"Clancy, Tom - Op-Center 04 - Acts of War" - читать интересную книгу автора (Clancy Tom)

dented and artificially rusted and didn't show a hint
of the rein-fomed steel underneath, the woman looked like
she was a seasoned archaeological field worker.
"What do you think, Sondra?" Katzen asked.
"With all due respect," said the young black
woman, "I think you're both wrong. I think
peace and war and sanity are all questions of leadership.
Look at that old city out there." She spoke with
quiet reverence. "Thirty centuries ago the
prophet Abraham was born--right there. That was where
he lived when God told him to move his family
to Canaan. That man was touched by the Holy Spirit.
He founded a people, a nation, a morality.
I'm sure he was as warm as we are, especially
when God told him to put a dagger into the bosom of
his son. I'm sure his sweat as well as his
tears fell onto the frightened face of Isaac."
She looked from Katzen to Coffey. "His
leadership was based on faith and love, and he is
revered by Jews and Muslims alike."
"Nicely put, Private DeVonne,"
Katzen said.
"Very nicely put," Coffey agreed, "but it
doesn't contradict my point. We're not all
made of the same obedient, determined stuff as
Abraham. And for some of us, the heat makes our
natural irritability worse." He took
another long drink from his sweating can of Tab.
"There's another thing too. After twenty-seven
hours and fifteen minutes of camping here, I hate
the living hell out of this place. I like air conditioning
and cold water from a glass instead of hot water from
a plastic bottle. And bathrooms. Those are good
too."
Katzen smiled. "Maybe you'll appreciate
them a whole lot more when you get back."
"I appreciated them before I left.
Frankly, I still don't understand why we couldn't have
tested this prototype in the U.s. We have enemies
at home. I could have gotten clearance from any
number of judges to spy on suspected
terrorists, paramilitary camps, Mafiosi,
you-name-it."
"You know the answer as well as I do," Katzen
said.
"Sure," Coffey said. He drained the can of
soda, dropped it in the plastic trash bag, and
walked back to the van. "If we don't help the
moderate True Path Party, the Islamic
fundamentalists and their Welfare Party will continue