George Bush’S Great America [EN]: Chapter 185

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A terrorist grabbed a French hostage by the scruff of the neck, slammed him against the wall, and shouted, spraying saliva.

“That’s your fighter jet!”

The French hostage, understandably indignant, screamed back.

“You stupid bastards! It’s not our fighter jet!”

The terrorist threw the hostage to the ground and kicked him repeatedly, as if he were a soccer ball. At first, the hostage screamed with each blow, but soon he could only groan.

“You’re lying!”

One hostage was on the verge of death, but the terrorists didn’t seem to care much. Suddenly, what had been a ‘safe mission’ turned into a ‘dangerous mission’ where lives were at stake every second. If they could make rational and cool-headed decisions, they wouldn’t be human, but monsters.

Of course, they were just ordinary humans, a little more devoted and fanatical to the doctrines of Islam. Of course, that doctrine wasn’t exactly sound, but they were still ‘human’.

The thought, ‘What if France responds like Russia?’ crossed their minds. There was plenty of reason to think this way. Birds of a feather flock together, right? So they thought like this:

If the hostages died here, the EU forces could legally invade Iran. Yes, by sacrificing just two planeloads of hostages, the EU could secure a semi-permanent oil production source. How appealing!

Isn’t this the politically optimal situation? This is politics!

Under the very real and tangible pressure, the terrorists were losing the ability to make normal judgments. They already knew they could die, and they were prepared for it. But resolve is like a crowd; once it scatters, it’s not easy to gather it again.

“Damn it!”

Logically, the most reasonable course of action now was to end this hopeless hostage situation immediately, or at least abandon the plane.

Five U.S. Navy F-18s were slowly circling over Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport in Iran, like eagles hunting prey.

“Not a civilian plane, but a military plane intruding without permission! And not just one, but five! This is nothing short of a challenge to us!”

The Iranian parliament was in complete chaos. Roars erupted from everywhere, and their demeanor suggested they were ready to grab rifles and rush to the front lines.

“May the wrath of the Almighty be upon those thunderbolts! We must show them our fury!”

They all shouted bravely, but frankly, they didn’t have a real solution. But they couldn’t just let it go, as their upright pride and self-esteem wouldn’t allow them to yield. Moreover, the terrorists who had landed at the airport and were demanding refueling—or, in their terms, the courageous warriors—were also a problem.

The Iranian government didn’t fully grasp the situation, but they knew that helping them would mean confronting the United States head-on. They were already in conflict, but this would be a conflict on a completely different level.

It might be different if the United States was weaker, or at least if its influence in the Middle East had waned, but the United States was expanding its influence in the Middle East, so they would surely seize the opportunity to invade.

Iran never throws dice without a chance of winning. It was the most rational and stable country among those that had adopted Islam as their state religion. Of course, from the perspective of other countries, they were crazy religious fanatics who were terribly behind the times, but that was just what other countries thought. In reality, the results showed how rational Iran was.

There were no significant civil wars or warlords. This alone made it the most stable country in the Middle East. Of course, compared to other Western countries, there were deeply rooted issues of discrimination against women and cruel, outdated punishments within the Islamic state.

However, these problems didn’t pose a major obstacle to the operation of the state. The gears turned honestly and well, as much as the Rahhbar [Supreme Leader] turned them, using the blood of freedom and democracy fighters as lubricant.

In any case, in order to achieve this level of economic prosperity and national stability, the way of thinking had to be somewhat flexible, both internally and externally. In other words, the politicians and the Supreme Leader, the Rahhbar, who made up the Iranian government, were masters at applying their ideals to reality and expressing them with reason.

Realistically, the probability of winning a war was close to zero. It wasn’t entirely impossible, but surely it would only be possible with Allah’s blessing. It had only been 20 years since the entire country was devastated by total war and then recovered. Now, just as the wounds of war were beginning to heal, they were going to war with the world’s only superpower? This was complete madness.

A simple provocation might be one thing, but it just so happened that the most important figure in the Bush administration was on that plane. If he died or was injured, there was no way to avoid war, no! They might go to war. Wasn’t the current President of the United States the craziest person in history?

However, if Iran, which claimed to be the protector of Islam, backed down under such external pressure, it wouldn’t be right. At least they had to create the external image that ‘we did all we could!’

In any case, in this situation, the Iranian parliament came to a rational conclusion, despite the emotional rhetoric.

“The condition for refueling negotiations is to extract ‘Karl Rove, the chief advisor to the United States.’ Can we consider this the conclusion?”

Everyone remained silent at the answer that reality had given, which was far from ideal. If they had their way, they would have launched missiles instead of diplomatic documents.

Did you know? Bamboo is easily bent when exposed to fire. The fire that the United States had lit was bending the Iranian parliament.

“Iran wouldn’t abandon us, would they?”

“We have to hope the leader’s judgment was correct.”

“The leader failed! He’s a failure! If what he predicted is wrong… !”

“Shut up! Don’t insult the leader!”

A tense atmosphere filled the air among the terrorists. No one dared to suggest surrender, but pessimistic remarks like, ‘If I had known we were going to die like this, I would have followed the leader and crashed into the Eiffel Tower for a meaningful death,’ began to surface, and emotions exploded beyond the limit of endurance.

It was at that moment, when the unity among the terrorists was about to collapse.

“Everyone shut up! We’ve received a message!”

“What is it? They’re releasing Karl Rove as a condition for refueling?”

“Karl Rove? An American politician?”

As soon as Karl Rove heard that, he could instantly figure out what was going on.

‘So, the fighter jet circling in the sky was ours after all?’

He was sitting in a seat where he couldn’t see the exterior of the fighter jet at all, so it was somewhat difficult to figure out, but if it wasn’t France, it was easy to deduce. At first, he thought it was the Italian Air Force, Turkey, or at least the air force of a country on the air route. But for them to follow him all the way to Iran and circle over the airport? That was a bit strange.

‘Haha! Our madman has done it again.’

There were only three countries that could do something like this: Russia, whose eyes were rolling; China, which had nothing more to lose except its leadership; and finally, the United States, which had the most eccentric president on the planet as its leader.

Karl Rove sensed that the situation had been reversed, and at the same time, he realized that he could now do what he was best at. He smiled inwardly with confidence. He straightened his spine and cleared his throat.

‘It’s been a while since I spoke French.’

He was ready to start talking.

“I will not move a single step from here unless you release the elderly and children!”

The President had personally set the stage, so how could he not dance?

“Do you think you’re in a position to negotiate with us right now?”

The terrorist closest to him pointed a speargun at Karl Rove as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing, but then he was hit on the back of the head by a comrade. Surprised by the unexpected situation, the terrorist quickly turned around, only to be grabbed by the collar by his comrade.

“You idiot! What if you accidentally shoot him! Then we’re all done for!”

At this point, the hostages had become a means to an end, and survival was now the goal. If they had a leader to keep them in check, or if there was a strong order or policy to guide them, they might have stuck to their initial goal and carried out the mission of transporting the hostages to their designated locations. But now, they were just a disorganized group that had begun to splinter in order to survive.

“Damn it! Shut up! You’re being persuaded by an infidel right now!”

“Won’t the elderly and children die anyway because they can’t keep up with your march? They’re going to die anyway. If you release them with me, I’ll put in a good word.”

It was unclear what he meant by ‘put in a good word,’ but they were slowly beginning to be persuaded by his surprisingly reasonable words. The fundamental aversion to listening to a hostage was unavoidable.

“60! We’ll only release the elderly who are 60 years old or older!”

Children were very useful to the terrorists in many ways. They were like sponges, absorbing everything, so they were easily brainwashed, and if necessary, they could simply be used for suicide bombings. If not, they could be made to do chores.

“Release the children unconditionally. Depending on what I say when I get back, special forces might enter this place right now!”

“You bastard!”

Some tried to strike him with a rifle butt, while others tried to stop them. The cabin was descending into chaos. The cold sweat trickling down their backs was not just mere waste. It was their spirit. Their will. Their patience. And their soul. They felt themselves gradually turning into empty shells.

“What the hell are you doing! Release Karl Rove quickly! Iran is in an uproar! We need him for refueling! Force him out!”

“If you force me out, I’m very sorry to say that the fighter jets circling above might strike this airport with missiles.”

“Shit! Shit! Shit!”

Panic. And panic. All that dominated them was panic. The cold death that was right in front of them clouded their minds, making them unable to grasp even the simple logic that they couldn’t possibly bomb with hostages present. If they could just have 10 seconds to think properly, they could overcome this error, but how chaotic it was.

“Damn it! Fine! We’ll do as you say! But if refueling doesn’t happen after you leave, we’ll kill two, no, three people here at random every five minutes!”

“Ah, good deal.”