tc.thebearandthedragon-第149部分

按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页，按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页，按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部！
————未阅读完？加入书签已便下次继续阅读！


　〃The　clouds　go　all　the　way　down　to　six　thousand　feet　or　so。　Even　a　Blackbird　wouldn't　be　much　use　at　the　moment；〃　one　of　the　photo…interpreters　observed。　〃Okay；　what　do　we　have　here　。　。　。　？　Looks　like　a　higher　level　of　railroad　activity；　looks　like　flatcars　mostly。　Something　on　them；　but　too　much　clutter　to　pick　out　the　shapes。〃
　〃What　do　they　move　on　flatcars？〃　a　naval　officer　asked。
　〃Tracked　vehicles；〃　an　Army　major　answered；　〃and　heavy　guns。〃
　〃Can　we　confirm　that　supposition　from　this　data？〃　the　Navy　guy　asked。
　〃No；〃　the　civilian　answered。　〃But。　。　。　there；　that's　the　yard。　We　see　six　long　trains　sitting　still　in　the　yard。　Okay；　where's　the　。。。〃　He　accessed　his　desktop　puter　and　called　up　some　visual　imagery。　〃Here　we　go。　See　these　ramps？　They're　designed　to　offload　rolling　equipment　from　the　trains。〃　He　turned　back　to　the　Lacrosse　〃take。〃　〃Yeah；　these　here　look　like　tank　shapes　ing　off　the　ramps；　and　forming　up　right　here　in　the　assembly　areas；　and　that's　the　shape　of　an　armored　regiment。　That's　three　hundred　twenty…two　main　battle　tanks；　and　about　a　buck　and　a　quarter　of　APCs；　and　so　。。。　yeah；　I'd　estimate　that　this　is　a　full　armored　division　detraining。　Here's　the　truck　park。。。　and　this　grouping　here；　I'm　not　sure。　Looks　bulky　。　。　。　square　or　rectangular　shapes。　Hmm；〃　the　analyst　concluded。　He　turned　back　to　his　own　desktop　and　queried　some　file　images。　〃You　know　what　this　looks　like？〃
　〃You　going　to　tell　us？〃
　〃Looks　like　a　five…ton　truck　with　a　section　of　ribbon　bridge　on　it。　The　Chinese　copied　the　Russian　bridge　design…hell；　everybody　did。　It's　a　beautiful　little　design　Ivan　cobbled　together。　Anyway；　on　radar；　it　looks　like　this　and〃…he　turned　back　to　the　recent　satellite　take…〃that's　pretty　much　what　these　look　like；　isn't　it？　I'll　call　that　eighty　percent　likelihood。　So；　this　group　here　I'll　call　two　engineer　regiments　acpanying　this　tank　division。〃
　〃Is　that　a　lot　of　engineers　to　back　up　a　single　division？〃　the　naval　officer　asked。
　〃Sure　as　hell；〃　the　Army　major　confirmed。
　〃I'd　say　so；〃　the　photo…interpreter　agreed。　〃The　normal　TO　and　E　is　one　battalion　per　division。　So；　this　is　a　corps　or　army　vanguard　forming　up；　and　I'd　have　to　say　they　plan　to　cross　some　rivers；　guys。〃
　〃Go　on；〃　the　senior　civilian　told　him。
　〃They're　postured　to　head　north。〃
　〃Okay；〃　the　Army　officer　said。　〃Have　you　ever　seen　this　before？〃
　〃Two　years　ago；　they　were　running　an　exercise；　but　that　was　one　engineer　regiment；　not　two；　and　they　left　this　yard　and　headed　southeast。　That　one　was　a　pretty　big　deal。　We　got　a　lot　of　visual　overheads。　They　were　simulating　an　invasion　or　at　least　a　major　assault。　That　one　used　a　full　Group…A　army；　with　an　armored　division　and　two　mechanized　divisions　as　the　assault　force；　and　the　other　mech　division　simulating　a　dispersed　defense　force。　The　attacking　team　won　that　one。〃
　〃How　different　from　the　way　the　Russians　are　deployed　on　their　border？〃　This　was　the　Navy　intelligence　officer。
　〃Thicker…I　mean；　for　the　exercise　the　Chinese　defenders　were　thicker　on　the　ground　than　the　Russians　are　today。〃
　〃And　the　attacking　force　won？〃
　〃Correct。〃
　〃How　realistic　was　the　exercise？〃　the　major　asked。
　〃It　wasn't　Fort　Irwin；　but　it　was　as　honest　as　they　can　run　one；　and　probably　accurate。　The　attackers　had　the　usual　advantages　in　numbers　and　initiative。　They　punched　through　and　started　maneuvering　in　the　defender's　trains　area；　had　themselves　a　good　old　time。〃
　The　naval　officer　looked　at　his　colleague　in　green。　〃Just　what　they'd　be　thinking　if　they　wanted　to　head　north。〃
　〃Concur。〃
　〃Better　call　this　one　in；　Norm。〃
　〃Yep。〃　And　both　uniformed　officers　headed　to　the　phones。
　〃When's　the　weather　clear？〃　the　lingering　civilian　asked　the　tech。
　〃Call　it　thirty…six　hours。　It'll　start　to　clear　tomorrow　night；　and　we　have　the　taskings　already　programmed　in。〃　He　didn't　have　to　say　that　the　nighttime　capabilities　on　the　KH…11　satellites　weren't　all　that　different　from　in　the　daylight…you　just　didn't　get　much　in　the　way　of　color。
　
　
　
　
　CHAPTER　47
　　　　Outlooks　and　All…Nighters
　
　Westbound　jet　lag；　or　travel…shock；　as　President　Ryan　preferred　to　call　it；　is　always　easier　than　eastbound's；　and　he'd　gotten　sleep　on　the　airplane。　Jack　and　Cathy　walked　off　Air　Force　One　and　to　the　waiting　helicopter；　which　got　them　to　the　landing　pad　on　the　South　Lawn　in　the　usual　ten　minutes。　This　time　FLOTUS　walked　directly　into　the　White　House　while　POTUS　walked　left　toward　the　West　Wing；　but　to　the　Situation　Room　rather　than　the　Oval　Office。
　Vice　President　Jackson　was　waiting　for　him　there；　along　with　the　usual　suspects。
　〃Hey；　Robby。〃
　〃How　was　the　flight；　Jack？〃
　〃Long。〃　Ryan　stretched　to　get　his　muscles　back　under　control。　〃Okay；　what's　happening？〃
　〃Ain't　good；　buddy。　We　have　Chinese　mechanized　troops　heading　for　the　Russian　border。　Here's　what　we　got　in　from　NRO。〃　Jackson　personally　spread　out　the　printouts　from　the　photo…intelligence　troops。　〃We　got　mechanized　forces　here；　here；　and　here；　and　these　are　engineers　with　bridging　equipment。〃
　〃How　long　before　they're　ready？〃　Ryan　asked。
　〃Potentially　as　little　as　three　days；〃　Mickey　Moore　answered。　〃More　likely　five　to　seven。〃
　〃What　are　we　doing？〃
　〃We　have　a　lot　of　warning　orders　out；　but　nobody's　moving　yet。〃
　〃Do　they　know　we're　onto　this？〃　the　President　asked　next。
　〃Probably　not；　but　they　must　know　we're　keeping　an　eye　on　things；　and　they　must　know　our　reconnaissance　capabilities。　It's　been　in　the　open　media　for　twenty…some　years；〃　Moore　answered。
　〃Nothing　from　them　to　us　over　diplomatic　channels？〃
　〃Bupkis；〃　Ed　Foley　said。
　〃Don't　tell　me　they　don't　care。　They　have　to　care。〃
　〃Maybe　they　care；　Jack；〃　the　DCI　responded。　〃But　they're　not　losing　as　much　sleep　over　it　as　they　are　over　internal　political　problems。〃
　〃Anything　new　from　SORGE？〃
　Foley　shook　his　head。　〃Not　since　this　morning。〃
　〃Okay；　who's　our　senior　diplomat　in　Beijing？〃
　〃The　DCM　at　the　embassy；　but　he's　actually　fairly　junior；　new　in　the　post；〃　the　DCI　said。
　〃Okay；　well；　the　note　we're　going　to　send　won't　be；〃　Ryan　said。　〃What　time　is　it　over　there？〃
　〃Eight…twelve　in　the　morning；〃　Jackson　said；　pointing　to　a　wall　clock　set　on　Chinese　time。
　〃So；　SORGE　didn't　report　anything　from　their　working　day　yesterday？〃
　〃No。　That　happens　two　or　three　days　per　week。　It's　not　unusual；〃　Mary　Pat　pointed　out。　〃Sometimes　that　means　the　next　one　will　be　extra　meaty。〃
　Everyone　looked　up　when　Secretary　Adler　came　in；　he　had　driven　instead　of　helicoptered　in　from　Andrews。　He　quickly　came　up　to　speed。
　〃That　bad？〃
　〃They　look　serious；　man；〃　Jackson　told　SecState。
　〃Sounds　like　we　have　to　send　them　that　note。〃
　〃They're　too　far　gone　down　this　road　to　stop；〃　another　person　said。　〃It's　not　likely　that　any　note　will　work。〃
　〃Who　are　you？〃　Ryan　asked。
　〃George　Weaver；　sir；　from　Brown。　I　consult　to　the　Agency　on　China。〃
　〃Oh；　okay。　I've　read　some　of　your　work。　Pretty　good　stuff；　Dr。　Weaver。　So；　you　say　they　won't　turn　back。　Tell　us　why；〃　the　President　manded。
　〃It's　not　because　they　fear　revelation　of　what　they're　up　to。　Their　people　don't　know；　and　won't　find　out　until　Beijing　tells　them。　The　problem；　as　you　know；　is　that　they　fear　a　potential　economic　collapse。
　If　their　economy　goes　south；　sir；　then　you　get　a　revolt　of　the　masses；　and　that's　the　one　thing　they　really　fear。　They　don't　see　a　way　to　avoid　that　other　than　getting　rich；　and　the　way　for　them　to　get　rich　is　to　seize　the　newly　discovered　Russian　assets。〃
　〃Kuwait　writ　large？〃　Ryan　asked。
　〃Larger　and　more　plex；　but；　yes；　Mr。　President；　the　situation　is　fundamentally　similar。　They　regard　oil　both　as　a　modity　and　as　an　entry　card　into　international　legitimacy。　They　figure　that　if　they　have　it；　the　rest　of　the　world　will　have　to　do　business　with　them。　The　gold　angle　is　even　more　obvious。　It's　the　quintessential　trading　modity。　If　you　have　it；　you　can　sell　it　for　anything　you　care　to　purchase。　With　those　assets　and　the　cash　they　can　buy　with　them；　they　figure　to　bootstrap　their　national　economy　to　the　next　level；　and　they　just　assume　that　the　rest　of　the　world　will　play　along　with　them　because　they're　going　to　be　rich；　and　capitalists　are　only　interested　in　money。〃
　〃They're　really　that　cynical；　that　shallow？〃　Adler　asked；　somewhat　shocked　at　the　thought；　even　after　all　he'd　already　been　through。
　〃Their　reading　of　history　justifies　that　outlook；　Mr。　Secretary。　Their　analysis　of　our　past　actions；　and　those　of　the　rest　of　the　world；　lead　them　to　this　conclusion。　I　grant　you　that　they　fail　to　appreciate　what　we　call　our　reasons　for　the　actions　we　took；　but　in　strictly　and　narrowly　factual　terms；　that's　how　the　world　looks　to　them。〃
　〃Only　if　they're　idiots；〃　Ryan　observed　tiredly。　〃We're　dealing　with　idiots。〃

　〃Mr。　President；　you're　dealing　with　highly　sophisticated　political　animals。　Their　outlook　on　the　world　is　different　from　ours；　and；　true；　they　do　not　understand　us　very　well；　but　that　does　not　make　them　fools；〃　Weaver　told　the　assembly。
　Fine；　Ryan　thought　for　what　seemed　the　hundredth　time；　but　then　they're　Klingons。　There　was　no　sense　saying　that　to　Weaver。　He'd　simply　launch　into　a　long…winded　rebuttal　that　wouldn't　take　the　discussion　anywhere。　And　Weaver　would　be　right。　Fools　or　geniuses；　you　only　had　to　understand　what　they　were　doing；　not　why。　The　what　might　not　make　sense；　but　if　you　knew　it；　you　also　knew　what　had　to　be　stopped。
　〃Well；　let's　see　if　they　understand　this；〃　Ryan　said。　〃Scott；　tell　the　PRC　that　if　they　attack　into　Russia；　America　will　e　to　Russia's　aid；　as　required　by　the　North　Atlantic　Treaty；　and…〃
　〃The　NATO　Treaty　doesn't　actually　say　that；〃　Adler　warned。
　〃I　say　it　does；　Scott；　and　more　to　the　point；　I　told　the　Russians　it　does。　If　the　Chinese　realize　we're　not　kidding；　will　it　make　a　difference？〃
　〃That　opens　up　a　huge　can　of　worms；　Jack；〃　Adler　warned。　〃We　have　thousands　of　Americans　in　China；　thousands。　Businessmen；　tourists；　a　lot　of　people。〃
　〃Dr。　Weaver；　how　will　the　Chinese　treat　foreign　nationals　in　time　of　war？〃
　〃I　would　not　want　to　be　there　to　find　out。　The　Chinese　can　be　fine　hosts；　but　in　time　of　war；　if；　for　example；　they　think　you're　a　spy　or　something；　it　could　get　very　difficult。　The　way　they