George Bush’S Great America [EN]: Chapter 334

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While the Middle East and China were embroiled in unprecedented chaos, the EU entered a period of relative calm. This wasn’t to say that the EU was without its problems, but rather that it had achieved a state of ‘stability’.

Each country had finalized its assessment of losses from investments in western Iraq, leading to a wave of disarmament. The member states involved in the Middle East were generally strong nations and could absorb the financial hit.

Germany, in particular, celebrated its disengagement from the Middle East and used the opportunity to address its internal issues, especially the refugee crisis, which had become overwhelming, both legally and illegally.

The number of refugees in Germany continued to rise, and these newcomers asserted their rights, sparking resistance from Europeans, including Germans. Many Europeans felt that the major powers were reaping what they had sown, a consequence of their own actions.

Similar tensions simmered in France, though with a greater degree of violence. True to its revolutionary spirit, the French response ranged from fistfights to Molotov cocktails. The scenes resembled something out of Sodom and Gomorrah.

France teetered on the brink of civil unrest. It was considered a period of stability only because the refugees, unable to withstand the intensity of the French protests, were gradually being pushed into neighboring countries.

The enraged French citizens disregarded laws, leading to direct armed conflicts between refugees and citizens, resulting in significant casualties. Faced with such hostility and with other options available, many refugees chose to flee.

As France, previously a major recipient of refugees alongside Germany, began expelling them, other countries faced immense pressure. They forcibly closed their borders, mobilizing military and police forces, leading to the emergence of refugee camps at the borders and a host of related problems.

Countries bickered, shifting responsibility and arguing over jurisdictional boundaries. Some even proposed enacting laws to legally deport refugees.

Regardless of the refugee situation, even in this period of stability, they could no longer afford the consequences of intervening in the Middle East with vague goals of spreading democracy and human rights without any tangible benefits.

Consequently, they had to reduce military spending, which consumed the largest portion of their budgets. This decision dealt a significant blow to the European Integrated Forces, which were in the process of integration.

The joint unit in western Iraq, once the forward base and symbol of integration, had been decimated by western Iraqi rebels. Pressure mounted on soldiers in the mainland to compensate for the losses, but fostering harmony proved difficult.

These soldiers weren’t neighbors or friends; they were foreigners with different customs and backgrounds, making it nearly impossible to live and work together harmoniously.

While friends could choose to spend time with those they got along with, the military offered no such luxury. It was a space where people who disliked each other were forced together and expected to create unity through discipline.

Differences in lifestyle were stark. From hygiene to laundry to diet and dishwashing, countless conflicts arose daily between people of different races.

Even food became a major issue. While human rights considerations demanded that their needs be met to some extent, finding a solution proved challenging. Eventually, the kitchen was privatized, outsourcing the work to the private sector.

This decision created numerous jobs, turning the political arena into a feeding frenzy.

They started by providing halal food for Muslims, but problems soon emerged in the kitchen. Some soldiers had allergies to dairy products, others couldn’t tolerate certain spices, and still others refused to eat red meat due to personal beliefs.

While dietary adjustments could address some of these issues, there was no easy solution for incidents like a drug-addled cook using a kilogram of pepper in the soup, leading to their dismissal—a clear drawback of privatization.

All sorts of accidents occurred in the kitchen.

Yet, ironically, the kitchen was perhaps the most peaceful and harmonious place within the integrated army.

The situation deteriorated to the point where some suggested reverting to the old system, but the higher-ups continued to tout the European Integrated Forces as a symbol of harmony and integration.

The issue of common languages also arose. As they reorganized into an integrated army, moving beyond the existing cooperation system, they designated English, French, and German as the official languages of the integrated army. Soldiers were expected to be proficient in all three.

Fortunately, these languages were commonly taught as second foreign languages or national languages, so it wasn’t an insurmountable problem. Germany and France were the biggest spenders on military matters, and English was the most popular foreign language in both countries.

So, on the ground, it wasn’t a major issue. With no war to fight, even basic body language sufficed for daily interactions in a civilized society. The real problem lay in dealing with official documents, but that could be solved by hiring translators. The political aspect, however, was more complicated.

The current EU has 24 official languages, each member state having submitted one. While some countries didn’t initially suggest one, they quickly did so when prompted, resulting in 24 official languages to ensure diversity.

It would be manageable if only three countries were footing the bill, but that wasn’t the case. Even the UK, despite its limited military spending due to its close ties with the United States, used English as an official language. This situation was bound to cause friction.

Nevertheless, the EU remained relatively peaceful. The existence of numerous problems was nothing new, and in the case of the integrated army, they firmly believed that time would eventually resolve them. This wasn’t entirely wrong. Humans are not inherently incompatible, and with enough time and interaction, they can eventually find common ground.

They were confident that they would achieve unity in about fifty to a hundred years. However, this timeline was not without its risks. A major war involving all countries, requiring a large influx of new recruits, would undo all their progress.

Of course, if such a war were to break out, the disharmony within the integrated army would pale in comparison to the larger crisis facing humanity.

Looking at the EU as a whole, not just the integrated army, it was clearly a period of stability. The occasional ‘EU withdrawal demand protests’ in the UK were easily suppressed by the British government.

Meanwhile, in Greece, which had invested heavily in western Iraq using foreign profits to address domestic issues, a festering problem was quietly growing, but it was still just the calm before the storm.

However, with Europe having relinquished control of the Middle East to the United States, terrorism was gradually declining.

The fact that no bombs had exploded in Berlin for two months was cause for celebration. It was both sad and amusing that the atmosphere was festive simply because there had been no bombings.

The focus of terrorism was shifting across the Atlantic to the United States. The main perpetrators were no longer Middle Eastern individuals but Chinese citizens, often civilians with ambiguous affiliations. They engaged in various acts of terrorism, the most frequent being ‘gun shootings’.

In response, some Americans ignorantly protested the sale of guns to foreigners. Their ignorance stemmed from the fact that it was already illegal for non-citizens or immigrants to legally purchase guns in the United States.

This raised the question: ‘How did a Chinese person visiting as a tourist obtain a gun?’ The answer was simple: there were too many guns in the United States.

Guns could be found in rivers and lakes, and minors could acquire pistols with accessories through illicit channels.

Even a newborn baby in the United States could, through somewhat shady means, obtain assault rifles modified to resemble military weapons for a small ‘fee’. This was why gun shooting incidents never ceased.

The next most common form of terror was biochemical attacks, an extension of the infectious disease attacks that had occurred in Europe. These were still being carried out by Middle Eastern foreigners visiting for travel purposes, but they were largely ineffective due to advancements in quarantine technology and the development of treatments.

Finally, there were bomb attacks, which, despite being the easiest and most effective, were less frequent than expected. Even when they did occur, nine out of ten times they were prevented. This was due to the police’s heightened vigilance and a significantly increased budget.

It was a case of accidentally succeeding. The result was achieved because the parliament and the president, fearing that ‘nuclear warheads’ missing in China might be smuggled into the United States and used in a nuclear attack, worked together for the first time in a long time. Their concern was not just about simple bomb attacks.

In any case, the increased budget and heightened scrutiny of foreigners undoubtedly helped in prevention and arrests, and the declining neoconservatives gained more influence, particularly regarding the ‘Patriot Act’, a nationwide surveillance system they advocated.

Normally, the Gun Association would have intervened, using its financial influence to manipulate the media and suppress the news, but the media’s response was lukewarm.

While news outlets criticized the regime, they were hesitant to confront it directly.

As a result, gun shooting incidents were discussed more frequently, and calls for gun control grew louder than before.

Despite being the land of guns, the United States wasn’t immune to change. If the country moved with determination, things could improve, or worsen.

Furthermore, the president and the Gun Association had a worse relationship than under any previous administration. After ‘that day’ when it was revealed that funds were flowing to Russia, the Gun Association was subjected to a veiled threat. While there was no direct pressure, it was widely expected that the president would take some action against them.

But that didn’t happen.

At least not yet.