America: My Time

Chapter 1486 A Necessary Compromise
Chapter 1476 A Necessary Compromise

How many people are watching John? The appearance and departure of the Middle Eastern prince, and the situation in the Middle East—even a fool would understand what's going on. Everyone wants to know John's reaction, and what will happen next. Will John suspend the asset restructuring to protect his own interests? After all, everyone knows how much John's companies profit from the Middle East!

“Boss, if we really do this, our reaction at this time will affect Gulfstream Aerospace’s interests, and may even affect our future research and development work!” Carol Tomey said with a worried expression. After all, Gulfstream Aerospace’s development is not ideal right now, and it is subject to many external constraints.

"I know, but we have no choice. If we compromise at this time, our own losses will be even greater. We have to face not only the Middle East, but also the situation in the United States and our global strategy. We can't blame ourselves for all this. Those guys broke their promises and betrayed us, forcing us to shrink back and not worry too much. Even if we suffer temporary losses, we can accept it. After all, all of this happened so suddenly!"

John knew perfectly well that if he compromised for personal gain at this juncture, the situation in the Middle East would become even more unfavorable for him. A tough stance was the best option. Regardless of what others thought, his decision was final; after all, this wasn't just a problem for Gulfstream Spaceflight alone!
“Alright then, I’ll have them get ready!” Carol Tomei nodded in acceptance.

"No preparation is needed. We need to cut off the Middle East's access to the global positioning system. We need to take a tough stance against all of this. We also need to inform those guys that none of their weapons are under our maintenance. They will have to maintain everything themselves. Our personnel will be completely withdrawn!"

John's words were not just about ordering the Gulfstream personnel to evacuate; the Jaguar Security personnel would also have to withdraw. The reason for not taking action earlier was due to concerns about the safety of the Gulfstream and Bentley Group personnel. If Gulfstream was prepared, then a full-scale evacuation would begin. John would not show any mercy to traitors!
With John's order, Bentley Group and Gulfstream Aerospace personnel began a full-scale evacuation under the protection of Jaguar Security. Satellite access to the Middle East was cut off, and the network system was also disconnected. Bell Labs also announced that a new round of system upgrades was to be carried out.

Although Bell Labs didn't explicitly target the Middle East, only stating it was a system upgrade, it was clear to everyone that this was an adjustment made in response to the changing situation there. Moreover, this adjustment would likely put the Middle Eastern systems in trouble, potentially preventing them from being integrated into the global network. John didn't take drastic measures against them, since everything was funded by Middle Eastern tycoons. Therefore, John didn't intend to damage their internal network; he simply cut off all external connections to prevent interference with Bell Labs' internal upgrade work.

Gulfstream Aerospace only severed access rights; it had no impact on civilian use. However, the Middle Eastern tycoons weren't after civilian applications; they wanted military applications, but now all of that was no longer theirs. Although they knew being controlled like this wasn't a good thing, the power of the GPS system was too great, and its ability to network with their weapons made this sudden shift a crisis for them.

"Impossible, absolutely impossible! Didn't you say you could stabilize our security? But now you're telling me that all military networks are malfunctioning!" The Middle Eastern royal family was shocked by the military's news. Everything happened too fast. Before they were even prepared, the peace between the two sides began to break down. The thing they feared most had happened: John wasn't using civilian functions, but he was cutting off their military functions.

"We didn't expect them to cut off our military network so quickly. However, given a little more time, we can repair it and get the system running again. After all, it's just an external cutoff, and the internal impact isn't too severe. We have the capability to rebuild this military system without compromising our own security!"

He was just saying this casually. Not only would the royal family not believe it, but even he himself wouldn't believe it. Could a Middle Eastern tycoon really do all this? It's simply impossible. Besides, how lazy are their soldiers? And they don't have the technology to repair it. Most importantly, the maintenance of all these facilities was done by Jaguar Security Company. Now that Jaguar Security Company has changed its ways, they were naturally caught off guard!
Now, it's impossible for Middle Eastern tycoons to stop Jaguar Security's actions because they breached the contract first. Therefore, they cannot take any action to stop them, otherwise it will only escalate the conflict between the two sides. Now, only John can solve this problem. Unless they can persuade John, the crisis they face will be even more terrible and dangerous!
Do they regret it? The Middle Eastern tycoons certainly had such thoughts, but now everything has already happened, and it's all beyond their control. Why did this happen? It's their own problem, and also the betrayal of their "allies." They were too arrogant, too self-righteous, and too trusting of their "allies," not expecting the so-called "peace" to arrive so suddenly, catching them completely off guard. Similarly, they underestimated John's resolve. Unlike other Americans, John didn't compromise for personal gain.

In contrast, John had never trusted Middle Eastern tycoons or the people of the Middle East. He was willing to take drastic measures because he understood future trends and had prepared for the worst; otherwise, Jaguar Security's reaction wouldn't have been so swift and ruthless. John had a guess about the extent of the machinations behind this upheaval, and he had never underestimated the Middle Eastern tycoons, nor had he relaxed his investigation of Bin Laden. His warnings to the Middle Eastern princes were the best proof. How could someone who controlled the global satellite positioning system, someone who was always extremely cautious, not be prepared for the Middle East? After all, the situation there was crucial to the stability of global oil prices and involved enormous profits!
"Try to talk to John. Stop expecting the military to restore everything. Losing the support of Gulfstream Aerospace and Jaguar Security will be a disaster for us. We can't believe what those guys in Sereli say. Their so-called 'peace' is just for their own recuperation. They suffered heavy losses in the war over the past few years. They couldn't hold on any longer, so this 'peace' came about. It's a pity that our 'allies' didn't realize this, or rather, they deliberately pretended not to see it. This reminds me of Mr. John's warning from back then. There are problems within our 'allies,' big problems. Too many people have betrayed us."

As soon as the Middle Eastern prince finished speaking, everyone present sighed. This was the truth. Not only were their 'allies' problematic, but there were also such people within their own ranks. Unfortunately, they hadn't taken John's warning seriously back then. Now that everything had happened, it was too late for them to regret it!
"How do you plan to persuade Mr. John? After all, his actions this time have been too extreme. What methods do you think can convince him? What compromises and sacrifices do we need to make?" John cannot be swayed without sufficient benefits. After all, they were at fault this time; their arrogance led to the current situation, putting them at a disadvantage throughout this dramatic turn of events!
"Compromise is inevitable, and sacrifice is necessary. We cannot abandon our cooperation with Mr. John, nor can we lose our partnerships with Gulfstream Aerospace, Bentley Group, and Bell Labs. If we give up, all our previous efforts will be wasted. Moreover, I believe Mr. John's decision is correct. If I had to choose, I wouldn't trust our 'allies' either. Their betrayal means that all our cooperation with them is problematic, and all our systems are flawed. Upgrading systems, making changes, and cutting off all ties are inevitable. We cannot lose access to the Global Positioning System (GPS), as this would be extremely detrimental to our security. Furthermore, we cannot afford to be excluded from the ongoing new program. I believe everyone now understands the importance of GPS. Also, we cannot lose our cooperation on fighter jets and those two drone carriers, as this relates to our future security, even our security for the next decade or more."

“Prince, we know all that you’re saying, but what we need to do now is persuade Mr. John. But what do you think we can offer to protect these interests? That’s the most important thing!”

"It's simple in theory. Ordinary interests won't sway Mr. John. We can make compromises and sacrifices. We will invest more funds in the third phase of the development of the global satellite positioning system, and make the same commitment in the development of unmanned aerial vehicle carriers. We can even increase investment in seawater desalination plants and take over the orders that our 'allies' have given up. Only in this way can we gain Mr. John's approval, stabilize ourselves, and then discuss our system upgrade with him."

"Hiss! The price is too high, the losses we have to bear are too staggering!" At this moment, many people cried out in disbelief, because they all knew how staggering the price they would have to pay for doing this was!

"You have to give to receive. If we can't even do this, how can we talk about cooperation with Mr. John? You don't think that just taking those steel mill orders will convince Mr. John of our sincerity. Our biggest problem lies in our own system. Don't forget that Mr. John tailored this system for us. Now, if we are unwilling to pay the price, the entire system will collapse. Even if John keeps his promise not to take countermeasures against our weapons systems, do you believe that our 'allies' won't betray our interests?"

Faced with the prince's questioning, no one dared to make any promises. After all, an 'ally' who had betrayed his promises was no longer trustworthy. Moreover, the Middle Eastern tycoons had paid a heavy price to support them, opening up many of their weapons to these 'allies,' so they themselves could not trust these guys' promises.

"The matter is settled. We can't afford to be petty at this point, or the consequences will be even more serious. Behind all this, it's not just Israel pushing things along; the US military, even the White House, and even the Europeans are involved. After all, if we fall out with Mr. John, it will benefit them all. The Europeans can sell us their weapons, and even the US military will take similar actions. But can we really lose Gulfstream's support?"

Middle Eastern royal families aren't fools; they understand the capabilities of their own troops. Abandoning the system John tailored for them would not only mean their previous investments would be wasted, but the consequences would be far too severe, jeopardizing their own safety. Given the current situation in the Middle East, they dare not take that risk!
"Gentlemen, at this critical moment, we must not allow any problems to arise. We must first stabilize ourselves and not be influenced by those outsiders, nor should we allow our people to be affected by them. They might start targeting Mr. John's companies in the Middle East. Otherwise, even if we make compromises, it will be useless. We must not lose sight of the bigger picture. At this time, we must be vigilant against external sabotage!"

The Middle Eastern tycoons quickly responded, stabilizing public sentiment and preventing external forces from plotting against them. The government also proactively strengthened cooperation with John's companies. Before things stabilized, they didn't rush to send the Middle Eastern prince to the US again to meet with John and discuss further cooperation. After all, they understood that if their home base was in trouble, how could John believe in their sincerity? Only by securing these crucial support could further negotiations be possible.
Did the Middle Eastern tycoons have no complaints or concerns about John's countermeasures? No, they did, but they were more aware of their current situation and understood that their existing system could not function without Gulfstream Aerospace's support, or it would collapse instantly. Even if they wanted to change things, they couldn't, because their soldiers had become accustomed to the status quo. Any changes would only cause greater turmoil, or even lead to their own collapse!

(End of this chapter)