Code Word: Paternity, A Presidential Thriller (19 page)

Chapter 36

The world’s correspondents, editors,
anchors, pundits, and “experts” of all sorts shouted with the frenzy of
songbirds’ dawn chorus in mating season. The most titillating aspect of the UN
special session on combating nuclear terrorism was that Kim Jong-il would
attend “to correct and rebut the vicious lies and fabrications of the arrogant
and foolish President Martin.” Some journalists saw Kim’s decision as a sign
that he respected Martin and wanted to engage diplomatically to work things
out. Others said Kim had bullied him in Beijing
and was coming to the UN to do it again. That week a video portraying Kim as a
trash-talking criminal threatening a bumbling Martin made YouTube’s Most
Popular list.

As the hour for his speech approached,
the president sat with Oscar Neumann, Bart Guarini, and Anne Battista in
Neumann’s UN office. As they talked, Sam Yu worked the phones, breaking off
when Martin beckoned.

“Sam, what does
it look like to you right now? What’s the story line?”

“Well, Mr. President, there’s no doubt
Kim’s going to drive a lot of the coverage. Many are going to lead it as a sort
of OK Corral showdown, with words instead of six-shooters. Some will approve,
maybe recalling Churchill’s comment, ‘to jaw, jaw is better than to war, war.’
Others will play it as a predictable consequence of your decision to work
through the UN, one that grants a world audience and de facto equality to Kim
and puts the United States
in the dock.”

Martin grimaced.
“So what can you do to mute the negatives?”

Yu glanced at her bleeping smart phone, silenced
it, and said, “Well, a lot depends on Kim.” She ticked off points as she spoke.
“If he disagrees in a sober, diplomatic way, we say that you wisely brought him
to the table to give peace a chance. If he foams at the mouth, we say you lured
him into a public display that demonstrates his erratic and volatile nature. If
that happens, we’ll imply that his behavior is consistent with the
irrationality it would take to attack the United States with a nuclear
weapon. On background we’ll say: you guys saw him—was that the behavior of a
rational man? How could any administration do more than we are to protect the
country without resort to our own nuclear weapons?”

We’ve
got the bases covered,
she thought, head tilted back to look Martin in the eyes.

Jamming his hands in his pockets, Martin
said, “Yeah, either of those spins will help with the Left, but what about the
Right, the nuke-’em-til-they-glow bunch?”

Shaking her head, Yu said, “Mr.
President, nothing short of removing Kim will placate those groups! They want
you impeached because Kim’s still there and you haven’t pushed the red button.
They’ll continue to shout about that no matter what you do today.”

Rick shrugged.
“So how’re we doing with the rest?”

“Well, as usual, polling shows people are
not thinking about this in a consistent or disciplined way. For example, a
large majority is against any measure that would seriously harm large numbers
of North Koreans. But when asked more specific questions, turns out they would
support actions that caused a lot of Korean casualties if they believed they
were necessary to stop further nuclear attacks on the U.S.”

The president sighed. “In other words,
the majority want me to make the North Korean problem go away but not make
them
feel bad about it!”

Guarini spoke:
“So how do we look regionally, Sam?”

Stealing a
glance at her vibrating phone, Yu said, “Generally speaking, the closer someone
is, geographically or personally, to Las
Vegas, the more negatives about how we’re handling
things. A clear majority in the Northeast think your diplomacy is the right
approach. There’s an exception to that—right here in New York City. For obvious reasons, the
people here feel connected to Las
Vegas. Out on the West Coast, opinion splits evenly,
but the trend is negative. About two-thirds of those in the South and the
Mountain states are negative. The Midwest and upper Midwest
are split, with support for you increasing as you move north.”

Turning to Martin, Guarini said, “Mr.
President, we need to get something out there showing we have a tough Plan B.”

“And what is
that
, Bart?” said Battista, eyes
flashing.

“Come on, Anne! You know that if what
we’re doing now—quarantine, the UN, the IAEA, the Northeast Asia Group—doesn’t
soon show signs of getting Kim out, we’ve got to try something else. We can’t
stick with this approach if it’s a loser!”

Seeing Battista’s hands snap to her hips
as she yanked her shoulders back, inhaling to propel her riposte, Rick thought
, great—my two oldest advisors are like
eighteen-wheelers about to collide!

Not far away, President Ming sat with the
Chinese permanent representative to the UN. In his office, Ambassador Huang Bo
advised Ming from a comfortable chair across a low table.

“Martin is in a very difficult position,”
said Huang. “None of his initiatives has budged Kim, who proclaims innocence
and threatens to destroy South Korea
and Japan
if attacked. The quarantine is working but only because we have sealed our
Korean border, refused over-flight to any aircraft bound to or from the DPRK,
and held our navy back. The Americans’ polls show a trend away from Martin’s
policy. He is being undermined not only by Kim’s defiance and clever
manipulation of opinion but also by his own vice president. Vice President
Griffith has become quite popular—something rare in their politics for a vice
president—and he is advocating a harder line. Sources tell us that Griffith is quietly
contacting legislators, testing their stomach for Martin’s removal, which they
have the power to do through a process called impeachment. If Martin is
impeached, Griffith
immediately becomes president. Martin may believe you hold the key to his
survival.”

Ming peered at him over steepled fingers,
then said, “What might he be prepared to offer?” Prior to being appointed to
the UN, Huang Bo had several postings to Was
hington
, ultimately as
ambassador. Ming thought Huang
understood Americans and their government better than anyone else in China’s
leadership.

 
“Martin is a man of great self-confidence.
Perhaps he does not yet believe his position is as precarious as it is. We
Chinese are not being forced by events to take any position. We are not in
danger from Kim, or from al-Qaeda. America is facing the dragons: we
are not.”

Ming was mulling that over when the
Americans arrived. During a few minutes of small talk he decided Martin did,
indeed, seem supremely confident. But although his senses were dulled by the
intervention of interpreters, Ming discerned, the way he might sense an object
hidden by the sun’s glare, that Martin knew he was running out of time. And
Battista: squinting, body taut. He saw her brittleness, the gambler facing long
odds but forced to play.

The two leaders and their foreign
ministers moved into Huang Bo’s official office while he and Neumann went to
his private office. Martin said, “President Ming, this is a historic occasion!
History will mark it as the point at which mankind turned from the seductive
but terribly dangerous path of nuclear proliferation. I’m grateful that you are
here.”

Ming nodded,
holding his face blank.

“Let us talk of history for a moment, the
history of your country and mine. Am I correct that you have been briefed, as I
have, about the discussion between our governments after the Pakistani nuclear
tests in 1998?”

“I certainly
recall the tests, but what about them?”

“The U.S. government analyzed gasses
that vented from the underground test chambers and determined that some of the
nuclear material was of Chinese origin. Our secretary of state called in your
ambassador and, I am told, not only protested strongly but identified the
Chinese facility that had produced this material.”

“Perhaps this
occurred as you say. I could make inquiries.”

Feeling a weight on his shoulders, Martin
thought
, he’s not going to deal now.
Ming’s going to make me come to him, ask for what I want, and then put me off.
I’ll still need his support next week, next month, and next year; he can take
his time, wait for me
to put more and
more carrots in front of him, knowing I have no sticks. There are things China
wants
at play in this situation, but not things China
needs.

No, that’s not right—China
needs
North Korea as a buffer!
Rick
bridled his excitement.

“President Ming,
I hope we have the same understanding of the situation between the United States and North Korea. Kim attacked us, and
as long as
he
remains in power, we
are at risk of other attacks. That is intolerable. But if a coalition removes
Kim and his successor agrees to verifiably end their nuclear weapon programs .
. . we have no need to further change the character of the DPRK. China could earn the gratitude of the United States
and the entire world if you led such a coalition.”

Martin’s eyes
held Ming’s in silence.

Anne Battista gulped.
Rick’s so often cited the reunification of Korea as an
example of how good might come from the tragedy. He just abandoned that,
without even being asked. I know we’re in a weak position, but this means
Rick’s desperate.
She felt slickness on her palms.

That’s
interesting,
thought
Ming.
He just told me that North Korea
could remain a sovereign, communist nation. Let’s see what else he’ll give me.

 
“Mr. President, what you suggest would be
difficult for China,
maybe impossible. Perhaps a situation could arise in which such a change would
benefit the people of the Democratic Republic. That would be worthy of
consideration and further discussion. However, in the few minutes we have left,
I would like to hear your plans for nuclear weapons.”

 
Rick winced, stomach acid burning in his
throat.
Ming just pocketed my concession
and told me the price is higher still. He’s got the power and he’s going to use
it—bastard! Why doesn’t he see this is in China’s interest?

 
Martin resumed: “As important as those plans
are, Mr. President, I believe that at this moment there is a more urgent
matter. I’m speaking of the U.S.
proposal that the Security Council declares the DPRK has committed a breach of
international peace and security. Will China support it?”

I
don’t want Bruce Griffith to replace Martin,
thought Ming.
Griffith
is far more likely to do the one thing that
would cause serious difficulty for us: attack the DPRK. I need to give Martin
enough to keep him limping along on the negotiation path, a step or two ahead
of impeachment.

“Mr. President, most assuredly
someone
committed such a breach. But you
are asking a great deal of China,
to condemn a neighboring, friendly people and accuse them of a very grave act,
without conclusive evidence. You are also asking China to take a position that would
create disharmony in our relations with the DPRK, which would in turn leave us
less able to assist Kim privately in understanding the benefits of restraint
and cooperation.

“Yet,
I
know what it is for a nation to lose ninety thousand in a day and see another
half million made homeless. That was what we faced after the Sichuan earthquakes in 2008. I understand
the forces that arise in such a circumstance, forces demanding government
action. Perhaps China
could abstain when the Security Council votes. I will discuss this with Huang
Bo.”

Studying Ming, Rick couldn’t read
anything in his expression or body language, and Ming’s voice itself, rising
and falling in the five tones of the Chinese language, was no help.
It’s like I’m blind and deaf,
he
thought,
trying to wring truth from
Braille.
He took a slow, deep breath, fighting panic.

The continuing silence delivered Ming’s
message. Doggedly, Martin turned to his proposal to counter nuclear terrorism.

“President Ming, the United States
will, one way or another, deal with the threat of the Kim regime. But I don’t
believe that’s enough. The destruction of Las
Vegas showed the danger, to all nations, of nuclear
attack from foolish or nihilistic groups. That attack demonstrates the world
has, truly, entered a new era. As I said the very day of that attack, the United States will do more than just deal with North Korea. We
will work with others, through the UN and IAEA, to establish effective global
safeguards against nuclear terrorism.”

This
Rick Martin is certainly bold and confident,
thought Ming.
A
strong proposal, if agreed and enforced, would prevent nuclear terrorism. But
that is not a serious threat to China,
and, if we were attacked, China
could absorb one bomb and then take such vengeance that we would never be
attacked again. The bombing of Las Vegas did
create a new day for China,
but not as Martin believes. What’s new is America’s
desperate need for China’s
support. I can get a lot in return!