American Strategic Deception Bureau

　However, just as the more powerful a defeated dog is, the louder it barks before retreating with its tail between its legs.

　On the eve of abandoning the quagmire of the Vietnam War, the United States also displayed its final madness on this battlefield that had been fully plowed by bombs.

　——As soon as President Nixon came to power, he responded to the calls for revenge from the war advocates and launched a bombing plan with a "100 million tons of TNT equivalent."

　In general, it means that the US military will once again use nuclear weapons to carry out large-scale massacres, and drop various types of nuclear bombs with a total TNT equivalent of 100 million tons on the communists in Southeast Asian countries to punish their "atrocities" of carrying out terrorist attacks in Singapore and brazenly assassinating the former US president.

　The Pentagon and the military-industrial complex welcomed the move: in the past, in the race against the Soviet Union, they had produced too many old-fashioned nuclear bombs, including many bizarre and inefficient nuclear weapons like the "Atomic Anne" nuclear artillery. Now, all of them could be dumped in Southeast Asia, thus clearing out their inventory.

　Only by clearing out the old nuclear arsenal first can we ask Congress for money to replace it with new equipment later!

　Then, in a frenzy of revenge, Congress passed the bill smoothly. Most of the exhausted anti-war groups also acquiesced in the matter, thinking that as long as it did not trigger a Soviet intercontinental nuclear missile attack on the mainland, dropping nuclear bombs indiscriminately was better than letting young men die.

　——Even the American anti-war groups during the Cold War were still only thinking from the American perspective at this time.

　Their anti-war stance was simply because they didn't want too many American young men to die or be injured meaninglessly, not because they really cared about the lives of the Vietnamese.

　Therefore, we cannot agree to continue recruiting soldiers. What about dropping nuclear bombs? There have been so many nuclear explosions before, so it doesn’t seem to matter if we grow some mushrooms?

　Anyway, everyone now knows that the Soviet Union will not launch nuclear bombs at the US mainland just because Vietnam was bombed.

　In that case, letting a few more mushroom clouds rise in foreign countries and letting a few million more people die doesn't seem like a big deal, right?

　So, throughout December 1969, the United States used more than 700 nuclear weapons of different sizes across Southeast Asia - from the Truong Son Mountains to the banks of the Mekong River, as well as the Tonle Sap Plateau and the shores of Tonle Sap Lake. Mushroom clouds towered everywhere, appearing one after another.

　Of course, at the same time, the Viet Cong underground action team's micro-tactical atomic bomb suicide attacks, as well as various retaliatory assassinations and sabotage operations, were also continuous, making American soldiers in various places howl in pain and scaring the various puppet troops and puppet police to the brink of disintegration.

　On his first day in Vietnam, General Weyand, the newly appointed commander of US forces in Vietnam, was confronted by a nuclear leak caused by the crash of a plane carrying an atomic bomb. Terrified, he immediately moved his headquarters to Phu Quoc Island and began remotely controlling land operations from the island.

　(General Weyand was the commander of the U.S. Army's 2nd Field Army and, according to historical records, the last commander of U.S. forces in Vietnam.)

　In reality, General Weyand was barely able to command any troops in Vietnam. All fronts were collapsing like an avalanche. Whole divisions and brigades of American troops refused to obey orders, refusing to carry out any dangerous combat missions, let alone attack Viet Cong positions suspected of being equipped with atomic bombs. A significant number of troops abandoned their positions and fled. American military police who tried to stop the fleeing troops were even shot by them.

　The reason why a small number of US troops are still defending various seaports is simply because land transportation has been cut off and they have to wait for the ships to retreat before they can grit their teeth and hold on.

　If they wait for a long time but still cannot get the retreating fleet, then after their morale completely collapses, it is not impossible for them to choose to surrender to the Vietnamese army.

　The number of American prisoners of war currently held in camps along the Sino-Vietnamese border is said to have already exceeded 100,000 and is climbing towards 200,000!

　It is precisely because of the existence of so many prisoner-of-war camps that the Pentagon has been reluctant to carry out a nuclear explosion within 50 kilometers of the Sino-Vietnamese border.

　This gave North Vietnam a narrow and long safe zone, which served as their rear base for survival.

　After North Vietnamese leader Le Duan was destroyed by a hydrogen bomb in Hanoi and the Red River Delta was reduced to a radioactive wasteland, it was from Cao Bang on the border that he commanded the war.

　Therefore, even though the Pentagon hopes to stabilize the front line, the reality is that the US military on the front line is still suffering one defeat after another.

　On December 5, the last U.S. troops withdrew from Phnom Penh, the Cambodian capital, and sailed down the Mekong River to the coast. Two days later, a U.S. Strategic Air Force B-52 bomber dropped a 9-megaton hydrogen bomb on Phnom Penh, razing it to the ground.

　On December 11th, after confirming that the Communists had entered Bangkok, the Pentagon announced the disbanding of the US military command in Thailand and the phased withdrawal of US troops remaining in the Thai battlefield. Subsequently, the US Air Force bombed Bangkok with a 9-megaton hydrogen bomb, essentially "decontaminating" the city.

　At the same time, on the Malay Peninsula and Borneo, the US military did not forget to plant several mushroom clouds.

　In particular, the "nuclear presidential assassination" that occurred in Singapore is believed to be closely related to the nearby Malaysian communists.

　Therefore, as a corresponding retaliation, in addition to the complete crackdown on Singapore's left-wing political groups,

　The U.S. Strategic Air Force then carried out "intensive cultivation" with hydrogen bombs in the area where the Malayan Communist Party guerrillas were active in the deep mountains of northern Malaysia!

　——Based on the US military's usual carelessness, the number of Malay natives killed in nuclear strikes is estimated to be a hundred times that of guerrillas.

　Meanwhile, across the sea in Borneo (Kalimantan), the US military launched a massive nuclear strike against a suspected Indonesian Communist Party stronghold deep in the rainforest. The result was even worse, with the bombs estimated to have killed more monkeys than people.

　Across the Strait of Malacca, on the island of Sumatra, the US military also attempted to use nuclear bombs to attack some anti-US gang strongholds. The results were equally insignificant, and the news media even mocked them as "using a hydrogen bomb with a TNT equivalent of 120 million tons to blow up a shabby tent worth less than $30!"

　In addition, the environmental protection organizations that have begun to emerge these days are even more outraged by the US military's indiscriminate use of nuclear weapons in the rainforest and its wanton destruction of biodiversity. They run around shouting and performing performance art. Of course, just like the environmental protection girl Greta who later became out of fashion, no one pays any attention to these guys who have nothing better to do: just like feminists never dare to make trouble in Saudi Arabia.

　In short, a nuclear explosion with a TNT equivalent of 100 million tons did not destroy America's opponents militarily, nor did it scare them.

　Because when the war has reached this point, any compromise or surrender is no longer acceptable.

　On the contrary, this has seriously damaged the national image and soft power of the United States, and the glory and progress that the successful Apollo moon landing brought to the United States were almost instantly submerged in the towering mushroom cloud and the shadow of nuclear war.

　Author's words: PS: Israel has begun to attack Lebanon. The combat effectiveness of its ground forces is as weak as ever and they have not advanced even a kilometer.

　This book imagines a lively world where most countries in the world have nuclear weapons and even terrorist organizations can carry out nuclear explosions.

　In fact, if the world really became a world where "everyone possesses nuclear weapons", the Cold War might have turned into a victory for the Soviet Union.

　Those who advocated for the wall back then wouldn't want to live in Night City, right?

　Chapter 443: Cancer of the Earth and Cancer of Humanity

　December 21, 1969, Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, D.C.

　A wonderful and lively environmentalist parade is being held on the cold and windy streets of the capital.

　Leading the group was a young girl dressed as a Christmas tree puppet, holding a megaphone and shouting environmental slogans at the top of her lungs. Behind them came a group of "new humans" dressed in bizarre attire, playing guitars, carrying banners, and wearing face paint, all joining in the chaotic, barking responses.

　Fortunately, it's winter now, and Washington is quite chilly in December. Otherwise, there would probably be many naked men and women parading naked in the streets.

　But when the temperature drops below zero, American environmentalists, who are not as cold-resistant as the Russians, can only change to warm puppet costumes for the parade.

　However, they still held up a huge propaganda board with a huge photo of a mushroom cloud rising over the tropical rainforest and a map of Southeast Asia densely populated with mushroom cloud models, and shouted at the top of their lungs to denounce the Pentagon's numerous crimes of destroying the natural environment.

　"We only have one Earth!"

　"Anti-nuclear war! Environmental protection! Peace!"

　"Stop the nuclear war! For a green and clean planet!"

　"No radiation! No wasteland! Protect our Mother Earth!"

　"The rainforests are the lungs of the Earth! The Pentagon's nuclear bombs are giving the Earth tuberculosis!"

　"Stop destroying the environment! Humans are the cancer of the earth!"

　……

　Sitting in a streetside cafe, listening to the protest slogans outside through the glass window, Fili, holding a coffee cup, suddenly couldn't help laughing: "Hey, I've seen many people oppose war for the sake of life and human rights in the past. But today's opposition to war for the sake of environmental protection is the first time I've seen it.

　But are humans the cancer of the Earth? Are they overestimating human civilization? How could we possibly cause the Earth to become cancerous?

　Human beings do not have the ability to destroy the earth at all. At best, they can only destroy themselves.

　Haha, there's no way to eliminate the patient, you can only eliminate your own cancer. This is the first time I've heard of such a thing..."

　He laughed sarcastically and complained to Dr. Kissinger and Professor Brzezinski who were sitting opposite him drinking coffee.

　The most powerful weapon currently in human hands is the seemingly devastating nuclear weapon. However, even if all the world's nuclear weapons were combined and detonated, the energy released would only be equivalent to a major earthquake.

　"Although humans don't qualify as the cancer of the Earth, the United States is on the verge of becoming a cancer of humanity!"

　Dr. Kissinger, stirring the coffee in his cup with a spoon, sighed dejectedly, "President Nixon asked me to try to get a message from Romania, to conduct some secret diplomacy. But the North Vietnamese said they would never negotiate with us until we withdrew our troops from Vietnam.

　European allies have shown a very cold attitude towards us, and attempts at diplomatic negotiations have run into obstacles at every turn... The strategy of maximum pressure has completely failed!"

　"The UN is also a mess. I wonder where President Nixon found such a lunatic to be the UN representative!"

　Professor Brzezinski shook his head and agreed, "...

　Now, after that guy's ridiculous remarks at the UN General Assembly, everyone is treating the United States like a cancerous cell! Do you know what Soviet "Gray Cardinal" Suslov said about this in Pravda?

　He said that American imperialism has completely torn off its civilized mask and has fallen to a level even more insane than Nazi Germany!

　What’s even more tragic is that I really don’t know how to refute it: Should I really say that “freedom is more valuable than life”?

　Or is it that a free soul is more precious than a living body? Is death the highest form of humanity?

　After hearing this complaint, Firi couldn't help but recall the outrageous remarks made by the newly appointed US representative to the United Nations, and was speechless.

　Three days ago, the US representative at the United Nations, when defending the crazy nuclear strikes currently being launched by the US military in Southeast Asia, actually said something nonsense - "In order to protect freedom and human rights, even if it means killing 100 million people and turning one million square kilometers of land into a nuclear contaminated area, it is a necessary sacrifice."

　The Soviet representative immediately stood up and sneered, "Anyone who can say such things is more evil than a hundred Hitlers!"

　In response, the UN representatives of European and Western countries all looked up at the sky and pretended to be dead, while the diplomats from third world countries applauded loudly.

　Of course, American politics has a long tradition of rewarding donors with diplomatic posts after winning an election, allowing these outsiders and big mouths to engage in public diplomacy. Therefore, similar slapping-in-the-face situations are common, and Americans have gradually become accustomed to them after being slapped in the face so many times.

　What is even more humiliating is that the real problem at the moment is that the United States has pushed its maximum pressure to the limit, but the Viet Cong shows no signs of backing down.

　The US military on the Southeast Asian front has clearly collapsed, but the Pentagon is still pretending to be strong and stubbornly refusing to stop the nuclear war.

　Because the White House has so far refused to take the initiative to make concessions, Dr. Kissinger's diplomatic strategies cannot be launched and he can only sit and sigh.

　There is no way. According to the pirate culture of the Anglo-Saxon people, it has never been the style of American rulers to take the initiative to bow down to the opponent and seek easing of tensions.

　The United States has always been aggressive in diplomacy. If the other side makes a concession, the United States will take ten steps forward, thereby obtaining the greatest possible benefits.

　--In general, the bureaucracy of the U.S. federal government has never had any tradition of "valuing peace" under normal circumstances. It only has an insatiable appetite and arrogance of self-centeredness, as well as an amazing talent for forcing any ally to rebel, kill, or even lie down.

　Most of the United States' diplomatic successes since World War II were barely achieved by the president's private circle, who acted arbitrarily and bypassed the diplomatic department.

　For those bullying, cowardly, and heartless congressmen on Capitol Hill, the best way to end a war has always been to "strike a heavy blow" to crush the opponent's will to resist, forcing the enemy to surrender, and thus solving the problem quickly, efficiently, and economically.

　Therefore, all military actions initiated by the Pentagon are carried out on the premise that "the other party will give in."

　But the problem is, what if the opponent still refuses to give in? Then you can only beat the opponent to death with repeated heavy punches like the Indians.

　However, in modern society, it is so difficult to completely eliminate a nationalist country with a population of tens of millions!

　Moreover, even if such a thing could be accomplished through violence, the consequences would outweigh the gains... For example, after the Vietnam War got out of control to this point, Americans would probably have to try to adapt to "coexisting with nuclear bombs" for the next few decades!

　The contradictions are also becoming increasingly intensified, and the conflicts are becoming more and more intense. So the route around the Cape of Good Hope does not seem to be that safe?

　——In short, the sea that once allowed all merchant ships to sail freely has gradually disappeared.

　Then, the ensuing global nuclear proliferation almost hit the Achilles' heel of the "American Century"!

　——If even small African countries have atomic bombs, how can the imperialist forces impose heavy taxes on third world countries?

　Even with relatively mild financial harvesting, you have to be extremely careful, for fear that the other party will get angry and use an atomic bomb to fight you to death!

　While the Soviet Union was forced into nuclear proliferation by the US's brazen nuclear bombing of North Vietnam, it's undoubtedly a ruthless and brilliant move. When global nuclear proliferation reaches a certain point, any small power will be able to wield nuclear weapons. When the major capitalist nations of Europe and the US can no longer provide even the most basic security guarantees... then the decline of the capitalist world is inevitable.

　You know, in the rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union, the United States had the upper hand because it had the global market and global resources and was able to encircle the Soviet Union.

　The Soviet Union was able to barely compete with the United States entirely because of its vast territory and abundant resources, and the ability to produce most of its own resources.

　But if nuclear weapons proliferate, nuclear bombs will explode all over the world at any time, and pirates will swarm the oceans. The risk cost of sea transportation will be higher than that of rail and land transportation, forcing people in developed countries to live an exciting cyberpunk life like in Night City, where entire communities will be destroyed at any time.

　Under these circumstances, how could the United States, a maritime hegemon, mobilize global resources by sea? Even if the United States wanted to relocate industry to West Germany and Japan, leveraging its allies' manpower, with the Suez Canal cut off, pirates roaming the Strait of Malacca, and Indonesia in turmoil, how could the United States guarantee cheap and plentiful energy and raw materials to the resource-poor Japanese archipelago?

　Once the Strait of Malacca is blocked, Japan's economic development will be crippled, and the United States will become even more embarrassed - deindustrialization itself is already troublesome, and if the industry cannot be transferred out, the consequences will be even more serious: it will lead to long-term economic stagnation or even internal collapse!

　Of course, these nuclear bombs, wildly spread across the globe, would be used not only to attack Europe and the United States, but also the Soviet Union. Historically, the Soviets have incited no less hatred than the Americans. While anti-American groups are ubiquitous around the United States, so too are anti-Soviet organizations around the Soviet Union. Even within the United States, there are die-hard anti-Soviet traitors like the "Lü Zei" (traitors), and many republics are constantly vying for secession and independence.

　What's more, the CIA of the United States would certainly generously provide a large number of nuclear bombs to various anti-Soviet organizations, allowing them to plant mushroom clouds for the Soviets.

　But as long as the worst-case scenario is turned on, the Soviet Union does not need to completely defend against nuclear attacks, as long as it explodes fewer nuclear bombs than the United States.

　Due to the Soviet Union's planned economic system and the fact that the population could not move freely, it was definitely easier for the Soviet Union to engage in counter-terrorism than the United States.

　If we compare which country has a lower crime rate after the Cold War, the Soviet Union and most socialist countries will be better than Europe and the United States.

　Moreover, the 20th century was not the Soviet century, but the American century. As the world leader, the United States had global interests to safeguard. The Soviet Union, on the other hand, had no global interests of its own. Therefore, the United States was the defender of the current world order, while the Soviet Union was the destroyer.

　For the United States, it is "only afraid that the world will be in chaos, and also afraid that the world will be in chaos" - if the world is too peaceful, the United States, the world police, will easily be ignored by other countries. The Pentagon must find some unlucky guy to beat up from time to time to show its presence so that the United States can reap the dividends of hegemony; but if the world order collapses completely, the United States, the leader of the free world, will not be able to issue orders, let alone suck blood from the world.

　But for the Soviet Union, it was "the world is in chaos and the situation is very good" - only when the international order is completely messed up can it fish in troubled waters!

　As for global bloodsucking? That's the exclusive domain of capitalist countries. Every single one of the Soviet Union's overseas allies is a bloodsucking sink!

　In this new world where nuclear proliferation has become an inevitability and everyone must learn to "coexist with nuclear bombs," security will become a luxury... In this way, developed Western countries in Europe and the United States will accelerate their transformation into a cyberpunk society, and the Soviet Union will be able to regain its advantage by relying on the art of being worse than the enemy.

　——Compared with this, the number of U.S. military casualties and prisoners in Southeast Asia, which soared to more than the total casualties of World War II, is a small matter.

　"I remember someone saying that nuclear weapons are most effective when they are on the launch pad.

　But since the Pentagon has already launched all its nuclear bombs and failed to scare the enemy, but instead triggered the Communists' nuclear counterattack and nuclear proliferation, and completely destroyed the morale of the US military on the front lines, then... the deterrent effect of nuclear bombs has been neutralized.

　For a long time to come, nuclear bombs will become common weapons that are widely used and will no longer have the mysterious image they once had.

　Well, things have come to this point, and we can only try to adapt to coexisting with nuclear bombs."

　Firi shook his head with a wry smile and complained to Dr. Kissinger, "Doctor, as far as I know, the nuclear war that broke out in Southeast Asia will not last long. After the 100 million tons of TNT equivalent approved by Congress are used, our country's nuclear strikes will come to an end.

　Simultaneously

　Our army can't hold out in Vietnam for many more days. By next spring at the latest, we will definitely begin a full withdrawal. Well, at least we will abandon Saigon and the land on the Asian continent and retreat to the relatively safe coastal islands, relying on our naval and air superiority to confront the Viet Cong across the sea.

　By then, your diplomatic strategy will have room to be put to use..."

　"Withdrawing from Vietnam next spring? So soon? I don't think it's that easy to turn around the rusty minds of those granite-headed members of Congress and those around the president."

　Dr. Kissinger shook his head and sighed, "It's probably hard for you to imagine how absurd the ideas of some members of Congress are!

　I don't know if they're playing dumb to please voters, or if they genuinely believe this. Anyway, the Soviet Union had been sending satellites and spacecraft into space for years, yet there were still people in Washington who insisted that Soviet citizens lived far worse than the Latin American poor, barely surviving on grass and husks, dying of hunger and cold, and that every Soviet citizen endured extreme terror, longing to escape to the free world.