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Chapter 147: WAA (2)
🕑 Added 2025-01-09 17:25:56 +0000 UTCDaenerys, currently planning a massive conquest of the Game of Thrones world, had an insatiable need for military supplies. Even if she couldn't use it all at once, she could sustain her military campaigns and gradually consume most of it.
If she couldn't use it all right away, Josh could store it in his system warehouse without worrying about it spoiling.
Later, when he encounters a world similar to the Game of Thrones world in the future—for example, that little baby who hasn't grown up—he can continue to sell them.
But to secure the rights to manage and sell these supplies, the WAA leadership position had to go to someone Josh trusted.
In Josh's opinion, William Ross was the best candidate.
The WAA wasn't a temporary organization; it was a long-term, lucrative one. After all, there had been no end to American wars in the decades to come.
The Vietnam War, in particular, was even more extensive and costly to the United States than the Pacific War.
But promoting Ross to this position wasn't easy.
While Josh had good relations with the military, they were limited to European ground forces during the war.
His best contact, General McGinnis, although a four-star general, was stationed in Europe. Even if he returned, his influence wouldn't be enough to sway decisions at the Pentagon. After all, there were already 70 to 80 generals in the US Army at the time.
And whether it's President Truman or the real top military leaders like Marshall and Eisenhower, Josh can only say that he can talk to the other side so far, and he can't get to the point where everything can be decided with one word.
In America, capital had power, but only for those at the top.
Convincing the entire Council to support him would make the plan 90% possible, but their interests weren't aligned.
While Josh saw immense potential in the surplus supplies, others like Thomas saw them as useless. Asking them to fully support Josh's bid for WAA leadership was unlikely, as it didn't serve the broader goals of the council.
Even the recent capture of Bucky wasn't leverage Josh wanted to use.
The council wouldn't consider it significant enough to warrant helping Josh secure the WAA position.
If Josh were to offer them the Beast-Transforming Serum, they might help, but it wouldn't be worth it for Josh.
Unexpectedly, while Josh was strategizing, Phillips entered the situation on his own.
In the Marvel movies, Phillips, one of the three founders of S.H.I.E.L.D., had a small presence compared to Howard Stark and Peggy Carter, who became the "faces" of the early S.H.I.E.L.D.
In reality, Phillips was the most important figure in the early S.H.I.E.L.D.
Although his military rank wasn't very high, his family, a prominent military family dating back to America's founding, wielded enormous influence within the Department of Defense.
During World War II, Phillips, who only held the rank of colonel, led the highly classified and massively funded "Rebirth Project" to create super-soldiers, a proof of his influence and ability.
As a mediator and leader, he later recruited Howard Stark and Peggy Carter to form S.H.I.E.L.D.
Without Phillips, neither a wealthy scientist with a passion for controversy nor a British agent would have been able to secure the military, congressional, and White House support necessary to create such a powerful organization.
Phillips was the key.
So, the role of WAA head? A minor matter for him.
"I think, given the importance of this agency, the position should go to a young, energetic officer with extensive military experience, significant contributions, and a good rapport with the Consortium, in order to absorb as much of the huge postwar assets as possible and exchange them for sufficient funds. What do you think, General Phillips?" Josh suggested with a smile.
"Of course, I can't think of anyone better suited for the job than General Ross!" Phillips readily agreed.
While this arrangement was somewhat inconvenient for Phillips and seemed like a significant loss from a purely transactional perspective, it wasn't as simple as it seemed.
A mere branch of the Strategic Science Reserve and a dozen senior agents are not, in theory, worth the price of the head of the WAA.
But that's not how the books are kept.
The position of WAA head held considerable value, but only to someone capable of managing or selling the massive inventory. Otherwise, it wasn't necessarily a particularly lucrative role.
The Pentagon wasn't stupid; it wanted to turn the surplus into as much money as possible.
On the other hand, the Strategic Scientific Reserve, Phillips' life's work, was at risk.
The New York branch is not large, but it is a very important part of it.
And if this matter continues to escalate, even if Phillips has hard connections, the entire agency will be in danger of being abolished—several other intelligence agencies, such as the FBI, have long been unhappy with him. Given the opportunity, they will not mind stepping on the Strategic Science Reserve, an agency that shares power with them.
Thus, Phillips was willing to pay a price to secure Ross's position as head of the WAA.
Moreover, Ross was an excellent candidate for grooming.
Like Phillips, Ross came from an old military family, though less prominent, and lacked Phillips' political skills.
But as a puppet WAA director, Ross would gain experience and credentials, making him a suitable figurehead.
Phillips understood that Josh's real goal wasn't just to help Ross, but to gain access to the vast stockpile of military supplies.
The agreement came quickly—both parties saw mutual benefit.
Meanwhile, Ross, still processing the situation, realized the importance of the WAA only after Phillips left and Josh explained it to him in detail.
He didn't object, either, because Josh had made it very clear that it would only be beneficial to him in his position.
Since they had known each other for a long time, Josh had never let his old friends like Ross and McGinnis down, so his words carried a lot of weight.
Afterwards, Josh stayed at Ross' house for dinner before leaving.
On his way back to the hotel, as he watched the bustling streets of New York, Josh suddenly realized that he hadn't bought a home in the city.
Though he hadn't planned on settling in New York, partly due to lingering trauma from the Avengers movies of his past life, it seemed unseemly for a billionaire to stay in hotels every time he visited.
Speaking of which, that future plot of land where the United Nations would stand...
