History Literature / ExecutiveOrders

* CrazyPrepared: PlayedWith. Jack finds a contingency plan showing how the U.S. would attack Japan in the event of a terrorist attack by the latter. He orders it to be destroyed, but the narration notes that his cabinet has had it filed away instead.

** Jack pretty much ends the UIR threat inside of a week, via using martial law to contain TheVirus before it spreads, then smart-bombing Daryaei on national television when the latter attempts to threaten the U.S.

* BuzzingTheDeck: Used deliberately when a pair of U.S. B-1 bombers buzz an Indian aircraft carrier, causing damage to its superstructure.

* BigBadDuumvirate: India and both ally themselves to the United Islamic Republic in order to help it become a superpower (and take down the U.S.), but this is quashed by the end of the book when Jack has Daryaei publicly blown up with a smart bomb on live television, forcing the Indian Prime Minister to end her SmugSnake tendencies.

** The plot also stops dead in its tracks to lecture readers about the nuances of the U.S. Tax Code, which Jack takes an opportunity to fix in the weeks following his ascension to the Presidency.

** Less obvious, but the unnamed "Premier of Turkmenistan" who is also killed at Daryaei's orders is briefly described in terms that match then-dictator Sapamurad Niyazov - the local Communist Party chieftain who transitioned seamlessly into a new role as independent dictator once the USSR fell apart.

** Ryan works hard to delegate the power to ordinary people, many times exhorting them to become more involved in politics and even run for office themselves, while Daryaei is a control freak who ends up with a much larger workload than he'd like because his underlings are too terrified of making the wrong call to take initiative.
** Ryan didn't seek out his position and doesn't enjoy it, having been appointed as a placeholder Vice-President who was supposed to resign at the end of the term, while Daryaei has no intention of ever relinquishing power and in fact continues to grab for more by expanding his territory.
** Ryan is daunted by the potential for abuse of power in his situation, while what keeps Daryaei up at night is the fear that his people may be "drifting" from what he sees as the only correct path.
** Ryan intends to either step down or stand for election once the current term of office is out, as the law requires, while Daryaei is a dictator who has never been accountable to either his people or any law.

* MysteriousBacker: Ultimately subverted with Zhang Han San (and, by extension, the Chinese government). He aspires to be this: as in ''DebtOfHonor'', his MO here is to quietly support a smaller nation's aggression against the United States, in the hopes that his nation will be able to benefit from the fallout without being implicated. However, he's not nearly as mysterious as he thinks, the CIA becomes aware of him and his actions throughout the novel, and his meddling ultimately backfires badly when President Ryan responds by recognizing Taiwan as a sovereign nation (a ''huge'' slap in the face, as the Chinese consider it a breakaway province that is legally their territory).

** Actually a far more reasonable example than most. Jack is stating his personal belief on the issue, but also that doesn't believe that it's properly within his powers as president to resolve it. Unfortunately, Van Damm explains that stating that in those terms means that liberals will only hear "he's against abortion" and conservatives will only hear "he doesn't care about the issue."

** Ryan intends to either step down or stand for election once the current term of office is out, as the law requires, while Daryaei is a dictator who has never been accountable to his people or to any law.
** Finally, both men are devoutly religious, but Daryaei is guided by the desire to impose not only his religion but his particular form of it on as much of the Islamic world as possible and regards all those outside of it as "infidels" and "pagans," even his own Indian and Chinese allies. Ryan has no such ambitions, is not a bigot, and even stresses on national television that Daryaei's Islamic religion is as welcome in America as any other.

** Justified: the two countries had barely been unified for a couple of months, and given that Daryaei ran it as a one-man show, it's hard to believe that there would've been any state infrastructure left to hold it together after his death.

* WarIsHell: Ryan is very aware of it, which is why he does everything he can to avert this trope. After defeating the UIR's invading forces, he orders Daryaei killed by an air strike in the middle of a speech to the nation, pointing out that in so doing, he's targeting the dictator personally responsible for the war and not his people. He then tells the UIR that he's willing to leave it at that, so long as they complete their withdrawal from Saudi Arabia in short order, dismantle their WMD program under international observation, and turn over those responsible for the recent bioweapon attacks to the United States. Should they refuse, however, it ''will'' be all-out war.

** Ryan is daunted by the potential for abuse of power in his situation, while what keeps Daryaei up at night is the fear that his people may be "drifting" from what he sees as the one true path.

** Finally, both men are devoutly religious, but Daryaei is guided by the desire to impose not only his religion but his particular form of it on as much of the Islamic world as possible and regards all those outside of it as "infidels" and "pagans," even his own Indian and Chinese allies, while Ryan has no such ambitions, is not a bigot, and even stresses on national television that Daryaei's Islamic religion is as welcome in America as any other.

* {{Foil}}: Mahmoud Hajji Daryaei is one for Jack Ryan. As Ryan is struggling to hold together a country whose political class has just been decimated, and Daryaei is the leader of a brand new country, they face many of the same challenges. The similarities end there, however. Ryan works hard to delegate the power to ordinary people, many times exhorting them to become more involved in politics and even run for office themselves, while Daryaei is a control freak who ends up with a much larger workload than he'd like because his underlings are too terrified of making the wrong call to take initiative. Ryan is daunted by the potential for abuse of power in his situation, while what keeps Daryaei up at night is the fear that his people may be "drifting" from what he sees as the one true path. Ryan intends to either step down or stand for election once the current term of office is out, as the law requires, while Daryaei is a dictator who has never been accountable to his people or to any law. Finally, both men are devoutly religious, but Daryaei is guided by the desire to impose not only his religion but his particular form of it on as much of the Islamic world as possible and regards all those outside of it as "infidels" and "pagans," even his own Indian and Chinese allies, while Ryan has no such ambitions, is not a bigot, and even stresses on national television that Daryaei's Islamic religion is as welcome in America as any other.

* MiddleEasternCoalition: The United Islamic Republic, created by Daryaei due to the uncertainty in the wake of the U.S. suicide attack. However, it doesn't last.

* ActionDuo:
** Clark and Chavez, naturally. They lead the mission to smart-bomb Daryaei's compound in the latter half of the book.

** Special Agents O'Day and Russell are said to be this, as they have a camaraderie with each other and are usually involved in operations together. The duo manage to take out the group of terrorists attacking Giant Steps, [[spoiler:but Russell is killed in the process]].

** The Mountain Men's attempt to kill Jack and Kealty with a virus-loaded cement is unintentionally thwarted by Daryaei himself, who launches a biowarfare attack. As a result, the country is put under martial law and much more scrutiny is placed on bystanders, leading to the duo being arrested long before they reach Washington. It may come across as a ShaggyDogStory but the moral is that evil sometimes defeats itself. There's some {{irony}} here as well, in that Daryaei himself laments near the beginning that if only all of these plotters would ''coordinate'' with each other, they'd be more successful.

** The two terrorists trying to kill Jack and Kealty with a cement truck get this when they realize they're being arrested by a random highway patrolman.

* SpannerInTheWorks: The random highway patrolman who arrests the two terrorists who were planning to kill Jack and Kealty with a cement truck loaded with TheVirus. [[NotSoStoic The two men promptly freak out]] upon realizing that they're being arrested.

* PermissionToSpeakFreely: The newly-promoted ''Admiral'' Robby Jackson uses this phrase in ''Executive Orders'' to warn the new Secretary of Defense Tony Bretano about the reason that Vice Chief of Naval Operations Bruno [=DeMarco=] was appointed to the position, as he was promoted to CNO after the [[spoiler:Capitol Hill disaster]].

* ShaggyDogStory: A large chunk of the book follows a pair of hapless terrorists (part of the "Mountain Men") who are tasked by Daryaei to kill Jack and Kealty with a cement truck loaded with TheVirus. Several chapters are spent on them dodging cops and roadblocks on their way to their intended target... and then they get pulled over and arrested by a random patrolman, long before they get there.

* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Kealty, whose causes him to unintentionally refer to the latter by his proper name and office. As a result, he effectively kills his own claim to the Presidency until ''Literature/TeethOfTheTiger''.

* BadassBystander: O'Day and Russell, with the former only having showed up to the daycare to pick up his kids, and eventually becomes the one to take out the terrorists attempting to kidnap Jack's daughter.

* DeepCoverAgent: [[spoiler:Special Agent Aref Raman]], who spent a decade-and-a-half working his way into the Presidential cabinet as security detail so he could assassinate the President, if need be.

* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Kealty, whose challenge to Jack's presidency causes him to unintentionally refer to the latter by his proper name and office. As a result, he effectively kills his own claim to the Presidency until ''Literature/TeethOfTheTiger''.

* ItWorksBetterWithBullets: Subverted. The BodyguardBetrayal is thwarted when the assassin's bullets for his gun are switched out with duds. Switching the ammo with blanks or removing them completely would have tipped the assassin off, though he eventually [[OhCrap discovers this too late, once he's already inside the Oval Office]].

** The Mountain Men's attempt to kill Jack and Kealty with a virus-loaded cement is unintentionally thwarted by Daryaei himself, who launches a biowarfare attack. As a result, the country is put under martial law and much more scrutiny is placed on bystanders, leading to the duo being arrested long before they reach Washington.

* PermissionToSpeakFreely: The newly-promoted ''Admiral'' Robby Jackson says this while speaking to the Secretary of Defense about the Vice Chief of Naval Operations.

* RightWingMilitiaFanatic: The "Mountain Men".

* SmugSnake: The Indian Prime Minister, who attempts to bully Jack because she doesn't believe he's capable of running the country. Jack soon shuts her up after his RousingSpeech and public takedown of the UIR.

* TrainingFromHell: The National Training Center and Negev Training Area is explicitly said to have this kind of program.

I* Jack gets this when he tosses the script prepared for him at former President Durling's funeral, and speaks off the cuff to the children of the deceased president. At a later press conference, he jokes that he's not going to go "off the reservation", and will read the prepared speech.

I* Used to great effect via Jack's speeches. One chapter in particular, "The Ryan Doctrine", has Jack go on at length about how any countries that want to attack the U.S. will be in trouble if they attempt to go through with it.

* ActionDuo: Special Agents O'Day and Russell are said to be this, as they have a camaraderie with each other and are usually involved in operations. The duo manage to take out the group of terrorists attacking Giant Steps, [[spoiler:but Russell is killed in the process]].
* AuthorFilibuster: Used to great effect via Jack's speeches. One chapter in particular, "The Ryan Doctrine", has Jack go on at length about how any countries that want to attack the U.S. will be in trouble if they attempt to go through with it.

* BigBadDuumvirate: India and both ally themselves to the United Islamic Republic in order to help it become a superpower (and take down the U.S.), but this is quashed by the end of the book when Jack has Daryaei publicly blown up with a smart bomb on live television, forcing the Indian Prime Minister to end his SmugSnake tendencies.

* NiceJobFixingItVillain: Kealty's attempt to sue Jack over the latter's legitimacy as President results in the former inadvertantly acknowledging him as such, even though he wins on Constitutional grounds.

* ShootTheShaggyDog: A large chunk of the book follows a pair of hapless terrorists who are tasked by Daryaei to kill Jack and Kealty with a cement truck loaded with TheVirus. Several chapters are spent on them dodging cops and roadblocks on their way to their intended target... and then they get pulled over and arrested by a random patrolman, long before they get there.
* SmugSnake: The Indian Prime Minister, who attempts to bully Jack because she doesn't believe he's capable of running the country. Jack soon shuts her up after his RousingSpeech and public takedown of the UIP.