The Devil's Breath
“Sullivan looked at them. Even upside down, he knew them word for word.
The President picked up one of the two sheets of paper, leaning back in the big chair, revolving it slightly, letting the light from the window fall on the three brief paragraphs. The text was datelined Baghdad, 20 September 1990. It had been in the hands of every major Western media outlet for at least ten hours. Already, on the CNN rolling newscasts, word from the Revolutionary Command had elbowed out every other item.
The... President read it for the third time.
‘The mother of all battles,’ he mused. ‘Not a single chance for any retreat.’ He looked up, directly at Sullivan. ‘Neat phrase, don’t you think?’ ‘Sir?’ ‘Mother of all battles.’ He tapped the news release. ‘Who writes this guy’s speeches? We have a line on that?’ Sullivan shook his head, grunting, looking down at the notepad on his knee. Emotionally, he knew, the President was now committed to kicking the Iraqis out of Kuwait. That meant offensive military action – an invasion – and there were powerful elements in Washington determined to resist him.MoreLess
The President picked up one of the two sheets of paper, leaning back in the big chair, revolving it slightly, letting the light from the window fall on the three brief paragraphs. The text was datelined Baghdad, 20 September 1990. It had been in the hands of every major Western media outlet for at least ten hours. Already, on the CNN rolling newscasts, word from the Revolutionary Command had elbowed out every other item.
The... President read it for the third time.
‘The mother of all battles,’ he mused. ‘Not a single chance for any retreat.’ He looked up, directly at Sullivan. ‘Neat phrase, don’t you think?’ ‘Sir?’ ‘Mother of all battles.’ He tapped the news release. ‘Who writes this guy’s speeches? We have a line on that?’ Sullivan shook his head, grunting, looking down at the notepad on his knee. Emotionally, he knew, the President was now committed to kicking the Iraqis out of Kuwait. That meant offensive military action – an invasion – and there were powerful elements in Washington determined to resist him.MoreLess
Read book The Devil's Breath for free
Write Review:
User Reviews: