Lethal Trajectories - Michael Conley [102]
“Did he give you any inkling of when he might know?”
“He will present it to the Politburo on Monday. He promised to keep us informed along the way, but he gave no definite timeframe. And timing will make or break the deal.”
“This global oil rationing idea is interesting, but fraught with problems,” Burkmeister said, shaking his head. “Do you really think we can pull it off, given the magnitude of the task? We might be perceived as abdicating our energy rights to others. Collingsworth and his bunch will have a field day with it.”
“Under normal circumstances, no, absolutely not, Mr. President; we couldn’t have pulled it off a few months ago. But these are not normal times. The Saudis have already taken close to 20 percent of the world’s oil supply off the market and are threatening every economy in the world. We have little choice but to find collaborators to resist them, and that will require give and take. We’ve never had such a compelling imperative before.”
“I agree with your logic, Clayton, but this will have to be presented to the American people in the clearest of terms. It’s reminiscent of Winston Churchill’s clarion call during the darkest days of World War II, when he promised his people nothing but ‘blood, sweat, and tears,’ or something to that effect.”
“Exactly Mr. President, there’s no way we can sugarcoat the crisis and still expect the American people to take the draconian measures required to resolve it. I will tell them the truth, and my guess is they’ll respond favorably once they understand the deal.”
Nodding in agreement, Burkmeister said, “This so-called joint command structure will be a critical part of the entire plan. I also like the idea of Jack and this Wang Peng fellow heading up the effort, because it’s going to take good people with immediate access to power to pull it off. How long do we need to get this set up?”
“Perfection will be the enemy of progress, Mr. President. In this case, we need about two weeks and an agreement to muddle along as we create the plan on the run—changing a tire on the proverbial moving car. Not an ideal situation, to be sure, but amazing things can happen when your back’s against the wall. We’re facing what’s darn near a doomsday scenario, as is China, and my guess is, together, we can make it work. We don’t really have a choice.”
The president reached over to pour a cup of decaf coffee and grimaced with the pain of the movement. He waved Clayton off and continued, “We’ll have trouble with Japan and others who might think we’re capitulating to the Chinese. The Japanese will say we’re caving on the Chunxiao Incident, and they will be equally angry at our favoring the Chinese definition of an EEZ. On the other hand, China’s willingness to support Israel will help calm some of the domestic opposition we’ll get. As for the overall collaborative approach, it goes against the conventional wisdom that has long defined success only in terms of winners and losers. If your proposals work, the United States and China will both win and lose—no easy, black-and-white answers. Can we sell this idea to the policy wonks?”
“I don’t believe we’ll ever get complete unanimity on it, Mr. President, but I think by making it clear that the alternatives are catastrophic, we can make our case. We’ll hold anyone opposing the plan accountable for a countersolution. It’ll take a little time to gain traction, but as folks think about the alternatives it’ll start to make more sense.”
The president pushed hard against the back of his chair, trying, it seemed, to get comfortable. Then, regrouping, he said, “It’s unlike any situation we’ve ever faced before, and I suspect most folks will have difficulty getting their heads around it. There won’t be much time for rumination.”
Clayton nodded and asked, “All in all, is it a plan you can support, Mr. President? Or have I overstepped my boundaries or the bounds of realistic expectation?”
“It’ll be a challenge, but yes, I do support your plan. In the final analysis, it