George Bush’S Great America [EN]: Chapter 74

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“I’ll get straight to the point. What exactly do you want?”

Those were the first words out of Karl Rove’s mouth as he entered the U.S. Embassy conference room, wearing the hat of Special Envoy to ASEAN [Association of Southeast Asian Nations], where Indonesian diplomats were seated. His demeanor, as much as his ample belly, was exceedingly arrogant, and his every word dripped with an overbearing haughtiness.

Who said the virtue of the strong is humility? That’s just a fantasy held by some morality-loving people. Etiquette originated from the Confucianism of China, once the ruler of the world, but as time passed and Britannia [Great Britain] ruled, the public’s image of etiquette shifted to thinking of British gentlemen.

So, in the era of Pax Americana [American Peace, a period of relative peace in the world dominated by American influence], etiquette means American etiquette.

“I don’t have much time. Let’s resolve this quickly without beating around the bush.”

Not that Karl Rove was particularly known as an upright and courteous man in the United States. But at least now was an era where the U.S. Ambassador could be forgiven with a light reprimand from the home country, no matter what he did.

“Oh, your manners are truly impeccable. I almost want our Indonesian people to emulate them.”

It was a clear sarcastic response to his condescending attitude, but Karl Rove didn’t react much to the sarcasm. That was only natural, as he had intended this situation himself.

“What excessive praise. But that doesn’t seem to be the answer I want. Do I need to repeat the question?”

The highest-ranking Indonesian diplomat nodded. It was a declaration of intent to try if he dared.

“What exactly does your country want? I flew all the way from the White House to the Indonesian U.S. Embassy today to make that clear.”

Annoyance was evident in Karl Rove’s voice, clear to anyone. However, while Karl Rove himself thought this was acting, at some point, the irritation wasn’t a fake emotion created to dominate the situation, but genuine annoyance welling up from his heart.

This was partly due to the high humidity, which sent the discomfort index soaring through the roof, but also because he was stressed due to the hastily decided trip.

In other words, this meeting being conducted in a civilized manner was impossible from the moment Karl Rove inhaled the humid Indonesian air.

“Alright. We want investment. But we no longer want to be interfered with by your country.”

‘Aha! The hot potato of ‘contradiction’ has finally popped out.’

Now that the topic was out, he had to tie it down so it couldn’t escape again. That was the purpose of the pressure, and that was the purpose of the annoyance. Since they only had one mouth, if they started losing momentum, they would be overwhelmed by numbers.

“I have a lot to point out, but let me ask just one thing for now. Where did everyone else go?”

What Karl Rove meant was the other ASEAN member states. Only Indonesian-related people were here. He realized this purely because there were nameplates made of paper and acrylic in front of each Indonesian diplomat.

“The other member states share our sentiment.”

At least that much was true. They had half-delegated these negotiations to Indonesia. However, the Philippines was an exception, having already proactively sent word that they were willing to accept U.S. investment no matter what happened.

Come to think of it, the Philippines had no reason to refuse anything from interference to investment in the first place. From the people to the government, they were completely pro-American to the core.

In any case, Indonesia had neatly packaged their intentions under the name of ASEAN, lumping them together as the voice of Southeast Asia. To be precise, there weren’t any countries besides the Philippines that particularly opposed it, so it wasn’t a lie to say it was the will of Southeast Asia. However, whether it was an exaggeration was another matter. After all, the negotiations could be conducted entirely in Indonesia’s favor and according to Indonesia’s wishes.

‘But the ASEAN member states aren’t that foolish. So, they’re completely accepting those losses and putting Indonesia forward as the champion?’

Perhaps the all-too-obvious thought of not wanting to be disliked by the world’s only superpower, the United States, was at play.

When comparing Indonesia, the most powerful country in ASEAN, with the world’s superpower, the United States, it was natural to be mindful of the police rather than the neighborhood bully, but there’s a saying that a fist is quicker than the law.

Moreover, it was a country they had to see for a lifetime, even for generations to come, so no matter how strong a foreign power was, it would be stranger if they didn’t pay attention to the angry leader next door. Rather, the Philippines, with its abnormally pro-American tendencies, shouting ‘Screw Indonesia!’ was a very unusual case.

And at that moment, one question inside Karl Rove was completely resolved.

‘I wouldn’t know for sure, but wanting to completely exclude American influence is purely Indonesia’s idea.’

It was a simple story. No matter what else, Indonesia wanted to lead ASEAN for sure.

Indonesia would welcome the U.S. projecting influence as a financier or partner, as it had been, but if the U.S. directly projected influence into the charter or military system that formed the foundation of the ASEAN nation-state alliance, there was a sufficient risk that the organization for uniting Southeast Asia into a nation-state alliance would be transformed into an organization for permanent U.S. subjugation and exploitation of Southeast Asia.

However, that was Indonesia’s situation, and it was none of Karl Rove’s business as a U.S. official. The achievements he had to bring back were shaped and sized like puzzle pieces, and Karl Rove was planning to refine them as much as possible to fit Bush’s grand plan.

“Wanting investment but not wanting influence is, in a word, bullshit, isn’t it?”

The overly direct curse word was clearly heard by the Indonesian officials without needing to go through an interpreter.

“Bullshit, you say!”

“Even if you receive aid, influence will somehow seep in, but wanting to receive investment and exclude influence is too much of a stretch. What, do you want us to give you ten million dollars for free or something?”

No matter how Karl Rove thought about it, this part was strange and bizarre. It was nothing like a child whining for pocket money from their mother, and there was no reason to so blatantly reveal the thought of wanting to take America’s money and run.

“We want investment, not aid.”

There was one person among them who wasn’t agitated, and that was the Vice President, Hamzah Haz. Karl Rove knew about Hamzah Haz, even though the other officials were unheard of.

‘Ah, indeed. That guy is the biggest fish in this game?’

Because he was the most representative anti-American figure in Indonesia. Although it wasn’t prominent yet. According to regular intelligence from the CIA, he was the most dangerous person.

“Words are going in circles. Then what we’re doing is investment, what else would it be?”

“What you are trying to do is to encroach on East Asian rights.”

There was no agitation in Hamzah Haz’s attitude, but he also made it clear that he had no intention of backing down, putting heavy force into his words.

“Listen. We received the declaration of intent you showed us very well. But-”

‘The document?’

It seemed to be ‘that document’ that was created by replacing administrative staff under the President’s orders. Of course, Karl Rove had seen that document as well. The official name of the document was ‘Establishment of the U.S.-Southeast Asia Cooperation System,’ but it was also publicly known as the ‘Bush Doctrine’ within the Bush administration.

The Bush Doctrine initially involved ABM [Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty], compliance with the Kyoto Protocol, and suppression of terrorists, but now its meaning was completely changing.

First of all, in the case of the Kyoto Protocol, the Bush administration had withdrawn from it a long time ago, and ABM, that is, international nuclear safety investigation activities, had abandoned them and turned to direct sanctions. All that remained was the suppression of terrorists, but as the EU and Russia actively stepped in, it became a form where the EU or Russia took the lead, and the United States lent them an arm.

However, in this regard, it was a boon for the United States, as it was like blowing their nose without lifting a finger. Thanks to the EU and Russia stepping in, the U.S.’s overseas counter-terrorism budget was significantly reduced. Although it wasn’t a large amount in the first place, thanks to that, 12 million dollars remained even after allocating more budget to domestic counter-terrorism operations, and it could be distributed elsewhere.

Returning to the main topic, the contents of that document were as follows:

“Advice on the ASEAN Charter. Ways to link politics, economy, security, society, and culture. What role the United States can play in this ASEAN. Southeast Asian weapons system integration plans and integrated army creation alternatives and plans, ASEAN-China South China Sea dispute resolution plans. What exactly is the problem with this?”

“That’s exactly it.”

“What is?”

“You’re trying to do too much to our ASEAN. That document interferes with even the smallest details. If you were in our ASEAN’s position, how would you feel?”

Only then did Karl Rove feel like the fog in his head had completely cleared. The fragments scattered within the logic gathered to finally create a picture.

‘So, that’s why they said they want investment but don’t want interference?’

The point was that it was described in too much detail. Bush thought that ASEAN had difficulty handling issues on its own, and he cited this as the reason why ASEAN, despite having a powerful and enormous enemy called China right next door, couldn’t forge a closer relationship than necessary, like the EU.

Since this became a form of trying to suppress it with the power of the United States, it seemed to ASEAN that the United States was trying to turn ASEAN into a U.S. exploitation colony with its size.

Furthermore, Southeast Asia is a country that has been exploited for a long time by Western countries such as France and the Netherlands. They had also witnessed the fall of Britannia, which had reigned over the world. Having seen that, they wouldn’t easily entrust themselves to the United States, even if it was the world’s only superpower.

‘Well. It would be stranger if they weren’t wary. Should I have invested first and then slowly changed things?’

Now that he saw it, it seemed that wanting non-interference wasn’t just Indonesia’s will. However, that didn’t change what Karl Rove had to do.

‘Tsk. You should have said it directly instead of beating around the bush. Going around and around like this until the end!’

Karl Rove weighed what decision he should make between the authority he had as the Indonesian special envoy and Bush’s true intentions, and then opened his mouth.

“I understand your intentions very well. Then let’s change the story.”

“Change the story?”

The Indonesian Vice President’s eyes twitched.

“I admit that the contents written in the document may create a somewhat unpleasant situation. However, the ultimate goal of the contents written in that document is, after all, to make you a ‘barrier to pressure China.’ In other words, ‘pressuring China’ is also our true intention.”

“So?”

“If you can show that ASEAN can become a form worthy of being called a nation-state alliance from a quasi-national economic union in any form within 5 years and put pressure on China, we will spare no investment.”

“5 years?”

Simply put, it meant that Southeast Asian countries should become more closely connected, and in more detail, it was also a tyranny to shorten decades of time to just 5 years.

“That’s absurd!”

Indeed, even Hamzah Haz, the owner of unwavering composure, seemed to be very dumbfounded by those words, as a loud voice burst out of his throat. The veins were gradually showing, and it could be guessed that he had been very excited inside, although he had been pretending to be calm on the outside.

“But if there is a center of gravity, you will soon unite. Isn’t that right? Indonesian Vice President?”

“What nonsense are you talking about again?”

“I’ll say it one more time, what we want is to put pressure on China.”

“So what does that mean!”

Karl Rove was now being thoroughly taken for a ride, as he was only spouting empty, unsubstantial words, as if to retaliate for what he had endured. Seeing that, Karl Rove chuckled inwardly and judged that the time was ripe, and finally brought up the main point.

“Create an integrated army led by Indonesia. We’ll sell you weapons cheaply.”