George Bush’S Great America [EN]: Chapter 17

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The Personal Data Access Act, which directly confronts the Constitution. Terrorist treatment clauses that make the already flimsy Geneva Convention a joke. Overseas detention centers built on foreign territory to escape the legal jurisdiction of the United States. The Executive’s sole war initiation law based on the unitary executive theory.

To put it simply.

‘A medieval church inquisition?’

“Hello? Mr. President. I heard you called for me.”

A middle-aged man with steadily progressing hair loss entered the Oval Office. His name was Karl Rove, the Senior Advisor directly appointed by Bush when he formed his administration.

“Rove.”

“It’s been a while, Mr. President.”

I wondered if I should recommend a wig, but I didn’t open my mouth because even asking felt rude.

“If I were to pick the most proactive person I know, I would undoubtedly choose Karl Rove. You, sir.”

“It’s an honor, Mr. President.”

It was a cliché, but coming from Karl Rove, it was no longer a cliché. As a confidant of George W. Bush, he had an exceptional brain that could smoothly and rationally select and organize words to manipulate people from a young age. Those who knew him always paid attention to his lips, and the words he uttered became ropes that bound enemies, and when the time came, they turned into blades that cut off their breath.

Above all, what made him stand out the most was his ‘proactiveness.’ One might ask what’s so great about mere proactiveness, or, with a slightly broader perspective, one might say who in the political arena isn’t proactive, but his proactiveness was something special.

Frankly speaking, it wasn’t just simple proactiveness, but something that could be called ‘craziness.’ In that sense, Karl Rove’s special proactiveness was rare in the political arena, where face and prestige are prioritized.

“Among the stories you’ve told me, there was the story of disrupting former Senator Dixon’s election, right?”

Alan J. Dixon. A Democratic Senator from Illinois and a former Senator with progressive tendencies regarding the promotion of black human rights and women’s rights. In a word, he was a typical Democrat.

But what relationship did this person have with Karl Rove? The year Rove turned 19. More precisely, in the fall when the weather was getting chilly. The autumn leaves were beautifully red, and the bluegill in the Chicago River were quiet after the breeding season. Karl Rove boldly invaded Dixon’s campaign headquarters.

It could be seen as a political act to support Dixon’s competitors, or as a reflection of Karl Rove’s dislike of Dixon’s progressive ideas, but who cares about politics? He just did it because it seemed fun!

He plundered promotional leaflets stamped with Dixon’s campaign headquarters seal from Dixon’s campaign headquarters. And Rove began to list fresh and thrilling words on the empty leaflets. Perhaps he was upset by the trite and boring phrases that guaranteed Dixon’s victory.

In any case, the promotional phrases that Rove newly wrote on the 1,000 leaflets he plundered were as follows:

‘Beer! Snacks! Women! All of this is free in the America that Dixon will create!’

He scattered these at rock concerts and homeless shelters, and no one knew about it until he revealed it himself on the news in 1999.

“Ah, I remember it well. Personally, I regret it very much.”

A person who regrets something makes a sad or serious face, not grinning like that. The lively playfulness felt in his expression was an indicator that he was not reflecting at all.

Then there is no need to delay this any further.

“I need you to do something… somewhat similar.”

“Anything! Where, how, and what should I do?”

The middle-aged rascal immediately bit the bait of mischief. When you get to this age and sit in this position, people around you keep demanding gentleness, so it becomes difficult to act out like in the old days.

“I firmly believe that you are the type who shines more in the field than at an office desk.”

“You see right through me! Ah! I think I have a very good boss. …But, which state should I go to?”

Because I mentioned the election, he seemed to have understood that I was trying to get him to do something to other congressmen.

“You have a position and status. Now, if you’re going to play pranks, the scale has to be a bit bigger, don’t you think?”

“Aha?”

He dynamically changed his expression as if he knew and didn’t know.

The prank I’m about to play will involve the whole world. If you’re the President of the United States, shouldn’t you play pranks on a world-class scale?

* * *

Kingmaker. This was the word that referred to Karl Rove. If you ask who was the top contributor to getting George W. Bush into the presidency, it was Karl Rove.

Bush was so clean that there wasn’t even a hint of scandal, but it wasn’t as if there were no dirty things involved in his rise to the presidency of the United States. You can never survive in this world by being only good and clean. And all the dirty work was Karl Rove’s responsibility.

“At first, I thought Your Excellency was going to use me and then discard me.”

「No matter what happens, you are mine. Don’t even think about running away because the work is hard.」

If you ask why the White House Senior Advisor is at the Kabul airport, which is under renovation, it’s because the President of the United States thought that Karl Rove was needed in Afghanistan to keep the plan he had made from going wrong. Especially in Afghanistan, which had just begun to move forward.

In fact, it was absolutely absurd for a senior official to go on a long-term overseas assignment, but the ‘unitary executive theory,’ which the Vice President and neoconservatives had been diligently strengthening, made it possible. The unitary executive theory was, to put it bluntly, an extreme logic that the President could do ‘anything legally,’ so sending the White House Chief of Staff on a business trip was perfectly possible.

In fact, this is all an excuse, and Karl Rove would have run to Afghanistan even if this didn’t exist. He valued the process more than the result and preferred the field to the office.

“I saw it once from the plane, and I think 40% of the city’s residents, or even 75% at worst, have disappeared. As you know, I am not an expert in this field.”

「Don’t worry. That’s not your job, it’s the job of the Afghan government.」

“But isn’t it somewhat related?”

「Hmm, I can’t say it’s completely unrelated. But don’t worry. I believe you will finish the job and return soon.」

“I can see the place we promised over there. Thank you for Your Excellency’s infinite trust, and may I hang up now?”

「Of course.」

Rove hung up. The cell phone is, of course, a Nokia. It was the best choice.

“Are you the one?”

“Hello. Senior Advisor Karl Rove. I am Tyler M. Brown from the CIA Afghanistan branch. And this friend is Muhammad Suleiman.”

“You can keep your mouth shut, right?”

“This friend is also a rookie, but he is a full-fledged CIA agent.”

Of course, he went through a quick course at a level that couldn’t be compared to a typical CIA, but isn’t that how bureaucracy is supposed to be?

“Good, good. One CIA agent, one local. Perfect! Have you heard about the job?”

“I know that I have to devote my life to assisting and guarding the Senior Advisor.”

“You know, I came while learning what could be called common sense of Middle Eastern culture for 8 hours. It seems similar to India.”

“There are Muslims in India, but it is clearly different.”

“That’s right. Do you know why the Sepoy Rebellion happened?”

“Wasn’t it because the gunpowder cartridges were greased with pig fat?”

Muhammad Suleiman, who was listening next to him, frowned at the mention of pig fat. Pork was a prohibited food in both Hinduism and Islam.

“That’s just the trigger. According to subsequent investigations, there was beef tallow, but no pig fat.”

Great Britain, which had seized world hegemony, succeeded in dominating India for almost a century. However, war and domination are clearly different. Originally, domination meant properly distributing whips and carrots to the dominated. The problem was that the home country didn’t really want to give carrots.

The suspension of some Sepoy pensions and overseas dispatch without considering the caste system gradually accumulated the Sepoy’s dissatisfaction, and even if Indians were not paid because British people occupied all high positions, they were completely ignored. Cheap factory-made products from England destroyed Indian jobs, and the public’s dissatisfaction finally reached its peak. However, even the existing vested interests, that is, the upper castes, were not without complaints. The East India Company enacted various evil laws to take land from the existing vested interests and divide it among themselves.

Like that for a hundred years. Finally, an ominous current flowed, and the Governor-General of India, who felt a little uneasy about this, poked the home country several times, but all that came back was the story of taking care of it on the spot.

The Sepoy Rebellion happened to occur at the point when the pressure gauge needle in India reached its limit and began to bend.

“Anyway, the important thing is that it ultimately stems from cultural differences. The Limey guys are good at occupying, but they can’t manage.”

Limey was a term often used by Americans to denigrate the British. It was a title that originated after the British Navy added lime juice to essential supplies to overcome scurvy. Originally, it didn’t have much meaning, but at some point, it was transformed into a word used to curse British Marines, and eventually developed into a word that denigrated all British people.

So, to sum it up, it meant ‘fuck the British.’

“Our mission is not to dominate Afghanistan, but when did the order change?”

“There are no changed orders. And it is true that we have come to project power to some extent in Afghanistan. Then we must at least make them like it. Make them cooperate on their own. There are so many records in history, without having to use the Sepoy Rebellion as an example.”

“Your Excellency the President has already told me everything about that.”

“Then change that damn ‘Freedom Fries’ or whatever to ‘French Fries’ first. And tear down that crazy sign that says ‘For Americans Only’.”

“Ah, that was written to inform you that it is not Halal food [food permissible under Islamic law].”

“I always hear a lot of answers. But in my ears, I only hear ‘Yes.’ and ‘Yes.’ Do you know what I mean?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Very good. In short, I’m here as a field supervisor. Do you understand what I mean?”

“Yes.”

“Ah, that’s a really good answer. ‘Yes!’ There is no better word to convey your intentions than this!”

“Yes!”

“Then go and tell them. If you don’t get rid of all those shitty signs by the time I get there, I’ll tear them down myself.”