Free The Last Days by Joel C. Rosenberg

They’ve just put their best counterterrorism units on high alert. The Sayerat Matkal and Ya’ma’m will be ready to move within the hour. Doron would like to talk with you as soon as possible.”
    â€œDoes he think the Syrians are behind this?”
    â€œHe doesn’t know what to think, sir. None of them do. Seems Shin Bet was completely caught off guard, as well.”
    â€œWhat about you?”
    â€œI don’t know, sir. Bashar Assad doesn’t have much use for Arafat. But there’s no reason I can see why he’d kill him. Assad isn’t a religious man. Khalid al-Rashid was. I can’t see how Syrian intelligence could have persuaded him to blow up Arafat and Mazen and Paine and himself for the glory of the Ba’ath party. It doesn’t add up.”
    â€œGod help me, Marsha,” said the President, “if Assad is behind this…”
    â€œMr. President, I know what you’re saying, and I feel the same way. But things are very early. It’s far more likely that there’s a religious angle here than that this is the Syrians.”
    â€œWho then—Iran, the Saudis?”
    â€œIt’s just too early, sir.”
    MacPherson tried to refocus.
    â€œAll right, here’s what I want you to do. Put CENTCOM on alert. Start moving air and ground assets toward the Syrian-Iraqi border. Watch for more Iraqi officials trying to flee for Damascus and make Assad feel the heat. Then tell our ambassador over there to get this message to Assad—quote—‘The president advises you to stand down your forces. The U.S. will not tolerate Syrian interference in the crisis in Palestine. Any attempt to exploit the situation or provoke hostilities with the State of Israel or any regional player will be considered a hostile act against the United States. On these points there can be no misunderstanding. The U.S. will protect our vital national interests, and the interests of regional peace and security.’ End quote. Got it?”
    â€œYes, sir.”
    â€œThen get me the VP right away.”
    â€œWhat about Doron, sir?”
    â€œWhat do you think?”
    â€œFor the moment I’d tell them to get their forces ready for ground operations in the West Bank and Gaza. But I’d recommend you advise Israel not to actually move in—or engage in any armed contact with the Palestinians—until we gather more facts and you can get back to the White House.”
    â€œAll right, have the VP call Doron back and give him that message. Have him tell Doron that as soon as I land in Washington, we’ll talk by phone. Then have the VP call me.”
    â€œRoger that, Mr. President. By the way, not that you need anything else on your plate right now, sir, but we’ve gotten word that there have just been two massive earthquakes in the past hour. The first was in southern Turkey, about forty-five minutes ago. Looks like a six-point-nine on the Richter scale. Death toll already appears to be over a thousand, with the number of wounded closing in on three thousand.”
    â€œMy God.”
    â€œI’ve spoken twice with Ambassador Rebeiz in the last few minutes. He just called the Turkish foreign minister to offer our sympathies and full support. Our military forces in the country—including our base at Incirlik—all appear unaffected so far. But I should be getting an update at the top of the hour from DoD.”
    â€œGood. Get Rebeiz back on the phone. Have him call President Sezer and Prime Minister Gul and give them my personal condolences. Let them know I’ve authorized the full resources of our government to provide anything he and his people need—search and rescue, medical facilities and personnel, the Army Corps of Engineers, whatever.”
    â€œYes, sir.”
    â€œAnd make sure the Red Cross and other groups are doing whatever they can.”
    â€œWe’ll get right on it, sir.”
    â€œWhat about the