What Was General Shepherd‘s Grand Plot in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2?
General Shepherd, introduced as the commanding officer of the elite Task Force 141 in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, secretly harbored a grand and utterly ruthless plot to instigate a full-scale war between the United States and Russian Federation. His goal? To rebuild America‘s reputation as the world‘s supreme military power and cement his own legacy as the hero who made it happen.
The Origins of Shepherd‘s Plot
Years before the events of Modern Warfare 2, General Shepherd led a Marine Corps unit of 30,000 troops hunting a dangerous terrorist leader named Khaled Al-Asad in an unspecified Middle Eastern nation. When Al-Asad detonated a nuclear weapon that wiped out Shepherd‘s entire unit, he felt the devastating loss deeply.
In Shepherd‘s mind, the failure to stop Al-Asad and the wave of Russian ultranationalist terrorism that followed exposed American military weakness for the world to see. He blamed policies of appeasement and began nursing a ruthless plot to forcefully restore US dominance on the global stage.
An Intricate Web of Deception and Betrayal
Shepherd‘s plan comprised an intricate web of deception, terrorist provocations, political subterfuge, and outright betrayal of allies – with the ultimate goal of dragging the US and Russia into open war, where he could emerge the conquering hero.
Sparking the Powder Keg
The first phase aimed to spark the powder keg of tensions between the US and new ultranationalist Russian government. Shepherd deliberately leaked the identity of embedded CIA operative Joseph Allen to Russian terrorist Vladimir Makarov. As expected, Makarov then brutally executed Allen during a hostage situation at a Moscow airport, while disguising his men as American soldiers.
This false flag attack was intended to outrage the Russian public and trigger global condemnation of the US. In the aftermath, Makarov continued carrying out terrorist strikes against Russian civilians while posing as CIA agents, ratcheting tensions higher on both sides.
Turning His Back on Loyal Allies
With relations worsening, Shepherd betrayed the men under his own command in Task Force 141. While Soap, Price, Ghost and Roach searched for evidence implicating Makarov, they unwittingly got too close to exposing Shepherd‘s secret plot.
In response, Shepherd labeled TF141 as traitors and attempted to eliminate them with the help of his Shadow Company goons. This ruthless willingness to sacrifice his own elite unit only underscores the monomaniacal zeal driving Shepherd forward with his plans.
The Climactic US Invasion
As political and public outrage grew over the perceived American-backed attacks on Russian soil, Shepherd laid the groundwork for a climactic US military invasion. He intended to personally lead the attack to avenge the deaths of Russian civilians – gambling that the distraction of open war would allow him to eliminate any remaining loose ends.
By crushing Russian forces still reeling from the terrorist bombings, Shepherd envisioned standing victorious as the courageous American hero who restored national power and pride when the country needed it most.
Ambition Drives Ruthlessness
While General Shepherd outwardly showed qualities of strong leadership backed by dedication to duty and love of country, inwardly he harbored an almost maniacal drive to cement his personal legacy and ambition – no matter the cost. By engineering a dangerous international crisis, he aimed to prove American might but callously disregarded innocent lives in favor of his own glory and warped sense of patriotism.
This ruthlessness stunned even his battle-hardened men. As Captain Price put it while pursuing Shepherd for his crimes:
"Five years ago, I lost 30,000 men in the blink of an eye. And the world just fuckin‘ watched." Shepherd monologued, his words dripping with bitterness. "Tomorrow there will be no shortage of volunteers and no shortage of patriots."
Price shot back: "I know you understand."
Shepherd defiantly proclaimed himself the hero doing whatever it takes:
"Do you have the bollocks to take a shot?" he challenged. When Price responded in disgust at his methods, Shepherd insisted "History is written by the victor. History is filled with liars. If he lives and we die, his truth becomes written – and ours is lost."
In the end, Shepherd‘s deception caught up when he underestimated Soap and Price‘s relentless drive to uncover the truth and stop him before more innocent lives were lost in his personal war. His grand plans for legacy and domination ultimately perished beneath the gaze of the nuclear dust storm closing in – still believing in his mind he had done the righteous thing.
