George Bush’S Great America [EN]: Chapter 201

George Bush’s Great America – Episode 200

< Episode 200 >

The world was changing into perhaps the most chaotic state since World War II. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it the nascent stage of a new world war.

“That’s why I’m here, to prevent that.”

Bush was alone today, needing to gather and organize his complex thoughts.

‘Or so I’d like to think.’

Bush set down his coffee cup with a trembling hand. Never in the history that Bush, or rather, Kim Gap-hwan, knew had there been such a significant crisis. There were several countries in the world known as powder kegs. Regardless of continent, region, or race, there was always one at regular intervals.

However, Bush, unable to stand by, personally took the pliers and cut the red wire of the bomb installed in the powder keg. You could think of it as a kind of ‘mission’ he was carrying out. That’s why he forcefully resolved the North Korean issue, which could be considered the world’s largest powder keg.

Thanks to that, North Korea, despite potential internal strife, was now a peaceful country, at least on the surface. If ‘unable to wage war’ is synonymous with peace, then it was utopia itself. Although it was a peace achieved through greater fear and violence, peace has always been like that since ancient times. As long as the United States doesn’t turn its back, a war between North and South Korea will not happen, no matter what.

‘Soon, the size of the USFK [United States Forces Korea] can also be reduced. American companies have made significant inroads into North Korea, earning quite a bit of money. Thanks to that, the budget has increased considerably.’

Among the things Bush had handled, North Korea was the best. It couldn’t have been better. Even if he turned back time, it wouldn’t be as perfect as it is now. Now, without being rushed, if he just spends time slowly, North and South Korea will skillfully become one on their own.

Afghanistan in 2019, where blood and flesh were rampant, was no different from when the Taliban ruled. How is it now? It has become the fastest-growing country in the Middle East and is now a country that is not ashamed to be compared with any other.

Sudan still needs to be watched, but the feared events have not occurred. The internal war where tribes divide and stab and kill each other. If Bush’s memory is correct, South Sudan was suffering from civil war. Now there’s even West Sudan. Anyway, at least so far, that hasn’t happened.

The problem was China. The power of the central government, the Communist Party, was strengthening but also weakening at the same time. As the situation turned urgent, the human rights that had been granted with such effort were being revoked. Although, if you ask if these human rights ever functioned properly, there’s nothing to say.

In any case, the powers that had been granted to each province (城) [an administrative division in China] with a local autonomous character over a long period were legally revoked for efficient management, and the central government became stronger.

But here’s where the problem arose.

‘The authority has strengthened, but the cohesion has weakened.’

There was only one thing that even the strengthened China couldn’t touch. That was the military. As the world becomes more difficult, does the sword become stronger than the pen? Although there was a reduction in military spending due to budget issues, when it became difficult to even maintain it, each military district couldn’t stand it any longer and began to rebel. The dissatisfaction stemming from mere complaints about treatment and conditions gradually turned into the ambition of warlords.

Originally, the people’s respect for the chairman comes entirely from fear. There was a time when the respect for the chairman was made only with real admiration. That was the chairman during the Mao era. In that era, there was even a group called the Red Guards who admired Mao. In the end, the Red Guards, following his will, reduced China’s vast and profound heritage of 4,000 years to ashes in just a few years.

It’s different now. Everyone knows what happens if they curse the chairman. They may not know exactly what they will suffer, but they know the result. This was something that even Li Keqiang could not change. Unlike the Mao era, China now was led by elders, not the chairman. The consecutive deaths or disappearances of two chairmen also played a role. As a result, all the power weights that were gradually being added to the chairman became the share of the elders.

In summary, China now was the most dangerous powder keg in the world.

‘Even if it explodes, it must explode internally without intervention. If there is a war, it must be only China’s internal strife. Otherwise…’

There’s no need to say more. It’s World War III. Nuclear weapons may fly at each other, but it’s certain to be an all-out war that returns each other’s civilizations to the Stone Age.

‘And to make matters worse, the Kurds here too?’

He didn’t expect it at all. Or rather, he thought the EU [European Union] would take care of the Kurds. They commit all kinds of human rights abuses themselves, but recently they’ve been talking a lot about human rights, so even though refugees are entering and occupying their cities bloodlessly, they can’t say anything.

Because of that, when he heard that they were discussing not suppressing the Kurds but agreeing to independence, he felt relieved but also had a sense of vigilance that Europe was once again revealing its ambitions in the Middle East.

The reason for calling it a powder keg is that if it explodes, it’s a big deal, but conversely, if managed well, it won’t explode. But now, that powder keg is on fire. It’s not just a fire that has spread, but the ammunition stored there is burning fiercely. Once the ammunition starts burning, it’s impossible to approach or even extinguish it by ordinary means.

‘Surely there must have been something like this during Bush’s original administration. After all, he was a party to the Middle East war.’

There must have been. There’s no way there wouldn’t be. Besides the publicly known nonsense and bullshit, there must have been something more. Something that was fatally dangerous to the whole world. In fact, even if you just listed the events during his administration as information, you could publish hundreds of books, but sitting in this position as him, he knows for sure.

‘They must have handled it so it wouldn’t come out publicly due to public opinion issues.’

Personally, Bush was the type to not care about public opinion and just focus on the cause, but if the country was run that way, why would there be political science? He followed the advice as much as possible in these areas. Of course, he mercilessly kicked out nonsense like, ‘We’re going to do policies that screw over the common people, and this will increase taxes threefold.’

Anyway, there were such crises several times even during the Cold War. For example, there was a time when a Soviet satellite mistook the sunlight on the surface of the water for the flash of a missile, and the Soviet Union almost launched thousands of nuclear missiles at the United States. These miraculous happenings were recognized and revealed by the top officials of both the United States and the Soviet Union about 150 times. In other words, humanity has almost been destroyed at least hundreds of times.

“Damn it. This is fucked up. Really.”

It was a curse that appropriately mixed English and Korean. It was unique just for that, but what was even more unique was that both English and Korean were perfect native speaker pronunciations. It was a genuine local curse that only Bush could do on the entire planet.

In any case, he could swear as much as he wanted because he was alone. The chief of staff, whom he always kept by his side when working, was not there. Even White, who always sat on the chair and licked his front paws with dignity, was not there today. He was always surprised at how well that mere beast knew people’s feelings. Well, he was already doubting whether that was a cat in the first place, so reading people’s minds was no big deal now.

“I’m going crazy. I feel a sense of self-disgust for becoming president for this. No, nothing is working out properly. It’s a relief that I’ve got a good grip on the domestic situation in many ways. But what am I supposed to do about overseas?”

He pretended to be calm in front of the chief of staff when he heard that crazy news, but when he was alone, his unadorned true feelings poured out.

It’s not that the Kurds who want independence are bad. Bush would very much like to support independence. The problem is the timing. All actions must be right in time and place. All people are encouraged to shower twice a day as a minimum condition of being civilized, but there’s no crazy person who would do this shower in the company office, is there?

Kurdish independence was possible at least after the terrorism disguised as a war of independence in the suburbs of Riga, Latvia, ended. If they become independent at this point, wouldn’t minority groups all over the world demand independence and rise up like mushrooms? No one can handle the situation if that happens.

‘Except for a very few, the whole world will be engulfed in the flames of war and regress.’

It was at that moment, after much deliberation. It was then that someone entered the office without even knocking. He was one of Bush’s aides.

‘Is it an emergency?’

Emergencies were always allowed to enter without knocking. His head was already about to explode, and now another emergency. This position, which he thought he could do anything, was just a cursed position. Wealth and fame are bullshit. It’s a cursed throne where you have to worry not only about domestic affairs but also about overseas affairs.

“Mr. President, this is the information you’ve been waiting for.”

That was a relief. It wasn’t that another incident had happened somewhere, but that it was the information Bush was waiting for. He unknowingly felt a great sense of relief. “Mr. President, the suppression in Latvia is over.”

“What, why? How.”

He tried to speak somewhat solemnly and calmly, but the information he heard was so important that it came out without filtering.

“Yes?”

“How.”

Bush got up from his seat right away. The aide, overwhelmed by the atmosphere and his size, stammered in confusion, looking like a rabbit in front of a tiger.

“Well, I… About three minutes ago, there was a simultaneous official announcement from Latvia and Russia…”

“No, what are our agents who infiltrated Riga doing that the official announcement comes out first?”

The information shouldn’t have come in like this. At least the CIA should have reported it first. One or two of the agents who infiltrated the CIA might die in an accident. What’s a fatal accident? Even if you’re walking and get hit by a falling coconut from above and die, it’s a fatal accident. Even if you’re lying at home and a car rushes in and pushes the whole house away, it’s an accident. An accident (事故) [sago in Korean, meaning unforeseen incident] is an accident because it happens unexpectedly and cannot be foreseen or prevented.

Anyway, there was no information that they died in an accident, and even if they died in an accident, shouldn’t the information come in if even one or two survived?

“I, I don’t know about that…”

“How frustrating!”

Bush was so frustrated that he pounded his chest wildly, making a drum sound that could only come from a drum made of horsehide. And in the aide’s eyes, it looked like a large gorilla was threatening him. He was completely overwhelmed not by political charisma, but by the wildness emanating from his trained body and violent behavior.

“Chief of staff! Where is the chief of staff!”