George Bush’S Great America [EN]: Chapter 172

“I am very grateful that God created intelligence when He created the world.”

Although George W. Bush had some atheist leanings, he was, by all accounts, a devout Christian. Similarly, while the United States wasn’t a theocracy, Christians made up more than half the population, and the “Bible Belt” [a region in the Southern US known for its strong Christian beliefs] was a significant cultural force. Religious undertones in his speeches were therefore inevitable.

In fact, the US national anthem proudly proclaims in its fourth verse, ‘In God We Trust!’ Of course, this sentiment would gradually wane under the influence of liberalism in the coming decade, but for now, the important thing was that the hostages had safely returned home.

When he first stood on the podium, it was broad daylight, but now night had fallen.

“Today, we have obtained evidence that proves violence is not the only answer.”

Except for the aviation fuel used to fly the bombers. However, from a broader perspective—when viewed as part of the larger American narrative—their deaths would have represented a void, a missing element.

Of course, with enough effort, a replacement might be found, but he wasn’t willing to take that risk. He couldn’t allow it.

“They are coming up. Please welcome our safely returned citizens with a grand round of applause.”

It wasn’t just reporters present. The press and broadcasting staff occupied the front lines, but behind them, citizens of the capital had gathered. A president standing for 12 hours for hostages? In a way, it was a demonstration of the seriousness of the situation to the kidnappers, but it was also undeniably a political performance.

Those who approached the podium were weary but presentable. During their journey from Africa to America, they had been provided with new suits, ample meals, and rest. While it wasn’t a complete recovery, it was enough to allow them to participate in this political theater.

To succeed in business in this country, you only need one thing. A brilliant mind? Enough wealth to last generations? Powerful connections? None of the above. These aren’t necessary or sufficient conditions for a businessman to thrive. They might be helpful, but they don’t guarantee success.

What you truly need is ‘vision.’ The ability to identify and seize emerging opportunities. Despite being told to rest, some of them were already jotting down their experiences, planning to publish their stories as a book. The motivation, of course, was profit.

But people who are truly passionate about business are capable of such actions.

“What is that? A large banner?”

The chance to promote one’s company for free with the entire nation watching is a rare opportunity. The only comparable event would be a Super Bowl advertisement, and those are incredibly expensive. A 30-second ad costs over $2 million, and that price is constantly rising, projected to exceed $6 million within a decade.

Missing the chance to advertise the company when viewership is on par with the Super Bowl would be a sign of disqualification as a businessman. It might be understandable if they were merely directors, but strangely, they were all CEOs of companies, both large and small.

However, it was virtually impossible for one company to stand out among twenty people. Moreover, the time constraints made it nearly impossible to create something elaborate, so they devised a clever solution.

They decided to enter holding a long banner displaying each company’s logo. This might have been a risky move in a different country, but this was America.

“I’m glad they look okay.”

Fortunately, the leader of this country wasn’t one to shy away from the unconventional.

The CEOs confidently marched in, holding banners emblazoned with their company logos, ensuring that everyone watching saw them. They had earned the right to secure multi-million dollar advertising at the risk of their lives.

The banners represented a mix of well-known corporations and companies with logos that offered no clue as to their business. But the most conspicuous logo was, unfortunately, that of a very famous adult product company in the United States.

Even Bush, who considered himself fairly open-minded, had to rub his face in disbelief. The timing was perfect, or rather, perfectly awful, as he saw it near the end of the procession.

He rubbed his face because he had been enthusiastically calling out the names of the companies as soon as their logos caught his eye. But there was no turning back.

“I see an adult product company too.”

So he decided to move on quickly.

‘Damn. What is this, some kind of comedy show?’

Why on earth would the CEO of an adult product company travel to Africa? The only one that made sense was the CEO of the uranium mining company, the origin and main target of this kidnapping. But why were the CEOs of Apple, household goods companies, and small appliance companies there?

‘Aha. Indeed.’

On closer inspection, they all shared one trait: a strong sense of adventure, both in business and in life. Aside from the fact that the hostages were all CEOs, as indicated in the personnel report, it was the only common denominator.

What conditions are necessary to possess a strong sense of adventure? First, one or two screws in the head must be loose. They say geniuses are eccentric. When you read biographies, the adventurous and challenging spirit of genius inventors is astounding, but consider the number of failures they had to overcome. How much was their spirit tempered in the process of overcoming those failures? How many screws came loose in the process!

‘Whatever, this is fucking America. This seat will be vacated in as little as two years, or at most six years.’

“Welcome back. Everyone looks tired, but since you’ve returned safely, we should hear a word from each of you.”

This was the crucial point. Although the PMCs [Private Military Contractors] had died, the clients, aside from some bruises, were in good shape. Even though the PMC squad was wiped out, they deserved high praise for protecting their clients until the very end. It was unfortunate for those who died, but wasn’t that the nature of being a PMC?

Anyway, as if to prove they were businessmen, they decided to capitalize on their near-death experiences, so this ‘a word from each’ was Bush’s way of giving the CEOs a chance to promote their companies.

They each offered a statement that encapsulated their vision. As phrases born from the crossroads of life and death, they were worthy of being called famous sayings, and it was no exaggeration to call them advertising textbooks. The problem arose near the end with Apple’s CEO, Steve Jobs.

“Within three years, I will release a revolutionary mobile phone that will change the paradigm.”

Name recognition carries significant weight. Apple was already a company with unparalleled fame, and so was Steve Jobs. The fact that he openly targeted the mobile phone market and declared his intention to change the paradigm was more than just a statement.

‘Finally?’

He had intentionally fostered the technology needed for smartphones, creating and encouraging a favorable environment. He knew that something similar would emerge eventually, and he was curious if the iPhone would be the result, but it seemed a bit premature.

Bush’s motivation for promoting the creation of a smartphone environment was, on a small scale, his inability to use existing conventional mobile phones, and on a larger scale, his desire to lighten the Land Warrior project, which required carrying a lot of equipment, by using a smartphone.

The possibilities of smartphones were truly endless. While it wouldn’t be used for military purposes directly, a smartphone app could be a state-of-the-art sniper tool that would allow even beginners to snipe at 1km if installed on a gun. What else? It could also be the integrated communication device that the US military had been seeking. For security, they could simply use a dedicated OS, a dedicated line, and a dedicated application.

This wasn’t just wishful thinking. In 2019, the US military experienced the power of smartphones firsthand, calling them a second weapon, and was making multifaceted efforts to integrate them throughout the military, with some successes already achieved.

‘But there will be several problems with releasing it in three years?’

Maybe he gained some insight in a life-and-death situation. Well, that wasn’t Bush’s problem to worry about, so he decided to ignore it for now. The problem was that reporters and the audience started buzzing immediately after the remark.

The situation escalated further when the CEO of the adult product company directly encouraged people to use their condoms. Bush rubbed his face, which was growing increasingly flushed, wondering, ‘Have I ever felt this embarrassed?’

“I think I’ve been keeping these tired people for too long.”

That’s how the day ended. More than anything, he was as exhausted as they were, having stood on the podium for 12 hours, causing cramps in his legs.

The next day, he received a report on ‘How 20 People Became Prisoners.’

“Here is the report.”

It detailed the reasons why the CEOs of these companies ‘went to Africa on their own accord,’ as they themselves had stated.

The reasons they gave were very, very, very complicated, but to summarize it in one word.

“Market development. Market development. Market development. Are these fucking guys CEOs or Renaissance adventurers?”

It seems like I’ve oversimplified it, so let’s elaborate a bit. The African market, which had been largely ignored, was suddenly experiencing rapid growth. They all shared the experience of having already made significant profits in the emerging market of Afghanistan.

This was also true for Apple’s CEO, Steve Jobs. In Afghanistan, the iPod was a must-have device. He made a substantial profit that allowed him to pursue his new dream, the iPhone.

Therefore, they decided to see the new market with their own eyes and explore Africa. Initially, they were all operating independently, but when a large amount of capital was invested and the wave of independence movements gained momentum, they united to drive out foreign powers. Problems arose when they moved from West Sudan, where security was relatively stable, to Mali.

At the time, security had stabilized, and a large number of PMCs withdrew from West Sudan, leaving few PMCs available for hire. These 20 CEOs joined forces to scrape together PMCs and headed to Mali.

The problem was that while they were geniuses in business, they were more naive than a five-year-old African child about the dangers of gathering valuable prey in the Sahara Desert.

“What the hell am I supposed to say about this?”

“It means we need to take measures to prevent this from happening again.”

However, he couldn’t very well say, ‘People with social status, please refrain from traveling abroad!’ So the incident was finally resolved by adding a few countries to the list of travel-banned countries.