Executive War

Day 1

            The woman sat uptightly in her chair.  She clenched her teeth.  She figeted slightly with her straight, black, pixie-cut hair.  The door opened and an Asian man poked his head in.  "Madame President, they would like to see you now."  The woman pressed her lips tightly against each each other and nodded curtly.  "Thank you, Mr. Hsiao."  Edmond Hsiao,the Chief of Staff, returned her nod and briefly smiled reasurringly before he quit the room.  President Thyra Carcamo sighed.  She placed one arm on her desk, and her right hand glided to her forehead.

            She was tired, exhausted, to be honest.  Things had not gone well for her lately.  She got up, secretly dreading what might be in store for her.  If I had known that being a President would be this frustrating, what would I have done?  Her own thought surprised her.  I honestly have no idea.  Hsiao was waiting outside for with security agents.  They parted to allow her to walk between them.   They followed her down one of the grand corridors of the White House.  Hsiao asked her, "Madame President, are you sure you want to proceed through this?"  Staring straight ahead, Carcamo answered, "I may as well.  Hoameru isn't going to stop for a cup of coffee, now will it?"

Hsiao, surprised by her calmness, said, "But ma'am, Congress is not willing to approve for war.  With all due respect, this may as be considered redundant."  Carcamo paused in front of the wooden doors to the Situation Room.  He was referring to her last attempt.  It had failed.

            She whirled sharply to face him.  Startled, he flinched.  There was something in her gray eyes that he hadn't seen before.  What was it?  Determination.

"Edmond, I am well aware of my position in this crisis.  But until this nation is safe, there is only so much we can do.  It may seem pointless, but I'm not willing to give up.  I'll do what it takes to protect this country and the people in it."  She turned back around.  Hesitantly, Hsiao inquired, "Would you have died trying?"  Hsiao's dark eyes widened at what happened next.  Without moving a muscle, Carcamo answered, "Yes, I would".  Then, they entered the Situation Room.

            Carcamo's eyes studied all the stern faces in the Situation Room.  She took her seat at the table.  They all glanced at her with alertness.  Keeping her own face as stoic as possible, Carcamo announced, "As you all know, we are assembled here to address the growing conflict of terrorism.  As we all know the amount of terrorist attacks have increased at a high rate.  The bombing at the Santa Juan mall in Las Vegas was their first attempt.  Forty-eight citizens were held hostage in California.  Hoameru opened fire at the junior high school in South Carolina.  As we are all well aware, the beheading in Philadelphia has proved that the nation is at high risk.  However, even as we speak, Hoameru is gathering resources and intelligence.  We must assume that members of Hoameru are present within our nation.  War must be declared against this organization.  We must protect our nation in every way possible.  Declaring war against Hoameru may prove to be virtually impossible, however, the longer we wait, the greater the chances of violence."

             Senator Kennedy Morrison was the first to argue.  "Madame President, Hoameru is a highly advanced organization.  With all due respect, there is virtually no way to declare war on them.  Hoameru is a terrorist group, not a nation.  There is no possible way to locate all personnel involved.  Even more so, when they manage to obtain new tehnology.  We cannot expect to declare war on an enemy who is virtually absent."  With bitterness, Carcamo silently countered, Funny, I've had an enemy right in front of me for two years, and I can't declare war on him.  Sound familiar, Morrison?  Carcamo clenched her teeth tightly against each other. 

Alexandra Beatty, Secretary of National Security, calmly stated, "There are various options being attempted to prevent Hoameru from attacking civilians in this nation and disrupting the welfare.  However, as stated by Senator Morrison, declaring war may not be the option that obtains safety and welfare.  Therefore, another solution must be found to aid in this crisis."  Carcamo observed the faces in the room.  This would take a while.

As Hsiao noted how many arguments had been made, he also noticed the growing tension in the Situation Room.  Many had argued that it would not be wise to declare war on Hoameru.  He noted with interest how few had sided with the President.  President Carcamo did not seem pleased when she quit the room two hours later.  When Hsiao had asked her about the concert they had considered postponing, he was even more surprised that President Carcamo decided to have it continue.