My absurd experiences in North America over the years

This winter in Washington, D.C., is particularly dry and cold.

Li Fu was busy dealing with a series of matters at Forrest Capital, and the companies he directly controlled, such as MGM and Tribune, were also beginning their year-end summaries. The end and beginning of the year are always the busiest times.

Meanwhile, at one of his official residences in Washington, a closed-door meeting had been going on for nearly two hours.

Hilary sat on the armchair opposite the fireplace, flipping through a document.

Three people sat on either side of the coffee table opposite her: Mark Gordon, a senior advisor to the State Department’s Policy Planning Division; Evan Medeiros, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian Affairs; and a staff member who had come from the White House National Security Council.

"He's setting up the rust belt much faster than we anticipated," Medeiros said, flipping through the folder in front of him. "The logistics hub in Toledo is under construction, and we've also acquired land in Chicago and Columbus. If these three hubs are connected, the entire Midwestern logistics network will take shape."

Hillary took a deep breath and placed the document on the table.

Gordon chimed in, "We should stop him as soon as possible. He's rising too fast, changing every year."

In fact, they don't care about logistics networks at all.

While an investment of 20 billion is not small, it is not enough to warrant a closed-door meeting specifically for a prominent figure in the Democratic Party like Hillary Clinton.

What they really care about is that Li Fu's series of clashes with the Japanese right wing in the previous period, including the propaganda war and the exposure of the evil deeds of Japanese right-wing elements, directly led to public outcry.

The Tea Party used this opportunity to launch a fierce attack on the Democratic Party's foreign policy, accusing them of sacrificing the interests and honor of WWII veterans and deceiving the public to appease allies.

That was during the crucial period of the midterm elections.

This caused the major diplomatic strategy formulated by the people present to be shelved due to the loss of public support, and the political cost of restarting it was exorbitantly high.

These are the people who hate Li Fu the most; even the president and cabinet have to step aside.

"How do you stop it?" Hilary finally spoke, her tone carrying an undeniable calmness. "What are your plans?"

Medeiros immediately stated, "The Department of Commerce can initiate a review, citing national security concerns, to investigate whether Forrest Capital's investments in the Rust Belt involve foreign capital infiltration of critical infrastructure."

It's the same old trick. They don't need to find out anything; they just need to stall Li Fu's cash flow and increase construction costs.

Gordon then added, "Congress can also make some preparations. Although the House is now controlled by Republicans, there are still enough Democratic seats on the oversight committee to initiate hearings."

Hillary did not respond immediately after hearing this.

She remained silent for a while, considering the feasibility of doing so. If it was just to vent her anger, it wouldn't actually cause much harm, so there was no need to make such a fuss.

"How long will it take for the Department of Commerce's review to begin?" she asked Gordon.

"If we go through the emergency procedure, we can start very quickly..." Gordon hesitated for a moment, then added, "But the problem is, the timing is a bit sensitive. The new Congress has just taken office, and if we act in January, it could easily be interpreted as deliberate retaliation..."

This is detrimental to Hillary Clinton's political reputation.

Just then, hurried footsteps came from outside the door, followed by a knock.

Hilary frowned slightly and gestured for Medeiros to open the door.

After the door was opened, the administrative assistant stood in the doorway, his expression clearly not right.

This is extremely rare in her team; Hillary's office has strict rules and never allows unauthorized entry.

"Something's happened," the assistant said urgently. "A major incident has occurred in Tunisia."

Tunisia is a small country located in North Africa, but although it is in North Africa, it is a member of the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.

Broadly speaking, it belongs to the Middle East.

Hilary frowned slightly. "What is it?"

"Tunisian President Ben Ali has just announced his resignation and has already left Tunisia by plane for Saudi Arabia. The nationwide protests in Tunisia have now lasted for four weeks, and the situation has completely spiraled out of control. He offered no intervention and simply resigned."

The administrative assistant compiled the newly acquired intelligence and presented it to Hillary Clinton.

The room fell silent instantly.

The whole incident was triggered by Tunisian street vendor Bouajiji's self-immolation in protest against police brutality, which sparked large-scale protests across the country, growing stronger with each wave until it spiraled out of control.

Of course, Hillary Clinton would generally not care about unrest breaking out in a small country thousands of miles away.

However, Tunisian President Ben Ali has been in power for more than 20 years and has long been regarded as an important ally of the United States in North Africa.

His sudden downfall means that the landscape of North Africa and even the entire Middle East may be shaken.

The CIA has long maintained that there is deep-seated discontent among the people of the Middle East (in a broad sense) with economic decline, political corruption, and authoritarian rule.

Indeed, this was the case; the Arab Spring erupted completely with the resignation of Ben Ali, sweeping across the Middle East.

Large-scale unrest has broken out in Tunisia, Yemen, Egypt, Libya, Syria and Bahrain, with many political leaders stepping down and the situation spiraling out of control.

The effects have not subsided even after more than a decade.

Hillary's facial expression remained almost unchanged, but her fingers were noticeably clenched.

Medeiros was the first to react, immediately taking out his phone to contact the intelligence department. He soon received news that the situation was not only spreading in Tunisia, but also in Egypt, with people on social media calling for large-scale protests.

There is now an event page on Facebook with over 90,000 participants.

"Egypt doesn't seem to be doing too well either!" Medeiros's voice trembled slightly.

"The unrest in Egypt has already occurred?" Gordon's face instantly darkened.

Egypt is one of the most important countries in the Middle East, and President Mubarak ruled for 30 years. It has always been one of the United States' most important allies in the region.

In his view, if something happens to Egypt as well, the entire geopolitical landscape of the Middle East will be completely rewritten.

"It's not just Egypt," Medeiros continued reviewing the intelligence, "Yemen, Syria, Libya, and other places are also unstable and could erupt at any time."

The CIA of this era still possessed a certain level of control over intelligence in the Middle East.

This intelligence was mostly bad news for the United States, but it wasn't all bad news.

For example, it could be an opportunity to eliminate Colonel Gaddafi.

The United States has long been involved in "color revolutions" in Libya and has been quietly supporting Gaddafi's adversaries. If unrest breaks out in Libya, this would be a good opportunity.

Hillary stood up and walked to the window, where the new year's night view of Washington was visible.

Stability in the Middle East is one of the cornerstones of America's global strategy; if a chain reaction occurs, the entire diplomatic system will be affected.

Compared to the dramatic changes in the Middle East, a project to build logistics warehouses in the Rust Belt has been directly downgraded in priority.

"I need to speak with the president immediately about the situation in Tunisia. As for Egypt, get the intelligence system to assess the probability of a coup," Hillary Clinton decided almost immediately to temporarily set aside Li Fu.

The administrative assistant nodded immediately and hurriedly left.

In the following weeks, the Arab Spring, which began with self-immolations by street vendors in Tunisia, spread rapidly from North Africa to the entire Middle East within just a few weeks.

No one expected it to come on so fiercely, and no one knew how long it would last.

Li Fu seems to have escaped another attack targeting him.