tc.redstormrising-第12部分

按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页，按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页，按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部！
————未阅读完？加入书签已便下次继续阅读！


〃And　to　acplish　this　you　need　only　one　of　our　Guards　Air　Rifle　divisions？　Outline　your　plan　for　us；　please；　rade　Admiral；〃　Alekseyev　said。
Maslov　did　so　over　a　period　of　five　minutes。　He　concluded；　〃With　luck；　we　will　with　one　blow　give　the　NATO　navies　more　than　they　can　deal　with；　and　leave　us　with　a　valuable　position　for　postwar　exploitation。〃
〃Better　to　draw　their　carrier　forces　in　and　destroy　them。〃　CINC…West　joined　the　discussion。
Maslov　responded：　〃The　Americans　will　have　five　or　six　carriers　available　to　use　against　us　in　the　Atlantic。　Each　one　carries　fifty…eight　aircraft　that　can　be　used　in　an　air　superiority　or　nuclear　strike　role；　aside　from　those　used　for　fleet　defense。　I　submit；　rade；　that　it　is　in　our　interest　to　keep　those　ships　as　far　from　the　Rodina　as　possible。〃
〃Andrey　Petravich；　I　am　impressed；〃　Rozhkov　said　thoughtfully；　noting　the　respect　in　Alekseyev's　eye…；　as　well。　Polar　Glory　was　both　bold　and　simple。　〃I　want　a　full　briefing　on　this　plan　tomorrow　afternoon。　You　say　that　if　we　can　allocate　the　resources；　success　in　this　venture　is　highly　probable？〃
〃We　have　worked　on　this　plan　for　five　years；　with　particular　emphasis　on　simplicity。　If　security　can　be　maintained；　only　two　things　need　go　right　for　success　to　be　achieved。〃
Rozhkov　nodded。　〃Then　you　will　have　my　support。〃

4　…　Maskirovka

MOSCOW；　R。S。F。S。R。
The　Foreign　Minister　entered　stage　left；　as　he　always　did；　and　walked　to　the　lectern　with　a　brisk　step　that　belied　his　sixty　years。　Before　him　was　a　mob　of　reporters　arrayed　by　the　Soviet　Guards　into　their　respective　groups；　the　print　press　grasping　at　their　pads　and　backed　up　by　their　photographers；　the　visual　media　arrayed　in　front　of　their　portable　klieg　lights。　The　Foreign　Minister　hated　the　damned　things；　hated　the　people　in　front　of　them。　The　Western　press　with　its　lack　of　manners；　always　prying；　always　probing；　always　demanding　answers　that　he　need　not　give　to　his　own　people。　How　odd；　he　thought；　while　looking　up　from　his　notes；　that　he　often　had　to　speak　more　openly　to　these　paid　foreign　spies　than　to　members　of　the　Party　Central　mittee。　Spies；　exactly　what　they　were　。　。　。
They　could　be　manipulated；　of　course；　by　a　skilled　man　with　a　collection　of　carefully　prepared　disinformation…which　was　precisely　what　he　was　about　to　do。　But　on　the　whole　they　were　a　threat　because　they　never　stopped　doing　what　it　was　they　did。　It　was　something　the　Foreign　Minister　never　allowed　himself　to　forget；　and　the　reason　he　did　not　hold　them　in　contempt。　Dealing　with　them　always　held　potential　danger。　Even　while　being　manipulated；　they　could　be　dangerous　in　their　quest　for　information。　If　only　the　rest　of　the　Politburo　understood。
〃Ladies　and　gentlemen；〃　he　began；　speaking　in　English。　〃I　will　be　making　a　brief　statement；　and　I　regret　that　I　cannot　answer　any　questions　at　this　time。　A　full　handout　will　be　given　to　everyone　as　you　leave…that　is；　I　think　they　are　ready　by　now…〃　He　gestured　to　a　man　at　the　back　of　the　room；　who　nodded　emphatically。　The　Foreign　Minister　arranged　his　papers　one　more　time　and　began　to　speak　with　the　precise　diction　for　which　he　was　known。
〃The　President　of　the　United　States　has　often　asked　for　'deeds　not　words'　in　the　quest　for　control　of　strategic　arms。
〃As　you　know；　and　to　the　disappointment　of　the　entire　world；　the　ongoing　arms　negotiations　in　Vienna　have　made　no　significant　progress　for　over　a　year；　with　each　side　blaming　the　other　for　the　lack　of　it。
〃It　is　well　known　by　peace…loving　people　the　world　over　that　the　Soviet　Union　has　never　wished　for　war；　and　that　only　a　madman　would　even　consider　nuclear　war　a　viable　policy　option　in　our　modern　world　of　overkill；　fallout；　and　'nuclear　winter。'　〃
〃Damn；〃　muttered　AP　bureau　chief　Patrick　Flynn。　The　Soviets　scarcely　acknowledged　〃nuclear　winter〃　and　had　never　mentioned　the　concept　in　so　formal　a　setting。　His　antennae　were　already　twitching　at　whatever　there　was　in　the　wind。
〃The　time　has　e　for　substantive　reductions　in　strategic　arms。　We　have　made　numerous；　serious；　sincere　proposals　for　real　arms　reductions；　and　despite　this　the　United　States　has　proceeded　with　the　development　and　deployment　of　its　destabilizing；　openly　offensive　weapons：　the　MX　first…strike　missile；　so　cynically　called　the　'Peacekeeper'；　the　advanced　Trident　D…5　first…strike　sea…launched　ballistic　missile；　two　separate　varieties　of　cruise　missiles　whose　characteristics　conspire　to　make　arms　control　verification　almost　totally　impossible；　and　of　course；　the　so…called　Strategic　Defense　Initiative；　which　will　take　offensive　strategic　weapons　into　space。　Such　are　America's　deeds。〃　He　looked　up　from　his　notes　and　spoke　with　irony。　〃And　through　it　all；　America's　pious　words　demand　Soviet　deeds。
〃Starting　tomorrow；　we　will　see　once　and　for　all　if　America's　words　are　to　be　believed　or　not。　Starting　tomorrow　we　will　see　how　great　a　difference　there　is　between　America's　words　about　peace　and　Soviet　deeds　for　peace。
〃Tomorrow；　the　Soviet　Union　will　put　on　the　table　at　Vienna　a　proposal　to　reduce　existing　arsenals　of　strategic　and　theater　nuclear　weapons　by　fifty　percent；　this　reduction　to　be　acplished　over　a　period　of　three　years　from　ratification　of　the　agreement；　subject　to　on…site　verification　conducted　by　third…party　inspection　teams　whose　position　will　be　agreed　upon　by　all　signatories。
〃Please　note　that　I　say　'all　signatories。'　The　Soviet　Union　invites　the　United　Kingdom；　the　French　Republic；　and〃…he　looked　up〃the　People's　Republic　of　China　to　join　us　at　the　negotiating　table。〃　The　explosion　of　flashbulbs　caused　him　to　look　away　for　a　moment。
〃Ladies　and　gentlemen；　please…〃　He　smiled；　holding　his　hand　up　to　shield　his　face。　〃These　old　eyes　are　not　up　to　such　abuse　as　this；　and　I　have　not　memorized　my　speech…unless　you　want　me　to　continue　in　Russian！〃
There　was　a　wave　of　laughter；　then　a　sprinkling　of　applause　at　the　jibe。　The　old　bastard　was　really　turning　on　the　charm；　Flynn　thought；　furiously　taking　notes。　This　was　potential　dynamite。　He　wondered　what　would　e　next；　and　he　especially　wondered　what　the　precise　wording　on　the　proposal　was。　Flynn　had　covered　arms　talks　before；　and　knew　all　too　well　that　general　descriptions　of　proposals　could　grossly　distort　the　nuts…and…bolts　details　of　the　real　issues　to　be　negotiated。　The　Russians　couldn't　be　this　open…they　just　couldn't　be。
〃To　proceed。〃　The　Foreign　Minister　blinked　his　eyes　clear。　〃We　have　been　accused　of　never　making　a　gesture　of　our　good　faith。　The　falsehood　of　the　charge　is　manifest；　but　this　evil　fiction　continues　in　the　West。　No　longer。　No　longer　will　anyone　have　cause　to　doubt　the　sincerity　of　the　Soviet　people's　quest　for　a　just　and　lasting　peace。
〃Beginning　today；　as　a　sign　of　good　faith　which　we　challenge　the　United　States　and　any　other　interested　nation　to　match；　the　Soviet　Union　will　remove　from　service　an　entire　class　of　nuclear…powered　missile　submarine。　These　submarines　are　known　to　the　West　as　the　Yankee　class。　We　call　them　something　else；　of　course；〃　he　said　with　an　ingenuous　grin　that　drew　another　wave　of　polite　laughter。　〃Twenty　of　the　vessels　are　presently　in　service；　each　carrying　twelve　sea…launched　ballistic　missiles。　All　active　members　of　the　class　are　assigned　to　the　Soviet　Northern　Fleet　based　on　the　Kola　Peninsula。　Beginning　today；　we　will　deactivate　these　vessels　at　a　rate　of　one　per　month。　As　you　know；　plete　deactivation　of　so　plex　a　machine　as　a　missile　submarine　requires　the　services　of　a　shipyard…the　missile　partment　must　be　physically　removed　from　the　body　of　the　vessel…and　so　these　vessels　cannot　be　fully　disarmed　overnight。　However；　to　make　the　honesty　of　our　intentions　undeniable；　we　invite　the　United　States　to　do　one　of　two　things：
〃First；　we　will　permit　a　selected　team　of　six　American　naval　officers　to　inspect　these　twenty　vessels　to　verify　that　their　missiles　tubes　have　been　filled　with　concrete　ballast　pending　removal　of　the　entire　missile　rooms　from　all　of　the　submarines。　In　return　for　this；　we　would　require　that　a　parable　inspection　visit　by　an　equal　number　of　Soviet　officers　to　American　yards　would　be　allowed　at　a　later　date　to　be　agreed　on。
〃Second；　as　an　alternative　should　the　United　States　be　unwilling　to　allow　reciprocal　verification　of　arms　reductions；　we　will