All heads turned to the Director of Central Intelligence. “Very possible—given the new information we’ve seen over the past several days,” Morgan replied. “Libya has no capability to beat Egypt in a conventional conflict—Egypt has a three-to-one numerical advantage and at least a twenty-to-one technological advantage. But Egypt has no weapons of mass destruction as far as we know, and a patchwork air defense system stitched together from many countries that doesn’t all work well together. If Libya decides to launch a nuclear attack against Cairo or Alexandria, it might very well succeed. Plus, several thousand Libyan troops are stationed in Sudan now—they could open up a second front against Egypt at any time.”

“As far as the rest of the Arab world, most nations are neither condemning nor endorsing the raid, except for other Muslim Brotherhood nations, which praised the raid as the beginning of the end of Western imperialism in the Arab world,” Kercheval went on. “It appears that the leading opposition member in Egypt, Khalid al-Khan, was killed in the explosion.

“No word yet from Susan Bailey Salaam, the widow of the assassinated president, either, who is a candidate for president,” Kercheval added.

“Information has it that she might be under arrest or in hiding from Khalid al-Khan’s men.”

“I thought she was killed in that attack at the mosque a couple weeks ago.”

“So did the rest of the world, Mr. President,” Kercheval said. “She suddenly turned up at a National Assembly meeting to announce her candidacy for president before being refused by the Assembly on technical grounds. She was injured but not seriously.”

“She’s an American, I believe?” Thom asked.

“Yes, sir. Ex-Air Force. Dual citizenship.”

“She’d better hightail it back here where she belongs before her husband’s assassins catch up with her,” Vice President Busick idly commented. Thom glanced at the veteran politician but said nothing.

“Recommended course of action, sir?” General Venti asked.

Thom thought for a few moments. The “Kitchen Cabinet” was accustomed to Thom’s seemingly disconnected way of pondering an issue—he would adopt a faraway expression, as if searching through space, for an answer. Former military men called it the “thousand-yard stare,” but even though Thom was ex-Army Special Forces, no one gave him that kind of credit.