George Bush’S Great America [EN]: Chapter 252

< Episode 251 >

He gave away a massive amount of aid for free, without even a chance to refuse. But anyone who read the newspaper, let alone engaged in politics, knew that such a huge amount wouldn’t truly be free.

It wasn’t like it would come back in the form of concrete, materially visible things like gold bars or cash. But it wasn’t like it would come back as useless things like individual ‘feelings of gratitude’ either.

“Indonesia won’t go crazy and ignore our demands at least once or twice in the future, right?”

Bush folded a piece of paper he deemed useless garbage into a paper airplane and launched it. White stared at it intently, and the plane crashed to the office floor without even reaching two seconds of airtime, thanks to White’s interference.

“That’s how it’s always been, but at least now they won’t change their tune about buying weapons for a while.”

Right now, they’re using American weapons for modernization, but eventually, there’s a limit to that. Once they properly adapt, they’ll inevitably try to localize, whether they like it or not. This is the same for any country, especially for a national union that has plenty of money.

Of course, there will be all sorts of difficulties, whether political or technical. But entrusting a country’s weapons system to a foreign country, whether or not there’s a licensed factory in the country, is inherently unstable.

There’s a reason why every country, without exception, uses domestic weapons if the conditions allow, even if the performance is somewhat inferior.

However, with this incident, Indonesia, the leader of the ASEAN [Association of Southeast Asian Nations] union, now owes us one, so they won’t be able to easily turn their backs on us. Soon, Southeast Asia will be filled with American weapons.

‘I can’t say 100 years, but at least half a century will pass.’

And that alone was more than enough. After all, the purpose of arming them was to contain China, but with China in such a state, it was meaningless for the time being.

However, the potential of Chinese soil was as difficult to fathom as the American continent.

As the birthplace of the four great civilizations for 4,000 years, as a land that has supported an empire that has repeatedly divided and united, it has been constantly tested, but conversely, it was a land that had digested all of this history and still had no end in sight.

Perhaps once they somehow repay this debt, the Imoogi [a mythical Korean serpent], who has been hiding under the lake for a while, will ascend to snatch the eagle. Therefore, what the United States must do is freeze the lake so that it cannot come out of the lake. Even that will melt in the sun over time, and one day the sky will open again, but then there will be another way.

So, the way to freeze that lake and turn the Imoogi, full of poison, into a frozen state. Bush knew a few ways to do that.

In fact, rather than knowing, he was instinctively aware of things that China would dislike or be sensitive to.

“Hey, Chief of Staff, I’m thinking of poking Taiwan a little.”

“Taiwan? Is there any point? I’m worried that it will upset the debtor.”

The Chief of Staff was worried about a moratorium or default. Even now, the reason why ‘debt’ is established is because the United States is not defending Taiwan.

In addition, there was an implicit affirmation of being the official successor to the Qing Dynasty [China’s last imperial dynasty, ruling from 1644 to 1912]. These two things became a form of shackle and grabbed China’s legs, but conversely, if you just release these shackles, you can secure legitimacy and then crush Taiwan, which is like a thorn in your side.

In short, the Party accepted even these ridiculous demands in order to prove the legitimacy of succession, but what has Taiwan done in the meantime? More precisely, ‘Why does Taiwan still insist on being the legitimate government?’ can be established.

From the beginning, they didn’t recognize Taiwan as a country and recognized it as a province, but anyway, whether domestically or externally, they would remain silent even if they sent troops to occupy it.

Who? The United States. If the self-proclaimed police of the world, the owner of most international organizations, remain silent, the world will accept it as a general ‘civil war,’ even if they criticize and condemn it.

From the beginning, Taiwan had lost its seat in the UN a long time ago around the 20th century. The reason why they euphemistically call it Taiwan, the name of the island, rather than the Republic of China, is because the whole world does not recognize Taiwan as a formal country.

If we poke Taiwan here and stir up trouble, that’s when China will really do its best to retaliate. Of course, there are many ways to retaliate, but the most realistic answer is too obvious.

“Then that’s when we can really take everything that’s worth money and be done with it. The only problem is that I’ll be called a miser by the Chinese for the rest of my life. Or is it?”

In the process, coercive collection will continue and the United States will also suffer losses, but Bush didn’t want to shrink back because he was afraid of money. Worrying about money was enough in his past life. That’s not to say he would ignore money, but he decided to stop trembling over money more than necessary.

“In the first place, what exactly are you going to do? I mean, exactly.”

“The same as other Southeast Asian countries. I’m thinking of selling some military power to Taiwan.”

“Military power? Do you mean weapons? What Taiwan wants is an Aegis ship [a class of guided missile cruisers and destroyers], but no matter what, will China sit idly by?”

“Of course not. I’d be lucky if they didn’t have a seizure when they heard this news. Trade will be a mess.”

That was obvious. Of course, selling personal weapons wouldn’t really cause a seizure, but if it were armored vehicles like Bradleys or Abrams [types of armored fighting vehicles], or weapons that could establish an air defense system like Aegis ships, it could be a big problem. Besides, even if they sold it, it was questionable whether Taiwan could maintain it, except for the Aegis ship.

“Then?”

“It’s a kind of special mercenary relationship. It’s not the general meaning, but if the navy stationed in the South China Sea repeatedly passes by Taiwan when traveling to and from the Japanese archipelago, I think things will turn out interestingly, don’t you think?”

In short, he was saying that he would allow the U.S. Navy stationed in Southeast Asia to set a ‘schedule’ to pass through Taiwan under negotiation according to the wishes of the Taiwanese government.

Anyway, the show of force itself was a frequent occurrence, like the last time with North Korea. It was really blatant then, but this time it had to be done subtly.

“Even that will cause a strong backlash from China. Can you handle it?”

Although they say they’re passing by, it’s practically the same as permanent stationing. From the beginning, why was the USFK [United States Forces Korea] in Korea so important?

Wasn’t it because if North Korea attacked South Korea, the world’s strongest military, which had been damaged, would automatically participate in the war?

Knowing that, North Korea never touched the US military base, even though it bombarded South Korean soil with artillery shells.

Now that North Korea has disappeared, it has become information that can only be found in history books that people who are interested in it at university look for, but anyway, this was similar to the stationed troops in other countries.

“Oh, what can’t we handle? We’re the creditors. Even if the debtor is a little strong, they’re just a debtor. We can be a little more confident in everything we do. If it’s really bad, we can teach Taiwan ‘some technology’ to protect themselves, but I don’t think Taiwan is worth that much.”

“That’s too obvious. Transferring technology without profit is an act of treason.”

“Treason led by the president.”

Bush laughed it off, but the Chief of Staff didn’t seem to be.

“Please watch your mouth. The fact that the White House is not absolutely safe is something that the President knows better than anyone else.”

“I know. I know. It seems like it’s been a long time since you warned me.”

The Chief of Staff had clearly stopped giving warnings at some point. Maybe he just gave up because no matter how much he warned, it wouldn’t be fixed. What’s the point of giving warnings if nothing changes? Therefore, he judged that it was impossible to break the president’s strange stubbornness, and he just silently decided to serve as the chief of staff of the most strange president in history.

“I do when I have to.”

Still, the Chief of Staff opened his mouth whenever he thought it wasn’t right. From the beginning, the Chief of Staff was not someone who could correct someone. Maybe someone lower than himself. He wasn’t someone who could change someone above him. However, he was more confident than anyone else in leading him in the right direction.

“Anyway, there won’t be much talk in Indonesian public opinion for about 10 years.”

This relief aid was not only about American weapons, but it was also significant in that it had at least temporarily eased the backlash against the United States that had been constantly popping up in Indonesia.

Not everyone will look at the United States with friendly eyes just because they provided relief supplies, but at least they can win the hearts and minds of the people of Aceh [a province of Indonesia].

Although it was destroyed by the tsunami and earthquake, Aceh was not a place to be abandoned, but a place to be restored.

In Korea, if a building collapsed and was submerged in Gyeongsangbuk-do [a province in South Korea], would the government abandon it? Aceh was such a place. Of course, strictly speaking, the situation was quite different, but still, that’s what it was.

“At least if they have a conscience. However, you don’t know how it will change when the government changes.”

“That’s the same for our country.”

The time Bush could stay in this White House was four years. When he goes to hand over to the next president after four years, he had to take Air Force One and return by his own car or a commercial plane.

“Suddenly, I feel sorry for the next president. I don’t know who it will be, but it looks like he’ll be cleaning up the mess I’ve made.”

“Is that so? I was worried about my next chief of staff.”

Originally, he was only going to serve as chief of staff until the last term. Looking at his lifespan decreasing in real time, the chief of staff’s mind and body were like a rag that had been used for about a year.

Looking at himself not spending his vacation like a vacation, he really thought that he might die working in the White House.

However, Bush was reluctant to let him go. After missing the opportunity, he was still the chief of staff this term.

While the Chief of Staff was thinking that, Bush was turning the small silver globe again. And the globe always stopped in the country he was watching closely.

“Is that land so interesting?”

That land was East Asia.