CHAPTER 18 – TROUBLE IN THE MIDDLE EAST
Egyptian tanks on the move
17:43 (California Time) / 20:43 (Washington Time) / 01:43 (Universal Time)
Saturday, December 4 / Sunday, December 5 (Universal Date), 1976 ‘C’
Communications center of the Aurora Space Station
Low Earth polar orbit
‘’This way, Mister President: we have an encrypted video link with the Pentagon, where General Brown is ready to brief you on the current situation in the Middle East.’’
‘’Thank you!’’
Following the communications officer of the space station to a video station inside a small, enclosed cubicle, Robert Kennedy took the chair offered to him while Ingrid Dows stayed up behind and to the side of him. Robert then looked straight at the television screen, in which the face and torso of General George Brown was visible. With a small video camera and microphone facing him and transmitting his image and words to Washington, Robert nodded his head once at Brown.
‘’I am listening, General. What is happening in the Middle East?’’
‘’Mister President, in the last few hours, our strategic reconnaissance assets have uncovered evidence of advanced preparations by Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and possibly a few more Arab states for a coordinated attack against Israel. Everything indicates that these preparations are for a full-scale war and not simply for large scale field exercises.’’
Robert felt blood rush to his head as he understood at once the seriousness of the situation.
‘’But why? Why would the Arabs want to attack Israel now? I concede that they were never on friendly terms with the Israelis and tried to destroy Israel when it declared its independence in 1953, but what is motivating them to want war now?’’
Robert was able to detect a slight hesitation by Brown before the latter answered him.
‘’The State Department experts see a few possible reasons for this, Mister President. The first one is that, since you are now technically a lame-duck president until January, when President-elect Reagan will be sworn into office, the Arabs may think that we won’t have the political resolve to react strongly to a military move by them. They also think that you won’t risk attracting an Arab oil embargo against the United States if we militarily support Israel in a conflict against Arab countries, as such an oil embargo could prove disastrous to our economy. Another factor at play here, again according to our State Department, is popular agitation by religious clerics pushing for a ‘holy’ war against Israel.’’
‘’And what makes the Arabs think that they could win such a war? They were soundly defeated in 1953, even with the British supporting them at the time.’’
That was when Ingrid judged that she needed to interject herself in the exchange.
‘’Mister President, General Brown, I was the one that caused the Arab defeat in 1953, thanks to the intervention of our Palestine Task Force. However, even if we are to stay away now from such a war because of the threat of an Arab oil embargo, I believe that the Israelis could still win the war, even against a coalition of the whole Arab world. The Israeli Air Force and Army are simply too superior in terms of training and quality of equipment. There must be one or more other factors at play here and we must find out quickly which ones.’’
‘’I concur with General Dows on this, General Brown. However, I won’t be able to understand fully the equation of this situation from Space. General Dows, I need to get back to Washington as quickly as possible.’’
‘’Then, you are in luck, Mister President: a SP-100 space interceptor is presently docked to this station for the purpose of refueling. I will order it at once to be prepared to bring us down to Washington within the hour.’’
‘’Us?’’ asked Robert Kennedy, a bit surprised, making Ingrid nod her head.
‘’Yes, us, Mister President. Without bragging, I am probably the person most able to understand this crisis and the mentality of its various players, notwithstanding what the State Department or the cabinet appointees of President-elect Reagan may think about that.’’
It was then the turn of Robert Kennedy to nod his head slowly.
‘’Reagan… You are right about having to involve him in this: throwing our country into a war without consulting him would be completely inappropriate and he would be justifiably pissed if I kept him out of the loop on this. Very well, General Dows: get that space interceptor ready to carry us down to Washington. General Brown, tell Vice-President Mondale to call an emergency situation meeting of the National Security Council members and of President-elect Reagan and his principal appointees, to be held at the White House tomorrow morning at nine, Washington time. In the meantime, I want the Pentagon and the State Department to gather as much information as possible on this situation, so that I can study that information on arrival. I should be down in Washington in a few hours at the most, with General Dows.’’
‘’It will be done, Mister President.’’ replied Brown. Robert Kennedy then cut the link and looked at Ingrid.
‘’Get that SP-100 ready for a quick departure, Ingrid. I will go pack quickly a small bag in the meantime. My family will stay here in the meantime, to continue to enjoy their time on the station while I go deal with this situation.’’
‘’I’m on it, Mister President!’’ replied Ingrid, who then went to the nearest telephone to pass orders around.
22:58 (Washington Time)
Washington International Airport
U.S.A.
The landing of the space interceptor at the Washington International Airport, a purely civilian airport, understandably created a sensation among the travelers in the passenger terminal, but Robert Kennedy was too preoccupied by the international situation facing him to care much about the reactions to his arrival. He and Ingrid only took the time to quickly take off their spacesuits before taking place in the presidential limousine waiting on the tarmac next to the parked SP-100. Their spacesuits and their luggage were quickly stuffed inside the huge trunk of the limousine, which then started to roll, escorted by four Secret Service cars. However, seeing the mass of the Pentagon not far from the airport, Robert Kennedy changed his mind about going to the White House and gave a curt order to his driver.
‘’James, go to the Pentagon instead of the White House. Once there, wait for us at the entrance.’’
Robert then looked at Ingrid, sitting next to him on the rear bench seat.
‘’I believe that we would be better off by going first to the NMCC at the Pentagon to see firsthand what the situation is really like, rather than wait for some Pentagon briefer to come to the White House with a pre-digested package. I want you to check the raw data for me and look for anything that may have escaped the attention of other Pentagon experts.’’
‘’A good idea, Mister President. About tomorrow’s morning briefing at the White House, in which official capacity do you wish me to attend? I am not an official member of your National Security Council.’’
That made Robert think for a moment before he answered Ingrid.
‘’Actually, maybe you should be, Ingrid. Technically you are a subaltern of General Brown, who is after all the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, while you are only a service chief. However, your competence and experience about the Middle East is far superior to his own knowledge of the region and I would say that you probably are better than even the State Department’s Middle East specialists, who often have already entrenched opinions or prejudices. You can think outside of the box, Ingrid, and that is what I need right now. You will attend tomorrow’s briefing as my special presidential advisor, a title that you never lost, if I remember well.’’
‘’Indeed, Mister President. Thank you for your confidence in me.’’
Robert gave her a sober look that bordered on veneration.
‘’Ingrid, you were touched by what I believe to be God, even though you call him ‘The One’, and you lived multiple past lives in the Middle East, some of them very significant ones historically. I gather that you speak the main languages of the region, right?’’
‘’Mister President, I can speak, read and write ALL the languages of the Middle East, past and present.’’
‘’Then, I may very well designate you also as my potential presidential plenipotentiary envoy to the Middle East for this crisis and damn the objections that the State Department could have against that.’’
‘’I will help and assist you to the best of all my abilities, Mister President.’’ replied Ingrid, meaning it.
08:53 (Washington Time)
Sunday, December 5, 1976 ‘C’
Situation Room, the White House
Washington, D.C.
As soon as Ronald Reagan entered the White House Situation Room, Robert Kennedy got up from his chair to go shake his hand.
‘’Thank you for coming on such short notice, Mister President. Unfortunately, we are here to deal with a sudden and potentially grave international matter.’’
‘’And may I ask what is happening and where, Mister President?’’ asked the 65-year-old president-elect, making Robert nod once.
‘’It is the Middle East: our strategic reconnaissance assets have uncovered what looks like extensive military preparations by Arab countries to attack Israel.’’
‘’My goodness! And when could that attack happen?’’
‘’Within days, or even hours. But a detailed briefing on what we know at this time is about to be given. If you would please take your seat, along with your staff.’’
‘’Of course! Thank you for calling me on this, by the way.’’
‘’You can thank General Dows for that, Mister President: she was the one who suggested to me that your presence would be needed as president-elect for this meeting.’’
Ronald Reagan glanced quickly at Ingrid, who was standing near a big wall projection screen at one end of the Situation Room, then looked back at Robert.
‘’She will be briefing us on this?’’
‘’Oh, much more than that: she is here as my special presidential advisor, a title and role she has been fulfilling since 1948. She has been serving in that capacity every American president since then, be they democrats or republicans. I would strongly urge you to keep her services as well.’’
‘’I will have to think about that.’’ said Reagan, non-committal, before taking the seat offered to him by a White House aide. His eight future cabinet and staff members also took their seats, opposite the members of Robert Kennedy’s National Security team, to which had been added the four service chiefs under General Brown. On a nod from Robert Kennedy, Ingrid made a map of the countries of the Middle East surrounding Israel appear on the viewing screen.
‘’Misters Presidents, ladies and gentlemen, what you are going to see is the latest strategic intelligence we collected during yesterday around Israel. What our reconnaissance assets have found has been annotated on this map and it depicts a truly alarming picture. Basically, the armed forces of four, possibly five or six Arab countries, have been discretely massed around the borders of Israel for what can only be a planned concerted attack on Israel. On this map, you will see that the bulk of the Egyptian Army has concentrated in the Sinai Peninsula and are now in tactical hides less than ten miles from the border with Israel. In addition, the Syrian Army has concentrated its armored and mechanized units on the Golan Heights, where the Syrians have also concentrated a tremendous number of heavy artillery and bombardment rocket units. Since the Golan Heights form a plateau dominating the northern portion of Israel, those Syrian units will enjoy a marked tactical superiority in terms of positioning over defending Israeli border units. More Syrian units, reinforced by pro-Syrian militias, have also positioned themselves along the Lebanese southern border. Furthermore, Iraqi Army mechanized units, which travelled through Saudi Arabia, are now in tactical hides near the junction of the Saudi and Jordanian borders with the Gulf of Aqaba. From there, they would only need to drive for about twenty miles before reaching the Israeli border and attacking the Israeli city of Eilat. From there, the Iraqi units would then be able to join with the Egyptian units coming from the Sinai and then push northward towards Beersheba and Jerusalem. In addition, the air forces of Egypt, Syria and Iraq, with the latter operating from Saudi airfields, are apparently on high alert and ready to strike at Israel. Finally, suspicious movements by a number of Libyan Navy units have been noted in the Eastern Mediterranean, with some of those warships seen at quay in Alexandria, in Egypt. Most ominous is the fact that the Arab planes based around Israel have started late yesterday to be loaded up with bombs and rockets. I emphasize this point because an aviation commander normally doesn’t have his combat aircraft loaded with ordnance before at most two days from a planned offensive. We thus assess that this Arab attack may happen within 24 to 36 hours from now.’’
‘’My God!’’ said Reagan, shaken. ‘’What are the Israeli’s chances of defeating such a mass attack?’’
‘’Slim, Mister President!’’ replied Ingrid soberly. ‘’Yes, the Israeli military is a well-trained and well-equipped force but, in this case, it will be in a situation of severe disadvantage in both numbers and tactical setting.’’
‘’Wait!’’ said Alexander Haig, a retired general who was now Reagan’s designated Secretary of State. ‘’Why do you say that the Israelis suffer from a tactical setting, General Dows? I accept that the Arabs have an overwhelming advantage in number here, but Israel’s tactical setting is no worse than when they faced and defeated the Arab armies during their War of Independence.’’
‘’General Haig, one major factor has changed compared with the situation in 1953: you don’t have an American combat air wing present in Israel and ready to support the Israeli forces. I was in charge of such an air wing and of a few ground units in 1953 and, without bragging, the Jewish forces of the time would not have been able to push back the Arab attacks without the help of our aircraft, which decimated the Arab air forces and ground mechanized units. Yes, the Israeli forces are now much better equipped and trained than in 1953, but so are the Arab armies. Another important factor is the proportion of non-Jewish citizens living inside Israel. While the vast majority of those non-Jewish citizens, which I will call ‘Palestinians’, will not betray their present country, some pro-Arab extremist groups inside Israel could attempts acts of sabotage or internal resistance in order to impede the movements of Israeli units. The Israelis know and realize that, so have committed a significant number of their security and combat units into providing security to Israeli military and vital public installations, including to their so-called nuclear research center in Dimona.’’
‘’Why do you call Dimona a ‘so-called nuclear research center’, General Dows.’’ asked in a nearly aggressive tone Jeane Kirkpatrick, Reagan’s designated Ambassador to the United Nations. Ingrid gave Kirkpatrick a cold look, already feeling a dislike to the small woman with curly brown hair.
‘’What I am going to say is classified ‘Top Secret’, so please treat this information as such. While the Israelis insist that Dimona is strictly engaged in research on civilian applications of atomic power, our intelligence suggest that it has in reality been used for a secret atomic bomb program. We can’t say yet how advanced this program is, or whether the Israelis have succeeded in producing an atomic bomb, but the fact that Dimona is heavily protected by Israeli Army units tends to show that it is more than what it claims to be.’’
‘’So what if they have an atomic bomb?’’ replied Kirkpatrick. ‘’It would be strictly their business.’’
With her dislike intensified by that reply, Ingrid stared hard at the woman while answering her.
‘’When atomic weapons are involved, then it becomes everybody’s business, Miss Kirkpatrick. Any use of atomic weapons in the Middle East would result into bloody chaos and would only make matters much worse for everyone. What happened to Hawaii should have told everybody how bad for Humanity those weapons are.’’
‘’I share your dislike of nuclear weapons, General Dows.’’ cut in Ronald Reagan, who thus shut off Kirkpatrick’s arguments, to Ingrid’s satisfaction. ‘’Now, I have noticed that, in your briefing, you have not mentioned once the Jordanians. What about them?’’
‘’Mister President, according to our latest intelligence, Jordanian forces are still at peace level readiness and none of their units have been moved towards the Israeli-Jordanian border. In fact, it appears that King Hussein of Jordan has been kept ignorant about Arab attack plans, possibly due to his policy of peaceful coexistence with Israel. One point that reinforces that assessment is that no Arab unit has attempted yet to cross Jordanian territory in order to get closer to Israel, something that would have given them some vital extra tactical advantage.’’
‘’I see! And what about the Israelis themselves? Do they know that the Arabs are about to attack them?’’
‘’From their apparent lack of reaction to Arab unit concentrations, I would say that the Arabs still would enjoy the element of surprise, Mister President.’’
‘’Then, we should warn them at once!’’ replied Reagan while looking at Robert Kennedy, who nodded his head.
‘’We are going to do just that, but I wanted first to wait until this meeting, so that we could make a mutual decision on how to react to these Arab war preparations. While I still have the power to put our forces in war readiness, I didn’t want to possibly implicate our country in a new conflict without at least informing you about this crisis. After all, you would be the one stuck dealing with the long-term implications of such a conflict, Mister President.’’
‘’And I am grateful about your consideration, President Kennedy. What do you propose that we do about this planned Arab assault on Israel?’’
‘’First, I will call Prime Minister Rabin to warn him about the Arab military preparations. Second, I will attempt to hammer some sense into the main Arab leaders, with the hope that they will then abandon their war plans.’’
‘’Talking of hammering some sense into Arab leaders, do we know why they suddenly decided to prepare for war against Israel?’’ asked Alexander Haig. ‘’Not much happened lately around the Middle East, to my knowledge.’’
‘’General Dows suggested to me that the fact that I am now a lame-duck president may have convinced the Arabs that now was a good time to attack, when Israel couldn’t count on our automatic military support. There is also the fact that we were negotiating with the Israelis the sale of a first batch of sixty F-83 fighter-bombers, a type of plane which we never exported to non-NATO countries before. The Arabs know that, once those F-83s are delivered, the Israeli Air Force would basically become unbeatable. They still remember the beating they received from General Dows’ F-83s in 1953, when those F-83s were still only of the first variant produced: the F-83A. Our present F-83E, while basically the same plane, has vastly improved electronic systems and missiles and is still the best fighter-bomber in service around the World. So, in a convoluted way, we may have contributed in convincing the Arabs to attack Israel now.’’
‘’Hum, this makes sense.’’ said Reagan. ‘’However, I would certainly not abandon our Israeli friends in such a dire moment. In your place, I would threaten war on those Arab idiots if they launched their assault on Israel. They may retaliate to that by slapping an oil embargo on us, but we can live with that, while I can’t live with leaving the Israelis high and dry. I believe that the American people would understand and agree with that.’’
‘’And I believe so too, President Reagan. If you concur with me, I will first warn Prime Minister Rabin about this, then will put our forces around the Middle East at DEFCON 2. Next, I will send an envoy who will talk directly to these Arab leaders to try to put some common sense into them. With some luck, we may yet prevent this war from starting.’’
‘’All good measures that I heartily agree with, President Kennedy. Who will you send as envoy to speak with those Arab leaders?’’
‘’General Ingrid Dows, Mister President. In my opinion, she is the best qualified and most experienced person for such a situation.’’
‘’Why her? Why not Secretary Muskie?’’ cut in Jeane Kirkpatrick. ‘’She is no diplomat!’’
In response, Robert looked at Ingrid, sending her a silent message. Ingrid thus replied in a firm voice to Kirkpatrick’s objection.
‘’Actually, I already exercised diplomacy in many past crisis and conflicts, with military forces to back me up if needed. First, I acted as the plenipotentiary envoy of then President Martin in 1948 and reopened a link with Japan. Then, I convinced in 1953 the Vietminh and Ho Chi Minh to make peace and participate in a new coalition for Vietnam’s independence. Next, I put an end in 1953 to the Palestine crisis and convinced then Prime Minister Ben Gurion to stop evicting the Arab residents of Palestine out of the territory intended to become Israel. That in turn cooled considerably the hostility of the surrounding Arab countries towards Israel, something that helped avoid more Arab-Israeli fighting until now. In Europe, after helping to defeat the Soviet invasion of Poland and of the Baltic States, I was part of the negotiating team which forced the Soviets to sign an armistice with us. Since then, I have convinced the Soviets to collaborate with us in the peaceful exploration and use of Space. Believe me, Miss Kirkpatrick, I have more experience of hands-on diplomacy than you ever will, plus I can speak fluently all the languages presently used in the Middle East.’’
A flash of anger showed in Kirkpatrick’s eyes at being rebuffed like this, but a firm gesture from Ronald Reagan prevented her from replying to Ingrid.
‘’I believe that General Dows is well qualified to be President Kennedy’s envoy in this occasion. I sincerely wish you good luck in your trip to the Middle East, General.’’
‘’Thank you, Mister President.’’
Robert Kennedy used that occasion to speak up and conclude the meeting.
‘’Well, since time is of the essence right now, I propose that we adjourn this meeting, so that I could call at once Prime Minister Rabin to warn him.’’
‘’I concur! I will just ask that you keep me informed about any major development on this matter, Mister President.’’
‘’And I promise you that you will be kept in the loop, Mister President. I thus call this meeting adjourned.’’
The participants to the meeting then got up from their chairs and filed out of the Situation Room. However, before leaving, Jeane Kirkpatrick threw a last hostile look at Ingrid, who in turn stared at her in a way that made her leave while averting Ingrid’s eyes.
22:18 (Egypt Time)
Cairo International Airport (15 kilometers from downtown Cairo)
The Egyptian presidential guards waiting on the tarmac in front of the passenger terminal of Cairo International Airport firmed their grips on their AK-47 assault rifles as the sleek McDonnell C-20 NOMAD supersonic liaison aircraft emerged from the night, rolling slowly towards the terminal as an Egyptian airport employee guided it to a parking spot with the help of lit signal sticks. The officer in charge of the guards noticed that the jet aircraft was painted in the same pattern as that used for the American President’s personal plane: this was an American V.I.P. flight alright.
‘’BE VIGILANT, BUT ALSO BE RESPECTFUL, MEN! THIS IS A HIGH-LEVEL DIPLOMATIC MISSION AND PRESIDENT EL-SADAT IS WAITING FOR THIS AMERICAN ENVOY.’’
The officer then watched in silence as the liaison jet stopped in its designated parking spot and shut down its engines. A door soon opened on the left side, pivoting down and becoming a staircase that extended to the tarmac. Repositioning quickly his guards so they could act as a guard of honor, the officer came to attention as a silhouette showed up at the door. He was not a little surprise when he saw that a woman in military uniform was now climbing down the stairs. His surprise only got bigger when he was able to see that the woman was both young and very beautiful, with blue eyes and reddish-brown hair falling to her neck. Her dark blue and black uniform was also quite futuristic and was nothing like what he had seen before. He nonetheless saluted her as she stepped on the tarmac, some four paces from him, and spoke up in his best English.
‘’Welcome to Egypt, miss. I am Captain Siddik el-Nassir and I was sent by President El-Sadat to greet you at the airport and drive you to his palace, where he is waiting for you.’’
‘’And I am General Ingrid Dows, Commandant of the United States Space Corps and Plenipotentiary Envoy of President Kennedy.’’ replied the woman while returning his salute. Her name brought more surprise to Siddik, who could see that she appeared to be no more than 25, maybe.
‘’Uh, are you by chance the daughter of the General Dows who fought us in 1953, General?’’
‘’No! I am the General Dows your country faced in 1953, Captain. In case you wonder about my apparent youth, I am actually 51-years-old. Let’s say that I enjoy some divine favors.’’
His mind now boiling, Siddik managed to keep control of his expression and pointed at a military staff car waiting in front of the terminal’s gate.
‘’This vehicle will carry us to the palace, General. Do you have some luggage with you that needs to be carried out of your plane?’’
In response, Ingrid showed him the small suitcase and leather briefcase she had carried down the stairs.
‘’All I need is here, Captain, and I will carry them myself. Be advised that this plane has a crew of three and that they will stay in their plane until I return aboard.’’
‘’Then, this way please, General.’’
Getting in the back of the staff car with Captain El-Nassir, Ingrid kept a neutral expression as their vehicle started rolling, followed by two escort vehicles. The drive was actually fairly short, the Egyptian presidential palace being situated in the same Cairo suburb as that of the airport. On arrival at the palace, a servant hurried up to take Ingrid’s suitcase and carry it for her, while she kept her briefcase with her. Walking up the stairs of the palace with Captain El-Nassir, Ingrid was led down a long ceremonial corridor, to be finally introduced into a large, luxuriously furnished lounge where a man with a thin moustache and receding curly black hair was waiting for her, dressed in a military uniform covered with medals. Ingrid stopped and came to attention, saluting the man and speaking to him in perfect Arabic.
‘’General Ingrid Dows, Plenipotentiary Envoy of President Kennedy, Mister President!’’
Surprised by the identity of the American envoy he had been told by telephone to expect tonight, Anwar El-Sadat returned Ingrid’s salute, then pointed a sofa to her.
‘’Welcome to Egypt, General Dows. Please, sit down, so we could talk. Would you like some coffee, or tea?’’
‘’Tea will be fine, Mister President.’’ replied Ingrid before sitting down in the designated sofa. Sadat passed her order for tea to a waiting servant, then sat in a sofa opposite Ingrid’s sofa. He examined her in silence for a moment before opening his mouth again.
‘’So, you are the famous General Ingrid Dows so many people around the World are talking about. I must say that you are very well preserved for a woman who fought us in 1953. Are the rumors about you being touched by God true, General?’’
‘’They are, Mister President. However, I must correct you a bit on that. I call the entity that rejuvenated me in 1953 ‘The One’ and not ‘God’. Mind you, the difference may appear academic to many, in view of the vast powers held by The One. But let’s talk instead about us mortals, Mister President. You received earlier a call from President Kennedy warning you that he knows about your plans to attack Israel and enjoining you to cancel those plans, on pain of seeing the United States declare war on Egypt and on the other Arab countries of your coalition. I am here to discuss ways to preserve peace…for everyone, and to avoid what could only be a useless and senseless war. With Israel now warned by us, you lost the element of surprise, something that could only greatly increase the chances for heavy casualties on your side if that war starts. Believe it or not but Arab casualties would be as painful to me as Israeli casualties.’’
Ingrid saw Sadat’s jaw tighten when she told him that the Israelis had been warned. However, the Egyptian leader regained his aplomb quickly and fired back at her.
‘’That would be hard to believe indeed, Ge