Debt of Honor (1994) is a novel by Tom Clancy. It is a continuation of the series featuring his character Jack Ryan. In this installment, Ryan has become the National Security Advisor when the Japanese government (controlled by a group of corporate tycoons known as the Zaibatsu) goes to war with the United States. Image File history File links Tom_Clancy_-_Debt_of_Honor_cover. ... Thomas Leo Clancy Jr. ... In political geography and international politics, a country is a political division of a geographical entity, a sovereign territory, most commonly associated with the notions of state or nation and government. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Ryanverse refers to the fictional universe created by Tom Clancy featuring Jack Ryan and other characters, such as John Clark and Domingo Chavez. ... The thriller is a broad genre of literature, film, and television. ... A novel (from French nouvelle Italian novella, new) is an extended, generally fictional narrative, typically in prose. ... A publisher is a person or entity which engages in the act of publishing. ... Putnam is a surname. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... ISBN-13 represented as EAN-13 bar code (in this case ISBN 978-3-16-148410-0) The International Standard Book Number, ISBN, is a unique[1] commercial book identifier barcode. ... For the movie of the same name, see The Sum of All Fears (film). ... Executive Orders is a political and military thriller novel by Tom Clancy. ... Year 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1994 Gregorian calendar). ... A novel (from French nouvelle Italian novella, new) is an extended, generally fictional narrative, typically in prose. ... Thomas Leo Clancy Jr. ... Jack Ryan, in England Sir John Patrick (full name Dr. John Patrick Ryan, Lt. ... The Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, commonly referred to as the National Security Advisor, serves as the chief advisor to the President of the United States on national security issues. ... A business magnate, sometimes referred to as a mogul, tycoon, or industrialist is a person who controls a large portion of a particular industry and whose wealth derives primarily from this control. ... Zaibatsu , lit. ...

Plot summary

The story starts with the "Trade Reform Act", enabling the United States to mirror the trade practices of the countries that it imports goods from. The bill is immediately used against Japanese goods, and results in an increasing backlog of imported Japanese goods which begins to hurt the Japanese economy. Facing a perceived economic crisis, a group called Zaibatsu, decides to seize Japan and take military action to safeguard the Japanese economy. Along with the People's Republic of China and India, the Japanese plan involves curtailing the American presence in the Pacific in an effort to reestablish the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, which includes a possible Chinese-Japanese invasion of Siberia to secure its extensive resources. Zaibatsu , lit. ... Poster of Manchukuo promoting harmony between Japanese, Han Chinese and Manchu. ... “Siberian” redirects here. ...

Japan begins its part of the operation against the U.S. by launching torpedoes at two of the U.S. Navy’s Pacific carriers and two U.S. submarines at the conclusion of a joint U.S.-Japan naval exercise. Simultaneously, the Japanese cabal engineers the collapse of the American stock market, leaving America at an economic disadvantage. Meanwhile, units of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force and Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force occupy the Mariana Islands (as part of the grand plan involving China and India). The Zaibatsu—really their main leader, one Raizo Yamata—believe that these two elements, combined with the acquisition of Russian SS-19 ICBMs under the cover of the Japanese space program, will be enough to force the United States to negotiate a truce. USN redirects here. ... A cabal is a number of persons united in some close design, usually to promote their private views and interests in a church, state, or other community by intrigue. ... A stock market is a market for the trading of company stock, and derivatives of same; both of these are securities listed on a stock exchange as well as those only traded privately. ... The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force ), or JMSDF, is the maritime branch of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces, tasked with the naval defense of Japan and formed following the dissolution of the Imperial Japanese Navy after World War II.[1] The force is based strictly on defensive armament, largely lacking... The flag of Japan Ground Self-Defense Force The Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force ), or JGSDF, is the name of the military ground forces (army) of Japan. ... Anthem Gi Talo Gi Halom Tase(Chamorro) Satil Matawal Pacifico(Carolinian) Capital Saipan Official languages English, Chamorro, Carolinian Government Presidential representative democracy  -  Head of State George W. Bush  -  Governor Benigno R. Fitial  -  Lt. ... The UR-100N is an intercontinental ballistic missile in service with Russia. ... A Minuteman III ICBM test launch from Vandenberg AFB, California, United States. ... The Japan Aerospace eXploration Agency (JAXA) is Japans aerospace agency. ...

As the U.S. and Japanese delegates confer in an effort to avoid further bloodshed, Jack Ryan, the newly appointed President’s National Security Advisor, with the help of the SVR (the “Foreign Intelligence” successor to the KGB), figures out what Japan is up to and in the process discovers the overall plan by Japan, India and China to eliminate U.S. influence in the Pacific. Fearful of an impending nuclear war between China and Russia, Ryan convinces the President that the U.S. must take immediate action to stop the Japanese occupation, which Ryan hopes will derail the efforts of India and China. As a result, the United States makes two separate surgical strikes against Japan, resulting in the death of nearly all the Zaibatsu and the elimination of the Japanese presence in the Mariana Islands. Jack Ryan, in England Sir John Patrick (full name Dr. John Patrick Ryan, Lt. ... The Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, commonly referred to as the National Security Advisor, serves as the chief advisor to the President of the United States on national security issues. ... Sluzhba Vneshney Razvedki (Служба внешней разведки) (SVR) is Russian for Foreign Intelligence Service and is the name of Russias primary external intelligence agency. ... The KGB emblem and motto: The sword and the shield KGB (transliteration of КГБ) is the Russian-language abbreviation for Committee for State Security, (Russian: ; Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti). ... Nuclear War is a card game designed by Douglas Malewicki, and originally published in 1966. ... A surgical strike is a military attack upon a target which results in, was intended to result in, or is claimed only to have resulted in damage to the intended legitimate military target, and does not result in any collateral damage to surronding structures, vehicles, buildings, etc. ...

In a parallel to the real-life September 11, 2001, attacks seven years after the book's publication, the book ends with an embittered Japanese airline pilot crashing his Boeing 747 into the U.S. Capitol building during a joint session of Congress with the President attending. He does this to avenge the deaths of his brother and son during the war. This paves the way for Ryan, who has just been appointed Vice President, to become President in the next book, Executive Orders. A sequential look at United Flight 175 crashing into the south tower of the World Trade Center The September 11, 2001 attacks (often referred to as 9/11—pronounced nine eleven or nine one one) consisted of a series of coordinated terrorist[1] suicide attacks upon the United States, predominantly... The Boeing 747, commonly nicknamed the Jumbo Jet, is a long-haul, widebody commercial airliner manufactured by Boeing. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... Congress in Joint Session. ... The presidential seal is a well-known symbol of the presidency. ... Seal of the office of the Vice-President of the United States The Vice President of the United States is the first in the presidential line of succession, becoming the new President of the United States upon the death, resignation, or removal of the President. ... Executive Orders is a political and military thriller novel by Tom Clancy. ...

Trivia

• Tom Clancy reportedly came up with the idea for the "crashing" end after a visit to the White House.
• The book is mentioned in the NCIS episode "Yankee White" as the inspiration for a planned terrorist hijacking of Air Force One for the purpose of crashing it into Washington DC. However, Mark Harmon erroneously says the end of the novel was done by terrorists rather than a lone distraught Japan Airlines pilot.
• The book also contains a scene involving a delivery truck filled with ANFO being used to bomb a luxury hotel in Sri Lanka. The description of the bomb is very similar to that used in the Oklahoma City bombing.
• The sub-plot on occupying the "Northern Resource Area" (Siberia) would later form part of the main plot of The Bear and the Dragon.