The Sum of All Fears.pdf - Delta Force

of the Arab states – there evidently hadn't been time to brief them. The Soviets
outdid themselves, joining those who stood. Jack lifted the remote control and
switched off the set before the ABC commentator could summarize what the
President had said. Ryan had a draft of the speech on his desk, and had made
notes of his own. Moments earlier, the invitations had been telexed by the
Vatican to all of the concerned foreign ministries. All would come to Rome in
ten days. The draft treaty was ready for them. Quiet, rapid moves by a handful
of ambassadors and deputy-assistant-secretaries of state had informed other
governments of what was in the offing, and uniform approval had come back. The
Israelis knew about that. The proper backchannel leaks had been allowed to
percolate in the desired direction. If they stonewalled – well, Bunker had put a
hold on that shipment of aircraft parts, and the Israelis had been too shocked
to react yet. More accurately, they'd been told not to react if they ever wanted
to see the new radar systems. There were already rumbles from the Israeli lobby,
which had its own sources throughout the US government, and was making discreet
calls to key members of Congress. But Fowler had briefed the congressional
leadership two days earlier, and the initial read on the Fowler Plan was highly
favorable. The chairman and ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee had promised passage of both draft treaties in under a week. It was
going to happen, Jack thought to himself. It might really work. Certainly it
wouldn't hurt anything. All the good will America had generated in its own
adventure in the Persian Gulf was on the line. The Arabs would see this as a
fundamental change in US policy – which it was – America was slapping Israel
down. Israel would see it the same way, but that wasn't really true. The peace
would be guaranteed the only way that was possible, by American military and
political power. The demise of East–West confrontation had made it possible for
America, acting in accord with the other major powers, to dictate a just peace.
What we think a just peace is, Ryan corrected himself. God, I hope this works
out.
It was too late for that, of course. It had, after all, been his idea. The
Fowler Plan. They had to break the cycle, to find a way out of the trap. America
was the only country trusted by both sides, a fact won with American blood on
the one hand, and vast amounts of money on the other. America had to guarantee
the peace, and the peace had to be founded on something looking recognizably
like justice to all concerned. The equation was both simple and complex. The
principles could be expressed in a single short paragraph. The details of
execution would take a small book. The monetary cost – well, the enabling
legislation would sail through Congress despite the size of it. Saudi Arabia was
actually underwriting a quarter of the cost, a concession won only four days
earlier by Secretary Talbot. In return, the Saudis would be buying yet another
installment of high-tech arms, which had been handled by Dennis Bunker. Those
two had really handled their end superbly, Ryan knew. Whatever the President's
faults, his two most important cabinet members – two close friends – were the
best such team he'd ever seen in government service. And they'd served their
President and their country well in the past week.
'This is going to work,' Jack said quietly to himself in the privacy of his
office. 'Maybe, maybe, maybe.' He checked his watch. He'd have a read on that in