George Bush’S Great America [EN]: Chapter 66

George W. Bush’s Great America – Episode 65 (66/377)

< Episode 65 >

Let’s rewind time for a moment.

November in Russia was… evolving. Actually, “evolving” might be a better word than “thriving.” It would be more accurate to say that the suffocating tension held since the collapse of the Soviet Union was finally beginning to ease.

Thanks to the elite class diligently dividing and consuming the already limited infrastructure, Russia was ultimately left with primarily its natural resources. Fortunately, the price of those resources was skyrocketing.

“The Europeans are working hard to increase Brent oil production and enhance stability in the Middle East to freeze gas and oil prices, but Europe’s dependence on Russian natural gas is quite significant from the start.”

Putin’s face, which had been pale since the Red Square terrorist attack, was finally regaining its color.

“If I wanted to, I could shut off the valves right now.”

However, he didn’t because Putin wasn’t particularly interested in the Middle East at the moment. He believed it was premature to focus on external power projection until the internal situation had stabilized.

That’s not to say he was doing nothing in the Middle East simply because it was premature. Russia was neither incapable nor without ambition, so it was impossible that it had no desire for expansion.

Even though the era of the hammer and sickle [symbol of Soviet communism] had passed, as a former Soviet state, Russia was providing substantial military support to western Iraq. Moreover, with the pro-Islamic regime in eastern Iraq, it was difficult for rebels to emerge from eastern Iraq itself, as it had an outlet in western Iraq.

“Are there any friends trying to do foolish things?”

“At best, they are just disorganized rebel groups.”

Even the military aide, who always had a stiff face and prepared for purges, smiled today. This was because every report was good news. The probability of extra work was approaching zero.

The Iraqi army, already at a certain level, was being harshly forged in the hellish smithy run by Russian military advisors and reborn as a genuine elite force, quickly suppressing the rebels.

Conversely, the EU was also benefiting from the oil coming from Iraq. The amount of crude oil coming from Iraq wasn’t as much as that of Saudi Arabia, the king of crude oil, but it was still considerable. Kim Gap-hwan knew from history that the United States was so greedy for the oil that it was willing to endure international criticism to forcibly enter the country, so one could easily imagine how abundant the supply was.

Looking at the borderlines, it could be said that Iraq was divided into northern and southern regions. Western Iraq drew a line along the Euphrates River leading to Syria, up to the south of Baghdad, then returned to Karbala and drew a straight line to Samawah, narrowly including the southern part of Amarah.

Eastern Iraq had everything else, but since it was more of a diagonal division than east-west, it would be more accurate to call it southwestern and northeastern Iraq. This borderline was the result of the EU’s desperate attempt to prevent Russia from gaining access to the Persian Gulf.

Russia’s response to the negotiations was lukewarm.

“Even if you have influence, you need to be able to properly manage it. Rather than having influence in the Persian Gulf that you can’t even manage right now, it’s better not to have it at all.”

Putin said, almost singing. Everything was getting better.

As a result of the negotiations, Russia took the northern oil fields, and the EU took the southern oil fields of Basra. However, even the EU couldn’t deny that the northern part occupied by Russia was more resource-rich.

While oil refining companies from various European countries set up branches in western Iraq, Russia had a slightly different idea. They planned to extract crude oil from the refining facilities but not sell it, instead stacking it in warehouses to push oil prices to the limit.

Militarily, close cooperation was being carried out with China, and the relationship was beyond good, almost to the level of an alliance. With Putin and Jiang Zemin flaunting their intimacy to the point where visa-free entry emerged during their secret talks, everyone knew that the future strategy was Sino-Russian cooperation.

In fact, the number of people who thought of the cooperation between the two countries as an alliance was rapidly increasing, and the joint military training in eastern Iraq, which could be said to be the culmination of that cooperation, was just around the corner.

“Mr. President.”

“What is it?”

“China has been subjected to debt collection by the United States.”

Now, life is no fun.

* * *

In stark contrast to the Kremlin, which was as frozen as a Siberian winter, the White House in the United States felt like midsummer even in December. This was because the source of all the bizarre behavior was traveling around the country for the purpose of touring the entire United States, so all approvals were being processed on Air Force One.

In other words, the White House became quiet as the owner went on a trip. However, as described, it was not the silence of winter, but closer to the tranquility one might feel at the end of summer. However, it wasn’t winter just because Bush was there.

Rather, a powerful hurricane, strong enough to make one wish for winter, was residing in the White House. Anyway, he occasionally came back, and every time he did, he turned everything upside down.

It goes without saying that state governments do not welcome interference from the federal government and want to be guaranteed autonomy under any circumstances. Bush’s national tour, which was already excessively pressuring state governments, was not a welcome event for them.

Texas was an exception because Bush was a former governor. Even when Bush was shoulder-to-shoulder with biker gangs and going wild, they would say, ‘Going wild? No, what. Going wild… It’s okay. Just do it. Go wild.’ But when he toured other states, he showed a fairly dignified appearance.

But today was the day that dignified appearance was finally shattered.

If Texas was the home of guns, then the headquarters of guns was Virginia, where the NRA (National Rifle Association) was located. As the most successful lobbying group in the United States, he had expected direct lobbying to come in someday, but he never imagined it would be like this. Bush had no idea that a very secret meeting would be established under the leadership of the Governor of Virginia, of all people.

The NRA was a truly ironic group. In fact, the restricted items of the NFA (National Firearms Act), which the current NRA is desperately trying to escape from, and the FFL (Federal Firearms License) system, which originated from the GCA (Gun Control Act), were all laws promoted by the NRA.

It was good to conscript militias during the Civil War, but some former officers, George W. Wingate and William C. Church, who recognized that the quality of the soldiers was seriously poor, came to this conclusion. George and William, who had retired, were lawyers and journalists, respectively, but they could not forget the words of the militia during the war, who proudly said, ‘I don’t even know what a front sight is!’ So they created an organization.

Isn’t that really unexpected? Unlike the image of the modern NRA, ‘I like guns!’, the starting point of the NRA was an organization that stood like a rock guarding Excalibur [mythical sword of King Arthur], saying, ‘Those who are not qualified cannot touch this gun!’

This turned 180 degrees to ‘Everyone, buy guns! Guns!’ during the Vietnam War. It was a time when the United States was in turmoil, and it was also around the time when generational change was taking place. In this generational change, the heads of the moderate faction, who were focused on education, were cut off, and the organization was reorganized into an extreme group that lobbied, saying, ‘Kuh! I’m drunk on guns today!’

They were already aware of their powerful ‘power’ and were fully aware that they could slaughter all politics and media if they used that power.

The United States was a country of guns, and the NRA was an organization that represented the rights and interests of guns, so anyone living in the United States could easily guess the strength of its influence and voice. Moreover, with plenty of money, there seemed to be nothing they couldn’t do in the United States.

In fact, it became so, and it was selected as the organization that lobbied the most, and neither the state government nor the federal government could think of escaping the influence of the NRA. Thanks to those who should actively escape, saying, ‘I can’t forget the taste of the NRA’s money! I can’t live without the NRA!’, the NRA was licking the ‘honey fist’ every time.

No matter how much you hit and beat it, it’s only sweet, so what else could it be if it’s not a honey fist?

Anyway, thanks to their influence, the regulations put forward by the government were only meaningless formal regulations, and at some point, they made it realistically difficult to regulate itself.

What the NRA wanted from Bush this time was for the gun laws that were restricting the NRA to be loosened a little more.

“How is it?”

But what they offered was not money. In fact, if you think about it seriously, it’s not surprising. Even if it’s lobbying, lobbying doesn’t always revolve around money. As lobbying grows, the role of money shifts from being the purpose itself to being a lubricant for smooth communication. In other words, it took on an additional tendency for a larger purpose.

Lobbying could be valuable information, or it could be a competitor committing suicide one day. In any case, lobbying was not limited to money, and it was ultimately about doing something that would help that person in some way for the purpose of cronyism. In particular, the United States was a country where lobbying activities had reached their peak, but unlike other presidents, Bush’s backing was his own family, so he was almost certainly free from the influence of lobbying.

Thanks to that, he could wield power here and there without being painfully swayed, but there was no guarantee that Bush would not receive lobbying forever. As long as Bush was a politician, there would come a day when he would need lobbying in some way.

Today was such a day.

The card that the NRA took out was reminiscent of a joker, and it was a tempting story that the NRA would support the Fake News Eradication Act from the front and the back. Of course, it wasn’t free since it was lobbying. Lobbying was basically a transaction.

They were looking at the post-Bush administration rather than short-term gains, and this was to build a foundation for seizing and manipulating the changing media in the future. Once the Bush administration passed, the NRA said,

“With this, the media will not be able to complain about the President’s policies during his term in office unless it’s a very big deal. Isn’t the media the only obstacle?”

Charlton Heston, the president of the NRA, smiled and was confident that a positive answer would come back in his expression. Charlton Heston was one of the most famous Hollywood actors in the United States. But what was even better was the influence he projected as president of the NRA.

He had the United States in his grasp, and he was even taking on the role of spearheading the persuasion of the public to instill the perception that the United States was a community destined with guns, saying, ‘If you take away my gun, kill me first!’

Anyway, Charlton Heston’s words were right on the mark. In fact, not only Charlton Heston but also the intellectual class in the United States understood it that way.

They said that Bush had started to crack down on the media, which was always an obstacle to him, in order to take off in earnest for a strong grip on power. If Bush had not publicly declared that he would never touch the 22nd Amendment [limits the president to two terms], there would have been an uproar that it was a stepping stone for a complete dictatorship.

“Hahaha!”

So, as soon as that story came out, a harmonious atmosphere began to flow in that place. Bush’s gentle smile was truly amicable itself. To some extent, it was so much that it felt as if flowers were blooming in all directions without exaggeration.

“I don’t want to.”

Ah, only the appearance was like that.

“Why?”

He was so dumbfounded that he inadvertently talked back. That’s because normally, you would say that you wouldn’t accept it because of this and that. Or, it’s a pity, but it can’t be done because of the following reasons. Or, shouldn’t you get angry and ask where the trick is?

No, before that, it was normal to accept it, of course. No matter how you think about it, it was a good deal for the president. The NRA was already projecting influence on the media to some extent.

Why on earth?

“No, I just don’t like it.”

That’s right. Bush just didn’t like the NRA. Frankly, this was because Kim Gap-hwan’s antipathy toward the NRA had worked as it was. The word ‘the largest lobbyist in history’ was unpleasant, and he was also displeased that they dared to confidently lobby him.

Also, the reason why Bush cracked down on the media was not to silence the media, but to make the media only say the right things.

What you see is what you get? It was literally.

“That’s a relief.”

“That’s that, and there’s something I want to ask you.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I believe that none of you are organizations that sell out the country in the United States. Right? Say ‘Yes.'”

Of course, there are! They were not a group that hid their power and lived, so their lobbying did not stay within the narrow land of the United States. But this paradoxically meant that the NRA could be influenced from the outside.

This surfaced in 2018 when Russia laundered funds through the NRA and used those funds to interfere in the US presidential election. This was not a shock and horror to Americans, but rather a public event to the point where the reaction was, ‘Damn, I knew it!’

‘Since it’s a country of guns anyway, it’s okay to lobby about guns. But you can’t bring in foreign influence.’

As expected, Charlton Heston couldn’t say anything and was completely frozen. Because those were core executives. It was information that could never be grasped unless it was a close aide of Charlton Heston.

In fact, it was closer to business than selling the country, but if you look closely, there was no difference. Charlton Heston is a wise man. He knew more clearly than anyone else that the concept changes depending on the perspective of the person.

And the president was interpreting that slight external business like this.

‘Treason.’

Well, what should I say? First of all, my heart was tingling. I felt like my thoughts were floating like balloons from my head and leaving my body, and my eyes were getting thinner and sharper. Why does the blue sky I see out the window look so yellow today?

Charlton Heston was experiencing the feeling of dizziness with his whole body.

If the president in front of him really grasped that information, he could thoroughly investigate the NRA and dismantle it right now.

“Mr. President. I, that.”

“What are you talking about? That’s not the answer I want. Tell me quickly. ‘Yes.'”

Then, there was only one answer that Charlton Heston could give.

“…Yes.”

From this day on, lobbying to and from overseas decreased significantly.