Chapter 156 Appropriate Support

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are in big trouble." In the roundtable conference room of the White House, Carter's opening remarks were very helpless.

Carter probably thought that he was the most frustrated of all the presidents. The Vietnam War that had just ended made Americans realize that their military force could not even conquer a small country like Vietnam. And now, the Soviet Union was so aggressive and was on the offensive in the Cold War.

Now, the Soviets are dissatisfied with the status quo and no longer want to be surrounded by the Western world. They want to seek a new position in the Cold War. The first step is to open a gap in the Far East!

Once the Soviets took over Hokkaido and had an ice-free port eastward to the Pacific Ocean, places like Hawaii in the central Pacific would be under constant threat from the Soviet ocean-going fleet, just like in the Pacific War.

Although the Soviets do not have a strong naval fleet at present, they are a traditional land power. However, once the Soviets seek maritime hegemony, they can quickly build a strong naval fleet relying on the Soviet defense industry.

The Soviets met with the American ambassador, who has conveyed the Soviets' intentions to the White House. Now, everyone knows that the Soviets want Kushiro Port!

Although Stalin proposed the conspiracy to take Kushiro at the end of World War II, President Truman did not agree to it at all. Instead, he ordered the US military to quickly occupy the entire island, leaving no chance for the Soviets.

And now? The Soviets actually dared to initiate a war of aggression and occupied the port of Kushiro in Hokkaido!

"We must not let the Soviets succeed." Defense Secretary Harold Brown said, "If the Soviets occupy northern Hokkaido, it will directly threaten our maritime rights in the Pacific Ocean. We will not be able to effectively track the Soviet submarine forces. We must take advantage of the fact that the Soviets have not yet established a firm foothold and drive them into the sea!"

When beating a dog, look at its owner. Now that the Soviets have landed in Hokkaido, they are declaring war on the United States. That tough Ustinov is simply a scoundrel and a devil!

"However, we don't have a strong army on the island. We can only mobilize the air force and navy." Vice President Walter Mondale was worried. The island's ground self-defense force is not strong enough to fight, and the United States can provide support without an army!

"That's the best," said Secretary of State Warren Miner-Christoph. "We all underestimated the Soviet Union's ambition to invade and expand abroad. Moreover, they actually went straight to Hokkaido. We are not afraid of war, but if we really have ground contact with the Soviet Union, the scale of the war will be beyond our control. The situation in Western Europe may get out of control and World War III will come. Ladies and gentlemen, fighting a world war now is not in the interests of our Western world. We must control the scale of the war."

As Secretary of State, Warren obviously saw further. Ustinov's conversation with the American ambassador was obviously a warning to the United States not to get involved, otherwise it would be a world war!

The United States will not watch Hokkaido being annexed, but it cannot engage in a full-scale conflict with the Soviet Union. This is a very difficult decision!

Acknowledge the Soviet Union's occupation of Hokkaido? Then the United States, the big brother of the Western world, will lose its position! The French will definitely be the first to stand up and accuse! Help the islanders to take back Hokkaido? Put aside how many Americans will die, as long as the US Army joins the war, the scale of the war will expand.

During the Cold War, both the United States and the Soviet Union tried their best to avoid direct confrontation. In the Korean War, the United States took action first, but the Soviet Union did not send troops. In the Vietnam War, the United States took action first, but the Soviet Union did not directly send troops. In the later Afghanistan War, the Soviet Union took action first, and the United States could only support it from behind.

Now, the Soviets have taken action, but they did not pick on the weak ones. Instead, they headed directly for the most solid bridgehead in East Asia!

"Then how do we control the scale of the war?" Carter asked. Although Carter had a seven-year naval career in his resume, he had never participated in any war. His main advantage lies in his political achievements, not military.

"Only send the navy and air force, not the ground forces." Secretary of State Warren continued, "As long as we blockade the navy and air force and cut off the Soviets' logistical support, these first landing troops will soon collapse. If we block the sea routes and air shipping, the Soviets will not have any advantage. As for the ground attack, let the island nation's ground self-defense force carry it out on its own."

Warren had a long-term vision. The army fought a war based on logistics. The Soviets did not attack from the west and north of Hokkaido, but took a long detour to attack from Kushiro Port in the Pacific. Although this caused surprise, it could not last long. The Pacific still belonged to the Americans! As long as the US Navy in the Pacific and the Air Force on the mainland were dispatched to block the Soviets' logistics supply lines, the Soviets would be trapped.

As long as there is no ground war, the downing of a few planes in an air strike and the death of a few pilots are not a major conflict. Didn't the two sides have an air conflict after the last civil airliner incident? In the end, both sides kept it secret and did not cause an uproar.

The same is true this time.

"Yes, as long as we have the advantage in the air and at sea, the islanders can handle the battle on land." Secretary of Defense Brown also agreed with Warren's suggestion. In fact, even if the U.S. Army wanted to join the war, it would take at least half a month to prepare, and it was simply too late now.

"Okay, then we will mobilize the navy and air force to block the Soviets' retreat!" Carter said, "We must not lose again this time!"

In fact, if you think about it carefully, this matter is not completely harmful. At least, Congress is planning to use the civilian airliner incident to try to impeach the president. This is American democracy!

And now, the Soviets have launched a war to invade the island country! This proves that the US military was right in what it did before! At that time, the government had already noticed the Soviets' ambitions, so it sent a passenger plane to camouflage and conduct reconnaissance! If you want to blame someone, blame the Soviets for being too barbaric, even attacking civilian airliners!

After this incident, the turmoil on the passenger plane was definitely over! At this moment, Carter was actually a little grateful to those crazy Russians in his heart.

After the discussion was over, Lieutenant General Paul, commander of the US forces in Japan in the Far East, finally received instructions from the White House, and the navy and air force took action to attack the Soviet air routes!

A great battle at sea and in the air is about to begin.