ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Sunbury Press has released vice admiral Scot McCauley's first novel, Israel Under Siege, concerning the international intrigue around a viable directed energy weapon (DEW). About the Book:

In a desperate scramble for energy, Japan and China are on a collision course--and Russia finds itself caught in the middle. Cole Palmer, and his wife, Liz, professors at the University of Indiana, but previously government operatives, find themselves plunged into this perilous situation when a close friend, Jack Tisdale, is wounded and trapped in a remote part of China. Tisdale had been dispatched by Secretary of State David Andrews to mount a covert US/Russian reconnaissance mission of a highly secretive Chinese research facility funded and directed by the international billionaire, Kenryo Chen. Rumors focus on a possible technological break-through in the area of directed energy. Both Cole and Liz Palmer have good reason to be wary of Andrews, a man known to ruthlessly put people, even friends, in harm's way to advance his personal objectives. Cole had been nearly killed during a previous operation set in motion by Andrews during the previous administration when Andrews served as National Security Adviser. With a strong sense of loyalty and obligation to his close friend, Cole takes the lead and successfully rescues Tisdale. But returning to Washington, they are unable to extricate themselves from a vastly more sinister plot. As Andrews prepares for the World Summit Conference in St. Petersburg, one to which China has not been invited; a priceless piece of intelligence is delivered to him by Cole and Liz. They have made contact with a highly placed Russian source, someone who believes that the intelligence will help Russia to move to the West. Cole and Liz will ultimately have to protect their source by spiriting him out of Russia using means that involve, without his knowledge, the President of the United States. As the world powers focus on the upcoming World Summit Conference in St. Petersburg and escalating tensions of a global energy war, Kenryo Chen seizes the opportunity to play out his long festering hatred of the Zionist nation. The deployment of the Directed Energy Weapon to the United States foreshadows the first step of a well-conceived diabolical plan to destroy Israel. The suspenseful account of this unexpected crisis raises the temperature to a boiling point. The outcome will prove to be as much of a surprise to Cole Palmer as it is to the reader. This is a thriller that suggests what the headlines might be in the very near future. Excerpt: Manas, Kyrgyzstan. Six men outfitted in black Nomex jumpsuits, skin caps with integrated miniature communication headsets, inflatable assault vests with magazine pouches, nervously fidgeted outside a small rust-eaten trailer. It was two hours before the first signs of dawn and dark clouds towered into the stratosphere. A line of thunderstorms to the northeast with flashes of lightening added to the foreboding atmosphere. Pulsating lights from a nearby idling Special Forces helicopter casted a dancing glare on the dew glistened tarmac. Across the runway, intermittent puffs of morning mist distorted the recently completed new Manas International Airport . . . surreal images of glass and metal structures crisscrossing without endpoints. The U.S Support Facility's corrugated Quonset-huts and trailers across the tarmac were a far cry from the more modern airport buildings, but they served their inconspicuous purpose . . . sustaining a high tempo of logistic support to Afghanistan. There was little formal protocol with the Kyrgyz government or airport authority. They didn't care what was going-on across the tarmac as long as the outrageous rent was paid . . . rent that provided long runways for the U.S Air Force and no requirement for detailed flight plans. Captain McGraw and his combat tested team of Special Forces had been through the drill many times before, but their dislike of patience was evident. They rechecked their weapons over and over before stowing them in waterproof pouches . . . H&R submachine guns with silencers and 9-mm Glock automatics, while muttering comments on why shit always had to happen in the middle of the night. There was one late arrival who was standing with McGraw. Jack Tisdale, a former SEAL, had replaced his best friend, Cole Palmer, as head of a secret State Department covert section. He had been tasked personally by the Secretary of State, David Andrews, for what Andrews called a joint U.S/Russian reconnaissance operation . . . whatever in the hell that meant. The team sized up Tisdale as someone who could take care of himself. He had a compact build, about five-nine, a hundred sixty, broad shoulders down to an athletic waistline and short cropped hair. The giveaway was that he carried himself as only Special Forces do. They also knew that their boss would not jeopardize the operation with an untested ringer. Tisdale answered his cell phone and turned to McGraw. “Okay, we have ten minutes before liftoff. Truffle made another pass and confirmed a clean drop area.” Truffle was the downlink picture from a state of the art Global Hawk drone that was orbiting their destination, a high mountainous pass separating Kyrgyzstan and China. McGraw did not bark any order but simply nodded his head to the team and they quickly stuffed their gear inside the helo. As the helo lifted up dipping its nose, Tisdale yanked his seatbelt trying to ignore the uneasiness in his gut. Crossing the border into China without a clear-cut mission made him nervous. The only positive thing that Tisdale counted on was joining-up with the Russian counterpart, Mikhail Nakolova, a former Spetsnaz officer who he knew well and trusted. He also was banking on getting some mission answers and specifically how he got shanghaied into being part of it. He flashed back to last week’s Washington’s intelligence briefings. Once the window dressing was peeled back, it appeared to Tisdale that the U.S agreed . . . or more specifically, David Andrews . . . to a high level request from the Kremlin for Jack Tisdale, to be part of a joint U.S/Russian surveillance operation into the Western Chinese border area. When he questioned the Washington analysts, it became clear they were also in the dark like him . . . which he didn’t believe. The storyline was that the Russians were spooked by something going-on at a remote Chinese research facility across the border. And supposedly, the Russians were hitting blanks with satellite and signal intercepts in their attempts to find out. Then, when a Russian version of the U.S intelligence platform, the U2, went missing while flying a so-called ‘training’ mission over the area, the Kremlin went nuts. Since that time, covering about three weeks, all search and rescue attempts had been stubbornly refused by the Chinese. The Chinese line was straight forward. The loss of an aircraft was a complete fabrication by the Russians to infiltrate the area and find out about the research facility. The green eye-shade folks in DIA (Defense Intelligence Agency) had nothing from satellite surveillance to support the loss of the aircraft and the State Department Western China Desk was unaware of any significant happenings in the vast desert region. Tisdale had given up trying to figure it out but the uneasy feeling that David Andrews had again cooked something up to enhance his political aspirations remained. And now in the middle of the night in some god-forsaken land, he was part of a mission without understanding what game was being played. About the Author: Scot McCauley is a retired naval officer with over 30 years of active duty service in the U.S. Navy. He is highly decorated and was awarded several Bronze Stars for combat service and the Purple Heart. Admiral McCauley received a BSEE from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis. He subsequently earned masters and doctoral degrees in finance and economics and studied at the Royal Naval College in Greenwich, England. Admiral McCauley's sea service included command of river boats in Vietnam, destroyers, cruisers and aircraft carrier battle groups. He ultimately commanded all Naval Surface Forces in the Atlantic. His shore assignments included Commandant of Midshipmen at the United States Naval Academy and several Washington tours associated with the programming and budgeting of major weapon systems including sponsorship of the Center for Naval Analysis. Following retirement from the naval service, Admiral McCauley has been employed as a corporate officer, foundation director and consultant. Admiral McCauley has served on numerous corporate boards including Pacific Specialty Insurance Company, Actuarial Consulting Group, Northrop Grumman Ship Systems, Nortel Government Solutions and High-Tech Engineering. Israel Under Siege Authored by Scot McCauley List Price: $16.95 5.5" x 8.5" (13.97 x 21.59 cm) Black & White on Cream paper 232 pages Sunbury Press, Inc. ISBN-13: 978-1620066751 ISBN-10: 1620066750 BISAC: Fiction / Espionage Also available on Kindle For more information, please see: http://www.sunburypressstore.com/Israel-Under-Siege-97816...