George Bush’S Great America [EN]: Chapter 341

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“What the fuck.”

It was a truly rare, unfiltered curse from Bush. He usually used roundabout ways to curse, or consciously and deliberately uttered them, but this was probably the first time this year that a blatant curse word had come out.

Bush glared at the report in his hand as if he wanted to tear it to shreds or chew it up. But the letters didn’t rearrange, and the content didn’t change; the report still read ‘Cartel Cooperation Request.’

“They’ll dispose of the drugs first, and then ask us to help them in return? Have you ever seen such fucking bastards?”

Indeed. They were exactly ‘fucking bastards,’ no more, no less. Tempting him with an offer that scratched exactly where it itched, asking for a guarantee of support—it couldn’t be more infuriating.

“Frankly, it’s not a bad offer right now. Even if we can stabilize Colombia and reduce the influx of drugs in exchange for secretly helping with a mere regime change, it would be a great achievement. Of course, they might go back on their word when they’re done, but then we can just go to war, right?”

And the Chief of Staff added, “Of course, war is unlikely to happen in our generation at least.”

“This is diplomatically the worst. Our principle is ‘We do not negotiate with terrorists.’ Did you forget? Now they’re trying to make me succumb with just a sweet bait. Me! This country!”

The report flew. Thrown with all his might, filled with anger, the report crashed into the wall with a roar, then scattered in all directions like a popped balloon.

“But isn’t it also true that it’s one of the easiest solutions right now? It would be a great advantage for the next Colombian government to receive our support. Anyway, our stance has always been to condone dictatorships or whatever, as long as they’re useful, right?”

Of course, there’s always a price to pay for something easy. Even in a simple game, the sense of accomplishment is diminished on the easy difficulty; there’s no way there wouldn’t be a price for something easy in reality.

“Instead, America will have to live with the yoke of dishonor until the day the Stars and Stripes [the flag of the United States] burn and disappear! I don’t care what happens to my reputation! It’ll just be recorded as a mistake in my later years anyway!”

It was already quite late for America to pretend to be clean, given the country’s origins, but at least people should remember the years between 2001 and 2008 as perfect. The perfection here doesn’t mean being moral and clean. It meant not leaving behind any ‘obstacles.’ It should be remembered as a period of solving problems, not creating them.

The reason Bush was so focused on resolving the civil war in China in a short period was solely for that reason.

“But the burden that America has to bear is so heavy that it can’t even be compared to my reputation! I can’t lessen it, but you’re telling me to add more burden on top of it?”

“So, should we pretend that exploded report never existed?”

Of course, Bush wanted to shout ‘Yes!’ right away, but the problem was that he didn’t know what they would do if he refused.

It wouldn’t cause significant damage to Bush or America right now, but in the long run, relations between Colombia and the United States would be strained. As they were acting like this, it was no exaggeration to say that Colombia was practically in their hands.

Peace. The facade is good. Burning drugs and weapons is good too. But are they really burning everything? They’ll probably stuff some of the weapons and drugs into secret bunkers, and just burn some cheap weapons or drugs. The burned drug fields can be cultivated again, and the weapons can be bought again or taken out of the bunkers.

“No, no. No. But the bait is too big to ignore.”

That was right. If it were any other time, Bush would have dismissed it as nonsense and thrown the report out of sight, but the reason he was getting so exaggeratedly and excessively angry without readily doing so was, as the Chief of Staff said, because the bait was too tempting.

“I’m probably not the only one thinking this.”

This pro-American regime bait was something that any American would think about at least once. Knowing that they would follow like loyal dogs as long as they maintained power, it was a bait that he desperately wanted to bite.

“I’ll have to have a fight with Congress to reject this.”

“In what way?”

“I don’t know! Either way, if you truly want to drink from the poisoned chalice and survive, you have to prepare!”

The ordeal that came to Bush was not the end of it. The next report made Bush, already in an excited state, even more agitated. Bush had to physically experience the saying that his blood was running in reverse.

“Our drones have a fatal flaw that wasn’t discovered during development? Do I have to come to the Pentagon because of this kind of problem?”

“Mr. President, it’s all just rumors. As you know, the media is just a bunch of morons hungry for scoops.”

“The media’s tricks… I won’t say much, so listen carefully.”

“Yes, Mr. President.”

“Depending on what you say now, the time I return to the White House will be different.”

Bush glared at the people present, but they didn’t budge, as if they had done nothing wrong, worthy of being called veterans who had gone through thick and thin. That made Bush even more unpleasant.

“Then let’s start with an explanation of why as many as 18 drones deployed on the aircraft carrier fell into the sea.”

“Originally, landing on an aircraft carrier is quite difficult, and not being able to land due to the pilot’s lack of skill happens more often than you think. This is due to inexperienced pilots operating the drones recklessly, and at the time, a large number of rookie recruits were created to carry out operations in Iraq.”

“So, it’s the fault of the inexperienced pilot. Is that what you’re saying?”

“That’s right.”

“So, it’s my fault?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“Do you think I’m stupid? There’s no way I wouldn’t know that the people put into the drones aren’t rookies! It’s just that the number of rookies has increased!”

Indeed, that was the case. Moreover, all the drones that fell into the sea were VTOLs [Vertical Take-Off and Landing aircraft]. Conscious of the F-35, which would replace the Harrier in the near future, and since the VTOL drones were also from Lockheed Martin, he ordered the development in advance, thinking that technology sharing would be possible. Bush was well aware that the ‘VTOL’ technology was difficult, so he gave it a sufficient development period.

But somehow, it was developed quickly, and it was miraculously completed before joining the Iraq War. And the result was a loss of 18 out of 30 units. In this case, it was one of two things. Either there was a defect in this drone that was seriously difficult even for skilled soldiers, or there was a defect in the VTOL technology itself.

“Okay, good. That’s what the Navy says.”

There was no clear evidence yet, and the investigation was less advanced. Bush was only understanding it through reports, not seeing it with his own eyes, so he couldn’t push it strongly. However, what he would say next was something Bush had experienced firsthand.

“Then now it’s time for the Army to answer why the M2001 Crusader self-propelled howitzer is clearly different from the specifications. You said the maximum road speed was 80km/h and the firing rate was 13 rounds per minute, right? Why is it 55km/h and 10 rounds?”

“We lowered the specifications somewhat in the mass production process to ensure more stability. What is required in the field is not an excellent weapon, but a suitable weapon that does not break down even if it is used roughly. No matter how excellent the performance is, if you sacrifice safety to maintain that performance, it’s not worth it.”

“Good. Perfect answer. There’s nothing to criticize. Then that might be the case.”

“Thank you, Mr. President.”

Behind the general’s brazen face, who judged that he had escaped the crisis, there was a hint of relief.

“But why did I find out about that just before deployment?”

“So… the report went up last week.”

“The report says this. I’ll read it to you as it is, General. There are minor changes to the specifications, which are minimal measures to increase the stability of the M2001 Crusader and make it more suitable for the field.”

“That’s exactly what I said.”

“Where exactly is it minor? 3 rounds, 3 rounds! 3 rounds out of 10 self-propelled howitzers is 30 rounds! Do you know where I found out about this? I found out by riding and operating the M2001 Crusader myself! Make sure this never happens again!”

“Excuse me? What did you ride?”

“The M2001 Crusader self-propelled howitzer.”

“If I understand correctly…”

“I rode and operated the M2001 Crusader self-propelled howitzer myself. I consumed a total of 120 rounds of M982 Excalibur guided shells and drove 20 miles on the road and 50 miles off-road. Is that enough?”

To be exact, he was coming from finishing the test before coming to the Pentagon.

“I haven’t heard anything about that. And the President has tank experience-”

“You’ll hear about it soon. It happened just 2 hours ago. And would I have operated the tank alone?”

“No. I will take measures to ensure that this never happens again.”

“If you know, at least start the damn modification work to my satisfaction. I’ll give you exactly 6 months, no more, no less.”

“6 months? Mr. President? It’s dangerous to set it at 6 months!”

“General! Who are you?”

“Yes?”

“Aren’t you a soldier?”

“That’s right.”

“Then do as you’re told! If you handle things like this again, not only you, but all your friends who condoned this situation will take off their clothes from top to bottom and rot in prison for the rest of their lives!”

It was a threat that wouldn’t work for other presidents. He could make one or two people in this Pentagon take off their clothes, but no matter what, the president couldn’t throw everyone from top to bottom into prison without exception.

But this president could. Look at that crazy behavior full of power and madness. He thought he would just take a few soldiers or officers and watch a question-and-answer session or a test, but what is he talking about, riding a self-propelled howitzer himself and even operating it?

“I… I understand. I will take measures to ensure that this never happens again.”

“Lastly, the Air Force.”

“Yes?”

The Air Force general, who was secretly gloating and laughing at the other generals who were being grilled, was startled. As far as he knew, there were no such things in the Air Force. Of course, there might be one or two minor irregularities that he was not aware of, but would the president even be aware of that?

“Surely there isn’t a similar situation with the F-22, is there?”

“Absolutely not! The F-22 is the pride of the U.S. Air Force and an invincible fighter! Whether it’s an enemy missile, sabotage, a spy, or corruption, absolutely nothing can affect the F-22!”

“Excellent answer. There will be a place where that F-22 will be used soon. So try to maintain the production volume as planned.”

“Thank you, Mr. President!”

“But… isn’t the F-22 too expensive?”

“It certainly is, but with that aircraft alone, we can perfectly secure air superiority.”

“But wouldn’t the F-15 and F-16 have some difficulties in securing air superiority in future battlefields? There isn’t enough budget to increase the number of F-22s.”

The Air Force general reluctantly agreed. Whatever the truth or the facts, the answer the president wanted was probably ‘Yes.’