Could War Be on the Horizon?
Foreign Dignitaries Express Outrage Over Political Rhetoric
March 20, 2057
Washington FDC, UCAS: Ambassadors from several of the UCAS' North American neighbors are raising a ruckus in FDC over the platforms of two this election's candidates. Today, representatives from the NAN, Confederated States, and California Free State met with president pro-tem Betty Jo Pritchard to discuss the ramifications of the rhetoric being slung about in this years special presidential election. Of special concern are the Speeches and official platforms from both the Republican nominee, retired general Franklin Yeats, and his Archconservative rival, Seattle businessman Kenneth Brackhaven. The words of these two men have been, in the words of Sioux Nation ambassador David Morning-Rain, "less akin to sabre-rattling than to sabre-drawing."
Pointing to Yeats' call to return to "the glory of America, one nation under God, from sea to shining sea," as well as his insistence that immediate military build-up is the answer to the nation's unemployment and SINless problems, Morning-Rain says that a vote for Yeats would appear to be a vote for a second Ghost Dance War. The Sioux representative also pointed out that in his March 25th speech in New Haven Connecticut, Yeats explicitly said that:
"The nations of the world respect strength, and it's hard to respect the strength of a nation that is but a fraction of its former self. But we have strength! We have duty and honor. We have the greatest army, navy, air force, and marine corps in the world, and when I am president, we won't be afraid to use them. The UCAS is the inheritor of the old USA, all of the USA. Our grandfathers controlled every acre of this once great land, and it's high time that this generation stood up and claimed what is rightfully ours."
Citing this same speech, CAS ambassador Emilie Carruthers told President pro-tem Pritchard that if the UCAS wanted a war, the CAS was armed and ready to give it one. Similar sentiments were expressed by Morning-Rain, who cautioned that "many of my people want this war. We've been preparing for anglo aggression since the Sioux Nation's inception. For those of us who want peaceful and prosperous coexistance in North America, Yeats' words are very dangerous. Political rhetoric or no, a Yeats victory could well lead to war."
In a similar vein, but less explicit is the rhetoric of Seattle businessman and Archconservative candidate Karl Brackhaven, whose platform also calls for a return to the glory-days of the USA. When asked by NBS' Holly Brighton if his vision of the future included reintegrating the North American Nations into the old USA, Brackhaven had this to say:
"Compromise. That's what the history of America has taught us; When you compromise, you die. Not right away, of course, but a slow lingering death. Old America compromised its values in the end. Attempts at placating indians, so called "meta" humans, and unchecked magic users led, not at all coincidentally to the breakup of the greatest nation on Earth. While I do think that we have enemies enough at home for the moment, when I am president, the liberal compromising in foreign policy as well as domestic policy will stop. What is right is right, and we can no longer allow what is wrong to stand in the way. The other "countries" in North America had best remember that."
Polls of registered UCAS voters show that well over 40% believe that the UCAS should reclaim the territory formerly belonging to the old USA, and that 27% believe that a war of reclamation is justified. Opinion polls spike sharply downward when mention is made of a military draft to pursue such a war.
Pointing to Yeats' call to return to "the glory of America, one nation under God, from sea to shining sea," as well as his insistence that immediate military build-up is the answer to the nation's unemployment and SINless problems, Morning-Rain says that a vote for Yeats would appear to be a vote for a second Ghost Dance War. The Sioux representative also pointed out that in his March 25th speech in New Haven Connecticut, Yeats explicitly said that:
"The nations of the world respect strength, and it's hard to respect the strength of a nation that is but a fraction of its former self. But we have strength! We have duty and honor. We have the greatest army, navy, air force, and marine corps in the world, and when I am president, we won't be afraid to use them. The UCAS is the inheritor of the old USA, all of the USA. Our grandfathers controlled every acre of this once great land, and it's high time that this generation stood up and claimed what is rightfully ours."
Citing this same speech, CAS ambassador Emilie Carruthers told President pro-tem Pritchard that if the UCAS wanted a war, the CAS was armed and ready to give it one. Similar sentiments were expressed by Morning-Rain, who cautioned that "many of my people want this war. We've been preparing for anglo aggression since the Sioux Nation's inception. For those of us who want peaceful and prosperous coexistance in North America, Yeats' words are very dangerous. Political rhetoric or no, a Yeats victory could well lead to war."
In a similar vein, but less explicit is the rhetoric of Seattle businessman and Archconservative candidate Karl Brackhaven, whose platform also calls for a return to the glory-days of the USA. When asked by NBS' Holly Brighton if his vision of the future included reintegrating the North American Nations into the old USA, Brackhaven had this to say:
"Compromise. That's what the history of America has taught us; When you compromise, you die. Not right away, of course, but a slow lingering death. Old America compromised its values in the end. Attempts at placating indians, so called "meta" humans, and unchecked magic users led, not at all coincidentally to the breakup of the greatest nation on Earth. While I do think that we have enemies enough at home for the moment, when I am president, the liberal compromising in foreign policy as well as domestic policy will stop. What is right is right, and we can no longer allow what is wrong to stand in the way. The other "countries" in North America had best remember that."
Polls of registered UCAS voters show that well over 40% believe that the UCAS should reclaim the territory formerly belonging to the old USA, and that 27% believe that a war of reclamation is justified. Opinion polls spike sharply downward when mention is made of a military draft to pursue such a war.
12 comments:
Don't be fooled by his empty words. Yeats would love to start a war but he's just too smart for that. As much as he speechifies about how great the UCAS military is, he knows that it would handily get its ass kicked without a draft, and a draft is simply not going to happen--Congress just won't do it.
The problem is what this article points out; even if President Frankie doesn't start a war, just electing him is going to rustle some serious jimmies. So remember, vote early, vote often, and vote for someone else.
"The world's best navy"?? I think that the Japanese and their multiple territories on multiple continents may have something to say about that.
My only question is, why did they transliterate Brackhaven's words as "the other 'countries' in North America", with the sarcasm quotes? Did he make those little air hooks with his fingers during his interview?
DC, you are assuming that Congress is going to stay the same. If people are willing to elect Yeats, won't they probably elect new Congresspeople that will back up his policies?
Okay, civics lesson time, boys and girls! Yes, it's theoretically possible that the makeup of Congress could change to support Yeats' policies, but not for the first two years; we just elected our new bunch, remember? This presidential is the only do-over--the other elections we had still stand.
Even in two years, the possibility is remote. Presidents only have to win over a simple majority and get national recognition. In order to win a House seat, you need to specifically grab the folks in your district. Sure, there will probably be some districts that will elect warhawks, but most probably won't due to the demographic makeup. Add the incumbent effect, which ensures that a sitting rep has an 80% chance of re-election, and you're looking at a governing body that just doesn't change all that much from year to year. Which, all things considered, is probably for the best.
Revenge against the indians is way more possible than librals want to believe. They were the only ones with magic last time. Not anymore, chiefs! Can you fight the army and mage patriots too? Bunch of guerillas and witch-doctors won't stand a chance.
Umm...You need to stop watching Ghost Dance War trid shows. The NAN has been investing in state of the art military hardware since the moment they established reliable taxation. Plus, they tend to be ahead of us in magical research.
True, but directed biological weapons that target amerind genetic markers could fix all that.
I'm just sayin'...
Amerind genetic markers? Which one do you think you can target that would wipe out a significant Indian population without taking down a huge portion of Anglos? Sorry, but there's a ton of genetic diversity in different tribes, and interbreeding over hundreds of years has distributed any unique markers through a swath of people of all sorts of ethnic backgrounds...
Ok, sure, but Travers is off base. The NAN may have up to snuff, but they barely can afford enough gear for their elite teams. All in all? Tech for tech, the UCAS could roll over the Sioux in an instant... Without the Sioux, there'd be no real resistance from the rest of the NAN. The real problem is the Ghost Dance itself. UCAS mages are still not exactly certain how they did it, or what they would do this time if we attacked them.
The real problem is that the UCAS is a blow-hard shadow if it's former self that likes to pat itself on the back and pretend that it hasn't been left behind in a changing world. When I think of the UCAS I think of the Ottoman Empire, slowly dissolving from the inside and the outside. Sure, they have lots of pretty toys for their soldiers to play with, but like most faded empires, they're more focused on looking powerful than being powerful.
The UCAS has increased it's weapons R&D and procurement budgets recently for it's military, but look where that money has come from; it's been carved out of training and readiness budgets. Sure, they've got pretty toys, but none of their soldiers know how to use them, and their officer corps is living in a fantasy world, and completely unprepared for modern conflicts.
The NAN has put a priority on high-quality training for their troops, and their officers have trained with some of the most modern and successful armed forces in existence. Pound-for-pound, they will crush any UCAS force sent against them, and I'll wager good money that the UCAS military will fall apart at the seams the moment they see their own blood on the ground.
Post a Comment