Punzarron shrugged and shook his head. 'They are criminals, mi coronel. There are strong men among them who are the natural bosses. They have no leaders, only bullies:'
'Of course,' Busch agreed. 'They are nothing but common thugs. I doubt if they really have the intellectual capacity to seriously coordinate their efforts into any meaningful organized activity.'
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WASHINGTON, D. C.
WHITE HOUSE PRESS CONFERENCE
3 JANUARY
1000 HOURS LOCAL
WHITE House Chief of Staff Arlene Entienne stood in front of Press Secretary Owen Peckham at the entrance to the short hallway that led down to the pressroom. She reached up and straightened his tie, smiling encouragement at him. 'Are you ready to jump into the fray?'
'No,' Peckham answered candidly. 'I can think of ten thousand places I'd rather be today.'
'Any special plans on dealing with the onslaught?' she asked.
'I'm going to come out swinging,' Peckham said. 'And from that point on, I'll duck and punch, punch and duck, until the bell rings.'
'That's the way,' Entienne said. 'Go get 'em! I'll be here waiting when you've finished. Just keep in mind that you've been fully briefed. Information is ammunition.'
Peckham went through the door into the hall and strode the few yards down to another door. He stepped through it and walked to the podium. 'Good morning,' he called out in what he hoped was a confident, solemn tone. He did not want to appear as if he were looking for friends among the journalists who sat in the seats to his front. 'The first thing I wish to do before I take questions from you is to state that the news of the crime in Bolivia that is on all the prime-time telecasts and front pages of the nation's metropolitan newspapers is an insult to the honor and integrity of United States Army Special Forces. No American servicemen were involved in the outrage. The President of the United States categorically and emphatically denies that any armed forces of the U. S. A. had anything--directly or indirectly--to do with the crime.' He paused and exhibited a stern look. 'All right. Questions.'
A young woman stood up. 'Bennington of the Boston World Journal. Are there any American troops deployed in combat situations in South America at this time?'
'Yes,' Peckham said. 'But allow me to qualify that affirmative response. There is no secret that we have several units supporting specific Latin American drug operations with the cooperation and coordination of local police and military. Many times these activities result in gun battles.'
'Fremont of National Syndicated News Briefs,' another reporter said. 'Did the massacre mentioned in the news really happen?'
'Unfortunately, it did indeed occur,' Peckham said. 'The Bolivian government confirms the reports of the unfortunate incident and further acknowledges that the photographs of the victims are genuine.'
Another man was called on. 'Mackenzie of the Ontario People's Advocate. An eyewitness has been interviewed in the South American press. He said his wife and children were killed by the Green Berets. What is the United States government's reply to the man's charges?'
'No one from the U. S. government has had an opportunity to converse with the gentleman,' Peckham said. 'In fact, he has evidently disappeared from view. His veracity has not been properly challenged.'
'Thompson of the San Francisco Activist Informer,' a young woman said. 'All the angry people in South America cannot be wrong. When the particular Green Berets who committed this atrocity are finally discovered, will the president make an apology to the world?'
'No American Special Forces troops were involved in those killings,' Peckham said grimly. 'We have issued that statement before, and at this point the United States government's denial of any participation or connection is final. That's it.'
Dirk Wallenger of Global News Broadcasting stood up without bothering to identify himself, since both he and Peckham were old adversaries. 'Was the CIA involved?'
'No,' Peckham said, controlling his anger. 'Did you not understand my opening statement nor the one I just this minute made?'
'I interviewed that only survivor of the murders when I was in Santiago, Chile, about a week ago,' Wallenger said. 'He was very convincing. The gentleman said that the killers wore U. S. Army uniforms and green berets. He also stated that they spoke English. How do you respond to those words from one of the victims?'
'A lot of people in the world speak English, Dirk,' Peckham replied. 'And anybody with the money can purchase a military-style green beret. Many wannabes order them out of catalogs along with camouflage uniforms and other military paraphernalia for weekends of reenactments or playing at war. I might add that the Royal Marines of Great Britain wear green berets. I believe they speak a bit of English, though I seriously doubt if the prime minister has dispatched any of them to South America to randomly travel around massacring entire villages of people. And the French Foreign Legion wears green berets too. And I'm sure there are many English-speaking legionnaires in their ranks. And one of their regiments is stationed in French Guiana in South America. But again, I have grave doubts they have been roaming the continent looking for little towns to wipe off the map.'
'In that case will the president be dispatching any of the nation's armed forces to track down and capture the culprits?' Wallenger asked.
'There are no such plans now,' Peckham said, 'nor has Bolivia requested assistance in such an operation. And our present situation in the Middle East precludes responding to such an appeal.'
Wallenger was stubborn. 'But doesn't the president think this is important enough to make an effort to prove the accusations by this survivor false or at least mistaken?'
'The President of the United States is not going to dignify those ridiculous charges by addressing them in any official manner or form.' He glanced around the room. 'As I stated when I walked in here, no Americans were responsible for the incident.'
'Anti-American demonstrations swept across South America,' Wallenger said. 'Our embassies have been stoned, the flag defiled, and effigies wearing green berets burned in the streets of the continent's major cities. Surely this is serious enough to--'
'Thank you for coming, ladies and gentleman, this is the end of the press conference,' Peckham said.
He left the podium and exited the room, hurrying down the hall to where Arlene Entienne had been listening over the intercom to the session. 'You did fine, Owen. To the point. Polite but firm. And you responded fully to each question.'
'You know something, Arlene,' Peckham said. 'I just thought of an oxymoron: journalistic standards.'
.
FUERTE FRANCO
5 JANUARY
1000 HOURS LOCAL
ALL the field fortifications and bunkers were completed. The convicts piled the final sandbags around the mortar position in the center of the garrison near the headquarters complex. They stood back as the crews of the three Spanish Model L 60-millimeter mortars brought them in and set the weapons up.
The laborers had an easy time of it as they went around making final minor fixes and alterations. These were mostly done at the behest of various junior and warrant officers as they inspected the places where their units would be fighting. By midmorning the Argentine prisoners had nothing much to do but tend to the odd jobs that popped up. Consequently, they were dismissed from duty early and given permission to withdraw to their camp for a meal and a siesta.
.
1400 HOURS LOCAL
A surprise formation was called for the convicts, and they were rousted from their naps to form up. They obeyed the summons with the same dogged acceptance they demonstrated for surprise searches and rousting about from prison guards.
Suboficial Punzarron, Sargento-Mayor Chaubere and Sargento Muller had arrived with a box of used Spanish Army green fatigue uniforms complete with service caps. The type of military sandals worn in Morocco were included in the issue. The convicts were immediately ordered to strip off the blue prison overalls they usually wore
