Lethal Trajectories - Michael Conley [16]
“I am not trying to sell you a bill of goods, Mr. President. These are the facts as we understand them, but I would expect you would want to cross check them with those of your own intelligence sources. I believe you will find them to be accurate.”
“Thank you for your account, Chairman Lin,” Burkmeister replied, mentally comparing Lin’s rendition with the serious errors of commission and omission in Sato’s version last night. “Where do you see things going from here, and what does China expect from the United States?” he added.
“I won’t lie to you, Mr. President.” Lin responded, remembering Wang Peng’s advice, “There are those on the Politburo who are pushing hard for aggressive military action against Japan. Frankly, it has not been easy to keep a lid on it, but then I’m sure you must feel the same sorts of pressure from your Congress.” Burkmeister silently chuckled, feeling a kinship with Lin as he thought about the likes of Senator Tom Collingsworth.
“I understand what you are saying, Chairman Lin, and I appreciate the challenges you must have in seeking a peaceful settlement. Is there anything the United States can do to help you keep the peace?”
Lin sounded grateful as he said, “I appreciate your empathy, Mr. President, and I would ask one thing of you.”
Uh-oh, here it comes, Burkmeister thought as he responded, “What would that be, Mr. Chairman?”
“I would humbly ask that you weigh all the evidence before taking an official position one way or another. I’m sure you will be pressured to react strongly against China by some, and, indeed, you may eventually come to the conclusion that that is what you must do. I believe you are a fair man, Mr. Burkmeister, and only ask that you consider my request.”
That’s it? Just weigh the facts before responding? I was going to do that anyway. It wouldn’t take long to respond to this modest request.
“That sounds like a perfectly reasonable request to me, Mr. Chairman, and you have my word that the United States will remain neutral until we can fully evaluate the situation.”
“I appreciate that, Mr. President. Your patience will help me keep the Politburo in line and avoid a potential conflict between our countries that neither of us wants.” Burkmeister could sense the sincerity of Lin’s remarks and felt a personal kinship with him.
“Thank you, Mr. Chair …” Burkmeister started to say before a knife-like stomach spasm took his breath away.
“Are you okay, Mr. President?” Lin asked with concern.
“Yes, yes, I’m perfectly fine and sorry for the interruption,” he responded with embarrassment. “I just spilled a hot a cup of coffee on my lap as we were talking,” he added, hoping the chairman believed his little white lie.
“I would like to suggest, Mr. President, that we consider installing a hotline between our two offices. It would logistically and symbolically solidify the dialogue that may be required between our countries as we work through the Chunxiao problem.”
“Yes, that makes perfect sense to me. I’ll authorize it on this end. And I’d like to ask, Mr. Chairman, what does China intend to do now with respect to Japan?”
“Unless provoked, we will avoid taking any military action. We will expel their ambassador and freeze all assets until we are compensated by Japan, but we hope to take our requests to the United Nations for resolution.”
“Thank you, Chairman Lin,” Burkmeister responded with relief, “that sounds like a reasoned approach we can certainly agree with. I’ll be meeting with my people shortly, and I would hope to get back to you within twenty-four hours with anything we might suggest.”
The two world leaders closed their conversation on a pleasant note. President Burkmeister left for the Situation Room with thoughts of how easy it had been to deal with Lin as compared to the aggressive and demanding Sato.
The president was pleased to see the full NSC assembled and waiting for him as he walked into the Situation Room at eight o’clock sharp. The question on everyone’s mind was what had been said