taking the offer seriously.'
Impatient, Lewis cut in. 'So we are going to use military forces to do what the Russians haven't been able to do.'
Noting that Wilson was now becoming irritated by Lewis's manner, Secretary of Defense Rothenberg took up the challenge this time. 'Yes, Congressman Lewis, we are. At the request of the Commonwealth forces, surgical strikes, using our air and ground units currently deployed in eastern Slovakia, will be used to neutralize the threat. The two storage sites, both in the vicinity of Svalyava, will be seized by rangers who will secure the devices in question and prepare them for transport back to Germany.'
Had Rothenberg hit Lewis between the eyes, he couldn't have gotten a more violent reaction. Lewis, having been a member of the National Guard for years and a veteran of the Gulf War, hated it when politicians used terms like 'surgical strike' and 'neutralize' as if they really meant something. Pushing himself away from the table, Lewis became enraged. 'Jesus, Rothenberg. Do you think you're about to present a case in court?' Lewis didn't wait for Rothenberg, who was now becoming upset, to answer. 'We're not talking about your law firm back in New York filing a suit against someone. We're talking about war. Real people, our people, going through the Carpathian Mountains in the dead of winter to seize weapons that the Ukrainians are no doubt defending with their best units. And when that happens, when our good little American boys and girls come nose-to-nose with those good little Ukrainian boys in the mountains, there'll be nothing surgical about the outcome. For those of you who haven't been blessed with the experience, there's nothing surgical about being on the receiving end of a 750-pound general purpose bomb.'
Like a tag team wrestling match, Wilson took over from Rothenberg. 'Congressman Lewis, we appreciate your concerns and understand your feelings.' Though angry at having her carefully prepared briefing upset by Lewis, Wilson maintained the calm, steady demeanor that had made her famous and politically unbeatable. 'Believe me, we have looked at every option and weighed all the risks. If there were another way to resolve this, I would have been the first to try it. We cannot, however, allow continued nuclear proliferation. It is time to draw the line.'
Lewis, about to comment on Wilson's melodramatic use of 'It is time to draw the line,' bit his tongue. This was no time, he thought, for personal attacks. Best, he reasoned, to stick to the critical issues at hand. Looking down at his hands, now folded in his lap, Lewis spoke in a low and controlled voice. 'Do we know, Madam President, who this nation is? I mean, wouldn't it be easier just to tighten the blockade on the Ukraine?'
Taking his turn, Soares responded to Lewis without commenting any further on Lewis's question of the blockade. 'No, Congressman, we do not know who has approached the Ukrainians. Our source within the Ukrainian government only knows that the offer was made and the details about the transfer of the weapons are currently being discussed.'
'So, when in doubt, send in the Marines.'
Wilson looked Lewis in the eye. 'Yes, Congressman, something like that.'
'What do the Czech and German governments have to say about this impending invasion?'
In a rather offhanded manner, one that surprised most of the assembled senators and congressmen, Rothenberg brushed off Lewis's concerns. 'This is not a matter that concerns either of those governments directly. Besides, for reasons of operational security it was felt that the fewer governments involved the better. The request made by the Commonwealth directly to President Wilson is not a matter that directly concerns any of the other European countries at this time. After the operation is under way, they will be briefed. Given the purpose of the operation and its objective, they will see the wisdom of our decision and support us.'
For a moment there was silence. Then Lewis in a rather subdued manner asked Rothenberg if he really thought that the Germans would calmly allow U.S. forces to use their country as a jump-off point for the invasion of another country.
Soares's response sounded like a lecture. 'I need not remind you, Congressman Lewis, that it has been the policy of Germany since unification to disarm. This includes nuclear weapons.' Soares paused to correct himself. 'Especially nuclear weapons. Besides, since the foundation of the Federal Republic of Germany, the policies of our two nations have been as one. We, after all, were instrumental in bringing about the unification of the two Germanys. They will not, Congressman Lewis, forget that.'
Lewis was about to remind Soares that it was our postwar policies, not to mention our occupation of Germany after World War II, that had created the division of Germany into two parts, but decided to let the matter drop. He was, he realized, howling at the moon. The decision to use military forces to cover for a lack of an effective foreign policy had been made. Dropping his head, Lewis folded his hands on the table and lapsed into silence.
Satisfied that the threat to her briefing had been beaten back, Wilson looked about the room. 'There is much to cover, gentlemen. I do appreciate Congressman Lewis's concerns. They reflect very real and sincere feelings. I assure you, those concerns will be put to rest before you leave this morning. Now, Pete, if you would please continue.'
Though he didn't appear to be paying attention to the colonel as he delivered his report, Chancellor Johann Ruff heard every word and understood what they meant to him and Germany. Outside the window he could see nothing of Berlin. Only a few stray flurries, illuminated by the lights of his office, heralding the coming of another winter storm, were visible. It was dark and bitter cold outside. Just like his mood, Ruff thought. Pivoting on his good leg, Ruff turned away from the foreboding scene and toward the two general staff officers who had brought Ruff news that he had not wanted to hear.
For a second he looked at the two officers. The contrast between them was remarkable. General Walther Schacht, chief of the General Staff's intelligence section, was comfortably seated in a chair with his long legs jutting out while his head, canted to the side, rested on the hand of his left arm, which in turn rested on the arm of the chair. It seemed to Ruff as if Schacht was bored as he listened to Colonel Gerhard Paul render his report. That, however, was only natural. Bavarians, Ruff thought, were easily bored when dealing with serious matters. Paul, a native of Leipzig and chief of Schacht's Eastern Europe Department, chose to stand while he briefed his Chancellor on the situation in the Ukraine. Everything about Paul was militarily correct. From his erect, almost ramrod stiff position of attention, to the clarity and conciseness of the report that he delivered, Paul was what Ruff expected soldiers to be. It had been, Ruff thought, a mistake to exclude the senior officers of the East German Volksarmee from the West German Bundeswehr at the time of unification. He was glad that he had finally been able to reverse that decision. It gave those officers raised in the lax atmosphere of the Bundeswehr worthy role models.
When Paul finished, the room fell silent as the two general staff officers waited for Ruff to speak. Shuffling over to his desk, Ruff stood next to it, leaning against the side of the desk in an effort to relieve the pressure on his bad leg. Though it would have been wise to sit, Ruff chose to stand during this meeting. It was, after all, a very serious matter. Besides, in his own way Ruff was testing General Schacht. It seemed to Ruff that if he, the Chancellor of Germany, was standing, then protocol would dictate that Schacht should also stand. But Schacht didn't, and therefore failed Ruff's little test.
'Are we sure, Colonel Paul, that the Ukrainians know nothing about this?'
Without hesitation, Paul responded to Ruff in a crisp, no-nonsense manner. 'The Ukrainians have been mesmerized by the buildup of Russian forces. None of their intelligence summaries over the last four days even mention the possibility of action by the Americans. It is as if the Americans are not there, even though the Americans have made no effort to cover the deployment of forces into eastern Slovakia.'
'Then it would seem,' Ruff stated in exasperation, 'that the Ukrainians, like us, have fallen for the American deception plan that their deployment into the Czech and Slovakian republics was an effort to discourage the Hungarians from grabbing land that probably is rightfully theirs.'
Ruff's tone and manner reminded Schacht of a professor of history, not a chancellor. Lifting his head off his hand, Schacht shook his head as he spoke. 'I am still convinced that the initial purpose of the American deployment into the Czech and Slovakian republics was nothing more than that, an effort to put pressure on the Hungarians. And by the way, they succeeded. Hungarian units have begun to move back from the Slovakian border.' Schacht waved his hand over his head. 'This new matter is entirely different. As much as I admire the Americans, I do not think that they are capable of such an effective deception operation. My American section, after careful re- examination, finds nothing to support such a claim.'
'Whether or not it was planned, Herr General, the fact remains,' Ruff shot back, 'that the Americans have decided to take action unilaterally with forces supposedly committed to NATO and stationed in our country without bothering to consult us.'
