George Bush’S Great America [EN]: Chapter 266

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“Russia betrayed us?”

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t betrayal, but rather a surgical removal of a tumor attached to Russia. But frankly, why should they care about Russia’s circumstances? Whether Russia was acting up or the EU was acting up, their only focus was on the construction site of the world’s largest building.

In this colossal project of the century, aimed at recreating the glory of Allah by building the largest mosque in history, they couldn’t possibly allow ‘Russia’s circumstances’ to hinder them.

“I knew we shouldn’t have trusted those infidels. Let’s protect our foundation with our own strength!”

To hear the word ‘infidel’ from a 21st-century government in the age of science and intellect! But in East Iraq, where Islamic fundamentalism had seized power, it was perfectly natural. They had transplanted what the Taliban had achieved in Afghanistan directly into East Iraq.

All cultural activities except for prayer and the Quran were prohibited, and those who violated this were executed according to their own interpretation of the law. The economy relied solely on crude oil constantly gushing from the ground and aid from Russia, and East Iraq became increasingly desolate.

Oil can save even a dying dictatorship, but it’s meaningless if all the money earned from that oil is used up. Moreover, this was precisely the time when that oil resource was being sold at a bargain price. Therefore, the current East Iraqi government was solely dependent on Russian support.

“Self-reliance is good. But how are we going to solve the food problem in the future? West Iraq’s food production cannot feed all of us.”

Their dependence was particularly high in the food sector. Even the aid wasn’t just financial support; they were receiving almost everything. Within East Iraq, there were no functioning factories except for weapons factories, and even those were more like assembly plants than actual manufacturers.

Real weapons factories were almost non-existent. ‘Almost’ meaning just that. There were factories producing something. But all they produced were knock-off AK series rifles, crude rockets, and technicals [civilian vehicles modified with weapons] modified from civilian trucks, akin to a village blacksmith.

“The problem was that we were borrowing hands from those infidels in the first place. We have guns. And we have people. We can divide the area, grow opium, and cultivate crops that can be used for food.”

In short, it meant treating the people like slaves. Not that they hadn’t been doing that all along, but under the twisted cause of creating a paradise on earth, the people of East Iraq were groaning once again.

As a result, anyone who wasn’t a hardcore Islamic fundamentalist was defecting to West Iraq. From the East Iraqi government’s perspective, this meant a loss of labor and tax revenue, so they strengthened border security and implemented policies to encourage mutual reporting.

“That’s him! He’s packing his bags to escape!”

Unsurprisingly, the starving were easily corrupted. Those blinded by food and promotion reported innocent citizens. This was a localized, widespread phenomenon and a harbinger of East Iraq’s downfall.

From the start, East Iraq was a land incapable of self-sufficiency. The population was declining daily, and when Super SARS hit them directly, vaccines and treatments were fortunately brought in through Russia for humanitarian purposes and to maintain influence.

“This is the devil’s work, tempting us! We must never be tempted! Only sincere faith and genuine earnestness can overcome disease and bring us one step closer to paradise!”

They could have managed to survive if they hadn’t denounced the medical supplies received from Russia, burned some in front of the people, stored some in secret vaults for the leadership, and resold the rest to Iran and other countries.

“Don’t worry. The secret vault maintains a perfectly constant temperature even if the power goes out. The contents will never spoil. However, expanding the volume any further would be impossible with self-generation. We need to rebuild and operate the power plant again…….”

“No, no more is needed. We can just sell it to other countries. And a power plant? We cannot build such a satanic structure. Next month, all power plants will disappear from East Iraq.”

East Iraq and Russia repeated this foolish act a total of three times, and finally, on the fourth time, Putin’s patience reached its limit.

So, not only were people dying of starvation, but a pandemic that had already ended in other countries was sweeping through, and at this crucial moment, Russian aid, one of the biggest pillars supporting East Iraq, was cut off.

Since the establishment of the government, they had not engaged in proper diplomatic activities as a protectorate of Russia, but they did show signs of trying to gather domestic and international Middle Eastern terrorists. In reality, it was a substitute for diplomacy, but it was no exaggeration to say that almost all of the Taliban remnants had settled in East Iraq.

At the same time, it was also a refuge for many international terrorists. A significant number of al-Qaeda members were also active in East Iraq. To be precise, they were lying low, but they had established bases and stockpiled considerable weapons, so it was essentially the same thing.

After Russia cut off support, they were able to receive a lot of support from other organizations in exchange for land. It was just a drop in the bucket, but it was enough to sustain them for the time being. Unlike other countries, East Iraq was perfectly safe, so they invested here.

Moreover, they refused all demands from the UN, EU, and the US for border openings and inspections. How could they resist investing in this lovely safe zone?

“We are brothers. If you need help, please tell us anytime.”

Moreover, it wasn’t as if the East Iraqi army was weak. Of course, most of them were a ragtag bunch, but there were also experts skilled in combat after several wars, and there were capable generals here, if not brilliant ones.

Moreover, they were well-armed with weapons purchased from Russia or provided as aid, making them a dangerous group. They were armed with 30 T-90s and 100 T-72s, albeit outdated. As expected of a nation, they were not just a simple terrorist group.

“Sell bullets? Seriously, is this okay?”

“What’s the point of having them if we’re not going to shoot them anyway? If they suspect anything, we can just say we shot some apostates!”

If there was any consolation, it was that all weapons, including tanks and personal firearms, were not properly maintained because they were focused on building the world’s largest mosque, and those generals were immersed in joyful prayers, succumbing to a false peace.

“Allah is great! Peace is also great!”

Even though they were immersed in peace, it wasn’t as if they had fallen into hedonism, so their bodies hadn’t gained weight, but their minds had accumulated flabby thoughts. But that alone was enough to distance them from the front lines and turn them into old men in the back room.

Looking at Iraq from space at night, one side was completely dark, and the other was extremely bright. In that way, East Iraq was gradually collapsing.

The dawn in Moscow was truly deserted. Considering that it wasn’t lively but at least people were moving around until a few days ago, this was definitely an anomaly.

However, this didn’t mean that Moscow’s security was bad. Nor did it mean that there was no reason to go out. It was simply because something unpleasant had happened in Moscow a few days ago. Sulfuric acid terrorism was already a well-known form of terrorism around the world.

Of course, all citizens living in Moscow were also aware of this. But no one had ever thought that the terrorism would happen to them until it actually did.

“Mobilize all of Russia’s police force to catch those bastards!”

Due to the successive sulfuric acid attacks, the police force was increased, patrols were strengthened, and the dawn became ominous. Everyone was on edge in subways, buses, or streets where they would meet an unspecified number of people.

The age of distrust had finally arrived. The only good thing was that Putin was taking security seriously after drawing his sword. During a sulfuric acid attack, there were cases where acquittals were issued in summary executions by citizens. Summary execution here refers to death by lynching, in other words, the perpetrator was trampled to death.

And the perpetrator was, unsurprisingly, a refugee. It was an act caused by dissatisfaction with the treatment of refugees, and of course, it was an isolated incident. It wasn’t that the entire refugee population was at fault, but public sentiment always flows in the easiest direction, doesn’t it?

Thanks to that, racial discrimination intensified, and Moscow became a little colder.

“That’s quite ominous.”

Bush read up to this point and then closed the situation report.

“Everyone except America is having a hard time.”

“A hard time……. I see. Frankly, if it weren’t for Saudi Arabia, Russia wouldn’t be having a hard time either. That’s a shame. It’ll be difficult to sell since their main customer, Europe, has found other suppliers.”

“Even if they’ve found other suppliers, would Europe be satisfied with that?”

It was a matter of course. Every EU member state was expanding the scale of its industry without exception. To be precise, it was being expanded unintentionally, but in any case, the fact that a huge amount of oil goes into all modern industries was no different.

Even if you’re trying to run a service business, you need all sorts of goods, don’t you? And those goods ultimately require oil.

Oil! Oil! Oil! It’s a sickening thing if you don’t have it, but if you do, there’s nothing more reliable. Modern society is a society and culture created by oil.

“Still, demand will inevitably decrease, won’t it? And I know it’s selling quite well in our country too, right?”

“It’s not like we only have shale in this land. There’s a more time-honored and profitable method.”

Shale was not the main force but only a supplementary means. Shale would become the main force from the moment Saudi Arabia’s power waned.

“Isn’t there any way we can do something about Saudi Arabia?”

Conversely, if they could only bring down Saudi Arabia, America could fly even higher right away. They could truly move forward another generation, something other competitors could never follow.

“Shall I submit a report?”

“No, that’s okay. They’ll collapse on their own anyway. There’s no point in provoking friends who have quite a temper.”

To be honest, he swallowed the thought that he wanted to bomb them, even if only in his mind. It was just a thought that came out without him realizing it because he was so annoyed, there was no way he could really say it. A war with Iran would be one thing, but Saudi Arabia!

They were still a pro-American country. They were just struggling to protect their ‘rice bowl’ right now. What happens if you take away the food a dog is eating?

“Still, it’s not right to do nothing after being bitten by a dog. Is there any subsidy left?”

“Yes. Since it was originally intended for a long period, there is about 500 million dollars left. It seems we can execute whatever the President has in mind.”

That was more than enough. But even though the Chief of Staff said this with his own mouth, he knew very well that he wouldn’t do it.

“It’s nothing. Just thinking…….”

If the other party wants a strong-arm approach, shouldn’t we respond with a strong-arm approach as the duty of a great power?

“We need to increase production too.”