Chapter 583 The Last Attack
On the other side of the sea, in the White House office.
Craven sat in front of the black president, looking quite uneasy.
There is no longer a redundant "third party" around them, and this means that all subsequent conversations cannot represent any official position.
Therefore, the president seems quite relaxed.
Even after seeing Craven's expression, he could still make some tolerant jokes.
"So, in this operation, we are still one step slower than the enemy, right?"
"Is it because our intelligence is slow, or is our action execution slow?"
After hearing the president's words, Craven took a deep breath and replied:
"I should say, both."
"Andrea's death has had a far greater impact on the intelligence network than we imagined. After the new person takes over, a lot of work needs to be re-handled, a lot of links need to be re-aligned, and even the distribution of benefits needs to be reshuffled."
"This has led to a significant reduction in efficiency - as you know, CIASAD has had many conflicts with other operational departments recently. If it were not for these conflicts, our operations in Mogadishu would not have failed."
"It makes no sense to say that now."
The president interrupted Craven and continued:
"I have to say, I'm disappointed."
"You were supposed to be a sharp sword in my hands, but now, this sword has not exerted its expected effect."
"It has even been used by external enemies to attack us."
"You already know what happened in Egypt, but do you know what the attack on Aswan Air Base means to us?"
".It means the situation is completely out of control."
Craven sighed and replied:
"This is not the outcome we wanted and all I can say is... I'm sorry."
"'Sorry' is all you can say to me."
The president spread his hands helplessly and then said:
"2011 is coming to an end soon, and the preliminaries for next year's general election will soon begin."
"And at this most critical moment, we have to be distracted by a whole host of problems."
"Egypt, Yemen, Iraq, Türkiye and of course, Syria."
"I can tell you clearly that domestic public opinion has begun to be turbulent because of these things. If they cannot be dealt with in time, my re-election will also be affected."
"Of course, things have not deteriorated to the point where I cannot be re-elected, but I have to pay a greater price and promise more quid pro quos to gain support inside and outside the party."
"The most important one is to reorganize JSOC and at the same time suspend the upcoming Army reorganization and downsizing plan."
"If this quid pro quo is finally implemented, JSOC's power will be greatly reduced, even to the level before 2002."
"All our efforts will be in vain."
"So what do you think I should do?"
After the president finished speaking, Craven frowned. After a moment of silence, he asked:
"Why?"
"Why? Isn't it obvious?"
"Have you not noticed those views expressed by Adrian Bradshaw recently? As the top commander of the special forces, he has even begun to question the meaning of special operations."
"He also quoted William Sliema who said during World War II, 'It is a classic waste of special forces that they are well trained, well equipped, and have high morale to be used in only one type of combat. The contribution made is disproportionate to the resources consumed.”
"It's clear that the JSOC-centric warfighting system has been widely viewed with suspicion, and there are those within our ranks who have taken advantage of that suspicion."
"If the Army wants more power, then they must get rid of JSOC, which has usurped a lot of resources."
"It just so happens that you guys messed up several things in a very short period of time."
"To be honest, if it were me, I would make the same appeal."
"Of course, that's not something you need to think about."
"There is only one thing you need to consider: how to save our face?"
".We need to plan a major operation."
Craven replied slowly.
"You've planned enough major operations."
The President shook his head and then said:
"I can't possibly give you another chance to prove yourself with so-called 'major actions'."
"After all, you have lost trust internally since Operation Neptune Spear."
"Even now, our control is still in the hands of the enemy. With the aftermath of the Prism incident, they can easily gain an advantage in public opinion and deny our achievements, and we have no way to refute it."
"So, no more major actions - what I need is a practical plan."
"Or more specifically, a solution that is within your current capabilities."
The president's words can be said to be heartbreaking.
What does it mean to be within the scope of ability?
You know, for a long time, the special forces under JSOC were almost considered to be omnipotent.
Now, the president not only gave them a preset scope of tasks, but also directly restricted Craven's authority to organize operations.
Craven obviously understood what the president meant. He slowly raised his head and looked at the eyes that were shining slightly in the darkness.
After half a minute of silence, he finally spoke:
"We should shift the focus of our operations."
"The idea of relying on small-scale, highly integrated special operations to leverage major results has to be abandoned. This is a decision we must make in the current environment."
"As you said, our special forces must prove to the Army the value of their existence and must be able to help them in their combat operations in a real sense."
"So, next, they must be deeply involved in the war in Syria."
"Just like the battle of Raqqa -- it turns out the Army is happy with what we did in Raqqa."
“That’s a viable direction, right?”
"That's right."
The president finally nodded with satisfaction, knowing that Craven finally understood his true intention.
This was a conversation about "letting go of military power over a glass of wine", and next, it was time for me to show my strength.
"We need to transfer command of JSOC to the Army."
"To be precise, it is to involve the Army in the command decision-making of JSOC."
".I see."
Craven nodded solemnly, and the two fell silent at the same time.
Until this moment, Craven did not know what such a compromise meant for him, for JSOC, for the president, and even for the country.
But from the president's perspective, he has clearly seen a future that may not be so "bright."
Presidential powers will once again be reduced, and federal control over the military will be dismantled since the 2002 reforms.
Perhaps this conversation today will go down in history.
But at this point in time, there was nothing he could do to stop it.
——
But who cares?
He only has 4 years left in office at most, and the result he is most worried about cannot happen within 4 years.
And where will this country go in four years, and what does it have to do with him?
Looking at the disappointed Craven, the president stood up and patted his shoulder.
Then, he said:
"So be it."
"Our fight is not over yet, cheer up!"
At the same time, inside Gillis City.
A large number of white soldiers wearing the highly recognizable khaki combat uniforms were packing their bags. Just half an hour ago, they had just received the order to withdraw from the battlefield.
Behind them, black smoke was still billowing from the destroyed temporary airport oil depot. A number of fire trucks parked near the oil depot and sprayed water continuously to cool down, but they only barely prevented the fire from spreading.
The only remaining runway has been blocked, and two C-160s are circling in mid-air, waiting for landing instructions from the tower.
Obviously, they are definitely not here to deliver military supplies.
Judging from the large number of people and equipment assembled on the ground, there is only one thing they have to do:
Complete the evacuation as quickly as possible in the shortest possible time.
At the front of the crowd, a man who looked like a leader unloaded the magazine in his hand and inserted it into the sling on his chest.
Then, he asked the liaison officer on the side:
"What do those Turks say? When exactly are we going to land?"
Hearing his words, the liaison officer shook his head and replied:
"The earthworks asked to continue waiting. The reason they gave was that the environment around the airport was not safe and not suitable for the landing of large transport aircraft."
"Unsafe?"
The team leader sneered and said:
"Continuing to wait at the airport is the most unsafe option!"
"The Syrians have ballistic missiles in their hands, ballistic missiles with a terminal penetration speed of Mach 4!"
"Moreover, in the first round of attacks, they launched 12 missiles, who knows how many more they have on hand!"
"Are these Turks really crazy? Don't they have any self-awareness of their own strength?"
"It's okay to fight a conventional ground battle, but the opponent has upgraded its attack methods to ballistic missiles. What else is there to consider?"
"It's not just us who need to evacuate, they need to evacuate Gillis quickly."
"Otherwise, with their regional air defense level, all targets on the ground will only become targets for missiles!"
The leader's words were fierce, and there was a hint of anger in his expression.
After a pause, he continued:
"We have been waiting for more than half an hour. If they continue to delay, don't blame us for using more radical methods!"
"Do they really think that they can change the decisions above with their tricks? This is just a waste of time!"
"Inform everyone and prepare for battle."
"If the plane cannot land within 15 minutes, we will directly launch an attack and occupy the airport!"
"clear!"
A trace of cold sweat broke out on the liaison officer's forehead. He knew that the words spoken by the team leader could never be a simple "threat."
On the battlefield against foreign enemies, this team may not have done well.
But if they really want to attack their allies, they may not be relenting.
No one wants to see infighting happen, and no one wants to invest their lives on a meaningless battlefield.
Therefore, he must convey the team leader's determination to Hijikata as soon as possible.
If we were a moment slower, the situation here might really develop to an irreversible level
Thinking of this, the liaison officer couldn't help but speed up his pace.
The command post of the temporary airport was right in front of him, and he could even see the figures arguing in the window.
But at this moment, a violent explosion suddenly sounded.
The liaison officer subconsciously looked back, and the first thought that flashed through his mind was that the oil depot that had been burning for several hours finally exploded.
Yes, in terms of the emergency response capabilities of the earthwork, it was a miracle that the oil depot could hold on until now.
——
However, when his eyes were fixed on the oil depot, he still saw the unchanging black smoke and the dark burning flames.
There was no sign of explosion, and the fire truck "leisurely" sprayed water columns for cooling. The surrounding firefighters, like him, looked up blankly and looked around.
At this moment, the liaison officer's hair stood on end.
A terrible idea emerged from the bottom of his heart, and then this idea became a reality.
A large number of bombs and missiles fell from the sky, completely covering the already riddled temporary airport.
The nearest missile accurately hit the command post in front of him, and the blast wave blew him away several meters. The severe dizziness and tinnitus made him completely unable to get up, and he could only struggle and crawl towards the bomb crater not far away.
When he looked up at the sky, a huge black shadow had already flown over his head.
He recognized that it was a Su-24M2 fighter-bomber that could be called "in tatters".
All the missiles under the wings had been thrown out, and the plane seemed to have no intention of identifying the target properly. The only thing it had to do was to break through the air defense network at all costs, fly over the airport, and drop the mounted bombs.
Behind it, a trail of smoke broke through the air and accurately hit the tail of the Su-24.
The plane disintegrated in the air, but at the last moment of being hit, the pilot pressed down on the joystick and changed the plane's attitude to a downward dive.
The burning aircraft slammed into the runway, and the pilot turned his plane into the last missile.
The liaison officer widened his eyes in horror, and then more and more burning fighters fell to the ground.
Su-24, Su-25, MiG-21, MiG-29, L-3FI-17 trainer aircraft.
Obviously, the fighters that evacuated after the large-scale destruction of the Syrian military airport in the north all rushed to the front line.
This was their most powerful attack and their last attack.
It's over.
The liaison officer closed his eyes in despair, he knew that he couldn't leave.
The Syrian government forces had a very clear idea. They didn't attack the transport planes in the air, they only attacked Turkey.
And the unit he was in just "happened" to be trapped.