injured, as a result of an escape or fight, he’d be in bad shape.
He’d lost Colonel Paul White and ten of his best men, and he hadn’t even gotten a chance to lead them yet.
LAFAYETTE SQUARE, WASHINGTON, D.C.
THAT SAME TIME The gentleman being escorted by the tuxedo-dressed bellman through the cherry-paneled corridors of the luxurious Hay-Adams Hotel in Washington already had his jolly, glad-handed face on when he entered the small, secluded dining room. His contact and another man, probably an assistant or aide, were already waiting for him.
The double doors were closed behind him; the warm room enveloped him like a calfskin glove. Nothing like this in Tehran these days, he thought. “Ah, my friend Robert, it is good to be here with …” But his politically practiced visage changed abruptly when the man in the room turned to him.
“Mr. Sabin, please come in,” Philip Freeman, the President’s National Security Advisor, said. It was obvious that his presence was a complete shock to Sabin. He extended a hand in greeting, but Philip Freeman did not accept it. Then Sabin looked for a chair and did not find one. It was obvious this was not going to be a civil sociable meeting.
Businessman and professor Tahir Sabin was one of a rare and unusual breed, vital to governments all over the world—a well—spoken, well-traveled, educated man welcomed and employed by all sides of a dispute. A son of a wealthy landowner in eastern Turkey, Sahin’s Muslim family had escorted and guarded the Ayatollah Khomeini during his exile to Iraq via Turkey in 1963. A young Tabir Sahin had then accompanied Khomeini to the holy Shiite city of Najaf in Iraq and spent several years with him, acting as interpreter and bodyguard.
Sahin had seen firsthand the transformation of Khomeini and his vision of a worldwide Islamic revolution, and in time Sabin had become infused with much of the same burning passion as Khomeini.
When Khomeini had been deported from Iraq and moved ed to his native land and become instrumental in spreading the word about Khomeini’s impending revolution to Turkey and everywhere else he traveled in his business. When Khomeini had made his triumphant return to Iran and established his Islamic republic, Sahin had been an honored guest many times. With his Turkish passport and Iranian identity papers, signed by Khomeini himself, Sabin could travel anywhere in the world with complete safety and security.
It was after the closing of all diplomatic relations between the United States and Iran following the U.S. embassy siege in 1979 that Tahir Sahin’s real worth had stood out. Sabin had been part of the secret “arms for hostages” deals with the United States to the benefit of the Iranians, but had also helped secure the release of British, French, Italian, and American hostages held captive by pro-Iranian radicals in Lebanon. Although not credentialed with the U.S. State Department or recognized professionally by any country, Sahin had been acting as an unofficial messenger between the two governments, keeping the lines of communication open between two countries who did not have embassies in each other’s country.
The downside to having a pro-Iranian, pro-Islamic fundamentalist man like Sahin roaming freely around Washington was that he was reportedly a deputy director of an organization called the Niru-ye Entezami-e Johuriye, or Institute of Strategic Security Studies.
The ISSS was known as an Iranian defense “think tank,” which advised rich Middle East countries on emerging defense technology and strategies; but it was also widely believed to be an international intelligence front operation, designed to feed information through diplomatic channels back to Iran. If Sahin hadn’t been funneling messages back and forth between Washington and Tehran, he’d have been kicked out of the United States years ago as a suspected spy.
It was painful for Freeman to be meeting a likely Iranian spy like this, but there was no better way to impress upon Iran the seriousness of the situation that was before them now.
Tahir Sahin put his glad-happy face back on and nodded enthusiastically at his hosts. “It is indeed an unexpected honor to be here with you, General.”
“I have a simple message for President Nateq-Nouri and General Buzhazi,” Freeman interrupted. “The President of the United States views the attack on the civilian salvage vessel Valley Mistress by the Khomeini carrier battle group and the capture of its crew as an act of aggression against the United States. The President is demanding their return immediately.”
“Please, General Freeman, please,” Sahin interrupted, holding up his hands as if in surrender, “but I am nothing but a small businessman. I am not an ambassador or an emissary of any country …”
“And this is not a diplomatic visit,” Freeman interjected. “I’m asking you to deliver a message, Mr. Sahin—if you can do it, you’ll be providing a great service for both the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran. If you can’t deliver the message, then we’ve all wasted our time here.”
Sahin nodded thoughtfully. “I will of course endeavor to do as you wish, General Freeman,” Sahin said. “I hope I have the good fortune to have the opportunity to speak with Minister Velayati or Minister Foruzandeh.”
“See to it that this message is delivered immediately, Mr. Sahin,” Freeman said. “We are going to play a little game with the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
“A game, General?”
“Yes, Mr. Sahin. Every day that an American is held captive by Iran, or his whereabouts are not known, the United States will attack a military target inside Iran. You will not know where, or when, or how, only that it will happen. The United States will not publicize this; no public comments will be made. The targets will be vital military installations and command-and-control targets. The goal of the strikes will be gradually to weaken Iran’s air defense, command, mobility, and long-range strike capability so that if war does break out, Iran will have difficulty defending its borders from attack or will find its forces substantially weakened or unable to mobilize.”
Tahir Sahin laughed a hesitant, nervous laugh. “This … this is very odd, General Freeman,” he said. “This … this is tantamount to terrorism!”
“Call it what you will,” Freeman said. “If the captives are not released, Iran will suffer the consequences.”
“Does this concern the proposal by the Islamic Republic to exclude all foreign warships from the Persian Gulf?” Sahin asked. “Is this an attempt to induce Iran to capitulate?”
“This has nothing to do with the Persian Gulf,” Freeman said. “in fact, the President is seriously considering that proposal, and he may agree to it with some modifications. This only concerns the thirteen men missing from the salvage vessel Valley Mistress. The President wants those men immediately released unharmed and unmolested in any way—no questioning, no interrogation, no coercion.”
Sahin shook his head, his eyes blankly scanning the room in complete surprise. “This is a very unexpectedly belligerent and arrogant stance the President is taking, General Freeman,” he said. “Is the President truly in control, or is it possible that the military has taken over the White House?”
“The President is in control, I assure you,” Freeman replied. “If I were in control, I’d have destroyed all of Iran’s military bases one by one, sent Iran’s carrier to the bottom of the Gulf of Oman, and had U.S. troops occupy Hormozgan Province by now.”
“Do you believe such a belligerent, intractable attitude will help improve relations with Iran or assist in negotiations, General?”
“Perhaps you don’t understand, Mr. Sahin: the United States is not negotiating anything at this time,” Freeman said, turning to leave. “The attacks will commence and will continue until our demands are met. The President may open negotiations for the removal of land-attack warships from the Persian Gulf, but as for the topic of the survivors of the Valley Mistress, we will not negotiate. The attacks will commence and will continue until our demands are met. Good day, Mr. Sahin.”
“This is … this is highly irregular!” Sahin blurted out as Freeman reached the door. “I must take with me some proof of this discussion, some sign that you and I spoke-“
“The only proof you need is the news that a military target inside Iran has been destroyed,” Freeman said. He checked his Ulysses-Nardin multi-zone watch and added, “In fact, the first attack should be happening at any moment. It will be in retaliation for the illegal and unwarranted attack on the Valley Mistress. Good day to you, Mr. Sahin.”
ABOARD THE B-2A SPIRIT STEALTH BOMBER AV-011, OVER IRAN THAT SAME TIME McLanahan finished typing in commands on the supercockpit display. “SAR configured,” he announced. “No terrain returns, no large cultural returns, moving-target mode enabled.” He turned to Jamieson: “Ready, AC?”
“I was born ready, MC,” Jamieson said gruffly. “Take the shot.”
