W.E.B. Griffin - Retreat, Hell!

THERE ARE SEVERAL PROBLEMS WITH THIS. FOR ONE THING THE I ROK CORPS IS ALREADY IN WONSAN, AND THE SEA APPROACHES TO WONSAN AND HUNGNAM HAVE BEEN MINED. MCCOY'S PEOPLE HAVE INTERCEPTED COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE MINELAYING VESSELS IN RUSSIAN, WHICH SUGGESTS TO HIM THAT THE RUSSIANS ARE LAYING THE MINES.

I SAW DUNSTON'S MESSAGE A WEEK AGO TO THE TOKYO CIA STATION CHIEF IN WHICH HE REPORTED THIS. PRESUMABLY THIS INTELLIGENCE WAS PASSED ON TO WILLOUGHBY. SO FAR AS I CAN FIND OUT, IT WAS NEVER PASSED ON TO X CORPS, EIGHTH ARMY, OR THE NAVY. THE FIRST THE NAVY LEARNED OF THE MINES WAS WHEN A HELICOPTER FROM ONE OF THE BABY CARRIERS ON A DOWNED PILOT RESCUE MISSION FLEW LOW OVER THE APPROACHES TO HAMHUNG AND SAW THE MINES IN THE WATER. THE NAVY SENT A MINESWEEPER TO CHECK AND IT HIT A MINE AND SANK.

THIS MEANS THAT WHEN X CORPS ARRIVES OFF WONSAN OR HAMHUNG SOMETIME TOMORROW OR THE DAY AFTER, THEY WILL HAVE TO SAIL BACK AND FORTH UNTIL THE MINES ARE SWEPT, AND THAT WILL TAKE THREE TO FIVE DAYS.

MEANWHILE, ON THE WEST COAST, GENERAL WALKER'S EIGHTH ARMY IS IN PURSUIT OF THE RETREATING NORTH KOREANS. ONE OF THE WAYS THEY ARE DOING THIS IS WITH A DROP OF THE 173RD PARACHUTE INFANTRY REGIMENT. THE ONLY JUSTIFICATION I HAVE HEARD FOR THIS IS THAT THERE ARE A NUMBER OF PARACHUTE OFFICERS ON THE EIGHTH ARMY STAFF WHO DIDN'T WANT THE PARATROOPS LEFT OUT OF THE WAR.

One of the radio teletype machines in the room began to clatter, and Pick­ering stopped reading the message.

Di-san went quickly to it, then turned to Howe and Pickering.

"It's a back-channel from Sergeant Keller," she announced. "Depending on how long it is, it will take me a couple of minutes to type it into the decryp­tion machine."

A back-channel message is one sent between operators at two communica­tions facilities, in this case the Dai Ichi Building (UNC) communications center and the communications room in the house. Intended primarily to an­nounce schedules, down equipment, and other technical matters, they are not logged and officially do not exist.

Pickering smiled and nodded his understanding, then turned to Howe.

"Why don't you tell the President what you really think, Ralph, without being so polite?"

Howe chuckled.

"Read on, Flem," he said. "It gets better."

Pickering dropped his eyes to the yet-to-be-transmitted message.

ANYWAY, WITHIN A COUPLE OF DAYS, EIGHTH ARMY WILL ALMOST CERTAINLY TAKE PYONGYANG.

MCCOY AND DUNSTON (SEPARATELY) HAVE TOLD ME THE CAPTURE OF THE NORTH KOREA CAPITAL MAY BE THE TRIGGER FOR THE CHINESE TO ENTER THE WAR. OPERATIVE WORDS MAY BE THE TRIGGER.

BY THE TIME EIGHTH ARMY TAKES PYONGYANG, THE MINES ON THE EAST COAST WILL PROBABLY BE CLEARED, AND X CORPS CAN LAND. THE QUESTION THEN BECOMES WHAT WILL X CORPS HAVE TO DO? SINCE PYONGYANG WILL HAVE FALLEN, THERE IS NO POINT IN HAVING X CORPS RECROSS THE PENINSULA TO TAKE IT. THE ONLY THING LEFT FOR THEM TO DO IS MOVE NORTHWARD ALONG THE EAST COAST TOWARD THE CHINESE BORDER.

THE SOUTH KOREANS ARE ALREADY MOVING TOWARD THE BORDER.

MCCOY AND DUNSTON (AGAIN SEPARATELY) HAVE BOTH TOLD ME THAT WHILE THE CHINESE MIGHT NOT REGARD THE SOUTH KOREANS AS A REAL THREAT—THEY HAVE TO RELY ON U.S. LOGISTICS—ONCE THE CHINESE LEARN THAT THE X CORPS IS COMING THAT WAY THEY VERY LIKELY WILL CONSIDER THAT MACARTHUR IS PLANNING TO STRIKE ACROSS THE BORDER, MACARTHUR HAS TOLD ME, AND I BELIEVE, HE HAS NO PLANS TO GO ACROSS THE CHINESE BORDER, BUT THAT ISN'T THE POINT. WHAT THE CHINESE THINK IS WHAT'S IMPORTANT, MCCOY AND DUNSTON THINK THAT ONCE THE CHINESE LEARN THAT X CORPS IS APPROACHING THE BORDER, THEY WILL COME INTO THE WAR. I CANNOT FAULT THEIR LOGIC.

IT CAN BE ARGUED—AND GENERAL WALKER DOES SO EFFECTIVELY-THAT IF HE HAD COMMAND OF X CORPS, THERE WOULD BE OVERALL CONTROL AND COORDINATION. HE SPENT ALMOST AS MUCH TIME EXPLAINING THIS TO ME AS HE DID COMPLAINING ABOUT HIS MISSING AIRPLANE. I HAVE THE FEELING THAT IF HE WERE GIVEN COMMAND, THE FIRST THING HE WOULD DO WOULD BE TO RELIEVE GENERAL ALMOND, WHOM HE CORDIALLY DETESTS, AND VICE VERSA.

THERE IS NOT MUCH LOVE LOST BETWEEN MACARTHUR AND WALKER EITHER, WHICH IS ONE OF THE REASONS HE IS NOT ABOUT TO PLACE X CORPS UNDER EIGHTH ARMY. THERE ARE OTHERS, WHICH INCLUDE ALMOND—WHO IS A GOOD MAN—AGREEING WITH MACARTHUR'S CONCEPT OF FIGHTING THIS WAR. ANOTHER, OF COURSE, IS THAT IF X CORPS IS UNDER EIGHTH ARMY, ALMOND COULD NOT CONTINUE TO WEAR BOTH HATS, THAT OF X CORPS COMMANDER AND CHIEF OF STAFF TO MACARTHUR. IF ALMOND WERE RELIEVED AS X CORPS COMMANDER, "ONE OF WALKER'S MEN" WOULD GET IT. IF HE WERE RELIEVED AS CHIEF OF STAFF, THAT WOULD PERMIT THE PENTAGON TO SEND A REPLACEMENT OF THEIR CHOOSING. NEITHER ALTERNATIVE IS ACCEPTABLE TO MACARTHUR.

I HAVE NO IDEA HOW EVEN YOU CAN STOP THIS INTERNECINE WARFARE BETWEEN YOUR SENIOR OFFICERS, BUT I HAVE BEEN BOTH WORKING WITH PICKERING AND FILLING IN FOR HIM LONG ENOUGH SO THAT I FEEL COMFORTABLE OFFERING SOME ADVICE ABOUT INTELLIGENCE GENERALLY AND THE CIA IN PARTICULAR.

YOU WERE WRONG—AS YOU TOLD ME—WHEN YOU DISESTABLISHED THE OSS, AND YOUR APPOINTMENT OF ADMIRAL HILLENCOETTER TO HEAD THE CIA OBVIOUSLY HASN'T WORKED. IF MCCOY HADN'T GONE TO PICKERING AND PICKERING'S FRIENDSHIP WITH SENATOR FOWLER HADN'T GOTTEN HIM IN TO SEE HILLENCOETTER WE WOULD NEVER HAVE KNOWN THAT THERE WAS INTELLIGENCE SAYING THE :NORTH KOREANS WERE GOING TO ATTACK. AND THAT WOULD HAVE MEANT THE MILITARY ESTABLISHMENT COULD CLAIM, AND WOULD HAVE CLAIMED, THAT THIS PROVED THE CIA WAS ESSENTIALLY USELESS AND USING UP APPROPRIATIONS THAT THEY' COULD PUT TO BETTER USE.

ROOSEVELT'S AND DONOVAN'S IDEA THAT THERE SHOULD BE A CENTRAL AGENCY FOR INTELLIGENCE NOT SUBORDINATE TO ANYONE IN THE MILITARY WAS A GOOD ONE, EVEN IF THE MILITARY ESTABLISHMENT IMMEDIATELY PUT THEIR WAGONS IN A CIRCLE TO FIGHT THE OSS, AND HAVE ALREADY STARTED TO DO SO WITH THE CIA.

THE FIRST THING TO DO THEN IS MAKE SURE WALTER BEDELL SMITH UNDERSTANDS THAT HIS TITLE IS "MR. DIRECTOR" AND NOT "GENERAL" AND THAT HE ANSWERS TO NO ONE BUT YOU. IF HE'S TO DO A GOOD JOB, HE HAS TO BE FREE OF THE MILITARY ESTABLISHMENT AND ITS OLD BOY NETWORK.

THE SECOND THING TO DO IS MAKE SURE THAT INTELLIGENCE GATHERED ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD, BUT RIGHT NOW ESPE­CIALLY HERE, GOES DIRECTLY TO WASHINGTON, WHERE IT SHOULD BE EVALUATED BY SMITH AND THEN SENT TO WHOEVER MIGHT HAVE USE FOR IT. IF THAT IS DONE, THE VARIOUS COMMANDS WILL NOT BE ABLE TO IGNORE INTELLIGENCE THAT DOESN'T FIT THEIR AGENDA.

FOR ALL I KNOW, YOU MAY HAVE ALREADY STARTED SOMETHING LIKE THIS. PICKERING, YOU TOLD ME, WAS GOING TO MEET WITH SMITH. I'M SURE PICKERING TOLD HIM HOW HE THINKS IT SHOULD BE DONE, AND HE APPARENTLY DID THAT WELL ENOUGH TO HAVE COME BACK OVER HERE WITH AT LEAST SOME OF THE AUTHORITY HE NEEDS. I HAVE LEARNED THAT HE HAS RELIEVED THE CIA TOKYO STATION CHIEF, WHO WAS BOTH INCOMPETENT AND THOUGHT OF HIMSELF AS A MEMBER OF MACARTHUR'S STAFF. I DON'T KNOW THIS, BUT I SUSPECT PICKERING WILL REPLACE HIM WITH COLONEL BANNING, WHO WORKED FOR HIM IN WAR TWO AND IS HELD IN HIGH REGARD BY MCCOY AND OTHERS. AND WHO WILL WORK FOR PICKERING, THAT IS THE CIA, NOT MACARTHUR.

IN THIS LATTER CONNECTION, I AM VERY IMPRESSED WITH VANDENBURG AND VERY WORRIED THAT WILLOUGHBY WILL TRY— AND PROBABLY SUCCEED—TO GET CONTROL OF HIM. I RECOMMEND THAT YOU ORDER—AS OPPOSED TO SUGGEST—THAT HE BE PLACED ON TDY TO THE CIA AND PLACED UNDER PICKERING.

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BY NOW, HARRY, YOU MUST SENSE THAT MY POSITION IS "A POX ON BOTH THEIR HOUSES." IT IS. YOU MUST ALSO SENSE THAT I HAVE TAKEN SIDES. I HAVE. I REALLY THINK MY USEFULNESS TO YOU HERE IS OVER, AND I RESPECTFULLY REQUEST RELIEF.

PICKERING CAN DO FOR YOU WHAT I HAVE BEEN DOING, AND IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT THAT'S THE WAY IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN DONE ALL ALONG. AS COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF YOU ARE ENTITLED TO GET THE FACTS, AND IT SEEMS TO ME THAT THE CIA IS WHERE YOU SHOULD GET THEM.