Lethal Trajectories - Michael Conley [143]
It was going to be another long night of guessing at outcomes of an event that was beyond his control.
51
Washington, DC
16 October 2017
It was a warm Monday evening, and Clayton McCarty was gearing up for the biggest speech of his life. Sequestered in Shangri-la, he reflected on his speech and everything riding on it.
He was nursing a sore ankle from an overly aggressive game of hide-and-seek with his daughters on the second floor of the White House over the weekend, and he rubbed it as he thought about the hectic collection of events leading to this moment.
It had started early Friday morning, when Lin Cheng called to advise him that the Politburo had agreed to the Geneva plan … with one notable exception. He also appreciated Lin Cheng’s willingness to issue a strong statement of support following his speech. The exception, however, concerned him.
“You mentioned an exception, Cheng?” he had asked.
“Yes, Clayton, I did. The Politburo had significant concerns with the oil-rationing plan and the ceding of China’s authority to a global gas station run by the IEA, but I was able to overcome them. I was not, however, able to push through the across-the-board 10 percent contingency oil reserve requirement on our domestic production.”
“What were you able to come up with?” Clayton asked, hardly able to disguise his disappointment.
“Old habits die hard, Clayton, and they thought the flat 10 percent assessment would greatly disadvantage China vis-à-vis the United States. They would agree to a bracketed reduction whereby the first two million barrels of production was assessed at a 5 percent reserve level and amounts over that would be assessed at 10 percent. Not a huge difference, but the best I could get. I’d also add that they will not allow any of China’s pooled contingency reserve to go to Japan. What do you think, Clayton?”
Clayton did a quick mathematical calculation and thought it was palatable. Still, by making the concession he had hoped to get something in return.
“If that’s what it takes to get a deal, we can live with it. I’ll take some heat for the arrangement, but so be it. Though there is something you can do for me that would help soften the blow, Lin Cheng.”
“Yes, Clayton. Tell me what it is, and I’ll do my best to make it happen.”
“In the statement of support you plan to make after my speech, it would be most helpful if you could put in a special plug for your support of Israel—however you care to express it.”
“Yes, I will do that, Clayton. Good luck with your speech.”
“Thank you, Cheng. I’ll be sending you a copy Monday morning.”
That particular request was prompted by his previous conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Yakov Nachum. He had assured Nachum of America’s unequivocal support of Israel, and the prime minister had gratefully assured him that Israel would not take any precipitous actions in the immediate future—unless provoked. The added support of China, he knew, would help Nachum keep his hawks from pushing an attack. Secretary of State Cartright was also working the phones with foreign governments, and he was pleased that most were supportive of his approach.
President Burkmeister had also called with some practical suggestions for addressing Congress—something Clayton was grateful to have. Clayton advised the former president that he would open with a special tribute to him, and Burkmeister asked that he greet the American people on his behalf.
The logistics of preparing for the speech had been a blur of meetings with his speechwriters, endless tiny tweaks to language and delivery, rehearsals, and a complete dry run indicating that his speech would take fifty-one minutes to deliver, exclusive of interruptions for