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Kennedy was caught off guard by the ambassador but didn’t let it show. Not wanting to appear a bald-faced liar she said, “We have heard the Palestinians’ claims, but so far have been unable to verify them.”
He kept his gaze locked on Kennedy. “And what of the Palestinian ambassador to the UN?”
Kennedy badly wanted to tell Aziz that his cousin Prince Omar was a suspect but that would be unwise. Besides, they had nowhere near enough evidence to make that connection. As recently as this morning Kennedy and Rapp had discussed the possibility of Freidman sending one of his agents to Omar and setting him up. Freidman had made a career of running very complex operations that looked like one thing and turned out to be something very different. If Omar was about to be the patsy for an Israeli operation they would know soon enough.
Answering the question put to her, Kennedy said, “We have absolutely no idea who killed Ambassador Ali, but are running down every possible lead.”
“Including that the Israelis may have done it?”
“Including that the Israelis may have done it,” answered Kennedy.
President Hayes cleared his throat. “Abdul, I value your friendship, and I value the friendship of your country. We have made great strides as of late and I think we need to keep moving in the right direction.”
“And what is that direction, Mr. President?”
Hayes looked momentarily miffed by the question. “Peace and prosperity. We need to continue to open up our markets to each other and work toward forging a long-lasting relationship.”
“And what of the Palestinian crisis?”
“I’ve made myself very clear that this administration supports a Palestinian state.”
Secretary of State Berg quickly added, “As long as Israel is recognized by the Arab states and her security is guaranteed.”
Hayes nodded earnestly.
“Good,” said Aziz. “Then we can count on you to vote for the French resolution this afternoon.”
The silence was deafening, and after a long awkward moment the ambassador began to shake his head. “Must you always favor Israel?” He said this in a desperate voice that was barely loud enough for the room to hear.
“Mr. Ambassador,” said Secretary Berg as gently as possible, “you know better than anyone how complicated this is.”
“Yes, I do,” he sighed, “and unfortunately it is about to get a great deal more complicated.” Aziz turned to President Hayes. “My government is requesting that as a token of our friendship you vote for the French resolution for Palestinian statehood this afternoon.”
President Hayes swallowed hard and began to sadly shake his head. “Abdul, I need time.”
“For what, Mr. President? So you can try to convince the French to table their resolution?” It was now Aziz’s turn to shake his head. “The time has come, Mr. President, to stop the bloodshed. The time has come for you to show that America can be evenhanded in this regard. I plead with you, Mr. President, the Arab people need to see that you will break with Israel when they are wrong.”
Berg tried to draw Aziz away from the president. “Mr. Ambassador, I can assure you that the American people want peace in the Middle East, but it cannot be rushed.”
“Madam Secretary, I can assure you, in turn, that the Arab people want a Palestinian state, and they are tired of waiting.” Aziz turned back to Hayes and with genuine sorrow said, “Mr. President, I take no joy in telling you this, but I have been asked to inform you that if America vetoes the French resolution this afternoon, there will be severe repercussions.”
“Such as?” asked Hayes.
Aziz took a deep breath and announced, “The crown prince will suspend all oil shipments to America immediately, and he has been given assurances by the other OPEC Gulf States that they will do the same.”
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The ambassador’s words hit home with an impact that rolled through the minds of the presidential advisors like a series of shock waves. No one spoke. There was nothing to say until the ambassador was gone. President Hayes had all but pleaded for the ambassador to give them more time, but the ambassador had been firm. It was time for an even hand and bold steps. Waiting a week or a month served no purpose other than to allow Israel to find a way to hold on to the land.
Kennedy watched as Valerie Jones escorted the ambassador from the room. The president’s chief of staff followed him into the hallway in a desperate effort to get him to reconsider. Kennedy didn’t need to be told what to do. Getting up from the couch, she walked over to the president’s desk and picked up the handset of his bulky secure telephone unit. She punched in ten digits and waited for Charles Workman, her deputy director of intelligence, to answer. On the third ring she got him.
“Charlie, I need an immediate intel pull on everything we have over the last forty-eight hours between Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf States concerning a possible oil embargo against us if we veto the French resolution at the UN.”
Kennedy listened for a moment and said, “No, it’s firsthand. Ambassador Aziz just informed the president of their intentions.” Again she listened to her DDI and then replied, “That’s right. Use every asset we’ve got. I need some hard intel within the hour.”
The director of the CIA returned to find a shell-shocked president and a very agitated secretary of defense. “Mr. President, this embargo could be construed as an act of war.”
“That’s interesting, Rick,” chimed Secretary of State Berg. “That’s what the Japanese said when we placed an oil and steel embargo on them back in forty-one.”
