Patrick McLanahan 11 - Air Battle Force by Dale Brown

Author:Dale Brown [Brown, Dale]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9780060094102
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2004-04-06T04:00:00+00:00

DALE BROWN

the need to send trade representatives to hang around the hotels and

conference halls in Caracas like some rock groupies. If any of the oil

ministers wish to speak with me, they know how to contact me.”

“Are you characterizing President Martindale’s presence in

Caracas as his being like a rock groupie? ” another reporter shouted

incredulously.

“As for the former president: He’s a private citizen and free to

travel and meet with whomever he chooses,” Thorn went on, ignoring the question. “Everyone, I’m sure, understands that he does not

speak for the U.S. government.”

“Mr. President, with the removal of U.S. troops from overseas

bases and the American withdrawal from most mutual-defense

agreements, the popularity of and confidence in the U.S. are at an

all-time low,” another reporter said. “Recently TransCal Petroleum

said in a press release that a group of Taliban fighters from

Afghanistan have invaded a neighboring country, Turkmenistan, and

are threatening to take over the oil-drilling and -distribution facilities built by TransCal for the Turkmen government.” The president

nodded. “TransCal execs claim that the Turkmen government is

powerless to stop the insurgents, and that, because your administration refuses to get involved, they might be forced to pay ‘protection

money’ to the Taliban to keep the oil flowing. What’s your

response?”

“I’ve been thoroughly briefed on the situation in Turkmenistan,” the president said. “The situation there is extremely

unclear. These Taliban fighters are marching quite easily and virtually unopposed through most of the eastern part of the country,

gaining tremendous popular support. My question is, why is this

happening? Until we know the answer, I see no use in sending in

U.S. troops to protect their pipelines.”

“But TransCal Petroleum, an American company, is losing millions of dollars a day—”

“I will not commit fighting forces to any sovereign nation

unless it is in the defense of the people and the nation of the United

States of America,” Thorn said resolutely. “The Founding Fathers

created a military force with one and only one objective in mind:

18385_ch01.qxd 5/22/03 11:21 AM Page 215

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.