William White's massive stockpiling only served to boost confidence; trading on the New York Stock Exchange remained sluggish, hardly connecting to the current economic climate.
"Sir, the war in the desert seems likely to escalate," Filson said grimly. Recently, the boss had been making constant moves, and if the U.S. got involved in the war, we could forget about the economy.
William White had it figured out; no wonder the stock market was so lifeless -- there was still a war involved. The desert conflict had been going on for seven years now; he rembered those guys had been fighting for eight years.
"Hmm, as long as the war doesn't escalate, the risks in the stock market are quite limited. Sir, should we continue as planned?"
"Of course, don't worry about them; they won't get into a real fight. Where there's religious belief supporting them, war is just a disaster, and as long as they don't have internal issues, others won't get a chance."
William White's judgnt was based on economic considerations. War burned too much money; if the U.S. fought for so many years, tens of trillions of dollars could just vanish.
...
"George, got any news? Is there really going to be a fight?" William White decided to make a call. Although Filson had channels to learn, he wanted to hear it for himself; just in case there were any butterfly effects, it could cause real trouble.
"Fight? What's there to fight about? My old man is waiting to get promoted; if things escalate, he'd have no hope," ca the reply.
"Yeah, I suppose your family is the least keen on starting a war. Ha! How did I forget to factor that one in? I bet the folks supporting your family must be really unhappy, huh?" William White clearly had so sly intentions.
"Cut it out; their debts are over a hundred billion. If we get involved, who's gonna foot the bill? Who in their right mind would fight without cash?"
What Bush Jr. said was mostly true; including the U.S., everyone was essentially broke. Did they think they could duke it out with swords and spears?
"Alright, I get it now. If things get heated, it could really be a total loss. A bunch of broke folks, all for what?"
William White hung up the phone. He realized he'd been negligent. Bush Sr. must have been prepping already; there was no way he'd miss news like this.
The U.S. didn't like fighting, at least not during this period. Being the international police was tough; the price was incredibly high. The most critical aspect was that no one was willing to pay the protection fee, making the whole idea pointless.
...
"I hadn't realized this guy was a peacenik," Bush Sr. said, looking at his son with suspicion. The sudden shift on NBC had piqued his curiosity.
"Ugh, Dad, he's just worried his investnts will go down the drain. He's already lost dozens of ships; who knows if the conflict will escalate," the son replied.
"Ah, now I get it. I figured a news guy wouldn't get any ratings without sothing happening, but he's worried about that," Bush Sr. mused.
"Dad, could it really escalate? I told him yesterday it shouldn't," the son said. It didn't surprise Bush Sr.; after all, they ca from a political family, and his son was being grood as the successor. If he lacked that foresight, he might as well stay ho and watch over the family business.
"Fight? Who are we gonna fight with? Who will we support? Who's gonna pay? That lummox was no saint. If it were up to , we'd just sweep right through, but what happens afterward? Look at the Soviets now, losing billions a year to guard an unyielding wasteland."
The younger Bush thought to himself; if it weren't for the weapons you provided them, the Soviets might've wrapped it up long ago. It seed everyone had gotten used to not fighting in recent years, not just Arica but also the Soviets, who seed to be living a lie.
In fact, the two combatants in the desert were now seemingly unable to fight anymore. Ironically, both sides had returned to their pre-war status. Presently, their treasuries ran dry; their reckless actions rely aid at coaxing the international community to compromise. Either postpone debt repaynts or consider so reductions--such seed to be the objectives of both sides.
...
Although everyone knew that neither the Soviets nor the Aricans had the capability to start a war under the current economic climate, both sides clearly had so unpredictability about them and could snap at any mont.
Initially, the Aricans might have been the ones to instigate the fighting, but at this point, they were in a bind. It seed the Aricans couldn't persuade them to stop.
Stirring up wars in other countries was an Arican specialty. They did it in both World Wars. After the lesson with little mustache man, the Aricans couldn't risk such a move again. One wrong step, and they could really sink.
However, smaller regional nations didn't face such issues; without the ability to be self-sufficient, they couldn't fight if the weapons supply stopped.
NBC's so-called peace was just a crocodile's tears. It looked impressive but held no real significance. At the end of the day, it was just ant to fool the curious crowd.
"Sir, are you worried about an escalation of war?"
"Yeah, Europe doesn't trust Arica, and honestly, I'm quite worried about the soldiers' morale. If it really cos to blows, the air and naval forces might be fine, but the ground troops would collapse in no ti."
"It should be fine. Our reports show that the higher-ups are tired of war, and the soldiers below are even worse off -- they probably just need an excuse to back down."
"Yeah, it's all too chaotic over there. Just make sure our people stay safe and let them duke it out. All I need is information. Haha, I'm just a small player; I don't belong to those high levels."
Tanner didn't say anything. He thought to himself, you aren't a small player anymore. Quite the opposite; many are keeping an eye on your moves.
*****
spatreon/Sayonara816.
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