Scott Landsdale inquired with a smile, “Ed, do you think I should book an Easter trip to the Holy Land?”
Wolffer responded, “We’re talking about a whole New World, Scott. A world where airport security will return to the level of the 1960s. A world where your family and friends can once again see you off at the gate, and where luggage lockers are not a thing of the past. A world where every airline passenger is not treated as a potential terrorist, and where aircraft safety has to do with mechanical issues, not terrorists on board or shoe bombs. A world in which every American tourist or businessperson is not a potential terrorist target. In this New World, gentlemen, every American will be treated with courtesy, respect, and a little awe-the way our fathers and grandfathers were who liberated Europe and Asia from evil. So, yes, Scott, plan on going to the Holy Land for Easter. You’ll be treated well, and you won’t have to worry about suicide bombers in crowded cafes.”
The room was quiet as Wolffer continued his briefing on the subject of holy sites. “The primary targets also include Muslim holy sites, such as Medina, Fallujah, Qum, and so forth. This alone will take the heart out of Islam. Their holiest site, Mecca, is to be spared-not out of any sensitivity to that religion but as a hostage city that will be destroyed if any surviving terrorists threaten or carry out a retaliation.” He concluded, “The governments in the Middle East know this and asked us to also spare Medina if the worst happens. Our answer was no.”
“Good answer,” said Madox. He added, “I’ve had a lot of unpleasant dealings with the Saudi royal family. Next week, they’re history, and the only good thing about that place-the oil under the sand-will be waiting for us.”
Edward Wolffer ignored that and continued, “The other Muslim holy site that will not be destroyed is, of course, Jerusalem, which we as Christians and also the Jews revere as our holiest site. We expect that, post-Wild Fire, the Israelis will kick the Muslims out of Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Nazareth, and other Christian holy sites under their control. If they don’t, we will.”
Madox commented, “On the subject of cities to be spared, I see a number of Turkish cities on the target list, but not Istanbul.”
Wolffer explained, “Istanbul is a historic treasure, located geographically in Europe, and it will again become Constantinople. The Muslims will be expelled.” He added, “In fact, gentlemen, there is a political plan for the post- Wild Fire world that redraws some lines on the map and moves people out of places where we don’t want them. Jerusalem, Beirut, and Istanbul come to mind, though I’m not completely familiar with the political plan.”
Madox noted, “Whatever it is, we can leave it to the State Department to screw it up.”
General Hawkins said, “Amen,” then observed, “With Baghdad and most of Iraq gone, we won’t need to go to war with Saddam Hussein.”
Wolffer replied, “Actually, we won’t need to go to war with Syria either, or Iran, or any other hostile country which will no longer exist.”
Madox said, “I like the sound of that. Don’t you, Harry?”
Harry hesitated, then replied, “Yeah, if you like the sound of mass murder.”
Madox stared at Harry and said, “I have a son, Harry-Bain Junior, who is a reserve officer in the United States Army. If we go to war with Iraq, he will be called to active duty, and he may die in Iraq. Bottom line on that is I’d rather see everyone in Baghdad dead than to be notified that my son is dead in Iraq. Is that selfish?”
Harry didn’t answer, but thought,
Bain Madox said to Harry, and to the others, “Sometimes a joke illuminates a truth that people won’t admit to. So let me tell you a joke, Mr. Muller, which, in your line of work, you may have already heard.” Madox smiled in the manner of a person about to tell a good one. “So, it seems that the president-Mr. Dunn’s boss-and the secretary of defense-Mr. Wolffer’s boss”-he smiled again and went on-“are having a disagreement over some policy issue, so they call in a junior aide, and the secretary of defense says to the aide, ‘We’ve decided to A-bomb a billion Arabs and one beautiful, blond-haired, blue-eyed, big-breasted woman. What do you think?’ And the young aide asks, ‘Mr. Secretary, why would you bomb a beautiful, blond-haired, blue-eyed, big-breasted woman?’ And the secretary of defense turns to the president and says, ‘See? I told you no one cares about a billion Arabs.’”
There was some polite and restrained laughter around the table, and Harry, too, smiled at the old joke, which he’d heard a few times.
Madox asked Harry, “Point made?”
Edward Wolffer returned to his subject and said, “Regarding Iraq, ground wars are costly in terms of men, materiel, and money. And ground wars always have unintended consequences. I can tell you from firsthand knowledge-and Paul can verify this-that this administration is hell-bent on provoking a war with Iraq, then Syria, and eventually Iran. In principle, none of us, I think, are opposed to this. But for those of us here who fought in Vietnam-Bain, Jim, and I-we can say with some authority that when you let loose the dogs of war, those dogs are out of your control. The beauty of a nuclear attack is that it is quick and cheap. We’ve already bought and paid for a huge atomic arsenal-we presently have about seven thousand nuclear warheads-that is sitting around doing nothing. For a small fraction of the cost of those warheads, we can achieve monumental results. The results of a nuclear strike are unequivocal.” He grinned and added, “The New York Times and the Washington Post won’t have to agonize over whether or not we’re winning the war on terrorism.”
Everyone laughed, and Bain Madox asked, rhetorically, “You mean, I won’t have to read some bleeding-heart story in the Times about some little girl and her grandmother who were wounded by American fire?”
Again, everyone laughed, and Wolffer said, “I don’t think the Times or the Washington Post are going to send any reporters into the nuclear ash to get a so-called human-interest story.”
Madox chuckled, then looked again at the map on the screen. “I see on the list the Aswan High Dam.” He moved a cursor to Egypt and the southern Nile. “That, I assume, is the mother of all targets.”
Wolffer replied, “Indeed, it is. A multi-warhead missile will take out that dam and send billions of gallons of water rushing down the Nile, which will, in effect, wipe out Egypt, killing perhaps forty to sixty million people as it floods the Nile Valley on its way into the Mediterranean. This will be the largest single loss of life and property-and there are no oil fields there. Unfortunately, we have to accept the loss of thousands of Western tourists, archeologists, businesspeople, and so forth, along with the loss of historical sites.” He added, “The pyramids should survive.”
Madox said, “Ed, I see that several Egyptian cities along the Nile Valley are on the list to be hit with nuclear warheads. Considering that the Aswan waters will sweep away those cities, aren’t the missiles redundant? Or are they biblical?”
Wolffer glanced at his friend and replied, “I never thought about that.” He considered a moment, then said, “I suppose the floodwaters will put out the fires in the burning cities.”
Madox commented, “That’s too bad.”
Wolffer went on, “Some bad news, as I’ve alluded to, is that a great number of Westerners will be killed in this attack. Tourists, businesspeople, expats, embassy people, and so forth. That number could easily reach a hundred thousand, many of them Americans.”
No one commented on that statement.
Wolffer continued, “Unfortunately, too, we can’t predict when these areas will again be habitable or socially stable enough to get the oil flowing. A Defense Department analysis, however, predicts that there will not be much shortfall in global or national needs because these countries which produce the oil will no longer be using any. Therefore, oil from other sources, along with reserves, should be sufficient to meet any short-term demands in America and Western Europe.” He added, “The Saudi oil will probably be available to us first-within two years.”
Madox interjected, “You government people should speak to us in the private sector. My analysis is that Saudi oil will be on board tankers and coming this way in about a year. I think we can get a hundred dollars a barrel, if we exaggerate the post-nuclear-war problems of pumping and shipping.”
Wolffer hesitated, then said, “Bain, the Defense Department is thinking more in terms of twenty dollars a barrel, since we’d be controlling all aspects of pumping and shipping. The idea is that we’ll need cheap oil to help revive the American economy, which we predict will go into a severe slump after two American cities suffer nuclear devastation.”
Bain Madox waved his hand and said, “I think that’s also an exaggeration. You’ll see a stock-market slump of a few thousand points for less than a year. Some cities will experience a population flight for a few months, the way New York did post-9/11. But after it becomes clear that the enemy is dead and buried, you will see an American renaissance that will amaze the world.” He said to Wolffer, “Don’t be pessimistic. If the collapse of the Soviet Union was the dawn of the American century, then the obliteration of Islam will usher in the millennium of American
