George Bush’S Great America [EN]: Chapter 3

< Part 2 >

If the U.S. President’s dedicated airplane is Air Force One, then naturally there was also a dedicated helicopter. This dedicated helicopter, called Marine One, was a modified UH-60. People usually understood when it was described as the same helicopter from ‘Black Hawk Down’.

Of course, strictly speaking, Marine One’s performance was so outstanding that it could be said to share only a lineage with the original UH-60. But what I want to talk about now isn’t Marine One’s excellent performance.

No, perhaps discussing Marine One’s excellence *is* correct. Because thanks to Marine One’s outstanding performance, I arrived at the White House much earlier than expected.

“It was an honor to escort you, Mr. President.”

“I arrived earlier than I thought. I’ll be sure to use it often.”

Stepping down onto the helipad on the South Lawn and looking at the White House, it felt very familiar. Maybe it’s because I’ve seen it so much in movies. I don’t know if the owner of this body thinks so, but one thing was certain: it felt familiar.

However, there was one discordant note, and that was how deserted it was. Of course, I knew very well that the Vice President and his aides had bolted to the bunker as soon as the terrorist attack occurred. And I also knew that it was an appropriate response according to protocol.

“Damn it.”

But I really didn’t like it. I wasn’t sure if it was George Bush’s personality or mine. But I couldn’t stand this one thing.

Especially when I sat in my chair in the Oval Office, the anger doubled.

America, the greatest nation in the world. The leader of that nation has returned home, but his subordinates are holed up in a safe bunker, racking their brains?

Even before that, I had been thinking about a line ever since I was in Cadillac One, surpassing Air Force One.

I picked up the receiver.

“Don’t bury your heads in the ground like rats! Get out here now! Immediately!!!”

* * *

“I’ve never seen the President so agitated before. I didn’t even know he could raise his voice like that.”

“Our President used to be quite the partier in his younger days.”

“It’s hard to imagine, seeing how he’s always so affable and flexible now.”

“He became like that after meeting the First Lady.”

“I see.”

“Just like me.”

Richard Bruce Cheney. Dick Cheney, for short. There was a hint of self-deprecation in his voice, but no lies. Dick Cheney had spent his youth drinking in college, eventually getting expelled. He had two DUIs [Driving Under the Influence] and was jailed twice for drunk and disorderly conduct in bars, a typical story of a lower-class loser.

If it weren’t for his wife, Lynne Cheney, he would either be rotting in jail or dead. Even he couldn’t deny that.

She demanded change from Dick Cheney, and he achieved it through their love. He entered a new university in Wyoming and passed the congressional aide exam, rising to the position of Vice President.

It didn’t end there.

Lynne Cheney fully utilized her outstanding abilities to secure the position of chair of the White House environment committee.

She was an indispensable, loving wife to Dick Cheney, and at the same time, a talented individual in her own right.

‘But.’

George W. Bush. George Walker Bush. He was a typical example of a disappointing son of a great father. His past seemed to mirror Dick Cheney’s youth, yet it didn’t quite. He only came to his senses a little after becoming President. But even if he came to his senses, he was still just a kid. A kid is still a kid, even if he’s matured somewhat.

People don’t change easily. You can force yourself to act like someone else, but your essence doesn’t change so easily. Even so, George Bush was a lucky charm who made Dick Cheney the most powerful Vice President in the world, and George Bush actually respected and followed Dick Cheney quite a bit.

‘Looks like comforting the child has failed.’

“Ah, we’re here, Mr. Vice President!”

As he said, the door to the Oval Office came into view.

Now, how should I appease this very angry child?

* * *

“Dick Cheney. Oh. Dick. Dick!”

“Please don’t do that, Mr. President. Isn’t it a bit vulgar?”

Because the pronunciation is ‘Dick,’ he must feel uncomfortable even though he’s hearing his name. But it’s okay. Dick is *that* dick anyway. You fucking neocon moron.

What exactly is a neocon here? It is a term that collectively refers to the American support base that acts with a neoconservative tendency. If I only say this, it sounds like a normal support base, but that was only in the America of 2019, and it’s a bit different now. ‘Neocon’ was a term referring to the neoconservative faction of the Republican Party.

Here’s what I think.

A collection of hopeless American supremacist morons among nationalists.

They greatly contributed to making George Bush’s reign the worst regime in American history. No, in fact, almost all of it was done by these guys.

The Iraq War, Hurricane Katrina, the subprime mortgage crisis, the 2008 global financial crisis. All of these were tragedies created or exacerbated by these guys.

Among these, the subprime mortgage crisis and the global financial crisis had precursors since the Clinton era, and even the elites who were flying high on Wall Street all thought that the bubble would never burst, so let’s consider the circumstances.

The Iraq War was clearly aimed at occupying and plundering the Middle East to overcome the era of high oil prices. Even that didn’t go well. As a result, ISIL [Islamic State of Iraq and Levant] was launched in the future, and if you trace back the origins of the wars that have been taking place in the Middle East since then, almost all of them lead back to this Iraq War. Thanks to that, the Middle East was suffering until 2019. But did you think that messing up the Middle East with the Iraq War was the end? If so, you’re wrong.

Because of this Iraq War, the US treasury was so strained that when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, the levees did not function properly, and the central government did not even provide proper support.

Moreover, the place where New Orleans is located happened to be the southeastern United States. What is there in this Southeast? There were US oil facilities. The problem was that these were not just any oil facilities, but the Gulf of Mexico oil facilities, which accounted for 30% of US oil production and 24% of natural gas. Thanks to this, the world, including the United States, had to endure a terrible era of high oil prices until the shale revolution.

Ah, is this the end? There’s no way!

Thanks to this, the US military, which already had a reputation for being a money-guzzling entity, became even more corrupt, and all the responsibility stemmed from the Iraq War. Because the defense budget was insufficient, it was inevitable that maintenance of equipment would be neglected. As a result, 800 M1 Abrams tanks, which are the symbol of the United States Army, could not receive the attention of proper mechanics for a while.

Of course, it goes without saying that all kinds of next-generation war weapons programs were canceled.

Moreover, since soldiers died in the war, wouldn’t it be natural to replenish the troops? The problem was that in order to replenish the troops, the eligibility for support had to be greatly lowered because everyone who could support had already supported.

It wouldn’t have been a problem if that was all.

The problem is that the support qualification was so lax, like a subprime mortgage that doesn’t ask any questions! What army in the world accepts people with criminal records? The level was so high that gangs were formed within the military.

Is this the US military? Or is it a cartel?

“Richard Bruce Cheney. Let me say one thing.”

“Please speak, Mr. President.”

“I heard that you issued an order to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld by presidential decree, which is my authority. Is that true?”

Even I myself was not sure whether that statement was true, but I remembered seeing it in a documentary. The content was to shoot down any aircraft that was deemed a threat. Dick Cheney later made the following statement about the CIA suspect torture case. To summarize:

‘Our purpose is to catch terrorists and protect America. I don’t care about the sacrifice of innocent citizens.’ As such, Dick Cheney was truly a nationalistic figure. That’s why he was able to reign at the very top of the neocons.

Anyway, it would be an effective order in the current situation, where the situation is boiling in a cauldron of chaos. The problem was not the order itself. The problem was that the order was executed by presidential decree, bypassing proper channels.

“Tell me. Vice President. Is this really true?”

Dick Cheney’s expression hardened seriously, so it seemed to be true. However, it only hardened slightly and did not show anything more than that. I don’t know if it’s because he’s been rolling around in the political arena for a long time or if Rumsfeld raised him that way, but the important thing is that that small change gave me confidence.

However, even that was quickly resolved, and Dick Cheney began to speak fluently, as if the title of the world’s strongest vice president was not an exaggeration.

“Yes, Mr. President. It was the best choice based on ‘patriotism.'”

The patriotism he was talking about meant prioritizing the interests of the nation when the interests of the individual and the interests of the nation conflict.

And that was also called nationalism and nationalism.

I wanted to kick him out right away, but unfortunately, the reputation he had built in the political arena could not be destroyed with just one impersonation of an order. In addition, even if I had driven him into this, there was more than enough possibility that he would quickly release it and counterattack. That’s because he had a genius lawyer always by his side, sparing no legal advice.

Above all, I hated to admit it, but I agreed to some extent that there could not have been a better way to protect the security of the country in a situation where the mainland was being attacked by terrorists.

However, I think that there should have been more detailed orders and a proper delivery system, not just such an unlimited operation.

“Okay. I’ll just let it go this time.”

Dick Cheney’s expression relaxed halfway when he heard those words. He must be thinking about how to appease me now.

“What’s important now is that America has been attacked. The World Trade Center! The Pentagon! Even this White House was almost destroyed!”

One of the secretaries who was friendly to Bush spoke with a solemn but bright face. Half of it was fear and grief over the terrorist attack. And it was an expression derived from the joy that even the Pentagon was still standing.

“Fortunately, thanks to the emergency evacuation order issued by the President, the generals of the Pentagon were able to survive.”

“That’s fortunate. I’m glad the Secretary of Defense is alive more than anything else. Isn’t that so, Mr. Vice President?”

Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. To explain who he is, I have to look back at Dick Cheney’s career. His wife Lynne Cheney’s utmost sincerity and devotion. And Dick Cheney, who was reformed by her outstanding brain, passed the congressional aide exam. If so, who was the person Dick Cheney, who became an aide, going to assist? It was Donald Rumsfeld, who was then a member of the House of Representatives from Illinois.

That’s right. It was Donald Rumsfeld who raised today’s Dick Cheney, and the more he raised Dick Cheney, the more he was following Donald Rumsfeld’s methods. And Donald Rumsfeld was a deeply rooted neocon since the days of George H. W. Bush, that is, Father Bush.

Furthermore, to describe how incompetent he was, it would not be enough to write a book, so I will express it in one line.

This man tried to provoke Russia during the South Ossetia War.

This means that World War III was almost started because of that bastard. Thank God Bush thought that wasn’t the case, so fortunately, there was no world war until 2019.

Ah, Bush is me now. I have to praise myself.

“I won’t say much. Gather information and prepare the military.”

Since 9/11 happened, the war in Afghanistan, called the war on terror, was inevitable. Americans needed an outlet to vent their anger from the shock. The steam in the rice cooker will only explode if you block it.

Well, I had no intention of dragging it into the mud like the history I knew.

“I understand.”

Dick Cheney began to issue instructions with a very satisfied expression. Even though I was like that, Dick Cheney was an American and even the Vice President, but his gaze seemed to be looking in a slightly different place, so I got a little goosebumps.

The Dick Cheney I knew in terms of knowledge was a seasoned opportunist, but in reality, the degree was even greater. I heard that you lose your humanity the longer you do politics, and it seemed that that was true.

“Now, let’s start the war on terror. For the great America.”