Divide and conquer - Tom Clancy [93]
"Does the NSA have that kind of authority?" Norivsky asked.
"I don't believe so," Orlov said.
"They would probably need higher-ranking officials working with them.
Paul Hood at Op-Center indicated that contacts of that type may have taken place. What if the Americans agreed they would back down at a certain point? Allow Iran to have more of the oil-rich regions in exchange for American access to that oil?"
"A normalization of relations?" Norivsky suggested.
"Possibly," Orlov said.
"The American military pushed to brinkmanship then pulled back for some reason. But what reason? That had to have been arranged as well." Orlov did not know the answer, but he knew who might. Thanking Norivsky, Orlov rang his translator and put in a call to Paul Hood.
Washington, D.C. Tuesday, 3:06 a.m.
After Fenwick left the Cabinet Room, Hood sat alone at the long conference table. He was trying to figure out what he could tell the president to convince him that something was wrong with the intelligence he was receiving, That was going to be difficult without new information. Hood thought he had convinced him of Fenwick's duplicity earlier. But in the press of developing crises, crisis managers often took the advice of trusted and especially passionate friends. Fenwick was passionate, and Cotten was an old ally. Without hard facts. Hood would not be able to combat that. But what troubled him nearly as much was something the NSA head had said to Hood before leaving the Cabinet Room.
"I'm not going to let you advise the president." This was not just an international showdown. It was also a territorial fight in the Oval Office. But for what, exactly? It was not just about access to the president of the United States. Fenwick had tried to confuse Lawrence, to embarrass him, to mislead him. Why? Hood shook his head and rose.
Even though he had nothing to add to what he said before. Hood wanted to hear what the joint chiefs had to say. And Fenwick could not bar him from the Oval Office. As Hood was leaving the Cabinet Room, his phone beeped. It was General Orlov.
"Paul, we have some disturbing information," Orlov said.
"Talk to me," Hood replied. Orlov briefed him. When he was finished, Orlov said, "We have reason to believe that the Harpooner and Iranian nationals carried out the attack on the Iranian oil rig. We believe the attack may have been the same Iranians who freed the Russian terrorist Sergei Cherkassov from prison. This would make it seem as if Moscow was involved."
"Compelling the United States to lend its support to Azerbaijan as a counterbalance," Hood said.
"Do you know if Teheran sanctioned the attack?"
"Very possibly," Orlov replied.
"The Iranians appear to have been working for or were trained by VEVAK."
"In order to precipitate a crisis that would allow them to move in militarily," Hood said.
"Yes," Orlov agreed.
"And the presence of Cherkassov, we think, was designed to give Iran a reason to threaten our oil facilities. To draw Russia into the crisis.
Cherkassov may have had nothing to do with the attack itself."
"That makes sense," Hood agreed.
"Paul, you said before that members of your own government, of the NSA, were in contact with the Iranian mission in New York. That it was a member of the NSA that was in communication with the Harpooner in Baku.
Could that agency be involved in this?"
"I don't know," Hood admitted.
"Perhaps the mission put them in contact with the Harpooner," Orlov suggested. That was possible. Hood thought about it for a moment. Why would Fenwick help Iran to blow up its own rig and then encourage the president to attack Iran? Was this a plot to sucker Iran into a showdown? Was that why Fenwick had concealed his whereabouts from the president? But Fenwick would have known about Cherkassov, Hood thought.
He had to know that Russia would be drawn in as well. And that still did not explain why Fenwick had made a point of calling the president right before the United Nations dinner. That was a move designed to humiliate Lawrence. To erode confidence in the president's-Mental