“So you don’t think Benevidez packs the gear to stick it out—given the proper support and training?”
“Colonel North, it’s been my experience that patriotic fervor runs from hot to cold in a hurry when you’re under air assault from attack helicopters on one hand and the American money to fight back dries up on the other hand. Benevidez knows the score. He’ll make some noise, maybe fire a few shots, and then scream to the press that he’s been abandoned by his American supporters.”
“Suppose he gets some long-range artillery up there? Suppose he can use the heavy stuff to harass the engineers and then slip across the Rio Coco with a capable raiding force to disrupt the deployment of the Mi-24s? Would that put a little spine into the FDN effort?”
“Sure it would—but we’ve got to make a decisi
