Brown, Dale - Patrick McLanahan 05 Read Online Free PDF Page A

overcome his fears and apprehensions and remember
exactly who he was dealing with here, relax. Take command of this situation, he
ordered himself. Take charge now!
                “The Republic has been betrayed,
Eminence,” Buzhazi began. He knew that word betrayed would arouse Khamenei’s attention. . .. “My orders were countermanded, and
because of this, our main island protectorate in the Persian Gulf , Abu Musa, has been attacked by Gulf
Cooperative Council air forces.”
                 Khamenei
seemed surprisingly relaxed as he heard the news— well, probably not surprising. It wasn’t from divine
inspiration that he’d first heard about it, Buzhazi knew, but from his contacts
in the VEVAK, the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security. Buzhazi had no
control of that group—they reported directly to the Council of Guardians and to
Khamenei. “What kind of damage was sustained? What casualties?” Khamenei asked.
                 “Few
casualties, thanks to Allah, and only a handful of injuries,” Buzhazi said
dismissively. “The attack was directed against the Silkworm and Sunburn
anti-ship missile emplacements, and the major port facilities. Unfortunately,
the attack caused some damage.”
                 “My
information says the damage was considerably more than that,” Khamenei said.
                 It
had been less than an hour since the attack, Buzhazi reminded himself, and
Khamenei already had a briefing from his intelligence people—very efficient
work for a pious holy man. This man did not sit contemplating his navel in an
ivory tower. He was fully engaged in the operation of the government.
“Regrettably, that is true,” Buzhazi said. “But island defenses will be
restored by the end of the day, and until then, we have naval and air forces on
the scene to maintain security.” “How fortunate,” Khamenei said, almost in a
whisper, like the hiss of a snake’s tongue. “But your defensive strategies for
Abu Musa seem to have been somewhat shortsighted. ...”
                 “Eminence,
with all greatest respect, that was not the case,” Buzhazi said. “The defensive
systems I placed on the island were designed to protect the defensive anti-ship
missile emplacements from high- and low-altitude air threats as well as massed
maritime threats. The island was under surveillance by long-range radars from
Bandar Abbas and by short-range radars from Abu Musa Island itself. In addition, we have seven thousand
troops on that island to defend against amphibious assaults, all very much
aware that our enemies were seeking to destroy those weapons and take those
islands from us at any time. All island defenses were fully functional and on
full alert.”
                 “And
so why were these defenses so easily destroyed, General . . . ?”
                 “Because
President Nateq-Nouri countermanded my general orders to launch on alert,”
Buzhazi said angrily, “and instead ordered that, unless the island was
unmistakably under direct attack, that all launch orders be issued by the
Defense Ministry in Tehran , not by the on-scene commanders. It was madness! I argued against that
policy and appealed to reverse the order ...”
                 “The
Council of Guardians has not received any such notification or appeal,”
Khamenei pointed out.
                 “I
was going to present my arguments in person with your representative at the
next meeting of the Supreme Defense Council,” Buzhazi lied, knowing full well
that Nateq-Nouri had never countermanded any of Buzhazi’s orders. The policy of
“launch on alert”—fire without warning on any vessel or aircraft that crossed
Iran’s claimed borders or boundaries—had never been an official peacetime
policy of the Iranian government except over Iran’s most highly classified
research centers, bases, or over the capital or the holy cities. The