Chapter 144: President Buckman

“Good evening.

Almost four weeks ago our nation was attacked by terrorists. Four airplanes were hijacked in a coordinated attack and flown to targets in New York and Washington. Two were crashed into the World Trade Center in New York, one was targeted at the Pentagon here in Washington, and a fourth crashed in Pennsylvania when the passengers managed to overpower their attackers but lost their lives in the process. President Bush and over 3,200 other people died that day, and our nation changed forever.

At that time, I promised you that we would determine who had committed these atrocities and that we would respond. Tonight, I am able to speak for the first time about what happened that day and what we have done since.

Following the attacks, I ordered a joint investigation by members of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Central Intelligence Agency, and the United States Secret Service. I ordered them to find out who attacked us and how it was done, and whether we could have prevented it. The investigation is still continuing, but I can provide some information now. First, there is no indication that this was a planned assassination attempt on President Bush. The evidence all points to a conclusion that the attacks were planned before President Bush even scheduled his trip to New York.

I can now state that our intelligence services were able to determine who the attackers were within a matter of hours. That first night, when I spoke to you to tell you what had happened, we already knew who had attacked us. We could have attacked at that time, but our response would have been premature and ineffective. We needed confirming intelligence and information, so we waited until our armed forces were prepared to respond effectively. That response was made today!

A terrorist group named Al Qaeda, consisting of radical Islamic fundamentalists, was behind the attacks of September 11^th. They are based in Afghanistan, and have the support of the Afghan government, the Taliban. At 12:30 AM our time, and 9:00 AM local time, Operation Enduring Freedom commenced. American warplanes began a massive and coordinated attack on Al Qaeda and Taliban targets throughout Afghanistan. We targeted training bases, military assets, a wide variety of government targets, and terrorist safe houses and support facilities. Tomorrow, the Pentagon will release more specific information, but it will be limited. Military operations continue even as we speak, and I will not endanger the lives of our soldiers, sailors, marines, and airmen by releasing information prematurely.

I can say with a considerable degree of certainty that our assault was highly successful, although the exact degree is not yet certain. Unfortunately, a price was paid by our armed forces. Thomas Jefferson once wrote that the Tree of Liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. I am not yet free to divulge all the details of Operation Enduring Freedom, but I can say that while our losses were extremely light, there were losses. Patriots shed their blood, to protect us from tyrants. I cannot promise there will not be losses in the future.

September 11^th changed our lives forever, and in ways that will probably take years to determine the extent of. Many of us believed that what happened then could never happen, or that if it happened, it would be somewhere else, in another country, with people we never heard of. We slumbered peacefully and have received a rude awakening. We must now come to terms with a very different future than what we had planned. As I said earlier, we must change the way we handle our intelligence and determine new ways to deal with new threats. Our nation faces new enemies, enemies who wish to destroy the peaceful and free society we possess.

However, America is strong, not in spite of our freedom, but because of that freedom. The greatest amendment to our Constitution is the very first amendment. It states that we are open and free, in our religion, our speech, and our right to assemble. It is, in effect, the right to freedom of thought. We will not give up those rights. When I was sworn in as President, I swore to preserve, protect, and defend the very Constitution that says we will be a free and open people. Those who would try and change us will fail. We as a people are strong because of our beliefs, and working together we will remain strong, as individuals, and as a nation. Our nation has been challenged and will grow stronger through this challenge.

Thank you, good night, and God bless America.”

I kept staring at the camera with my mouth shut until the director turned off the bright lights and began talking. I looked over at Ari Fleischer, who was standing in the corner with a copy of the speech in his hand. “Did I blow my lines?” I asked.

“No, sir, I think you got them,” he answered.

“Good.” I waited for some of the technical people to leave and said, “Remember how I said I wanted a sit down with you to go over some of the information on the intelligence problems we had?” He nodded, so I continued, “I had a call from Ashcroft earlier this afternoon. He and one of his investigators are coming over the end of the week for an update. I would like you to join us. The only reason I didn’t bring you in earlier was because I couldn’t take the slightest chance of a leak affecting the military operation. That doesn’t apply any more, and you need to know what is happening. I am not being sneaky for the sake of being sneaky.”

“Yes, sir. Thank you. What is going on? The Attorney General is involved in this?”

I nodded. “Remember how during the summer all you heard out of some of the people surrounding the President was Iraq, Iraq, Iraq?” He nodded again, so I shrugged and shook my head. “Guess what, it wasn’t Iraq, and some people knew it. It isn’t completely clear yet, but it’s going to be a mess, and there are probably going to be some indictments. I would bet that there are going to be hearings on the Hill about this, just like with everything else about 9-11. We can’t be seen to be playing politics with this, so any announcements need to be out of Justice, but you are going to need to know what is happening. As for the timing, I have no idea. Maybe we’ll find out when John and his people come here.”

“Thank you, Mister President.”

“Ari, I just want you to know that if I have to be an asshole at times, it’s not for the sake of being an asshole. I’ll have a reason. I need talented people here, and you are one of those people.”

“Yes, sir. Thank you.” He paused for a second and said, “Indictments?”

“Ari, I could see it happening right in front of me and even I was surprised. For your information, if there are indictments, I won’t be issuing pardons on anything related to 9-11. People didn’t do their jobs, and now we have 3,200 dead Americans and a dead President and I ended up in the jackpot. No, I won’t be handing out any pardons.” I stood up from the corner of the desk I had been half sitting on. “Come on, it’s late. Go home and let me get out of here, too.”

“Yes, sir. Thank you.”

The next step was scheduled to occur the next morning. Secretary Powell arrived at my office at 9:45, and the first thing he said was, “Are you really sure you want to do this?”

“Colin, people need to learn the consequences of their actions. When you were growing up, if you acted up, your mom or your dad would smack you on the butt and tell you not to do it again. Why should countries be any different?”

He crossed his arms and argued, “That’s all well and good, but don’t think there won’t be consequences for your actions, too.”

“Every day I think about those consequences, Colin, every single day.”

We were still discussing consequences when the intercom on my desk announced our guest was arriving. Colin went to the lobby. The Saudi Arabian Ambassador, Prince Bandar bin Sultan of the House of Saud, one of the innumerable Saudi princes and arguably one of their smarter ones, had been invited, and you don’t just let ambassadors wander around the place looking for the proper door to knock on.

Then again, while he wasn’t on my current list of favorite people, I didn’t need to be overly hostile. My actions in the next fifteen minutes would be hostile enough.

One of the agents at the door knocked and opened it, ushering in Ambassador Sultan and Secretary of Defense Powell. He approached and stretched out his hand and I shook it. “Thank you for coming to see me, Mister Ambassador.”

“It is my pleasure, Mister President. I hope you and your family are well.” We chatted about everything under the sun for about ten minutes, since it is considered rude to get anything accomplished. Eventually he came around to business. “I am sorry that I was not able to meet you a few weeks ago following President Bush’s passing. I can understand how busy you must have been, and still are, it would seem.”

I nodded. “Yes, yesterday was quite busy. Unfortunately, while I hope that our response to the attack on my country will deter future attacks, I seriously doubt that it will dissuade anybody. That sort of fanaticism does not truly believe in the power of consequences for one’s actions.”

“Actions such as we all witnessed on September 11^th are hateful to Allah, and an affront to Islam, a religion of peace,” he commented.

“It is good to hear you say such things, Mister Ambassador, but it seems to be at variance to the actions of your country. This is truly disturbing to me, and to my fellow citizens,” I replied.

“I do not understand. What do you mean, sir?”

“Well, in a very short time, the details of September 11^th will be publicly known, in full. Details such as the fact that of the nineteen hijackers, fifteen of them were Saudi citizens. Details such as the fact that the leader of Al Qaeda is a Saudi citizen. Details such as the fact that Saudi charities and financial institutions provide the funding for terrorist groups such as Al Qaeda and others. Details like the fact that the extremist religious doctrines that promote this sort of behavior are routine parts of Saudi culture and thought and have government support. To the average American citizen there is little difference between the individuals who did this and the nation that, to all intents and purposes, sent them.”

“Mister President, you paint my nation in much too harsh a light. Groups such as Al Qaeda are banned in Saudi Arabia, and these terrorists have fled us, to other places where they can hide in rocks and caves from civilized people. My country categorically denies any participation in such hateful actions, and I am surprised you would consider this of us.”

Colin Powell was simply sitting there watching us and wondering whether I was giving myself enough rope to properly hang myself. In for a penny, in for a pound. I kept going. “Unfortunately, Mister Ambassador, my country has a saying. Perhaps you have heard of it - actions speak louder than words. The actions of your nation are not the actions of a friend or an ally. What am I to think, and what is the average American to think, of these actions?”

“Mister President, for many years now our nations have been allied, and we have not allowed minor differences to detract from our joint mission of bringing peace to the entire region. Surely you cannot doubt the resolve of Saudi Arabia in this noble endeavor,” he countered.

“Mister Ambassador, I sincerely hope that you are not categorizing the deaths of 3,200 Americans and an American president as a minor difference! I am going to give you the benefit of the doubt and trust that was simply a poor choice of words!” interjected Secretary Powell.

Bin Sultan turned to face the Secretary and replied, “I do not mean to take this lightly, Secretary Powell, but the fact is that we have had differences in the past and will probably continue to do so. Certainly, your nation’s continued and uncritical support of Israel over the overwhelming and legitimate rights of the Palestinian people is at least as serious a concern to us as any concerns you might have as to my nation’s religious beliefs. Regardless, we have stood together in the past, and will continue standing together in the future.”

“Regardless, sir, we now come to the crux of the matter. As you are aware, the United States has not had an ambassador to the Kingdom since Ambassador Fowler left in May. Absent any change in the policies and behavior of your Kingdom, our replacement for Ambassador Fowler is being held in a state of abeyance for the foreseeable future. Inasmuch as this seems an inequitable state of affairs, we are requesting that you return to Saudi Arabia, to discuss with your government ways in which America’s trust in your nation can be rebuilt,” I told him.

The Ambassador was possessed of an excellent poker face, but this took him by surprise. “You are declaring me persona non grata!” he exclaimed. Being declared persona non grata, also known as being PNGed, was a diplomatic version of being told to get out of town, usually within forty-eight hours. Afterwards, they theoretically lose their diplomatic status and can be arrested.

“No, of course not. I have no wish for this to get any uglier than it has to. However, I do think, and my advisers agree with me, that it would be best if you were to go home and discuss measures to reassure us in the future, so that your successor can someday return, and we can put this painful period behind us.” Your successor, because you won’t be found acceptable. “Perhaps a convenient diplomatic illness?” I suggested.

“I am most disappointed, Mister President. I have watched you for many years, and throughout your history you have always been a voice of reason when others around you beat the drum for war. Yet here you are waging war on Islam, bombing countries that had nothing to do with what happened to your nation, and acting the madman. Certainly, that is the impression my countrymen will take from such actions. They will not want to do business with people who cannot be trusted to behave according to international standards,” he said. Business, code word for raising oil prices.

I barked out a laugh. “Mister Ambassador, you obviously have drawn some very poor conclusions about me. I would suggest that once you land back in the Kingdom, you open your eyes and see what your nation has wrought on the world and consider what the consequences of your actions are. We will be happy to reconsider things at some future date, but only if there is reason to believe that the Kingdom has changed its practices.”

I stood up, followed by Colin, and then finally, slowly, by the Ambassador. He looked at me, and said, “I cannot ask you to swerve from this course you seem determined to follow?”

“It is a course forced upon us by others, sir, not one I would have chosen on my own.” I reached out and he reluctantly shook my hand. “Farewell, Mister Ambassador. I wish you a safe trip home.”

“Farewell, Mister President.” He followed Colin Powell out the door.

Colin was back a few minutes later. “Well, I have to say, when you decide to piss somebody off, you do it in a big way. Like I said earlier, there are going to be consequences, and they are going to land in your lap.”

I shrugged. “So be it. I think they are survivable. They are pissed, but they don’t have all that many weapons to use against us. They will undoubtedly reduce the amount of oil they pump, so that is going to raise prices. That won’t be good for the economy, but that is taking a major hit anyway. It is going to take years for the airlines to recover, and some of them won’t. If oil prices rise, it will make it much more palatable to raise fuel efficiency standards on cars and trucks. In addition, it will spur oil and gas drilling here at home. Are you aware of just how much natural gas they are discovering right beneath our feet here in America? Once they figure out how to drill it and get it out safely, we’ll be able to convert every coal fired plant in this country to natural gas. Who needs the EPA to regulate emissions when the power companies will do it for them! The Saudis will cut back on purchases of our weapons? Fine! Who ever thought giving camel jockeys billions of dollars’ worth of hardware was a good idea anyway? They won’t be able to get what they really want anywhere else. They want the most modern stuff available, to protect themselves from Iran and Israel. Neither country is overly impressed anyway.”