George Bush’S Great America [EN]: Chapter 144

Upon arriving in Afghanistan, I was greeted by an enormous crowd. In any other country, a large crowd might not seem so remarkable, but here, every single person had come out to the streets voluntarily. I was even confined to Cadillac One due to security concerns. Simply put, Bush was a star.

And that wasn’t all. The grandest military parade in Afghanistan’s history was held. Nearly every soldier was mobilized. Although there were still issues with Taliban remnants, continuous suppression operations had largely pacified the interior, except for the borders, so it wasn’t a major concern.

“Isn’t this a bit too extravagant?”

This was the kind of reception Bush might expect in his own country.

“We must do at least this much.”

Diplomatically, morally, and even considering the voice of the people, it was necessary. In truth, Afghanistan’s President, Mohammad Zahir, wasn’t exactly leading a charmed political life. Afghanistan’s national destiny was essentially mortgaged to the United States.

The foundation of a nation is its sovereignty, but in this state, it was no different from a puppet state. Even if Bush had no such intentions now, who knew what decisions the next president might make? Afghanistan needed to be firmly established within the next few years.

‘But how many more years can this wretched body endure?’

With a spirit as unwavering as a straight wick [a candle wick that burns steadily and brightly], he was postponing death as much as possible with the single-minded determination to ‘rebuild the nation!’ If asked, ‘How can you postpone such an abstract concept as death?’ he wouldn’t have a clear answer, but that’s how he felt.

“I understand the reason for your visit is that you wish to see Afghanistan rise again with your own eyes.”

After saying this, President Mohammad licked his lips, which were cracking from extreme fatigue. The amount of work he handled daily was among the highest of any leader in the world. Considering he was still battling illness despite receiving the best medical care, it was truly remarkable.

“I believe that’s not the only reason.”

Outside the presidential palace window, the capital’s night view was visible. It was approaching the splendor of the golden age of Afghanistan in the 1960s. However, he couldn’t be satisfied. He vowed to make Afghanistan the most outstanding and greatest nation in the Middle East.

To do so, the help of the man sitting before him was essential. If American funds were cut off, Afghanistan would descend into hell.

“Half right and half wrong. To be clear, I’ve come to see ‘whether Afghanistan is worth the investment.’ In other words, ‘How effective has my investment been so far?'”

Ah, capitalism! But if this is the ideology that dominates the world, shouldn’t we follow it?

“What do you think?”

“I’ve been hearing reports from time to time, but seeing it in person, the discrepancy is significant.”

Honestly, it was hard to believe this was Afghanistan. The last time Bush remembered Afghanistan, it was a barren, mountainous land. This was because the Taliban had caused destruction comparable to the Cultural Revolution [a sociopolitical movement in China from 1966 until 1976 that aimed to preserve Chinese communism by purging remnants of capitalist and traditional elements from Chinese society].

In fact, it wasn’t even comparable to the Cultural Revolution. The Cultural Revolution only destroyed the old, but they destroyed and banned everything they didn’t like.

What does this mean? It means they banned even modern civilization. What made this particularly malicious was that the people of Afghanistan were already very familiar with modern civilization, having experienced the golden age of the 60s, including industrialization. It would have been different if they didn’t know any better. How would they feel if they were deprived of rights they had been enjoying as a matter of course?

To put it extremely, Afghanistan was living at a level seen only in post-apocalyptic movies. Their culture and true faith were all taken away. This was why the Afghan people cheered when the United States ousted the Taliban. Moreover, they even re-elected Mohammad Zahir Shah, whom they had missed so much, as the first president. In the eyes of the Afghan people, America was a nation that embodied justice, and Bush, its leader, was beyond question.

It was somewhat dangerous, to the point of approaching it religiously, not just admiring him as a great man. Some even saw Bush, a devout Christian, as the reincarnation of Muhammad. Well, considering there’s even Cao Daiism [a syncretic, monotheistic religion established in Vietnam in 1926], a religion that combines all sorts of faiths and hangs portraits of Napoleon and Victor Hugo, what couldn’t happen?

That being said, everyone had suffered there for a very long time, and due to the rapid development following American intervention, a radical secularization progressed beyond even Iraq, with some even declaring atheism. These were things they couldn’t have dreamed of in the past, but they were possible in the newly created Afghanistan because freedom of religion was guaranteed.

Bush knew about these changes from reports, but experiencing them firsthand was deeply moving. In fact, this sentiment made him want to lower the window and see it for himself even while riding in Cadillac One, but because of his history of drinking in Scotland without security, he had to listen to the bodyguards.

“Anyway, as promised in the beginning, investment will not be cut off during my term.”

In other words, it was entirely possible to invest so little that it would be as good as cutting it off. Given Bush’s personality, he probably wouldn’t go that far, but was the budget something a president could wield as he pleased?

“In return, we are offering the oil from northern Afghanistan and the natural resources buried in the land at lower prices compared to other countries.”

Afghanistan’s gold mine was one of the few remaining in the world. Today, most gold mines have been depleted due to humanity’s endless greed, and in reality, they are now extracted from slag, a byproduct of copper refining.

This gold mine was newly discovered during this project. Thanks to this, Afghanistan was able to stably secure gold, which is the most important element in the country’s economy.

“Then, about another reason for visiting Afghanistan…”

Bush suddenly trailed off. Honestly, he was hesitant to say it. He was debating whether he should say it or not. But the hesitation didn’t last long. It was a story he would have to tell eventually.

“Well, the thing is, Saudi Arabia is a bit of a problem.”

“Saudi? Are you talking about Saudi Arabia?”

Mohammad was on edge, thinking Bush might be trying to tie Afghanistan into a new agreement or use them as mercenaries in the Middle East, so he was simply bewildered by the sudden topic.

“I wasn’t planning to talk about it this time, so I don’t have detailed data, but I’ll explain it verbally for now.”

Bush began to write and draw on a piece of paper with a pen. It was a bit messy since he was drawing it on the spot, but it was easy enough to understand.

“Simply put, they seem to be trying to freeze the declining oil prices. And they’re colluding with Russia.”

Of course, both countries live off oil. It was only natural that they would try to collude as the price of oil, their almost sole source of income, continued to fall. This information came from Russian intelligence.

They were considering legislation to punish OPEC [Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries] for manipulating prices, but cooperation from oil-producing countries was essential for this. If they said, ‘Ah! We won’t sell! We won’t sell!’ it would be the United States that would be in trouble. The amount of oil the United States consumes annually is unimaginable.

‘Of course, when that happens, we’ll have to force them to sell, or use limited hydraulic fracturing until gas fracturing is completed.’

Honestly, he wasn’t too concerned about the destruction of nature. If he were truly worried about nature, why would he fly in airplanes and burn oil and coal to run industries? He would just ban it all. What Bush was truly worried about was what would happen after nature was polluted.

Humans are not creatures that can live in a polluted environment. Of course, that goes for any living thing, but unlike other animals, humans have the technology to reverse it. Environmental pollution is nothing special. It just happens because living things exist.

Where do greenhouse gases come from? They come from livestock. Greenhouse gases from livestock account for 51% of all greenhouse gases. But does it only come from livestock? Of course, animals living in the wild also emit them.

Anyway, to be extreme, if you’re truly worried about the environment, the very fact of being alive is a sin. So why does Bush worry about the environment? As I said above, humans can pollute the environment, but they can also purify it.

Humans cannot live in a polluted environment, and eventually, the government will have to restore the polluted environment. Polluting is easy, but restoring it requires ‘astronomical amounts of money’ and a ‘terribly long time.’ In other words, environmental pollution is like a debt spiral.

Let’s get back to the collusion story. Russia wants to secure funds somehow. Saudi Arabia is anxious about its increasingly depleted national treasury. There couldn’t be a better time for the two countries to join hands.

Originally, Russia had marked China as its future diplomatic partner. China was a country with the potential to stand up to the United States. In a way, it was inevitable that Russia, which had a bad relationship with the United States, would join hands with China. It was funny considering that Russia was an ally of the United States.

‘Until I empty China’s vaults.’

Anyway, now that its uneasy future partner had collapsed, it had to find a new comrade, didn’t it? It was still exerting influence in the former Soviet countries, but their power was too small to be called a partner.

It couldn’t possibly stick with Western countries, so after eliminating them by the process of elimination, Saudi Arabia was the only country that could reliably put the squeeze on the United States and other Western countries.

“But why are you telling me this?”

That’s right. All Afghanistan could do to help right now was to diligently supply the soon-to-be-completed crude oil to the United States. It had no means to help, or even anything similar. It was in a situation where it had to receive aid, so what was it talking about helping with? At least, it would be possible in some way once Kabul’s infrastructure was completely rebuilt and ready to be self-sufficient. But at least not now.

“Do you remember why I’m investing in Afghanistan?”

Mohammad remembered that day clearly. The day he decided to quietly become America’s sword until it became self-sufficient. He clearly remembered what this man, George W. Bush, had said on that day when he decided to rely on his kindness to regain his rights and rebuild his devastated homeland.

“Isn’t it because you want us to project your will in the Middle East?”

“That’s exactly it.”

“I don’t quite understand with just those words.”

“What I want to say is simple. I want you to do that job now.”

“What exactly are you talking about?”

“Afghanistan is now ready to make its voice heard loud enough. Incite Iran to pressure Saudi Arabia.”