A Light Not of This World

Part I Chapter 21 Gov. Randall makes his presentation at the White House on the nation's preparedness for nuclear terrorism.

Chapter Twenty-One

 

The White House

Randall’s meeting with the President finally was scheduled just three days before New Year’s, and after two postponements and two more meetings between Randall and Pearson. Pearson clearly had the President’s ear and was serving as his point man. In response to Randall’s letter, which Pearson delivered to him personally, the President expanded Randall’s role by asking him not to just present an assessment of preparedness, but also a plan of action. He agreed it was urgent, and also said that he needed help.

Deep divisions had developed within the Administration.  All the officials who knew what was going on were gravely concerned, but there was no consensus over what to do.  The disagreements were becoming heated. The FBI was under great pressure to find the terrorists and they did not think they were getting enough credit for exposing them and breaking up the Baltimore operation. The Secretary of Homeland Security was upset because the President had gone to Randall to get an assessment of preparedness. The Secretaries of Defense and State were at odds with each other and with the National Security Adviser over dealings with Pakistan.

The military was being criticized for the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan and a number of high-ranking officers were bitter that the President and Congress had not supported their more ambitious plans and requests for a much larger force. Some Congressmen had heard rumors of pending deployments of additional ground and naval units to the region that had not been authorized, or budgeted, and were asking for an explanation.

Pearson kept Randall informed on the latest intelligence out of Pakistan.

“Well, the good news is that we were able to determine that all the nukes are accounted for, and right now appear to be reasonably secure,” Pearson said.  “Given that the situation continues to deteriorate, they may not be secure for much longer.”

“The really bad news is that the Pakistanis cannot account for all their supplies of weapons-grade uranium. Our guys believe it is possible that small amounts of highly enriched uranium could have been smuggled out of the Pakistan facility over a period of time.  At first the Pakistanis vehemently disputed this.  We then asked them to account for all fissile material ever produced, and for what they have stored.  They attempted to do that, but ran into a problem.  Their record keeping was a little defective. Some of their databases were corrupted. They cannot determine exactly how much they have produced.  They have what they think is a close approximation, but what they have stored, or already in warheads, doesn’t match with that estimate.  It is conceivable that they are missing anywhere between 20 and more than 100 lbs, which would be enough for at least one or two 10-20 kiloton bombs, and maybe several more.  Given the discrepancies in their records we cannot determine if, in fact, any is missing, but we are operating on the assumption that some is, and that at least some of it is here.

“We also found out that another of their nuclear scientists also was freed from house detention and he also may be in the U.S.”

“This is our worst nightmare, isn’t it?” Randall said. He was expecting this so it did not come to him as a shock. However, he had an unpleasant tingling sensation, somewhat like the feeling just before an electric shock.

Pearson just looked away.

“They can’t keep that fissile material in lead containers if they are attempting to make a bomb.  I assume more detectors are being deployed in the field and in the target areas?”

“Most certainly,” Pearson said.  “We have put hundreds of units into the field in the past four weeks. We have mobile units cruising through warehouse parks, industrial parks, office complexes �" you name it.  And we’re doing it in more than a dozen cities and locations that might be targets.  So far, nothing.”

“What about substantially increased security in Washington, and some other cities?” Randall said.

“We have increased security in Washington, and limiting access to the federal area has been considered.  Of course it would be a logistical and public relations nightmare. The President has ruled that out until we are able to determine if, in fact, there is a real danger.  Even with all that we have done I am not convinced we will be able to detect a nuclear bomb if it has been properly shielded.”

“It could be there already,” Randall said.

“Of course, we thought of that right away.  We have checked every public building, every parking garage, every warehouse, every apartment and hotel complex, every retail complex, every mosque, you name it, we’ve checked it.  I am virtually certain that it is not there now,” Pearson said.

“So what does the President want to do?” Randall said.

“That’s why he has asked for help,” Pearson said. “The advice he has gotten from inside the Administration is so conflicting that all he knows right now is what he doesn’t want to do.”

“We need a plan that is relatively simple, fairly easy to implement, and doesn’t step on the toes of the key players.  Better yet it should address their key concerns.”

“And the President hasn’t been able to do this himself?” Randall said.

“Look, he’s got less than two years to go.  He is the only one in the Administration who isn’t thinking about his next job. No one wants to take any risks. No one wants to take any heat.  Most certainly no one wants to get involved in something controversial. They are all worried as hell about this situation and it has caused them to get a little irrational. He simply doesn’t have the leverage that he once had.  He needs someone like you to pull this thing together.  You are an expert in the field, out of the military, now a governor �" and perhaps a Presidential candidate next year �" no, don’t shake your head, the talk already is all over town.  So don’t deny it.  They are expecting it and you can use it to advantage. So long as the Democrats do not nominate an idiot they are going to keep the White House.  All the polls show that.  You almost certainly will be a leading contender for the nomination.  If you get it, you will be the next President and you will be deciding who gets the key jobs.  They all know that.  You’ve got a good hand to play, so do it.”

“Oh come on, Roger, don’t try to blow smoke up my a*s,” Randall said.  “There won’t be anyone in that meeting particularly concerned about the remote possibility that I could be the next President.  Most of them already think they are better qualified than I am, and in some cases they would be right.

“The President is a clever fellow,” Randall said.  “He can see that arteries are hardening inside his Administration. Rivalries that always have been there are getting more fixed. The President isn’t a dictator. Everyone in that meeting has the ability to foil anything he wants to do. He has to forge a consensus. But for the reasons you mention as well for others, it has gotten much harder for him to do it now.

“So bring in a new guy like me,” Randall said.  “Let them all shoot at my ideas.  It isn’t the specifics of my plan that really interest the President.  It is motivating his team to get back to working together.  An outsider like me may force them to put aside their differences, stop trying to cover their butts, and agree to a plan. That team of his has all the expertise and experience needed to figure out what to do and to do it.  They are much better qualified than am I to be deciding what should be done. He probably already has picked all their brains and has his own plan. He just needs a lightening rod to get the consensus that he has to have. I’m the lightening rod.”

Pearson was silent for a minute, thinking over what Randall has said. He then shook his head and smiled.

“I hope you are the next President,” Pearson said.

Those attending the meeting included the Vice President, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Secretary of Defense, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, the Director of National Intelligence, the Director of the FBI, Roger Pearson of NSA, the National Security Adviser and several senior staff.

The President opened the meeting by explaining that because there was the possibility that terrorists were in the area, and just might be in possession of nuclear materials, he had given Randall a secret assignment to review emergency preparedness in the Washington area, and to recommend a course of action.

“There is a division of opinion about how serious a threat this really is and what we should do,” the President said, “but it seemed to me that it was prudent to get some outside advice from someone with the credentials that Governor-elect Randall has.”

He then asked Randall to summarize his findings.

Randall understood the challenge he faced.  With the exception of Admiral Lane, and a couple of the President’s staff, he did not have any friends in the room. This was a group of the most powerful and politically experienced people in the world, including at least two who were likely to be competing to succeed the President. They had little interest in what he had to say and, he could tell, could hardly wait to get out of the meeting.

He first reviewed the situation as everyone in the room now knew, giving credit to the FBI for uncovering the operation at the spice company and to those involved in getting the Pakistanis to open up their nuclear program for inspection for the first time.

“So we have a situation where it is possible that these people were planning some kind of an attack inside the U.S. using explosives that may contain nuclear material.  It is even conceivable that they were attempting to assemble a fission weapon. If this was the case, we do not know how far along they were when their operation was discovered and disrupted by the FBI.

“So it is quite possible that they simply are hiding, or attempting to escape the country, and unable now to carry out their plan, but it seems more than reasonable to conclude that they had also been operating in at least one other location and, since they have not surfaced, are hiding there now.

“Given this situation, the possibility exists that a serious incident could be attempted, possibly involving radiation, or a nuclear weapon. Probably the most likely targets are New York and Washington. New York has developed a very sophisticated security plan and I think it could be more difficult to mount this kind of operation in Manhattan today than it would be in Washington. But in any case this event has raised questions about the preparedness of the Washington area in the event that a nuclear bomb were exploded here.  The President asked me, as the incoming Governor of Maryland, to examine the region’s emergency preparedness procedures and capabilities currently in place to deal with such an event.

He said that while Homeland Security and the states had devised excellent programs to deal with normal emergencies, these circumstances were not normal. 

“A major radiological event, and in particular, the explosion of a nuclear weapon, has not been anticipated in the planning of emergency preparedness.  The capability currently does not exist to deal with the enormous amount of damage, loss of life, seriously injured, destruction of the power grid, damaged communications networks, potentially blocked transportation corridors, and disrupted command and control resulting from such an event.  It does not exist in the State of Maryland and it does not exist anywhere else in the nation.  The costs of preparing to deal with such an event are far beyond the budgets of these agencies.  The enormous cost �" hundreds of millions of dollars regionally, billions nationally �" to come anywhere close to being prepared has been considered an unreasonable expense given the extremely unlikely possibility of such an event occurring.

“It may well be that the possibility of such an event occurring still is highly unlikely, but it no longer is outside the realm of possibility.  Now that we have reason to believe that a group of terrorists is in the country and may have some kind of nuclear capability, we must consider what preparations previously considered unnecessary now should be implemented.

“I have a list of the basics, which you should have in the folders now being handed out.”

The folders contained Randall’s detailed report, including summaries of previous studies of the potential damage that could result from an atomic explosion in New York and/or Washington. It contained lists of specific contingencies that currently were not in place.

Most of those present did not bother to open the folders. From the looks on the faces of most present, Randall could tell that what he had said so far came as no surprise and so far had not had any impact.

 “This was my initial assignment from the President,” Randall said.  “Later he also asked me to make some recommendations dealing with preventing such an attack.”

Up to this point no one had commented, but now the Director of the FBI interrupted Randall.

“No offense intended, but do you think you are in a better position to make such recommendations than we who have been actively working the case?”

“No, certainly not,” Randall said.  “I have enormous confidence in the abilities of the FBI and our intelligence agencies.  If it were not for your expert work this operation still would be undetected, and perhaps much further along. No, my focus is outside of the investigative area.  I think the people need to be made aware of the threat.”

That caused a general outburst of opposition.  It immediately was clear that was the last thing anyone wanted.

“Look, we do not know how much time we have because we don’t know how far along they were when their operation was disrupted,” Randall said.  “They could explode a bomb at any time.  In fact, I think this should be the last meeting like this held in the Oval Office.  From now on, for the sake of the country, you need to be meeting either outside the target area, or in a reinforced bunker.”

“We are just completing one in the basement,” said the Secretary of Homeland Security.  “It should be ready within a couple of weeks.”

“That’s great,” Randall said.  “Now to get back to what I am proposing.  These people are somewhere, probably not far from here.  With them being forced to move quickly and to hide more people at that location, they are bound to have made some mistakes, or to have been seen by other people.  Right now the people who might have seen them have no reason to suspect them.  If we made some portion of this operation public �" certainly not the nuclear part �" then people who have seen them, or who are seeing them, might have reason to suspect them, and thus report them.  It is a long shot, I know, but I think it is worth trying.  The downside is that there may be some flak in the media about terrorists being able to get into the country.  However, unless we close the borders and severely restrict travel, there is no way to guarantee that people like this cannot get into the country.  The important thing is that we detected them, disrupted an operation of theirs, and, possibly, have them on the run.

“There is another aspect to my idea.  Morally I think we have a duty to alert the people to such threats.  If we knew for sure that they had nuclear weapons I would argue that we would have to reveal that as well.  But since we do not know for sure what kind of weapon, if any, they have, saying anything about it might cause an unnecessary panic.

“If the people just know that there is an active threat by a group of terrorists they at least have the opportunity to take some protective precautions for themselves.  I think we have a duty to tell them, to give them enough information so that they are aware that a significant danger exists.” 

There was general and adamant disagreement with Randall’s position. 

“David, I just don’t think we can do that right now,” the President said.

“How long does this go on before it becomes imperative to do it?” Randall said.

“There are no preparations by the governments, federal, state, and local, to deal with a nuclear event.  The people certainly are not prepared because they don’t think there is any risk.  If such an event occurs the after effects are going to be horrendous in all respects.  I hope you understand what I mean,” Randall said.

“If the nation is caught totally unaware and unprepared, there is going to be a storm of angry people across this country unlike anything we ever have seen,” he said.  “Not only will any of us still alive and in positions of authority not be able to keep our jobs, we may not keep our lives.  Really, think about it.  9-11 was a firecracker compared to what this could be.”

“If this cannot be prevented, and right now we have not prevented it, then we have to do everything we possibly can do right now to mitigate its effects.  We have to start those preparations right now.

“At the same time the effort to prevent it has to be stepped up.  Everyone here has to be involved.  All the resources you command have to be focused on this.  And since you won’t make it public you have to work in secret, which means you have to work very closely together.  Nothing can leak because any leak will almost instantly become a Tsunami, and then everything will become public.”

This time there was silence in the room.

Admiral Lane, who had not said a word up to now, was the first to speak.

“I agree.  Let’s figure out what we need to do to increase the chances of catching these guys and also what we can start doing right now to be prepared if we do not catch them.”

The Secretary of Homeland Security then started listing some specific actions.  Others chimed in.  The President glanced at Randall and smiled.