Prime Minister Francis Urquhart and 9/11

MarkWhittington

The following is a reimagining of the later career of Britain’s most infamous fictional Prime Minister, which was depicted in the miniseries The Final Cut. The miniseries was broadcast in 1995 but depicted the murderous Francis Francis Urquhart in the year 2001 getting into trouble on the island of Cyprus, until his wife arranged for his “safety.” Who was to know back then what opportunities the real 2001 would have presented?

By the summer of 2001, Prime Minister Francis Urquhart could look back on a successful premiership. He had privatized the National Health Service, fought a relentless war on terror long before it became fashionable, and had expanded the British Army, Royal Navy, and Royal Air Force the better to reassert Britain’s place in the world. He had brought down nearly all of his enemies, even King Charles III. He had arranged for Diana Regency until King William had reached his majority. What was not known was the Urquhart had taken a dim view of the newly made Queen Mother’s extracurricular activities, both political and sexual. Land mines were very useful weapons for the newly expanded British Armed Forces and cavorting with Eurotrash and even Arabs was simply beneath the dignity of the mother of the King of England. One such person, by the name of Fayed, had suffered a mysterious traffic accident…

But, as Urquhart once said about another Prime Minister, even the longest, the most glittering reign must come to an end someday. Even so, Urquhart knew that he was hated by a significant number of the British people, more so even than Mrs. Thatcher. He had done too much to change the country he had been entrusted with. So the trick was to go out with one last great accomplishment, something that would solidify his legacy. It would have to be something that was beyond controversy, say a peace agreement between two enemies. Then a long, well earned retirement in the House of Lords.

But what? There was really nothing of importance happening on the world stage. The dust up in the Balkans had come to naught. And not even Urquhart had enough ego to get involved in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Maybe a settlement in Cyprus. That would be risky, in a number of ways. There were certain secrets buried on that island that would not bear disinterment.

Then, in the early afternoon London time of September the 11th, the answer came as if it had been presented on a silver platter.

More to follow.
 

DAv

I've only read a part of the third novel but it I'm already interested in how this will turn out...
 

MarkWhittington

The first thing Prime Minister Urquhart did upon hearing the news of the attack on the World Trade Center was to place the British armed forces on alert. Then he placed a call to the American President promising the full support of Great Britain for any action that would be taken in response to the attack. This was easier said than done. The attacks had caught the President at some touchy, feely event in Florida of the type Urquhart loathed. The President spent the rest of the day on Air Force One wondering about the United States, wondering if it was safe to go back to Washington. The Pentagon was attack and there were rumors of other strikes as well.

The next thing Urquhart did was to order some measures taken under the Terrorism Act that Parliament had passed several years ago under his insistence. The Act had been directed at Irish terrorists, but it would work against Middle Eastern types too. Britain had more unsocialized young Muslims who didn’t seem to have a lick of loyalty to King and Country than Urquhart felt comfortable with. In the next few weeks many of these would find themselves detained indefinitely without trial or even charges. Subsequently several Imans would be arrested and charged with sedition for some of the more incendiary things they had been saying at Friday prayers. And more than one group would be scooped up with weapons and bomb making equipment. It was so useful, Urquhart thought, to have an enemy within to focus the attention of the people.

Finally, he called an emergency meeting of the Cabinet to inform his ministers of what he had done. To hammer home the gravity of the situation, he had TV monitors set up showing the Sky News coverage of what was happening in New York, Washington, and curiously a field somewhere in Pennsylvania. It was the second (often first) job of a cabinet minister, Urquhart believed, to plot against the Prime Minister. There had been far too much of that going on as of late. No longer. Everyone was transfixed at what was going on across the Atlantic.

The meeting of the House that evening was even more grave. That was good. No more raucous dissent from the back benchers or jeering from the Opposition. Just rapt attention as Urquhart spoke. “We have entered into a long, twilight struggle against a shadowy enemy bent on bringing down Civilization. Make no mistake. Today’s attacks took place in America, but they were directed against the whole world.” And that had the virtue of being absolutely true. “Great Britain stands ready to fight, shoulder to shoulder, with the United States.” That actually brought cheers, which momentarily astonished Urquhart. “And we shall take further measures to ensure the security of this island. For we are at war, as surely as we were sixty years ago, and against a foe just as remorseless, just as evil.” And therefore woe to anyone who dared oppose Urquhart’s war time measures or break the Official Secrets Act, which would now be enforced to the hilt.

The next day he was pleased to see himself compared to Churchill. It was a mixed blessing, since Urquhart was well aware of what had happened to him the moment Hitler was dead. There would be no question of Urquhart retiring now. The new world situation needed a steady hand. And he was just the one to provide it.
 
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Ivan Druzhkov

Damn, really interesting stuff. It looks like it's shaping up to be a sort of "What Bush would've done if he really WAS pure evil" sort of thing.
 

MarkWhittington

The first discussion with the American President had been very fruitful. Prime Minister Urquhart was the first foreign leader to visit the United States since the 9/11 attacks. The visit was said to be for the purpose of formulating joint strategy for the new War on Terror. Of course the real work along those lines was being done by the service chiefs of the United States, the UK, and certain other allies.

The target was to be Afghanistan. Both the American CIA and MI6 had pretty much known that Al Qaeda, protected by the Taliban government of that country, had been responsible for the attack since the night of 9/11. In a way Urquhart was disappointed. Afghanistan had little to offer but mountains and heathens. He had hoped that a richer country had been involved—Iraq or Iran for example. He had been developing certain plans involving Middle Eastern oil and the control of it. High time that volatile Muslims, who tended to use oil revenue to make mischief, be stripped of that control.

It was not something Urquhart spoke of openly, even to the American President. Especially the American President. The American President had a reputation of being some kind of Texas cowboy gunslinger in Britain and Europe. Urquhart knew from personal experience that evaluation was rather wide of the mark. His American counterpart had, in some ways, a mind as subtle as his own. Urquhart’s one private criticism was that the American President was hampered by an excess of idealism and even, at times, conscience. This too was at variance with his public reputation. Still, he was someone that Urquhart could work with, even if he had a hidden agenda beyond just smiting terrorists. Indeed, with the developing War on Terror being world wide, the turn of the oil countries in the Middle East would come. Urquhart even had hints from some on the President’s staff that Saddam Hussein was on the target list. A little unfinished business from the Gulf War, which happened during the all too brief and unlamented Collingridge Prime Ministership.

Now, of course, it was time for the joint press conference and the platitudes that the press like to eat up as if they were little dog treats. Later, there would be a side trip to New York and a visit to the place that was already being called Ground Zero. There he would look appropriately reverent and solemn. He might even say a prayer. A risky thing to do, as Britain was becoming an increasingly secular country. But one worth taking, Urquhart thought, while feelings were still running high.
 
Sargon

Sargon

Donor
Monthly Donor
This is really good. Unlike Blair who seems to have idealism, Urquhart is a cynical and manipulative schemer who does not mind resorting to very dirty and nasty methods to get things done. Is he going to off George Galloway or land him in some dirt by creating a suitably nasty scandal (real or otherwise) for example? I'd expect Urquhart to be utterly ruthless to the point of murder in dealing with any opponents if he can get away with it.

Looking forward to more.


Sargon

A Timeline of mine: The Roman Emperor Who Lost His Nose
 

MarkWhittington

It was Christmas and Prime Minister Urquhart could not have been a happier man. The Afghan campaign had gone far better than anyone could have hoped for. American and British special operations units had linked up with the Northern Alliance and, with the assistance of massive air power, had rolled the Taliban up like a carpet.

The best news, though, was the capture of Osama bin Laden himself by a mixed unit of SAS and a detachment from the Royal Parachute Brigade. Bin Laden had been fleeing the Battle of Tora Bora, headed for the Pakistani border. The British commander, having concluded that the tribal warriors that the Americans were relying on to seal off the area were too unreliable, had sealed off on his own initiative the escape routes out of Afghanistan. After a suitable period of interrogation, Bin Laden had been handed over to the Americans for trial. If Bin Laden had seemed a little worse for wear, no one commented on the fact. The former Al Qaeda leader was now languishing in a cell at Quantico.

Urquhart had on his desk a secret document entitled: Operation Antioch. It concerned an RAF base that was being built near the Afghan-Iranian border. It was said to be for the purpose of helping to secure that region of Afghanistan, which might still contain some Taliban and Al Qaeda remaints. Its actual purpose was to serve as a base of secret operations in the restive Baluchistan region of Iran. It was all part of Urquhart’s grand design concerning the Middle Eastern oil states. If anyone found out about it—unlikely in Uruqhart’s view—he could point to clandestine Iranian support for terrorist elements in Afghanistan.

Urquhart was enjoying his highest popularity ratings since the beginning of his premiership. True, there were some malcontents—“peace” activists and Muslims. Just the other day a deputation of relatives of Muslim detainees tried to meet with him to try to find out of the fates of their relatives. They were all safely confined in a camp on the Isle of Man. In any case, few people listened to them, even the BBC.

The New Year would prove to be even more profitable. Having dealt with the Taliban in Afghanistan, the Americans and their coalition allies agreed that it was time to deal with the next target. Iraq, it would seem, would likely be slated for regime change. Saddam Hussein, having been dealt with far too much forbearance during the Gulf War in Uruqhart’s opinion, needed handling. The British would play a key role in that operation, though it would likely only take place after a diplomatic kabuki dance that the Americans seem to be insisting on.

Of course there were ways of creating a causus bellum., Urquhart considered. Saddam was said to be developing weapons of mass destruction. Every intelligence organization, including MI6, said so. But Saddam was impeding the efforts of the UN inspectors to find and dispose of those weapons, under UN resolutions. What if, a cache of chemical weapons were to be “accidentally” found somewhere, say tucked away in the western desert of Iraq?

Urquhart permitted himself a sly smile.
 

Wozza

This is good.

Remember that in both the book and TV versions Urquhart does have pangs of conscience - in the first book he kills himself after all, and in the TV version he has guilty flashbacks.
 

Ivan Druzhkov

Wozza said:
This is good.

Remember that in both the book and TV versions Urquhart does have pangs of conscience - in the first book he kills himself after all, and in the TV version he has guilty flashbacks.
Click to expand...
I'm also wondering if there's a risk that this guy is going to end up outsmarting himself, and set off a chain of events that he can't control that eventually brings his mighty empire crashing down.
 

Amerigo Vespucci

Ivan Druzhkov said:
I'm also wondering if there's a risk that this guy is going to end up outsmarting himself, and set off a chain of events that he can't control that eventually brings his mighty empire crashing down.
Click to expand...

If that's the case, I'd almost suggest leaving Osama at large. It provides a nice little means to frustrate Urquhart and develop the character beyond a super evil guy who's always on top of events.
 

MarkWhittington

Prime Minister Urquhart watched the broadcast of the meeting of the UN Security Council with keen interest. The Iraqi representative was speaking now. The gist of his remarks was that the “defense base” that had been found in Anbar Province in the west of Iraq was not any business of the world body. Did not the “Zionist Entity” have weapons of mass destruction? Why shouldn’t an Arab country have some of their own to counter them?

The brazen approach that the Iraqi diplomat was taken astonished Urquhart. Surely Saddam Hussein knew that those weapons were not his? They had been planted in his country in the most brilliant false flag operation that MI6 had undertaken since the Second World War. The people who had purchased the nerve gas from a German Chemical firm and the Scud missiles from the Russian Mafia had thought they were working for Hussein. The people who had trucked them across the border from Jordan late at night, with payoffs to the Iraqi border guards to make them look the other way, and had buried them just so in the desert thought they were working for Hussein. No doubt if (when!) they were caught, that is what they would testify to after being broken under interrogation.

Since the cache had been uncovered by Hans Blix and his UN Team, it had been seized by a unit of the Iraqi Army. After protesting the high handed move, Blix and his people had found themselves ejected from Iraq summarily.

Urquhart knew what would follow. The Security Council would pass another of its long line of useless resolutions. Iraq would defy it. Then, some time in the fall of 2002, American, British, and other Coalition forces would cross into Iraq and occupy the country. Then another part of Urquhart’s grand design would be in place. Iraqi oil would be under the charge, first of the Coalition, and then under whatever government the Coalition imposed on Iraq. Oil revenue would be diverted from unproductive activities such as terrorism and military weapons to public works—after a good rake off for British Petroleum and certain other favored US oil companies.

Then the squeeze could be placed on the mad mullahs of Iran. Liberated from the oppression of Saddam, the Kurds of Iraq would surely want to help their brothers under the oppression of the mullahs of Iran. And Britain would be most ready to help.

The phone rang. Urquhart picked it up, turning down the sound on the television. “Yes?”

“Rather grave news, Prime Minister.” It was his Minister of Defense. “The Israelis have launched a massive air strike on that chemical weapons depot. It was totally destroyed.”

Urquhart’s mind started to race. This was an unexpected development. Usually the Americans could be relied upon to restrain the Israelis. It looked like Prime Minister Sharon had decided not to be restrained. Not Urquhart could blame him. Those kind of weapons could hit Tel Aviv within minutes.

“Syria is already threatening war,” said the Minister of Defense.

Urquhart noticed bedlam breaking out in the Security Council. Apparently the news had reached that august body. A match had just been thrown onto the powder keg that was the Middle East, far sooner than Urquhart had planned.

“Meeting of the War Cabinet. One hour,” Urquhart said.

“Yes, Prime Minister”
 

DAv

So the Devil does trip un F.U's plans once in a while. This is quickly becoming one of my fave TL's.
 
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