“Regardless of how you might describe Zarqawi, if Sunni extremists are the ones who kidnapped Elizabeth, who destroyed the World Trade Center, who bombed the Cole, and are making Iraqi society ungovernable, then why in God’s name would you support them in Syria?”

The general’s response was not at all what Keller expected. Stark pointed at him and smiled. “That’s a good question, Mr. Keller. And it’s a question with the answer already embedded in it. The reason we would support Sunni extremists in Syria is because they do such a good job of making Iraq ungovernable. We want Assad out. We want Syria ungovernable. If that means supporting Sunni extremists, so be it.”

“Sunni extremists are our enemies,” Keller said.

Stark nodded. “Assad is also our enemy. And he’s the enemy of Sunni extremists. And the enemy of my enemy is my friend.”

“Our friends are the same people who attacked on September eleventh?”

The general shook his head. “Those were Saudis, for the most part. I’m talking about Syrians. You’re comparing apples and oranges.”

“And you, General, are suggesting that we attack two Shiite-dominated societies, even though the attacks against us have come almost exclusively from Sunnis, and it’s very likely that the people who kidnapped Elizabeth Barrett are Sunnis.”

He stopped and took a breath. He hadn’t realized he was going to have an outburst like this one. And it occurred to him that he was only halfway done.

“During your planning, have you considered for one moment what effect all these attacks will have on the life of Elizabeth Barrett? We don’t even know if she’s alive or dead. What we do know is that a heavy-handed response is going to put her life at risk.”

Suddenly it came to him that earlier, in his rush to move David Barrett out of the way, he had been callous about Elizabeth and her chances of survival. But now the sense of her humanity seemed to flood his system. She was a real person, young and certainly naïve, but she was not a pawn in a game.

General Stark stared at Lawrence Keller for a long moment. He seemed confused, as if he didn’t quite know what to make of everything Keller had said. Did they let traitors in the Situation Room now? The general looked over at the Interim President, as if Mark Baylor was a referee and Stark was hoping for an objective ruling.

Baylor, in turn, looked at Lawrence Keller. He furrowed his eyebrows a little bit.

“Are you okay?” he said.

“I don’t know,” Keller said. He thought about it for a moment. “No, I suppose I’m not okay. Instead of talking about all the ways we can attack Iran and Syria, I’d suggest we talk about all the ways we can find Elizabeth Barrett.”