Chapter 37: A Competition of Courage

"It's time for me to show up too. Read the latest chapter," the old man said to everyone.

Compared with comparing military strength with the Americans, it is better for the old man to go out and hang around.

Americans have a misunderstanding about China. They always think that people like the old man pay less attention to economic construction than national defense, security and national dignity. Therefore, they don't have to worry about small frictions overseas that will cause the current leadership The collective overreaction, and more worried about the rebound of the sentiment of the old man and the leaders of his generation.

In the final analysis, there is still a problem with the intelligence of the Americans, and they cannot figure out what China's trump card is.

On June 1st, at the scene of the national children's festival celebration, the old man personally went out to have a cordial conversation with them, and the national media flocked to record the old man's various words and deeds.

It is worth noting that the old man did not wear ordinary clothes, but a grass green loose military uniform without a military rank.

Although the old man didn't say anything special, this gesture is very scary. How many years has the old man not worn a military uniform? Many people can't remember.

Moreover, domestic troops have also begun large-scale mobilization. The Nanjing Military Region increased its troops to Fujian, and the military trains of the Northeast Military Region continued to enter North Korea. Many transport planes, including large strategic transport planes, are beginning to transport strategic materials, and the atmosphere in the country is a bit dignified.

The intelligence of the Americans is also very good, especially for such a big event. The White House and the Pentagon are already in chaos. The Clinton administration has only been in power for five and a half months. How has it passed the test of such a serious crisis?

"What's going on in Beijing?" Clinton asked Colin Powell, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff, together with the Army, Navy and Air Force, belong to the U.S. Department of Defense, and it is the most important institution of the Department of Defense. Accept the dual leadership of the President and the Minister of Defense. Since both the President of the United States and the Secretary of Defense are civilian officials, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is the highest military officer in the United States Armed Forces.

America in its inception. There are only 6 military departments in the military establishment. Later, the Ministry of the Navy and the Ministry of the Air Force were successively established. During World War II. Congress passes national security law. Create the post of Minister of Defense. Later, the post of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff was added. 6. The three services of the sea and the air are all reduced to a first-level agency under the Ministry of National Defense. The Ministry of Defense stipulates that the Joint Chiefs of Staff receive orders from the Secretary of Defense. Issue strategic and operational orders.

The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is appointed by the President from among the senior generals of the Army, Navy and Air Force. The term of office is two years. Except in wartime.

Can only be re-elected once.

Colin Powell was born in 1937. During the school period to participate in the reserve officer training. After graduation, he was awarded the rank of Second Lieutenant. Sent to Vietnam twice. Later, he served as the commander of the U.S. Army in South Korea. And President Reagan's National Security Advisor.

After President Bush took office. He was named chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. And promoted to four-star general. He was the first black chairman of the General Assembly in American history. He is also the youngest chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. During his tenure, he participated in commanding major events such as the US invasion of Panama, the dispatch of troops to the Philippines and Somalia.

certainly. Fighting Iraq did not leave his command. It can be said that the military experience is extremely rich.

Only Clinton took office. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who was reused by the predecessor Bush is obviously not very cold. He wanted to replace Powell. But considering that Powell's popularity is still very high. It's not good to act rashly.

When something happened this time, Clinton will naturally be held accountable. After all, the A's in the Middle East do not have the support of U.S. warships, and it is impossible to block the Chinese freighters. Although Clinton has some understanding of these guys who have made big troubles, he has to find a scapegoat.

Clinton can turn a blind eye to besieging the Chinese freighter, and test Beijing's attitude, but now the Chinese have begun to mobilize troops on a large scale, the situation in the Taiwan Strait is tense, and the Korean Peninsula is even more crisis-ridden. If it directly threatens the national interests of the United States, he cannot sit there and watch the excitement.

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is only the chief military advisor to the president and the secretary of defense, and the president is still in command of the entire military. When something big happens, Clinton can certainly bring Powell to account. Besides, he was not interested in this black man in the first place.

Of course, Powell is not a fuel-efficient lamp. He is going to retire in a few months. At that time, he will part with Clinton and write a memoir leisurely to earn some pension. That would be a wonderful thing. ? Just the little trouble about Haiwan is enough for him to write millions of words, not to mention that a publisher has already contacted him, and the manuscript fee is favorable.

"Mr. President, you should ask James Woolsey, director of A, about this. He should be very clear about what his subordinates are doing." Powell replied neither humble nor humble.

The new Director of A, James Woolsey, was appointed by Clinton. Powell's answer to Clinton's question is naturally a bit slanderous. To find out why the Chinese mobilized their military forces on a large scale, it is natural to look at what the Americans have done recently. whats the matter?

"Okay, then call James Woolsey and see what his explanation is?" Clinton said angrily. He really has no deterrent effect on Powell. Although the president is the highest leader of the army But in front of these senior generals, especially those who are accepted by the people and have high prestige in the army, he is as tender as a young chicken.

Soon, James Woolsey arrived at the President's Office. He was bald and wore a pair of wide gold-rimmed glasses. His eyes were always gloomy and full of worry. He looked like a scheming guy. He really was It is very suitable as netbsp; "Your Excellency, the Chinese are bluffing." James Woolsey said to Clinton as soon as he came in.

The director of A generally has no good end. This is recognized by everyone. For example, William Colby, who was appointed by Nixon as the director of A, was once an excellent agent and was known as the remaining spy king. . In 1973, when Colby was in office, the CIA was deeply involved in the Watergate incident, and he naturally became the target of all walks of life. Especially before the end of his term, President Ford set up a commission of inquiry to examine the CIA's illegal espionage activities. Colby realized that the president wanted to transfer the responsibility to the CIA, so he either pretended to be confused or deliberately denied it during the investigation.

But Colby knew too much, and he failed to escape bad luck in the end. Colby was the first casualty of Ford's series of high-level dismissals that came to be known as the Halloween Massacre, replaced by Bush Sr.

The disheartened Colby exposed to Congress many of the CIA's activities, including suspected drug smuggling and attempted assassination of Cuban leader Castro. He also revealed that the mission of the National Security Agency is to monitor communications in the United States or abroad, and American citizens are inevitably under its surveillance.

Such a move is naturally not in the interests of the United States, so Colby was immediately marginalized.

But James Woolsey is a different kind. Rather than saying how well his intelligence work is, it is better to say that his business is doing well. Woolsey is very economically savvy, and strongly advocates that A should spare no effort to help the government understand and grasp the development trends of economies and technologies in various countries around the world, and collect commercial secrets of foreign companies in international economic activities to serve American companies.

Clinton knew what he was like. From the incident of the Chinese freighter, the first thing that came to mind was whether James Woolsey made any profit from it? Has any American company benefited from this incident?

Powell was somewhat disapproving of James Woolsey's words, "A certain person has already put on a military uniform. Do you think he has no courage to start a war? At least a local war, the Chinese can still afford it!"

"The current focus of the Chinese is to develop the economy. This can be verified from their public and private conversations. Therefore, I don't think the Chinese will go to war because of a freighter." James Wool Xi adjusted his glasses above the bridge of his nose, and said tit for tat.

Powell immediately pointed out, "You should never try to guess what the Chinese are planning to do! Otherwise, you will regret it! Haven't we suffered enough before?!"

Powell's words naturally have something to say. From the history of the United States supporting the Nationalist Government to the Korean War and the Vietnam War, these are actions that the Americans feel very ashamed of. It is certain that the situation in the Taiwan Strait will not be the same as it is today.

"I'm not in the mood to talk about history right now—" Clinton said to the two men. "I just want to know, what should we do now?"

"I am a soldier and I am completely subject to the president's decision." Powell replied without hesitation.

"What I want is advice, not complete obedience to this slogan." Clinton said with some dissatisfaction.

James Woolsey glanced at Powell, and then said to Clinton, "I believe in the ability of our agents. Since they said that there are sensitive materials on the freighter, they can't be wrong. We should be responsible for the security issues in the Middle East .”

"We should also be responsible for the security of the Taiwan Strait and the security of the Korean Peninsula." Powell said sarcastically.

After hearing what the two people said, Clinton felt that it would be better not to ask them. Bringing these two guys in for questioning was simply adding to his heart. Finally, he said helplessly, "I can't just because of a little problem, To face the threat of being forced to go to war, especially with a permanent member of the Security Council that possesses nuclear weapons."

After a pause, Clinton pressed the button on the table with some helplessness, and ordered the people outside, "Connect to Beijing."