George Bush’S Great America [EN]: Chapter 317

George W. Bush’s Great America – Episode 316

< Episode 316 >

The reason Bush was hesitant to involve the CIA wasn’t particularly complex. First, over-reliance on the CIA could complicate his future plans. Second, the CIA was already stretched thin.

The CIA’s workload had increased proportionally with its budget. The President’s frequent and direct oversight meant they were under pressure to deliver results, whether they liked it or not.

Perhaps the pressure was too intense. There were several instances of false reports stemming from the need to produce results at all costs. As the saying goes, eventually you get caught. One or two slip-ups might be excused as honest mistakes, but repeated offenses led to jail time, not only for those directly involved but also for those who filed the reports.

After that, Bush preferred to avoid involving the CIA whenever possible. This didn’t mean he wouldn’t use them, but this particular matter was critical, making their involvement necessary. While other agencies could be utilized, none possessed the CIA’s level of expertise in this specific area.

“So, the President believes there’s someone pulling the strings behind the scenes that we haven’t identified.”

“But we’ve been monitoring the flow of logistics and money in and out of China for a long time. If something of that magnitude were involved…”

“It’s not money or goods. Then, was it simply a matter of incitement through rhetoric?”

“That’s highly probable.”

The problem was that anyone could incite unrest verbally. Moreover, tracking movements now would require deploying agents into the Chinese territory embroiled in civil war, which was easier said than done. Besides, the reliability of their field agents was questionable.

This assessment was reasonable, considering they hadn’t provided any information relevant to the case. Even aside from that, performance in China had been subpar since the mass replacement of field agents following a large-scale intelligence breach.

“This is a major problem. If we don’t obtain accurate information, the President will go crazy again… no, become enraged.”

Since the order had been given, they needed to produce something.

“The only silver lining is that the budget isn’t lacking. Good! Let’s compile all the information we have so far.”

“Currently, there are six warlord factions that could be called ‘China,’ one of which is the Communist Party, which we are certain is the only one we can rely on.”

Although China was divided based on military districts, the independence movements in Tibet and Xinjiang Uyghur [regions in western China with significant ethnic minority populations] necessitated the creation of a new map.

“Lanzhou and Chengdu are in conflict with India, but the State Department has received assurances from India that Lanzhou and Chengdu—the Chinese side—will not expand or advance unless the Indian mainland is attacked first. Perhaps we should share this information with India.”

“Nanjing and Jinan have formed an alliance. At the request of the Jinan warlord, our air force and navy are stationed in Qingdao to maintain peace. For now, it’s just a split and push in from Korea, but this alone has created a favorable environment for our operations. We should begin recruiting field agents.”

“Nanjing and Jinan? I expected them to submit to the Communist Party, but this is unexpected. We need to revise the infiltration plan for Nanjing. The President was eagerly anticipating Jinan’s surrender to the Communist Party.”

“The Guangzhou warlord has deployed troops to suppress Hong Kong’s autonomy. Whether they disliked being caught between the Communist Party and the warlords, or whether quietly maintaining neutrality became a liability, I don’t know, but fighter jets and bombers are still flying over Hong Kong.”

“What about Macau?”

“Macau seems to have adapted quickly. They were guaranteed autonomy in exchange for a substantial amount of dollars.”

As expected of experts, the readily available information was quickly organized. The problem was that not everyone shared the President’s enthusiasm for overseeing this situation.

“The people of Taiwan are clamoring to restore the glory of the Republic of China. In other words, we could retake Nanjing if we chose to.”

“The President doesn’t want that. Above all, it’s not our concern. Fortunately, this time we’re gathering information, not conducting sabotage. If such an order comes down, we can discuss it then.”

“Every country on the border seems eager to take a shot at the fallen lion. Among them, only Korea, Japan, and India, with whom we share information, are particularly quiet. Well, in India’s case, they listen to us but act independently, but at least the local agents can coordinate to some extent.”

“Looking at this map, it’s like the 19th century.”

Has China ever been dissected like this in the last 100 years? No. This situation resembled ancient China more than modern times.

“The important thing is that this division, which we initially believed was entirely our doing, is only partially our doing. So, where could the individual involved be?”

“They could be inside China, or it could be external intervention.”

“Both are possible.”

“Then we can simply investigate both. We have more than enough budget to avoid focusing on just one area.”

“This is why I like money. Anyway, the most suspicious candidate right now is the Russian military. Above all, I don’t like how quiet they’ve been lately. Our intelligence network is only now reactivating. The problem is that it’s still crude.”

“Then we should focus on expanding and improving the quality of the Russian intelligence network. Putin must be directly involved at this point, so we should try to seduce high-ranking officials.”

“It won’t be easy. All the people who were in collusion with us have been purged.”

“Then let’s cultivate new ones from the lower ranks. Generations are replaced according to the times.”

“That’s a good idea. Then what about inside China? No, even if there was someone, they must have already fled abroad. Still, we need to know who it is.”

If they fled abroad, that’s manageable. There isn’t a single person in the world that the United States can’t catch if it sets its mind to it. But we need to know their identity, right?

“Maybe it’s an organization.”

“If there were such an organization, it would have already caught our attention.”

“Voluntarily. So… couldn’t it be a coincidence?”

“Even if it’s a coincidence, shouldn’t we write it up that way and send it up only after we waste our taxes searching and searching and not even finding a trace?”

“Looking at the current atmosphere, it seems like that’s exactly what’s going to happen.”

Indeed, it was. One might ask, ‘How can you say that without even starting?’ But in reality, the CIA’s current reach was so extensive that you could roughly estimate the cost even without a detailed investigation, simply by assessing the situation. Except for Russia and China, it had a presence in almost every country and region, even in extreme locations like Arctic and Antarctic bases.

To be honest, at this point, it could be argued that it was simply wasting taxpayers’ money, but they couldn’t just leave the overflowing budget untouched. Failing to utilize the budget would also be a waste of taxpayers’ money.

The problem was that the incident occurred in China and Russia, the only gaps in the CIA’s network.

“Don’t our other allies have any information coming in?”

“Even James Bond would be the only one in SIS [Secret Intelligence Service, the UK’s foreign intelligence agency] who could handle this kind of work, right?”

“Ah, damn it. Are you going to back out?”

“Still, can’t we find out anything about Russia?”

“Well, they are on par with us in the Russian field.”

To be precise, the Russian intelligence network had always been superior to the CIA, both before and after, but the CIA also had its pride. And now that their intelligence network had completely collapsed after extracting nuclear bomb-level information at once, comparison wasn’t even possible.

The problem was that SIS wasn’t sharing any important information, even regarding Russia.

SIS was acting unfairly, claiming that their informants were also swept up because of the United States’ tantrum, but no one was fooled. Everyone knew they had an intelligence network remaining.

“If we ask for cooperation, they will move on their own. They are friends who thrive on their gentle pretense and noble pride. If that’s not enough, we can formally request condolences and pressure the UK through the State Department.”

“It’s not an ideal method, but there’s no other way.”

“Then I can relay this to the President.”

Bush, upon receiving the report written in that manner, appeared very satisfied. The most developed aspect of the CIA in the last five years wasn’t its already excellent intelligence capabilities or its training methods, but its ability to satisfy the President, the CIA’s biggest supporter.

“Cooperation with the UK. I see. I’ll handle this myself.”

“Thank you, Mr. President. We will do our best to never disappoint the President and the country.”

“I won’t say much. I expect to see results within 6 months. Can you do it?”

“With this much budget, we can do it within 3 months.”

“That’s a relief. It’s worth increasing the budget for the CIA.”

Bush had been concerned that the enlarged CIA might act independently, especially given his fierce battles with Congress to increase its budget. Fortunately, there was no indication that the CIA was attempting to control the President.

‘The problem is the next president.’

Generally, if someone appears weak, they will be taken advantage of. This was a constant throughout human history, a law of the jungle that had persisted since the dawn of life.

‘No matter how much we try to disguise it with laws and civilization, the fact remains that the powerful are always at the top. Only the criteria for that power change over time.’

Currently, Bush was the standard of that power. George W. Bush, the ‘powerful president,’ was the benchmark.

‘Conversely, if the next president is weak, the CIA will be torn apart by other strengthened departments.’

The problem was that the CIA couldn’t be reduced in size because it was absolutely essential.

‘If necessary, there’s a way to split the department, but that’s a last resort.’

The CIA director, noticing Bush’s sudden silence and serious expression, inquired, “Mr. President?”

“It’s nothing. So… can you find out if there are any movements in Kazakhstan?”

“I understand. It will be done soon.”

There was no way he could dismantle such a useful organization simply because he was worried about the future.

‘For now, I have no choice but to focus on China, right?’