Rogue Forces (24 page)

T
HE
O
VAL
O
FFICE
, T
HE
W
HITE
H
OUSE
, W
ASHINGTON
, D.C.

A
SHORT TIME LATER, EARLY AFTERNOON

A phone right beside Chief of Staff Walter Kordus’s elbow beeped, and he picked it up immediately. “Call from Ankara, sir,” he said. “Signals says it’s from the president himself.”

“
Finally
,” President Joseph Gardner said. He was behind his desk, watching the cable news reports about the invasion of Iraq with his national security adviser, Conrad Carlyle, Secretary of Defense Miller Turner, and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, U.S. Marine Corps general Taylor J. Bain. On a video teleconference feed were Vice President Kenneth Phoenix at Allied Air Base Nahla in Iraq, and Secretary of State Stacy Barbeau from Aviano Air Base in Italy, where she had diverted instead of continuing on to Iraq from Washington. “Put him on.” He thought for a moment, then shook his hand. “No, wait, I’ll make him wait and see how he likes it. Tell him to hold for me and I’ll speak with him in a minute.”

Gardner turned to the others in the Oval Office. “Okay, we’ve been watching the shit flying all day now. What do we know? What do we tell whoever’s at the other end of that call?”

“It’s plain that the Turks are going after the PKK hideouts and training camps and are being very careful not to cause any Iraqi or American casualties,” National Security Adviser Conrad Carlyle said. “If that’s truly the case, we tell our guys to hunker down and stay out of it. Then we tell the Turks to back off in case there
are
unintended consequences.”

“Sounds reasonable to me,” Gardner said. “They’re driving pretty deep into Iraq, aren’t they, a lot farther than their usual cross-border raids?” Nods all around the Oval Office and on the video teleconference monitors. “Then the question is: Are they going to stay?”

“They’ll stay long enough to slaughter any PKK rebels they find, and then I’m sure they’ll leave,” Secretary of State Stacy Anne Bar
beau said via her secure video teleconference link from Italy. “We should call for United Nations monitoring as soon as possible in case Kurzat Hirsiz is no longer in charge and the Turkish army wants to go on a rampage.”

“Not on my watch they won’t, Stacy,” Gardner said. “I won’t tolerate a bloodbath while American soldiers are stationed there and the Iraqis aren’t powerful enough to defend their own people. They can crack down on their own Kurdish rebels in their own country if they want, but they’re not going to commit genocide with American GIs as spectators.”

“I think they’ll agree to international monitors, Mr. President,” Secretary of State Stacy Anne Barbeau said, “but they’ll want a buffer zone created in northern Iraq, with round-the-clock international surveillance, looking for PKK activity.”

“I can live with that, too,” Gardner said. “Okay, Walter, put Hirsiz on the line.”

A few moments later: “Mr. President, good afternoon to you, this is President Hirsiz. Thank you for speaking with me, sir.”

“I’m very glad to see that you’re all right,” Gardner said. “We haven’t heard from you since the announcement of a national emergency. You didn’t return any of our calls.”

“I apologize, sir, but as you can see, things are very serious here and I’ve been engaged almost continuously. I assume this call is in regards to our current antiterrorist operations in Iraq?”

Gardner’s eyes bulged in disbelief by what he just heard. “No, sir, I’m talking about your
invasion of Iraq
!” Gardner exploded. “Because if this was just an antiterrorist operation, I’m sure you would have told us when, where, and how you were going to initiate it, is that not correct?”

“Mr. President, with all due respect, that tone of voice is not necessary,” Hirsiz said. “If I may remind you, sir, it was a lack of respect such as this that caused this ill will between our countries in the first place.”

“And may I remind
you
, Mr. President,” Gardner retorted, “that Turkish warplanes are bombing bases and facilities manned by
Americans? May I also remind you that I sent Vice President Phoenix and Secretary of State Barbeau on a diplomatic mission to Iraq to meet with their counterparts, and Turkey used that meeting as a smoke screen to attack positions inside Iraq, placing the vice president in mortal danger? The vice president is an emissary of the United States of America and
my personal representative
. You have no right to initiate military action when at the same time you…”

“I need no reminding from you, sir!” Hirsiz interrupted. “I need no lectures on when Turkey may initiate military actions against terrorists threatening our people! The Republic of Turkey will do whatever is necessary to protect our land and our people! It is America and Iraq who must help us defeat the terrorists! If you do nothing, then we must act alone.”

“I’m not trying to lecture anyone, sir,” Gardner said, forcing his anger back down into his chest, “and I agree that Turkey or any nation may take whatever steps are necessary to protect its self-interests, even preemptive military action. All I’m asking, sir, is that you inform Washington first and ask for advice and assistance. That’s what allies do, am I correct?”

“Mr. President, we had every intention of notifying you before the commencement of hostilities, if time allowed,” Hirsiz said. Gardner rolled his eyes in disbelief but said nothing. “But it did not.”

“That’s the same thing you said before the attack on the border, which resulted in over a dozen American casualties,” the president interjected. “Apparently you don’t feel the need to consult with Washington on a timely basis.”

“I’m sorry, Mr. President, but what I tell you is true—we are under enormous pressure to act before any more loss of life occurs,” Hirsiz said. “But we have taken extraordinary care this time to minimize noncombatant casualties. I have ordered my minister of defense to inform and constantly remind our division commanders that only PKK terrorists are to be targeted. We have taken extraordinary steps to minimize noncombatant casualties.”

“And I acknowledge those efforts,” Gardner said. “To my knowledge, no Americans or Iraqis have been killed. But there have been
injuries and substantial loss and damage to equipment and facilities. If the hostilities continue, there could be bloodshed.”

“Yet to
my
knowledge, sir, there has already been substantial, deliberate, and egregious Turkish loss of equipment—and at least one death, caused by
American
forces.”

“What?
Americans
?” Gardner stared at his national security adviser and secretary of defense in surprise. “I’ve been assured that none of our combat units engaged with anyone, let alone Turkish forces. There must be a mistake.”

“Then you deny that an American flying-wing reconnaissance aircraft was orbiting over northern Iraq, with orders to use its radiation weapons to shoot down a Turkish combat support aircraft?”

“Flying-wing…reconnaissance aircraft…
radiation weapons
…?”

“We have observed this aircraft flying near the Turkish border for many days now, sir,” Hirsiz said. “Although it resembles an American stealth bomber, our intelligence analysts have assured our government that it was an unarmed reconnaissance aircraft owned and operated by a private contractor for the United States Army. The air attaché at the American embassy in Ankara acknowledged this to be true.

“Apparently our analysts were wrong, and your ambassador lied to us, because the crew of a combat support aircraft reported being under attack by that very same aircraft,” Hirsiz went on. “The surviving crewmember reported that the so-called reconnaissance aircraft was in fact firing what he described as a radiation weapon; he reported feeling intense heat severe enough that it killed the pilot and destroyed the aircraft. Do you deny such an aircraft was operating at the time of our actions over Iraq, Mr. President?”

The president shook his head in confusion. “Mr. President, I don’t know anything about such an aircraft, and I certainly did not order any American aircraft to attack
anyone
, let alone an allied aircraft,” he said. “I’ll find out who it was and make sure that no such actions happen again.”

“That is little consolation to the family of the pilot who died as a result from the attack, sir.”

“I’ll find the ones responsible, Mr. President, and if it was a deliberate attack they will be punished, that I promise,” Gardner said. “What are Turkey’s intentions in Iraq, sir? When are you going to begin withdrawing troops?”

“Withdrawing? Did you say ‘withdrawing,’ sir?” Hirsiz asked in a high-pitched, theatrically incredulous voice. “Turkey is not withdrawing, sir. We are not withdrawing until every last PKK terrorist is dead or captured. We did not begin this operation and risk thousands of lives and billions in valuable equipment simply to turn around before the job is done.”

“Sir, Turkey has committed an act of armed aggression against a peaceful country,” Gardner said. “You may be hunting down terrorists, sir, but you’re doing it on foreign soil, terrorizing innocent civilians, and damaging a sovereign nation’s property. That cannot be allowed.”

“And how are our actions different from America attacking Iraq, Mr. President?” Hirsiz asked. “That is your doctrine, is it not—hunt down and destroy terrorists wherever they may be, at a time of your own choosing? We are doing the very same.”

Joseph Gardner hesitated. The bastard was right, he thought. How could I argue against Turkey invading Iraq when that’s exactly what the United States did in 2003? “Um…Mr. President, you know it’s not the same…”

“It is the very same, sir. We have a right to protect ourselves, just as America does.”

Fortunately for the president, Walter Kordus held up a Post-it note with the letters
U.N.
scribbled on it. Gardner nodded, relieved, then spoke, “The difference, sir, is the United States received authorization to invade Iraq by the United Nations Security Council. You did not seek such approval.”

“We have sought that approval for many years, sir,” Hirsiz said, “but it was always denied. The best you or the United Nations could ever do was declare the PKK a terrorist organization. We were authorized to call them names, but
they
could kill Turks with impunity. We have decided to take matters into our own hands.”

“America was also offered assistance by many other nations in the effort to hunt down al-Qaeda terrorists and jihadists,” Gardner said. “This sudden attack looks more like an invasion than an antiterrorist operation.”

“Are you offering assistance, Mr. President?” Hirsiz asked. “That would certainly speed up our progress and ensure a more rapid retraction.”

“Mr. President, the United States has often offered assistance in hunting down PKK terrorists many times in the past,” Gardner said. “We have provided intelligence, weapons, and financial resources for years. But the intent was to avoid open warfare and violations of sovereign borders—to prevent exactly what has occurred, and what other calamities might happen if hostilities do not end.”

“We are grateful for the assistance you have provided, sir,” Hirsiz said. “Turkey will always be thankful. But it was simply not enough to stop the terrorists from attacking. It is not America’s fault. We have been forced to act by the ruthless PKK. Any assistance you can provide in the future would be most helpful and gratefully accepted, of course.”

“We’d be happy to help you hunt down the terrorists, Mr. President,” Gardner said, “but as a sign of good faith, we would ask if United Nations peacekeeping forces could substitute for Turkish ground troops, and if you could allow international monitors and law enforcement officers to patrol the Turkey-Iraq border.”

“I am sorry, Mr. President, but that would not do at all,” Hirsiz said. “It is our belief that the United Nations is an ineffectual force and has not made any progress in any area of the world where its peacekeepers are deployed. In fact, it is our opinion that such a force would be biased against Turkey and in favor of the Kurdish minority, and that the hunt for PKK terrorists would be shuffled into the background. No, sir, Turkey will not accept peacekeepers at this time.”

“I trust you and Prime Minister Akas will be willing to negotiate this matter, sir? By the way, I expected to hear from the prime minister. Is she well? We haven’t seen or heard of her.”

“I think you will find the prime minister to be just as firm on this issue as I, Mr. President,” Hirsiz said flatly, ignoring Gardner’s questions. “International observers would only complicate the security, cultural, ethnic, and religious tensions in the region. I’m afraid there is no room for compromise at this time.”

“I see. I also want to discuss Vice President Phoenix,” Gardner went on. “He was forced to evade Turkish warplanes and ground forces as he flew into Irbil for our scheduled negotiations.”

“That is an unfortunate occurrence, sir. I assure you, no efforts were made to attack any aircraft whatsoever. As far as we know, the PKK does not have an air force. Where is the vice president now, sir?”

“The vice president is a virtual prisoner of the Turkish army and air force at the Iraqi air base at Tall Kayf, north of Mosul,” Gardner said, after carefully considering whether or not he should reveal this information. “He is surrounded by Turkish troops and buzzed repeatedly by Turkish warplanes. He definitely fears for his safety. I demand that all Turkish forces evacuate the area and allow the vice president to leave the base and proceed to his next destination.”

“His next destination?”

“His original destination: Irbil,” Gardner said. “The vice president still has a mission: to negotiate a settlement between Iraq, America, the Kurdish Regional Government, and Turkey, to suppress the PKK and restore peace, security, and order to the border region.”

“Lofty goals, that,” Hirsiz said dismissively. There was a considerable pause at the other end of the line; then: “Mr. President, I am sorry, but the security situation is completely unstable and uncertain throughout northern Iraq and southern Turkey. No one can guarantee the vice president’s safety in the cities, especially ones controlled by the Kurds and infested with the PKK.”