You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly. You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
alternatehistory.com
Chapter 4
IV.
Late November, 1991.
Mikhail Gorbachev was a nearly broken man. Ever since the coup events three months ago, he had watched the Soviet Union completely break apart, republics declaring their independence, and he was powerless to stop it. He knew the end was near, yet was still fighting that reality, not wanting to give up power after all he had done to change his nation. He still was fighting the fact that he no longer had a nation at all.
Gorbachev wanted to conduct business as usual, but outside Moscow, he had no control. The participation of KGB, the “Sword and Shield” of the Communist Party that Gorbachev had resigned from, in the August coup had rendered it a paper tiger, unable to gather the proper information that was needed or strike fear in anyone’s hearts. And right now, more than anything, Mikhail Gorbachev needed information on the whereabouts of every last nuclear weapon in the Soviet arsenal, so they could be dismantled and locked away safely.
Standing in front of Gorbachev’s desk was KGB chairman Vadim Viktorovich Bakatin, who had replaced Kryuchkov after the coup. Bakatin had previous been interior minister, and therefore head of the MVD, or internal militia. However, he did not have intelligence gathering experience, and in a rapidly disintegrating nation, that was crucial.
“Comrade Bakatin, have you been able to verify that all our nuclear weapons are safe?” Gorbachev asked. The chairman replied, “No, Comrade President, our work in this matter is still ongoing. As you know, KGB has security responsibility for all nuclear weapons we possess, but with the current difficulties, our ability to verify the inventory is limited.”
“I know our reach has grown short, Comrade, but surely, the people responsible for guarding those awful weapons have not decided to shirk their duty just because the ethnics are leaving?”
“No, Comrade President, that is not what I meant to infer. However, we possess somewhere close to 40,000 nuclear warheads, and they are spread across a vast amount of territory, much of which we do not have control over anymore. Furthermore, since our weapons program included scientists and guards from the other republics, it is possible some of them could choose to make a few “test” weapons disappear.”
Gorbachev’s mouth dropped open. “You mean to tell me that some of these people in the most destructive weapons program we have may not be loyal to the Soviet Union and could steal nuclear weapons? Yob’tvoyu mat! How can we prevent this?”
“Comrade President, I am not sure we can. Everything has happened much too fast. We must hope, and perhaps even pray, that no one has made that decision already.”
In Washington, President Bush wasn’t feeling much better. It had seemed like the entire year had been one long crisis. His Graves disease had sapped his energy and strength on many days, and while he had tried to not mention it, the signs were written on his face and in his words. For an energetic man, to be hit with a thyroid disease was the worst. He knew he wanted to do more, while his body was preventing him from doing it.
National Security Adviser Brent Scowcroft saw the fatigue in Bush’s expression, and hated heaping more stress upon an already tired president. He had no choice, though. The President needed to know all the information about the Soviet arsenal before he signed the Nunn-Lugar Act.
“Mr. President, I wanted to give you an update on the Soviets’ nuclear arsenal. The ICBM’s and IRBM’s are all secured, however, they are still trying to verify all of their tactical nuclear weapons. While most of those were pulled back in 1989 after the Warsaw Pact collapsed, there are still ones, we believe, near the Chinese border, and those republics already declared their independence from Moscow. They agreed to a revised union, but Moscow’s ability to affect events there is limited at best,” Scowcroft warned.
“So what do you recommend I do, Brent? I, uh, I don’t want to dance on Gorbachev’s grave, but this sounds like something that needs to be brought under control,” Bush asked.
“Well, sir, I know you have respect for President Gorbachev, and all that he’s done, but I think you need to reach out to the smaller republics and to President Yeltsin and ask them to please keep these weapons under control. We don’t want them, we simply want to ensure they are disposed of in a safe manner. It is vital to promote the friendship angle with them,” Scowcroft explained.
“I guess I need to start making some phone calls, then….Brent?”
“Yes, Mr. President?”
“What do you think I should do about Sununu? You used to be an Air Force General…did you see other White House officials use military travel this much?”
Scowcroft didn’t want to stray into domestic politics, and in the case of John Sununu, White House chief of staff, the politics were domestic AND security-based. The chief of staff was a very important person in the group of presidential advisers. He had been using military travel for all sorts of personal trips, not paying for it, and claiming it was because as chief of staff, he needed to always be connected to a secure line. Scowcroft did find Sununu to be rather imperious, and bypassed him as much as possible to meet with the President.
“Sir, if it were me, I’d ask him to resign. He’s abused the power of his position. But it’s not my decision to make.”
“Thank you, Brent. I’ve already made the decision, I just wanted to hear it from someone I trust.”
In Afghanistan, bin Laden’s team prepared lead lined containers for shipment to the Sudan. Bin Laden had gotten the specifications from a scientist in the Pakistani nuclear program, thanks to his contacts with ISI, the Pakistani intelligence agency. They resembled the shipping containers for the American Stinger anti-aircraft missile launchers that had been sent by the thousands to Afghanistan to fight against the Soviets. This was by design, of course. Something so prosaic as a Stinger would draw no attention in Afghanistan or Pakistan, and that was good, for bin Laden wanted no one to notice. He had an airplane waiting in Peshawar, and from there, his team, the containers, and himself would fly to Sudan.