The Sum of All Fears.pdf - Delta Force

'What does that mean?'
'It means that the military action taken by the Americans is not merely
defensive. Some of the submarines in question carry the Trident D-5 missile,
which has first-strike capability. You'll recall how interested the Americans
were in forcing us to eliminate our SS-18s?'
'Yes, and they are removing a large number of their Minutemen,' Narmonov said.
'So?'
'So, they don't need land-based missiles to make a first-strike. They can do it
from submarines. We cannot. We depend on our land-based ICBMs for that.'
'And what of our SS-18s?'
'We're removing the warheads from some of them even as we speak, and if they
ever get that damned deactivation facility working, we'll be in full compliance
with the treaty – we are now, in fact, just the damned Americans don't admit
it.' The Defense Minister paused. Narmonov wasn't getting it. 'In other words,
while we have eliminated some of our most accurate missiles, the Americans still
have theirs. We are at a strategic disadvantage.'
'I have not had much sleep, and my thinking is not at its best,' Narmonov said
testily. 'You agreed to this treaty document only a year ago, and now you're
telling me that we are threatened by it?'
They're all the same, the Defense Minister thought. They never listen, they
never really pay attention. Tell them something a hundred times and they just
don't hear you!
'The elimination of so many missiles and warheads changes the correlation of
forces – '
'Rubbish! We're still equal in every way!' President Narmonov objected.
'That is not the question. The important factor is the relationship between the
number of launchers – and their relative vulnerability – and the number of
warheads available to both sides. We can still strike first and eliminate the
American land-based missile force with our landbased missiles. That is why they
were so willing to remove half of theirs. But the majority of their warheads are
at sea, and now, for the first time, such sea-based missiles are totally
adequate for a disarming first strike.'
'Kuropatkin,' Narmonov said. 'Are you hearing this?'
'Yes, I am. The Defense Minister is correct. The additional dimension, if I may
say it, is that the reduction in the number of launchers has changed the overall
ratio of launchers-to-warheads. For the first time in a generation, a truly
disarming first-strike is possible, especially if the Americans are able to
decapitate our government with their first strike.'
'And they could do that with the Stealth fighters they put in Germany,' Defense
concluded the statement.
'Wait a minute. Are you telling me that Fowler blew up his own city as an excuse
to attack us? What madness is this?' Now the Soviet president began to
understand fear.
The Defense Minister spoke slowly and clearly. 'Whoever detonated that weapon is
beside the point. If Fowler begins to think that it was our doing, he has the
ability to act against us. Comrade President, you must understand this:
technically speaking, our country is on the edge of annihilation. Less than