George Bush’S Great America [EN]: Chapter 135

< Episode 134 >

The mountain of CIA data finally dwindled to nothing. The last document in Bush’s hand disappeared from his desk. It had taken nearly a week, juggling other pressing matters, but he’d finally pieced together why Russia was holding its breath.

“I never imagined they were actually pulling back because they were scared stiff.”

It wasn’t some grand conspiracy. They were simply intimidated by the seemingly unstoppable rise of the United States. This meant there were no hidden agendas, and the Russian government was solely focused on stabilizing the country.

‘Even Putin wouldn’t have had a choice.’

Russia needed to become more stable overall. It was often called a pale imitation of Africa for a reason. Like Africa, the rich were disgustingly wealthy, while the poor lacked basic necessities like clothes and food, forced to endure the bitter cold every day.

“Honestly, I question this data, but I have to trust the CIA as much as possible.”

During a brief visit to the CIA for other business, he vividly remembered seeing them working tirelessly, like tireless machines.

Of course, effort and achievement are two different things, but there’s something admirable about those who dedicate themselves. The almost tearful sight of public officials working like zombies for the country was enough to lend credibility to the comprehensive report on Russia, at least ’emotionally’.

Bush exclaimed, “This is what public officials should be! This is the ideal public servant!” But the chief of staff couldn’t help but feel a twinge of unease at Bush’s fervent ideology. Public officials are still human, and such relentless pressure could erode their mental fortitude. The most dangerous time is when their judgment becomes clouded. A minor mistake could easily snowball into a major crisis.

‘Therefore, paradoxically, the credibility of this data is questionable.’

Thinking rationally, they were pushed to their absolute limits to meet the deadlines, so even if the report appeared flawless on the surface, there were bound to be errors. He had to remain aware that he should only trust half of what he read in the report and data.

“But even if I’m unsure of everything else, it’s clear they’re pulling back.”

To be precise, it would be more accurate to say they were internally reorganizing for a future resurgence, but it wasn’t entirely wrong to say they were shrinking back thanks to the United States. Without the United States, they would be eager to threaten neighboring countries immediately. That had been the case in the history Bush remembered. Of course, even then, Russia’s economy was struggling. The war in South Ossetia, the continued meddling in the Baltic States, and the influence in Crimea were all possible because Russia had internally reorganized its power to the point where it could project its influence abroad.

Bush wanted to cripple Russia’s ability to project power.

“Anyway, there’s only one answer. Since they’ve shrunk back, we have to make sure they stay that way forever.”

He felt a slight pang of discomfort, as if he were mercilessly crushing an opponent who was just getting back on their feet, but the concept of ‘fair play’ belonged in sports. There was no room for such sentimentality when it came to a country’s survival and prosperity.

“That’s right. If we flood the global market with natural resources, Russia won’t be able to cause trouble for the time being, as the President said.”

Of course, he said ‘forever,’ but the actual impact on Russia would likely only last about 10 or 20 years. Still, 20 years was enough to put Russia into a state of hibernation. This was possible because Russia’s economy was so heavily reliant on natural resources.

“What if Russia publicly criticizes us? I don’t know about other countries, but Russia’s influence from the Soviet era is still strong in Eastern Europe.”

“It’s significantly diminished compared to then, but the Russian military is still a force to be reckoned with.”

Bush pretended to ponder the question, then offered an answer he’d already decided on.

“Then I’ll seek their understanding.”

“What does this ‘understanding’ entail?”

“Iron and gunpowder?”

“Are you suggesting we start a war?”

Bush spoke a bit rashly about using force, but he didn’t actually want that to happen. In fact, Bush was the one who wanted to avoid war the most. He was confident that Russia would never resort to force.

“Well, even Russia wouldn’t want to go to war in this situation!”

To the south, there was India. To the east, there was North Korea, now firmly under the United States’ influence, and South Korea, a long-standing ally of 50 years. Further east, there was Canada, a steadfast ally, and Australia to the south. He wasn’t entirely confident in Australia, but once they started mobilizing troops, it would be difficult for any country to stop them. To the west, there was little to worry about. Most of the NATO members were allies.

The important thing was that Russia couldn’t afford to go to war, even if they faced economic retaliation and threats of force.

“Of course, not everyone acts rationally.”

As the saying goes, a cornered rat will bite a cat. If pushed too far, they might fight to the death. But that was only if they had the means to fight, and as mentioned before, the Russian bear still possessed heavy front paws with sharp claws.

However, the probability of Russia, currently condemning the United States for the collapse of natural resource prices, starting a war that would clearly lead to the ‘destruction’ of the Slavic people was extremely low.

“If this happens, they won’t be able to confront us directly, and they’ll shut down the gas pipeline to the EU as a silent protest, right?”

If they couldn’t express their dissatisfaction directly, they would do so indirectly. Even if they were frustrated, they couldn’t strike at the United States, so they would harass the United States’ allies to exert unspoken pressure. But in reality, the UN and a significant portion of the world’s power were aligned with the Western world, making this difficult. Even the United States would have to tread carefully.

“Then, in the end, only the EU will suffer. It’s right to prioritize our own country over our allies, but this is not good in the long run. In addition, if we sell natural resources cheaply, people will accuse the country of interfering with the free economy, or we will incur a deficit.”

“Well, that’s only if we act openly. And there’s no need for the government to directly adjust natural resources and sell them cheaply.”

He wouldn’t interfere with the market. He wouldn’t act overtly. He wouldn’t even incur a deficit? The chief of staff was truly perplexed. He could only imagine what kind of crazy plan this man was concocting.

Like that fighter jet incident. In fact, it would have been more surprising if he hadn’t said he would go to the battlefield in a fighter jet. He had an unusually strong obsession with strengthening national defense. He even took the time to test out all the new weapons prototypes, fueling the conspiracy theory that he was a militaristic president.

Anyway, the important thing now was the solution this man would devise. The chief of staff cleared his mind [잡생각 – jap saenggak, Korean for ‘雜 생각’, meaning ‘miscellaneous thoughts’ or ‘idle thoughts’] and asked for an answer.

“Then how are you going to release natural resources to the world at a low price?”

“We don’t have to do anything.”

“What does that mean?”

“It’s because our country’s industrial productivity is increasing day by day. Right now, we’re using it for domestic consumption because we’re building and manufacturing products, but when the infrastructure construction is completed, we’ll export the raw materials that have lost their way overseas on a large scale.”

The American industry, already operating on a large scale, was expanding even further. As the secondary and tertiary industries grew, they naturally demanded more raw materials, and the primary industry followed suit.

The problem was the surplus raw materials that would arise when the demands of the secondary and tertiary industries were met or reduced. Raw materials weren’t mined by hand; they were extracted using heavy equipment. If the customers no longer bought them, they had no choice but to sell them elsewhere. If they couldn’t find buyers domestically, they could simply look overseas, right?

“Besides, we have shale. Oil prices will stabilize and plummet soon. Russia is heavily dependent on natural gas and oil, so the impact will be significant. In other words, they will naturally collapse even if we do nothing.”

In other words, if you run the country steadily, time will solve everything. However, this was an incomplete theory based on Kim Kap-hwan’s memory. The premise that ‘Russia will collapse if the price of natural resources falls’ was based on the fact that oil prices fell due to the shale revolution, which greatly destabilized Russia.

‘In short, we have to start the shale revolution before Russia has properly built up its strength.’

“I have no choice but to pressure the oil companies about this.”

“I feel like I’m losing steam.”

“Then did you expect something great from the state-run company?”

The chief of staff couldn’t admit that he was the one who accomplished great things every time, even if his life depended on it. When he thought about it, nothing that happened around Bush was normal. Even the cat that man raised hunted all kinds of animals, didn’t it? At first, it was an act of gratitude, but now it had become a simple hobby.

A cat that disrupted the ecological pyramid and massacred the surrounding ecosystem just for fun. Of course, it only caught one animal a day these days, so the word ‘massacre’ didn’t quite fit. However, when you entered the room where the hunted prey had been taxidermied, there was no word that fit better than ‘massacre’.

“Chief of Staff? Are you okay?”

He thought it was only for a moment, but he seemed to have been lost in thought for quite a while. The chief of staff, rarely embarrassed, handed over the next report.

“No. I think I’m a little tired these days.”

They say you can’t hide your age, even if you can hide everything else. His body seemed to be reaching its limit.

“That’s because you don’t exercise.”

He couldn’t argue this time. Bush was a bit extreme, but he was only classifying and reading reports every day, so he was definitely lacking in exercise. Nutritional needs could be met with medicine or food, but the rest was not.

“But you’re doing more than you need to, Mr. President.”

“It’s all for the good of the state. I’m not aiming to be an iron man in the philosophical sense, but I want to get close to it physically.”

The chief of staff was stunned for a moment, realizing that the ‘iron man’ wasn’t the ideal Plato spoke of, but the physical iron man who competed in triathlons.

“You look like you need a vacation.”

“…I think so.”

He never wanted to admit it, but looking at his condition, he was in a state where he couldn’t continue his work efficiently.

“Go for about a week this time. This is an order.”

This is how the chief of staff’s week off began.