69: Chapter 69 The Secret Deal Under the Table

After Lieutenant General Green reported the combat losses at Raqqa Military Base to General Maitang, he immediately needed to handle the aftermath regarding the equipment and personnel of the five lost helicopters and one F-16 Fighter Jet.

If it were just a loss of one or two helicopters crashing, Lieutenant General Green could ignore the wreckage of the crashed helicopters and the remains of the officers and soldiers.

Now, with five helicopters and one F-16 Fighter Jet lost at Raqqa Military Base, leaving the wreckage of so many warplanes and the remains of the officers and soldiers unattended would likely result in the wreckage eventually falling into the hands of other major powers.

Other major powers could use them to study the Black Hawk Helicopter, the Apache Attack Helicopter, and the F-16 Fighter Jet, peeling back another layer of the mystery surrounding these USA warplanes and perhaps even developing targeted weapons.

If the remains of the lost officers and soldiers were not brought back either, the many families involved would question Lieutenant General Green.

If the officers and soldiers at Hera Joint Military Base found out, they would also fear that they might meet the same fate after death.

If any scandal were to break out, it would be detrimental to Lieutenant General Green.

Therefore, Lieutenant General Green had no choice but to find an intermediary to negotiate with Raqqa Military Base, through a secret deal under the table, to exchange for the wreckage of the warplanes and the remains of the officers and soldiers that had crashed at Raqqa Military Base.

The intermediary quickly established contact with Major Jafari through layers of connections and conveyed Lieutenant General Green's intentions to Major Jafari.

Upon hearing that Lieutenant General Green wanted to redeem the wreckage of the warplanes and the remains of the officers and soldiers that had crashed at Raqqa Military Base, Major Jafari initially wanted to refuse flat out.

After all, the USA had blatantly launched an air strike on Raqqa Military Base, causing such heavy losses, and now that their warplanes had crashed, they wanted their wreckage back.

Wasn't this an insult to Major Jafari?

But after thinking about it, Raqqa Military Base currently had no combat capability.

The weapons, equipment, and personnel that Lieutenant Colonel Haidari had promised to replenish would not arrive quickly, and it was unknown whether the reinforced Tianlei Series Anti-Aircraft Missile company would stay stationed at Raqqa Military Base for the long term.

In order for Raqqa Military Base to be able to protect itself, it would be best to reach a temporary agreement with Lieutenant General Green to allow Raqqa Military Base time to recover.

Major Jafari finally agreed to negotiate with the special envoy sent by Lieutenant General Green at Raqqa Military Base and had the intermediary convey this intention.

Soon, the special envoy sent by Lieutenant General Green arrived, who was none other than Colonel Wall, the commander of the joint forces originally sent to attack Raqqa Military Base.

As soon as they met, Major Jafari and Colonel Wall looked at each other with hostility, neither liking the other, and felt like rolling up their sleeves and getting into a fight.

But both sides had reservations and could only sit down to negotiate properly.

Colonel Wall started off aggressively, "Your side must unconditionally return the wreckage of our crashed helicopters and F-16 Fighter Jet, as well as the remains of our officers and soldiers."

Major Jafari, of course, did not agree and said, "Impossible. Don't even think about it. Unconditional? You're dreaming!"

"Are you not afraid that we will continue to launch air strikes on Raqqa Military Base? We have more warplanes than you, are equipped with more missiles, and can launch new air strikes at any time."

"Then come. Do you dare? If you come again, you will just let the USA continue to lose warplanes and personnel." Major Jafari wanted to establish the momentum first.

Seeing Major Jafari so firm, Colonel Wall had to soften his tone.

After all, if he really wanted to continue air strikes on Raqqa Military Base, he wouldn't have needed to come here.

Threats were just a means, nothing more.

"Then our side is willing to pay to redeem the wreckage of the crashed helicopters and F-16 Fighter Jet, and the remains of the officers and soldiers."

"How much money?" Major Jafari's eyes lit up when he heard about money.

"One million US dollars." Colonel Wall casually quoted a low price.

"Are you joking? This is for five helicopters and one F-16 Fighter Jet." Major Jafari was amused by his anger.

"Two million US dollars. After all, it is just warplane wreckage."

"Impossible."

"Then what do you want in order for us to redeem them?"

"Hand over the Omar Oil Field to us." Major Jafari proposed the condition.

The Omar Oil Field was one of the largest oil fields in Syria controlled by the US military.

Its peak daily crude oil production could reach 80,000 barrels, and although production had dropped significantly later, it still had a daily crude oil production of 20,000 barrels.

"Don't dream. Change the condition." Colonel Wall refused flat out.

The Omar Oil Field was one of the main sources of oil theft by the USA troops stationed in Syria, so how could they give it up?

"Then hand over the Conoco Gas Field to us." Major Jafari knew that the Omar Oil Field could not be returned and lowered his demands.

Although the Conoco Gas Field also had relatively rich oil reserves, it could not be compared to the Omar Oil Field, with a daily crude oil production of less than 3,000 barrels.

Colonel Wall hesitated slightly; although the Conoco Gas Field had low daily production, it still produced over a million barrels of oil a year, worth nearly 70 to 80 million US dollars, so he considered it and said, "I cannot make the decision. I need to report and tell you the result."

Major Jafari saw this and said, "Hurry up and report. This is the condition, and it will not be lowered any further. Otherwise, forget it, and we will not continue the negotiations."

Colonel Wall had no choice but to leave, and soon he contacted Lieutenant General Green, saying, "General, I have negotiated with the person in charge of Raqqa Military Base. After my efforts, the other side proposed to use the Conoco Gas Field to exchange for our crashed warplane wreckage and the remains of our officers and soldiers."

"The Conoco Gas Field?" Lieutenant General Green asked in confusion.

"It is that small oil field with a daily production of less than 3,000 barrels." Colonel Wall reminded him.

"No problem. It can be used for the exchange." Lieutenant General Green did not care when he heard it was a small oil field.

If it was discovered later that the oil field's production had increased, they could just seize it back.

"Yes, General."

"You also need to create some obstacles for Raqqa Military Base, for example, you can only return the Conoco Gas Field to Syria, not directly to Raqqa Military Base." Lieutenant General Green did not forget to remind Colonel Wall.

Regarding the use of stirring up trouble, the USA and the United Kingdom were equally proficient.

"Yes, General." Colonel Wall had intended to do just that.

Soon, Colonel Wall returned to the negotiating table.

"Our side agrees to use the Conoco Gas Field to exchange for our crashed warplane wreckage and the remains of our officers and soldiers, but we cannot return it directly to your side. After all, the Conoco Gas Field belongs to Syria, not Iran." Colonel Wall proposed the requirement.

"Return it to Syria? But this is what you, the USA, are using to redeem your crashed warplane wreckage and the remains of your officers and soldiers, and it is also being used to compensate for the losses you caused to Raqqa Military Base. What does this have to do with Syria?" Major Jafari said, puzzled.

"Legally speaking, the Conoco Gas Field belongs to Syria, and our side can only return it to Syria to be in compliance with the law. If we return it directly to Raqqa Military Base, that does not comply with the law." Colonel Wall insisted.