George Bush’S Great America [EN]: Chapter 288

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“Too many enemies!”

This was the last thought of the commander in charge of the air defense system on the southern front of western Iraq. Then, a hot, white light engulfed him in an explosion, and he could think no more.

Thanks to the Integrated Forces’ relentless attacks, which consumed ammunition, cannons, and missiles at an enormous rate, leaving no time for maintenance, the once-invincible European-style air defense system, once dubbed the ‘Iron Curtain,’ was already crumbling when the U.S. military launched its assault.

Adding to the trouble, the United States, possessing the world’s largest arsenal, deployed all its drones from its carrier strike group and newly developed drone-only ships.

Tomahawk cruise missiles, launched from Aegis destroyers, disrupted the air defense system. Improved MQ-9 Reapers were launched from aircraft carriers, and Hellfire missiles fired from these drones obliterated not only the air defense system but also a significant portion of the ground forces.

Under normal circumstances, they could have reorganized the front line, retreated, and planned a counter-strategy. Drones were, after all, just glorified prop planes. Even in large numbers, they would be easy targets once the air force was deployed.

The real problem was the Integrated Forces’ air power, which escorted the drones. Rafales and Eurofighters bravely fought to protect the drone bomber squadrons. The European Integrated Forces had initially desired F-22s, B-1s, and B-2s, but this situation arose because the U.S. military was focused on gathering drone data and pursuing ‘war without casualties’.

As demonstrated here, a battlefield with fewer people, though not entirely devoid of them, was becoming a reality.

“Watching this swells my chest with pride. The F-22’s successor must be a drone.”

From the White House, Bush watched the battlefield on screen, convinced that fewer and fewer people would be needed on the battlefield in the future. A war without people is impossible, but at least a battlefield with fewer people was just being realized.

“It’s hard to take the President praising war in a good way unless it’s a civil war or an invasion. Besides, western Iraq is more of an enemy of the EU than of the U.S.”

“I never thought you’d say that.”

“Think about the budget for image rehabilitation later.”

Just imagining the fallout was horrifying. However, there was virtually no chance of his conversation with his chief of staff at the White House leaking, and even if it did, he could simply allocate some funds to manage the narrative. If that failed, he could resort to some media spin.

Bush was not about to be generous to the cause that had ruined so much of his grand plan, which he had been building since the beginning of his term.

“Are the drones performing as expected?”

“Twenty-nine MQ-9s have crashed. Twenty-seven were shot down by enemy air defenses and air force. One crashed due to a mechanical failure.”

“What about the other one?”

“It was friendly fire from the Integrated Forces. I heard it was close to an accident, but I don’t know what it’s really like.”

He heard that an enemy Su-27 [Soviet-era fighter jet] rushed towards the MQ-9, and the innocent MQ-9, which was in the path of the air-to-air missile, was hit by a missile fired from an allied Eurofighter and exploded in the air without a trace.

It was an accident that was difficult to investigate and impossible to blame on anyone. There were rumors on the ground that the Su-27 was deliberately targeting the drone, but that was highly unlikely. It was a common superstition among the troops. At least, that’s what Bush thought.

“War is really something.”

Indeed, it was.

“The operation will be over in 2 hours. It’s just air support, after all.”

Although the chief of staff said it calmly, this was precisely what the European Integrated Forces wanted. In modern warfare, air support is often the deciding factor. More precisely, it wasn’t the air support itself, but the *possibility* of air support.

The possibility of continuous air support meant that the allies had gained air superiority, or at least had an advantage in air superiority, which paradoxically meant that it was necessary to destroy the enemy’s air defenses in order to secure air superiority.

Unless a god of fighters was in the cockpit, trying to break through the increasingly sophisticated air defense networks with frontal air power was nothing short of collective suicide, burning through tens of billions of dollars in an instant.

Bush stared at the monitor. He seemed to understand why drone pilots suffered from PTSD [Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder] as frequently as they ate. How could the screen be so detailed and clear? It was unsettling, like watching a snuff film.

“After this operation, there will be plenty of drone pilots requesting job transfers.”

“It’s the safest battlefield in history. We are seeing the future that will come someday. All battlefields will change like this soon.”

“More than that, the support for the war itself will change. I can’t guarantee how it will change, but the reasons why civilians support and oppose the war will change significantly.”

The future battlefield would be a budget war. Manpower would no longer be a primary factor. Of course, this was not the immediate future, but the distant future, perhaps centuries away. Within the next 100 years, even the most advanced armies would still have humans on the battlefield.

“But will this really cause PTSD among drone pilots?”

The chief of staff remained doubtful. Why would PTSD occur in an office where you commute between work and home and don’t spill a drop of blood unless you mishandle a box cutter? He understood the cruelty involved, but wouldn’t that be the same as saying that most people who watch somewhat cruel snuff videos on social media develop PTSD?

In fact, the ‘perception’ that drone pilots had it easy, like the chief of staff’s, was a significant source of their suffering, a hardship difficult to understand unless you were a drone pilot. Furthermore, various psychological factors were at play.

Ironically, the advantage of being close to home and the battlefield often became a disadvantage when war broke out. How could someone who was silently slaughtering people through an optical camera until an hour ago go home and act normally? In severe cases, this led to family breakdowns.

“Haven’t you already seen pilots with PTSD in Afghanistan? Think of it as an extension of that.”

Fortunately or unfortunately, the United States already had those cases due to the Afghanistan War. It was just that the number was still relatively small.

“The bombing is almost over.”

All that could be seen on the monitor were burning buildings and hills. Indeed. It was called the ‘Hellfire’ missile, and the name seemed fitting.

The places where the missiles struck resembled purgatory. And there was not a single spot on the southern front, stretching from Iraq’s only port, that hadn’t been hit. In short, the southern front of western Iraq was completely ablaze.

When the monitor switched to satellite view, the extent of the devastation became even clearer. The burning of the southern front was visible from space.

“It’s simpler than I thought. I didn’t really expect resistance, but this is too easy.”

As the President of the United States, he should have been reassured by the power of the U.S. military, but witnessing this made him feel uneasy. Perhaps the moment when machines truly rule humans might arrive someday. Modern drones were only remotely controlled, but an era would come when drones equipped with strong artificial intelligence would judge, understand, and execute missions independently.

Things were no different on the ground. Although small in number, UGVs [Unmanned Ground Vehicles] under development were deployed. In reality, it was more for testing than active participation, but the same could be said for the MQ-9s. Nevertheless, the UGVs were showing some promise. However, operating them without nearby human support was challenging.

“Thanks to the fairly high level of escort, our drones suffered minor damage. Instead, the EU air force suffered heavy losses. We should have sent our carrier-based aircraft instead.”

“If we had, our fighters would have crashed. And this war is not about us being the main player, but about helping, so the EU has to do this much.”

“Mr. President, the second bombing will begin soon. After the second bombing, ground troops will be deployed, and they will advance directly to the capital. The long war is over.”

As he spoke, the bombing resumed. Drone strikes boasted great precision. In other words, the front line was saturated with enemy troops.

“Come to think of it, wasn’t the carrier strike group supposed to patrol towards Taiwan?”

He vaguely recalled laughing in disbelief and foaming at the mouth after hearing about the protests in China. He laughed because it was so absurd, and he foamed at the mouth because he was both shocked and scared that what he had feared had become a reality.

It was an unprecedented situation, even in recorded history. China was supposed to grow stronger and threaten the United States. But now, China was on the verge of dismembering itself.

It wasn’t following the original historical trajectory, but ironically, it was a repetition of history itself. It resembled the Song Dynasty [Chinese dynasty from 960 to 1279], when the country was on the brink of collapse due to foreign invasions.

Bush’s long-held belief and theory was ‘History is just made!’, but this time the stakes were too high.

The China that Bush was trying to cultivate was just a big, dumb neighborhood fool, not ambitious bandit bosses with nuclear bombs in both hands.

“Yes, shall I tell them to cancel it?”

“No. Leave it alone. Stopping it would have a negative impact in its own way. Proceed with it.”

But wait a minute. What exactly is the negative impact?

“I understand.”

Perhaps the Communist Party would promote the idea that the United States was finally yielding to their pressure, or that they would not interfere with Taiwan under any circumstances, and use it as a propaganda victory. In the United States, they would outwardly fabricate excuses about a problem with the carrier requiring repairs, but the important thing was that it would give ‘power’ to the party.

“Wait.”

If we give power to the Communist Party, can’t we give them a small respirator, even if it’s very weak? If we put on a respirator, that means the right to ‘life and death’ of that person belongs to the person who put on the respirator.

Of course, this alone is just a weak delusion built on weak evidence…….

“Yes?”

“Proceed with the patrol, but do it like this.”