But just in case, I recommend we also send the other battle groups to sea.” Pacino reached into his briefcase for his Writepad computer. “The carriers Abraham Lincoln and United States are in Pearl Harbor, being fueled and loaded out now. They can be ready to go to sea tomorrow on your orders, Madam President. In addition we can assemble a European force with the French carrier De Gaulle and the Royal Navy’s Ark Royal, both of them accompanied by their escort forces. The Brits and French are visiting Guam now and they can load out, fuel up and get underway within thirty-six hours. The Royal Australian Navy has a small force that could come up from the south. By Christmas, if we’re quick, we could have Japan encircled.” Warner waited for comments, and when there were none, looked hard at Pacino. “Admiral, you are saying you would hold off the Japanese until the first carrier battle group is closer, then take out the Japanese surveillance and communication satellites, then attack and blow up the Japanese air force and submarine navy, then set up the blockade. Is that how you see it?”
“Yes, ma’am. We should be deliberate about it, but we should hit the Japanese with a knockout punch now and make our demands later.”
“And if they fight back?”
“Madam President, they will fight back. This is exactly what happened just before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. We cut off the flow of their oil, they were backed into a corner. Once in the corner, they fought to get out, among other things. And they’ll do it again.”
“So you’re saying we are heading for war?”
“I’m saying that Japan is an island nation. It’s like a scuba diver, if you will. If we cut off its air, it can either die or fight back, and the Japanese aren’t likely to lie down and die.”
“And so?”
“The Reagan task force is accompanied by two 688class submarines. If the Japanese deploy their submarines in force they could conceivably overcome the 688 subs and sink them. After that, the surface force would be easy pickings. There are a dozen admirals in the navy senior to me who would jump down my throat for saying this, but it’s true — the only effective antisubmarine warfare device is another submarine. Destroyers and frigates and helicopters and P-3 patrol planes are good, damned good, but good won’t wash against the Japanese. Their subs and crews are the best. Their technology is on the cutting edge. Their sub is the latest generation built. Even our Seawolf class was designed a decade and a half ago, and we only have two of them. The Destiny class is equal to, if not better than, the NSSN, our new submarine being designed.” Leach shook his head. “You sound like your counterparts did during the Cold War—‘The Russians are better than we are, they have all the best stuff, they can kick our tails.’ Then when it came to it, their military was revealed to be overstated and we’d spent our national product on guns, defending against an alleged tiger bear, forgive mer-that was a paper tiger going flat broke.” Pacino said nothing. Leach, the head of the CIA, had no business holding his job with such an attitude. No wonder Donchez couldn’t stand him. “Dick?”
President Warner asked Donchez. “My opinion on the issue is that Japan is once again threatening all of Asia, and the world demands something be done. Our people think we should do something about it. Our response to this must be governed by the best interests of America. And by Japan’s peculiar response to threats of force. Here’s what I mean. Al was right when he said we need to have a clear objective, something more than pie in the sky. We must know what we want and be willing to take only that, nothing less. The American people must buy into that objective before we act. And I think the objective is to walk away from this event with Japan’s radiation missiles destroyed, their submarines and fighters reduced in number to what they really need for home defense. This would involve international inspectors or advisors on Japanese soil. Now — here’s how we do that… “We have to realize that the Japanese famed national pride would be a casualty of this operation.
These people will die before they’ll accept some of what I am suggesting. They will fight, so we must be prepared for that. We must expect a violent reaction to a blockade. I think Admiral Pacino has it right — we need to do a coordinated attack on the Japanese Galaxy satellites, encircle Japan, keep Russia out of the scene, whatever the cost, and take on the Japanese air force with ground attacks or air-to-air combat. We will have casualties and lose some of our force strength. Once the blockade is in place, I fully expect the Maritime Self Defense Force to come out fighting.”
“Why?” Leach said. “Just because you and Pacino think it’s 1941? That was then. This is now, for God’s sake.”
