December 6, 1981
WASHINGTON D.C, WHITE HOUSE
Zbigniew Brzezinski was back in the White House at the explicit invitation of the President, who wishes to consult with a man who was an expert on that part of the world. Others present included Alexander Haig, William J. Casey and Richard V. Allen.
The immediate crisis that had the men gather in the situation room was the information that Mosin sent. But even after reading it a secong time, Reagan could not bring himself to believe that Andropov had actually given such an order.
“He is acting alone.” Brzezinski said.
“But what's Andropov's game?” Haig asked.
“Simple. Andropov hopes to put us in an impossible situation. Consider what it is that we can actually do here. We can't tell the Pope not to attend the funeral of his mentor and friend. Even if we told him that the Soviets plan to kill him if he does, he would go anyway. Wouldn't he? In fact, he must go, because he can stay in the Vatican only if he symbolically abandons Poland. Nor can we tell the world about the plot because the Soviets will easily deny it all and claim it was a ploy to discredit them. Unless we can also point to the specific people involved, we really have nothing but the word of one man, one who is our agent and whom Andropov can accuse of being an unstable and mentally ill traitor and homosexual who concocted the idea as a way of harming the Soviet Union's international reputation. In fact, our hands are tied. We are unwilling spectators to a gruesome show orchestrated by Andropov.”
“Good God.” Reagan whispered. “Andropov is diabolical.”
Brzezinski continued: “Andropov hopes to put America in an impossible situation: to make us watch the Soviets first kill the Polish Pope, then brutalize Poland into submission while the world watches. Since history will latter reveal that we knew and could have done something, it is we, America, not the Soviets, who have no reputation to lose, will suffer.”
“Or, we can give them what they want.” Haig said.
“Yes, they are most likely to communicate through Gorbachev, a reform man who wants to open dialogue with the West. I suspect that Andropov is grooming Gorbachev to assume control if we make some concessions. Then Andropov will take the fall for everything as a mad communist dinosaur who wanted to bring back Stalin's methods while Gorbachev presents a reasonable and pragmatic USSR, ready to do business with the West.”
“So this is all a good cop, bad cop routine.” Allen said. “And we can't afford not to play their game.”
“What if the Pope decides to take a train?” Reagan said. “We take the plane ride out of the equation.”
“No go, Sir.” Haig answered. “Eventually the train will enter communist block, and than we can do nothing to protect the Pope.”
"We pick up the Pope in Air Force One." Reagan said.
"Again, not really an option. Not only will the Secret Service not permit that kind of a risk, the Soviets have plausible deniability here that's virtually airtight. No investigation will uncover a smoking gun, if they do something, like sophisticated electronic interference with the plane's on board systems because they will be in charge of the investigation, through the Poles, who have the right to investigate under international law. They may not even allow our experts near the wreck. By the way, the weather will be, according to the Army Meteorological Survey, bad in December in Poland. Bad means low visibility, low cloud cover. They don't need to bother with seeding the clouds with anything to force a pilot to have to rely on instruments."
"I won't let the Soviets manipulate me like this." Reagan was growing angry. "They wouldn't dare..."
"We can't take the chance, Sir." Allen said.
"Sir, is making a statement worth dying for?" Casey asked. "You could take the enormous risk yourself, perhaps, but what about all the others on the flight. You will not be going alone. We could not tell them the truth, that they are flying into possible death. Many of them have families that would expect their loved ones will come home. Are you willing to risk their lives?"
Reagan said nothing.
They sat in silence, considering Andropov's ploy.
“How much could we give them?” Reagan asked.
“Their economy is in the toilet,” Brzezinski said. “We would need to extend enormous economic aid to keep the Soviet regime, in whatever form, afloat.”
“What if we experience our own economic problems?” Asked Casey. “Perhaps a stock market crash.”
“If we're in trouble ourselves, then the entire Soviet play becomes irrelevant.” Haig said.
“We can't risk our own economy like this. We're in a recession as it is. If we cause a stock market crash, we could end up in a depression. It's a terrible idea.” Allen said.
“I agree that this is a bad idea.” Reagan said. He recalled the tragedy of the Great Depression. “We must play their game by their rules, but find a way to win away.”
“I don't like it, Sir.” Haig said. “It verges on giving up.”
“If you have a better plan, let's hear it.” Reagan said.
“Let's think of it another way,” Said Brzezinski. “By helping them improve the lot of their citizens, we're investing in tremendous goodwill. In a few years, the Soviet regime will face a people who want more not less and then we will have won their hearts and minds.”
“It's fluff and you know it.” Haig said. He was growing increasingly exasperated by the mood of surrender he was detecting. “Hope is not a strategy.”
“At this moment, it's all we seem to have.” Reagan said.
THE VATICAN
The Pope stood alone in his private chapel, deep in prayer. The death of the man who had been the Church in Poland was a profound shock. According to information he received, it was all a terrible accident. But wars are made of such. It was clear what he had to do. He would tell the Poles to endure and turn to their faith. The death of Wyszynski gave no one license to violence. That was not the way of Christ. And he would be with them soon.
As he stood in silence, an idea flickered into his awareness. Walk. For a moment he thought that Christ had spoke to him. Walk o Poland? It was absurd. First, the distance, 1,800 miles. It would take a month. But he wouldn’t have to walk the entire distance, of course, just start the journey on foot. Then he could go by car or train part of the way, walking through major cities only. No, it was positively crazy, he thought. He was hearing things as a result of the stress of the last few days.
CNN and the rest of the American media would be all over it, it was the kind of publicity event that they lived for. No doubt thousands of Catholics would join him along the way. Millions perhaps. It would be a new crusade. Europe would come to a standstill.
He was in good shape himself and a life-long avid hiker who could cover large distances without effort. It would take several days of walking, he reflected. But what would happen on the Czechoslovak border? Absolutely nothing; They can't shoot everyone. And if they planned to harm him somehow, now their plans would be confounded. The media presence would be like a wall of safety no agent could or would dare penetrate.