Sea of Shadows eBook - Navy Thriller.com

SEA OF SHADOWS 203
seized the container ship MV City of Light outbound from the Siraji port
city of Zubayr. Among the cargo were 1,500 metric tons of rice and over
1,200 tons of powdered baby formula, baby bottles, and other nursing
supplies. The seized materials were all earmarked for resale overseas, and
all items could be traced back (by lot and batch numbers) to supplies
delivered to Siraj in humanitarian shipments. Kuwaiti authorities continue
to report seizures of supply trucks traveling overland out of Siraj. In most
cases, the supplies in question can be traced directly back to shipments of
humanitarian goods.
C. Not since Saddam Hussein have we seen a Middle Eastern leader
whose motives are so unambiguously mercenary. Abdul al-Rahiim has
built twenty-one palaces for himself since the UN blockade against his
country was imposed. He continues to use all resources at his disposal to
rearm the Siraji military and to finance his opulent lifestyle. His priorities
are clear, and they do not include the welfare of the Siraji people.
2. Recommendation(s):
A. It is overtly obvious that relaxing or lifting the sanctions against Siraj
will bring no relief to the inhabitants of the country. Such a move will
only offer an already dangerous man increased leverage for destabilizing
this politically fragile region. State recommends no change in U.S.
position regarding the standing UN sanctions against Siraj.
AIR FORCE ONE FRIDAY; 18 MAY
7:03 PM EDT
President Chandler dropped the state department summary on the
briefing table and settled into his plush, gray-leather swivel chair. Except
for the seat belts and the obvious fact that ordinary office furniture was
rarely bolted to the floor, the chair would have looked at home in any
high-powered corporate boardroom.
At its cruising altitude of thirty-six thousand feet, the huge Boeing 747
200B was slicing easily through the bright morning sky. So far, the flight
had been free of turbulence. Even so, the president fastened his seat belt
almost immediately after sitting down. He would have preferred to leave
the seat belt off, but safety protocols dictated otherwise. There were