Technology invades the modern world

Chapter 423 He had no other choice
Chaos erupted in the East Room of the White House after Nixon's press conference.

Reporters rushed out of the hall, jostling for phone booths to relay this astonishing news back to their respective editorial offices.

Amid the clamor of the crowd, two editors-in-chief from different media outlets huddled together, their conversation filled with debate and unease.

“This is insane, Luce!” Ben Bradley, editor-in-chief of The Washington Post, exclaimed in disbelief: “Just based on a blurry videotape and a ballistics report from six months ago? He’s just destroyed the peace we’ve been clinging to?”

Time magazine editor Henry Luce retorted in a low voice: "The video is not blurry. Ben, I looked at it carefully, and Dobrynin's face is very clear."

“So what? Does that prove the Soviet government ordered Hoover’s assassination?” Ben Bradley’s voice was also low, as such a viewpoint was not appropriate at this time: “It only proves that people from the Soviet embassy were there. It could be a coincidence, or it could be a trap.”

Our president, for this very reason, wants to nullify the peace agreement and send more young Americans to their deaths?

Henry Luce fell silent; he knew Ben Bradley was telling the truth.

Based on the chain of evidence, Nixon's conclusion is not rigorous.

“This isn’t a matter of rigor or sloppiness, Ben, this is politics,” Luce said slowly, his voice filled with helplessness. “You have to understand Nixon’s situation. He promised to bring peace during his campaign, but peace has been slow to arrive.”

Anti-war sentiment had already overwhelmed him, and now the assassination of Hoover had brought public anger to its peak.

He had no choice. He had no choice.

He looked at Ben Bradley with a knowing eye for the political realities.

Luce went on to say, "In my opinion, Nixon can be criticized by history for his diplomatic mistakes, but he will be despised by the people if he ignores the public's anger over the killing of Hoover."

Hoover was not a good person, but in the public eye, he was a big shot who had worked for America for over forty years, and for an agency like the FBI for over forty years.

The fact that such a high-ranking figure could be publicly executed in such a humiliating manner brought public discontent with Soviet Russia to its peak.

Ben Bradley felt helpless because he knew Luce was telling the truth.

“He knew what the people wanted,” Luce continued. “They wanted peace, but even more so, they wanted dignity.”

They cannot accept that a nation's hero was assassinated by foreign powers while their president remained indifferent.

If Nixon insists on the peace agreement under such circumstances, he will lose the support of voters.

The opponents had always been eyeing Nixon with hostility.

Ben Bradley's face was filled with frustration: "Yes, that's how the big shots in Washington always are."

This is merely history repeating itself; he's willing to trade war for his political life.

Looking at the spire of the White House in the distance, Luce repeated what he had just said: "He had no choice."

Because taking a hard line was his only option.

Any president in this situation would have made the same choice at this point in time.

Since the news broke, the Soviet embassy in Washington has been surrounded by people.

Angry crowds, FBI and Secret Service vehicles, protesters from all directions.

Since V's videotape was leaked, this place has never known peace.

After President Nixon's press conference, the angry crowd outside the White House quickly turned toward the Soviet embassy in Washington.

More and more people are gathering here.

Because of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations signed in 1961, diplomatic personnel enjoy immunity. Both the Soviet Union and America were signatories to the convention.

Ambassadors enjoy full immunity from criminal jurisdiction and will not be arrested or prosecuted for any criminal offense.

Inside the embassy, ​​however, the sounds of telephones and telegrams filled the air, creating an atmosphere of extreme tension.

Dobrynin was pale; he knew that at this point, they had no other choice.

He must face this crisis personally.

He is waiting for the final decision from the Kremlin.

Should the details of Hoover's work for Soviet Russia be made public?

This is almost the only way to clear them of suspicion.

But this will also have problems.

That is, even if Hoover worked for Soviet Russia, it doesn't prove that you weren't the ones who did it. After all, what if you had a falling out? What if Hoover defected and planned to surrender to Washington?
This, in turn, proves that the Soviets had every right to kill Hoover.

The point is that this bigger news could cause a collapse of public trust and put the White House in an extremely passive position.

Why does this lead to a collapse of public trust?

Because Hoover was a champion against the CCP and one of the key figures behind McCarthyism, he publicly supported Joseph McCarthy's expanded investigation in 1950.

So now you're telling me that Edgar Hoover worked for Soviet Russia?
This is somewhat similar to homophobia being a closeted closet, or like a church bishop who tells you that he advocates conservatism and that homosexuality is a disease and should be banished to the margins of the world is actually gay in private.

This will cause the believers to suffer a mental breakdown.

"Execute according to Plan A."

The telegram from the distant Kremlin consisted of only one short sentence.

Dobrynin knew that the Kremlin had made a decision.

He arrived at the embassy gate, surrounded by heavily armed American police and frenzied reporters.

At this moment, Dobrynin's face showed no fear, only the calm and determination of a seasoned diplomat. He knew that at this crossroads of the world, he should make his due contribution.

“I stand here not to defend myself,” Dobrynin’s voice echoed through the microphone on the bustling streets of Washington. “but to defend the dignity and honor of Soviet Russia.”

President America's accusations are outright lies and a malicious attempt to undermine world peace.

He took a deep breath and continued, “I admit that I and my staff were indeed at Mr. Hoover’s villa on the night of his death.”

But our purpose is not what Mr. Nixon said.

We received an anonymous tip that someone intended to harm Mr. Hoover. We were there to prevent a tragedy, not to create one.

There was an uproar at the scene.

This is a bit too ridiculous.

Would the Soviets protect Hoover?
Even if Dobrynin's statement was true, and they knew in advance that Hoover was going to be assassinated, the Soviets' presence at the scene was to prevent Hoover from surviving and to finish him off with a shot.

Dobrynin's gaze swept over every reporter present, and his voice became even more resolute: "I swear on my honor and in the name of my country that I, Anatoly Dobrynin, did not kill Mr. Hoover."

I have never ordered my men to do anything detrimental to Mr. Hoover.

He knew how weak and powerless his words sounded.

He has no evidence to prove his innocence; more accurately, the Kremlin does not allow him to release any evidence.

In this situation, his explanation seems utterly ridiculous.

However, he had no other choice.

He must insist, he must deny, and he must shift the blame for this political storm back to the America government.

“This is a conspiracy,” Dobrynin concluded, his voice filled with anger and accusation: “It is a conspiracy meticulously planned by conspirators, by V, who do not desire peace, they crave war.”

They were willing to sacrifice a hero's life to justify their war.

After saying that, he turned and went back to the embassy.

The iron gate behind him slowly closed, shutting out the questions from reporters and the constant flashes of camera flashes.

Dobrynin knew that his statement would only intensify the storm, and that he and his homeland would have to face America's wrath.

What Dobrynin didn't know was why the Kremlin didn't reveal Hoover's true identity.

They have too many records of collaboration with Hoover to reveal; just one of them would be enough to debunk the accusation that they killed Hoover.

Hoover was one of our men, so why did we kill one of our own?
This is the simplest logic.

As for falling out, Hoover has done so much for us, how could we possibly fall out?

Dobrynin couldn't understand.

Don't the people in the Kremlin want peace either? At this moment, he especially missed Nikita.

Compared to Nikita, Leonard is far more radical.

Leonard's radicalism is a sham.

It used other people's blood to prove its toughness, never daring to let the Soviets shed blood, and never daring to cross the red line drawn by Washington.

Every time they take action, it's against betrayed allies; they never dare to attack allies within America's designated area.

That's right, the Soviet Union attacked its allies with threats, exploitation, and even direct attacks, but not America's allies.

The Kremlin had Dobrynin execute Plan A because they didn't want them to expose Hoover's other side.

Moscow, Kremlin, a secret emergency meeting room, filled with people.

Those who can sit here are the core decision-makers in Moscow.

The room was filled with smoke.

In situations like these, cigarettes are a necessity.

After all, this was not a routine meeting, but an urgent debate concerning the survival of the world.

Leonard sat at the head of the long table, his gaze sweeping across the faces of each committee member, searching for an answer.

The red telephone on the table remained silent, but everyone knew it could deliver an ultimatum from Washington at any moment.

Nuclear war was a thought that came to everyone's mind without prior agreement.

Leonard broke the silence: "Comrades, V is crazy, they really are. He really released that video."

He was very likely a remnant of the Third Reich, one of its most elite soldiers, whose purpose was to revive the German Empire.

He is pushing our world to the brink of war.

I need a decision, a decision that can stop this disaster.

Now, please share your opinions.

The first to speak was Marshal Grechko, a staunch hardliner.

"Comrade Leonard, we cannot back down."

This is a blatant provocation against Soviet Russia!

The Americans think we are afraid of war and that we dare not fight back!

If we show weakness now, that would be the biggest mistake we ever made.

We should deny all allegations and immediately order our troops to a state of maximum readiness.

We will show the Americans with steel and determination that any provocation will be met with devastating retaliation!

Grechko's words were resounding and filled with the determination of a soldier.

In the meeting room, some people nodded in agreement.

They believe that in the Cold War, any compromise would be seen as weakness and exploited by the enemy.

At this moment, KGB Chairman Andropov spoke slowly, a man known for his calmness and thoughtfulness:
"I understand Marshal Grechko's anger, but we must be soberly aware that this game is no longer a simple propaganda war."

Nixon's trump card was not lies, but Hoover's corpse and our embassy's vehicles.

If war breaks out, we will lose everything.

Our economy cannot withstand a full-scale war, let alone the consequences of a nuclear war.

He paused for a moment, looking directly at Leonard.

"Comrade General Secretary, the crisis we are facing now is both military and political."

We must take a two-pronged approach.

While directly revealing Hoover's identity would immediately clear our names, it would be far too reckless.

The Americans would see that as intimidation, a blatant threat, a declaration of war against the whole world.

Moreover, the credibility of doing so is extremely low.

Andropov's words shocked everyone present.

“Our goal is to dismantle Nixon’s political base, not to drive him to the brink,” he continued. “If we were to directly declare Hoover as one of our men, everyone working for us in the West would panic, and that would cause incalculable damage to our intelligence network.”

He paused for a moment, a shrewd glint in his eyes.

"Our strategy should be more subtle."

We can't step forward directly, but we can let the truth speak for itself.

“How do we do it?” Leonard asked.

"We have all the evidence that Hoover worked for us for eight years."

We can selectively leak this evidence slowly through our reliable media channels in Europe.

This has plunged public opinion into confusion about Hoover's work for us.

We present evidence, the White House denies it, we present even more evidence, the White House denies it again, and then we present decisive evidence.

The White House's credibility will suffer the most severe blow.

The people of America will be in chaos.

In such a situation, the anger of a united front will be replaced by chaos.

We will not issue a statement; we will let London's *The Times* or France's *Le Monde* speak for us.

Andropov's proposal angered Marshal Grechko.

"This is self-inflicted wound! To save a convoy, we will expose one of our most valuable assets in decades! The intelligence network surrounding Hoover will be destroyed," he roared.

"What we are facing now is not the survival of the intelligence network, but the survival of human civilization!" Andropov's voice was unusually excited: "Compared to the risk of nuclear war, any loss of intelligence is insignificant."

This was a huge sacrifice, but it was also the only effective means to avoid total war.

We traded our identities as traitors for peace.

We used a secret to thwart a potential war.

Leonard fell into deep thought. He knew Andropov was right.

Nixon's tough stance stemmed from public pressure.

If he could direct the anger of the American people toward Hoover and create chaos, rather than toward Soviet Russia, Nixon's political pressure would be greatly relieved, thus reopening the door to peace negotiations.

After thinking for a moment, he said:

“Comrade Andropov,” Leonard finally ordered, his voice calm and decisive, “act immediately and let the Europeans announce this explosive news.”

Washington, D.C., editorial office of The Washington Post
Chief Executive Editor Ben Bradley felt the past week had been particularly chaotic, with the White House making the decision to increase troop numbers, determined to turn Annan into a bastion of the liberal camp.

In an interview, President Nixon expressed his distrust of McNamara, emphasizing that McNamara needed to go to the front lines and could no longer stay in the White House to command the battle thousands of miles away.

The Kremlin has vehemently denied the White House’s accusations.

Dobrynin appeared on several shows trying to convince the people of America that this had nothing to do with them, but he could never explain the core issue: why he was there at that time.

The professor was kept in the White House by the president so that he could consult him at any time, while Kissinger was sent to Europe to discuss with European allies the issue of adding missiles to their countries.

Washington began to function like a massive war machine.

The phone rang:

“Hello, this is John Hailey. I received a letter from V. He said that Hoover had been working for the Soviet Union during his lifetime.”

Sir Haley, editor-in-chief of The Times.

(End of this chapter)