Exclusive Excerpt: Ben Coes' Thriller 'Coup d'État'

The coup d’etat as a method for changing government is, to me, fascinating. Libraries have been written about revolutions, but the much more often utilized coup d’etat is misunderstood; a secretive, often lethal, highly violent, and brutally efficient military-led format for quickly and dramatically altering history.

I wrote “COUP D’ÉTAT ” to take the reader into the cockpit of an actual coup – to see the planning, the tight kill team operation, the bloodshed, required to make a coup work. I focused on Pakistan because it is all too likely that the U.S. will soon be faced with having to do just that – remove a future Pakistani president in the middle of the night, before he drags us and our allies into a broader conflict.

Some facts to think about:

First, Pakistan and India, our close ally, have fought three wars since 1947. All three wars occurred before the two countries had nuclear weapons. Both countries now possess hundreds of nuclear weapons, enough to wipe each other out many times over.

Second, Pakistan is 97% Muslim. It is a question of when – not if – Pakistan elects a radical Islamist in the mold of Ayatollah Khomeini as its president.

Third, China sits at the northern border of both countries, is strategically aligned with Pakistan and covets India’s natural resources.

When “COUP D’ÉTAT” begins, Pakistan is a year into the presidency of a radical Islamist. A war sparks between Pakistan and India, which Pakistan quickly escalates into a nuclear confrontation. With India on the brink of unleashing a response that threatens to involve China and the U.S. in a theater nuclear war, the U.S. intervenes in the only option left: by designing and executing a “COUP D’ÉTAT” in Pakistan and removing the Islamist before he engulfs the region, and the world, in a war whose outcome could make our current engagements in Iraq and Afghanistan seem like child’s play in comparison.

—–

RASHTRAPATI BHAVAN

NEW DELHI

All heads in the Security Room room turned to Jessica. She looked around the table, met Calibrisi’s surprised eyes for a brief moment, then President Allaire’s, and finally settled on President Ghandra’s.

“Go on, Jessica,” said President Ghandra.

“Coup d’état,” Jessica said.

She waited a moment and let the words sink in. Then she continued. “We design and execute the removal of Omar El- Khayab. America handles it. We remove the cancer. We install someone who will work with India. In the meantime India maintains its war stance. You keep your planes in the air. You fortify the northern border with China by moving troops to the area. You prosecute the war front in Kargil and Baltistan.”

She paused and leaned forward. The room was silent.

Finally, Indra Singh shook his head.

“Oh, sure, that should be easy,” Singh scoffed, waving his hand in the air. “We never thought of that. Just pop off El- Khayab. Jessica, that is, how do you say it, a mission impossible. We’ve been targeting El-Khayab since before he was elected. He is better guarded than even you, President Allaire. It is simply not a viable option, and certainly not within the time parameters we have to work with.”

“How many foreign leaders has India removed from power?” asked Jessica.

Singh was silent.

“How many?” she repeated.

“The answer is, not a one,” said Calibrisi.

“The United States has removed three foreign leaders in the last twenty years,” said Jessica. “There are no guarantees, but we know how to do it.”

“It will take too much time,” said Singh. “We don’t have the time.”

Jessica stared at Singh, whose face was red with anger. She turned to President Ghandra.

“Will you give us the time?” she asked, looking into Ghandra’s eyes.

“No, that is not an option,” said Singh. “India has not–”

“Shut up, Indra,” said President Ghandra sharply. He turned to Jessica. “How much time are we talking about, Jessica?”

She looked at Harry Black, then Hector Calibrisi.

“At least two weeks,” Calibrisi said. “Three would be optimal.”

“One week,” said Jessica, turning to Ghandra. “We need a week, Mr. President.”

Ghandra glanced around the conference table. Singh was shaking his head, apoplectic. He moved down the line of his advisors and asked each one of them to give his opinion. Every member of Ghandra’s war cabinet was against delaying the nuclear strike.

“If it had even a prayer of working I might reconsider,” said Morosla, the secretary of RAW. “But it won’t work.” After polling his cabinet, Ghandra turned to Jessica. He smiled warmly at her. He seemed to have regained his composure and calmness that she so admired.

“Two days,” Ghandra said, overruling his cabinet. “You have forty-eight hours to remove Omar El- Khayab from power.” Ghandra pointed at the clock on the wall. “It’s noon. Two days from now, unless Omar El- Khayab is gone, we will begin our attack.”

“Thank you,” said Jessica. She looked at the clock, then at President Allaire. He stared back at her without expression.

“After that, we destroy Pakistan,” said Ghandra. “Unless they strike again in the interim. In which case we will destroy them not in days or hours, but in a handful of seconds.”

Jessica nodded. She said nothing. She glanced at her silver Cartier tank watch. It was exactly noon local time. She felt a tightness in her stomach as she watched the second hand on her watch move around the watch face. Forty-seven hours, fifty- nine minutes, forty seconds, and counting…

Excerpted from Coup D’État by Ben Coes. Copyright 2011 by Ben Coes. Excerpted with permission of St Martin’s Press. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

Ed. Note: part two runs tomorrow. You can purchase the novel here.