Chapter 719: Find the Right Balance
This time, when Iraq invaded Kuwait, the Americans played a very important role in it.
It is not an exaggeration to say that the Americans set up a trap and dug a huge pit to embolden Saddam and encourage him to work hard.
If the Americans had a very tough attitude, warned Saddam from the beginning, demonstrated the tough attitude of the United States, and mobilized an aircraft carrier formation to the Persian Gulf, how could Saddam have the audacity to invade Kuwait.
You know, the nature of this is completely different from the Iran-Iraq War.
Saddam launched the Iran-Iraq War because of the thousand-year-old national hatred between the Arab world and Persia. Behind Iraq is the entire Arab world. Arab countries such as Saudi Arabia and Kuwait are very supportive of Iraq.
But when Saddam invaded Kuwait, the nature of the war changed completely. It was a blatant invasion of his own Arab brothers, which was very taboo and was strongly opposed by other Arab countries.
Saddam's image changed from a national hero in the Arab world to a tyrant!
Moreover, as soon as the Iraqi army attacked Kuwait, the Americans immediately turned hostile, strongly condemned Iraq, and froze Iraq's assets in the United States.
Liu Tao heard that the wealthy Iraqis, overseas students, etc. in the United States were terrified. According to the current situation, their property might be lost.
Now the Americans are busy forming a coalition, busy mobilizing supplies and military equipment, busy pulling more sponsorship for military expenses, and busy persuading Congress to increase the budget. That is not a war, it is clearly doing business.
Liu Tao can see that the powerful forces behind it, mainly the military-industrial complex, including energy giants, are reveling and cheering.
It just so happened that at this time, the Soviet Union had such a difficult thing again. It was difficult to protect itself and had no energy to focus on the outside. It even reached a deal with the Americans to withdraw the advisory group and technical experts in Iraq.
If you say there is no ghost here, Liu Tao will not believe it even if you kill him.
"Just wait and see, the war will start in a few months!" Liu Tao said.
The formation of the coalition and the deployment of troops by various countries are not overnight, it will take about half a year.
Half a year later, when the coalition forces are ready, they will launch an attack on the Iraqi army.
But now, various measures against Iraq have been launched.
The United States took the lead in freezing Iraq's assets in the United States, and Europe, Japan and other countries are also following suit. It is estimated that it will not be long before Iraq's assets in these countries will be frozen.
The Persian Gulf has been blocked, and Iraq's oil exports will be frozen soon.
Not only the Persian Gulf line, but even Iraq exports oil through Turkey. At present, the United States and others are forcing Turkey to cut off Iraq's oil exports.
Liu Tao is now a middleman, but he only relies on those tankers, and his own transportation capacity is limited.
He is also grasping a degree that both parties can accept. If he transports too much oil, the Americans will probably turn their faces directly.
According to Liu Tao's estimate, transporting about 800,000 tons of oil a day should be a bottom line for the Americans.
If it is more, I am afraid the risk will increase.
800,000 tons of oil can make about $146.6 million a day, which is a considerable profit.
Of course, this profit cannot be compared with the profit from long oil futures.
Going long on oil futures is a leveraged way to make a huge profit in a short time.
Now, going long on oil futures is rapidly converting into money, dispersing, and eventually slowly converging to several banks such as Xiangjiang.
"I really don't understand why Americans like to fight so much!" Zhu Lin shook his head and said, "Isn't it good to do business well? Now the world's economic development is weak, shouldn't we develop the economy well?"
Liu Ziyu said with deep conviction: "That's right, war is not good, if you are not careful, the S3 season will break out!"
Liu Tao smiled.
War is of course not good.
But existence is the truth.
In the process of human social development, wars have never been cut off.
Not to mention that there are countless wars recorded in the thousands of years of Chinese history, even in foreign countries, there are many wars.
Haven't there been few wars since the Age of Discovery alone! ?
Besides, the weak development of the world economy is the result of the intersection of multiple factors, not just one factor.
War, in the final analysis, is an extension of politics and a redistribution of interests.
As for the S3 season, it is not that easy. It is not 20 or 30 years ago. The world is in a wonderful state of balance.
The world economy is relatively weak, but some countries are also developing very fast.
Everyone is still making do, and no one is really unable to make a living, and really has to do it at all costs.
Unless the United States and the Soviet Union let go of everything, it will be difficult to break out.
When Liu Tao heard the expert's analysis that Iraq would withdraw from Kuwait before the coalition launched an attack to avoid the outbreak of war, he couldn't help laughing.
These experts are really professional enough to say such a view.
You know, who is Saddam?
He is a tough guy sent from heaven. Since he did it, how could he give up Kuwait without fighting a battle and suffering a big loss.
These people obviously have not studied Saddam.
Late at night, Liu Tao and Zhu Lin returned to the master bedroom.
After closing and locking the door, Liu Tao couldn't help but gently hug Zhu Lin's slender waist from behind.
After a while, Liu Tao picked up Zhu Lin by the waist and walked quickly towards the big bed.
After a long time, Zhu Lin rested his head on Liu Tao's chest, and his jade fingers slid lightly.
"You are not going to the Middle East, are you?" Zhu Lin looked worried.
She knew that many people from the armed forces of Panshan Group went to the Middle East. So far, personnel are still being transported to the Middle East in a steady stream, some by plane and some by ship.
Various weapons and equipment were loaded and shipped to the Middle East.
Even Li Fuguo went to Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, in person.
Liu Tao gently stroked Zhu Lin's delicate and smooth skin and comforted her: "What are you thinking about? I am not a military commander. I don't know how to march and fight. I don't even understand military logistics. What am I going to do in the Middle East?"
"Don't think too much. I won't go abroad!" Liu Tao chuckled.
The mercenaries performed very well in the battle in Kuwait, so much so that the King of Saudi Arabia and the King of Kuwait came to China together to discuss relevant cooperation matters.
For them, as long as they can solve the problem with money, it is not a big deal.
Giving wartime subsidies, rewards and pensions to the troops is much higher than hiring mercenaries. The combat effectiveness of the troops is not as high as that of mercenaries, so it is better to hire mercenaries.
And mercenaries can also train the troops well.
This time, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and other countries have realized the importance of the army and are strengthening their military strength.
After all, every country has been scared by Saddam!
Without a strong military force, you can't sleep well at night.
The original mercenaries have increased again, and the tasks they undertake are heavier.