Griffin W.E.B. - Honor Bound 01 - Honor Bound

"Interesting. What is he doing in Argentina, if I may ask? For that matter, how did he wind up in the American Army—"

"Marine Corps," Gr?ner corrected him. "It is part of the U.S. Navy."

"—excuse me, in the Marine Corps —if he's an Argentinean?"

"His mother was an American. He was raised there. He has dual citizenship. I have an agent in Internal Security, a Comandante—Major—Habanzo. He showed me his dossier."

"Fascinating. What did you say he's doing here?"

“No one seems to know. He came ostensibly to make sure that American petroleum is not being diverted from here to Germany."

"And obviously the Americans don't like that."

"No, of course they don't. We managed to acquire some petroleum products here at the start of the war—at a great cost, I might add. But the Americans solved that problem early on by controlling the amount of petroleum they are willing to sell Argentina, and by applying diplomatic pressure. Meanwhile, the Argentines have a growing need for oil, so there is less and less available to us, no matter what we're willing to pay for it.

"So, while it is possible that young Frade is here to make sure Germany is not buying American oil, I doubt it. That leaves several more likely possibilities. The most logical is that he is here to influence his father."

Gr?ner stopped, and looked at Peter.

"The only way I can explain that is to deliver a lecture on Argentinean politics. I'd planned to do so in a day or two anyway. But why not now?"

"Please do, Herr Oberst."

"Their politics are Byzantine. Or perhaps Machiavellian, or Spanish, or perhaps simply Argentinean. But certainly not democratic, as Northern Europeans understand the term. They have elections every once in a while—between takeovers of the government by military juntas. The election of the current president of Argentina was, by local standards, remarkably honest. The man's name is Castillo—and he is quite sympathetic to Germany. But he has lost favor with the people, not in small part because of British influence here. The British built the Argentine rail system and the telephone network, and they trained their Navy. The Navy is therefore sympathetic to the British. German engineers built their dams and power stations, and we trained their Army: The Army is therefore pro-German—generally speaking, with certain specific exceptions."

"I understand. I hope I understand."

"It takes some getting used to. And the British do better with propaganda, frankly, than we do. That recent declaration, for example."

"Sir?"

"Where they accused us of murdering hundreds of thousands of Jewish women and children."

"I'm afraid I don't understand, Herr Oberst."

"They put out a proclamation, in the name of the King, Stalin, the President of the United States, and even that ludicrous Frenchman, de Gaulle, charging Germany with murdering hundreds of thousands of Jews. An absolutely fantastic accusation, but one which got wide play in the local press, including, so help me, Die Freie Presse." (The Freie Presse, a German-language newspaper, was then published daily in Buenos Aires.)

"I haven't heard anything ..."

"You were on the ship. I have a copy in the office, and I'll let you read it. It's absolutely outrageous. I can't believe they actually thought anyone would believe a word of it, but unfortunately, many people seem to take the document seriously.

"Anyway, whether because of British propaganda or not, Castill? has lost much of his support. Thus, if the elections were held today, he would almost certainly lose. So he has naturally decided to ignore the results of the next election."

"Can he get away with that?"

"If it weren't for the G.O.U.—the Grupo de Oficiales Unidos—he probably could. But if El Presidente does not voluntarily relinquish power when he loses the election—or even if he wins it—the G.O.U. will almost certainly stage a coup d'?tat. And to anticipate your question, Peter, can they get away with that? Yes, I think they can. And so does the Bureau of Internal Security, I'm reasonably certain."

"And that junta would not be pro-German, but pro-Allies?"

"Not necessarily. There are both pro-German and pro-Allied factions within the G.O.U. The power within the G.O.U., however, the money and the brains, belongs to el Coronel Jorge Guillermo Frade. On the one hand, Frade is the uncle of the heroic Hauptmann Duarte, who died fighting godless communism with von Paulus at Stalingrad. And on the other, he is the father of Lieutenant Frade of the United States Marine Corps."

"I see."

"Which very possibly explains the presence of 'ex'-Lieutenant Frade, in civilian clothing, in Argentina. He has been sent here to tell his father that the Americans will help him in any way they can. And, very probably, to establish a line of communication with him."

"Yes," Peter said thoughtfully.

"Now, with Oberst Frade, there is another factor involved,"

Gr?ner said. "You met, I believe, Oberst Juan Domingo Per?n in Germany?"

"Yes, Sir. He came as far as the Franco-Spanish border with me."

"And your relationship with Oberst Per?n?"

"Actually, Sir, we got along rather well. He told me I would enjoy my time in Argentina and was quite gracious to me."

"That cordiality almost certainly will be valuable later on," Gr?ner said. "The point is that, despite their different backgrounds—Frade is one of the most wealthy men in Argentina, and Per?n 's background is simple—Per?n and Frade are quite close. They became friends in the army when they were both lieutenants."

"I see what you mean, Sir, by Byzantine."

"Per?n is very sympathetic to Germany, in particular with Germany's socialist political philosophy, and with Germany's demonstrated concern for the welfare of the working man. (It is perhaps germane to note here that "NAZI" was the shortened form of NSDAP, Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (National Socialist German Workers Party), and that the root of Hitler's power when he was first elected Chancellor, quite legally, was from Germany's socialists.)

It is to study our system that he is in Germany. And the reason he wishes to become expert, so to speak, in German socialist social policy is that, when the G.O.U. stages its coup d'?tat and takes over the government, Oberst Per?n will become what we would call the Minister for Public Welfare."

"A military man as Minister of Social Welfare?" Peter asked, surprised.

"The military runs Argentina, Peter. You must keep that in mind. Which means that our mission is to ensure that our colonels, and not the British colonels, are in charge."

"I understand," Peter said.

"The third possibility is that 'ex'-Lieutenant Frade is a member of the OSS, the Office of Strategic Services, and that he is here to damage or sink a U-boat replenishment vessel we have in the River Plate."

"Really? How?"

"Good question. He probably knows no more about sinking a ship than you do.

"Now all this leads to a distasteful aspect of our duty here, one that frankly troubles me personally, but which I have come reluctantly to decide is essential. There is no civilized way to wage war, and we are fooling ourselves when we think there is."

"Yes, Sir. I agree."

"It is not in Germany's interests to permit a cozy relationship between Lieutenant Frade—that is to say, the American government—and Oberst Frade, who will almost certainly be a major influence on Argentine policy."

"Obviously."

"Considering the stakes—Germany needs and buys enormous quantities of Argentine wool, Argentine leather, Argentine foodstuffs—we cannot afford to have someone in a position of influence who will lead Argentina into the war on the side of the Allies ... or stand by while our supply line is cut. Since removing Oberst Frade is obviously out of the question, that leaves 'ex'-Lieutenant Frade. The question then becomes how."