George Bush’S Great America [EN]: Chapter 7

“What the hell! This is worse than the Gulf War!”

A sergeant shouted over the roar of the bombs dropping from the bomber.

“Terrible! The older I get, the worse my hearing gets, but why do the bomb sounds get louder as I age? I’m going to lose my hearing!”

“I don’t know about the Northern Alliance or whatever, but they say those guys spilled all the information, making things easier.”

“Cooperation, my ass.”

No one in the Green Berets was naive enough to think they would cooperate if they welcomed democracy. Cooperation and coercion were only one letter apart. Even the rookies knew that.

“Remind us of the overview again, please.”

The integrity of the operation came from thorough preparation.

“First, the Bradleys [M2 Bradley Fighting Vehicle, an American infantry fighting vehicle] will be air-dropped.”

Once the armored vehicles landed in the open space near the city, they would move in first to deal with the remnants left after the air force and cruise missiles had swept through. While they bought time inside, tanks and infantry would be sequentially deployed outside to quickly surround and occupy the city. Then, the CIA and Ranger teams would be dispatched to search every nook and cranny of the city to capture Osama bin Laden, and that’s it!

“Wow, that must have cost a fortune?”

“Thank President Bush. Thanks to him, this war is easy.”

“What happens if we don’t catch him? I mean, what if it’s false information and Osama bin Laden isn’t there?”

“It’s not certain, but they say we’re just pulling out?”

“Pulling out?”

What was that supposed to mean? I knew all about the occupation operation, but I had never heard anything about pulling out.

“They say we’re just quickly replacing the higher-ups in Afghanistan and withdrawing within a week at most.”

“What about the search then?”

“The Middle Eastern countries, shocked and terrified, will surely take care of it.”

Shock and awe. I don’t know who came up with it, but it was a truly fitting name. The world had experienced in the Gulf War what preparations the United States had been making. But this time, the iron fist that the President had arranged was more potent than in the Gulf War.

Once this operation is over, no one in the world will be able to deny that the United States is the country that holds the hegemony of this planet.

“Optimistic, aren’t we?”

“It’s good for us, isn’t it?”

“If the talk about going back is true, that is.”

* * *

“I’ll say it again. Whether Osama bin Laden is here or not, we’re withdrawing within a week at most.”

Rumsfeld’s face twisted horribly. Shouldn’t he at least manage his expression in front of the President? I couldn’t understand how such a man could hold public office for so long.

Okay, let’s say he’s not interested in pleasing the President. Then at least he should do his job properly, shouldn’t he?

“Mr. President, such short-term victories will lead to terrible long-term consequences.”

I barely suppressed the urge to grab him by the collar and scream in his face to stop his bullshit. This was a crucial time. The shock and awe operation was just beginning in Afghanistan, and he was, after all, the Secretary of Defense.

“Mr. President, you seem to be taking the war too lightly. War doesn’t go according to theory.”

“Arrest.”

“Excuse me?”

“It’s not war. It’s not war! It’s an arrest operation, Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld! If we occupy Afghanistan, dozens, hundreds of booby traps will go off every day targeting our troops, and gradually public opinion will turn away from us! Every day, someone’s father, son, unrecognizable, will be shipped back to America in a coffin! I can’t bear to see that!”

“Our troops are overwhelming! Each soldier is armed with millions of dollars worth of advanced equipment and shows an exchange ratio of over 10 to 1. If you don’t like that, carpet bomb them with bombers! We have a mighty capital to maintain and perpetually produce the exhibition [military might]!”

“Advanced equipment is effective when combined with excellent tactics, not with such reckless tactics!”

“How can you be so sure? Did you see the future or something? Who on earth put this strange wind in Your Excellency’s sails!”

It’s because I saw that future, you neoconservative moron.

I wanted to order the CIA to keep a close watch on him, but the CIA was almost entirely under the Vice President’s influence. Of course, they would pretend to listen diligently if I gave an order, but the information that would come into my hands when I really needed it would undoubtedly be documents manipulated to the Vice President’s liking. Terribly, law and order were playing separately in the CIA [meaning the CIA was divided and not functioning properly].

“You can’t project proper influence in the Middle East that way!”

“If I can save even one more citizen! One more soldier! I’ll gladly do it!”

“If we don’t set a proper example now, more citizens! More soldiers! Will die from terrorism!”

“That’s what the arrest operation is for! To prevent anyone, even the leader of Al-Qaeda! From touching us!”

“This, this!”

“Lastly, I am the President of the United States. Not your lackey. Don’t raise your voice in front of me again.”

I was incredibly excited, to the point that I surprised myself. Was I the kind of person who got this excited? Maybe this wasn’t Bush’s disposition. He was like a good, nerdy person. Perhaps the weight of responsibility had intensified his emotional state. At this rate, I might really need some mental treatment, as Rumsfeld said.

“…I apologize, Mr. President.”

Rumsfeld apologized politely, as if he had finished calculating his gains and losses. He was like a viper, except when it came to stories related to hegemony, he lost sight of everything.

Otherwise, how could his anger and excitement subside so quickly? At least, it was a way of conducting himself that I couldn’t imitate.

“Go out and cool your head, Secretary of Defense.”

“Understood.”

Of course, I had no intention of imitating such behavior, and even less of learning it. The only entity that could bend the President of the United States was the people of the United States.

After sending Rumsfeld out and looking around to cool my head, most of them were avoiding eye contact, except for a few. It seemed that there were still people who recognized me as Rumsfeld did, even though I had shouted so much in Congress.

I was about to say something again, feeling frustrated.

Bbrrrring. What stopped my anger was not the bureaucrats’ excuses or the generals’ dissuasion. It was the cheerful ringtone coming from the Vice President’s pocket. At least, there was no sound more anticlimactic than that among the sounds I had heard today.

“Mr. President, I’m sorry, but.”

I looked at the Vice President’s face. I didn’t know whose call it was, but I thought I could at least tell what kind of call it was, so I carefully observed his expression. But how could he have such an iron face that there was no change in his expression? He always liked to speak quietly, and the same was true in his personal life.

“Mr. Vice President, you may take the call.”

“Thank you, Mr. President.”

* * *

Cheney knew this unregistered phone number well. Cheney ignored the loudly ringing cell phone and picked up the landline, entering an office number.

“Don.”

Don was short for Donald, and the person on the other end of the phone was Donald Rumsfeld.

「The situation is not good.」

“You weren’t yourself earlier.”

Rumsfeld was Cheney’s mentor and accomplice, and they knew each other’s hands well. That’s why Cheney respected Rumsfeld as much as possible.

「We have to occupy Iraq no matter what!」

“Let’s wait a little longer. If we move rashly, we’ll make mistakes. A gap, no matter how well repaired, will eventually open up.”

「No! At this rate, everything will be over as early as today! At the latest, in three days! Unless another terrorist attack occurs on the mainland, we can never get our hands on the Middle East! The era of high oil prices that is coming cannot be overcome with the power of the North American continent alone! That brat doesn’t know anything!」

“Don, you know it all happened in a week, so there was nothing we could do.”

The war, which they had been thinking of proceeding slowly, thinking it would be at least two weeks, broke out too early. Under the current interpretation of the law, it was not illegal, but it was more than enough to become a decades-long mud fight.

「Damn it, damn it. Damn it!」

「We can’t leave America’s future in the hands of a brat. If not now, America will suffer for decades, holding its breath in an oil drum [dependent on foreign oil]!」

“Don?”

「I think we’ll have to use that plan.」

“I can’t participate in that plan. Everything is full of holes, and the risk of failure is too great. Waiting for a terrorist attack to occur domestically is stable in every way. If you want, we can arrange it.”

「What if the President finds out?」

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. The plan we made is solid. It’s not something that an ignorant president can penetrate.”

「Haven’t you noticed? Other fools may not know, but I believe that you and I have definitely noticed.」

Few people were properly aware of the President’s change, but Rumsfeld was convinced.

「That the President has changed.」

Cheney nodded unconsciously. Cheney became Vice President only because Bush Jr. saw the performance and experience of Bush Sr. and recommended him as a running mate. That’s why Bush usually respected Cheney when it was just the two of them, but in the past week, Bush Jr.’s eyes and attitude… Yes, it was like treating his political opponent.

「It’s not a political decision or enlightenment. His personality has completely changed. Was the terror that shocking?」

Clearly, the terror itself was shocking. If bullets flew in America, they were American bullets. Not foreign bullets. Bullets fired from within the country. Even if they did fly, they thought it would be a superpower from the Cold War era like Russia or China, but who would have imagined that a third country would stab the heart of the United States in the 21st century?

“But what’s important now is not the President’s change. Don, I’ll say it again. That plan is too dangerous.”

「Dick, there are times when you have to risk your life for your country.」

“Is that your belief?”

「Belief. Belief! That’s it! Belief! This is my belief!」

“Don. …Don?”

The phone hung up.

Cheney closed his eyes. The Capitol Building of his younger days seemed to flash before his eyes. When he was Rumsfeld’s aide. What he said when he asked him about his beliefs made the current Richard Bruce Cheney.

“There is no belief. There is only power.”

At least he was a capable realist in his younger days.

“He’s old. Rumsfeld. He’s too old.”

* * *

“Chief of Staff.”

“Yes, Mr. President.”

“Is what I ordered going well?”

“Yes, Your Excellency. It was a little late because we were proceeding secretly, but we met all the deadlines except for one.”

“What is it?”

“It’s more difficult to find collaborators than expected for the Republican Party server issue.”

The Chief of Staff bowed his head exactly 15 degrees, asking for forgiveness for the delay in the work’s progress. His behavior was more reminiscent of a medieval butler than a Chief of Staff.

“No, no. You’ve done more than I expected. Frankly, I would have accepted it if you had only done half of it.”

My words were not empty words. He brought more than I expected. This was not a matter of doing the job well or not. The reason why he did not play a proper role in the Bush administration was because George W. Bush trusted and relied more on the Vice President, a member of the neoconservative group, than on his own Chief of Staff. That’s why his skills were never highlighted in the news, textbooks, or anywhere else during the Bush Jr. administration.

His position was Chief of Staff, but how could he show his skills when the President did not trust him?

“Was there a shortage of budget?”

“The country’s donation channels are always open. I borrowed a hand from some friends I know.”

“Ah, you have good friends. Did you incur any debts with that?”

“Their debts are gone.”

“You’re lucky. You bought the favor of the President of the United States by collecting small debts.”

“It’s an honor.”

“Then I’ll give you the opportunity to exclusively purchase debts in addition to favors. What will you do?”

“Just give me the order.”

“Actually, this is not a problem to talk about now, but the sooner the better.”

I was very worried about whether I should bring this up in the current situation. However, I couldn’t bear it because I thought the later I did, the more damage I would suffer. Besides, Andrew Card, the Chief of Staff, was the only person in this White House that I could completely trust. Who else would I talk to about this if not him?

“Investigate the reserves of shale gas and oil throughout this country and find a way to extract them efficiently. Anyway, the Congress will discuss it after the arrest operation is over.”

“Shale?”

“Experts may be a little embarrassed, but I believe there is still a lot of oil left in North America. An enormous amount of oil that cannot be compared to the Middle East.”

“I hope so.”

“And personally deliver this document to the Secretary of State. Secretly.”

“Secretly. I understand.”

Chief of Staff Card smiled satisfactorily. He had every reason to. He came in as Chief of Staff thinking of his father Bush’s affection, but when he opened it, he only had to deal with the Vice President, and all his words were ignored. He must have felt disgusted with the Vice President, who was gradually seizing power, and before he knew it, that disgust had reached George W. Bush, the son of his friend and master. However, he performed everything for eight years without a single complaint and even advised his successor on the correct attitude toward the Chief of Staff.

He was the perfect person for my taste. So I will entrust him with a lot of work. So Card had every reason to be so excited. He had been almost alienated, being there or not, and just when he was about to feel disgusted with his master, the master entrusted him with the beginning of the counterattack, so how touching was this?

“The bombing is over, so now it’s the beginning.”

All the preparations I could make were over. All that remained was to see whether the world would play in my hands or whether I would play on Buddha’s palm [be controlled by fate].