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Post by TheRomanSlayer on Oct 19, 2021 2:12:45 GMT
Not sure yet, but we're seeing a more dangerous version of the Oath Keepers ITTL that has actual military combat experience gained during the Second Russian Civil War. Social media wise, there is a hint of VossCode that's TTL's version of Facebook, and it's the Winklevoss twins who develop the social media giant instead of Zuckerberg. IOTL, Kemp supported the use of anti-communist Contras during the conflict in Nicaragua. Here, he's expanding on that kind of support, plus we may start seeing another trend that will define the later years of Kemp's second term: is he really in control, or are there shadowy figures pulling the strings? The US would definitely survive as a democratic state, but given the rise of the Social Progressives, it's only a matter of time before American politics gets a major overhaul and becomes a gigantic version of the OTL French politics. It would also have an effect on the electoral system too, since it would give minor parties a chance to pitch their voice in the debates. Due to term limits though, Kemp wouldn't run for a third term, but we might see the flip version of TTL's 2000 election where the Republicans are scrambling to find a good candidate to take on the Democrats. And if Kemp's ideas ITTL sounded a bit insane, remember that this is the same nation that devised War Plan Red, which was a planned conflict with the British Empire.
True although that was more to give planners something to do and because the USN needed to argue that the RN was a potential threat to support their own budget claims than serious planning for conflict I think. Here ideas not just to fight potential wars with X,Y,Z etc but to dismantle or cripple assorted ones. As well as plans for attacking and annexing chunks of Canada for instance. The plans for Russia seem especially off as who's going to control the vast area that's suggested will be removed from any Russian state and preventing it rejoining the rest of the country? Let alone the idea of supporting a further Armenian genocide!
Well, the part about Armenia might actually be against what Kemp wanted to plan for the whole world. Even Brzezinski's 'The Grand Chessboard' advocated an Armenian-Turkish reconciliation as a necessary thing against Russia. In fact, the part about Russia might be tamed, compared to what Brzezinski wanted to see happen to Russia: split into three with European Russia, Siberia, and the Far East. Siberia being closely integrated with Central Asia and China, and the Far East being integrated with Japan and the US. May be a bit better than the Nazi plans for what they wanted to do to the Soviet Union. It's the reason why Turkey was blackmailed with being expelled from NATO if it conducted any kind of ethnic cleansing, let alone genocide against its minorities (ie: the Kurds). I will explain this further in the next update, but given that Kemp has his plans for the world, the next update will also cover Russian, ECA, and Chinese plans for what they want to do to the world. I would think that realistically, in the event that Turkey and Azerbaijan ITTL would want to double team on Armenia, they might ask the US to sponsor the creation of a new Armenian state that is located elsewhere, away from the traditional Armenian lands that they wanted to conquer. In fact, the concept of Greater Azerbaijan sees most of Armenia as Western Azerbaijan, especially Zangezur, and they have designs on Iran too. I will also cover Iran's own military adventurism as well in the next update too. |
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gillan1220
Fleet admiral
I've been depressed recently. Slow replies coming in the next few days.
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Post by gillan1220 on Oct 19, 2021 10:02:51 GMT
Speaking of Europe, will the Euro or an equivalent be used as a currency by 2002? Or is it going to be butterflied away.
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Post by TheRomanSlayer on Oct 20, 2021 5:10:59 GMT
Speaking of Europe, will the Euro or an equivalent be used as a currency by 2002? Or is it going to be butterflied away. It might possible be butterflied away, if only because the fear of a potential currency destabilization has already been hyped up. The effects on the economy from the rise of Tadiar is gradually taking a hold on the world. It's also why China would not have the largest economy in the world by TTL's 2018, though the question of who would have the largest economy in the world ITTL would be debated. I can say however, that the ECA as it stands, could be one of the candidates, the US being another. TTL's East Slavic Federation would have almost the same level of economy as either OTL Japan, or OTL Australia, or a combination of both. |
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gillan1220
Fleet admiral
I've been depressed recently. Slow replies coming in the next few days.
Posts: 12,609
Likes: 11,326
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Post by gillan1220 on Oct 20, 2021 7:27:27 GMT
Speaking of Europe, will the Euro or an equivalent be used as a currency by 2002? Or is it going to be butterflied away. It might possible be butterflied away, if only because the fear of a potential currency destabilization has already been hyped up. The effects on the economy from the rise of Tadiar is gradually taking a hold on the world. It's also why China would not have the largest economy in the world by TTL's 2018, though the question of who would have the largest economy in the world ITTL would be debated. I can say however, that the ECA as it stands, could be one of the candidates, the US being another. TTL's East Slavic Federation would have almost the same level of economy as either OTL Japan, or OTL Australia, or a combination of both. Without the Euro, countries in Europe would still use the Lira (Italy), Peseta (Spain), Franc (France), etc. |
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Post by TheRomanSlayer on Oct 21, 2021 0:25:46 GMT
It might possible be butterflied away, if only because the fear of a potential currency destabilization has already been hyped up. The effects on the economy from the rise of Tadiar is gradually taking a hold on the world. It's also why China would not have the largest economy in the world by TTL's 2018, though the question of who would have the largest economy in the world ITTL would be debated. I can say however, that the ECA as it stands, could be one of the candidates, the US being another. TTL's East Slavic Federation would have almost the same level of economy as either OTL Japan, or OTL Australia, or a combination of both. Without the Euro, countries in Europe would still use the Lira (Italy), Peseta (Spain), Franc (France), etc. Exactly. I would think that national currencies will be a lot harder to abolish this time around, though we may see a different Greek recession since the ECA would be a lot tougher on nations that are performing rather poorly in economics. |
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Post by TheRomanSlayer on Oct 21, 2021 5:17:16 GMT
Chapter Eighty: Tankies Will Always Be Tankies, Am I Right?
"I would like to thank the American people for giving our administration another chance at making things right, for our work remains incomplete. Although, the great work of managing our fine country is never finished, for there are new problems that arise every day. As I wanted to start the second term with some optimism, I unfortunately cannot say the same today. Even as the American people listen to what their president has to say, I must break this festive mood with some bad news. Around 4 AM, Eastern Standard Time, I was notified of what has transpired in the Eurasian heartland. The Russian Army has invaded Kazakhstan in an attempt to wipe out Al-Qaeda terrorists that have terrorized that tragic nation. I do not recognize the so-called validity of the false state of the East Slavic Federation, which in reality is nothing more than an assertive attempt by Russia to recreate its empire. The international media is now geared towards exposing what I like to call Russian aggression in the Central Asian region. That unfortunate region was the site of the most brutal battles during the Second Russian Civil War, and it is also where the ghosts of the Soviet War in Afghanistan had landed, for Al-Qaeda had emerged as a dangerous opponent of we the people. I do not want to do this, but I wanted to announce a National Emergency condition to address the Russian threat to world peace. They started with the false merger, which was their Anschluss, and now the invasion of Kazakhstan is worse than that of the Sudeten takeover and the invasion of Poland. Mykola Azarov stands today as a modern day Adolf Hitler, an emerging madman who will stop at nothing to make his nation great again, just like Ye Fei and Wang Dongxing, who wanted to make China great again, at the expense of the international community.
Russia and China today pose a threat to American interests around the world, but I do not want to neglect the safety of our American nation. When I say American interests, I don't dismiss the interests of the hardworking Americans who kept our country prosperous. The American blue collar tradesperson is just as important as the American entrepreneur, or the American financier who helps keep the money flowing. Our corporations have served our nation well, and they will continue to do so well into the future. The prosperity of the world is now our national interest, as well as the right to conduct free and fair trade without any political strings attached to it. Yet, at the same time, we must also be on guard against nations that continue to defy our will, especially in Latin America. The Monroe Doctrine still stands, but it will now be backed by a new mission in what I like to call the Kemp Doctrine, which will give us the right to intervene in the Western Hemisphere should another nation adopt the ideology and policy that threaten our national interest.
As I had promised when I first became President, I will wipe out the last vestige of communism in the Americas. Today, I promise to wipe out the last vestige of communism in the world. Communism and other left-wing ideologies had posed an existential threat to our nation, and the recent domestic violence that flared up in Oregon because of it is the main symptom of a larger ideological diseases of communism and socialism. Today, America continues to play an active role in the international community, and in addition to fighting the forces of communism and socialism, we shall also take the fight to the Middle East, for our eternal ally Israel faces a grave threat from the regime of Basel Al-Assad and the Iraqi caretaker government that is in danger of being toppled by sympathizers of the Iranian clerical dictatorship. Most importantly, the danger of WWIII breaking out remains as strong as ever, for Armenia might become a trigger point, should China remain an active player in the Caucasus, and Turkey's fears of a Chinese invasion from Armenia remains a valid reason. It is for this reason that America should not only work to undermine the national interests of our rivals, but to permanently end their role as major powers in the world. I don't want to say this, but unless Russia and China continue with their military adventurism, I might as well say the dreaded words of 'the Final Solution to Russian and Chinese military adventurism'. I do not want to come off as the very kind of dictator that I compared those people to, but I do not have a choice in this matter." Jack Kemp, in his inauguration speech, January 20, 2001.
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KAZAKHSTAN AWAKES TO RENEWED RUSSIAN INVASION AS AZAROV ANNOUNCES START OF ANTI-TERRORIST OPERATIONS AGAINST AL-QAEDA IN CENTRAL ASIA
The Sun
January 21, 2001
(Moscow, EAST SLAVIC FEDERATION) - Just hours before the inauguration of Jack Kemp for his second term, official news from Moscow have confirmed that the military of the East Slavic Federation had carried out an invasion of Kazakhstan, on the pretext of the Kazakh cell of Al-Qaeda's role in the infamous Orenburg bus bombings and many other terrorist attacks that were carried out on not only Russian soil, but Ukrainian and Belarusian soil. The Siberian Military District's military units spearheaded the invasion force that overwhelmed the Al-Qaeda positions in the border between what remained of Kazakhstan and its territories that were occupied by Russia after the Second Russian Civil War. Although Kazakhstan is in the middle of a civil war between the Islamists, moderate secularists and leftover socialists who used to serve the Soviet loyalist movement during the aforementioned civil war, some of the Islamists were able to rally much of their troops to repel the Russian invasion. However, various other units of the degraded Kazakh Army had in fact took the fight to the Islamists, often aiding the Russian troops that were fighting both Al-Qaeda and the Kazakh Islamists.
"We call upon our brothers in Islam for a jihad against the Russian invaders who dared to launch an attack on the believers," says acting Al-Qaeda commander Ayman al-Zawahiri, who assumed the leadership after the death of Abdullah Yusuf Azzam a while back. "We will not only throw the Russians back, but liberate more of our brothers and sisters who chafe under the tyranny of the Russians!"
Much of the remainder of western Kazakhstan that have not been annexed by Russia after the Second Civil War had fallen to the troops from the ESF's Caucasian Military District as the newly upgraded T-81A tanks that were mainly manufactured in Ukraine, as well as older T-72s and the tank that was entirely developed during the existence of the Union State of Ukraine and Belarus in the T-84s. In addition, the rapid deployment of the ESF troops were far more sophisticated than their predecessors in the National Redemption Army during the Second Russian Civil War, and in fact many ex-NRA officers are now serving in the joint ESF military. At the same time, other units of the ESF had captured the minor Kazakh town of Zaysan, amidst the eastern offensive that aims to capture the city of Urzhar, which would then be used as a forward base for their next operations in Kyrgyzstan.
"I could not comment on the active military operations right now, but what I can say is that I have confidence in our military's fighting capabilities against Al-Qaeda. Keep in mind that the National Redemption Army was originally built as a guerrilla army that is capable of guerrilla warfare, so we would know what Al-Qaeda will do to our troops," announced East Slavic Federation president Mykola Azarov during a press conference in Moscow. "This is also a test to see if Defense Minister Lebed's doctrine is proven to be a correct one, in sharp contrasts to the doctrines used by the Soviet loyalists during the last civil war we had."
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KARAGANDY COMES UNDER INTENSE AERIAL BOMBARDMENT AS ESF PARATROOPERS DEPLOY IN KURYLYS AND SARAN
Japan Times
January 27, 2001
(Karagandy, KAZAKHSTAN) - In the ongoing aerial bombing of Karagandy, one of Kazakhstan's major cities, the East Slavic Federation had carried out a bold paradrop behind enemy lines as the famed VDV paratroopers were deployed to the two Kazakh towns of Kurylys and Saran. The deployment comes at a time when the regular units of the ESF military are converging on Karagandy, and employing the same tactics that their National Redemption Army predecessors had used against the Soviet loyalists in Central Asia during the Second Russian Civil War. At the same time, other ESF military units also converged on the town of Temirtau, hoping to capture it and sever the supply line between Karagandy and Astana. To their shock however, Temirtau is also a major Al-Qaeda stronghold that is defended by over 3,000 fighters, including several volunteers from the Middle East and North Africa, as well as Islamists coming from the Caucasus.
"Right now, we are working with the Kazakh military units that are fighting the Islamists right now, and they're giving us crucial information on key Islamist strongholds in Temirtau," says ESF General Serhiy Kulyk during a rare interview in the Russian town of Elista. "As a result, we were able to achieve much of our objectives with only a few casualties."
The ESF Air Force's Tu-160 bombers had played a vital role in bombing several areas that were dominated by Al-Qaeda fighters, and having repeated their strategy that was employed during the Soviet offensive in Afghanistan that killed Osama Bin Laden, much of Al-Qaeda's fighting capabilites have been severely degraded. In addition, the joint military intelligence division of the ESF military had also received crucial information from Iranian agents operating in the Khorasan region of Al-Qaeda reinforcements that were streaming from the Kazakh-Turkmen border, in the town of Teze-Durmysh. However, as Turkmenistan is not involved in the ongoing war between Russia and Al-Qaeda in Central Asia, it could not bomb positions inside Turkmenistan, However, they were able to launch a cross-Caspian amphibious landings in Kuryk and Aktau, diverting much of the enemy forces from reinforcing Karagandy.
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OpEd: Is Artemio Tadiar to Blame for Undermining Globalization?
by: Hovan Levonian
The Globe and Mail
May 2, 2014
Pundits had predicted that by the year 2000, the world would have been more integrated into the global system where everything will be much easier to handle, from the breaking of trade barriers to open borders. Everything was going to run smoothly as each sovereign nation trades some of its independence for the greater good of the international community in a state of enthusiasm for collective security and collective everything. Who were these pundits, you may wonder? It's the very same people who are connected to finance, industry, politics, diplomacy, and technology. For example, Bill Gates had hoped for a world where there will be zero carbon emissions everywhere. Jacob Rothschild had predicted that by the year 2020, humanity will be more integrated into the global technocracy that is meant to benefit us all, and George Soros made his prediction that every nation in the world would have at least a functional democratic government. What really happened? The prediction came crashing down because of one man: Artemio Tadiar. However, Tadiar didn't undermine globalization when he first rose to power. He started undermining it after the Spratlys conflict, when he virtually turned most of South China Sea into a lawless zone infested with piracy. Sure, maritime traffic suffered a bit because of Filipino and Vietnamese piracy. Unfortunately, the Shanghai Oriental Pearl Radio Tower terrorist attack that claimed the lives of over 3,000 or more Chinese civilians, which happened after the 1998 Shenzhen Bus Bombings carried out by terrorists linked to the Tadiar regime, had a significant effect on the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchange. Those financial markets suffered a slight shock, but only lost around $10 million dollars in market losses, while aviation and tourism suffered a bit more because of the travel bans imposed by the Caretaker Wang Dongxing government on Shanghai and Shenzhen, for fears of additional terrorist attacks. Over 300,000 jobs were lost within three months after the terrorist attack in Shanghai, and the Chinese National People's Congress had raised the question of whether or not they should continue with the reforms of Deng Xiaoping. After serious deliberations, acting leader Wang Dongxing and his eventual successor in Bo Xilai finally made the decision to slow down the economic reforms, while simultaneously invested more money into improving the Chinese military. This also had the unfortunate effect of forcing China to rely more on the importation of natural resources for its military and economic needs from various Chinese-friendly client regimes, but it did provide China with whatever allies it can muster.
Why do I say that Artemio Tadiar is to blame for undermining globalization, even if he isn't the only one doing so? Because while his erstwhile overlord in US President Jack Kemp had gone on a rampage around Latin America, crushing any socialist uprisings and making Cuba and Nicaragua safe and open for business, the victimized nations that suffered under American military adventurism had responded by expanding on their revolutionary activities. It became serious to the point where America played an indirect role in the rise of Ramon Rodriguez Chacin's dictatorship in Venezuela because they could not find a suitable puppet to control. Additionally, Alberto Fujimori's crackdown on the communists in Peru had won him the admiration of a few American conservative pundits, but Alvaro Corbalan's brutal regime in Chile, which had arose as a result of Corbalan sidelining Pinochet due to his declining health in 2000, would outdo even his predecessor in areas of human rights violations to the point where Corbalan was often compared to Tadiar. Unlike Pinochet however, Corbalan distrusted the Chicago Boys and closed down the Central Bank of Chile for national security reasons. He also decided to implement the ideas arisen from 'Catholic Economy' by banning usury, which had the unfortunate side effect of devaluing the Chilean peso. Critics had accused Corbalan of undermining and intentionally destroying the value of the Chilean peso, but as Corbalan noted, 'to expel the toxins, one must vomit it from the human body'. Both Corbalan and Tadiar lacked any economic education, and while Mexico's Mario Chaparro did not take the same extreme step, he also implemented the policies and ideas of a Catholic Economy. It reached the point where the concept of government-sponsored money creation started to catch on with other few nations. Boris Yeltsin single handedly destroyed the Russian economy in 1998 to give a much needed great reset when he needed to rebuild it entirely from scratch. To someone who is a part of international finance, the ideas of the government playing a role in managing a nation's currency by taking over its printing from a Central Bank had reeked of another infamous dictatorship that made this kind of move, only to use it towards rearmament.
Steve Bannon and many other conservatives had it right when the Era of Rogue Generals was marked by deviation from standardized economic and political practices that ran counter to what the international community was doing. However, these rogue generals were driven by desperation and a sense of fanatical survivalism in their attempt to rebuild their nation for another chance at getting revenge on those who wronged them in the past. Tadiar's radical economic experimentation was driven by a revanchise spirit that led to the infamous terror attacks on Chinese soil in 1998, which in turn drove the Chinese government to invest more in their military. While the so-called Chinese allies were given investment by Chinese firms, they quickly grew hostile and irritated when it became apparent that China was merely repeating the same practice that the Soviet Union did during the Cold War. This is especially true of SE Asia, which had been deprived of economic activity as a result of the Spratlys conflict. Around the same time as the terror attacks on Shanghai and Shenzhen, Vietnam launched another war against Cambodia to regain the territories it lost to them in the aftermath of said conflict. Not only did Vietnam succeed in regaining its territories, but also expanded its lands up to the former Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh. Burma was run by a Chinese-influenced puppet government, but the Burmese people suddenly began to realize that the previous dictatorship was preferable to the one they have now, and they also started to understand why Artemio Tadiar behaved the way he did. The diplomatic isolation that the Philippines imposed on itself had a significant consequence in that wanted war criminals from previously deposed regimes would freely enter the Philippines and live out the rest of their lives in impunity, without worry of extradition. However, it was not only Chinese military adventurism that was the major worry of the late 1990s and the early 2000s, and American military adventurism was also not the only thing that happened. Russian miltary adventurism kicked off in 2001 when they launched the invasion of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan under the pretext of avenging the terror attacks on Orenburg. The spectre of Russian militarism resurfaced, and various nationalists within the ECA called for it to suspend its economic cooperation with the East Slavic Federation until the ESF military was withdrawn from Kazakhstan. Even if their reasons for invading Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan were legitimate, the world still hasn't forgotten the unilateral annexation of the Kazakh border regions that Russia took over after the Second Russian Civil War. Distrust of Russia spiked after the invasion of Kazakhstan took place, which quickly outpaced distrust of China by over 86%.
What the world has to realize is that the Era of Rogue Generals taught them the wrong lesson: instead of fostering a sense of cooperation, the world learned that distrust, suspicion, ethnic rivalries and racial hatred were stronger over global cooperation. That the world is fast slipping into the mood not seen since the 1930s. A few left-wing activists had it summed up correctly when they say that 'in the future, the anti-communist rhetoric of the Cold War would be followed by the genocidal nightmare not seen since WWII'. National sovereignty and ultranationalism proved to be more powerful than solidarity with former enemies. Although Europe had luckily avoided coming to this conclusion, Asia would sadly learn those wrong lessons. That the anti-Chinese sentiment shared in SE Asia was now going to be tied to Sinophobic extremism, and in the case of Burma, Indonesia and the Philippines, the rehabilitation of the notorious collaborationist regimes that were set up during WWII were being encouraged.
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"What we must understand is that Assertiongate did not happen overnight. It was years in the making. Jack Kemp had Atlantic Assertion, and the Chinese had the Bo Doctrine, which outlined how China will survive and thrive in a Chinese-dominated world order. Like Atlantic Assertion, the Bo Doctrine had crafted contingent plans for a possible war with Russia over the lost lands of Outer Manchuria, and if possible, the conquest of a good part of Siberia, followed by the establishment of a new ring of Chinese vassals in Central Asia, South Asia, and SE Asia. India would be carved out, with some of its territories going to Pakistan and Bangladesh, but the Philippines was going to be directly annexed to China, with its population either assimilated or expelled. Mongolia, as in Outer Mongolia, was also going to be annexed, as well as the Tuvan Republic, in addition to eastern Siberia, up to the maritime border with Alaska. The Turkish-Azeri plans for a complete conquest of Armenia had left no room for Armenian autonomy, and they would plan to ask the American and French governments for a place where they would relocate the Armenian population. The relocations plan however, ran counter to what Kemp had in mind for the Caucasus. He would have tolerated a truncated Armenia that is stripped of Syunik and given to Azerbaijan as punishment for aligning with China, but eliminating Armenia entirely as a nation would be a step too far. Plan EuroPeace's proposal of pushing the borders of Russia back to a similar line to the Arkhangelsk-Astrakhan line proposed by the Nazis during WWII had been the major goal of Atlantic Assertion, though radicals proposed various different ways of fragmenting Russia and China further. In response, the Ivanov-Sukharevsky Doctrine was formulated, with not only the preservation of the ESF, but proposed a new 'reorganization' of North America along ethnic and political lines. The Ivanov-Sukharevsky Doctrine would envision Mexico regaining its territories lost to the US during the Mexican-American War, a Greater Midwestern Confederation that would be absorbed by what remains of Central Canada, New England being adjoined to what remains of Eastern Canada or being attached to Nova Scotia, and the Deep South being shorn of its Caribbean coastline that will go to a Caribbean Federation. Additionally, the Ivanov-Sukharevsky Doctrine had also complimented one of the main goals of Pan-hispanism, in that the cultural federation of Latin American states would be bound together in one supranational entity that would reduce the predominantly Anglophone nations of the United States and Canada to a similar condition to Finland after WWII. Most importantly though, the Ivanov-Sukharevsky Doctrine also complimented an ideology that had its roots in the 1920s, with the Eurasianist ideology that was formed by Russian exiles. However, neo-Eurasianism was formulated under prominent nationalist in Aleksander Dugin, which envisioned Eurasia as the center of the world.
What no one else knew or realized, was that Angelito Banayo also formulated his own doctrine for what the ideal geopolitical landscape would be like. His proposal of a Five Pillar Multipolarism was unique and revolutionary, in that minor nations wouldn't be forced to choose between the superpowers. He believed that the Philippines would better serve its interest if it aligned with the other Pacific based nations like Australia and Japan, to counter and contain China, while at the same time he also supported the proposal of the Philippines to integrate closer with the Latin American nations. It was this kind of geopolitical double guessing that plagued Filipino foreign policy, even in its period of diplomatic isolation. While he would agree with the idea of using the ESF and India to hem China in, ultimately he realized that various interests and goals of each superpower will never compliment one another. Thus, as Banayo would praise Jack Kemp's idea of a Euro-Atlantic integration, he opposed the idea of a Pan-Asian integration on the grounds that China, India, and Japan would never see eye to eye with one another. In essence, Banayo would study the foreign policy doctrines of all various superpowers to ultimately create what historians will later call the Banayo Proposal, which takes bits of ideas from the Kemp, Bo, and Ivanov-Sukharevsky Doctrines, but adds his own. For instance, he proposed a wider cultural union of Anglophone nations in response to the proposed Pan-hispanist cultural integration of all Hispanophone nations (the Philippines being excluded because of its ineffective proficiency in the Spanish language), while Continental Europe would unite with the East Slavic Federation to form a Greater Eurasia, and China would be forced to unite with India and Japan to create the Pan-Asian community that was planned for a few years. Unlike his other geopolitical peers who made plans for a world of their own vision, Banayo looked at Africa as another key area in which the great powers would inevitably try to compete in. For this reason, he advocated an improvement of relations with key African nations should the Philippines end its diplomatic isolation, with Zaire being the first priority, followed by Egypt, Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Algeria. In the end, Assertiongate only increased the dangers of geopolitical competition that in the long run, hindered globalization and ultimately proved to the neo-reactionaries on the right that their fanatical emphasis on national sovereignty above all else was correct." Peter Hitchens, on 'The World of Assertiongate', July 30, 2019.
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"The rise of the 'tankie' phenomenon had its origins in the Cold War, when die-hard socialists had defended the USSR's interventions in Hungary and Czechoslovakia. However, the term 'tankie' had acquired a new meaning in the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Kazakhstan, as they now defined it by 'the defense of a superpower's actions in launching an invasion of a foreign country for any reason at all, even if it was legitimate'. Now, it was easy to accuse someone who despise the activities of Al-Qaeda to be labeled a Kremlin tankie if they were defending Russia's actions. Beijing tankie is referred to someone who defends China's own military adventurism, while Merica tankie would refer to someone who defends American military intervention in any part of the world. Of course, some of these tankies are hesitant to take the label, but there were a few who not only embraced the term, but even applied additional labels like Dissident Right-Wing Tankie, and America First Tankie, among other examples. Soon, tankie sub-culture began to emerge in the West, and in parts of Asia where China's military adventurism had its most devastating effect. The age of the internet also allowed online forums to emerge, which provided the tankie sub-culture a fertile climate to grow. Soon, cultural affinities and admirations were added to the mix, and in the case of Russophilia, there were two camps within the Russophilia movement: the generic Russian sub-culture admiration in the gopnik culture and love of Russian pop culture, and the history maniacs who are die hard readers of early Russian history, from the medieval period to the modern period. Of course, what united the Russophilia online movement was their antipathy towards the Soviet period, as they saw it as a national tragedy. It also helped that the same movement also spearheaded a general interest in Eastern Orthodoxy, as a few self-proclaimed 'traditionalist-minded' Westerners began to study the tenets of the Orthodox Christian religion. These admirers of the Eastern Orthodox Church often come from families who were either actively practicing Catholics and Protestants, or nominal Christians that are sometimes called Christians in Name Only. Not only that, but both camps of the online Russophilia movement had actively made efforts to study the Russian language to the point where Western universities saw an increase in the popularity for Russian language courses, and it also helped that Russian was becoming a language of global commerce and diplomacy. Those same Russophiles who studied the Russian language were also keenly interested in the Ukrainian and Belarusian language, since they saw those languages as unique and interesting at the same time. It was this kind of Russophilia that would eventually lead to the East Slavic Federation's greatest legacy of all, albeit the most controversial one: the rise of Russian/Ukrainian/Belarusian soap operas. Television series based on crime, science fiction, mystery, romance, and historical dramas grew out of the ambitions of television mogul Andrei Zavidiya, who also played a role in various television soap opera productions. For instance, the Russian television show 'Heartbreak' was initially unpopular because of awful plot lines, but with eventual improvement, plus the investment made by the East Slavic Federation government on all television and movie productions had resulted in its increased popularity. Moreover, it was the cultural soft power of the ESF's film industry that led to the gigantic joint project with Great Britain and Yugoslavia on the filiming of the historical drama series, 'Wrangel', which retells the story of Pyotr Wrangel. Actors like Konstantin Khabensky, Vitaliy Kishchenko, Mikhail Porechenkov, and many others, gained international fame. Kishchenko would star in 'Wrangel', which would also cast the likes of famous British star Charles Dance (known for his role as Tywin Lannister from Game of Thrones) and Yugoslav actor Nikola Kojo (known for playing Milos Obrenovic in the film 'Uprising', which was directed by Rade Serbedzija) as British officer Reginald Smythe and Milutin Nedic respectively. The controversy surrounding the Russian soap operas, as well as that of Ukrainian and Belarusian ones, was primarily due to its nationalistic undertones that were received negatively, primarily in Poland, where memories of the Russian Tsarist period, the Soviet invasions, and the wartime atrocities committed against the Polish population, had led to the banning of the shows coming from the East Slavic Federation, forcing the Polish government to invest more in their film industry." Excerpts from 'The Resurgence of Cultural Russophilia in the 21st Century'
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KAZAKH ARMY TROOPS MOUNT OFFENSIVE AGAINST AL-QAEDA TROOPS ON BORDER TOWN OF KORDAY, EVEN AS ESF FORCES CONVERGE ON ASTANA
Moscow Times
February 12, 2001
(Korday, KAZAKHSTAN) - Surviving elements of the Kazakh Armed Forces that have battled Al-Qaeda fighters since 1995, when the Soviet Union was formally dissolved in the Taraz Agreement, have mounted an offensive at capturing the strategic border town of Korday, close to its border with Kyrgyzstan. The Kazakh military, which is plagued by years of neglect, low morale, and financial woes, have emerged as the de facto political player in the Kazakh political arena, as Kazakhstan was without a functioning government since the invasion by Al-Qaeda from neighboring Uzbekistan in the start of 1997. The makeshift Kazakh junta, led by General Saken Zhasuzakuly (like many Kazakhs, he opted to de-Russify his surname by dropping the -ov suffix, and replacing it with -uly) has taken over the reigns of power since the beginning of Al-Qaeda's invasion, but he had to work without any government official who was willing to work with them, for fear of Islamist reprisals. In the space of four years, General Zhasuzakuly had to reorganize the Kazakh military in the same style as the ones employed by Zaire (mainly through the adoption of the technicals, or pick up trucks used for military purposes), and retained the command economy of the old Kazakh SSR.
"We are fighting several enemies with what we have left. Al-Qaeda plagues our southern frontiers, while the Slavs from the north are marching down to Astana and fighting both our troops and the Al-Qaeda fighters. As a result, Kazakhstan has become a virtual lawless frontier, fought between various warlords," says General Zhasuzakuly during his address to the nation. "This is an extremely difficult decision for us to make. To either form a truce with Al-Qaeda to fight the Russians and see our country taken over by radical fundamentalists, or to call for a ceasefire with the ESF military and enlist their help in fighting the Islamists and eventually see our nation annexed into this renewed Fascist Russian Empire."
Although Al-Qaeda has minimal presence in Kyrgyzstan, it is unwilling to neglect much of their operations, even as Myrzakan Subanov had personally led the country's fight against other Islamist terror groups. However, their largest presence in Central Asia is in Uzbekistan, which is also mired in a brutal power struggle between the Islamists, leftover communists, and secularists. However, their fears of a second front would prove to be true, as the Iranian clerial regime had announced a partial mobilization of its military on its northern and eastern borders with Turkmenistan and Afghanistan. At the same time, the leader of the Afghan Northern Alliance, Shah Ahmad Massoud, had approached the ESF government for an offer of assistance in fighting Al-Qaeda troops in Central Asia, in exchange for ESF and Iranian assistance in helping to stabilize Afghanistan.
"It is a miracle that our military was quickly reformed in such a short time, but we had to use the model of a Third World country to do so," comments Nurlan Yermekbayev, who unlike Zhasuzakuly, had refused to de-Russify his surname. "At the same time, I admire the tenacity that our soldiers had displayed when it came to fighting our enemies, both internal and external, as the Kazakh soldier demonstrates to the world of its ability to defend their homeland."
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stevep
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Post by stevep on Oct 21, 2021 15:52:32 GMT
Without the Euro, countries in Europe would still use the Lira (Italy), Peseta (Spain), Franc (France), etc. Exactly. I would think that national currencies will be a lot harder to abolish this time around, though we may see a different Greek recession since the ECA would be a lot tougher on nations that are performing rather poorly in economics.
Although if Greece and other nations aren't tied into a Euro they might not suffer as badly in the 1st place or be more able to react to economic pressure. For instance unless there's some other method of artificially restricting exchange rates devaluation of weak currencies like the Drachma is likely to occur.
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stevep
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Post by stevep on Oct 21, 2021 16:46:41 GMT
Chapter Eighty: Tankies Will Always Be Tankies, Am I Right?
"I would like to thank the American people for giving our administration another chance at making things right, for our work remains incomplete. Although, the great work of managing our fine country is never finished, for there are new problems that arise every day. As I wanted to start the second term with some optimism, I unfortunately cannot say the same today. Even as the American people listen to what their president has to say, I must break this festive mood with some bad news. Around 4 AM, Eastern Standard Time, I was notified of what has transpired in the Eurasian heartland. The Russian Army has invaded Kazakhstan in an attempt to wipe out Al-Qaeda terrorists that have terrorized that tragic nation. I do not recognize the so-called validity of the false state of the East Slavic Federation, which in reality is nothing more than an assertive attempt by Russia to recreate its empire. The international media is now geared towards exposing what I like to call Russian aggression in the Central Asian region. That unfortunate region was the site of the most brutal battles during the Second Russian Civil War, and it is also where the ghosts of the Soviet War in Afghanistan had landed, for Al-Qaeda had emerged as a dangerous opponent of we the people. I do not want to do this, but I wanted to announce a National Emergency condition to address the Russian threat to world peace. They started with the false merger, which was their Anschluss, and now the invasion of Kazakhstan is worse than that of the Sudeten takeover and the invasion of Poland. Mykola Azarov stands today as a modern day Adolf Hitler, an emerging madman who will stop at nothing to make his nation great again, just like Ye Fei and Wang Dongxing, who wanted to make China great again, at the expense of the international community.
Russia and China today pose a threat to American interests around the world, but I do not want to neglect the safety of our American nation. When I say American interests, I don't dismiss the interests of the hardworking Americans who kept our country prosperous. The American blue collar tradesperson is just as important as the American entrepreneur, or the American financier who helps keep the money flowing. Our corporations have served our nation well, and they will continue to do so well into the future. The prosperity of the world is now our national interest, as well as the right to conduct free and fair trade without any political strings attached to it. Yet, at the same time, we must also be on guard against nations that continue to defy our will, especially in Latin America. The Monroe Doctrine still stands, but it will now be backed by a new mission in what I like to call the Kemp Doctrine, which will give us the right to intervene in the Western Hemisphere should another nation adopt the ideology and policy that threaten our national interest.
As I had promised when I first became President, I will wipe out the last vestige of communism in the Americas. Today, I promise to wipe out the last vestige of communism in the world. Communism and other left-wing ideologies had posed an existential threat to our nation, and the recent domestic violence that flared up in Oregon because of it is the main symptom of a larger ideological diseases of communism and socialism. Today, America continues to play an active role in the international community, and in addition to fighting the forces of communism and socialism, we shall also take the fight to the Middle East, for our eternal ally Israel faces a grave threat from the regime of Basel Al-Assad and the Iraqi caretaker government that is in danger of being toppled by sympathizers of the Iranian clerical dictatorship. Most importantly, the danger of WWIII breaking out remains as strong as ever, for Armenia might become a trigger point, should China remain an active player in the Caucasus, and Turkey's fears of a Chinese invasion from Armenia remains a valid reason. It is for this reason that America should not only work to undermine the national interests of our rivals, but to permanently end their role as major powers in the world. I don't want to say this, but unless Russia and China continue with their military adventurism, I might as well say the dreaded words of 'the Final Solution to Russian and Chinese military adventurism'. I do not want to come off as the very kind of dictator that I compared those people to, but I do not have a choice in this matter." Jack Kemp, in his inauguration speech, January 20, 2001.
--- KAZAKHSTAN AWAKES TO RENEWED RUSSIAN INVASION AS AZAROV ANNOUNCES START OF ANTI-TERRORIST OPERATIONS AGAINST AL-QAEDA IN CENTRAL ASIA
The Sun
January 21, 2001
(Moscow, EAST SLAVIC FEDERATION) - Just hours before the inauguration of Jack Kemp for his second term, official news from Moscow have confirmed that the military of the East Slavic Federation had carried out an invasion of Kazakhstan, on the pretext of the Kazakh cell of Al-Qaeda's role in the infamous Orenburg bus bombings and many other terrorist attacks that were carried out on not only Russian soil, but Ukrainian and Belarusian soil. The Siberian Military District's military units spearheaded the invasion force that overwhelmed the Al-Qaeda positions in the border between what remained of Kazakhstan and its territories that were occupied by Russia after the Second Russian Civil War. Although Kazakhstan is in the middle of a civil war between the Islamists, moderate secularists and leftover socialists who used to serve the Soviet loyalist movement during the aforementioned civil war, some of the Islamists were able to rally much of their troops to repel the Russian invasion. However, various other units of the degraded Kazakh Army had in fact took the fight to the Islamists, often aiding the Russian troops that were fighting both Al-Qaeda and the Kazakh Islamists.
"We call upon our brothers in Islam for a jihad against the Russian invaders who dared to launch an attack on the believers," says acting Al-Qaeda commander Ayman al-Zawahiri, who assumed the leadership after the death of Abdullah Yusuf Azzam a while back. "We will not only throw the Russians back, but liberate more of our brothers and sisters who chafe under the tyranny of the Russians!"
Much of the remainder of western Kazakhstan that have not been annexed by Russia after the Second Civil War had fallen to the troops from the ESF's Caucasian Military District as the newly upgraded T-81A tanks that were mainly manufactured in Ukraine, as well as older T-72s and the tank that was entirely developed during the existence of the Union State of Ukraine and Belarus in the T-84s. In addition, the rapid deployment of the ESF troops were far more sophisticated than their predecessors in the National Redemption Army during the Second Russian Civil War, and in fact many ex-NRA officers are now serving in the joint ESF military. At the same time, other units of the ESF had captured the minor Kazakh town of Zaysan, amidst the eastern offensive that aims to capture the city of Urzhar, which would then be used as a forward base for their next operations in Kyrgyzstan.
"I could not comment on the active military operations right now, but what I can say is that I have confidence in our military's fighting capabilities against Al-Qaeda. Keep in mind that the National Redemption Army was originally built as a guerrilla army that is capable of guerrilla warfare, so we would know what Al-Qaeda will do to our troops," announced East Slavic Federation president Mykola Azarov during a press conference in Moscow. "This is also a test to see if Defense Minister Lebed's doctrine is proven to be a correct one, in sharp contrasts to the doctrines used by the Soviet loyalists during the last civil war we had."
--- KARAGANDY COMES UNDER INTENSE AERIAL BOMBARDMENT AS ESF PARATROOPERS DEPLOY IN KURYLYS AND SARAN
Japan Times
January 27, 2001
(Karagandy, KAZAKHSTAN) - In the ongoing aerial bombing of Karagandy, one of Kazakhstan's major cities, the East Slavic Federation had carried out a bold paradrop behind enemy lines as the famed VDV paratroopers were deployed to the two Kazakh towns of Kurylys and Saran. The deployment comes at a time when the regular units of the ESF military are converging on Karagandy, and employing the same tactics that their National Redemption Army predecessors had used against the Soviet loyalists in Central Asia during the Second Russian Civil War. At the same time, other ESF military units also converged on the town of Temirtau, hoping to capture it and sever the supply line between Karagandy and Astana. To their shock however, Temirtau is also a major Al-Qaeda stronghold that is defended by over 3,000 fighters, including several volunteers from the Middle East and North Africa, as well as Islamists coming from the Caucasus.
"Right now, we are working with the Kazakh military units that are fighting the Islamists right now, and they're giving us crucial information on key Islamist strongholds in Temirtau," says ESF General Serhiy Kulyk during a rare interview in the Russian town of Elista. "As a result, we were able to achieve much of our objectives with only a few casualties."
The ESF Air Force's Tu-160 bombers had played a vital role in bombing several areas that were dominated by Al-Qaeda fighters, and having repeated their strategy that was employed during the Soviet offensive in Afghanistan that killed Osama Bin Laden, much of Al-Qaeda's fighting capabilites have been severely degraded. In addition, the joint military intelligence division of the ESF military had also received crucial information from Iranian agents operating in the Khorasan region of Al-Qaeda reinforcements that were streaming from the Kazakh-Turkmen border, in the town of Teze-Durmysh. However, as Turkmenistan is not involved in the ongoing war between Russia and Al-Qaeda in Central Asia, it could not bomb positions inside Turkmenistan, However, they were able to launch a cross-Caspian amphibious landings in Kuryk and Aktau, diverting much of the enemy forces from reinforcing Karagandy.
--- OpEd: Is Artemio Tadiar to Blame for Undermining Globalization?
by: Hovan Levonian
The Globe and Mail
May 2, 2014
Pundits had predicted that by the year 2000, the world would have been more integrated into the global system where everything will be much easier to handle, from the breaking of trade barriers to open borders. Everything was going to run smoothly as each sovereign nation trades some of its independence for the greater good of the international community in a state of enthusiasm for collective security and collective everything. Who were these pundits, you may wonder? It's the very same people who are connected to finance, industry, politics, diplomacy, and technology. For example, Bill Gates had hoped for a world where there will be zero carbon emissions everywhere. Jacob Rothschild had predicted that by the year 2020, humanity will be more integrated into the global technocracy that is meant to benefit us all, and George Soros made his prediction that every nation in the world would have at least a functional democratic government. What really happened? The prediction came crashing down because of one man: Artemio Tadiar. However, Tadiar didn't undermine globalization when he first rose to power. He started undermining it after the Spratlys conflict, when he virtually turned most of South China Sea into a lawless zone infested with piracy. Sure, maritime traffic suffered a bit because of Filipino and Vietnamese piracy. Unfortunately, the Shanghai Oriental Pearl Radio Tower terrorist attack that claimed the lives of over 3,000 or more Chinese civilians, which happened after the 1998 Shenzhen Bus Bombings carried out by terrorists linked to the Tadiar regime, had a significant effect on the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchange. Those financial markets suffered a slight shock, but only lost around $10 million dollars in market losses, while aviation and tourism suffered a bit more because of the travel bans imposed by the Caretaker Wang Dongxing government on Shanghai and Shenzhen, for fears of additional terrorist attacks. Over 300,000 jobs were lost within three months after the terrorist attack in Shanghai, and the Chinese National People's Congress had raised the question of whether or not they should continue with the reforms of Deng Xiaoping. After serious deliberations, acting leader Wang Dongxing and his eventual successor in Bo Xilai finally made the decision to slow down the economic reforms, while simultaneously invested more money into improving the Chinese military. This also had the unfortunate effect of forcing China to rely more on the importation of natural resources for its military and economic needs from various Chinese-friendly client regimes, but it did provide China with whatever allies it can muster.
Why do I say that Artemio Tadiar is to blame for undermining globalization, even if he isn't the only one doing so? Because while his erstwhile overlord in US President Jack Kemp had gone on a rampage around Latin America, crushing any socialist uprisings and making Cuba and Nicaragua safe and open for business, the victimized nations that suffered under American military adventurism had responded by expanding on their revolutionary activities. It became serious to the point where America played an indirect role in the rise of Ramon Rodriguez Chacin's dictatorship in Venezuela because they could not find a suitable puppet to control. Additionally, Alberto Fujimori's crackdown on the communists in Peru had won him the admiration of a few American conservative pundits, but Alvaro Corbalan's brutal regime in Chile, which had arose as a result of Corbalan sidelining Pinochet due to his declining health in 2000, would outdo even his predecessor in areas of human rights violations to the point where Corbalan was often compared to Tadiar. Unlike Pinochet however, Corbalan distrusted the Chicago Boys and closed down the Central Bank of Chile for national security reasons. He also decided to implement the ideas arisen from 'Catholic Economy' by banning usury, which had the unfortunate side effect of devaluing the Chilean peso. Critics had accused Corbalan of undermining and intentionally destroying the value of the Chilean peso, but as Corbalan noted, 'to expel the toxins, one must vomit it from the human body'. Both Corbalan and Tadiar lacked any economic education, and while Mexico's Mario Chaparro did not take the same extreme step, he also implemented the policies and ideas of a Catholic Economy. It reached the point where the concept of government-sponsored money creation started to catch on with other few nations. Boris Yeltsin single handedly destroyed the Russian economy in 1998 to give a much needed great reset when he needed to rebuild it entirely from scratch. To someone who is a part of international finance, the ideas of the government playing a role in managing a nation's currency by taking over its printing from a Central Bank had reeked of another infamous dictatorship that made this kind of move, only to use it towards rearmament.
Steve Bannon and many other conservatives had it right when the Era of Rogue Generals was marked by deviation from standardized economic and political practices that ran counter to what the international community was doing. However, these rogue generals were driven by desperation and a sense of fanatical survivalism in their attempt to rebuild their nation for another chance at getting revenge on those who wronged them in the past. Tadiar's radical economic experimentation was driven by a revanchise spirit that led to the infamous terror attacks on Chinese soil in 1998, which in turn drove the Chinese government to invest more in their military. While the so-called Chinese allies were given investment by Chinese firms, they quickly grew hostile and irritated when it became apparent that China was merely repeating the same practice that the Soviet Union did during the Cold War. This is especially true of SE Asia, which had been deprived of economic activity as a result of the Spratlys conflict. Around the same time as the terror attacks on Shanghai and Shenzhen, Vietnam launched another war against Cambodia to regain the territories it lost to them in the aftermath of said conflict. Not only did Vietnam succeed in regaining its territories, but also expanded its lands up to the former Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh. Burma was run by a Chinese-influenced puppet government, but the Burmese people suddenly began to realize that the previous dictatorship was preferable to the one they have now, and they also started to understand why Artemio Tadiar behaved the way he did. The diplomatic isolation that the Philippines imposed on itself had a significant consequence in that wanted war criminals from previously deposed regimes would freely enter the Philippines and live out the rest of their lives in impunity, without worry of extradition. However, it was not only Chinese military adventurism that was the major worry of the late 1990s and the early 2000s, and American military adventurism was also not the only thing that happened. Russian miltary adventurism kicked off in 2001 when they launched the invasion of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan under the pretext of avenging the terror attacks on Orenburg. The spectre of Russian militarism resurfaced, and various nationalists within the ECA called for it to suspend its economic cooperation with the East Slavic Federation until the ESF military was withdrawn from Kazakhstan. Even if their reasons for invading Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan were legitimate, the world still hasn't forgotten the unilateral annexation of the Kazakh border regions that Russia took over after the Second Russian Civil War. Distrust of Russia spiked after the invasion of Kazakhstan took place, which quickly outpaced distrust of China by over 86%.
What the world has to realize is that the Era of Rogue Generals taught them the wrong lesson: instead of fostering a sense of cooperation, the world learned that distrust, suspicion, ethnic rivalries and racial hatred were stronger over global cooperation. That the world is fast slipping into the mood not seen since the 1930s. A few left-wing activists had it summed up correctly when they say that 'in the future, the anti-communist rhetoric of the Cold War would be followed by the genocidal nightmare not seen since WWII'. National sovereignty and ultranationalism proved to be more powerful than solidarity with former enemies. Although Europe had luckily avoided coming to this conclusion, Asia would sadly learn those wrong lessons. That the anti-Chinese sentiment shared in SE Asia was now going to be tied to Sinophobic extremism, and in the case of Burma, Indonesia and the Philippines, the rehabilitation of the notorious collaborationist regimes that were set up during WWII were being encouraged.
--- "What we must understand is that Assertiongate did not happen overnight. It was years in the making. Jack Kemp had Atlantic Assertion, and the Chinese had the Bo Doctrine, which outlined how China will survive and thrive in a Chinese-dominated world order. Like Atlantic Assertion, the Bo Doctrine had crafted contingent plans for a possible war with Russia over the lost lands of Outer Manchuria, and if possible, the conquest of a good part of Siberia, followed by the establishment of a new ring of Chinese vassals in Central Asia, South Asia, and SE Asia. India would be carved out, with some of its territories going to Pakistan and Bangladesh, but the Philippines was going to be directly annexed to China, with its population either assimilated or expelled. Mongolia, as in Outer Mongolia, was also going to be annexed, as well as the Tuvan Republic, in addition to eastern Siberia, up to the maritime border with Alaska. The Turkish-Azeri plans for a complete conquest of Armenia had left no room for Armenian autonomy, and they would plan to ask the American and French governments for a place where they would relocate the Armenian population. The relocations plan however, ran counter to what Kemp had in mind for the Caucasus. He would have tolerated a truncated Armenia that is stripped of Syunik and given to Azerbaijan as punishment for aligning with China, but eliminating Armenia entirely as a nation would be a step too far. Plan EuroPeace's proposal of pushing the borders of Russia back to a similar line to the Arkhangelsk-Astrakhan line proposed by the Nazis during WWII had been the major goal of Atlantic Assertion, though radicals proposed various different ways of fragmenting Russia and China further. In response, the Ivanov-Sukharevsky Doctrine was formulated, with not only the preservation of the ESF, but proposed a new 'reorganization' of North America along ethnic and political lines. The Ivanov-Sukharevsky Doctrine would envision Mexico regaining its territories lost to the US during the Mexican-American War, a Greater Midwestern Confederation that would be absorbed by what remains of Central Canada, New England being adjoined to what remains of Eastern Canada or being attached to Nova Scotia, and the Deep South being shorn of its Caribbean coastline that will go to a Caribbean Federation. Additionally, the Ivanov-Sukharevsky Doctrine had also complimented one of the main goals of Pan-hispanism, in that the cultural federation of Latin American states would be bound together in one supranational entity that would reduce the predominantly Anglophone nations of the United States and Canada to a similar condition to Finland after WWII. Most importantly though, the Ivanov-Sukharevsky Doctrine also complimented an ideology that had its roots in the 1920s, with the Eurasianist ideology that was formed by Russian exiles. However, neo-Eurasianism was formulated under prominent nationalist in Aleksander Dugin, which envisioned Eurasia as the center of the world.
What no one else knew or realized, was that Angelito Banayo also formulated his own doctrine for what the ideal geopolitical landscape would be like. His proposal of a Five Pillar Multipolarism was unique and revolutionary, in that minor nations wouldn't be forced to choose between the superpowers. He believed that the Philippines would better serve its interest if it aligned with the other Pacific based nations like Australia and Japan, to counter and contain China, while at the same time he also supported the proposal of the Philippines to integrate closer with the Latin American nations. It was this kind of geopolitical double guessing that plagued Filipino foreign policy, even in its period of diplomatic isolation. While he would agree with the idea of using the ESF and India to hem China in, ultimately he realized that various interests and goals of each superpower will never compliment one another. Thus, as Banayo would praise Jack Kemp's idea of a Euro-Atlantic integration, he opposed the idea of a Pan-Asian integration on the grounds that China, India, and Japan would never see eye to eye with one another. In essence, Banayo would study the foreign policy doctrines of all various superpowers to ultimately create what historians will later call the Banayo Proposal, which takes bits of ideas from the Kemp, Bo, and Ivanov-Sukharevsky Doctrines, but adds his own. For instance, he proposed a wider cultural union of Anglophone nations in response to the proposed Pan-hispanist cultural integration of all Hispanophone nations (the Philippines being excluded because of its ineffective proficiency in the Spanish language), while Continental Europe would unite with the East Slavic Federation to form a Greater Eurasia, and China would be forced to unite with India and Japan to create the Pan-Asian community that was planned for a few years. Unlike his other geopolitical peers who made plans for a world of their own vision, Banayo looked at Africa as another key area in which the great powers would inevitably try to compete in. For this reason, he advocated an improvement of relations with key African nations should the Philippines end its diplomatic isolation, with Zaire being the first priority, followed by Egypt, Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Algeria. In the end, Assertiongate only increased the dangers of geopolitical competition that in the long run, hindered globalization and ultimately proved to the neo-reactionaries on the right that their fanatical emphasis on national sovereignty above all else was correct." Peter Hitchens, on 'The World of Assertiongate', July 30, 2019.
--- "The rise of the 'tankie' phenomenon had its origins in the Cold War, when die-hard socialists had defended the USSR's interventions in Hungary and Czechoslovakia. However, the term 'tankie' had acquired a new meaning in the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Kazakhstan, as they now defined it by 'the defense of a superpower's actions in launching an invasion of a foreign country for any reason at all, even if it was legitimate'. Now, it was easy to accuse someone who despise the activities of Al-Qaeda to be labeled a Kremlin tankie if they were defending Russia's actions. Beijing tankie is referred to someone who defends China's own military adventurism, while Merica tankie would refer to someone who defends American military intervention in any part of the world. Of course, some of these tankies are hesitant to take the label, but there were a few who not only embraced the term, but even applied additional labels like Dissident Right-Wing Tankie, and America First Tankie, among other examples. Soon, tankie sub-culture began to emerge in the West, and in parts of Asia where China's military adventurism had its most devastating effect. The age of the internet also allowed online forums to emerge, which provided the tankie sub-culture a fertile climate to grow. Soon, cultural affinities and admirations were added to the mix, and in the case of Russophilia, there were two camps within the Russophilia movement: the generic Russian sub-culture admiration in the gopnik culture and love of Russian pop culture, and the history maniacs who are die hard readers of early Russian history, from the medieval period to the modern period. Of course, what united the Russophilia online movement was their antipathy towards the Soviet period, as they saw it as a national tragedy. It also helped that the same movement also spearheaded a general interest in Eastern Orthodoxy, as a few self-proclaimed 'traditionalist-minded' Westerners began to study the tenets of the Orthodox Christian religion. These admirers of the Eastern Orthodox Church often come from families who were either actively practicing Catholics and Protestants, or nominal Christians that are sometimes called Christians in Name Only. Not only that, but both camps of the online Russophilia movement had actively made efforts to study the Russian language to the point where Western universities saw an increase in the popularity for Russian language courses, and it also helped that Russian was becoming a language of global commerce and diplomacy. Those same Russophiles who studied the Russian language were also keenly interested in the Ukrainian and Belarusian language, since they saw those languages as unique and interesting at the same time. It was this kind of Russophilia that would eventually lead to the East Slavic Federation's greatest legacy of all, albeit the most controversial one: the rise of Russian/Ukrainian/Belarusian soap operas. Television series based on crime, science fiction, mystery, romance, and historical dramas grew out of the ambitions of television mogul Andrei Zavidiya, who also played a role in various television soap opera productions. For instance, the Russian television show 'Heartbreak' was initially unpopular because of awful plot lines, but with eventual improvement, plus the investment made by the East Slavic Federation government on all television and movie productions had resulted in its increased popularity. Moreover, it was the cultural soft power of the ESF's film industry that led to the gigantic joint project with Great Britain and Yugoslavia on the filiming of the historical drama series, 'Wrangel', which retells the story of Pyotr Wrangel. Actors like Konstantin Khabensky, Vitaliy Kishchenko, Mikhail Porechenkov, and many others, gained international fame. Kishchenko would star in 'Wrangel', which would also cast the likes of famous British star Charles Dance (known for his role as Tywin Lannister from Game of Thrones) and Yugoslav actor Nikola Kojo (known for playing Milos Obrenovic in the film 'Uprising', which was directed by Rade Serbedzija) as British officer Reginald Smythe and Milutin Nedic respectively. The controversy surrounding the Russian soap operas, as well as that of Ukrainian and Belarusian ones, was primarily due to its nationalistic undertones that were received negatively, primarily in Poland, where memories of the Russian Tsarist period, the Soviet invasions, and the wartime atrocities committed against the Polish population, had led to the banning of the shows coming from the East Slavic Federation, forcing the Polish government to invest more in their film industry." Excerpts from 'The Resurgence of Cultural Russophilia in the 21st Century'
--- KAZAKH ARMY TROOPS MOUNT OFFENSIVE AGAINST AL-QAEDA TROOPS ON BORDER TOWN OF KORDAY, EVEN AS ESF FORCES CONVERGE ON ASTANA
Moscow Times
February 12, 2001
(Korday, KAZAKHSTAN) - Surviving elements of the Kazakh Armed Forces that have battled Al-Qaeda fighters since 1995, when the Soviet Union was formally dissolved in the Taraz Agreement, have mounted an offensive at capturing the strategic border town of Korday, close to its border with Kyrgyzstan. The Kazakh military, which is plagued by years of neglect, low morale, and financial woes, have emerged as the de facto political player in the Kazakh political arena, as Kazakhstan was without a functioning government since the invasion by Al-Qaeda from neighboring Uzbekistan in the start of 1997. The makeshift Kazakh junta, led by General Saken Zhasuzakuly (like many Kazakhs, he opted to de-Russify his surname by dropping the -ov suffix, and replacing it with -uly) has taken over the reigns of power since the beginning of Al-Qaeda's invasion, but he had to work without any government official who was willing to work with them, for fear of Islamist reprisals. In the space of four years, General Zhasuzakuly had to reorganize the Kazakh military in the same style as the ones employed by Zaire (mainly through the adoption of the technicals, or pick up trucks used for military purposes), and retained the command economy of the old Kazakh SSR.
"We are fighting several enemies with what we have left. Al-Qaeda plagues our southern frontiers, while the Slavs from the north are marching down to Astana and fighting both our troops and the Al-Qaeda fighters. As a result, Kazakhstan has become a virtual lawless frontier, fought between various warlords," says General Zhasuzakuly during his address to the nation. "This is an extremely difficult decision for us to make. To either form a truce with Al-Qaeda to fight the Russians and see our country taken over by radical fundamentalists, or to call for a ceasefire with the ESF military and enlist their help in fighting the Islamists and eventually see our nation annexed into this renewed Fascist Russian Empire."
Although Al-Qaeda has minimal presence in Kyrgyzstan, it is unwilling to neglect much of their operations, even as Myrzakan Subanov had personally led the country's fight against other Islamist terror groups. However, their largest presence in Central Asia is in Uzbekistan, which is also mired in a brutal power struggle between the Islamists, leftover communists, and secularists. However, their fears of a second front would prove to be true, as the Iranian clerial regime had announced a partial mobilization of its military on its northern and eastern borders with Turkmenistan and Afghanistan. At the same time, the leader of the Afghan Northern Alliance, Shah Ahmad Massoud, had approached the ESF government for an offer of assistance in fighting Al-Qaeda troops in Central Asia, in exchange for ESF and Iranian assistance in helping to stabilize Afghanistan.
"It is a miracle that our military was quickly reformed in such a short time, but we had to use the model of a Third World country to do so," comments Nurlan Yermekbayev, who unlike Zhasuzakuly, had refused to de-Russify his surname. "At the same time, I admire the tenacity that our soldiers had displayed when it came to fighting our enemies, both internal and external, as the Kazakh soldier demonstrates to the world of its ability to defend their homeland."
Well that is an horrendous world with Kemp basically arguing that the US won't be the world's policeman because it prefers to be the world's thug and similarly ideas emerging in the ESF as well as China.
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Post by kyuzoaoi on Oct 22, 2021 3:55:32 GMT
I also wonder what would a certain Bato Dela Rosa do in this timeline. Probably the head of Tadiar's Police?
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Post by TheRomanSlayer on Oct 22, 2021 4:10:55 GMT
I also wonder what would a certain Bato Dela Rosa do in this timeline. Probably the head of Tadiar's Police? Good eye. He did graduate in 1986 as part of the Sinagtala class, though given the PoD, he could have either gone with the Filipino exiles, or would have become a major military officer within Tadiar's military. |
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gillan1220
Fleet admiral
I've been depressed recently. Slow replies coming in the next few days.
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Post by gillan1220 on Oct 22, 2021 14:22:26 GMT
I also wonder what would a certain Bato Dela Rosa do in this timeline. Probably the head of Tadiar's Police? Good eye. He did graduate in 1986 as part of the Sinagtala class, though given the PoD, he could have either gone with the Filipino exiles, or would have become a major military officer within Tadiar's military. Considering he led offensives against the NPA in the late 1980s, he would definitely be a useful commander in Tadiar's inner circle. |
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Post by kyuzoaoi on Oct 22, 2021 15:57:12 GMT
In this timeline, Bato still has hair and is bearded, probably.
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Post by TheRomanSlayer on Oct 23, 2021 3:07:14 GMT
I also wonder what would a certain Bato Dela Rosa do in this timeline. Probably the head of Tadiar's Police? Good eye. He did graduate in 1986 as part of the Sinagtala class, though given the PoD, he could have either gone with the Filipino exiles, or would have become a major military officer within Tadiar's military. Considering he led offensives against the NPA in the late 1980s, he would definitely be a useful commander in Tadiar's inner circle. True, although Dela Rosa would definitely be kept on a tight leash. The last thing Tadiar needs is another general defecting. |
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Post by TheRomanSlayer on Oct 25, 2021 4:54:04 GMT
Chapter Eighty-One: When the Knives Come Out
ALLAWI GOVERNMENT FALLS APART IN A NO-CONFIDENCE VOTE, IRAQ TO HOLD FRESH NEW ELECTIONS IN SIX MONTHS
Sydney Herald
March 8, 2001
(Baghdad, IRAQ) - To no one's surprise, the US-sponsored caretaker government of Ayad Allawi had fallen apart in a unanimous vote of no-confidence, as his performance in managing the decrepit condition of Iraq's economy and the ongoing refusal of Iraqi Kurdistan to participate in the running of the entire nation had been abysmal. Yet, international observers raised the alarm of a potential rise of an Iran-backed party called the Islamic Solidarity Party, led by its founder in Ahmad Chalabi. Chalabi, who was known for his growing pro-Iranian stance and his agitation for the reintegration of Iraqi Kurdistan in a new, federalized Iraqi state that the US government had sponsored, but was rejected by Iran. The new Iraqi elections, which is slated for July 13, 2001, was not well received by the general public, who grew distrustful towards the poorly performing government officials who were more concerned with acquiring kickbacks than helping their countrymen. In addition, Iranian diplomats had also met with their Russian counterparts the day before the fall of the Allawi government on the former status of Basra, and their potential use for a naval base that will be used by both nations, with the active participation of the Iraqi government.
"We are confident in our Iraqi brothers' ability to form a true government that will serve the needs of its peoples," says Iranian president Mohammad Khatami, during a Majli session in which he addressed the importance of keeping Iraq and Afghanistan closer to Iran. "With a friendly ally in the west, and in the east in Ahmad Shah Massoud's Afghanistan, we can take the fight to our enemies in Al-Qaeda that are operating close to our borders."
The Kemp administration had also raised alarms about a potential Iranian proxy arising in Chalabi, and with the ever growing antagonism between Israel and Iran over the continued Iranian nuclear program, which was now being supported by the East Slavic Federation, the Kemp administration is also facing the prospect of a closer partnership between the ESF and Iran. The continued partnership has also resulted in a change of policy on part of Armenian President Vazken Manukyan, as his decision to re-establish diplomatic relations with the two nations had been hasty, but his powerful ally in Chinese acting Premier Wang Dongxing and his anointed successor in Bo Xilai have in fact approved of the change in its foreign policy decisionmaking. Still, the Iranian government had insisted that the nuclear program is geared towards achieving energy independence, and not towards the creation of a nuclear bomb that would have been used against Israel. However, radical elements within the Iranian government and the infamous Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps had wanted Iran to possess enough nuclear weapons as a deterrent against other enemies.
"We cannot simply dismiss the threats coming from our neighbors, just because they are weaker than they are," says Defense Minister Yahya Rahim Safavi, when asked about the possibility of Iran acquiring nuclear weapons. "It is for the same reason that Muammar Gaddafi refused to dismantle his country's nuclear weapons program, so that he could retain the defense of his country."
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TURKEY AND AZERBAIJAN HOLD MILITARY EXERCISE IN ZANGILAN AS CHINA SENDS ADDITIONAL 3,000 PLA SOLDIERS TO BOLSTER ITS PRESENCE IN ARMENIA
The Sun
March 15, 2001
(Gyumri, ARMENIA) - A spokesperson for the Turkish Armed Forces has confirmed a report sent from border guards operating at the border with Armenia that the People's Liberation Army has sent an additional 3,000 troops to its foreign military base in Gyumri, Armenia. In response to the growing Chinese military presence, which only served to bolster the Manukyan government, Turkish and Azeri troops staged military exercises on the town of Zangilan, as well as in the autonomous enclave of Nakhichevan. Although the Turkish government has sent invitations to other nations in an effort to display their military prowess, not many of the invitees had accepted the offer, except for the Indonesian and Pakistani military delegates, which offered to send their officers as attaches to Azerbaijan. The Philippines also offered to send one of its officers to watch, but withdrew at the last moment, fearing that sending another officer overseas would provide them with an opportunity to defect to other nations. Yet, both the Turkish and Azeri governments had recently signed an extradition treaty with the Philippines, promising to extradite each other's wanted fugitives who have landed on the territories of the parties in question.
"Our relations with our newest ally in Artemio Tadiar's government in the Philippines have improved to the point where we're comfortable with coaxing it out of its diplomatic isolation, but it's a long process," says newly elected Azerbaijani President Nizami Bahmanov, during a press conference in Baku. "We also understand the grave threat that China poses to the world, and their partnership with Armenia only serves to destabilize the entire Caucasus region. We will continue to work with our Turkish brothers in finding a solution to the ever growing Chinese menace from Armenia."
The recent military exercise has also forced Armenia to send more of its officer cadets to finish their military education at various Chinese military academies in mainland China, and there were also a few Armenian special forces units that have participated in a military exercise hosted by China in the region of Xinjiang, where the battle against Uyghur separatists continued to rage. Moreover, Azerbaijan's defense budget had slightly increased by 1.4%, slightly above their expected annual 2% limit to just 3.4%, in light of the uneasy ceasefire that had been put in place after Nagorno-Karabakh was retaken by Azeri forces in 1995. On the Turkish side, the Turkish government had also sent an additional 6,000 troops to the border with Armenia, while it also increased its aerial patrols over their own airspace, but flying dangerously close to Armenian airspace. Fears of a renewed conflict increased when a Turkish Air Force officer disclosed the presence of seven Chinese LY-60 anti-air missiles, as well as the newly introduced Type 95 SPAAA self-propelled anti-aircraft cannon, which they sent 12 of them. In addition, they also brought in 17 of the newly introduced Shenyang J-11 fighter planes that had been developed with the assistance of ex-Soviet Air Force specialists who sided with the loyalist government during the Second Russian Civil War.
"We call upon our NATO partners to help us address the growing danger on our eastern border with Armenia that the increased presence of the Chinese military has on our national security. Even the Russians are nervous at the Chinese presence in the Caucasus, but they're willing to approach us diplomatically on solving the problem at hand," says Turkish Foreign Minister Tansu Çiller during a speech in the Turkish Parliament. "We are faced with the prospect of a wider war breaking out over the continuing presence of the People's Liberation Army garrison in Gyumri, and the threat they posed to our Azerbaijani brothers."
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"Although Nicanor Faeldon still held a political position within the Tadiar regime, he was still an active officer within the Philippine Marines. Yet, another potential rival had emerged in Rolando de la Rosa, who would gain fame as the most brutal counter-insurgency commander who led the Philippine military against a resurgent rebellion by left-wing guerrilla groups unaffiliated with the New People's Army. Lieutenant de la Rosa's main solution to the growing leftist rebellion was to simply capture their supporters and send them to the various network of labor camps throughout the Philippines. Yet, even he would eventually be dragged into the International Court of Justice for his role in what human trafficking survivors would call the Geisha Express, where he and other various Philippine military officers, and even Tadiar himself, would sell captured female guerrillas to the Japanese Yakuza for cash, often sending them to various brothels throughout Japan. Unlike the other officers who were placed on trial for crimes against humanity, de la Rosa was also charged with war crimes relating to the incident on the North Korean border with China, where he allegedly told his troops to approach the village where the North Korean holdouts were located, and to pour their houses with gasoline and torch it, often with both the North Korean soldiers and their civilian supporters being burnt alive. In addition, he also led the notorious Bato Brigade, which was the Filipino equivalent of the Dirlewanger Brigade, consisted of hardened Filipino criminals who were serving maximum sentences in various Philippine prisons that agreed to enlist in the AFP, in exchange for an official pardon from Tadiar himself. The Bato Brigade would be known for committing other war crimes, from reprisal killings to the notorious Pujangcham Massacre, where approximately 5,000 North Korean POWs were machine gunned by both members of the Bato Brigade and the South Korean 3rd Armored Brigade, which transported the POWs to the site of the massacre and shot them all. Chinese volunteers who were sent to aid their North Korean allies were also killed as well, as well as a few Central Asian Islamo-Maoist volunteers who also joined as well. De la Rosa's trial also coincided with the repositioning of Faeldon as one of the most dangerous opponents of Loren Legarda in the post-Tadiar period, when he constantly objected to Legarda's proposal to restore relations with China, and threatened to launch a coup against the Legarda government. After the Second Korean War, de la Rosa would play a pivotal role in the rise of the radical Vietnamese Green Shirts, known for their failed attempt at a false flag attack on the Sino-Vietnamese Border Crossing No. 1116 by training their members in guerrilla warfare and politically indoctrinating them as well. Even the Vietnamese government-in-exile grew weary of the Green Shirts when it became clear that they held in high regard the period when the short lived Japanese puppet state of the Empire of Vietnam had arisen, and was rumored to have ties to the Vietnamese Constitutional Monarchist League. De la Rosa's role in sponsoring the Green Shirts initially soured relations between the Philippines and Vietnam, until the execution of Vi Đức Hồi in 2010 and his famous essay called The Last Manifesto, which criticized Vietnam's failed attempt at the Doi Moi reform, and the continued economic crisis that was caused by the Spratlys conflict, and the increasing amount of poverty and the intensified propaganda campaign launched from the Philippines by the Green Shirts had provided both Tadiar and the CIA Corsairs with one last attempt at a regime change, which culminated in the Vietnamese Ba Đình Revolution and the fall of the Vietnamese communist government." From "Bato De la Rosa: Tadiar's Troubleshooter", released by Banayaw Television, October 18, 2019.
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Excerpts from "When Civilizations Collide: America in the Age of Rogue Generals"
by: Paul Manafort
Simon and Schuster, published 2019
Chapter Eleven: Renewed Fortunes
When President Kemp announced that they were launching an ambitious project to modify or design a new light tank that will succeed the M551 Sheridan back in February, we were surprised that the American military is still considering the idea of reviving the obsolete tank. By now, most of the M41 Walker Bulldog tanks that were in storage were in the process of being dismantled, but one of the American engineers had an idea about them: why not reuse the Walker Bulldog's chassis for a new kind of tank design? Of course, Kemp, being a warhawk that he is, pounced on the idea. Initially designated as the M552, the Sheridan's would-be successor had to meet the challenges of not only being a dangerous tank that can wipe out other light to medium tanks, but to qualify as a tank fit for exporting to other nations that are in desperate need of tanks. The best part of it all is that the manufacturing plants where the successor to the Sheridan will be built would be in Texas, Alabama, Colorado, and Alaska.
I was still in the same hotel in Qatar with Rex Tillerson by the time Steve Bannon returned from his trip back in the United States. To my surprise however, he was accompanied by another CIA employee who turned out to be a part of the Corsairs as well. We were stunned to see Harold James Nicholson among Bannon's entourage, as he previously worked in Manila when Ferdinand Marcos was around. Likewise, Bannon and Nicholson were not surprised to see Tillerson hanging around my hotel room, but chose not to react to it, as they wanted to sit down and discuss what has happened.
"Governor Perot must be happy right now, with all the defense contracts being signed by Texas," Bannon commented first, to which I nodded in agreement. "I'm wondering as to how much did he pay to get those defense factories set up in his home state, considering that it's close to Mexico."
I snorted. "Take a guess as to why Governor Perot wanted that defense plant."
Surprisingly, it was Tillerson who answered: "The Mexican military is desperate to get their hands on our tanks. It's understandable, given that Chaparro wanted to buy American tanks from us for some time. Same with Alvaro Corbalan, and of course, Artemio Tadiar."
"General Tadiar actually had some military blueprints that were lying around from the Marcos period." Nicholson showed us a photo of what appeared to be a rocket launcher mounted on a truck. "Gentlemen, this is the infamous Santa Barbara Project that the former dictator had planned before his ouster, and the current dictator we're dealing with has agreed to share some of the plans with us, in exchange for acquiring its completed form."
We were not surprised at the revelant project that the Philippines started a while ago, but seeing as Tadiar wanted to have his own rocket arsenal, it isn't hard to guess as to who it will be used against. Still, the American military engineer who worked for General Motors had suggested that the rocket launchers be mounted on the chassis of the discarded M41 Walker Bulldog. In addition, on Tadiar's suggestion, we could also modify the Santa Barbara rocket launcher to carry anti-air missiles, which would have made the defense of the Philippine airspace a hell lot easier, but it would require the missile tubes to be erected upright, in a similar manner to the S-300 missile system used by the ESF.
"While you're all kneejerking on the military stuff, there is something that all of us should have paid attention to," I told the rest of the guys who continued to drool over the Project Santa Barbara prototype. "The damned Russians are approaching the Iranians for an offer to set Iraq's house back in order, and we're being kept out of the loop because of it."
Tillerson snorted. "I'm sure the Russians are just trying to save themselves from the embarassment of having to invade another country. Although, I don't think helping Al-Qaeda would be a good idea for obvious reasons."
"Yeah, unless your name is Ziggy Brzezinski," Bannon sneered angrily. "Stupid idiot is the reason why we have an Al-Qaeda running around in the first place. Yeah, I can understand the Soviets invading Afghanistan was something we cannot tolerate, but training a bunch of guerrillas that would eventually turn against you in the future? How will that work out for us?"
"That's in the past, Steve," I told him in order to make him a bit calmer. "Right now, we need to focus on what we're going to do next. Our contact in Israel is panicking right now because the IDF is watching for a potential uprising from the Palestinians after the First Intifada ended in bloodshed."
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Four days later, we left Qatar in a good note as our hosts were grateful that we paid extra for the room that Nicholson and Bannon had rented. We flew into Dubai in the UAE for a pit stop, before making our way into Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv. By the time we arrived in Israel, a representative of Shin Bet approached us as he was accompanied by several guards. We accompanied them into an empty office, while several Israeli airport security personnel inspected our passports and travel visas.
"I'm not sure what on Earth would compel the four of you to travel to Israel of all places," the Shin Bet representative told us. Three minutes later, the airport security personnel returned our travel documents and whispered something to the Shin Bet representative as his expression turned grim. "Forgive me, gentlemen. I didn't know that one of you is the founder of Breitbart Consulting. Our Prime Minister was seeking to hire the services of Breitbart for one of his upcoming election campaigns."
I sighed. "Well, we don't have an office yet in Tel Aviv, or Jersualem for that matter. Our President simply told us to keep an eye on what is happening in the Middle East. As far as we know, the Russians may launch a destabilization campaign here, using Syria and Iraq as catspaws. In addition, our failure to assassinate the Canadian military engineer Gerald Bull had spooked him enough to seek asylum in Indonesia. He was planning to work for the Chinese, before President Subianto offered him a generous salary to come and work for the Indonesian government instead."
Bannon raised his hand up. "Gerald Bull, who's he?"
"Bull is the Canadian military engineer who worked on various superweapons project. He was the brains behind the G5 howitzer that was used by the South African military. After the civil war in South Africa ended in 1995, many of the former SADF officers fled to the Philippines, where many of them were employed by the Tadiar regime to help train the Philippine military in counterinsurgency operations. However, the G5 howitzers have been adopted by the Indonesian military, so the Philippines doesn't have access to those." The Shin Bet representative noticed me handing a photo of the Santa Barbara prototype weapon. "What's this?"
"The Santa Barbara prototype that was developed during the previous dictatorship. Now that Bull is in Jakarta, there is little doubt that the current President, Sukarnoputri, would be happy to let him get his hands on the Santa Barbara prototype," I told the Shin Bet representative. "Why did your people try to assassinate Bull in the first place?"
The Shin Bet representative grew uncomfortable with the question, before finally answering. "Bull initially wanted to work for Saddam Hussein with the development of various heavy cannons in a project, code named Babylon, before opting for Syria instead, where the Assad regime was open to the idea of developing their own artillery units. The G5 cannon that was sent to Syria illegally was smuggled by agents of Bull, and the Syrian military was going to use it to bombard our positions in the Golan Heights. A tip from one of the Syrian intelligence officers resulted in our failure, as Bull was then smuggled to Indonesia, through Turkey and Azerbaijan."
"Well in that case, we can't exactly ask the Tadiar regime to extradite Gerald Bull, but what we could do is to give you guys a helping hand with the Golan Heights problem," Steve told the Shin Bet representative. "Just let us get in touch with our embassy in Tel Aviv, so we can talk to our President."
"I agree." the Shin Bet representative nodded in agreement. "Prime Minister Ehud Barak is keen on enlisting Jack Kemp's help in stopping the Syrians from reclaiming the Golan Heights, and stopping the Russians from acquiring a second naval base in Um Qasr. We are worried that should the ESF and the Iranians succeed in installing an anti-American government that will succeed Allawi, they will go ahead and turn Um Qasr into a second Tartus naval base, only this time it will hold both Russian and Iranian warships."
"Good grief! Um Qasr and Tartus? The Russians could easily cut off our supply lines from Turkey to Oman, and the Gulf States are signing deals with the Russians like they're in a middle of a Stock Market Firesale!" Nicholson exclaimed. All of us winced at that implication. "In that case, we need to start working on a plan to contain the Russians before they get another naval base and increase their power projection!"
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"Israel has never felt stronger than ever before, thanks to the large number of Jews who have immigrated to our nation from various parts of Eastern Europe, especially the former Soviet Union. Of the 300,000 Jews who left the former Soviet Union, two thirds of them were from the former Union State of Ukraine and Belarus, while the remaining third came from Russia proper. They were not only motivated by the collapsing economy as a result of the Second Russian Civil War, but the resurgence of nationalism in the post-Soviet space has increased the spectre of anti-Semitism as the collapse of communism allowed the long suppressed anti-Jewish feeling to boil over into the surface. As a result, Israel's population has increased slightly, and the technical expertise that the former Soviet Union lost is our gain. In addition, we are also working with our European partners to streamline the process of making Aliyah to Israel for any European Jew who wishes to return back home, and we're also working with our Latin American partners as well for the same reason. Thus, our goal of enabling the survival of Israel is made easier by the large amount of Jews returning from the diaspora." Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak commenting on the immigration of Jews from the East Slavic Federation as a result of reaching an agreement with President Mykola Azarov on the ex-Soviet Jewish Aliyah, December 5, 2001.
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"Ramon Rodriguez Chacin's increased interactions with the Basel al-Assad regime had an unintended consequence of his movement's exposure to collaboration and interaction with the notorious Lebanese paramilitary group, Hezbollah. Of course, while it was officially labeled a terrorist organization by much of the international community, Hezbollah was a de facto political player in Lebanese politics and its reputation as a pack of experienced fighters. Much of its paramilitary personnel had also given additional training to Chacin's followers as they were being trained in Syria and Lebanon, before they returned to Latin America. However, as Chacin's movement became more influenced by Syrian and Lebanese militant nationalism, it unfortunately acquired a nasty anti-Semitic flavor, as the founders of what would become the Venezuelan Social Nationalist Party had declared themselves in opposition to Zionism. While it is not surprising that Catholic nationalist parties in the past had been tied to anti-Semitism, its modern reincarnation in the VSNP and its successor in the Gran Colombia Social Nationalist Party (renamed to the GCSN Front in 2010) had also been influenced by the Falangist movement in Spain, and while the Falangists were nominally anti-Semitic, its Latin American offshoots of the 21st Century had grown increasingly hostile towards Israel, as an extension of their hostility towards the US. Chacin would exploit his connections with Hezbollah and Syria to form Venezuela's own version of both the Lebanese Resistance Brigades and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps as a vanguard of Venezuela's left-wing nationalist junta. Chacin and the newly formed Bolivarian National Resistance Brigade would also become a de facto player in Venezuelan politics, and their influence was so powerful that it could also play a role in defeating attempted coups by opposition groups within Venezuela, and even subvert the remnants of both FARC and what was left of the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement into its satellite movements. The presence of Chacin was also beneficial in the Middle East, as their support of pan-Arab nationalism was seen as something akin to their own aspiration for a pan-Hispanic national solidarity movement, much to the irritation of the US, who wanted to use Latin America as its own captive market." From 'The Growing Ties Between Chacinism and the Assad Regime', released by PBS Documentaries on May 18, 2016.
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gillan1220
Fleet admiral
I've been depressed recently. Slow replies coming in the next few days.
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Post by gillan1220 on Oct 25, 2021 5:45:04 GMT
Here we see the revival of the Santa Barbara project and the Roman Candle.
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