George Bush’S Great America [EN]: Chapter 324

George W. Bush’s Great America – Episode 323 (324/377)

< Episode 323 >

The Middle East had regained a semblance of stability, however brief, allowing Bush to focus his attention squarely on China.

Then came a report so outlandish that Bush could scarcely believe his ears. It described a situation akin to civil war erupting in Brazil, instigated by none other than the enraged Brazilian president. The almost unbelievable report detailed Brazilian forces and various gangs locked in fierce urban combat.

Furthermore, the Brazilian government formally requested the United States’ cooperation in capturing cartel members and gang criminals who had fled overseas.

“This situation is truly a nightmare.”

Upon receiving the report, Bush sighed, a sound heavy enough to sink the floor beneath him.

National governance is often described as a matter of focus and choice. A government, as an institution, makes what it believes are the best decisions within the constraints of a limited budget and workforce.

But what happens when the areas demanding attention outnumber those that can be safely ignored? Should the scope of administration—the breadth of work undertaken—be reduced? The answer, it seemed, was staring him right in the face.

‘There’s hardly a corner of the globe where the Stars and Stripes aren’t flying. I feel like I’m commanding the Earth Defense Force.’

From Asia to Africa, Europe to the Americas, American troops were stationed virtually everywhere, save for the Arctic, Antarctic, and Australia. Of course, nuclear submarines unofficially patrolled the Arctic and Antarctic, but those weren’t stationed troops, so they didn’t count.

The crucial point was that the United States, if it chose to, could deploy military force anywhere on Earth within a day.

“This is a damn nuisance. What’s your take, Chief of Staff?”

“Cooperation with the Brazilian government is essential, in my opinion. Most importantly, it doesn’t require deploying troops, so there’s no reason to refuse. However, if we actually hand these criminals over to Brazil, there’s a high probability that the Brazilian government won’t adhere to international law, let alone their own constitution.”

The fate of those captured with American assistance was all too predictable. If they were lucky, they’d be sentenced to life imprisonment. More likely, they would be subjected to archaic and brutal torture, forced to divulge information until their last breath. And that would only apply to the small-time criminals. The real kingpins would undoubtedly slip through the cracks.

“I’m not one to interfere unnecessarily. I wouldn’t make extreme statements like ‘Criminals have no human rights!’—at least not when we’re talking about ordinary people. But their nationality is Brazilian, unless they hold dual citizenship, which would complicate matters.”

Even if Bush intervened, Congress would likely push to hand them over to Brazil anyway. American prisons were already overcrowded, and spending taxpayer money to house foreign criminals was a hard sell.

Of course, if Bush put his foot down, Congress wouldn’t be able to override him, but there was no compelling reason to do so, was there?

“Let’s proceed with full cooperation with Brazil. On another note, the map of China is changing daily, but our champion, the Communist Party, isn’t making much headway.”

The fighting remained so intense that predicting the victor was impossible. The only significant development on Chinese soil was China’s enticement of Korea with a piece of Manchuria as bait.

Setting aside the administrative challenges of absorbing North Korea, if Korea missed this opportunity, the chance to expand its territory might be lost forever. All the countries of East Asia were in a similar position. China would inevitably rise again as a major power, and no matter which East Asian country seized territory by force, China would not readily accept it.

Even if China tolerated it, Russia wouldn’t stand idly by. Therefore, the Chinese proposal would have been a tempting offer that Korea would find difficult to refuse. Considering that, Korea had not yet formally announced its participation in the war, but a decision was expected within a week.

‘So, it’s Korea, not us. Does that mean they won’t tolerate any further American intervention?’

The Communist Party’s outreach to Korea was partly due to the Korean military’s capabilities, but also likely stemmed from a wariness of American influence growing beyond what the Communist Party was comfortable with.

‘Even if that’s not the primary reason, the fact that they bothered to enlist Korea’s help probably has something to do with their proximity….’

The reason they specifically chose Korea, rather than a Southeast Asian country that would be ideal for attacking the warlords’ rear, was likely due to India.

Southeast Asian countries had to consider both India and China, so if it was merely ‘intervention’ in the Chinese civil war, the Korean military, which only had to be mindful of the United States on the diplomatic front, would be a better choice.

‘If the situation deteriorates, they might even bring in the Japanese Self-Defense Forces [Japan’s military force]. In the guise of volunteer soldiers.’

After all, among the potential bargaining chips were the disputed Senkaku Islands [a group of uninhabited islands controlled by Japan, but claimed by China and Taiwan]. Even just borrowing naval power would be a significant win for the Communist Party.

And, contrary to Bush’s assumptions, similar sentiments were circulating within Japan. They needed to prepare to dispatch troops immediately if China requested it, or even actively intervene in China now.

Above all, the expectation of profiting from the war, as they had during the Korean War, had turned into disappointment. A land as vast as China could be completely self-sufficient. It might have been different when industrial capacity was at its lowest, but China was no longer so devastated that it couldn’t adequately supply even its military needs.

Instead, there were concerns about being unable to fully utilize the vast quantities of military supplies being produced in the munitions factories. They were short on manpower, but not on equipment.

The only chronic shortage was food, but even that was being mitigated as soldiers were constantly rotated, and untouched meals were left behind, ensuring that there was no shortage of food on the front lines themselves. However, there were definitely reports of civilians starving for more than three days, particularly in the Lanzhou-Chengdu region, which was less pronounced in Guangzhou-Nanjing. The main reason was that the maritime blockade had not been fully implemented, and the second reason was that the land was not as barren.

“So, how’s the investigation progressing?”

The investigation he was referring to concerned the almost simultaneous coups by young officers in each warlord faction. Bush personally hoped for a report indicating some progress, but the Chief of Staff’s response was disappointing.

“Frankly, it’s still stalled. According to the reports, they operated more secretly than we imagined, or perhaps there was no such organization to begin with. It’s a series of coincidences, but frankly, the latter sounds like an excuse from incompetent people.”

“Do we need more time? Or more budget?”

“If I had to choose, it would be the former. No, it has to be the former. If they claim they need more budget for that, it would be cheaper to start a small country with the CIA’s budget.”

The NSC’s [National Security Council] budget was currently comparable to the annual budget of a small nation. The power they wielded was immense, and the only reason that power wasn’t being turned against the United States was because of Bush.

“A country dedicated to espionage, espionage, and more espionage. A truly amusing thought. Tell them to bring me an answer within three months. I have no intention of prolonging this war for more than three months.”

“I will relay that.”

Ending the war, which was currently at a stalemate, within three months was not just a simple ambition or a reckless challenge. Bush was determined to end the war, regardless of the means. If China fragmented further, it would only lead to another, even larger conflict.

‘No matter how I look at it, those Slavic bastards are suspicious.’

From the Tsarist era to the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation, Russia was always meddling in affairs, regardless of its own internal situation. Their current silence was so unusual it was almost comical.

And if another country had secretly instigated the coups, would they simply stand by after setting things in motion? Either the warlords were still too strong and the timing wasn’t right, or the conflict was so intense that even the US military had hesitated to intervene, or they were unable to intervene for some other reason.

There were numerous reasons why they might be unable to intervene further, but after shaking them down this thoroughly, even the smallest detail should have surfaced, but nothing had, damn it.

It wasn’t that absolutely nothing had come to light, but it was just scandals involving innocent high-ranking politicians, or information on how and where to hide slush funds. Or all sorts of top-secret information classified as first-class in various countries, but that wasn’t what was important now.

The information Bush sought was related to the Chinese warlord generational change coups, but not a single word, let alone a line, had emerged. And in the end, suspicion fell on Russia, which had a relatively weak intelligence network.

And this wasn’t just a baseless suspicion. Even if one dismissed the idea that ‘Russia can’t be this quiet!’, there was a reasonable basis for suspicion.

There was circumstantial evidence that Vladimir Putin, the head of Russia, was not the type to remain passive after Bush had repeatedly undermined him. Rather, there was a high probability that he was meticulously recording every slight, as if they were deposits in a savings account, and calculating the interest on them.

‘The problem is that if Russia really intervened, they wouldn’t do it so subtly.’

If they were going to act in earnest, they would deploy the military. However, as if to dispel Bush’s suspicions, the troops on the border showed no significant movement. Moreover, the deployment was so textbook defensive that it seemed excessive to observers.

‘Now there’s a war on every continent except Australia.’

Africa was practically synonymous with war, with separatist civil wars erupting frequently. It was rare to find a year without conflict. In fact, there was a war in Australia. The Great Emu War and the ongoing war against rabbits, which had been raging for 170 years, was eating away at Australia’s budget.

‘Well, at least it’s not a war with humans.’

With that thought, Bush rose from his seat. Given the current global situation, he couldn’t afford to focus solely on China.

“If we don’t pay proper attention to the Middle East, something big is bound to happen.”