[Chapter 541: The Negotiations Break Down]
These days, it was clear that Americans had no intention of achieving shared prosperity. They were focused on making the world more chaotic. At least that was what the CIA thought as they raced down this path of self-destruction.
At the end of July, just three days after William White received a call from George W. Bush, the big guy in the desert significantly escalated troop deployments along the Kuwaiti border while also requesting a meeting with the U.S. ambassador, April.
This meeting essentially signified a showdown. The parties in attendance expressed optimism about the negotiations, and the unrest at the border seemed to the outside world more like intimidation.
"Master, I'm afraid this time there won't be any good results. According to our insider reports, Saddam is serious about taking action."
"Huh? From what I know, we've sent warships over. Is Saddam out of his mind?"
Tanner shook his head and chuckled bitterly; he just couldn't understand it. If you needed to intimidate someone, you should at least send over a couple of aircraft carriers. If money was tight, then at least send two battleships; if worse came to worst, you should be deploying a couple of cruisers.
"A patrol vessel? What the heck is that? How come I didn't know there were this level of warships?"
"Master, this thing looks more like a toy for the Coast Guard."
"Okay, now I'm certain that someone intends to scheme. Sending such a toy out likely signals weakness."
"Officially, they're saying they're worried about provoking unnecessary conflict."
"Ha! Did they get kicked in the head by a mule? The big guy is a bully who picks on the weak. If you want him to back down, you need to send three aircraft carriers over. If you want to negotiate properly, you better bring some cash. A coastal defense ship? You can't even scare off the hoodlums with that."
William White found himself speechless at the Washington's magical operation. It felt to him that those people weren't there to mediate, but rather to stir things up.
In the grand scheme of things, the biggest jerk was still Saddam. Out of nowhere, he had started blaming Kuwait for establishing military bases in Iraq, using the Iran-Iraq War as an excuse. Kuwait hardly had any troops; why would they occupy his territory?
Seeing that his claims hadn't gained any support, he shamelessly declared that as a buffer between other desert nations and Iran, Kuwait had contributed to all desert nations during the Iran-Iraq War, thus Kuwait should be exempted from Iraq's war loans.
If Kuwait persisted on its path, they'd be forced to take further action.
...
The sudden shift in the negotiations had Kuwait sensing danger. They didn't know what was happening, but before this, Saddam's demands had been outrageous yet not overtly threatening.
William White remained relaxed, unaware that chaos had completely erupted in the desert region. Faced with the accusations and threats from the Americans, Saddam's negotiating team was decidedly unfriendly.
After receiving the latest news, William White could only chuckle ruefully. It seemed that the only innocent party caught in the crossfire was poor Kuwait.
As soon as the negotiations ended, Kuwait's first thought was not to seek help. From their perspective, even if Uncle Sam was willing to assist, the aid would likely be too little, too late. Unless they could get a big weapon directly.
Well, let's keep our mouths shut and let the important folks take their leave first.
Somebody asked about the military. Isn't it a good idea to at least put up a symbolic resistance?
Ha! Their military, to be honest, maybe could handle catching thieves and stuff; but resistance? That was just wishful thinking.
...
The CIA was taken aback as well; they had considered many possibilities but hadn't anticipated a mass exodus.
Come on, doesn't this amount to outright surrender?
Yes, the U.S. could teach Saddam a lesson, but that still required mobilization. If ground warfare got bogged down, they'd find a way to settle the problem more easily.
But right now? The U.S. was also getting a bit jittery.
The top priority for the CIA was to dismantle OPEC. They determined how much oil should actually be sold; it had to be their call.
Secondly, they came to stir the pot. If they could get the factions fighting each other, that would be perfect. If several key figures were killed, it could turn into a mortal feud.
This guy surrendered outright!
What kind of game could possibly continue now?
If Saddam helped a faction come to power, no one could do anything about it.
The CIA was overthinking the situation. They believed they could simply wipe out the country and then set up a democratic election - that was the American way. But Saddam didn't have the credentials for that kind of maneuver; he was just a desperate, broke bandit without such complex ideas.
"Sir, it looks like fighting isn't going to happen. Isn't this just pathetic?"
"Tanner, think about the French in the past -- what's the outcome when you push your people to the brink?"
"While I can't argue with that, we shouldn't generalize. All things considered, holding out for a month or two shouldn't be impossible. Saddam's just a bully with feet of clay."
"Ah, it's not the same; you've got to consider the population base. The country is too small, with too few people, but they happen to have a lot of cash. The main point is, their language and religious beliefs are the same."
William White's final words hit close to home. Saddam, if not for his aim to directly annex, could have found himself on the winning side. Imagine sending away the royal family members and handing the country back to the locals.
Kuwait was certainly going to have some entertaining developments. Even if they could reclaim power in the end, it would come at a steep price.
Cases like this were far too common in the desert region; after all, hadn't Saddam maneuvered his way in just like that?
"Tanner, forget everything else; let's inform our people to evacuate immediately."
"Master, it might not be easy to leave right now."
"A place this small, we can drive away. We just need to get out of this trouble zone. I reckon a war could break out at any moment."
William White felt very depressed; their business squabbles didn't matter. The economy, which had just shown signs of improvement, was about to take a nosedive again. The upcoming acquisitions were not going to be easy either.
...
"Filson, war is on the horizon. We might not be able to acquire any oil companies in the short term. By the way, we can boost our production a little."
"Sir, if that's the case, military stocks should perform well. Should we get involved?"
"Ah, it's tough. Just today or tomorrow, buy what you can, but chasing highs makes no sense. Here's hoping the war doesn't escalate. If it drags on, the U.S. economy will start sliding again."
Filson couldn't fathom how the boss had come to such conclusions; to him, fighting in this day and age was downright foolish.
The Soviets couldn't even look after themselves, yet who dared to stir up trouble? That was practically asking for trouble. Without the Soviets to keep them in check, there weren't many left who could go up against the U.S.
If the U.S. were to punish the monkeys now, it wouldn't matter what jungle it was. So it was said, starting the wrong war at the wrong time wasn't just a saying.
William White believed that if fighting broke out now, the Soviets would be too preoccupied to care. The fate of the monkeys could hinge on just a moment's decision.
*****
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