The rise of a great power: starting with military industry

Chapter 1108: The United States Completes Military Expansion
Beijing, Siheyuan.

Liu Tao's family is having dinner. Everyone is gathered together today. Everyone is toasting Liu Tao and congratulating him on making further progress.

Although it is just a step forward, it makes a world of difference.

Liu Tao had a smile on his face, and it was obvious that he was very happy to have made further progress this time.

Although he actually does not have this pursuit, this is also the organization's trust in him.

It was Liu Jingming who also rushed back to Beijing on Liu Ziyu's private plane on the same day to celebrate Liu Tao's progress.

At this time, Feng Nan, who was sitting next to Liu Jingming, had a very big belly. She was six months pregnant and was already wearing maternity clothes.

After getting married, Feng Nan did not continue her studies. After her honeymoon, she stayed in Beijing to take care of her pregnancy. As for her studies, she waited until she gave birth to her child and the child was one year old before going to Los Angeles, USA to continue her studies.

And time quickly turned over the last day of November and entered December.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average in the United States has risen by more than 17% for two consecutive months, the biggest increase since 1987.

The massive printing of dollars and issuance of U.S. debt, as well as large orders for arms and materials, have resulted in a prosperous economy in the United States.

The military industry sector is far ahead, and a large amount of money is flowing into military enterprises.

It’s just that all the money was earned by the military-industrial complex and Wall Street, and ordinary American people did not benefit.

They even face serious social security problems.

So far, in the first 2022 months of 11, there have been 3333 mass shootings in the United States, with a total of 10.17 deaths and 19.6 injuries from gun violence, and these are just the casualties caused by mass shootings. If all shootings are counted, the number of deaths related to gun violence in the United States has reached 20, and more than 40 have been injured.

In addition, in the past 11 months, there have been 28 serious bombings in the United States, killing more than 2400 people and injuring more than 10 people.

Even though the United States has increased police force, improved police treatment and equipment, and authorized police with greater powers, it has not been able to solve social security problems.

It's okay in rich areas, which are relatively safe, but the slums and civilian areas are quite bad.

A large number of blacks and Latinos were involved in the case, which caused conflicts between different groups of people.

Sometimes a black man robs someone just to steal $20.

In 2002, the gun market in the United States was very hot and saw a sharp increase in prices. Every household had a gun, or more than one.

Some wealthier families even buy guns for their children just for safety.

Various automatic rifles and pistols are very popular.

It was also in December that the US military completed its expansion goal, with the total strength of the US military reaching 12 million, including the army to 192.8, the navy to 76.6, and the air force to 58.3.

Although much of the equipment is from the Cold War era, the strength of the US military has been improved.

Faced with the aggressive United States, Iraq had to surrender in December, and the United Nations weapons inspection team officially resumed weapons inspections in Iraq to demonstrate that Iraq did not have weapons of mass destruction and was not developing weapons of mass destruction.

Iraq thought that by making concessions, it would prevent the Americans from using any leverage over it, but it can only be said that Iraq was overthinking.

Liu Tao has already seen the signs that the United States is planning to take action against Iraq!
Combined with other intelligence, the United States began to transport more supplies to Europe, especially Turkey. Before this, the United States had 2000 troops stationed in Turkey.

But recently, relations between the United States and Türkiye have been warming rapidly, and exchanges between the two sides have become closer.

Just in November, the United States forgave Türkiye's $11 billion debt, and the two sides signed an agreement to lease a military base.

Now the United States has no military bases in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and other Middle Eastern countries. If it wants to attack Iraq, it can only use the navy from the Persian Gulf or launch an attack on Iraq from Turkey.

However, the area bordering Iraq and Türkiye is the Kurdish Mountains. If the US military wants to launch an attack from there, it is uncertain how effective it will be.

Liu Tao thought of one thing, that is, the US launched the Iraq War. Just when some military experts thought it would be difficult for the US to win, the US military won a crushing victory. After reviewing the situation, he found out that as early as 2002, the CIA and special forces began to enter Iraq to conduct reconnaissance and locate important military targets in Iraq. In addition, with the efforts of the CIA, some Iraqi generals were bribed and did not resist at all.

Liu Tao sneered. This time he was going to ruin the Americans' good deeds. He wanted to see if the body bags prepared by the Americans were enough!

Iraq, the capital 'Baghdad'!
After ten years of restoration, Baghdad regained its vitality and once again became one of the most prosperous cities in the Middle East.

But at this moment, Sadam looked very bad.

He looked at Al and Rashid, these two were his confidants and right-hand men.

Although Saddam was also on guard against Al and Rashid, he knew at this time that the two would never betray him, and that Al, Rashid and the Americans did not get along and were not on the same side.

But he was shocked by the news brought by Al Rashid.

"Al Rashid, will the Americans really start a war against us? They are still fighting in Afghanistan, and they have suffered heavy losses in Afghanistan!" Saddam looked very unhappy.

Since October last year, Saddam has been jumping for joy. One very important reason is that the United States launched the war in Afghanistan. As long as the United States does not end the war in Afghanistan, it is impossible to launch a war against Iraq.

Now, the US-led coalition only controls 40% of Afghanistan, and the remaining 60% is still in the hands of the guerrillas.

Moreover, even in that 40% of the territory, there are many guerrillas waging guerrilla warfare against the coalition forces.

Al said in a deep voice: "Now the United States has completed its military expansion and has a total force of nearly two million. Moreover, our friends have given us intelligence that the United States is going to attack us from the Persian Gulf and Turkey!"

"President, I checked and found that some generals were indeed bribed by the CIA and were asked not to resist when the US military launched a war!" Rashid said.

Now Rashid is the second-in-command of the Iraqi army and the real powerful figure.

He didn't expect that the CIA had infiltrated the Iraqi military right under his nose.

If we hold anyone accountable, Rashid is also responsible!

Saddam's face was very ugly. He roared: "Damn Americans, if they want to fight, let them fight!"

"Rashid, you should investigate carefully to see who has been bribed by the CIA. If you find any of these traitors, arrest them, no matter who they are!" Saddam was very angry.

He has always attached great importance to the military. Even at the lowest times, the military's treatment was always the best and he has never defaulted on the military's salaries. However, he did not expect that some generals would be bribed by the CIA!

(End of this chapter)