George Bush’S Great America [EN]: Chapter 186

Following the President’s order, the Pentagon shifted into emergency operations. The capacity to engage in war wasn’t the issue; the problem was the potential outbreak of actual war.

During the Afghanistan War, the objective was to eliminate terrorists and establish a democratic government, which simplified administrative tasks. Military advisory groups were the primary presence, and Mohammad, who rose to power during the golden age, effectively managed and stabilized the warlords simply through his leadership.

As preparations advanced, welcome news arrived: Karl Rove’s liberation. This announcement brought a collective sigh of relief from the old generals, except for a few hawkish figures eager for war. The situation de-escalated when an administrative order was issued to stand down the troops that had been formally placed on standby.

In essence, the U.S. lost its justification for military action.

“The United States has achieved its intended objective, and therefore, we will withdraw. We stand ready to provide any necessary support.”

“Congratulations on the safe return of your chief advisor. While we appreciate the sentiment, France’s resources alone will suffice.”

Bush could practically visualize Jacques Chirac clutching the phone, his anger barely contained. In Chirac’s mind, suspicion and doubt were swirling: ‘Could the U.S. have orchestrated this entire incident? It seems too convenient!’ Curses, like thorny vines, accompanied these suspicions, rising in his throat.

Consequently, Jacques Chirac found himself preoccupied with suppressing the conspiracy theories born from his own mistrust.

As soon as the news broke that the U.S. chief advisor had secured the release of the elderly and children through negotiations, the French government faced a wave of criticism.

The criticism stemmed from two main points: first, the fact that a single plane had managed to return due to passenger resistance raised questions. Second, the U.S.’s role in liberating Chief Advisor Karl Rove, along with the elderly and children, was seen as overshadowing France’s efforts.

However, Karl Rove, the architect of the situation, hadn’t foreseen one aspect. He had focused on the elderly, frail, and children on his plane, but the terrorists interpreted his intentions differently.

The terrorists, cornered and with impaired judgment, released all the elderly, weak, and children. In exchange, the U.S. withdrew the F-18s, and Iran promptly completed the refueling process. Everything proceeded seamlessly.

In short, the French government had achieved nothing tangible. While the government might argue, ‘We accomplished a great deal!’, the public tends to prioritize results over process.

Moreover, comparisons inevitably arose, leading to the sentiment, ‘What is our government doing?’ rather than ‘We did what we could.’ Jacques Chirac was acutely aware of this, and his blood pressure was steadily rising.

To compound matters, it was dinner time, when more families watch the news. With the proliferation of the internet and instant messaging, distrust in the government spread rapidly, making the saying ‘a word without feet goes a thousand miles’ seem an understatement.

“This is fucked up.”

Unlike a localized incident in a rural area, a hijacking is an international event, making information control nearly impossible. The world’s attention was riveted on those two planes.

‘At least there are no elderly or children among the remaining hostages, which is a silver lining.’

Frankly, even if only the elderly were involved, the death of children would have triggered a response far beyond simply suppressing the terrorists or retaliating against al-Qaeda remnants. Even if it meant a decline in national power, those responsible would have to be completely eradicated.

In reality, from the moment the U.S. intervened, the incident ceased to be solely France’s concern. When the U.S. aggressively stepped in, the EU decided to respond at a union level rather than a French individual level. Consequently, the emergency response headquarters was relocated from France to a facility provided by the EU. The primary change was the move from an underground bunker to a ground-level building.

This rapid response was partly due to the presence of numerous German citizens, considered influential figures within the EU, among the hostages. The fact that most EU leaders were gathered in one location also facilitated swift decision-making. Opinions were voiced and feedback received immediately, transforming the EU into a force that no nation could easily disregard.

“One is heading to Africa, and the other is moving east, though the final destination remains unknown.”

Jacques Chirac muttered, observing the two dots moving on the screen.

“But why would they need to stop in Iran to reach Africa?”

Consider the logic. If they had sufficient fuel to reach Iran, they could have flown directly to Africa, which is less than half the distance. Why the need for a refueling stop in Iran?

“Could it be that they needed to receive something there?”

The response came from his executive secretary, who had been momentarily overwhelmed by the rapid sequence of events. His face had paled upon hearing of U.S. intervention, and it took him some time to recover. However, once he regained his composure, he became remarkably sharp, as if he had surpassed his limits.

“So, it appears they received something other than aviation fuel in Iran.”

“We were monitoring with satellites, but there were no indications of other items being loaded. People exited the plane, seemingly hostages, but nothing was brought on board.”

“People exited, but nothing entered?”

Then they must not have received anything.

“I don’t know. The clues are too scarce.”

If Iran had cooperated, they would have immediately deployed special forces to rescue the hostages, but unfortunately, Iran remained uncooperative.

“Should we have threatened them with fighter jets instead of backing down?”

“Don’t voice such thoughts. The sentiment against negotiating with terrorists is already strong. Such a statement leaking out would be detrimental.”

“I know, I know. That’s why I only said it.”

Following this exchange, Jacques Chirac took the presidential elevator in the bunker to the ground level to participate in the EU countermeasures meeting.

With this, the French aviation terrorism incident entered a brief period of calm.

The French aviation terrorism incident is a significant event involving hundreds of lives, but if we broaden our perspective beyond the human species and consider it as a unit of life, the United States is currently experiencing the highest mortality rate.

Due to the unseasonal wildfires, numerous wild animals desperately fled. However, even if they escaped the flames, they succumbed to the byproducts, the acrid smoke, and died in large numbers, often trapped in places like rivers due to oxygen depletion. If plants are also considered life forms, according to the moral and ethical values of some, the number of deaths could be even higher.

The fire that originated in the Talladega National Forest in Louisiana was intense enough to turn the sky over Atlanta red. Fueled by its momentum, the fire consumed fields near the national forest and advanced towards the city. The administration was exerting every effort to contain it.

The massive fire generated substantial smoke and dry, hot air, which swirled and ascended into the atmosphere. As the air rose, more air rushed in to fill the void, creating a self-perpetuating cycle that intensified the fire. The smoke that ascended cooled and formed cumulonimbus clouds, which produced lightning. This lightning, with the exception of upper-atmospheric lightning [electrical discharge that occurs high in the atmosphere], invariably struck the ground, igniting new wildfires.

That’s why Congress was horrified when the possibility of war arose while they were allocating all remaining surplus budget to combat the fires. Bush was eager to deploy troops immediately, but he required congressional approval to do so. He needed to persuade Congress somehow.

Congressional reaction was divided: some argued for immediate rescue due to the hostage situation involving a politician. Most of these were Republicans, but some Democrats also supported this view.

What if they were in that situation? Where was the guarantee of their safety? If the former was approval based on a sense of belonging, the latter was more of an insurance policy to protect themselves and plan for the future.

Opponents cited budgetary concerns. They argued that the secondary damage resulting from saving one person was unaffordable. Furthermore, fighting two wars—the Atlanta fire and a war with Iran—would deplete the budget, forcing them to neglect one crisis. The consequences of neglecting either were dire.

However, when the number of war supporters exceeded 60%, and it was demonstrated that sufficient funds could be raised by cutting budgets in certain departments and canceling recently initiated large-scale national industry projects, the consensus shifted towards rescuing Karl Rove by any means necessary.

Congress agreed that a ‘war with Iran’ could occur in an emergency and granted President Bush greater authority.

Returning to the present, if Bush was considered a fighter jet overseas, he was viewed as a bomber domestically—a job bomber, that is.

“Ah! I want to resign! Resign!”

“Hey, you psycho, don’t shout so loud.”

The Bush administration publicly promoted its anti-discrimination policy, but the reality was probably not just discrimination, but ‘indiscriminate’ treatment. Doesn’t indiscriminate mean not discriminating in the first place? Under the labor laws enacted by the Bush administration, both men and women were being exploited to an unprecedented degree in the 200-year history of the United States.

Even though they were working day and night, they initially believed they were contributing to a better world and a better country, which made it bearable. However, as he reviewed the disaster emergency duty roster, which had been expanded again, he grew resentful, feeling forced into this dedication from above.

That’s why his desire to resign was genuine. What good is earning a lot of money if there’s no time to enjoy it? But when he considered abandoning everything and quitting, the sight of Atlanta burning fiercely, the smoke visible from his office, held him back.

Paradoxically, all the civil servants who couldn’t handle the increased workload or those who prioritized their personal lives had already left. The remaining civil servants silently vowed never to elect this person as president again.

“Still, is this the end for today?”

His work would be finished if he could just get one document approved.

“Damn it, no matter what, I’m going home to sleep.”

That was his thought until he learned that the fire had spread to the Talladega National Forest Ranger Station, and all the documents he needed from the station had been destroyed.

“Fuck!”

He exclaimed the epitome of profanity and had to begin rewriting the damage report.