A Measured Response pb

A WAY TO AVOID WAR

by Gunnery Sergeant John McClain, USMC, Retired, ©2013, blogging at Gulf1

(Aug. 15, 2013) — The president was squatting down next to the young student, as he helped her sound out the word, visiting her school, getting “a feel” for things when he got the news.  It set him back on his heels, and it took all his strength to remain calm.  He knew his actions in the next few minutes would tell the world who he was.

As soon as he could pull out of the scheduled tour, he got to a secure location and set things in motion, heading back to his office.  Once there, he watched as the third aircraft struck the Pentagon, this was no accident, he knew America was being attacked, and initialed the threat level which had been established.

Meeting with his staff in the situation room, it was clear very shortly, much had been happening which had not been well considered or well shared.  In a short hour, too short by far, they all understood what should have been known a year ago, or even two.  At this point, the response was all that was possible to consider.  The attack was going to end how it did, one last bird in the air, half the reserves in the area, following it.

He had had reservations about a number of things for a long time, but family and respect for elders had kept him silent.  He could be so no longer, duty over-rode convention, it was time to call a spade a spade.  As he considered what was being said by advisors, he couldn’t help but think, “these guys just want this all to go away”, yet one single fact played over and again through his mind.  From the first, America and post-war Europe had simply accepted Saud as legitimate, assuming a role which never existed until Lawrence had done his work, and oil had been discovered.

There was no doubt who puts this operation together, all the intelligence was clear, just never “bounced off one another”.  Bernstein’s “follow the money” told him it was no singular act, but a carefully planned and financed operation, intended to enrage himself, and the whole of America.  He had to think about this, he needed someone who fully understood the long view.  He called the Commandant, a personal friend, a man with a steel trap mind.  They met at the corner where the coffee pot stood on the cabinet.  Carl, the president said, “this doesn’t look like anything I’ve seen before, and my father stepped on quite a few toes in the Middle East.”

“Mr. President,” the commandant replied, “no no, I need your advice as a friend, a tactician, and a real warrior, between us, it’s Carl and George, if we’re going to do this right.”  “Well, George, the way I see it, this is what we knew as a “honey trap”, back in ‘Nam, make it look big, draw in the whole unit, and ambush.”  “Carl, I’ve read your essays and that was kind of what I was thinking, we have to beat them at their own game.”

“Well, the commandant replied, the best way to keep from getting sucked in is to recognize the principle of the trap, and find something of greater value, more personal to those who set this, we’ve got to put the ball back in their court.”  “Carl, we’ve still got lots of those antiquated ballistic missiles, and we’ve decommissioned a substantial portion solely for treaty reasons.  They didn’t physically attack our Nation, this thing was meant to be symbolic, enrage us.  What do you suppose would be an equivalent, but raising the bid?”  “Sir, as your friend and as an expert, I’ve been long considering this.  We can’t strike Mecca; that would be a deal breaker.  Suppose we gave a 24-hour warning, demand the evacuation of Medina, tell them we will leave it flat and glassy exactly 24 hours to the second from the warning.  We can strike only military and government targets, yet the place will never be livable in the foreseeable future, and we don’t have to send a million soldiers anywhere, today.

“Carl, I don’t know what I would have done without this conversation.  I think we can get our message across, and not have a world war.  We have to be careful and make sure they can save face though, or we’ve accomplished nothing.”  “Mr. President, I believe you will go down in history for keeping us out of world war.”