George Bush’S Great America [EN]: Chapter 312

< 311 >

“Allowing a small-scale peacekeeping force in the East for three years is acceptable.”

In the original timeline, Turkey would have nominally hosted about 38,000 troops anyway. This is just a bit delayed.

“Frankly, even three years is too long. But since they’re offering three years, there’s no need to shorten it. Good, approved.”

With the President’s approval, the deployment of U.S. troops happened in an instant. This was due to prior preparations based on orders from above. In other words, the advance team was already waiting in the airspace above the Turkish border.

“Turkey? Turkey? What exactly are we going to war with?”

“We’re defending, not invading. Defending. Protecting Turkish soil from the bad guys who invade it.”

“But if we rush in at a time like this, won’t it inevitably lead to war, even if we don’t want it? The Kurds have been acting suspiciously lately, and now it looks like our assigned location is in the heart of Kurdish territory.”

“I don’t know! Jones! Just do as you’re told! Show some damn dedication and service to that country! Be grateful that we’re using a newly established airbase by the Turkish military, so you don’t have to worry about digging trenches in Turkish soil. Now shut up and pack your gear!”

He nervously stuffed things into his pack, then suddenly turned around and said,

“And be thankful it’s not Afghanistan! They’re mobilizing engineers to build trenches, bunkers, and new runways!”

Unlike the U.S. military, which was just starting to stretch its resources, the European Integrated Forces, having already fought a war, had their objectives and doctrines turned defensive. Especially in ‘West Iraq,’ they completely reverted to defense.

“Our goal is to defend the border of West Iraq! We must not give up even a single piece of land beyond what was promised, and we must use all available resources to prevent the Kurdish rebels from even thinking about invading this land! That is our mission!”

“Fucking hell. Defending the border my ass. It’s literally ‘save yourself’.”

“Civilians are hostile, enemies are strong, supplies are erratic, and what are we supposed to defend? Fucking hell.”

Logistics were a chronic problem for the European Integrated Forces. It wasn’t for nothing that they were trying to use West Iraq as a logistics hub and forward base. Ammunition is shared, but other equipment is not. The same goes for food. Flour is shared, but everything else is not.

Simply put, the diets were different. In East Asia, China’s staple food is mantou [steamed buns], but Korea’s staple food is rice. So, naturally, their dietary needs diverged.

Because the diets were different, the materials they ordered were different, and the supply officers were going crazy. It was common for the quantities to be wrong when they were ordered and brought to the site, but it was really maddening when it happened as often as eating rice—meaning, constantly.

There were attempts to unify this, but they were thwarted by countless objections from the soldiers. However, there was one country that did not object at that time: the British army. British food was already known for being bad, and the standard fare was already military rations.

Repeated privatization and neglect had led to the worst possible quality, so they were desperate to eat rations from other countries. The higher-ups knew about this situation and tried to gloss over it, but now the rations have been improved a bit due to the soldiers’ protests.

However, rations are rations, and British food is British food, which is rejected by everyone from new recruits to elderly veterans, so it had to be improved through extensive investigation and development, and this is still ongoing.

In any case, the existing supply depots were all blown up in the last war and disappeared without a trace, and the new depots were just starting to accumulate reserves. If a war were to break out at this time, they would never lose the war itself, but at least the soldiers would have to suffer from hunger.

“More than that, what is the reason why the United States is moving like this?”

Even when soldiers are deployed to the battlefield, they speculate on the reasons for their deployment. It was rare for people to move silently.

“It’s hard to know the reason, but it seems like they’re trying to de-escalate this war somehow.”

“De-escalate it?”

The sergeant turned on the map app on his iPhone, the latest trendy mobile phone, and pointed to the Middle East. Of the territory promised to the Kurds by the EU, the only places where U.S. troops were not deployed, whether large or small, were Iran and Syria.

“It seems like they’re planning to drive the Kurds into Iran or Syria.”

Even the Kurds, known as a fighting people, would not want to suddenly fight the world’s strongest country. Especially if they knew that there were three carrier strike groups deployed.

“It seems that it’s not just because they don’t have good relations with Syria or Iran.”

“Even so, will they wage war with Syria?”

“There’s no reason not to. However, in order to go to Syria, they have to pass through the border of West Iraq, which is right in front of us, or through Turkey, but neither we nor the U.S. would allow that. Or they would have to revolt from within Syria, but with key personnel and combat forces concentrated in Iran, there’s no way that’s possible.”

“I guess so.”

“Then the only thing left is Iran. Moreover, if a country is founded, it can enter into negotiations with each country individually. They may be able to guarantee some territory, even if it’s not to the extent that was previously discussed. But if you ask if the Iranian army is a formidable opponent, of course not.”

“The Iranian army is also a strong army.”

“If I had to choose between fighting the U.S. military and the Iranian army, I would fight the Iranian army.”

And so it happened. At the same time as the speech, the Kurds, who had revolted, advanced with weapons leaked from West Iraq. Originally, they were planning to advance to Turkey and Iran, as West Iraq was tantamount to suicide, but they were horrified to hear that U.S. troops were stationed on the Turkish border, so they all turned to Iran.

And they hastily redefined their war, temporarily bypassing the Kurdish single-ethnic state and aiming to rebuild the Republic of Mahabad [a short-lived Kurdish state in Iran after World War II] as a primary goal.

They signaled that they would cooperate in the future to take away the territory that had been promised in the past, or to resolve it peacefully.

The Iranian Kurds, who had bad relations with Iran, were the main force, and this was already the fifth rebellion. However, unlike in the past, this time they were really determined to start. Moreover, there were not only Kurds inside Iran.

Turkey, of course, was also involved. The Kurds, who had come from all over the Middle East seeking a homeland, now had to fight a war with Iran. No matter how strong the Iranian army was, it could not fight the entire Middle East. In the meantime, the EU was indirectly supporting the Kurds with weapons.

It seemed that they were thinking of watching over them in this way because they were sorry that they could not keep their promise, but there was no more foolish thing to do than this. No matter how many anti-tank weapons or individual weapons they had, it wouldn’t change the fundamental imbalance. This is why a mere rebel group has 100 tanks.

Back in the ‘White House’ in West Iraq, Bush had a rather satisfied look on his face.

“So… it’s a kind of framing. A confrontation between Iran and the Kurds. At least they wouldn’t want to fight Turkey-Iran-West Iraq-European Integrated Forces-U.S. Allied Forces all at once, so they drove them to Iran.”

“But the fact that it’s a minority revolt doesn’t change, does it?”

“At least it ended in Iran. Not a global structure. If the whole world joins forces to trample on them, how bitter would the taste be for other minorities? Especially minorities oppressed in countries like China.”

He added, ‘Well, China no longer has the power to oppress minorities.’ In Tibet, discontent was still accumulating. To be exact, discontent had already accumulated to the limit, and it was right before it was put into practice.

“How is the war situation?”

“That’s… because it’s a revolt from within, the Iranian army is having a lot of difficulty suppressing it. In fact, the land that Iran had promised to give to the Kurds before was already in the hands of the rebels from the beginning. That’s because they were already projecting their influence to the fullest. And unless it’s air power, they’re not inferior in other power aspects, so there’s no reason to be pushed back in a power struggle.”

“Let’s keep an eye on it for the time being. That’s enough.”

While the White House was looking to the distant future, this was happening in Afghanistan, which was receiving support from the United States and showing incredible overgrowth, but was still barely making a living.

“Yes? Additional runways and nuclear bunkers? What is this all about? I understand the border trenches, but what is this?”

“Congratulations, President Mohammad. Our U.S. military intends to strengthen the Afghan army as much as possible. Fortunately for your country, U.S. support will not be cut off for the time being.”

Mohammad was bewildered. He was already feeling that his health was getting worse recently. He was seriously worried about who to hand over the important task of guiding the country in the right direction and stabilizing the situation.

Well, the real fate should be left entirely to the national referendum, but wouldn’t he be able to give a slight tailwind to the talent he wants?

“So… there’s nothing to hide. To be honest, it’s all for show. The bunkers are completely fake, but if you want, we’ll formally investigate the home country [United States] if you wish. But the trenches and bases will be real, and the runways are air bases that can actually be used. It’s a kind of show of force. It means that a larger war will not break out. So you don’t have to worry.”

The commander of the U.S. Forces in Afghanistan did not give Mohammad a chance to speak.

“And Congress has decided to donate some of the old Paladin self-propelled guns to the Afghan army. The training itself is going on and it’s licensed production, but there’s also a factory, so you can think of it as filling the quantity. Good is good.”

“Wait a minute. Please wait a minute.”

Mohammad couldn’t help but feel dizzy. That’s because the U.S. military was almost unilaterally invading. He thought it was really fortunate that it was a garrison, not an invasion.

“Yes?”

“Can’t we get more armored vehicles?”

Still, we have to get what we can get.