Read Online The Threat by David Poyer - Free Book Online Page B

been what he called a “tailored” cutback of 10 percent per year in military expenditures, down to a 40 percent reduction in the Pentagon’s budget by the end of his term.
    Knight said, “This guy’s tuned to the moon, if he thinks what he’s doing is enhancing our national security. Pulling back from Germany, the Horn of Africa, now Korea. Korea! It’s quieted down some now, but now Pyongyang’s out from under the inspection regime, God knows what they’re up to. This is all between us, by the way.”
    â€œYes, sir.”
    â€œWe’ve got civilian appointees without the faintest idea what they’re doing. No prior military. Well, you know what I mean. Working with them every day. What do you hear over there? What kind of atmosphere readings are you getting?”
    Dan didn’t like this question. He wondered if the appointees Knight was talking about included Blair. She couldn’t drive a tank or assemble a bomb. But he didn’t know anyone in uniform, from flag rank down, who could drill as deep into a manpower issue as she could. He cleared his throat and shifted on the sofa. “If you mean, is this a military-oriented administration, I guess the answer’s ‘not very.’ But it’s still early.”
    â€œI’ve been over there twice talking to Garn Sebold and what’s her name, the Asian woman. I understand campaign promises. But once the election’s over, you expect some movement toward reality. The fact of the matter: We have defensive boundaries around the world. A lot of guys, some I knew, gave their lives to put them there. We keep backpedaling like this … it’s like you live in the projects and you put a sign on your door, ‘Break in my house, rape my wife, and steal my shit.’”
    Dan didn’t believe a three-star couldn’t remember the name of the national security adviser. It was a put-down, though subtle enough it couldn’t be quoted against him. “Well, sir, like everywhere, I’d say some are professional, others less so.”
    Knight shook his head, scowling. “I’d rather have them over there than over here. But cutting our readiness, manning, the procurement accounts—that’s a no-go. Let me tell you a little story.
    â€œBack in ’32, ’33, this country was in a worse depression than anyone remembers now. FDR wanted to cut the Army budget to practically zero. Douglas MacArthur was the chief of staff back then. He went to Roosevelt’s office and put his resignation on the table. He said that when we lost the next war, and an American boy was dying in the mud with a bayonet in his belly, he wanted him to die cursing Franklin Roosevelt, not Douglas MacArthur.”
    Dan wasn’t sure whether this was a historical reflection, a message he was supposed to take back, or just the general blowing off steam. As far as he could see, he was pointing the finger in the wrong direction. “General, I know this administration’s committed to reductions in defense. It was in their platform from the start. But what actually gets appropriated isn’t an executive branch call. Congress sizes the accounts.”
    Knight picked something off his lip. He examined it, then put it carefully in the ashtray. “We’ve been talking to our friends on the Hill. Sonny doesn’t think any further reduction’s wise. Neither does Strom or Mike.”
    Dan rubbed his eyes. The cigar smoke stung at close range. “Then it seems like the appropriate steps are being taken, sir. Maybe I’m oversimplifying here, but that’s my understanding of the process.”
    The dull green irises came to rest on him like twenty-pound weights. “I don’t need you to tell me the process, Commander.”
    Dan said, “Sir, nobody over here, or over there, can stop the president from putting in whatever budget he comes up with. If he thinks it’s what