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Coxen loved his role as chairman of the NSC and SWAT team facilitator. He consciously cultivated an aura reminiscent of that of the late General George C. Marshall, and his stern presence commanded respect—even fear—although he seldom raised his voice. Joining him on the SWAT team were Vice President Clayton McCarty; Secretary of Defense Thurmond Thompson; Secretary of State Elizabeth Cartright; CIA Director Anthony T. Mullen; General Warner Blake, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and George Gleason, the president’s chief of staff. Ad hoc members were invited as needed, and the entire NSC met on a semiregular basis. Burkmeister had promised the SWAT team they would be used sparingly, but he insisted that, if called, they drop everything and get over to the Situation Room immediately or teleconference in if they were away from the capital.
    The Situation Room was the official arena of the NSC and SWAT team. It was far more than just a room. Occupying some five thousand square feet of space in the basement of the West Wing, it was the nerve center for White House intelligence and its crisis decision-making apparatus. Its state-of-the-art communication systems allowed the president to maintain command and control of U.S. forces around the world and to talk to anyone, anytime, globally—through interpreters if necessary. This was Admiral Coxen’s world and, as usual, he was the first to arrive for the scheduled meeting.
    The entire SWAT team was seated in the Situation Room when President Lyman Burkmeister entered the room promptly at six o’clock. With only a perfunctory nod of greeting, he said, “Admiral Coxen, suppose you tell us what this Chunxiao incident is all about.”
    “Yes sir, Mr. President, it’s an ugly situation,” he replied in a voice and manner that conveyed the seriousness of the situation.
    “At 0030 hours, Beijing time, on Thursday, 14 September—that would be 1230 hours today in Washington, signals intelligence picked up on a naval battle transpiring in the East China Sea between China and Japan. Subsequent SIGINT intelligence revealed that the battle took place north of Taiwan above an oil-rich seabed known as the Chunxiao gas-oil field. The Chinese lost a new oil platform called the Dragon II, and the Japanese lost two destroyers, two oil platforms, and a drilling ship under retaliatory fire.” The admiral had everyone’s full attention.
    “We are not certain of all details at this point, but we do know that a Japanese destroyer hit a sea mine while approaching the Dragon II platform and that triggered the battle. Whether or not it was an accident we don’t know, but the ensuing battle destroyed assets on both sides and resulted in significant loss of life.
    “It didn’t take China and Japan long to put their entire armed forces on the highest military alerts. We’ve also observed an increased level of diplomatic and military radio traffic, but we have yet to decipher it.”
    As the admiral continued, President Burkmeister looked over at Clayton McCarty with an expression that clearly said “this doesn’t look good.”
    “SNS picked up the story and it’s headlining already. One can only imagine what it will do to the Asian financial markets and, of course, our own markets by tomorrow morning.”
    Burkmeister leaned back in awe, processing what he had just heard. It’s amazing, he thought, how small the world has become; how an isolated incident like this, occurring in a far-off ocean in the wee hours of the morning, could erupt into a global-news headline story only hours after it happened.
    “Admiral,” he said, “any idea what might have precipitated the incident?”
    “It’s hard to say, Mr. President, but the Sino-Japanese conflict in the East China Sea has been a work in progress for many years. Many of us felt it was only a matter of time before their issues erupted into a shooting war.”
    “Please remind me, Admiral, of the ‘issues’ with bearing on the