Chapter 289: Wielding the big stick of humanitarianism

After dinner that night, Zhou Ming proposed his own oil-for-food plan to Majid, who was stunned after hearing it.

'Mr. Zhou Ming, I know that the US military is currently besieging Iraq, and it will be very difficult to transport oil directly from here. Using the oil-for-food programme will allow you to do so under the banner of humanitarianism, and it seems to be the best solution at this stage. However, if we pay for oil with food, I'm afraid other families will be even less likely to agree,' said Majid.

Zhou Ming laughed. How could he not hear the unspoken meaning in Majid's words? What other family doesn't agree? Obviously, he here disagrees, but since he can't directly tell me, he can only use other families as a shield.

'So you think it would be best if there was a way to pay you directly in US dollars, right?' asked Zhou Ming.

Majid nodded eagerly and said, 'Of course, if it's not in US dollars, it's fine if it's in gold or other jewellery.'

'I see,' Zhou Ming nodded quietly and then asked, 'So, Majid, on behalf of the President, please answer me one question first. There are currently three businessmen in Iraq: one deals in gold and jewellery, one in oil, and one in food. Who do you think can make the most money?'

Faced with this question, Majid answered without hesitation: 'Of course it's the gold and jewellery business, it's the most profitable industry in the world!'

Zhou Ming shook his head, which surprised Majid a little. He then answered, 'Then it's the oil business. After all, the price of crude oil futures around the world is constantly rising due to the Gulf War, so it's the perfect time to do oil business.'

Zhou Ming still shook his head, and Majid was at a loss: 'Could it be that doing the food business can make more money? How could that be? Although I have never been in the food business, I know that it is an industry with very low prices and very low profits. How could it be more profitable than the gold and jewellery or oil businesses? Mr Zhou Ming, what you are saying doesn't seem to make sense.

'In fact, the standard answer to this question is that you can make money in any business if it meets market demand. Otherwise, if your products are not selling because they are not in demand, what use is it to make a high profit?'

Zhou Ming threw this question at Majid, and then continued, 'So let's analyse the current situation in Iraq. What is the market most in need of? First, there is gold jewellery. Their value is indeed very high, but now that Iraq is at war, the vast majority of Iraqi civilians can't even afford to eat, let alone buy gold jewellery.

'Then there's oil. The current futures price of oil is soaring, which seems very profitable, but that's for other countries. As for Iraq, with the US's total oil embargo in place, can even one single tanker ship the oil out? If even oil cannot be shipped out of Iraq, there is no trade, so what benefit can there be in such a business?'

Zhou Ming continued, 'Finally, there's food. I think, Mr. President Majid, you can send someone you trust to visit the people and see what the current demand for food is among ordinary Iraqis, and you will understand what is really making money.'

Listening to Zhou Ming, Majid frowned and muttered to himself, 'Indeed, the supply of lamb chops and beef in the kitchen is getting less and less. I haven't even been late for fresh beef for a long time, and it's basically frozen meat.'

'If you took this frozen meat to the market and sold it, I think you could still get a lot of money for it. After all, the average Iraqi still has money in his pocket, but he can't buy food anymore.' Zhou Ming said, 'And compared to food, the shortage of medicine is also a huge predicament that Iraq is currently facing. Especially compared to the low price of food, I believe medicine is a commodity that Iraqi families are more willing to hoard.'

Seeing that Majid seemed to be hesitating, Zhou Ming finally said, 'Do you think that a family that controls the oil or a family that controls the lifeblood of the people can better sit in the position of ruler?'

Majid then made up his mind: 'Mr. Zhou Ming, I understand. No matter what the other families think, at least my Al-Husseini family absolutely supports the Oil-for-Food Programme!'

Zhou Ming gave Majid a thumbs-up: 'I believe this will be a wise choice!'

'Another thing is that after a long period of air raids, the US army finally launched a full-scale attack on Basra, and this time they took Isla in just half a day,' said Majid.

Zhou Ming nodded and said, 'This is not surprising. After all, the US military is considered a powerful country, and it definitely will not allow itself to suffer a second defeat in the same place. It is conceivable that they must have made adequate preparations for this attack. It would be unwise to fight head-on against a strong opponent that is well prepared. It is only natural that General Zou Yue chose to retreat proactively.'

'But Islah is less than 10 kilometres from Basra, and it is the southern gateway to Basra. Losing Islah would put Basra in danger, and it is Iraq's only seaport city!' Majid said anxiously.

Zhou Ming could understand Majid's feelings very well. After all, if Basra was lost, US aircraft carriers could sail directly up the Tigris River. The US Navy was already having such a impact on Iraq. If the US Navy enters the river, it will be absolutely devastating for Iraq. Ma Jide can hardly think of any other solution except surrender.

Zhou Ming, however, patted Majid on the shoulder and said to him, 'I don't think we need to worry too much, because if the US army wanted to, they would have already launched a full-scale attack on Basra. Now they are just delaying in Islah, I'm afraid they are worried about the terrain in Basra. Since Basra is densely covered in water networks and swamps, it is difficult for armoured troops to deploy, so the US military is worried that the disaster in Iraq will repeat itself.

'But if the US forces are allowed to advance a little in Basra, they can also use time to take over the whole of Basra,' said Majid.

'So as you said, this is subject to the availability of time, and this time can allow us to do a lot of things,' said Zhou Ming.

In fact, the day before Zhou Ming convinced Majid, major American media outlets simultaneously published the same photo: it was of a skinny Iraqi child crouching on a rubbish on a rubbish heap, gnawing on a piece of mouldy bread, while behind him was an equally skinny but vicious-looking German Shepherd dog, which was clearly looking at the child as food.

As soon as this photo was published, it immediately caused a huge shock in American society. Countless people were shocked. The Women and Children's Protection Association spoke on the Voice of America that day, demanding a thorough investigation of US military atrocities in Iraq and an end to this criminal war.

In addition to the Women's and Children's Protection Association, the Red Cross also called on the United States to lift the embargo against Iraq and import food and medicine into Iraq. It also claimed that the current humanitarian crisis in Iraq is very serious, with more than 10 million people people have been displaced by the fighting, more than two million people are unable to afford a loaf of bread every day, and hundreds of thousands of people are lying in makeshift hospitals, moaning in pain and without access to medicine.

Everyone pointed the finger at the warring federal government. They all accused President Walsh of starting the war for oil and creating such a disaster, even though White House spokesmen kept publicising the Gulf War as just and necessary to restore Kuwait's sovereignty and territorial integrity, President Bush's approval rating has dropped by more than ten percentage points due to the humanitarian crisis.

As a result, President Walsh had to prepare a news programme at short notice, personally appearing on television to defend the Iraq War and explain that the humanitarian tragedy in Iraq was more due to Saddam's dictatorship. The aim of the US military was to help the Iraqi people overthrow the dictatorship and save these refugees from the tragic situation of a humanitarian crisis.

It cannot be denied that the power of this humanitarian sledgehammer can sometimes be so great.

While the whole of the American society was in an uproar over this humanitarian crisis, an organisation called Humanitarian Relief petitioned the International Red Cross to launch a programme called 'Oil for Food' to save the Iraqi people in dire straits.

Christo slammed the newspaper into a ball and slammed it onto the table, angrily shouting, 'This damned Chinese person, this must have been done by that Zhou Ming. What Oil-for-Food Programme? That Chinese and the Downing Street and Kennedys, they were all clearly just after the money from the war, but they all put on a sanctimonious face, it's disgusting! I don't think that photo is even news, it's just a stunt they pulled in Hollywood to fool people!'

At the moment, Christo is in his study, in front of him is a connected telephone, and it is clear that he is currently on a conference call.

After he calms down, someone on the other end of the line says, 'Christo, my friend, I think you should calm down a little. No matter how that photo was taken, it has caused a sensation across the United States and goes against the will of the entire country, which is not a wise choice. And I think we should try to understand what their motives are, rather than getting angry.

'What other purpose could it be? It's just that they want to use a reasonable and legal means to transport oil out of Iraq in the face of soaring oil prices. This is also the fundamental purpose of the Chinese man who risked his life to infiltrate Iraq and delay the Gulf War!'

At the end of the day, Christo calmed down a little. He suddenly remembered something and asked, 'Karl, you're not also planning to join this oil-for-food programme, are you?'

Karl laughed and replied, 'In fact, we are all businessmen, and the characteristic of a businessman is to be profit-oriented. So now that the oil-for-food programme has received so much support, can we also set up a relief organisation and get a share of the pie? Think about it: raise money from the community, then use the donations to buy cheap food and ship it to Iraq in exchange for oil. It would be a shame to miss out on such a sure-fire deal.'

'Bastards! You're all a bunch of idiots who deserve to die for money! Can't we do anything about it even though we know they're using humanitarianism to make money off our war?' Christo angrily yelled.

Karl said on the other hand, 'Christo my friend, I think you should calm down. In fact, a small oil-for-food programme or that Chinese person is nothing at all, because these things will not affect the outside world, and that is where our foundation lies.'

After hearing Karl say this, Christo also calmed down: 'Hmph! Chinese Zhou Ming, you can do all these things you want, but no matter how hard you try, you're just helping the people in the outside world make money. A pawn will always be a pawn. Although a thinking pawn can cause the player a lot of trouble, it will ultimately be unable to escape its fate of being manipulated!