She sat on the couch across from him and downed half her drink. She asked, almost rhetorically, “How could they do that?” She looked at Brodie. “How can American soldiers do that?”
Apparently he was the only expert on that subject in the room, so he replied, “Most atrocities happen in the heat of the moment. Battle fatigue, combat psychosis—what we now call misconduct stress behavior… revenge and retribution for your dead comrades. But what happened in Mirabad sounds premeditated and cold-blooded. That’s harder to explain. Especially if the troops involved were an elite force, like Delta. They’re trained to kill, but they would consider it a dishonor to kill unarmed civilians. It would be beneath them.” He thought a moment and added, “On the other hand… they are also trained not to question orders. Even orders that could be illegal. And they are also notorious for secrecy. They know when to keep their mouths shut—which is all the time. So… I can see how Delta Force teams, such as the one Captain Mercer commanded, would be the best force behind Operation Flagstaff.” Brodie wondered what toxic brew of JSOC, CIA, military Intel, and Pentagon planners had led to Flagstaff, and to using Delta Force teams—if that’s who got off those helicopters—to teach the peasants and the Taliban a lesson in terror tactics.
These things sometimes worked, and sometimes they made things worse. In any case, terror tactics were a sign of desperation—unimaginative thinking disguised as a bold new tactic. Actually, it was a war crime. And, as with the Phoenix Program, sometimes people went to jail. Most perpetrators, however, did not. These crimes, when they were conceived of at the highest levels, and when they had a nice code name, were no longer crimes; they were unconventional war-winning strategies.
And finally, to answer Maggie Taylor’s question, soldiers in combat do what they’re told to do if a higher command tells them it will save American lives, shorten the war, crush an inhuman enemy, and keep the war from coming to America.
Sometimes, however, what you are ordered to do and what you have to do to carry out those orders does cross the line. Soldiers begin to feel guilt and become conscience-stricken, and they start to think about what they’re actually doing. The military is its own world, but every soldier comes from a family.
“What are you thinking?”
He looked at his partner. “I’m thinking that Kyle Mercer, if he was involved with the Flagstaff Program, had somehow run afoul of his superiors. Maybe he had a crisis of conscience. Maybe he was going to make waves—”
“You always tell me not to speculate.”
Brodie nodded. “But sometimes the maybes fit what you know. We know that Mercer deserted his post, and we know that he was captured by the Taliban. But what if he hadn’t been captured? No one has asked the question of where he was going. Hard to get to Paris or Tahiti from the tribal territories. So maybe he was going to the nearest large American base to see a high-ranking commander. Or talk to the CID or a JAG officer.” He looked at her. “Make sense?”
“Maybe.”
“Consider the videotape of Captain Mercer separating Taliban heads from Taliban necks. Then Mercer, very angry, looking into the camera and resigning his commission.” Brodie asked, “Why would an officer who just escaped captivity do that? I’ll tell you. He was pissed off about something, and it wasn’t the Taliban.” Brodie finished his drink and said, “Maybe Captain Mercer didn’t betray his country. Maybe his country betrayed him.”
They both listened to the rain awhile; then Taylor said, “I’ve thought about that.”
“Good thinking.” Of course, she’d had the advantage of knowing things that he didn’t. And she might know even more. He looked at her. “Can I assume you heard from Trent when you were at Landstuhl?”
She nodded. “He called me.”
“No flowers?”
She shot him an annoyed look. “Lay off, Scott.”
“Sorry. Did he bring up the subject of Mirabad?”
“No. And neither did I.”
“Right. And if I may get personal, what was the content of his communication with you?”
“Just to see how I was doing. Looking forward to seeing me at Bragg. Congratulated me on my Silver Star.”
Brodie wanted to ask her if she had the feeling that Trent was not as delighted as he was disappointed that she’d survived the ambush. Maybe that had crossed her mind at some point, but maybe not. He couldn’t get a clear picture of that relationship, and maybe Trent wasn’t