Chapter 343: Chapter 420 Roosevelt's Concerns
"Oil in the Sirte Basin?!" Churchill looked at the telegram sent by Ambassador Samuel several times, incredulous, and exclaimed, "How is that possible?! It can't be!!"
In the latter half of the 19th century, the second industrial revolution, represented by electricity and internal combustion engines, arose, and oil took its place on the historical stage, playing an irreplaceable role. Without oil, factories couldn't operate; without oil, airplanes, warships, and mechanized troops were just scrap metal; without oil, there would be no modern industry or industrialized nations. Therefore, countries fiercely competed for oil resources.
As the British Empire, with colonies spread across the globe, naturally had a keen interest in exploring for oil. Although the oil production in Britain and its colonies was not prominent, the British used their substantial capital and influence to penetrate the world's major oil fields, and the British presence could be seen from extraction, transportation to sales.
As for Libya, in earlier years, even many British oil exploration experts had explored there, concluding that Libya was a barren land without oil.
But now, how has oil suddenly been discovered?!
And such a large oil field that it could support a European war for ten years?!
"Oh God! Have You abandoned the British Empire?" Churchill groaned in pain and slumped powerfully into his chair.
After a while, he barely mustered the energy to call his secretary and ordered, "Send a telegram to President Roosevelt, pass this message to him." The Soviet Union, that unreliable partner, was no longer an option; now, only the United States could help Britain, especially since Roosevelt certainly wouldn't want to see Germany dominate Europe.
After the secretary left, Churchill read the telegram again. "Flying bombs?" If what Salazar said was true, and the number of these flying bombs was enough to bomb London for a year, wouldn't London be flattened?
A way to intercept these flying bombs must be found. But Salazar, that greedy man, would surely demand a sky-high price. Britain had already sent 470 tons of gold to Spain; when had the British Empire ever suffered such a loss? The thought made him itch with rage.
After pondering for a long time, Churchill issued another order. "Send a telegram to Ambassador Samuel, as long as the Spaniards can get the complete set of 'flying bomb' blueprints, the price is negotiable." As long as they got the blueprints for these flying bombs, then Britain could also produce them, to counterattack Germany.
Across the Atlantic, in the White House, President Roosevelt, who received Churchill's telegram, was equally shocked and immediately consulted with Marshall on the matter.
Marshall read the telegram and looked somewhat grave. "If the Germans have found enough oil, I think even if we join in, it will be very difficult to achieve victory." The industrial strength of the European continent is not inferior to that of the United States, and the population is far greater than that of Britain and America, while the Achilles' heel is the short-term resources, especially oil, which is highly dependent on imports, as well as food, cotton, and non-ferrous metals.
Now that oil, the most important factor that can affect the war, has been resolved by the German army, defeating Germany thoroughly is extremely difficult. "The best course of action would be to immediately dispatch bombers to destroy the Libyan oil fields."
President Roosevelt sighed helplessly; he wished he could. But he dared not act rashly now, as a recent public opinion poll released by the National Broadcasting Company showed his public support at only 29%, a historic low. Additionally, a whopping 66% of Americans did not support the Roosevelt government.
As mentioned earlier, because Wilhelm in this timeline had first implemented various new policies and reforms in Germany, Roosevelt's measures to save the American economy seemed less novel. The opposition mocked Roosevelt as a "copycat" president, saying that even a monkey seated in the presidential chair could do better than him.
As a result, his support rate was much lower than in the original timeline. The recent "New Jersey" sinking incident and the secret support for Britain caused his support rate to plummet.
The proposal to revert to the Neutrality Act had already been placed before him, and although he had not responded yet, he couldn't delay much longer. Perhaps those isolationist fellows would really initiate an impeachment motion against the president.
"What a bunch of fools!" It was unclear whom he was cursing, but Roosevelt swore angrily. "These short-sighted idiots, only greedy for immediate benefits and comfort, don't they know that once Germany achieves victory on the European continent, it will be a disaster for America!"
Because the United States is far from the traditional center of the Earth—the Eurasian landmass—and due to its vast national scale, it holds an absolute dominant position on the American continent. No country around the United States can threaten its national security, so the national security situation of the United States is much more stable than that of the traditional Eurasian powers.
Militarily speaking, since the United States has almost no land enemies, it has historically been able to develop its navy without any concerns, without having to invest massively in land forces. As long as it controls the oceans, no country can threaten the security of the United States. This is a condition that the Eurasian powers do not have. With naval supremacy secured, then develop the army. The US military has always been able to fully confront its enemies without worrying about its own national security because it is located in America and has a strong navy. This strategic advantage is something that the Eurasian powers do not have. The United States was not attacked by any country during World War I and World War II, which is a clear example of this advantage. And this advantage is very significant. Especially in modern warfare, with its huge demand for industry, the strategic advantage brought by an unattacked industrial system will be decisive. And once the war is over, the unharmed American industrial system can easily economically colonize countries devastated by war.
But this geographical advantage is also America's fatal weakness.
Theoretically, the United States is actually on the periphery of the world, not the center. Being too far from the World Island (Asia-Africa-Europe) can easily lead to isolation and closure. This disadvantage of being far from the World Island is the fundamental reason for the backwardness of the culture and technology of the indigenous peoples of the Americas—they could not learn the most advanced cultural technologies of other civilizations on Earth for millions of years, resulting in the American civilization still being in the late Stone Age when Europeans discovered the American continent.
Therefore, the United States cannot participate in the affairs of the Eurasian plate, nor can it influence the politics and economy of the countries on the Eurasian plate.
This has been the case since the founding of the United States, so after its founding, the United States established the national policy of a heavy industry power. When the world's first industrial country, Britain, gradually abandoned heavy industry due to the huge benefits brought by financial hegemony, the United States, Japan, and Germany built their nations on heavy industry and gradually caught up with and surpassed Britain. At this time, the fall of the British Empire was just a matter of time.
But the rise of heavy industry could only allow the United States to participate in international trade, not in international politics, let alone have a voice in the world.
So, what should the United States do to achieve world hegemony?
That is to use the contradictions of the Eurasian plate, establish strategic footholds, participate in global affairs, and achieve world hegemony.
Once Europe is unified, does the United States still have the conditions to dominate the world?
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