The Conspirators
by William S. Cohen
Original title: Die Verschwörer
Novel
Historical Fiction
Limes / June 2004
448 pages
What happens when an ultra-conservative Chinese general and a billionaire Russian mafia boss form an alliance in order not only to topple American supremacy in Asia but to seize for themselves the presidency of their respective countries?
When Michael Santini takes over the US defence ministry, he has to contend with international crises along with all the everyday bureaucratic minefields in Washington DC. When a horrifying series of sabotage acts takes place, he starts to suspect that there’s a conspiracy at work – and that the men behind it are none other than a high-ranking Chinese general and a Russian mafia boss. Of course, nobody in the power centres of Washington, Berlin, Peking or Moscow believes him. Nobody, that is, except the Mossad agent Elena…
This is a highly charged novel right from the American centre of power by William S. Cohen, Bill Clinton’s former Defence Minister. Bursting with espionage and action, intrigue, sabotage and politics, it’s also dramatically bang up-to-date, strikingly authentic, and so convincingly done that it could almost be true: an ‘insider thriller’ to beat them all!
When Michael Santini takes over the Defence Ministry from his murdered predecessor, the former senator is expecting a good deal of bureaucratic thumb-twiddling and a strong adverse political wind. He knows that he won’t just have the world’s trouble-spots to deal with, but that he – an outsider and interloper in the US cabinet – will also be kept more than busy by the rivalries and intrigues between the individual ministries in Washington DC. In particular, it’s the conservative security advisor to the President who is his great adversary when it comes to gaining the favour of the most powerful man in the world – and when it comes to being noticed by the American public.
One of the great points of conflict is this: unlike the American security advisor, Santini is interested in a more relaxed relationship with Beijing, and knows that his feelings are shared by his Chinese counterpart. But what Santini doesn’t know is that the latter’s second in command, the ultra-conservative General Li, has long been preparing the ground for a putsch: together with the billionaire Russian mafia boss Vladimir Berzin, who is hoping to take on the Russian Presidency, Li is deliberately seeking open military conflict with the Americans.
From his very first days in his new post, Santini is perturbed by a string of attacks which seem to be unconnected, having only one thing in common: they threaten to split the US from its allies. First there’s the inferno at the NATO air show in New Mexico; then the grisly murder of a German scientist who has been dispatched to China to make contact with rebellious groups of people for the BND [German Intelligence Service]; and finally the sabotaging of the American military base in Grafenwöhr which kills hundreds of German civilians… The list of attacks seems to be endless.
However, Santini himself looks poised to be next in his Washington enemies’ firing line in the most personal way possible. He knows from several secret service reports that the Russian mafia boss Berzin has for some time been spotted in the company of an attractive blonde named Miya Takala.Unfortunately, Santini knows this mysterious stranger all too well. For during his period as Senator, he had met and fallen in love with Katrina Bissett – as she was then known. And how horrified he had been to discover that his beloved Katrina was in fact Elena Solmitz, Special Agent of the Israeli Secret Service Mossad. Santini had then left her without explanation, and they hadn’t seen one another since.
Now, though, Santini needs Elena’s help. Only with great difficulty is he able to persuade her at a secret meeting in Munich to use her contacts to get him the crucial information he needs. But having proof makes no difference: Santini is still a lone voice against the apparently invincible and politically influential circle of conspirators. Meanwhile, a dangerous countdown has begun: in Washington, the hardliners are increasingly gaining ground: these are only too keen to believe the false information the Chinese are deliberately putting out about North Korea, and want to arm themselves for a pre-emptive strike which could throw the whole of Asia into war.
Only a few hours remain to convince the Chinese government to issue an official denial of their warmongering rumours about North Korea. And the only person who can help Santini to protect the Chinese-American peace is his Chinese counterpart. It seems, though, that the Chinese Defence Minister is becoming totally separated off from the loyal followers of General Li. Since the hotline between the two isn’t working, Santini resorts to highly unusual methods in his moment of desperation. He risks a conflict with his own government – a conflict that could cost him not only his job, but also his life – and seizes the ‘Black Bird’, the prototype of a secret supersonic bomber. Only by dint of many cunning manoeuvres does he manage to reach Beijing within a mere few hours. Awaiting Santini at Tiananmen Square, though, are not his Chinese friends – but General Li.
Spanning everything from the current conflict with North Korea to the intrigues surrounding the Russian presidential elections, Die Verschwörer is a bang up-to-date political thriller by an insider with the unmatched capacity to weave together a fictive plot and a multitude of real and contemporary political events. Cohen delves deep into his own experiences to create a fascinating novel which includes state receptions and all-night cabinet sessions; and the petty-minded secret service rivalries and intrigues which extend all the way right up to the very highest international ranks of politics, the military, the secret services and criminal organisations. He gives us insights into the White House and the Pentagon; into the ministries in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square; the chancellor’s office in Berlin; or the annual Security Conference in Munich. It’s a thriller that truly deserves the name – and one that almost makes you wonder if there might not be some truth behind it…
Press:
‘Only someone who knows the minefields of world politics at first hand could have written this tense insider-thriller. The former American defence minister William Cohen draws us into the labyrinthine intrigues of the world’s most powerful people in such a way that the pages seem to turn themselves. Die Verschwörer is a fascinating thriller’. Richard North Patterson
Author:
When President Bill Clinton chose the Republican William S. Cohen to join his government in 1997, making him the 20th US defence minister, it was the first time in recent American history that a president had elected a member of the opposing party to his cabinet. Born in 1940 in Bangor, Maine, Cohen, a lawyer, was among other things a member of the American Senate and Congress for 24 years. He lives with his wife in the Washington DC area.