by Dr. Steve R. Pieczenik, MD, PhD
October 4, 2016
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Maximum Vigilance: Psycho-Political Thriller!
Over the thirty or so years that I served our USG, there have been instances when POTUS has been severely mentally or physically compromised.
In the case of Richard Nixon, we had a president who had suffered a severe thrombophlebitis that resulted from the stress of his impending impeachment. Ronald Reagan had developed dementia sometime during his tenure as POTUS. In both cases, someone had to take over the mantle of government.
In the case of Nixon’s disability, it was Dr. Henry Kissinger and his cabinet colleagues who effectively created what we term in the intelligence community as a ‘soft coup’ [no outward presence of military personnel]. Ronald Reagan’s astute wife, Nancy Reagan [the daughter of a neurosurgeon] had James Baker III take over the reins of the White House without any formal announcement of illness [even after he was shot].
My novel, Maximum Vigilance, entertains the scenario where our president is mentally incapacitated and the protagonist has to decide what to do. Meanwhile, all US military is preparing for a real coup where they literally take over every aspect of civil society while imposing martial order. This particular scenario is not very far-fetched considering that only a few years ago, one of our more prominent Secretaries of Defense warned me and other former and extant military personnel not to attempt a military coup.
During the Bush Jr administration, there was a real possibility that many of the neocons, including the Vice President and his coterie of accomplices, would have been rounded up and subjected to the rules of military justice because of the untoward/illegal activities regarding 9/11 and the subsequent Iraq/Afghanistan Wars.
Maximum Vigilance is a fictional warning to any future president as to what might happen if that person were to override the mandates of his/her office. The only time we have had an effective military/civilian leader who knew how to control the rapacious military/industrial complex was former five star General/President Dwight David Eisenhower. He knew precisely how to pre-empt any untoward military incursions that the Pentagon might have wanted to initiate.
This book is dedicated to those military officers like Eisenhower who understand that war is not the province of civilian rule or political whimsy a la Bush/Cheney/Condi/Rumsfeld. Those civilians who dare defy the tenets of military sensibilities are placed on a status I term “Maximum Vigilance”. One step beyond that leads the country into internal unrest for some time period of time.
I have a few hardback copies of Maximum Vigilance that are in mint condition. I will sign and dedicate personally. Enjoy the novel and allow your imagination to conjure up many other alternative scenarios where POTUS is mentally/physically ill [a la Hillary Clinton].
Go to the Vintage Vault section of my website and order, you will receive it in a couple of days.