George Bush’S Great America [EN]: Chapter 19

< 18 >

“Hmph, Amer is too timid!”

The current Iraq was clamoring for invigorating democracy. Actually, it didn’t have to be democracy. They were desperately hoping for a wind of change that would bring about a change in this cruel and miserable life. Even if it was a mere breeze that couldn’t move a single fallen leaf, even if it was a faint ember that would soon fade away, they wanted a small change.

Therefore, no matter what, Hosang had to deliver these weapons to them. Who knows? Who knows if Allah might take pity on them and show them a miracle? Who knows if the government might really change?

It was just that it borrowed the name of Western-style democracy.

“Since you’re an old veteran, it won’t be that difficult to use.”

“Feels like just yesterday I was cracking Soviet soldiers’ heads with a Mosin-Nagant [a type of Soviet-era rifle].”

SR-25. A few boxes of these weapons, which the U.S. military scattered to the Northern Alliance, ended up in the black market, and by a stroke of luck, one of them fell into Hosang’s hands.

According to a black market dealer who traded with the Northern Alliance, the U.S. wasn’t giving them as much support as they thought. Thanks to that, they received a lot of ammunition but hardly any weapons. The Northern Alliance wanted weapons that everyone could arm themselves with rather than weapons that only a small number could use, so they sold off all the equipment they received from the U.S. military and bought a lot of old communist weapons.

“Tsk. These war machines have developed so much.”

“I prepared this especially for you, sir. Everyone knows the publicly known secret of your majesty, who blew the heads off commie bastards one after another even from 1 km away.”

“The gun is good, but there’s too much useless stuff on it.”

The old man said, sweeping his hand down the Picatinny rail [a standardized rail system for attaching accessories to firearms].

“If you have something like this, you’ll hurt your hand while shooting.”

“My hand?”

“Of course, this rail or whatever it is. It’s iron. If you keep shooting, it’ll overheat. Then your hand will get hot. You Yankees learned sniping without the substance?”

That was true. Since Picatinny rails were attached to some rifles, one of the problems that people who had actually used rifles pointed out was that the rails could overheat. However, it wasn’t a very noticeable disadvantage if you attached a foregrip and used it. Furthermore, that was only a problem that came up with ‘assault rifles’ or ‘submachine guns’ that had to be fired continuously, and it wasn’t an issue at all with ‘sniper rifles’.

“Weren’t you sniping?”

“Of course, it’s sniping.”

To be honest, since it was only a rumor, it was hard to tell whether it was a statement from the old man’s arrogance or a statement from unfounded senility.

‘Surely this old man isn’t trying to screw me over?’ Hosang thought, trying to figure out the old man’s truth, when he saw something even more absurd.

“No! Why are you taking off the scope?”

When he said that, the old man looked at him like he was an idiot and scolded him.

“Ah, this guy can’t be used on the battlefield! If you have something like a scope, you’ll get counter-sniped!”

“Ah, no. That’s… How do you see without a scope?”

“Hey, you! Guys like you who rely on these strange contraptions are the first to go!!!”

No, damn it, if you don’t have a scope, is that sniping? It’s just shooting. As if the old man had noticed Hosang’s irreverent thoughts, he glared at Hosang up and down and clicked his tongue! Hosang had met many people called war heroes before, but this was the first time he had been treated so rudely.

There were people who were a bit arrogant or who started with their glory days and bragged until the end of the year, but this old man was the first to openly give a gift and criticize it.

Hosang, who was gauging the limits of his mercy and patience, couldn’t stand the old man’s harsh words any longer and stormed out.

“Ah, that guy. He’s really impatient.”

The old man grumbled, lamenting the fact that he had lost someone he could properly talk to after a long time.

“That’s right. Is that guy continuing to spread weapons like this?”

The old man next door seemed to have come with a lot of gunpowder smell from somewhere, so he must have been caught up in something like this. Oh, I’m going to see blood again. To fight the enemy, it was most important to know your place, but I don’t know what he was thinking, but that guy was spreading weapons here and there. Guerrilla warfare would be effective at first, but once armored units and heavy equipment were put in, these hastily formed militia groups would be annihilated in an instant.

“Something really big is going to happen in Iraq. Huh, armed protesters.”

Isn’t that like a coup? But maybe that’s what’s needed at this point. Everyone desperately wanted to release something suppressed inside. Since they were craving any kind of change, those who still had the Mujahideen’s [Islamic guerrilla fighters] senses in their hands must have thought that guns were the easiest way to change things.

The Mujahideen was like a brand that had permanently engraved the feeling of defeating a powerful enemy in their minds, senses, and bodies. In fact, most of the people who participated in the Mujahideen could not return to their home countries. Most of the Middle East had dictatorships, and all dictators feared well-trained guerrillas. In the end, all those who returned to their home countries had to spend their lives in prison.

The old man and his friends realized this and had to live like dead mice in Iraq for several years while forging their identities. These days, his name was being leaked here and there with the help of the anti-establishment network, but his name was only ‘Old Man’.

“Will spring come to Iraq, or will the gates of hell open again?”

Only Allah would know that.

* * *

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi! The blood brother of al-Qaeda’s leader Osama bin Laden and a rising star of fundamentalism! Following his will, gather all Islamic fundamentalist organizations here!

“The advertisement was very well done. Don’t you think?”

Zarqawi looked very pleased with the copy of the invitation he had sent. Most of them wanted to pretend they didn’t see this invitation, but because of the issue, even organizations that were at odds with al-Qaeda attended this meeting by sending representatives. They were all like separated families who had started as Mujahideen but had to separate because their intentions were different.

The problem was that they were families who didn’t hesitate to commit patricide against each other.

In fact, if it weren’t for the large ring called the Mujahideen, they would never have been tied together. Their sizes and ideologies were so different, but the charisma of Osama bin Laden as the leader of al-Qaeda made it possible.

In short, today’s Middle Eastern terrorist groups were close to a group that loosely tied each other together under the name of cell organizations within an easy-to-understand and moderately coercive organization called al-Qaeda.

“Good. It seems like everyone is here.”

Everyone here was convinced that he had convened this meeting to be recognized as succeeding al-Qaeda and to announce it to the world. Of course, that didn’t mean there were no opponents.

“This is a message. ‘I oppose your rule. You have no leadership or charisma!'”

It was a messenger from the al-Nusra Front [a Salafist jihadist terrorist organization].

“Oh, is that so?”

Zarqawi approached him with a kind expression, then grabbed his hair and slammed his head on the table. He slammed, slammed, and slammed again. As red ink stained the table and the lock of life that held his will in this world loosened, the demon of the Middle East released him from his grasp.

“Charisma! It seems to be proven.”

Zarqawi spread his arms exaggeratedly and made a benevolent expression. The sight was so reassuring that it was like a Buddha on a statue. However, a streak of madness that could not be hidden even by a mask burned brightly within the Agape [unconditional love].

“Hmm. Does anyone still object?”

“You son of a bitch…!”

The leader of another organization, who was stunned by the death of the messenger, managed to take out a small pistol that he had cleverly hidden and aimed it, but at that moment, he had no choice but to stop. That must have been because of the hole in his head. Soldiers who had been waiting outside the building were lined up behind each delegation in full gear.

“Leadership! Enough!”

If those who didn’t know the situation heard it, his actions were so light that they would think he was a pleasant person, but the meaning contained within was heavy.

“The One God and the Holy War obey Abu Musab al-Zarqawi!”

“The Muslim Brotherhood supports Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.”

“The Taliban supports Abu Musab al-Zarqawi!”

Hezbollah, Abu Sayyaf, Boko Haram, Hamas, Jemaah Islamiyah, etc. announced their support one after another, and finally, the al-Nusra Front agreed to Zarqawi’s rule. Didn’t he die? Originally, the dead have no words, and silence is said to be affirmation.

Of course, support based on fear. Support obtained through coercive and forced methods does not last long.

That is, in the usual way. Political terror seems easy on the surface, but if you look into its depths, you will realize that it is a more profound politics than you think.

Basically, regardless of East or West, the basics of politics were carrots and sticks. If you pull the stick too much, a coup will occur, and if you give too many carrots, your authority will be damaged and you will be eaten in reverse at some point.

If you look at politics from that point of view, an interesting sight is established in which trainers train each other.

Therefore, political terror, which is the most difficult of all politics, is like a razor blade. If you apply the right amount of force, you can cut down the enemy, but if you apply too much force, you will get hurt. If the blade is sharp, the enemy will disappear easily, but if the blade is dull, you will get hurt or it will not be trimmed well. Controlling the force is training. Making the blade sharp was appropriate fear, and making the blade dull was a carrot.

“If we are united, what can we not overcome?”

The Mujahideen had already stopped the invasion of the Soviet Union, which had divided the world during the Cold War, head-on, and their power did not decrease. It was one of the few groups where the catharsis of a small country defeating a large country was alive.

“We are one.”

* * *

“What?”

George Bush had to doubt his ears when he heard the information obtained from the CIA’s Afghanistan branch. Why is Zarqawi coming out?

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. He was the head of the One God and Holy War, the predecessor of ISIL [Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, also known as ISIS], and a monstrous man who was feared, hated, and envied within al-Qaeda for his excessively brutal personality.

However, he was the greatest apostate within al-Qaeda, which valued law and principles above all else. He loved alcohol to death, which was clearly prohibited by law, and he was a psycho who would just kill anyone he could get his hands on, regardless of whether they were Sunni or Shia.

If other people move from convictions derived from fanaticism, so you can roughly see the line to go forward, this bastard moves as he pleases, so he was like a rubber ball that you don’t know where he will bounce.

No, I expected him to come out in some way. I didn’t expect him to come out like this.

「We have planted spies in all airports, ports, and most small and medium-sized criminal and terrorist organizations, so most of the information belongs to the President.」

“Good. That’s good.”

With this, an excellent intelligence network was established, at least limited to the Middle East, even if it was not perfect. But perfection can’t exist in the first place. Who knows, maybe the CIA will betray me with ‘patriotism’ like last time.

“Chief of Staff. Is the border strengthening, airport strengthening, and mail security strengthening finished?”

“We have increased security at the border, and the airport has just begun training on the newly changed manual. You will have to wait a little longer for the mail. The United States Postal Service is a public corporation with an original deficit in its budget, so it is believed that it is necessary to increase the budget allocation a little to properly build the system.”

“Tell the police to increase the intensity of their training as well. There may be a terrorist attack soon.”

“I understand.”

“Share this information with Europe as well. So that they can’t complain later.”

There are already five eyes [an intelligence alliance], but if I don’t tell them one by one, they will definitely say something different later. You have to do this much to have an internationally superior position. It would be fortunate if the other intelligence agencies didn’t suspect it.

“And tell the CIA and FBI that if they solve the task I gave them roughly, they will all be fired.”

I wrote down all the terrorist methods I knew in Word and told them to find the answers. At least they are more experts than I am. If I give them a specific proposal, the world’s best think tank will come up with an answer. Hmm, if it’s just a feeling, it’s like a scientist entering a formula into a supercomputer and waiting for the answer.

“A war on terror.”

A country cannot fight a concept. It was an impromptu remark, but there is no more fitting word than this. But what’s already happened has happened. I had to clean up properly quickly.

“Then let’s have a defensive war.”

History has proven that defense is more advantageous than offense. Try to attack me.