I Became Stalin?! - Chapter 156:

Chapter 156

“Right now, there are dozens of ‘fifth columnists’ hiding among us! Two hundred and five spies from the State Department! One hundred and eighteen from the Defense Department! And even…”

The young senator, Joseph McCarthy, paused and scanned the audience as he caught his breath. As he deliberately took a sip of water, the reporters swallowed their saliva so hard that it probably filled a bucket.

He lowered his voice and made a wicked expression as he continued.

“In the most American place in America, there are dozens of leftists, communists, and traitors hiding!”

Gasp! Everyone was shocked and gasped for air.

McCarthy was clearly talking about the White House. It was a bold claim indeed.

As the US was pushing Japan back in the Pacific, the current president, FDR, was enjoying unprecedented popularity. Even though some people disliked him and his vice president, Wallace, for being pro-communist and pro-Soviet.

The Soviet Union was fighting a bloody war against Germany, who had attacked them first, and was close to finishing them off.

One way or another, the US and the Soviet Union were inseparable allies.

“What is the evidence for your claim? How can you…”

“Here, here is the list of the communists.”

As a young reporter raised his hand and asked a question, McCarthy seemed to have been waiting and pulled out a bunch of papers from his briefcase.

The white papers fluttered in McCarthy’s hand. The cameramen flashed their cameras incessantly, and the reporters smoked their cigarettes and wrote down every word McCarthy said without missing a beat.

It was a sensational scoop.

“Tell us! Who are the communists? Reveal the identity of the spies!”

“That is impossible. If I reveal this list, they will hide the evidence and disappear or start their sabotage activities.”

The flashes went off again. McCarthy smiled slyly and slammed the podium.

“There are too many parasites hiding in the greatest nation in the world! They leaked national secrets and weakened our defense posture, causing enormous damage. We must punish their treason!”

“Then, Senator McCarthy, how do you propose to…”

“I demand that a ‘Committee on Un-American Activities’ be established in the House and that a legislative hearing be held on it. As you know…”

“As you know?”

“Because there are too many communist spies hiding in the executive branch. We cannot trust them! Who do you think made us spill so much blood in this war? Panama! Pearl Harbor! Remember!!”

With bloodshot eyes, McCarthy began his long speech. The reporters’ hands sped up again.

According to him, the reason why they were surprised in Panama and Pearl Harbor was because the communists had scattered the Americans’ solid security posture.

Hundreds of communists had followed the orders of the Soviet Union, the Kremlin, and Stalin, and dragged the US into the war.

Only Stalin was laughing now, and the countless materials made by the Americans’ blood and sweat were going to the Soviet Union and fattening up the evil communists.

“Then… then what should we do about the war?”

“We must immediately stop all material support to the Soviet Union! Let Germany and the Soviet Union, the two totalitarian states, kill each other. We must finish off Japan and liberate Europe from the hands of the two countries!”

It was not something to say to the Soviet Union, an ally, but some anti-communist and anti-Soviet people cheered.

Even in the ruling Democratic Party, there were people who opposed the massive support for the Soviet Union, let alone the Republican Party?

The Democratic senator Harry Truman immediately commented on McCarthy’s speech, showing something like support.

“Let them fight and die. The two bastards… no, they are both our enemies.”

Of course, quite a few people dismissed McCarthy’s words as lies of a attention-seeker. After all, how could so many people be spies?

Anyway, the young senator from Wisconsin became nationally known, which was not a bad thing for a politician.

His office was flooded with various accusations, donations, and interview requests.

***

“Is he calling us commies right now? Damn it, damn!”

“…I apologize, Mr. President.”

“No, George. You don’t have to be sorry. Sigh…”

Roosevelt rubbed his sore neck and reddened his face. The other officials did not look comfortable either.

The vice president Wallace, who had been accused of treason for cooperating directly with the Soviet Union, and Marshall, who had been ‘played by Molotov’, were among them.

“And Truman. He doesn’t know how to watch his tongue. What? Let them fight and die? If we had fought Germany directly, we would have lost four million lives. Damn it!”

“…”

“Isn’t it enough to throw them some materials, oil, and technology and save millions of lives?”

“…Yes, Mr. President.”

The war between Germany and the Soviet Union was truly horrific and massive.

The information analysts from the Defense and State Departments who saw the statistics that the two countries had killed more than seven million soldiers, exceeding six million, shuddered and shivered their shoulders.

So far, in the war with Japan, the ‘Pacific War’, the number of soldiers who were wounded or killed did not even reach five hundred thousand.

Could the Americans have endured ten times more casualties? The regime would have probably been overturned several times.

They didn’t even know how to repay the Soviet Union, who had shed so much blood for them, but they were stabbing them in the back.

It was not something the US administration had done directly, but Stalin would not like it.

“We barely got a promise to join the war against Japan, and things got messed up like this!”

“Sir, how about asking Stalin for a confirmation of his participation in the war?”

“Yeah, we have to. Damn McCarthy. Because of him, we ended up in a disadvantageous position in the negotiations. By the way…”

Roosevelt leaned back on the backrest for a moment and then leaned forward and asked quietly.

“Is there any truth to what he said? Then the problem would be different…”

“…We will investigate it.”

The Attorney General nodded and walked out of the room. Roosevelt sighed deeply and waved his hand.

“Everything is a mess. I envy Stalin at times like this. If I were Stalin…”

He made a gun gesture with his hand and pretended to shoot. Bang! Bang! He blew on his fingertips playfully.

“I wouldn’t have let a guy like McCarthy get away with it. Who was that? Trotsky?”

“They killed him with an ice pick to the head.”

“Yeah! That’s exactly what I want.”

Roosevelt swung his long arm and shouted. Smash McCarthy’s skull!

“And what about that bastard MacArthur? He’s like that Soviet general, right?”

“Are you talking about Marshal Zhukov?”

“No, no, the one who was executed…”

“Tukhachevsky, you mean?”

Was that him? Roosevelt tilted his head.

“Anyway, execution, that’s what matters. I would have executed that traitor if I were the commander-in-chief!”

“Sir, I know you have a lot on your plate, but…”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m the president of the United States, not the secretary of the Soviet Union. I know that. I’m just venting.”

They all nodded as if they understood what he meant. Was there a politician who had never dreamed of being a totalitarian ruler like Stalin?

He had achieved amazing success, from mythical industrialization to war victory!

While the democratic society wasted time on checks and balances and political strife, the Soviet Union advanced rapidly.

Even FDR, who had a firm belief in democracy and a faith in the present and future of America, felt doubtful about the system when he faced such unbelievable negativity.

And the one thing he envied the most.

“Stalin has Beria, why are we stuck with this?”

“Ahem… sir…”

“Hoover, how long do I have to put up with his antics? I know what you guys say, that it’s better for him to pee from inside the tent than outside, but honestly, I suspect he might have something to do with this.”

John Edgar Hoover, the director of the FBI, was one of the most famous anti-communists in the American political scene.

He had held the position of FBI director for almost 20 years, and he had controlled the US intelligence and the weaknesses and private lives of the politicians.

He had wiretapped everywhere to catch foreign spies, and he had been criticized for having his men follow people around.

The problem was that he had buried the politicians who raised the issue by branding them as leftists.

He had used the opportunity of the massive expansion of the intelligence sector due to the war to satisfy his insatiable lust for power.

To find the connection between McCarthy and Hoover, they needed intelligence capabilities, but the problem was that they were all in Hoover’s hands.

He envied the NKVD director, Beria, who was absolutely loyal to Stalin.

“Anyway, let’s find out if there’s any truth to what McCarthy said. Stalin must have heard about it by now…”

Roosevelt smiled bitterly. There probably weren’t 200 spies, but Stalin knew surprisingly a lot about America. Roosevelt was amazed that he even knew about Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse.

“Yes! We will investigate thoroughly and find out.”

***

“Beria! Come here right now! Damn it! Damn it!”

“Yes!? Yes! Comrade Secretary! Wha… what is it?”

“Look at this. Ha… there seems to be a serious problem with your intelligence work.”

Beria ran over, feeling my anger. I usually didn’t get angry at Beria, and I treated him well so he wouldn’t be wary of me, but this time there was a problem.

He stuttered as he looked at the document I threw on the table.

“Th… this can’t be! Comrade Secretary! It’s not true! Please believe me!”

“Yeah, of course it shouldn’t be. Ha…”

The document didn’t have much written on it, but it could ruin the relationship with the US.

<Wisconsin Senator McCarthy: There are 205 spies hiding in the US State Department!>

“Half of them are exposed?! Our intelligence network and diplomatic relations could be ruined!”