Pacific Threat — C.H. Cobb

The stakes could not be higher: a misstep will trigger World War 3!Perhaps I'd best put all my cards on the table, as you say in your country. The submarine commanders of the Soviet Pacific Fleet have been instructed to aggressively engage your navy in the Pacific. They are under strict orders not to fire first, but they are to do everything possible to provoke your ships and submarines into firing . . . When KGB director Anatoly Geredin shocks Bill Jensen (DDO, CIA) with potentially explosive intelligence, Jensen must determine whether the information is accurate or whether the US is the target of a Soviet disinformation campaign. Seeking independent confirmation, Jensen needs boots on the ground to penetrate the Soviet Pacific Fleet headquarters. He knows of only one man who can do the job: Major Jacob Kelly.Kelly spent the last two years escaping from an illegal detention in the Soviet Union. Now the CIA wants him to go back . . .Pacific Threat is a Cold War novel oriented around a hardline faction in the Soviet Union that opposes Gorbachev's programs of glasnost and perestroika. The tale is set in 1988-89, and is positioned as a prelude to the actual historical coup attempt that occurred in August, 1991. The coup-plotters realize that they will need the unified support of the military if the putsch is to be successful. They decide to create that unity by provoking the US into initiating a hopefully limited and short lived conflict with the Soviet navy. When this information is leaked to a US official, the CIA must determine whether the intelligence is credible or is Soviet disinformation.