Chapter 294: A War of Intrigue

Obviously, to them, what was happening was very strange, because originally, this Gulf War was mainly a war waged by the United States against Iraq. if you want to talk about ending the war, you should be talking to Iraq, to Saddam Hussein or to Muammar Gaddafi, not to a nobody like Zhou Ming.

However, some things are just so illogical. Now, Walsh not only sought him out, but also went to great lengths to get Brent to come over personally on the USS Shinkonwei for secret negotiations.

Although this approach was to shock the world when it became known, it cannot be denied that Walsh had found the key to success. Without Zhou Ming, I'm afraid the Gulf War would have ended with a US victory long ago, and even the US military losses in the war could have been negligible. Thanks to this great victory in an asymmetrical war, the United States was able to dominate the new world order in the future.

But now Zhou Ming's participation has completely disrupted the course of the war and the White House's deployment. First of all, the attack was delayed at the beginning of the game due to the uncooperative behaviour of the members of Congress, delaying the best time for attack, so that the US Air Force was unable to take advantage of the weather conditions and its powerful air force to gain the maximum advantage in the first round of strikes. It could only resort to the risky method of aerial ambush.

After gaining control of the air, the pace of the war followed the American script step by step, but a tragic defeat in Cuba, where the entire Tiger Army infantry regiment was wiped out, once again derailed the war. It was at this time that a photograph of a child shocked the entire United States and prompted all Americans to protest against the war, demanding that the US military protect the human rights of Iraqis while at war.

Walsh had no doubt that Zhou Ming had staged the photo, and in fact the US military often did the same for propaganda purposes.

However, it was clear that it was pointless to pursue the matter afterwards, because the effect of the propaganda had already been achieved. Any explanation, no matter how reasonable and well-founded, would have seemed extremely pale. For this reason, the federal government quickly acquiesced to the implementation of the Oil-for-Food Programme. Of course, due to the huge profits involved in this programme, Walsh was unable to prevent the major conglomerates from pushing this programme forward with their crazy greed.

So while humanitarian aid is being carried out, there is also a war going on. This kind of war with its hands tied is obviously impossible to continue, and it will also greatly increase the casualties of the US military and military spending, and when that happens, a new wave of anti-war sentiment will arise in the country. Iraq will then become the new South Vietnam, and the US will once again be dragged into a new quagmire of war.

Perhaps This may sound like the ridiculous logic of asking a horse to run and not eat grass, but those anti-war nymphs don't care about that because this is something your federal government needs to consider, and Walsh definitely won't allow it!

It is the reason why the US military began a frantic attack on Basra. By occupying Basra, the US Navy advanced into the river and directly threatened the capital, Baghdad, to force Iraq to surrender as soon as possible. However, an attack on the Rumaila oilfield once again dashed Walsh's hopes.

Since Rumaila was the most important source of oil under the oil-for-food programme, and an attack there would once again trigger the world's nerves, causing the Madonnas to believe, guided by public opinion, that it was a conspiracy by the federal government to prevent the oil-for-food programme. The White House can of course explain this, and can also show a lot of evidence to say that this is a conspiracy by the Iraqis, but the public opinion of the Virgin Mary is sometimes not intelligent enough, and they will only think that it is the fault of the federal government.

Seeing the situation getting out of his control

(the end of this chapter is not yet reached, please turn the page), Walsh could only choose the way that was most likely to end the war as soon as possible...negotiation.

And this Gulf War was also started to be led astray after Zhou Ming's intervention. Therefore, Walsh, on the advice of the think tank, also directly contacted Zhou Ming in the hope of reaching reach an agreement. They believed that if they could convince Zhou Ming, he would find a way to make Iraq choose to surrender. In fact, Zhou Ming did have the ability to do so.

Zhou Ming thought quickly, and having a good idea of Walsh's intentions, he said meaningfully, 'Shall we reach an agreement to end the Gulf War as soon as possible? I think the President seems to have the wrong person. The person with that power should be in the hands of Saddam Hussein.'

Wohl said calmly, 'Mr. Zhou Ming, I don't think we should dwell on this issue, because we both understand what is really going on. Saddam is just a puppet, right?'

It there was really no point in beating about the bush, and Zhou Ming also did not think that this wise American president would not be aware of the changes in Iraq. So Zhou Ming said frankly, 'Okay, I do have the ability to end this war, but what about the benefits? You that I am a businessman, and if the benefits of this war are not exceeded, then the war will not end.'

'Oil oil-for-food programme.' Walsh did not hesitate, and it was clear that he had already thought about it beforehand. 'In the next ten years, the United States will continue to impose comprehensive economic sanctions on Iraq, which means that the oil-for-food programme can be implemented for at least ten years, and Iraq's dependence on the programme will become increasingly deep. Coupled with the continued rise in oil prices, the benefits of this programme will only continue to grow.'

'This is a very tempting proposal. It's just that President Walsh, I'm sorry, I don't mean to disbelieve your words, but if I remember correctly, your term of office will end next year, so what guarantee do you have that the comprehensive economic sanctions against Iraq will not be terminated because of your departure?' asked Zhou Ming.

'Huge great interest,' Walsh replied, 'because the huge profits involved in the oil-for-food programme will allow major consortia to influence every president. Even if I fail to seek re-election, the next president will continue to implement economic sanctions against Iraq due to the influence of the consortium.'

Zhou Ming Oh, said Zhou Ming, 'But if the consortium is allowed to participate in the oil-for-food programme, doesn't that mean my profits will be reduced?'

Wall was a little angry: 'You are too greedy. Just a 1% share in this programme is enough to feed a listed company, and the benefits will only grow in the future. What more do you want?'

Zhou Ming remained unmoved: 'Greed is the instinct of a capitalist, isn't it? And President Walsh, who has a family fortune of billions of dollars, seems to be just like me, laughing at others while pointing a finger at oneself, doesn't he?'

Hearing President Walsh was really angry when he heard Zhou Ming's words. He had thought that Zhou Ming was just a young man in his twenties and that he could be easily fooled, but he never expected that he would be so difficult to deal with. He suppressed his anger and said, 'I should have ordered a formation of air force to carry out an air strike when the USS Enterprise entered port, and directly sunk you at the bottom of the Tigris River.'

'Indeed, but as a wise president, you would of course not do that,' said Zhou Ming.

Walsh paused for a moment, then said to Zhou Ming, 'Forget it, this time it's just about negotiations. Tell me your conditions, I hope they're not too difficult for me.'

'I believe I won't make things difficult for you, because I only have two demands.' Zhou Ming held up two fingers and said, 'First, the Al-Husseini family's power in Iraq must be retained.'

Walsh nodded and said, 'No problem. Our original goal in going to war was to restore the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Kuwait. As long as this is achieved, the war can be ended in principle.

(This chapter is not end, please turn the page). The ongoing follow-up war is only to further intimidate Iraq with arms. I have never had the idea of overthrowing the Saddam regime.'

'Then the second point second point, is that I want to know why President Walsh insists on finding me?' asked Zhou Ming.

Faced with Zhou Ming Walsh was very surprised by the question: 'Didn't I answer you at the beginning?'

Chou Ming said, 'Mr. President, to quote your words, we both understand what is going on, so it is better not to dwell on this issue, don't you think so?'

'I know that your purpose in seeking me out is to negotiate an agreement that will end the war as soon as possible. But I have been thinking since we first met, and no matter how much I overestimate myself, it seems that I am simply not qualified to sit on an equal footing with a US president. And most is that if you really decide to do whatever it takes, you can easily end the war, can't you?'

Zhou Ming continued continued, 'So no matter how I think about it, there is no need for you to send your security assistant to risk her life in Iraq to find me. And the abnormal behaviour of the pilot you mentioned also makes me feel that there must be a deeper reason behind it, and I want to know what that deeper reason is.'

Walsh long before he said with a wry smile, 'I thought you would ask about other issues of business benefit distribution, or even about the oil in Iraq and the entire Gulf region, but I didn't expect you to just want to know this reason.'

'Because he bothers me, so I want to understand him,' said Zhou Ming. 'As for other business matters, let's leave them to business tactics. If I really need it, I believe I can definitely own or control the oil in the entire Gulf region!'

Walsh was was stunned. He could hear the powerful confidence in Zhou Ming's tone of voice. If someone else had said this to Walsh, he would have felt that the other person was bragging. After all, the oil in the Gulf region is coveted by the whole world. Who can say that whoever needs it can have or control it? But the person saying this is Zhou Ming, which gives a strange feeling that he can really do what he says.

In the end, Walsh Walsh himself couldn't help but laugh, because the fact that he could think such a thing was strange enough.

Then Walsh said to Zhou Ming and said, 'Well, since that's your condition, then I'll tell you. What I'm worried about is that this war is not just a war. He's also a conspiracy.'

'Conspiracy? Mr. President Mr. President, could you please elaborate?' asked Zhou Ming.

'From the beginning, as far as I was personally concerned, I had no intention of intercepting your plane, as I didn't think it was necessary. However, the Adams Group kept urging me to do so. I of course I know about your conflict with them. That's what I thought at first, but the investigation report into the fighter jet crash completely overturned my original thoughts.'

At this point, Vol paused for a moment, as if hesitating, and then asked, 'Mr. Zhou Ming, do you know the outside world?'

Zhou Ming raised an eyebrow: 'Governor Edward of Massachusetts told me that this incident is also related to that?'

'That's the family, he does know. 'Walsh said, 'Although I can't tell you the specific speculation, I can tell you for sure that this war is a conspiracy of the outside world. I don't know what they are planning, but since they went to such trouble to send you to Iraq, they must hope that you can intervene in the course of the war and bring them great benefits.'

'I don't want this war into their tool, and I don't want you, me, or the thousands of soldiers to become their pawns. So I hope we can reach an agreement and end this war, which has already lost its original meaning,' Walsh said sincerely.