Chapter 45

Once again Kathleen Lehrer's War Cabinet had bad news for her. This time Defense Secretary John Weston was the bearer of bad tidings.

"I just received word on my way over here that Makhtol's troops have invaded Sicily and southern Italy. Our initial reports are that he has about a quarter million troops involved in the invasions."

"My God, where the hell is he getting all of these troops?" asked the President.

"He's gotten them from throughout the Mideast, especially in the poorest, most overcrowded ghettos where they are the most susceptible to his arguments about Islamic fundamentalism and the jihad," answered Secretary of State Ted Reynolds. "Many of these people saw no other way out of their miserable existence except through Makhtol. And because many of these areas have among the highest birthrates in the world, he has a ready supply of millions of men ready to sacrifice themselves to the advancement of Islam. And because Makhtol has declared this war to be a jihad, these people believe that to die in battle is a glorious way to serve Allah and will get them immediately into paradise."

"How many people do we have in Sicily and southern Italy to defend against the invasion?" asked the President.

"About 150,000, with about 50,000 reinforcements on the way," answered Weston.

"Can we hold them?" asked the Commander in Chief.

"So far we have them pinned down on the beaches," replied Weston. "We have had heavy casualties but we seem to be holding them. As long as they don't throw a lot more reinforcements into the battle, we should be all right. Our reinforcements will be there within the next twelve hours."

"Keep me informed of further developments there."

"I will, Mme. President."

"What is happening in Turkey and Spain?" she inquired.

C.I.A. Director Ross Forbes answered. "It doesn't look good in either area. They've just about pushed us to the Dardenelles in Turkey, and we've lost the southern two thirds of Spain. Makhtol has Gibraltar under siege, and we don't know how much longer the Brits can hold out there. It doesn't look too promising though."

"Jesus Christ!" exclaimed the President. "All I'm hearing is that Makhtol is kicking the shit out of us! What the fuck is going on? We've been spending billions on defense over the years and I was told we had the most powerful military in the world, yet everywhere I turn, this religious fanatic is beating the shit out of us and we have to keep retreating! Why aren't we kicking his ass!? We're a fucking superpower! God damn it! I want some answers or heads are going to fucking roll!"

"We're trying to figure that out," replied a sheepish John Weston. "One thing that's been happening in Turkey has been the cooperation that Makhtol has received from large segments of the Turkish population who have responded to his message of Islamic jihad against the infidels. The guerrilla attacks against us themselves haven't been decisive, but they have hurt us. That combined with a half million religious fanatics who feel that death in a jihad will earn them instant salvation has killed us. Also they have been using chemical weapons and you said you didn't want us to stoop to his level. Being laden down with the chemical warfare gear has definitely hindered our fighting ability."

"I would still rather not resort to chemical weapons, but I feel that it is time that we send Makhtol a warning that if he doesn't stop the shit with the chemical weapons, that we will respond in kind. We should also tell him that we won't just limit it to the battle zones in Turkey, Spain and Italy, but we will begin using them in Iran as well."

John Weston replied, "I will hold a press conference as soon as I get back to the Pentagon and I will announce that."

"Good. What about our air power? Why hasn't that been more effective? I thought that carpet bombing would at least slow them down, but it doesn't seem to be having any effect at all. Why not?"

"Our bombers have had to stay at higher altitudes because of the effectiveness of their new portable anti-aircraft weapons. As a result, our bombers have not been as effective as we felt they would be. We have also been trying to avoid collateral damage in civilian areas. The problem is that the Iranian backed troops seem to be using the civilian areas to stage some of their operations and are picking up recruits in many of these areas as well."

The President sighed. "As much as I hate to say this, I'm afraid we're going to have to be more widespread in our aerial bombardments. If civilian areas get hit, they get hit. We have to stop them. I want around the clock bombing of the war zones in as wide a path as possible. In Turkey, I want it started at their westernmost positions and work your way eastwards. I want each bombing run to start where the last one left off. When they have gotten to the Iranian jump off points for Turkey, I want them to start over again. The same thing in Spain, only we'll work from north to south and go into Morocco. In Italy and Sicily, we'll go from north to south and bomb the shit out of them in Tunis."