The Shield: a novel Read Online Free PDF Page B

lines of using your air force and, if absolutely necessary, non-conventional weapons.”
    “ Mr. Ambassador, I appreciate your good intentions. Let’s examine the practical side though. The German forces are spread out over a front several thousand kilometers long. Even though they number close to three million, in effect they form a very narrow ribbon along the Soviet border. Assuming we had such long range aircraft, we could bomb them with pinpoint accuracy but we could not do enough damage in any significant way within the time we have. In fact, as soon as we attack it is reasonable that Germany will assume this to be a Soviet attack and counterattack immediately. We could, of course, use non-conventional weapons, which I am not saying we have. For the sake of the discussion though, let’s say we do have them. You suggest than that we drop nuclear bombs on the German army in numbers sufficient to destroy them. Am I correct?”
    “ Yes, Minister. This is one of the options I urge you to consider,” the French Ambassador said.
    “ Well, say we considered and accepted this idea. The result would be a belt of devastation running through the heart of eastern Poland and parts of the Ukraine and southern Europe, with hundreds of thousands dead. The civilian population will not be excluded from this holocaust. It is also likely that some Soviet forces will be affected – after all nuclear weapons are for mass destruction and not for pinpoint accuracy. And what will happen next? Do you seriously expect Stalin to look to the West, see Germany defenseless and not pounce? He may decide to wait for a while, but pounce he will. And with nobody to stop him, the Soviet Union will reach the Pyrenees in no time. You think that France will do better under Stalin than it is doing under Hitler? Or maybe you suggest that we also nuke the Soviets? I don’t think that this is a viable proposal – Too many innocent people will die, and, despite what some of you may think and have actually said in the past, we are not monsters and will never contemplate mass murder. 
    “ There are also those little side effects that are unpredictable. Let me address one of them: You all know by now that we are jamming every unauthorized radio transmission from our territory. The jamming is dynamic – it starts as soon as our services detect a carrier wave. The reason for this is that we do not want any information about the future leaked to the world outside. Such a leak could be catastrophic.  Imagine that someone who wants the Axis to win tells them that the Allies have broken the Enigma codes. This may not let them win the war, but it will cost the allies dearly and will likely prolong the bloodletting. There are more possibilities - too many to mention. I am sure that you will agree with me that even a short transmission falling into the wrong hands may be catastrophic.  For this reason the Knesset is now in the process of debating a number of emergency laws which, I am sure, will pass. These are the important points that concern you and your nationals now in Israel:
    Any contact with the outside world without the explicit permission of the Government will be punishable by 20 years in prison. This law applies to everyone - there will be no diplomatic immunity. It also applies to the press.
    1.    All radio transmitters have to be turned over to the Ministry of Communications by noon on Monday, June 23. Possession of a transmitter will be punishable by 20 years imprisonment. Embassies and diplomatic mission are NOT excluded.
    2.   Under the new emergency laws, the police and security forces can detain anyone suspected of subversive activity for 90 days without trial or an arrest warrant. This applies to everyone, including diplomats.
    3.   Diplomatic credentials are considered invalid until such time as accreditation is renewed – assuming the current governments of your respective countries choose you as their representatives.
    4.   Diplomats