought with him from Jalalabad to come forward and be ready to take charge of the prisoner. Closely followed by Greta, Snider then walked to the Pakistani officer, a major, who was escorting Bin Laden. Both men and Greta exchanged salutes before the Pakistani officer spoke up in good English, his expression most sober.
‘’My government has decided to comply with the terms of your ultimatum.
However, neither Al-Qaeda nor the Taliban surrendered to us without a fight. Our troops are in fact still battling it out with those still refusing to surrender. We also had to fight when we went to arrest Osama Bin Laden and lost a few of our own men.’
‘’I am truly sorry to hear that, Major, but I believe that your country will be better off without those murderers and terrorists. Who else did you catch, apart from Bin Laden?’
The Pakistani officer pointed at another prisoner being taken out of a second jeep and at five body bags being pulled out of the back of a pickup truck.
‘’Our second live prisoner is a man named Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who was the chief of operations for Bin Laden. In the fight at their local hideout, we killed five other Al-Qaeda staff members. We will leave their bodies with you, along with Bin Laden and Sheikh Mohammed.’
‘’Excellent! Let me go formally identify them, then you will be able to go back to your side of the border.’
With eighteen marines following him, Snider then used a photo file he had with him to positively identify the two live prisoners and the five dead men. Each body bag was then picked up by two marines and carried to a waiting pickup truck, while four marines each escorted Bin Laden and Sheikh Mohammed to two separate vehicles. With the handover complete, Snider and Greta shook hands with the Pakistani major before the latter left with his small party. Snider was still smiling as he walked back to his own vehicle, in which Bin Laden sat between two big marines.
‘’This is decidedly a good day for our country, Lieutenant, as justice will be done for the deaths of our murdered citizens. Hopefully, our border post in Spin Boldak will also get prisoners today. On this, have a good day, Lieutenant.’
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Feeling truly good now, Greta saluted Snider one last time, then watched his pickup truck and its escort vehicles leave towards Jalalabad.
‘’May this war be over soon: there has already been too many deaths here.’
She was going to learn later that a number of Taliban high-level leaders and of their supporters were brought just after noon to the American post in Spin Boldak.
However, none of them arrived alive, with some arriving in pieces, having been blown to bits when they had resisted the assault of their command posts and hideouts by Pakistani mechanized units. Then, the true hard work, that of cleansing Kandahar Province from the presence and influence of the Taliban, started in earnest, spearheaded by a total of over 2,100 American special forces teams from the Navy S.E.A.L., Army Green Berets, Delta Force and Rangers, backed up by 6,000 American paratroopers.
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CHAPTER 22 – GOING HOME
08:50 (Afghanistan Time)
Tuesday, October 30, 2001 ‘C’
Afghan border post, west of the Khyber Pass
Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan
Having been warned in advance by radio, Greta was standing at the border post road chicane when a small convoy led by two Marine Corps light trucks braked to a stop near it, having come from the direction of Jalalabad. About forty Afghan fighters then jumped out of their pickup trucks as her battalion commander, Lieutenant Colonel Chris Walters, came to her, along with one armed Afghan. Greta’s attention went at once to the Afghani, a fit and handsome man of medium height with long black hair and green eyes. The man walked with confidence and had a friendly smile on his face, while his eyes detailed Greta with obvious interest. As per combat habit, Greta did not salute when Walters stopped in front of her, instead coming to attention.
‘’Second Lieutenant Greta Visby, ready to report, sir!’
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‘’At ease, Lieutenant!’ replied Walters before pointing to Greta the armed Afghan who had accompanied him. ‘’This is Commander Rustam Massoud, of the Northern Alliance forces. His unit will take over this border post from your platoon today.’
Greta exchanged a handshake with Massoud, who was clearly surprised by how strong her grip was for a woman. He then spoke in an English which proved to be more than decent.
‘’So, I finally get to meet the famous Lioness of the Khyber Pass. You certainly look the part.’
‘’Me, famous?’ said Greta, not a little surprised. ‘’And who is calling me this, Commander Massoud?’
‘’The men of the Northern Alliance, Lieutenant. You have built quite a reputation as a dangerous fighter while defending this border post.’
‘’Uh, I owe my success to my marines, Commander Massoud. Without them, I would be nothing.’
Massoud nodded his head approvingly at those words.
‘’I see that you are no glory seeker and care about your men, Lieutenant. I like that.’
That was when Walters slipped into their conversation.
‘’To resume the present situation, Lieutenant Visby, now that the Taliban has been thoroughly defeated throughout Afghanistan and that the Al-Qaeda leaders are in our hands, the Northern Alliance of Ahmad Shah Massoud, which is allied with us, will be taking control of the northern half of Afghanistan, including the Nangarhar Province and this border point. This will in turn allow our own forces to withdraw from Afghanistan while leaving this country under the control of a coalition of non-Pashto leaders ready to prevent any return in force of the Taliban. A PELICAN will land here this afternoon to return your platoon to the NEPTUNE, after you will have briefed Commander Massoud about the situation and layout of your border post.’
‘’And once we are on the NEPTUNE, sir? Will it sail back to the United States?’
‘’Our marines will be effectively returning home after having fought in Afghanistan for nearly four months, Lieutenant.’
‘’They will certainly be happy about that, sir. Unfortunately, not all of us will be returning to our families and friends.’
A sober expression came to Walters’ face and he nodded slowly once.
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‘’Too true, Lieutenant. Your platoon lost a total of ten men killed and five more wounded in combat, or about a third of its strenght, if I remember correctly. However, your platoon and yourself performed your duties in a most exemplary manner. Be assured that their service in combat will be rightly acknowledged and rewarded. Well, with this said, I will now return to Jalalabad to prepare the withdrawal of our battalion.
Make sure that you brief Commander Massoud thoroughly before you leave with your platoon this afternoon.’
Greta came back to attention as Walters turned around and returned to his vehicle, leaving her with Commander Massoud. She waited until the two marine vehicles had leaft before smiling to the Afghan fighter.
‘’Colonel Walters said that your Northern Alliance is led by Ahmad Shah Massoud. Are you related to him?’
‘’I am his nephew, Lieutenant.’ answered the man with obvious pride. ‘’My uncle is possibly the greatest Afghan fighter who ever lived and I always wanted to become a fighter like him, so I trained as a fighter since my youth. The fighting of the last few months and years against the Taliban and their terrorist allies was hard but I was able to prove myself as a fighter and to make my family proud.’
Greta nodded her head while discretely admiring the handsome face and sparkling green eyes of the young man.
‘’You certainly look the part, Commander. Well, if you could assemble your men, I will then show my positions to you and them, so that they can become familiar with the grounds around this post. You will excuse me if I can’t speak to them in your language: I was only able to pick up a few words here and there during the last months.’
‘’That you even tried to learn our languages is a credit to you, Lieutenant. In truth, we Afghans speak over half a dozen different languages and most of us can’t understand people who come from other parts of the country. In the territories controlled presently by the Northern Alliance, the main languages are Tajik, Uzbek and Dari, while Pashto and Baluch are mostly spoken in the South and East of Afghanistan.’
‘’And...will you be able to govern Afghanistan as a country?’ asked Greta, having serious doubts about that. Massoud’s slow shake of the head confirmed her thoughts.
‘’I am afraid that there is too much ingrained, long-standing mistrust between our various tribes and ethnic groups in Afghanistan to realistically think that my country can truly unite at last, Lieutenant. From what I heard from my uncle before coming here, your General Dows is presently speaking with the various leaders and warlords who had
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been opposing those murderous Taliban bastards, with the intended goal of turning Afghanistan into a loose confederation of tribal provinces where each ethnicity will finally be able to govern itself according to its respective laws and customs. While some will lament the passing of Afghanistan as a unified country, I believe that your General Dows has understood the basic pertinent facts concerning Afghanistan and its tumultuous history. King Zahir Shah will be officially reestablished as a monarch but he and his successor will have only a symbolic role and will mostly act as an arbiter of disputes between our various ethnic groups and tribes.’
Greta nodded her head at that but kept to herself the questions she had about the future role and actions of the United States concerning Afghanistan. Too often, American soldiers were called to fight and die in other countries in the name of American interests, only to see opportunistic or short-sighted American politicians spoil a hard-won victory on the ground by making stupid, ill-informed geo-political decisions.
‘’I understand. Well, time for me to show you my unit’s deployment on the ground.’
Massoud nodded once himself, then shouted out orders in Tajik to his men, making them congregate around him before following Greta around the border post positions.
When the time came for Greta and her marines to fly out on the PELICAN that had just landed at the vertical near the border post, she exchanged a last handshake with Rustam Massoud in front of the waiting VTOL transport.
‘’I wish that your country will know peace from now on, Commander.’
‘’Thank you, Lieutenant Visby. I also must thank your marines for the sacrifices they made to chase those Taliban and Al-Qaeda bastards out of Afghanistan. We will honor the memory of your dead.’
‘’Thank you, Commander: that will count for a lot to me. Well, I now have to go before my pilot loses patience and flies out without me.’
Massoud smiled at her attempted joke.
‘’You would be most welcomed here if you ended staying here, Lieutenant. You are one remarkable woman...and a pretty one at that.’
‘’Flattery will get you nowhere, Commander Massoud.’ replied Greta, making Massoud laugh briefly. She then saluted Massoud at attention, with the Afghan fighter returning her salute, then turned around and walked to the rear cargo ramp of the waiting PELICAN. Massoud watched her climb inside the big aircraft, then followed the
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PELICAN with his eyes as it lifted off and flew away. He sighed to himself as the aircraft disappeared in the distance.
‘’By Allah! I will never be able to find another woman like her. I wish that I could have met her sooner.’
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CHAPTER 23 – WASHINGTON DEBRIEF
21:13 (Washington Time)
Wednesday, November 21, 2001 ‘C’
The D.C. Five’s mansion, Woodland Drive Northwest Woodley Park District, Washington, D.C., U.S.A.
Nancy, sandwiched between Carmen Estrada and Erika Lang, was watching the evening televised news in the big lounge of their mansion when someone rang the entrance doorbell. Erika, a girl with typically fast reflexes and an impetuous character, immediately jumped out of their sofa and ran to the entrance lobby while speaking out.
‘’I’LL GET THAT!’
‘’You better check first if it is not another religious nutcase or someone coming to get a miracle healing before opening the door, Erika.’ shouted back Nancy. In truth, those two categories of persons had become way too frequent around her as her notoriety as a half-celestial widened around the country and the rest of the World. While continuing to listen to the news program, which was presently talking about the situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Nancy kept an ear up for who Erika was going to encounter at the entrance door. A joyful shout from her friend then made her heart jump in her chest.
‘’NANCY, YOUR MOTHER IS HERE!’
Both she and Carmen jumped on their feet, to then run to the entrance. There, Nancy found Ingrid just inside the door, with a military kit bag, a suitcase and a rifle case lying on the floor at her side. Ingrid was still wearing her military uniform bearing her rank insignias of General of the Army but fatigue was clearly visible on her still young-looking face. Nancy went to her at once and hugged and kissed her with passion, with Ingrid warmly returning her hug and kisses.
‘’Mom, it is so nice to see you again. Thank The One that you are still in one piece after those months in Afghanistan.’
‘’And it is nice to be able to hug you again, Nancy. I just arrived from Afghanistan on a military plane less than one hour ago at Andrews Air Force Base, after flying nearly
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non-stop for thirteen hours. I am bushed, so I came here to see if I could spend the night here before reporting to the White House tomorrow morning.’
‘’Are you kidding, Mom? You don’t need to ask permission to come here, ever!
Let us carry your luggage upstairs to the V.I.P. guest room.’
Erika and Carmen immediately grabbed Ingrid’s bags before she could protest, leaving her free to follow Nancy towards the grand staircase of the mansion.
‘’So, I suppose that you will again hang up your uniform and return to your civilian life on the West Coast, Mom?’
‘’Eventually, Nancy. However, there are a few things which I will need to take care of before I could return to Port Angeles.’
‘’Oh?! What kind of things? I thought that you managed to convince the Afghans to form a loose confederation of tribal provinces. According to the latest news, that confederation seems to be holding together well enough.’
‘’What I still need to fix is here in the States, not in Afghanistan, Nancy. Our intervention there has highlighted some deficiencies which still exist in our military chain of command and which needs to be addressed by me. Also, some at the State Department are apparently pissed about the fact that I negociated a deal with Afghan leaders without getting their consent first.’
‘’Screw those idiots at the State Department! They think that they know everything about geopolitics but, compared to you, they are just blundering amateurs.’
‘’My thought exactly, my dear daughter.’ replied Ingrid, a sarcastic smirk on her lips.
Going up the monumental Grand Staircase, the group soon arrived at the V.I.P.
guest room of the mansion, a large suite with its own private bathroom and study.
There, Erika and Carmen put down Ingrid’s luggage beside the king-sized bed of the bedroom, with Nancy eyeing her mother’s face.
‘’You really look tired, Mom. A good shower and lots of sleep should do you good.’
‘’That it would. A hot shower will also help my muscles relax: they are all knotted up after these long hours spent sitting in a military grade passenger seat.’
Erika’s left eyebrow rose on hearing that and she got closer to Ingrid, an inviting smile on her lips.
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‘’Maybe we could massage you after your shower, Ingrid, so that you could fully relax before going to sleep.’
Ingrid grinned back at Erika, understanding at once her real intentions behind her offer of a massage. Erika, like the other members of the band, had become a bisexual girl after having the souvenirs from her past incarnations return to her mind via Nancy’s intervention. Before that, Erika had been a straight lesbian. Ingrid, herself a bisexual woman thanks to her past incarnations’ memories, raised her left hand and caressed Erika’s cheek with it, making the drummer girl shiver with desire.
‘’I will gladly accept a massage from you...and from Carmen as well. I however expect Nancy and Lucy to pass on that: as my official daughters, it would be inappropriate for me to ask for their attention.’
In response, Nancy crossed her arms and threw a critical look at her mother.
‘’And what would be inappropriate about helping my own mother to recuperate from a long air trip? I follow The One, not that hypocritical book written thousands of years ago by a bunch of ignorant, misogynistic men.’
‘’Well, if you put it that way...’ replied Ingrid.
10:58 (Washington Time)
Thursday, November 22, 2001 ‘C’
The Situation Room, The White House
Washington, D.C.
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There was a mix of anxiety, curiosity and expectation, along with a steady exchange of whispered conversations between the 21 men and one woman sitting around the long conference table, as they waited for President Bush to arrive for this unscheduled meeting of the National Security Council. The composition of those present actually differed from the usual NSC list of members, as all the military services chiefs of staff were present in addition to General of the Army Harold Sherman. The President’s senior political advisor, Karl Rove, was also present, despite not being on the formal NSC list. Among the participants to the meeting, General Sherman was particularly nervous, as he had an inkling about the goal of this meeting. He knew that President Bush was displeased with him because of his perceived poor command performance before and during the Afghanistan crisis. He also knew that General Ingrid Dows was due to participate in this meeting as well as a main briefer. Those two facts didn’t portent well for Sherman, as the unceremonious sacking of General Brubaker in Afghanistan at Dows’ hands possibly announced concerning his own position. Sherman was not alone about being anxious concerning what was going to be said in this meeting, with a number of cabinet members and presidential advisors having recently seen their advice or opinions rejected by President Bush, apparently because of the counsels he had received from Ingrid Dows.
‘’Lady and gentlemen, the President of the United States!’
On the announcement by a Secret Service agent guarding the entrance door of the Situation Room, all present rose from their seats as George W. Bush walked in the room, closely followed by a very young and very beautiful woman in military uniform.
Sherman, like the other NSC members, knew that this ‘young woman’ was in reality 76
years-old, a fact further affirmed by the impressive number of military medal ribbons covering the upper left chest of her Space Corps going-out uniform, medals which denoted a long and very distinguished military career. George Bush sat down in his presidential chair at one end of the table, then had an aide bring forward a spare chair, so that Ingrid could sit next to him, to his right. The NSC members didn’t miss the significance of that move by itself, as it clearly indicated the degree of confidence the President had in Ingrid Dows. Bush, his expression most serious, then started speaking to the NSC members sitting around the table.
‘’Lady and gentlemen, I called this unscheduled meeting of the National Security Council so that General Dows, freshly returned from Afghanistan, could brief us all on
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the present situation there. Please note that, prior to this meeting, I was personally debriefed by General Dows in the Oval Office and discussed with her the results and findings from Operation AFGHAN EXORCISM. General Dows will now debrief you on that subject. General Dows...’
‘Shit! This means that whatever Dows will say now will have been already approved by the President.’ thought Sherman. From the facial reactions of others around him, he was probably not the only one to come to that conclusion, with a few apparently not being pleased by that. Ingrid, who had connected a small flash drive stick to the computer terminal facing her seat while Bush had introduced her, then started speaking in her melodious voice, which sounded like that of a teenage college girl.
‘’Lady and gentlemen, what you now see on the main video display screen of this room is a map of Afghanistan showing the new tribal and provincial borders of the country. I said ‘country’ but, as of now, Afghanistan is no longer a single country under a single government. It is from now on going to be known as a loose confederation of three distinct entities: the Northern Alliance Federation, which governs the northern half of the country and which is itself formed of a patchwork of eight ethnocentric provinces; The Baloch Southern Province, which runs along the southern border with Iran and Pakistan; and the Pashtun Territories, occupying the center and the East of the country bordering Pakistan. Acting as a figurehead and arbiter for these three new entities is King Zahir Shah, whose job will be to help reconcile any dispute or problems which could arise between the entities. Please note that the Pashtun Territories, which were the birthplace of the Taliban and where we encountered the most armed resistance, will have no central government of their own and will consist of separate, autonomous tribal areas loosely connected together. This was meant to prevent the return in force of the surviving Taliban forces still sheltering in Pakistan. If the Taliban, with or without Pakistani support, try in the future to retake control of the Pashtun Territories, then the Northern Alliance and the Baloch Southern Province will intervene militarily and block them from reestablishing themselves in the country. To further prevent any return in force of the Taliban, our forces conducted a wide and thorough search of the Pashtun Territories before they departed the country, in order to find and destroy all the weapons of war in those territories. Furthermore, the eastern border crossing points with Pakistan will be guarded by non-Pashto units who will ensure that no new weapons could be infiltrated from Pakistan in the future. Only legitimate hunting-style weapons, like
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shotguns and bolt-action rifles, will be allowed to be sold or imported inside the Pashtun Territories.’
‘’And what if Pakistan decides to try again to interfere with the internal affairs of Afghanistan, General?’ asked Condoleezza Rice, the President’s National Security Advisor. That question brought a thin smile to Ingrid’s face.
‘’I doubt that the Pakistanis will even try to interfere again in Afghanistan or to openly support the remnants of the Taliban sheltering inside Pakistan, Miss Rice. We have already destroyed their whole nuclear arsenal and their nuclear research and weapons production center, most of their air force and over half of their military bases and naval facilities. What is left of the Pakistani military is now concentrated along their eastern border with India, nervously fearing that the Indians will use this golden opportunity to bring the hammer down on Pakistan. However, I already spoke by telephone with the Prime Minister of India and with the Chief of Staff of the Indian Armed Forces, who promised me that, while they will keep a strong presence along their western border, they will not attack Pakistan unless attacked by the Pakistanis.’
That last sentence from Ingrid nearly made Secretary of State Colin Powell jump out of his seat with indignation.
‘’By what right did you make such arrangements with the Indian government without consulting first my department, General? Foreign affairs is the business of the State Department, not that of the Department of Defense.’
Apparently not impressed or deterred by Powell’s angry outburst, Ingrid threw a cold stare at him while replying in a firm, strong voice.
‘’Secretary Powell, please remember that I was named by the President as commander of the Afghan Theater of Operations, which included the countries surrounding Afghanistan, with full plenipotentiary powers, both diplomatic, military and political. Unity of command and swiftness in decision-making and execution was key to the success of our operation in Afghanistan. Waiting for your State Department to
‘study’ and ‘discuss’ what to do about Pakistan would have cost us precious weeks, if not months, a delay that would have cost us many more American lives in an already difficult and bloody campaign.’
‘’You still could have informed us of your plan first, General. The State Department is not the only one in Washington to have been taken by surprise by your initiatives.’ said Karl Rove, the senior political advisor for President Bush, jumping into the fray. ‘’It is the business of the Executive Branch to take such decisions, as it was
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elected to do so. You, on the other hand, were never elected by the American people and should have let the Executive take such weighty decisions, General.’
Ingrid had a hard time not to let her contempt show up then but she managed to respond in a measured voice to Rove.
‘’You are correct in that I was never elected to any official position by the American people, Mister Rove. Instead, I was selected and put in command by a succession of American presidents, and this since the end of World War 2. If I ever chose to present myself as a candidate for an elected office, I am pretty sure that the American people will not hesitate to vote me in whatever office I choose to run for. The only exception would be the presidency since, as a foreign-born person, I would be constitutionally inelligible for that post. However, I am not interested in running for any political office and never will be: I am plenty satisfied in serving to defend American citizens, the United States and its constitution from its enemies. That is what I did with maximum effect and success while commanding in Afghanistan. If you have a bone with that, then feel free to take that subject to the President. He is our Commander in Chief and the head of the Executive Branch and he agreed with my initiatives.’
That retort and the quiet way President Bush seemed to agree with it killed at once any other attempted protestations about Ingrid’s initiatives in Afghanistan, something that allowed her to continue to give her briefing without further interruptions. Twenty minutes later, at the end of her exposé, President Bush declared the meeting open to questions and discussions. The first question asked then came from the Vice-President, Dick Cheney.
‘’General, how many American troops are still left in Afghanistan today?’
Ingrid smiled and formed a ‘zero’ with her left hand.
‘’None, Mister Vice-President! I was the last American to leave Afghanistan, flying out of Kabul Airport in our last transport plane. While many of our troops also flew out of Afghanistan, most of them heading west to refuel in Germany, Iran helped tremendously our withdrawal by allowing our heavy land equipment and artillery pieces to roll out of Afghanistan and to drive through Iranian territory, heading for the Iranian naval base in Bandar Abbas, in the Strait of Ormuz, where our land units will reimbark aboard our amphibious landing ships and transports. I was similarly the last American to leave Korea during the First Korean War of 1947, following our defeat there at the hands of the Chinese and North Koreans.’
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Cheney nodded at those words, satisfied with her answer. While he had no time for Ingrid’s avowed social views, he did appreciate her decisiveness and directness in military operations and planning. A few more questions followed, all asked in a benign tone, before President Bush declared the meeting over. However, before the participants could get up and leave, he added quickly a final directive.
‘’General Sherman and General Moss, please stay for a moment more: I want to discuss something with you.’
Harold Sherman, who had somewhat relaxed on seeing that Ingrid had not mentionned him once during her briefing, felt his nervousness come back at once, while General Peter Moss, the Chief of Staff of the Space Corps, felt confusion and surprise at that unexpected request concerning him. Moss didn’t miss the fact that Ingrid Dows also stayed inside the Situation Room, still sitting next to the President. Soon, with all the other participants gone and the door closed, Bush looked coldly at Sherman, who was now sweating.
‘’General Sherman, I asked you and General Moss to stay because I needed to take care of a major problem in our military chain of command: namely, yourself! You were named as our National Combined Combat Commander, with the rank of General of the Army, in order to replace General Dows when she retired from the military service after 58 years of distinguished service. Your avowed job was to continue to provide our forces with a single, unified voice and direction, in order to maximise our combat efficiency in advance of and during any future war involving our nation. Unfortunately, you repeatedly failed in that goal in my opinion and basically let our higher command revert to the old ways of decisions by committee, which the position of General of the Army and NC3 was meant to prevent. We were successful in Afghanistan because you simply applied an operations plan created years ago by General Dows. However, you nearly soured up that plan by naming the wrong man for the job as Theater Commander, namely Lieutenant General Brubaker. That eventually forced me to recall to service General Dows and to name her as our new Theater Commander in Afghanistan. All this, along with your marked lack of demonstrated initiative, is now forcing me to relieve you of both your position and of your rank of General of the Army. I will thus ask you to retire from the service by tomorrow at the latest.’
His face becoming pale and with cold sweat on his forehead, Sherman needed a couple of seconds before he could respond to that.
‘’But, Mister President, who will replace me? General Dows?’
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‘’No! I promised to General Dows that I would let her return to civilian life after this, unless I encounter problems in finding a replacement for you, in which case she agreed to stay on until your position is occupied again.’
Bush then looked straight at Moss, who suddenly understood why he had been asked to stay in the Situation Room.
‘’General Moss, General Dows warmly recommended you as a replacement for General Sherman. Do you accept to become our new National Combined Combat Commander, with the associated rank of General of the Army?’
With blood rushing to his brain and feeling suddenly hot, Moss took a second before answering the President in a firm voice.
‘’I accept, Mister President! Thank you for having selected me for such a position.’
‘’Thank General Dows instead, General Moss: she was the one who convinced me to name you to this post. Congratulation, General of the Army Peter Moss. General Sherman, you may now leave.’
The catastrophed Sherman saluted Bush at attention, then walked out of the Situation Room, leaving Moss alone with Ingrid and the President. Ingrid then uttered a curt order.
‘’General Moss, Atten...tion!’
She then took out of the belt purse of her female Space Corps uniform a small box and opened it before presenting it to Bush, who took out of it a five-star rank insignia of General of the Army. Moss stayed at rigid attention as Bush replaced his current four-star insignia with the new insignia and then replaced as well the insignia on his other shoulder pad. At the end of the process, Bush offered his right hand to Moss, who firmly shook it.
‘’Thank you again for your confidence in me, Mister President.’
‘’It was my pleasure, General Moss.’
Next, Ingrid shook hands as well with Moss while smiling widely to him.
‘’It couldn’t happen to a nicer guy, Peter. I will be able to sleep in peace now, with you at the top of the Pentagon. I would gladly have gone to the mess with you to celebrate this with a cold beer but I need to fly back home to Port Angeles this afternoon.’
‘’But, you will be a passenger then, no?’
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‘’Not for that flight, Peter. President Bush decided to thank me with a last gift on this, and hopefully final, retirement: I will get to fly myself to Port Angeles in a twin-seater F-95 supersonic fighter-bomber. Honestly, I prefer that to any new medal he could give me.’
That brought a smirk on the President’s face as he threw an amused look at her.
‘’And what tells you that I was not planning to add a medal to that parting gift, Ingrid? You will get what was coming to you, my valorous friend.’
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CHAPTER 24 – ON A NEW PATH
14:10 (East Coast Time)
Monday, December 10, 2001 ‘C’
Office of the battalion commander, First Battalion of Sixth Marine Regiment Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, U.S.A.
Greta Visby felt nervous as she was introduced into the officer of her battalion commander, Lieutenant Colonel Chris Walters: she was guessing that this had to do with her requested choice of studies program, which she needed to follow and complete in order to formalize her new status as a commissioned officer. Her nervousness increased when she saw that the regimental career managing officer, Major Rhonda Myers, was present in the office, sitting in an easy chair set to one side of Walters’ desk.
Stopping three paces in front of her commander’s desk, she then saluted him at attention while announcing herself.
‘’Second Lieutenant Greta Visby, reporting as ordered, sir!’
‘’At ease, Lieutenant!’ replied Walters after returning her salute. ‘’I believe that you already know Major Myers, right?’
‘’Correct, sir!’
‘’Then, you must be guessing that you were called in about your choice of bachelor degree program and school you presented to Major Myers for approval?’
‘’Yes, sir! Is it approved, sir?’
Walters smiled to her before answering, visibly making her wonder for a moment more.
‘’It has been approved, Lieutenant. I myself judged your choice of academics to be most relevant for a young officer’s career, as it should bring very useful skills to the Corps. As for choosing to study at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, I am happy that you found a place to study where you will feel truly at home in every sense. Your family home is in Nome, Alaska, if I remember well.’’
‘’Correct, sir! It is on the coast of Alaska, at about the same latitude where Fairbanks is located. Before that, I was born and lived in Northern Sweden, so the Arctic is my natural home, sir.’
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‘’Good for you, Lieutenant. Again, your choice of a Major in Security and Emergency Management, complemented by a Minor in Military Security Studies, was an excellent choice of academics for a bachelor’s degree. Of course, the Corps will cover the costs of your studies, while continuing to pay your military salary, so you won’t feel any undue financial hardship because of your studies program. There is however one thing that I need to take care of before I let you go on your well-earned pre-studies leave period. CAPTAIN GOMER, YOU MAY COME IN NOW!’
From feeling on the top of the World, Greta suddenly felt anxiety fill her as her company commander walked in the office: what could now possibly happen concerning her? The answer came when Walters got up from behind his desk and walked around it, to stop one pace in front of her. Captain Gomer then presented to him a small, opened box, in which Greta saw the small silver bars of the rank insignias of a first lieutenant. Walters next move was to remove the old golden bars of second lieutenant from her uniform’s collar. Then, he started pinning on her the silver bars while talking to her.
‘’Lieutenant Greta Visby, you had to take over from your former platoon commander on the very first day of your arrival in Afghanistan. Then, you led your platoon in combat for nearly four months and in difficult conditions, demonstrating courage, resourcefulness, initiative and a high level of leadership skills. Your performance in combat in Afghanistan has convinced me and our regimental commander to do what has been rarely done in the past in the Marine Corps. While you will permanently become a qualified commissioned officer only once you complete your studies and will have received your bachelor’s degree, we could not ignore your valorous service and demonstrated level of leadership and competence shown by you in the field.
You will thus be going to study in Fairbanks as a first lieutenant, rather than as a simple second lieutenant. Your pay scale will reflect your new rank level as of today.
Congratulation, First Lieutenant Visby!’
Once the two insignias were pinned in place, Walters took one step back and saluted her, imitated by Captain Gomer and Major Myers. Greta saluted back at attention as a fresh rush of blood went to her brain.
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