Eagle, I don't want to form an alliance anymore.

The opposition, mainly composed of a segment of Democrats and almost all liberals, believes that sanctions are sufficient and that the United States should not wage a war in the Middle East.

"We've just crawled out of the Great Depression. What people need are jobs and bread, not another war in the desert!" "Our soldiers shouldn't shed blood to defend the royal family of a emirate!"

The voices of the hawks are equally fierce.

Delaware Senator Joe Biden, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, was particularly tough during the debate.

When he stood up, all eyes in the Senate turned to him. Biden had served in the Senate for nearly twenty years; this veteran Cold War politician was renowned for his eloquence and political acumen, far surpassing those of grassroots populist leaders. Historically, Biden was one of the key proponents of the US bombing of Yugoslavia after the collapse of the Yugoslav Wars.

“Colleagues,” Biden’s voice echoed in the Senate, “I’ve listened to two full days of debates and heard a lot about caution, about restraint, about giving sanctions more time….”

He paused for a moment: "I want to ask everyone a question—when a dictator uses an army of 100,000 to annex a sovereign nation, will he listen if you talk to him about sanctions?"

No one responded.

"Sanctions are a good thing. But sanctions can't kill tanks, and sanctions can't stop armored divisions. Saddam Hussein wasn't someone who would be intimidated by economic pressure—he fought for eight years in the Iran-Iraq War, and hundreds of thousands of people died, but he didn't back down! Do you think that if the US and the Soviet Union froze a few of his bank accounts, he would obediently withdraw from Kuwait?"

Biden walked to the front of the podium.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are not asking the president to start a war today. I hope Congress will authorize the president to use force. We want the world to know that the United States of America is not just a speaker waving sanctions orders!"

We have an army! We are willing to use the army to defend freedom and human rights! If diplomacy and sanctions cannot force this dictator to withdraw his troops, we have the capability and the resolve to drive him out by force! Just as we destroyed Hitler's evil rule!

His voice grew louder and louder.

"If we don't authorize today, what signal are we sending? Is it that every ambitious person in the world can use tanks to annex neighboring countries, while the United States will only cast a vote and issue a statement at the United Nations?"

Who will be next to be annexed? Saudi Arabia? The UAE? Bahrain? All those small countries are watching us! They're seeing if America is truly the world's leader, or just a paper tiger that talks a good game!

An opposition member stood up to retort, "Senator, we are not against the use of force; we are against authorizing its use before all diplomatic means have been exhausted! The Soviet Union has already imposed sanctions at the United Nations; we need to give diplomacy some time—"

Biden interrupted him abruptly: "The Soviet Union?"

He sneered, "The Soviet Union was Iraq's arms supplier! It was the Soviet Union that sold Saddam tanks that crushed Kuwait! You want me to entrust America's security to Soviet goodwill? Senator, have you forgotten what Soviet ideology was?"

Are we going to wait until communist terrorist tanks roll over the steps of the White House before we realize we should have contained the red threat in the first place?

Wake up! The alliance between the Soviet Union and Iraq will not change. This is merely the first step in the Soviet Union's efforts to destroy the American liberal order in the Middle East. We cannot let the tiger escape its cage; we must eliminate the evil communist ambitions for expansion ahead of time! Long live freedom!

Some applauded, some shook their heads, but most gave applause. Biden was well aware of the expansion of populist forces in Congress and among the public over the past few years. As a veteran politician with 20 years of experience as a member of Congress, learning to utilize public opinion was an essential skill.

But populist voices are never unified; some members of Congress who support America First expressed their opposition, while others remained undecided. President Gephardt also tended to resolve the issue diplomatically.

After all, if the United States could get the Soviet Union to pressure Iraq and force Iraq to withdraw from Kuwait, then it could give the people an explanation.

One of the reasons he did not want to use force to coerce the Soviet Union was that military exercises were too expensive.

The first day of congressional debates yielded no results. In accordance with American political tradition, the days following the congressions became a battleground for various interest groups to clash. Soon, oil companies and the military-industrial complex also joined the fray, while President Gephardt, under lobbying, gradually leaned toward Biden's proposal.

Ultimately, the debate lasted five days, with hawks and doves refusing to yield, and the final vote resulted in the authorization bill passing by a majority.

During this period, the Soviet Union continuously promoted the actions of the US Congress, advocating at the United Nations General Assembly the "resolution of disputes through diplomatic means," "calling on all parties to exercise restraint," taking the initiative to impose sanctions on Iraq, and deploying troops to Syria, claiming that "this is to force Iraq to reconsider," thus gaining a great deal of international reputation.

If you didn't know better, you'd think the Cold War was a war between the US and the Soviet Union on one side and Iraq on the other.

In contrast to the concrete actions already taken by the Soviet Union, the United States was still debating whether or not to use force. When the Soviet Union was publicizing its intention to use force, it emphasized the news that the United States was going to use force, thus laying the groundwork for the later rejection of the US decision to use force.

Now, Gephardt has finally obtained congressional authorization. Whether he will actually use it is another matter entirely.

It is noteworthy that during the discussions between the two superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union, no one questioned the possibility that the United Nations might veto the actions of the two countries.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

When the news reached Moscow, Slava was reviewing the Syrian deployment plan sent by Ogarkov.

The inefficient American political system has finally caught up with the situation. The Soviet Union has now assembled five divisions in the Black Sea, ready to cross the straits and enter Syria at any time. The transport convoy for the Oka tactical missile system is already on board, and all the accompanying missiles have been delivered to Syria.

Oka can also carry 50-kiloton nuclear warheads, which were delivered to Syria by transport plane two days ago.

And what is the United States doing now?

Slava picked up the telegram about the US Congressional vote, smiled, and shook his head.

The Soviet Union's initiative in proposing and implementing condemnation and sanctions resolutions has earned it international acclaim, with the international community saying, "Moscow doesn't even protect its own people; this is truly the behavior of a responsible major power!"

In contrast, after the invasion of Kuwait, the United States was portrayed by the Soviet Union as having "the first reaction of Americans to mobilize troops rather than go through UN procedures," putting the United States at a disadvantage in the international narrative.

"Damn it, Director Nian, you're a fucking genius!"

The resolution text was meticulously crafted by the Soviet Union. The condemnations were so severe that no Security Council member had any reason to object, and the sanctions were substantial—arms embargo, freezing of oil exports, freezing of financial assets—making everyone believe that the Soviet Union was genuinely addressing the problem.

The United States can only vote in favor of this vote.

Vote against it? Oppose sanctions against the aggressors? Impossible!

Abstain? What's the reason? What? You're not even willing to sanction the aggressor? So the United States has to raise its hand in favor of a resolution drafted by the Soviet Union and dominated by its narrative.

The US itself made a mistake by authorizing Congress to pass a Security Council resolution on the use of force before the Security Council did so, prompting a direct and scathing critique of the US at the UN General Assembly.

"...You don't care what the United Nations says at all. It's your Congress that has already decided to fight. You're just going through the motions at the Security Council!"

Under Soviet propaganda, the international community generally believed that what the United States wanted was not the liberation of Kuwait, but military hegemony in the Middle East!

The Soviet Union's successful diplomatic maneuvering turned a disadvantageous situation into a balance of power.

Diplomats aim to keep the country alive into the next century, while politicians aim to survive until next Friday, especially for these members of Congress who are gradually moving towards populism.

President Gephardt knew that the United States had arrived too late and made a bad move, but the die was cast. The United States could only deploy troops first, while trying to keep the Soviet Union neutral at the UN Security Council and salvage its image as much as possible.

9月12日，美国在安理会提出678号决议，声称如果伊拉克不在1991年1月20日撤军，美国将武力介入局势。

The outcome was unsurprising. At the Security Council, not only the Soviet Union, but also France and China voted against the US proposal, while Britain abstained.

The United States has been isolated at the Security Council level.

Newspapers around the world are reporting headlines like "UN Security Council rejects US war proposal." Anti-war and populist groups in the US have new ammunition: Look, the whole world thinks we shouldn't fight, but you insist! You're sending our children to die in the desert!

Meanwhile, the mobilization of US troops was inseparable from Soviet reports. Now everyone knew that the United States was going to take action—at least in Soviet propaganda, the United States was really going to take action and didn't care about UN resolutions.

The legitimacy of the United States under international law was permanently fractured. The Soviet Union and France repeatedly cited this precedent to argue that the United States was a unilateralist that bypassed the United Nations. This narrative had a huge market in Third World countries, the Non-Aligned Movement, and among the European left.

However, the United States is not without countermeasures.

The U.S. representative shifted the focus of the subsequent Security Council debate from "whether or not to use force" to "whether the sanctions are sufficient".

Congressman Biden presented intelligence evidence—white powder in small plastic bags—claiming it to be Iraq's biological weapons. He also presented further evidence showing that Iraq was still transferring Kuwaiti assets, abusing Kuwaiti civilians, and fortifying its military lines despite sanctions, with no signs of withdrawal. He hoped to change the international narrative to that "the Soviet sanctions were a paper tiger, and the Soviet Union was just stalling for time."

At the same time, Gephardt directly created a "coalition of wills" outside the Security Council.

Can't get authorization from the Security Council? Surely I still have the right to self-defense!

Saudi Arabia's invitation to the US military to protect itself is a legitimate act of a sovereign state. The right to collective self-defense is clearly stated in Article 51 of the UN Charter: the US can station troops in Saudi Arabia without authorization from the Security Council, and the presence of troops itself constitutes pressure on Iraq.

However, these countermeasures are all defensive and operate within the framework set by the Soviet Union.

The initiative is no longer in the hands of the United States.

Chapter 114 This will be a war to establish a nation!

The United States began its operations in the Middle East in late September 1990.

In the last week of September, news headlines around the world were filled with the same image—gray transport ships departing from Norfolk and Charleston naval bases, crossing the Atlantic Ocean towards the Suez Canal, and massive C-5 Galaxy transport planes landing one after another at airports in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province. In the desert heat, American soldiers in desert camouflage filed out of the planes.

The New York Times headline read: "US massively increases troop presence in the Gulf, Pentagon says it's 'demonstrating resolve'."

The Washington Post reported: "President Gephardt: We do not seek war, but we are not afraid of war!"

The Times of London wrote: "US military returns to the Middle East – the first power projection since the recession."

The Moscow-based Pravda newspaper continued its anti-American propaganda: "Imperialists have once again cast the shadow of war over the people of the Middle East."

Beijing remained neutral; the People's Daily's 400-word news report contained no adjectives, only the opening line "According to Reuters." Xinhua's English report, however, added the sentence, "The Chinese government calls on all parties concerned to resolve the dispute through dialogue."

At a regular press conference, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs answered questions about the situation in the Gulf. Many foreign journalists wanted to know whether China, as a close ally of the Soviet Union, would intervene in the Middle East conflict, whether it would support the United States, and how it viewed Iraq's invasion of Kuwait...

The Chinese spokesperson's response was watertight, but it was essentially meaningless. They failed to provide the explosive information Western journalists were looking for, such as whether Zhong would send troops, whether China would join the Warsaw Pact, or whether it would join the sanctions against Iraq. In short, they only addressed one core issue:

Old Zhong won't get involved in this; he just wants to advocate for peace and then watch the show.

Talk is cheap, but action is another matter. At this moment, no one in Zhongnanhai was not on edge. Liu Huaqing, Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission, transferred a large number of staff officers from the National Defense University who specialized in Middle East issues to conduct simulations.

The general consensus is that the United States is relatively optimistic about winning the war. A large part of the reason why the United States failed in the Korean and Vietnam wars is that in those two wars, the United States either fought a direct battle with the US president or the US president was constantly providing support to the US's adversaries.

But who was behind Iraq? The Soviet Union?

No, no, no. The Soviet Union imposed economic and military sanctions on Iraq even faster than the Americans. Saddam Hussein had promised Moscow a peaceful resolution before the war, but Saddam's double-dealing and sudden attack were a diplomatic slap in the face to Moscow.

The Soviet Union didn't take action to resolve the issue simply because the United States had already made the first move. If the United States hadn't intended to use force and simply wash its hands of the matter, the Soviet Union would definitely have dealt with Saddam Hussein first!

Therefore, Lao Zhong's current predictions focus on the post-war Middle East situation:

How much space will be left in the Middle East arms market after the US military intervention? Will the Soviet Union increase its military presence in Yemen and Syria? What role will Israel play?

For Lao Zhong, this war was also a test of the military system: What type of air defense network did the Soviet Union deploy in Syria? When the Americans attacked Iraq, would they also find out all the technical details of the Soviet-made air defense system? If they did, would the things China imported from the Soviet Union still be worth the price?

Many within the Zhong family believe that the United States may get bogged down in a war because, since the Cold War, it seems that the US and the Soviet Union have both suffered losses in large-scale wars abroad: the US fell in Vietnam and Korea, and the Soviet Union slunk out of Afghanistan.

Therefore, many observers at the time generally believed that although the United States was militarily powerful, it feared a protracted war and heavy casualties. They argued that if the US launched a large-scale ground war against Iraq, it would become bogged down in a quagmire similar to the jungle guerrilla warfare and urban warfare of Vietnam. The US military would suffer tens of thousands of casualties and ultimately be worn down.

At this time, neither the United States nor the Soviet Union had released detailed military plans. How exactly would the United States wage war, and to what extent? Would it merely help Kuwait regain its independence, destroy the Iraqi regime, or even directly occupy Iraq?

The international community is unaware of this.

At this time, Iraq's military strength was, on paper, that of the "fourth strongest military power," much like India's claim to be the third strongest in the world. Iraq possessed a massive conventional force, with over one million soldiers, thousands of tanks, and hundreds of fighter jets. It had everything from T-72Ms to MiG-29s, and its personnel were well-prepared, possessing extensive combat experience. Having just experienced the seven-year Iran-Iraq War, Iraq was highly skilled in urban defense and positional warfare.

The Saddam regime has been displaying a tough stance these days, declaring its intention to turn the Gulf into a second Vietnam and creating the impression that Iraq will resist nationwide. As a result, many people believe that if the United States were to attack Iraq, it would inevitably get bogged down in a quagmire.

The traditional view within the military held that air power could not determine the outcome of a war, believing that the powerful US air force could not destroy Iraqi forces under the protection of the Soviet air defense system, and that the final victory would depend on ground troops. Some generals, based on their own country's revolutionary war experience, believed that any powerful external enemy would be in trouble in the face of homeland warfare and national mobilization. This belief was projected onto their predictions regarding Iraq.

Although China is not directly involved in this war, it is actually paying close attention to its developments.

...

At this moment, the atmosphere within the United States is rising.

After months of congressional struggle and lobbying, Gephart was persuaded by the military that the United States needed the war.

To be precise, it's not about needing war itself, but about needing Americans to regain their belief that this country can still do something!

Since the Great Depression, images of unemployment, bank failures, and long lines for relief have been broadcast on television for years. CNN's ratings rely on empty factories in Detroit and tent cities in Texas. The gains the US made from Japan in the past few months were mostly financial capital rather than the substantial gains from real industries like the Soviet Union did. This meant that the US economic recovery did not promptly benefit people's livelihoods.

Now, CNN finally has new footage—American tanks roaring in the desert, proud American soldiers disembarking from planes, and an invincible naval fleet stretching to the sky heading towards the Persian Gulf...

The Pentagon effectively implemented media control before entering a state of war, scheduling a daily press conference and censoring any news related to the Middle East wars.

The military will only allow the news they need to be reported domestically.

Under news censorship, within a month, public opinion in the United States was reignited, with television stations broadcasting daily news reports such as "A Compilation of the Crimes of the Iraqi Regime" and "What Bad Things Saddam Hussein Did in 1990." At the same time, new advertisements began appearing on television.

A middle-aged white man in overalls stands in front of the factory. The scene changes, and he puts on a military uniform, while the background becomes a desert.

The narration reads: "The Stars and Stripes will never fall!"

This is a recruitment advertisement produced by the Ministry of National Defense in collaboration with several advertising companies. With the media's support, many people signed up for the army—the economic recession left young people in their early twenties with no other choice, and the army at least provided food and a decent salary.

At this time, American society was aroused with new vitality, as if everyone wanted to prove that America had never been defeated and that America would always be great!

On September 29, Congress passed a further war bill, allowing more troops to be deployed to the Middle East.

The Soviet ambassador to the United States was subsequently summoned to the Oval Office by the U.S. Secretary of State, where President Gephardt addressed the Soviet ambassador, saying:

"Mr. Ambassador, the United States will be increasing its military deployment in the Middle East. We do not want to wage war against the Soviet Union or infringe on its core interests. Please convey to General Secretary Ivanov that the United States' military actions have clear boundaries."

He listed the operational boundaries drawn by the United States:

First, NATO forces aim to help Kuwait regain its independence. There are absolutely no plans to cross the Kuwait-Iraq border and invade Iraqi territory. However, if there is a military need, NATO might invade Iraq, but it will never maintain long-term control over any region of Iraq.

Second, the United States will not deploy missile bases in Kuwait. It will not deploy any missile systems in the Gulf region that could threaten Soviet oil fields and military facilities in the Caucasus.

Third, the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty between the United States and the Soviet Union remains in effect, and the United States' commitment to the treaty remains unchanged.

The Soviet ambassador sent these words back to Moscow overnight. Slava received them and relayed the Soviet demands the following day—

NATO was required to keep the Soviet Union informed of the location of its naval fleets at all times, as well as the number of troops and equipment deployed in the Middle East, and to allow the Soviet Union to track the NATO fleet's sailing routes.

These requests were sent to the White House. After several rounds of debate, the U.S. Congress agreed to the Soviet request, allowing the Soviet Union to send inspectors into the Allied forces to monitor troop movements.

On October 1, the Soviet Union issued a statement:

"The Soviet Union will remain neutral in this conflict and closely monitor the actions of NATO forces to prevent NATO from infringing on Soviet core interest areas."

The following day, October 2, U.S. Defense Secretary Dick Cheney personally flew to Riyadh.

He brought a stack of satellite photographs, which the Americans laid out one by one before King Fahd in the Saudi royal palace. The black-and-white satellite images showed Iraqi armored divisions with tanks lined up neatly, and the airfields densely packed with warheads. Cheney drew arrows on the photographs with a red marker—arrows pointing from Iraqi assembly points to Saudi oil fields in the south.

The United States is not here in the Middle East to be a good guy. With the sound of cannons, gold is everywhere. The United States is here in the Middle East to collect protection money!

If the eldest brother comes to help his younger brother get revenge, are the other younger brothers supposed to leave empty-handed without offering some benefits?