Dear Comrade Leader, Episode 167
“… … So, OPEC. Are you saying that the Saudi Arabian side made an offer to the general secretary? Do you want to join them?”
“That’s right.”
“… … Did the general secretary reject that? Because you thought leaving the oil hegemony to the Middle East was not good for the world and America?”
“And, of course, for the national interest of our republic. Anyway, you are right, Vice President.”
“Hmm… … .”
Dick Cheney’s first reaction after hearing Junghwan’s explanation of the situation from across the phone line was silence.
At first glance, he might think he was embarrassed, but he could quickly guess that it was not an embarrassment, but that he was struggling to find out his true meaning.
Then, breaking the silence, Dick Cheney opened his mouth.
“… … I don’t know why you’re making such an outrageous offer to me, but the correct protocol is to speak to President Bush through the State Department for an offer on foreign relations. It is treason to join a treaty or alliance with another country without the consent of the President and Congress.”
“… … .”
“Besides, Chief. I am the Vice President, which is coming to an end and not very popular. To be honest, I’m really confused as to why you called me like this.”
‘It’s tiring to lose your feet. By this time, the story must have already been roughly told… … .’
Junghwan knew he was right in theory.
The fact that Dick Cheney was said to be the representative of the neocons and to be the most powerful vice president in history was possible because George Walker Bush, son of current President George Herbert Walker Bush, trusted him completely.
But now, as his father Bush nears retirement after his second term in office, Dick Cheney was literally just vice president.
Father Bush wasn’t as incompetent as his son, who was swung by Cheney throughout his tenure, and he didn’t get hijacked and crash into the New York World Trade Center, at least not yet.
In short, the environment has not been created for Neo-Cons, including him, to thrive in their heyday.
During his tenure, Dick Cheney harassed Jung-hwan at most twice.
It was also to the extent that they exercised the powers that were within the scope of their respective duties as US Secretary of Defense and Vice President, respectively, to the extent that they were excessively and actively exercising their powers.
Dick Cheney, who said that he had found the wrong street number, was pointed out by Jin’s half-doubt, and Jeonghwan shook his head.
“First, let me make this clear, Vice President. I’m not calling because of the Vice President’s position in the White House. Because of the influence outside the White House.”
“… … I’m sorry, but it’s still vague to me… … .”
“I heard that at the end of this term, you are leaving Washington politics to go to the private sector. Since he served as the Vice-President as the Minister of Defense, there are many places to call him. As far as I know, I’ve heard that you’re going to be appointed CEO of a company called Halliburton, am I right?”
At that moment, in the White House on the other side of the Pacific Ocean, Dick Cheney tightened his tendons in the hand holding the phone.
How the hell did this young man sitting in Pyongyang on the other side of the world get the information that was still circulating in Georgetown?
“It’s a Texas conglomerate that has built a relationship with the U.S. military by supplying a lot of oil to the U.S. military with its main business in oil field development. I know that he also signed multi-million dollar contracts with the US military during the Gulf War and participated in post-war oil field restoration. If the former defense minister takes over as CEO, it will probably be much easier to get a contract from the military in the future, so it is an excellent choice.”
“… … What do you want to say?”
“Vice President. What I want to say is that not only are there cartels in the Middle East, there are cartels in America as well. In a way, it is a cartel that is much larger and more powerful than OPEC, which is not windy due to internal disputes, and is driven by a unified purpose. And the Vice President is an important member of that huge cartel. “It will be the members of that cartel, not President Bush in the White House, who will receive the offer I just confided.”
“… … .”
This time, Dick Cheney kept his mouth shut.
It was Jeonghwan who made sweat run down the brow of the Vice President of the United States in an instant, but he was calm.
A truly powerful being doesn’t need a particularly grand name.
There are even cases where there is no name at all, but the ‘American Cartel’ that Jung-hwan just pointed out also did not have a name.
Although there were no set heads, no organization charts, no headquarters, regular general meetings, or even gatherings at one place, Jung Hwan did not doubt the existence of such an intangible cartel.
The cartel reaches from Republicans to Wall Street, Christian right-wing pastors of the Bible Belt, the National Rifle Association (NRA) and oil giant bosses, and is a think tank analyzing the effects of U.S. military generals and U.S. foreign militants. It had a deep and broad reach from university to university.
And the influence they can exert, precisely by moving the United States, the world’s most powerful country, can overwhelm OPEC as well as the President of the United States.
Junghwan made an offer to Dick Cheney, one of the backbones of the cartel.
Dick Cheney, who finally settled his embarrassment, asked again in a cold tone.
“good. I certainly have a lot of friends and personalities like me in the Republican Party, in the oil industry, and in the Pentagon. What does the general secretary want from such people?”
“It’s simple. The idea is to create an alliance of new oil-producing countries to replace OPEC. It’s focused on pro-American countries, not Middle Eastern countries.”
Junghwan, who had said this up to this point, paused for a moment before adding a word.
“The headquarters is in Pyongyang. What do you think?”
* * *
“I’m sorry, but I will decline.”
Less than a second after Junghwan finished speaking, Dick Cheney cut it off and refused.
And as if he knew how to ask Junghwan why, he explained the reason for his refusal in advance.
“We, America, hmm, no, this is a bit of an expression. In any case, we do not want to threaten the interests of Saudi Arabia-led OPEC head-on as long as the oil settlement is in dollars. The dollar is the reason why it maintains its reserve currency status, so why?”
“There are many countries within OPEC who are dissatisfied with the way that oil is only settled in dollars. Venezuela is a prime example.”
“Even so, because of the local backlash, the United States creating a League of Nations to replace OPEC is a small investment and too risky. It is true that the Arabs who help are dear to us, but we have to meet the demand for oil, right?”
It was the expected reaction and the opposite.
And to that extent, of course, Junghwan had prepared a rebuttal.
“Think about it, Vice President. As the Vice President said, oil is not only mined in OPEC member states. It is also mined in the United States, and also in Britain, America’s best friend. Brazil and Norway also have oil fields. But why did the offer come only to North Korea?”
“Yeah, its production and estimated reserves are rare these days, so of course… … .”
Dick Cheney, who had been talking up to this point, felt something and shut his mouth.
It was because some bad feeling ran through his head.
Junghwan spoke of that bad feeling with his mouth instead.
“You must have thought that our North Korea might be an anti-American state. And maybe it’s pretty close to China. In Korean, they call this code correct, probably.”
“… … Are you saying that now Saudi Arabia intends to improve relations with China? It can’t be. First of all, if you look at Israel’s recent proximity to China. Israel and Saudi Arabia are really close friends… … .”
“Isn’t that also the case in America? Although Israel is Israel’s best ally, it also has US troops stationed in Saudi Arabia. Moreover, given that China’s oil consumption is increasing year by year, there is ample room for agreement between the two countries. Would it be?”
“… … .”
It was then that Dick Cheney realized that the proposal was worth considering again.
Of course, the present China is a typical underdeveloped country with a falling GDP in Japan, let alone the United States.
But if you can see a little bit, someday, whatever the time, China will again soar into the sky like a dragon.
At that time, it was assumed that the United States would face an adversary almost as strong as the Soviet Union.
Signs of this have already appeared since Jiang Zemin took office, and besides, China is not a nuclear weapons state after all, and the US must prevent such a country from getting close to Saudi Arabia and other oil-holding Middle Eastern countries.
‘No, even if all these assumptions are true, the risk is too great for us to take the lead and thwart them. Forming an oil cartel other than OPEC is a direct challenge to Middle East oil hegemony, and American voters need oil anyway. then… … .’
Even if Saudi Arabia or OPEC try to get closer to China, it would be a shameful act to directly hostile them with that.
In any case, it is a diplomatic activity of a sovereign state, and as long as Saudi Arabia pays oil only in dollars according to the agreement between the two countries after the oil shock, the least trust must be maintained.
However, it was too heartbreaking to allow the OPEC cartel centered on Saudi Arabia, an unreliable ally and tyrannical monarchy, to control oil prices forever.
And then Dick Cheney could understand why Junghwan had called him like this.
Also, why did you choose to keep the headquarters in Pyongyang?
So this is… … .
“You are saying that you will bear the burden of being at the forefront of forming a new oil cartel. After all, it has been widely known before that our relationship with OPEC is not very good, and if the US or the UK take the presidency, the intention will be too obvious.”
“There is also a point that the US and other advanced countries have already developed industries, so their dependence on oil is greater than that of our republic. In addition, democratic member countries protest in their own countries when oil prices rise because OPEC protests… … Shouldn’t we be doing that? haha.”
‘Besides, companies and capital closely related to oil have far less influence on politics than the United States or the United Kingdom, so there is little to enforce or enforce a policy once set.
So Junghwan muttered to himself.
In fact, North Korea, which has only just started first world diplomacy, came up with an idea that could not be grasped in a way that it would change the oil order, which can be said to be one of the axes that move the global order, is what the state of North Korea can do in the current situation. It was because the roles were clearly separated.
And the role that ‘fit to the subject’ was the so-called ‘president of the barge’.
Acting as a face-mother on behalf of the real boss, the United States, and allowing Britain and the United States to directly antagonize OPEC and avoid the risk of retaliation due to rising oil prices.
To put it bluntly, it was a bullet hole.
‘But even if it’s a bullet catch, there’s definitely something you can get.’
Of course, instead of being at the forefront of a war that challenges the OPEC-led oil order, Jeong Hwan was determined to pay the price.
And finally, the expected answer came out of Dick Cheney’s mouth as he pondered it over and over again.
“I think it’s worthy of a positive enough review.”
“… … ! So, do you accept it?”
“That’s right. At this meeting, we come up with a rough plan and put it on the national agenda through the State Department. As this is a pending issue, the private sector will also actively put in firewood, so if we hurry, we will be able to get approval for the formation and membership by the parliament within our term of office.”
done.
Jeonghwan called for joy inwardly, and Dick Cheney continued with a more friendly tone.
“The problem is with the member states… … Naturally, it should be an oil-producing country, but if it only joins countries that are very close to the US, it will buy OPEC’s vigilance.”
“The problem will be solved to some extent once we sign up for the first time… … It should match the assortment of the rest of the countries. First of all, Britain has oil fields in the North Sea and is a common ally of the United States and the Republic of Korea, so we should join it. It won’t be difficult if you put Ms. Thatcher in front of you and persuade her.”
Once the will to form was gathered, the discussion progressed rapidly after that.
Canada and Norway are considered as candidates for the next member of the UK.
Canada is one of the world’s leading oil producers and is a pro-US country, and Norway traditionally advocates neutral diplomacy.
Australia passed quickly for similar reasons as the UK and Canada, followed by Brazil and Mexico, which are also on the list because the US could easily control them.
Subsequently, Malaysia, Bolivia, India, Argentina and Vietnam were mentioned as candidates for membership.
However, they both knew that the success or failure of a new oil cartel against OPEC could be different depending on whether or not to convince a country.
And Jeonghwan also had a foreboding that he and Dick Cheney would have the biggest differences of opinion on this country.
That country was Russia.