a long night, gentlemen!" The Commander And Chief Of The Army cleared her throat. "Oh, sorry, General Crawford! I'm still back in the chauvinist age."
The General laughed. "Mr. President, you were never a chauvinist!" she answered, "And I'll bust anyone's nose that says you ever were!"
Everyone giggled. "Ah!" The President remarked, "To have such loyal associates honors me. Now eat!"
Everyone smiled and leisurely finished their meal. Strawberry ice cream was passed around, and a variety of toppings offered.
As The President fixed his, his wife spoke up. "I don't see why the ladies and gentlemen's evening has to be spoiled, because you have to go off and deal with this unfortunateness. These young people that have come to entertain us this evening will surely be disappointed. Why don't we carry on and enjoy the rest of the evening while you go plan on bombing some poor defenseless airplanes!"
Everyone roared with laughter. "My wife, the military tactician!" The President managed between chuckles. "But she's right. These young people have come a very long way. Let them give their performance for our spouses while we carry on the business of state. We can have it piped into the operations room."
The President ate the last spoonful of the ice cream then looked at his watch. "Our staff should have everything set up by now. If you will excuse us ladies, we'd better get to it. The sooner we choose a course of action the better."
The President rose, went to the nearest door, and exited. All the military personnel in the room followed him. They went down the hall, descended three flights of stairs, and entered the underground operations room.
"Glad we got this running again!" The President remarked. "I think it's so nice and cozy down here." He looked to The Chief Of Intelligence. "Well, come on, Henry! Let's hear how it happened!"
The Chief Of Intelligence pressed a button on the table. The wall lit up, showing a map of The Korean Peninsula. The Major picked up a pointer and walked over to the map.