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Chapter 1462: Emergency Meeting

“What about Turkey? If we promise to help them enter the European Union...”

“Then we will offend at least twenty allies!”

“...”

There were endless quarrels and arguments in the conference room, and Mike Pence stared at the globe in the corner of the table without a word as he was immersed in his own thought.

The problems the UA faced were far more severe than he imagined.

Although the defense budget had continued to increase, the number of soldiers had steadily decreased.

Since the end of the Iraq War and the end of the Afghanistan War, the total number of UA Army soldiers had dropped from 570,000 at its peak in 2012 to 480,000 in 2020. The current number of active soldiers was about 300,000 in the Air Force, about 320,000 in the Navy, and about 180,000 in the Marine Corps. Of course, these stats did not include the National Guards in each state. It was easier to mobilize the reserves to participate in a war than to mobilize the National Guards.

In asymmetric wars, this number of standing troops was sufficient for a country with superior sea power. Unfortunately, they were now at a disadvantage against the technical prowess of Celestial Trade. Fortunately, Hill in her term suspended Obama’s plan to reduce troops, otherwise, the current situation would only be worse...

“Folks,” National Security Advisor John McCain knocked on the table with his knuckles and signaled everyone to stop arguing and look to him. He raised his voice and said, “There are already 130,000 of our soldiers fighting for Colombia’s freedom. Based on the data analyzed by the top military command, if we want to gain ‘overwhelming’ advantage in Colombia, we need to invest at least an army in South America. Moro and Madagascar Volunteers are on the way, and those Third World gangsters will drag us into the mess.”

At this point, McCain paused for a moment before he continued.

“You all overlooked the most effective method.”

“While Celestial Trade is powerful, their strategic depth is limited! Whether it is the space elevator or the high-tech factories concentrated in Xin. Instead of throwing hundreds of thousands of people into the bottomless pit of Colombia, it is better to send our aircraft carrier groups to fight in the Western Pacific. Launch our intercontinental missiles! Even if their air defense systems are great, they can’t make up the gap in numbers!”

“We’ll launch 400 Tomahawk cruise missiles to the space elevator and launch a strategic nuclear strike on the Ange Island Industrial Base. Even if they can arm every soldier to the teeth, we can also bring them back to the Stone Age!”

“You are a lunatic!” Another advisor sitting next to him exclaimed, “We are not the only ones with nuclear weapons! If they launch a retaliatory attack on our homeland...”

“But our gains are immense!” McCain said firmly. “If we look forward, as long as we absorb their technology and rely on the industrial strength of us and our allies, we will be able to colonize the Gliese 581 in a few decades! Instead of defending against aliens in front of the door!”

As for blowing up the space elevator, as long they possessed the technology, they could just build another one. Once the new space elevator rose again, they could take over Celestial Trade’s Moon and Mars colony. At that time, the UA would lead the mankind of the future, not Xin or Celestial Trade!

“This is too risky.”

Mike Pence frowned, but he was seriously deliberating this possibility.

He had heard of the submarine missile wells of Celestial Trade a long time ago, but Hill did one thing positive before she left office, and that was to introduce the THAAD air defense system into Guam and Wake Island. If Xin launched intercontinental missiles from the Western Pacific, there was a high probability that they would be able to complete the interception during the boost phase...

But if the missiles could not be intercepted...

Just when Mike Pence was hesitating, there was a phone call.

McCain still wanted to persuade, but when he saw the President picked up the phone, he closed his mouth politely.

The hand that held the phone turned pale and uncertainty was written all over Mike Pence’s face.

After he had put the phone down, the hand on the phone did not move, and he sat there silently.

After a long silence, he raised his head and said.

“Lewis.”

Lewis, who served as the president’s chief of staff, was slightly taken aback and replied.

“...Mr. President?”

“Go and inform the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the Treasury... and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the UA Army,” Mike Pence paused for a while after he named about twenty names, then he said slowly, “There’ll be an emergency meeting in an hour, all members of the National Security Council must be present. Now, I ask all of you to leave the room for a moment.”

When Lewis, McCain, and other senior officials heard these words, their expressions all changed as they looked at each other.

Everyone’s emotion was different, just like their perplexed mood at the moment. Lewis looked at the President in disbelief, while McCain showed a look of ecstasy, but he quickly hid his joy behind a series of small actions.

The National Security Council was established during the Cold War, and the President served as the chairman. Regular attendees included the Vice President, Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense, Secretary of Treasury, and National Security Affairs Advisor. As well as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff as the military adviser of the National Security Council, the director of the CIB as the intelligence adviser. In addition, there were important officials such as the Chief of Staff, the Attorney General, and the Secretary of Homeland Security. Depending on the importance of the topics discussed in the meeting, the President would decide who participated in the meeting.

From the level of attendees alone, it was not difficult to see the importance of this meeting.

The last time an emergency meeting like this was held was twenty years ago when the President was named Bush. Soon after the meeting, the UA-led coalition went to Afghanistan and started the long-running war in Afghanistan...

Taking a deep breath, Lewis nodded.

“I will go now.”

At the request of the President, the people in the conference room left one after another.

After the room turned empty, Pence’s shoulder slowly loosened. He didn’t rush to prepare for the next meeting, but rather, he took out a pen from his inner pocket and examined it.

Somehow, he suddenly remembered about a month and a half ago, during the handover.

As the Vice President, he was also there at the time. He could vaguely recall what happened.

There had never been a president who looked relieved when they handed over the authority. It was as if what she had surrendered was not the supreme throne of this country, not the power, not the interests, but a heavy burden.

Now he suddenly understood.

Or rather regret it.

She faced a madman, and now the madman stood in front of him. While he was still hesitant about whether to add a handful of firewood to the stove, the lunatic had put the fire out in the open...

But it was useless to regret now, and it seemed that he had no right to choose from the beginning. When the President died, there was a Vice President, and after the Vice President, there was also the President of the Senate... From the moment Wall Street was “unified”, the checks and balances of power in this country began to become unbalanced, and the capitalists had gone completely lunatic.

After a long silence, he picked up the phone, slowly dialed a number, and called a familiar person. He had to consult with some other people’s opinions, although he also knew that it was likely futile work.

The phone connected.

There was no extra greeting. Pence sorted out the thoughts in his mind and said slowly.

“Twenty minutes ago, in the Caribbean...”