‘You say it risks war, not that it makes war inevitable.’
‘Yes, and I chose my words carefully. We don’t know where the Chinese would draw the line. They probably don’t know themselves. They may not make that decision until they’re forced to.’
Pauline recalled Pippa saying Why is everything so complicated?
All this was preliminary. The group was waiting for her to speak. She was the captain and they were the crew; they would sail the ship, but she had to tell them where to go.
She said: ‘This morning’s attack by the North Koreans is a game changer. Until now, our priority has been to avoid war. That is no longer the main issue. War has happened, despite all our efforts. We did not want it, but it’s here.’
She paused, then said: ‘Our task now is to protect American lives.’
They looked solemn, but also relieved. At least they had a direction.
‘What is our first step?’ She felt her heart beat faster. She had never done anything like this before. She took a deep breath, then spoke slowly and emphatically. ‘We are now going to make sure that North Korea will never again kill Americans. I intend to take away their power to do us harm, permanently. We will utterly destroy their military forces. And we will do that today.’
The men and women around the table burst into a round of spontaneous applause. Clearly this was what they had been hoping for.
She waited a few moments then went on: ‘There may be more ways than one for us to achieve this.’ She turned to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs again. ‘Bill, lay out the military options, please.’
He spoke with supreme confidence, a complete contrast to the professorial Chess. ‘Let me start with the maximum,’ he said. ‘We could launch a nuclear attack on North Korea and turn the entire country into a moonscape.’
That proposal was a non-starter, but Pauline did not say so. She had asked for the options and Bill was giving them. She dismissed it with a light touch. ‘It will be what James Moore demands in his next television interview,’ she said.
Chess said: ‘However, it’s the option most likely to draw us into a nuclear war with China.’
Bill said: ‘I’m not recommending it, but it should be put on the table.’
‘Quite right, Bill,’ said Pauline. ‘What else?’
‘Your stated aim could also be achieved with an invasion of North Korea by American troops. A big enough force could take Pyongyang, capture the Supreme Leader and his entire team, disarm the military, and destroy every missile in the country as well as any remaining stocks of chemical and biological weapons.’
Chess said: ‘And once again we would have to think about the Chinese reaction.’
General Schneider spoke with suppressed indignation. ‘I hope we’re not going to let fear of the Chinese dictate our response to this outrage.’
‘No, Bill, we’re not,’ Pauline said. ‘We’re just looking at options. What’s the next one?’
‘Third and probably last,’ Bill said, ‘is the minimalist approach: a full-scale American air attack on military and government installations in North Korea, using bomber and fighter aircraft as well as cruise missiles and drones, but not ground troops; the aim being to completely destroy Pyongyang’s ability to wage war by land, sea or air – without actually invading North Korea.’
Chess said: ‘Even that would offend the Chinese.’
‘It would,’ said Pauline, ‘but it’s borderline. The last time I spoke to President Chen, he implied that he would not retaliate against our missile attack on North Korea provided no US personnel entered North Korean land, airspace or maritime territory. Bill’s minimal option involves us violating North Korean sea and airspace – but we would have no boots on the ground.’
Chess said sceptically: ‘And you think that Chen would tolerate that?’
‘I don’t guarantee it,’ said Pauline. ‘We’d have to take a risk.’
There was a long moment of silence.
Gus Blake spoke for the first time. ‘For clarification, Madam President, given any one of these three options, would we attack the part of North Korea that is under the control of the rebels?’
‘Yes,’ said Schneider forcefully. ‘They’re North Korean, and they have weapons. We can’t do half a job.’
‘No,’ said Chess. ‘Some of their weapons are nuclear. If we attack them with the stated aim of wiping them out, why would they not retaliate with nukes?’