Back Channel: A novel by Stephen L. Carter

Author:Stephen L. Carter [Carter, Stephen L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780385349611
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Published: 2014-07-29T00:00:00+00:00

THIRTY-TWO

Checks and Balances

I

In his mind, McGeorge Bundy followed GREENHILL’s progress up the avenue. He had only imagination to guide him. He knew she was going to the Yenching Palace—she’d called the assigned number to say so—but beyond that bit of information lay only mystery. Bobby Kennedy had wanted her watched every minute, but Bundy rejected the idea out of hand. Fomin would notice. He was among the best the Soviets had, and he was bound to spot surveillance. And, given that the back-channel negotiations were supposed to be secret from each side’s security apparatus, he would take any sort of observation as a sign of bad faith.

Though the attorney general had argued, the President had backed his national security adviser’s judgment. But it was a near thing. With midterm congressional elections two weeks away, the President wanted to look decisive.

“Decisive,” in the ExComm, being a code word for bombing and invasion.

Then, today—Tuesday—the group had discussed what to do should one of the U-2 surveillance planes be shot down. Here the Joint Chiefs were adamant. The men who were asked to go up on those overflights had to know they were protected. A couple of voices protested that any sovereign had the right to shoot down planes over its airspace. But the ExComm supported the JCS. So did Kennedy. The decision was clear: If a U-2 was shot down, the surface-to-air missile sites would be bombed. This, of course, would mean killing Russians—all the SAM sites had Soviet crews—and would certainly lead to war.

Emotions around the table were running too high. Bundy didn’t know how much longer he could hold this thing together.

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