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After the video call was connected, dozens of high-level generals attending the meeting were silent. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

Among the many bad news, there are two pieces of good news: the Delta Commando team successfully captured LaGuardia Airport and rescued 5,000 hostages, and the second is that the reconnaissance plane detected anomalous nuclear radiation and confirmed that the nuclear warhead placed on the top floor of the Empire State Building had been completely destroyed in the bombing and subsequent explosions.

It's just that, judging by the value of nuclear radiation, it is not a nuclear warhead, and it is not even a "dirty bomb".

Although this made Norris and others very angry, because it was this nuclear warhead that made the US military throw a rat trap, missed the best time to attack, and gave the attackers a lot of time, but from a realistic point of view, this result made Norris breathe a sigh of relief, because it meant that there would be no serious radioactive contamination.

Is this good news?

Norris didn't know, and no one else could tell.

The assault was a complete failure, with more than 300 Navy SEALs killed, and the attackers still occupied Manhattan and could turn their guns on civilians at any moment.

"General," Norris turned his gaze to Robert on the left screen, "I need to know how many troops are needed to annihilate three hundred Navy SEALs in ten minutes?" ”

The president is not a soldier and is not a fool, and he gets to the point at once.

Robert knew that the president was going to ask this question, and he was prepared. "It is undeniable that there is something wrong with our intelligence, and there are definitely more than a dozen attackers on the island."

"So there were more than 500 attackers who took over Manhattan?"

"Maybe it is, maybe it isn't."

Norris frowned, letting Robert make it clearer.

"Immediately after the incident, we took action and blockaded the island of Manhattan, with our reconnaissance planes in the air, our warships at sea, and our submarines under the surface. We have not seen any reinforcements from the attackers in the past few days, so there is reason to believe that the same attackers are still occupying Manhattan. ”

"What do you mean?"

"They either didn't evacuate or they had more troops." Robert sighed and added, "Before the transport plane took off, the attackers boarded the transport plane through the terminal building. Although some of the hostages witnessed the assailants' boarding, no one was able to get close to the transport plane and did not see the faces of the boarders. There is reason to believe that it was not the attackers who boarded the transport plane, but some adult hostages with male surnames. ”

"Why are they doing this?"

"Divert our attention and buy time."

"But that would only force us to attack immediately."

"Even if the attackers don't leave Manhattan, after we find out about the Federal Reserve Bank, they will attack as quickly as possible, and the battle will be inevitable."

Norris frowned and nodded, agreeing with Robert's point of view.

"In a situation where fighting cannot be avoided, the attackers can only fight for the initiative. Because of the lack of troops, it is difficult for the attackers to confront us, so we can only suffer losses by setting traps. Unfortunately, we were not able to find out that this was a trap set by the attackers. ”

"Maybe there will be more attackers on the island." Sternberg interjected.

"It's a possibility." Robert did not argue with the secretary of state. "Previously, we had always believed that the size of the attackers was around 500 people, and at most no more than 1,000 people. Through the evacuation agreement previously reached, we ultimately believe that the attackers were just over 500 people. Now it seems that there must be something wrong with this judgment. The attackers were able to take Manhattan in a matter of hours and control three million civilians, so there would certainly be no problem in terms of troops. According to my estimates, the size of the attackers was more than a thousand, and even more than two thousand. ”

"So much!?" Norris's eyes immediately widened.

This is still a conservative estimate, after all, to occupy Manhattan, even with the use of regular troops, it will take thousands of troops. What's more, not all of the attackers were standing on the streets. We have to assume that there is a group of attackers mixed with the civilian population, ready to wreak havoc even more. ”

As soon as these words came out, the atmosphere immediately became tense.

Although the attackers can be identified from among the civilian population by various means, it takes a lot of time and manpower. During a raid operation, the assault force would certainly not be able to identify the attackers hiding among the civilians. As a result, even if the assault force is able to gain a foothold on the island, it will be attacked with unpredictability.

Norris let out a long sigh and said, "General, if that's the case, we are facing a war. ”

"It was meant to be a war." Robert has adjusted his mentality. "From the very beginning, we should have seen this as a war, a war that can only be won at the cost of blood and lives. The assault has proven that the tactics against terrorists simply do not deal with the enemy on the island. The battle has begun, and the attackers will soon take the next step. We have no choice but to launch an immediate ground offensive, eliminate the attackers with regular tactics, retake Manhattan, and emerge victorious! ”

Norris didn't speak, instead turning his gaze to Sternberg next to him.

The president did not consult the Secretary of Defense, because Archibald generally did not give the opposite opinion after Robert's statement.

At this time, it was possible that only Sternberg would have put forward an opinion with a construction caste.

The Secretary of State pondered for a moment, then sighed with a wry smile, took the microphone, and whispered to the President: "For now, even if we don't launch surprise attacks, the attackers will retaliate against civilians for breaking the negotiation agreement." If the attackers had other weapons of mass destruction, disaster would not have been avoided. All we can do is do our part and minimise losses and casualties. ”

"Duties?" Norris also held the microphone.

"It's happened, and the whole world knows that we're fighting a powerful enemy." Sternberg hesitated for a moment before he said, "Since it's war, casualties can't be avoided. We grieve for the civilians who are unfortunate enough to be involved in the war, but we should be more rational about the problems at hand than the consequences of losing the war. Either way, win this war first. ”

Sternberg didn't say it directly, but the meaning was clear.

Now that a military operation has been launched, there can be no retreat.

Norris wasn't stupid, and he had thought about these issues before Stenberg said that. As president, his primary duty is to protect the national interests of the United States, and when it is impossible to avoid heavy losses, he can only lower his demands and strive for an acceptable outcome.

After a moment of contemplation, Norris let go of the microphone and turned his gaze to Robert. "General, if a ground offensive is launched, how much will there be losses?"

"Immeasurable." Robert's answer was very simple and very clear.

"In other words, we have to be mentally prepared." Norris smiled wryly and turned his gaze back to Turner. "Before launching a ground offensive, we have to find out if the attackers have other weapons of mass destruction, otherwise the situation will get out of hand."

Turner was stunned for a moment, only to realize that the president was speaking to him. "Although we already know that the attackers did not have nuclear warheads, it is not ruled out that the attackers had other weapons of mass destruction."

"If so, what will happen?"

"It depends on what kind of weapon of mass destruction it is."

Norris nodded, letting Turner continue.

"The most serious thing should be VX nerve gas." Turner was in charge of intelligence and had already prepared the relevant reports. "This nerve gas produced hundreds of thousands of tons during the Cold War, and with more than a dozen countries having mass production capacity, it was easily available to attackers. If so, it is likely that the attackers had divided the nerve gas into special containers and placed them in the ventilation ducts of the various buildings. Because almost all of the hostages were trapped inside the building, the attackers had enough capacity to cause hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of casualties. ”

"There's no way to deal with it?"

Turner sighed and said, "Hardly." Nerve gas spreads very quickly. Depending on the type of gas, anyone can die within 30 seconds to 2 minutes of inhalation. ”

Now, the question is back to Norris.

"Of course, the attackers didn't necessarily have nerve gas, maybe some other chemical weapon."

"The problem is that our assault forces can't take all of Manhattan in a matter of minutes."

Turner nodded, not saying anything more.

On the screen, Robert hesitated, as if he wanted to say something, but finally held back.

Norris pondered for a long time before he said, "Now that the war has begun, we can't retreat. The situation has grown out of control, and instead of taking advantage of the opportunity we have been given to leave Manhattan, the attackers have stayed behind to show that they will be desperate to inflict losses and casualties on us, and that even if we do not launch an immediate ground offensive, the attackers will turn their guns on the civilians on the island. We have no choice but to use the last thing we want to use to win this war and save the people in bondage. ”

Norris stood up, and before he could announce the order to Robert, a soldier hurried in.

After listening to the soldier's words, Archibald was stunned for a moment, and immediately said to the president: "I just received the news that some Navy SEALs are still alive. ”

"What?"

"It's just that they're all in the hands of the attackers."

As Archibald said this, a real-time picture appeared on the large central screen.

This is a picture taken by a high-altitude reconnaissance plane with an infrared camera, and only dozens of dark red bright spots can be seen, and it is impossible to see whether it is a person or something else.

"Any other images?"

Archibald nodded, glancing at the officer who had delivered the message.

The infrared image switched to a low-light image, and although it was very dim, it could be seen that it was all some people, and it was very likely that they were military personnel.

"Where is this?"

"Grand Army Plaza southeast of Central Park."

Norris frowned as his secretary came to the conference room.

Cologne called, and it was from Manhattan.

(To be continued)