Chapter 500: Passing the Level (Part 2)

"Dear members of Congress, what I am going to say will be very shocking. It is not only related to the safety and survival of the United States, but also related to everyone's vital interests, wealth and life, so..." Hoover glanced with that falcon-like gaze. He walked around the venue and said, "I hope you can keep it confidential."

Everyone was stunned. What shocking news would this mysterious and low-key FBI director want to reveal? Several people's heads lowered involuntarily - these were probably big shots who had the power in the FBI's hands.

"First of all, let's talk about the New York air raid that everyone is most concerned about: FBI agents began investigating the New York air raid site the day before yesterday. They observed the damage to important landmark buildings such as the Empire State Building, Brooklyn Bridge, Manhattan Bridge, and Rockefeller Center. They listened to The final report is still being written based on the testimonies of witnesses, survivors and defensive officers and soldiers at the time of the incident, but a preliminary conclusion has been drawn..." Hoover slowed down his tone, "There are many lurking people in New York and even in densely populated areas on the East Coast. Axis spies..."

As soon as this sentence came out, the following immediately started whispering.

"The basis for making this judgment is as follows..." Hoover spread out the official document and read it one by one.

"First, in the early morning of the day of the incident, the enemy aircraft formation passed by the Changdao radar station and was not discovered until it was only 40 miles away. This greatly reduced the warning and defense time - the enemy aircraft avoided the radar station so accurately. Surveillance is unimaginable without prior intelligence support;

Second, New York was the first city in the country to be attacked. Before that, due to the special and favorable geographical location of the United States, there had not even been an Axis aircraft. For pilots, flying to an unfamiliar city requires accuracy in the dark. It is very difficult to find the target. I asked the naval aviation commander in detail if he was asked to attack Hamburg without intelligence support, and I was told that it was completely impossible..."

Everyone turned their attention to Admiral Jin, who nodded: "I agree with Director Hoover. The U.S. Naval Aviation currently does not have this capability."

"Third, the enemy used incredible offensive methods to destroy buildings. The Empire State Building was destroyed by heavy bombs dropped by horizontal bombers; the Brooklyn Bridge was destroyed by the enemy using torpedoes; the Manhattan Bridge was destroyed by the enemy using extremely accurate dives. Destroyed by bombing." Hoover raised his voice, "If this level of technology is used temporarily, it will be almost impossible to succeed even during the day, let alone at night. The enemy must have carried out long-term and targeted training - this kind of targeting. It is the result of advance surveys and repeated observations by spies. They know where the loopholes and weaknesses of these buildings are.”

Army Aviation Commander Arnold provided testimony: The U.S. Army Aviation does not have this kind of precision bombing capability. If it had this level of capability, it would have used B-17s to blow up major German factories long ago;

Admiral King once again proved that naval aviation cannot do these things, especially the tactic of launching torpedoes at ultra-low altitudes to destroy the piers of the Brooklyn Bridge completely exceeded all imagination.

There was a constant buzzing down there, and many people seemed to have questions.

Hoover raised his voice and said: "Some people may say that just because we can't do it doesn't mean that the enemy can't do it, especially the Japanese naval aviation. They did something similar in the attack on Pearl Harbor, but this time we captured a German pilot Prisoner, he confessed that the German naval aviation also participated in the operation, with a total of more than 40 people. American carrier-based aircraft pilots began to be trained on a large scale in the 1920s, while German carrier-based aircraft pilots were still a theoretical term a few years ago. Do you believe it? Is 2 years of training more than 20 years of accumulation?”

Admiral Jin's face twitched but he was speechless: Although the United States has trained carrier-based aircraft pilots for 20 years, almost all the experienced veterans have been lost. Now this batch of newbies is really no better than the Germans.

Everyone looked at each other, thinking that there was an obvious logical flaw in Hoover's words - who stipulated that Germans cannot be trained for 20 years more than Americans for 20 years? But if this loophole is proven, it will be even more difficult for everyone to accept - the Germans are better after 2 years of training than we are after 20 years of training, so why fight? Just admit defeat sooner.

"To sum up, the FBI concluded that the timing and targeting of this air strike were carefully planned. Spies made extensive preparations in advance and sent the information to the Axis side, so that the other side could carry out the attack so easily. "

Marshall, General King, Arnold and other senior officials of the Joint Chiefs of Staff looked at each other a few times and exchanged opinions quietly with their eyes. Everyone thought that Hoover's words contained too much speculation and too little evidence, but it was conducive to reducing the army. It is their own responsibility, and no one can guarantee that there are no German spies. Wouldn’t the Crow be lurking in Port Heroes? The consequences if found out would be disastrous, so they were optimistic about Hoover's conclusion.

"This is the first example, and now I will talk about the second example - much more common than the New York air raid." Hoover took over the second example from FBI Deputy Director and his close partner Tolson. file.

"Before giving an example, please allow me to ask you a question, how should we deal with traitors?"

"Shot!"

"Hang him!"

The congressmen were excited, thinking that he was going to reveal that a certain big shot was a spy or a traitor.

"If it is only treason in thought but not in action, how should it be punished?"

The venue suddenly fell silent. Some people were repeating the slogans just now, while others fell into silence.

"From the perspective of legal fairness, judging whether a person is treason depends on his specific actions rather than his subjective thoughts. Punishing citizens with thoughts essentially expands the application of punishment. Therefore, there are no thought prisoners in the United States, but..." Hoover Suddenly there was a turning point, "It can be concluded from some cases that only treason in thought can lead to treason in action. Thought is always one step ahead of action. In times of war, we cannot bear any consequences of treason and must put it aside." Any threat is nipped in the bud and we must be prepared for a rainy day.”

Hoover then cited the example of the first-generation German immigrants saluting, “It can be seen from this case that in the minds of some citizens of the United States, they still have different beliefs and pursuits, and different patriotic understandings, and It cannot be accommodated in the consciousness of the mainstream public - they are polite and law-abiding American citizens on the outside, but behind the scenes they are potential traitors - of course, this term is a bit heavy and arbitrary. To be precise, they are potential traitors. Dangerous and prone to treason.”

"If we have the upper hand, he is a law-abiding American citizen; if we have the upper hand, if the enemy lands on American soil, do you think it would be easier for them rather than someone else to cooperate with the enemy?"

There was silence.

"This situation requires us to strengthen management and monitoring. In addition to correctly guiding their thoughts, there should also be enough agents to 'pay attention' to these suspicious people... Of course, this action will be within the scope authorized by law." Hu Buddha looked at everyone with vigour, "The United States currently lacks such an effective institution and sufficient manpower."

"Some people may object, if this is the price that must be paid to ensure victory, can you accept it?"

There was a lot of discussion at the scene.

"The third case is about unintentional leaks or espionage. This kind of thing happens every moment and in every scene. We often allow and even approve of this behavior based on freedom of the press, but I want to say that this is We are extremely harmful."

"This is the "Christian Monitor" published yesterday. The report disclosed the attack in New York in detail. In my opinion, the report was too detailed, far more than necessary. The report described the explosion site in detail. "The power of the report disclosed the damage to major buildings, the loss of personnel and property." Hoover took out a newspaper and waved it, "This news is equivalent to a comprehensive assessment of the explosion situation. They did what the enemy wanted." Eager to understand but unable to understand the effects of air strikes, they serve as the enemy’s eyes and ears.”

"If I were to write it, the report should say this: Enemy planes launched an air strike on New York in the early morning. Our losses were minimal. Some civilians were injured or killed in the air strike. Now life and production order have been restored. We strongly condemn the enemy's attack on civilians and public buildings. In response to the sabotage activities, the government has raised the highest defense level and strengthened the defense system..."

There were whispers at the scene - isn't this blatantly evading the important and glossing over the facts?

“The more serious we write, the more destructive the enemy thinks it will be and the more it will come again — would you rather see more bombs falling from the sky or would you rather see the impact be as small as possible?” Hoover commented, “ Journalists may not necessarily understand the military significance behind news and observations. We need experienced personnel to check and unify the caliber, so as not to let the enemy see any clues, let alone let this kind of news become an accomplice..."

"In addition to published publications, letters, exchanges, and rumors will also allow the enemy to obtain intelligence." Hoover took out a letter. "This is a letter written by a worker at the Baltimore Navy Yard to his wife. It describes this fact. :...Recently, we have received a lot of orders for big things, the largest of which is almost over 800 feet. We are so busy that we even have to work all night long. The boss asked us to complete one in 16 months. God, In the past, such guys had to work for at least 2 years, and the quality could not be compromised... I heard that these guys would start two projects a month, I thought they must be crazy! "

"To sum up, in order to comprehensively strengthen security, we need an agency to strengthen monitoring, management, and prevent any possible dangerous behavior... They do not exist to interfere with citizens' freedoms and rights. On the contrary, their ultimate purpose is In order to defend the free world," Hoover said sincerely, "Now that we have adopted a food rationing system, a blackout system, and a review system for the export of critical supplies that were unimaginable before, why can't we go further? , how about tightening all the fences in order to win the final victory?"

"What we pay for is temporary inconvenience, but what we gain is ultimate victory!"