James BeauSeigneur - In His Image James

Fahd attempted to get the Security Council to condemn Brook's ultimatum but was supported only by the West African representative. The Security Council was reluctant to interfere with the specific actions of the World Peace Organization. They saw their role as one of setting policy, not regulating tactics. As long as General Brooks' actions stayed within the conventions established in the WPO charter, the Security Council could be expected not to interfere.

China abstained from the vote. Ambassador Lee felt that voting to condemn General Brooks would be seen as tentative approval of the arms sales from her country. China's official position had always been that while it opposed the sales of arms, it was not willing to interfere with the free trade of its citizens. Ambassador Lee, however, did proceed quickly and quite forcefully to prohibit Brooks from crossing into Chinese territory to enforce his ultimatum. Any efforts to interdict the flow of arms from China would have to be at the border with Pakistan. Her motion passed nine to one, with only India opposing the directive.

Coincidentally, it was to be one of Ambassador Lee's final acts as a member of the Security Council. Two days later, while taking her regular early morning walk, Ambassador Lee was struck by a hit and run driver and died on the way to the hospital. Following her death, the Security Council voted to take a two week recess to allow China to select a replacement. A memorial service was held for Lee in the Hall of the General Assembly before her body was returned to China for burial.

January 6,2021

"Welcome back, Mr. Ambassador."

"Thank you, Gerard," Ambassador Moore responded, as he hung up his overcoat.

"How was your flight?"

'Too long. We sat at DeGaulle Airport for over an hour before we even got off the ground." Moore sat down at his desk and began flipping through a short, neatly-stacked pile of papers. "What's the news from General Brooks?" he asked his chief of staff, without looking up.

"Things appear to be going well. As you predicted, the interdiction of Chinese arms into Pakistan has resulted in a distinct advantage for the Indian forces. General Brooks estimates that it will probably take another few weeks before we see the full effect, but I think we can look forward to a swift resolution of the conflict and, more importantly, to India's support on your next bid to become Secretary-General. I think Ambassador Gandhi will find it difficult indeed to vote against you under the circumstances."

"Good. And our relations with Ambassador Fahd? Anything new there?"

"No. You're scheduled to have lunch with him tomorrow, so you should get a clear reading on his thoughts then. So far there has been no indication that he holds you personally responsible for General Brooks' actions. I think your support for Ambassador Lee's motion to prohibit U.N. forces from entering Chinese territory helped delineate you from Brooks in the minds of most of the Security Council."

Moore didn't respond; he was distracted from the conversation by one of the documents in the stack of papers. Poupardin knew the look and waited silently as Moore examined it. After a moment, Moore began to glance through the rest of the accumulated stack, and picked up the conversation exactly where it had left off. "Yes," he smiled, "that couldn't have worked better if I had planned it."

"A few more fortuitous circumstances like that and you might have gotten China's support without having to… "

"Fortune is a very uncertain ally, Gerard," Moore chided. "Besides, we do not have the luxury of waiting for fortune to strike. Mark my words, if a new Secretary-General is not chosen within the next six months, I'm convinced that the Security Council will vote to do away with the position altogether and have the responsibilities permanently rotate among the Council members. We must make our own fortunes." Poupardin nodded in agreement. "What about the Chinese situation?" Moore asked.

"You're scheduled for dinner with the new Chinese ambassador tomorrow night. I've prepared a briefing packet for you." Poupardin handed the packet to Moore. "I don't think you'll find anything outrageous there. Our intelligence on him indicates he's basically a reasonable man. He doesn't expect any promises. His main criterion in selecting a new Secretary-General is simply that the candidate be willing to give a fair hearing to China's position."

"Well, I think I can convince him that I'll be all ears," Moore smiled.

"Of course," Poupardin continued, "since he's not asking for anything, we can't really count on his support. But if you can convince him that you'd be the kind of Secretary-General who's willing to listen, I think you can at least count on him not to oppose you."

"Excellent," Moore said, as he put the papers back in a pile on his desk. "Then I'd say we made a pretty good trade for Ambassador Lee."

"Yes, sir."

"What about Kruszkegin?"

"We're watching his schedule closely for the right opportunity."

"Be sure you clear it with me before you authorize any specific action. We can't afford any mistakes."

"Yes, sir."

"Well, if there is no more pressing news," Moore said, as he opened his briefcase, "I picked up a few video disks for you while I was in Paris. They came very highly rated."

"These look great," Poupardin said, as he took the disks from Moore and eagerly examined the photo collage on the cover of one of the disks. "We can watch these when you come over tonight."

"It sounds like fun, Gerard, but I promised Suzanne and Betty I'd take them to dinner when I got back," Moore said, referring to his wife and daughter. Poupardin was obviously disappointed. "I'm sorry, Gerard," he said, and then looking at his watch, added, "I suppose we have a few minutes right now, if you'd like."

Poupardin smiled and went to lock the door.

January 8,2021

Ambassador Lee's replacement was a much younger man in his early fifties. His stamina for the responsibilities of his new office would soon be tested. As the Security Council reconvened they tasted the first bitter fruits of General Brooks' ultimatum and the resulting blockade at the Pakistan-China border. Forced to take up fixed positions to enforce the blockade, U.N. troops had quickly become the targets of sniper fire and guerrilla attacks by Pakistani forces. The Pakistani government officially condemned the attacks, stating that the attackers were independents, not associated with the Pakistani army. They also took the opportunity to reiterate their position that since the blockade was not in the host country's interest, the U.N. forces were not acting within their charter or in accordance with the original invitation from Pakistan for the placement of troops within its borders. They went on to explain that since all available Pakistani forces were engaged elsewhere, there was really very little they could do about the guerrilla attacks.

Far worse than all of this, however, were the threats of a rogue Pakistani militia called the Pakistani Guard. According to the reports, the Guard, fearing that the war would soon swing in India's favor, had planted nuclear devices in eight major Indian cities. Though it seemed unlikely that the Guard could have acquired nuclear weapons, the magnitude of the threat compelled the Security Council to take them seriously. The Guard's demands were straightforward enough. First, all U.N. and Indian forces must leave Pakistan, and second, for good measure, India must surrender the long-disputed Jammu-Kashmir province to Pakistani control. Prime Minister Rajiv Advani would consider neither demand, and thus far was satisfied to hurl insults and counter threats.

The Power Within Him – The Power Within Us All

January 20,2021 – Israel