|
|
Post by TheRomanSlayer on Jan 9, 2021 6:29:11 GMT
Chapter Twenty-One: The Rolling Train of Instability
“We, the members of the Council for National Sovereignty, do hereby exercise the legal and political authority as the caretaker government of the Republic of the Philippines, until new elections can be held at any time of our choosing. We will also continue our work to destroy our enemies, both foreign and domestic, at a time of political turmoil around the world. Finally, we will also propose a new constitution that will reflect the major political changes that will come to our country. We are the guardians of the state, and the Filipino state is not feeling well due to the Marcos period and the brief but disastrous Aquino presidency. This, I swear, as the leader of the Council for National Sovereignty, I do keep this oath until I die. So, help us all, God, amen.” Artemio Tadiar, after swearing his oath on the book of Philippine law.
Portrait of leader of the Council for National Sovereignth and Defense Minister, Brigadier General Artemio Tadiar, circa 1989.--- Excerpts from “A Nation in Mourning”
By: Arturo Tolentino
Atlas Publishing, published 2002
Chapter Fourteen: Brave New World
If anyone asked me what I did when Tadiar seized power from President Aquino in a few years’ time, I would not have said anything. I was already tied to Tadiar that any attempts to free myself from his control would backfire. Besides, Tadiar still saw me as a useful tool in fooling the entire world into thinking that he had less power when the opposite was true. Mere hours after Tadiar had launched his coup, he summoned me into his new office inside Malacanang Palace. Unlike the time when Macoy was still president, Malacanang under Tadiar’s current ‘ownership’ looked more like a garrisoned building than a proper government building. Unlike the first EDSA Revolution, where the soldiers acted a bit jumpy, this time around they were professional and crisp. In addition, there were more troops armed with the Type 56 assault rifles that Tadiar’s forces had captured from the NPA fighters who surrendered and have been sent to those new camps I heard about. However, I could not help but feel a bit sorrowful about how the entire Marcos and Romualdez families were slaughtered like that.
I entered what appeared to be the office of the President, only to meet Tadiar sitting on the President’s table, with Majors Aromin and Doromal flanking him. What was more surprising, to be honest, was that in addition to the officers, twelve additional troops acted as bodyguards protecting the new Defense Minister. I do not know if I would be shot or taken into the camps, as Miriam Defensor Santiago and her family had been when Brigadier General Honasan tried to save them, only to be caught in the end.
“Arturo, do you think I would easily dispose of you? You are far too valuable to be sent into the camps that were built with the help of the late President’s family,” Tadiar spoke, but I was too nervous to speak up. “I am sure that you will not betray our group and join the likes of Madam Santiago and her family.”
I sighed and nodded. “I do not know what plans you have for me, but I am not a military man.”
“I know, but all the same, I still need a civilian face to prevent this new government from becoming an actual junta, even if it is a de facto one, not a de jure one,” Tadiar spoke back as Major Doromal stood up and offered me his seat, to which I accepted and sat down. “Although I am the real face of this new government, I need you to serve the Council for National Sovereignty in a position that none of us, but you are qualified for.”
“What would that be? None of you military men can run a nation’s economy, let alone its finances. I was a former Vice President under Macoy, as many of you will remember,” I retorted. I looked at Tadiar, straight in the eye, and did not flinch. “Who will be able to keep your men fed, if you kill all of the civilian personnel?”
Tadiar nodded in agreement and saw a folder, just above the cabinet. He simply gave it to me, while three more soldiers arrived with another guest in tow. I was stunned at the appearance of the newcomer, who looked like he aged a couple more years than he really looked.
“I am sure you are familiar with this man,” Tadiar told me as I turned around and gasped. There he was, Cesar Virata, in the flesh. “He was Minister for Finance under former President Marcos, and I am sure he would be grateful to be restored to his former position.”
“While I would like to accept my old job back, Defense Minister, I would be spitting on the grave of the President who actually handed me the position you are offering to me. Considering that your troops had demonstrated itself to be more competent than that poor housewife during the Civil War, I assume that you are not going to accept my rejection of the offer,” Cesar Virata bluntly told the officers present. He sighed and nodded in resignation. “I will accept the offer to resume my old position as Minister for Finance.”
“And starting from today, former Vice President Arturo Tolentino will become my new Foreign Minister.” Everyone in the room gasped in surprise. Out of all the positions that I could think of, being Foreign Minister was not something I even thought of considering. “You will handle our nation’s foreign relations with the international community, and my first mission is for you to travel to the United States to meet with President Reagan and President-elect Dole. I will arrange the trip myself.”
“You will also need the support of the major business clans in this country, Defense Minister Tadiar. They can help you restore some semblance of normalcy in our country,” Virata spoke in a calm tone, but I can tell that he was not really enthusiastic about getting his old job back. “Only for a short while, and then we can come up with ways to lure foreign investors back into the Philippines after the late President’s actions had chased them away.”
“Industrialization was something that Macoy was constantly talking about, but what kind of industrialization will we have when we have no foreign investment? We need to show the world that we are stable enough to attract the investors again,” I added. Major Doromal nodded in agreement, as did Major Aromin. “If I could speak to the American government, I can convince them of our commitment to defend SE Asia from communism.”
--- TOLENTINO HECKLED BY DIASPORA FILIPINOS WHILE ON STATE VISIT TO UNITED STATES
Los Angeles Times
December 29, 1988
Washington, DC – Newly appointed Foreign Minister of the Philippines and former Vice President Arturo Tolentino was subjected to angry heckling by the local Filipino American community in the nation’s capital today, as they continued their protest the emergence of recently appointed Defense Minister of the Philippines, Artemio Tadiar. Tolentino was sent to the United States to re-assure the outgoing Reagan administration and President-elect Bob Dole that the Philippines remained committed to the defense of SE Asia from communism, but to his surprise, President Reagan has criticized the methods Tadiar used to depose former President Corazon Aquino.
“The President reserves the right to criticize my government for the actions it took but let us not forget that several of his officials have actually sent military aid to Defense Minister Tadiar when he was engaged in the Civil War against former President Marcos,” Tolentino comments while asked about the nature of the emerging junta. “Even so, I am here as a foreign representative of the Philippine Republic, and I will work to the best of my ability to represent our nation.”
Foreign Minister Tolentino held talks with the outgoing Reagan administration about some steps needed to be taken to restore stability in the Philippines before it can resume its normal relations. At the same time, he also talked to the newly elected President Bob Dole and his Vice President-elect, Paul Laxalt, about new business opportunities for American corporations to move into the Philippines after the late Marcos regime had scared business investors away from investing in the Philippines. Sometime after his meeting with the President and Vice President-elects, Tolentino also met the representatives from the CIA and reassured of their support for the new regime, if it also commits itself to fighting the leftover communist guerrillas still fighting in the Philippines.
Although Tolentino’s visit has not garnered enough international attention, the rise of the Tadiar junta has also garnered attention from the Chilean junta led by dictator Augusto Pinochet. After Tadiar’s coup was completed, General Pinochet was the first leader to congratulate his Filipino counterpart on taking power and offered to restore relations between the Philippines and Chile, if Tadiar would personally travel to Chile to meet him, instead of Pinochet traveling to the Philippines. Tolentino, in his capacity as Foreign Minister, agreed to the diplomatic meeting between the two military strongmen, and would announce the official date for the possible Chile-Philippines Diplomatic Summit that will take place sometime next year.
Arturo Tolentino gives a speech in front of the Philippine House of Representatives a few days before his state visit to the United States. The appointment of the former Vice President as Foreign Minister was a major surprise within the Tadiar-led military regime.--- TADIAR, PINOCHET, MEET FOR FIRST TIME IN SANTIAGO DIPLOMATIC SUMMIT AS PHILIPPINES AND CHILE RESTORE DIPLOMATIC TIES
Sydney Herald
August 22, 1989
Santiago, CHILE – In a reversal of the situation where Pinochet was subjected to protests in Fiji while on his way to the Philippines, Artemio Tadiar was greeted with adulation by supporters of the current Chilean junta. At Santiago’s Arturo Merino Benitez International Airport, Augusto Pinochet was there to greet his Filipino counterpart, with an impressive display from the Chilean honor guard, while other Philippine government officials were escorted into the vehicles by Chilean Army soldiers acting as security guards. The summit between the two nations will cover the restoration of diplomatic ties that were broken at the behest of the former Nixon and Reagan administrations.
“It is a pleasure to meet a kindred soul who has also taken the burden of fighting the evil scourge of international communism,” Pinochet comments after being asked on his thoughts about his meeting with Tadiar. “It is a shame that I was not able to make it into the Philippines back when former President Marcos was still alive, but now that Defense Minister Tadiar is here in Santiago, we will now work towards the restoration of diplomatic ties between the two nations.”
Tadiar was so impressed with the way the Chilean soldiers marched and drilled during one of the official military inspections he carried out, which for the first time, he inspected a foreign honor guard that greeted him. The parades that were carried out by the Chilean Army, Navy and Air Force had also impressed the Philippine Army representatives who accompanied Defense Minister Tadiar on his trip to Chile, with Majors Saulito Aromin and Edgardo Doromal taking notes on the style of the Chilean military. During the summit, security issues and military collaboration were often discussed between the representatives of the Tadiar and Pinochet juntas, with known officers who traveled to the United States to attend various courses at the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation who are present as representatives of the Pinochet-led junta.
In addition to security issues, Tadiar also apologized to Pinochet for the way he was treated during his aborted attempt to visit the Philippines during the Marcos dictatorship and offered to invite him to visit the Philippines on the return trip, with Pinochet accepting the invite, despite his advanced age. Moreover, the proposed free trade between the Philippines and Chile was also discussed, although Pinochet wanted to create a larger trade bloc that would encompass the entirety of Latin America, to foster closer cultural and economic ties between the nations that formed the former Spanish colonial empire in the New World. Finally, Pinochet was curious about the lack of ability among the Filipino representatives to speak even a word of Spanish and offered the services of several hundred Chilean Spanish-language teachers to help teach the Spanish language in the Philippines, to which Tadiar had accepted right away, seeing the status of the Spanish language as an official language of the Philippines to be taken seriously.
General Augusto Pinochet and the rest of the Chilean Army officers salute to the soldiers marching past them in a special parade as part of the Chile-Philippines Diplomatic Summit. Although Artemio Tadiar was not photographed during the parade, he and many other Filipino military officers were seated in a special VIP box, to prevent any potential assassination attempts on their lives.
--- FILIPINO AND CHILEAN VOLUNTEERS ARRIVE IN MEXICO ON REQUEST OF MEXICAN GOVERNMENT IN CHIAPAS CONFLICT
The Dallas Morning News
January 10, 1994
Mexico City, MEXICO – Around 1,000 Chilean and 600 Filipino volunteers have arrived in the Mexican province of Oaxaca, on the request of Mexican president Carlos Salinas de Gortari, to help combat the growing number of insurgents who launched an uprising in the neighboring province of Chiapas. Although the Chilean volunteers were well armed and plenty in number, the number of Filipino volunteers were far less than President de Gortari had expected, mainly due to the current conflict in the South China Sea that Defense Minister and Brigadier General Artemio Tadiar had focused his attention on, as well as the participation of Filipino troops in the UNAACP mission in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, alongside Chilean peacekeepers as well. Though the number of volunteers were small, they were also trained in the art of counter-insurgency warfare, and several Chilean officers who attended the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation are spotted commanding the Chilean and Filipino volunteers. Out of the Filipino officers who are present in Oaxaca, only Lieutenant Colonel Edgardo Doromal was present, as Lieutenant Colonel Saulito Aromin is currently supervising the defense of Kalayaan Island from an incoming Chinese invasion, from his outpost in Laoag, Ilocos Norte.
International responses to the presence of Filipino and Chilean volunteers were that of condemnation, as the Tadiar and Pinochet regimes (though the latter was technically no longer a dictatorship, following the election of Patricio Aylwin as the new President of Chile) had reputation as purveyor of human rights violations. In addition, US President Jesse Jackson is fast in his criticism of the Mexican government’s involvement of Filipino and Chilean volunteers in what is essentially a Mexican internal matter. However, a spokesperson for the Mexican government struck back at President Jackson’s criticisms.
“The Zapatista uprising has the hallmarks of communism in it and given that the Sadinista regime continues to plague Nicaragua, we cannot afford to take our chances and defeat this communist uprising within our own territory without the help of others,” President de Gortari commented. “In addition, the Zapatista uprising has broken out in the year that Mexico will go to the polls to either let the PRI continue to rule, or to see a new party emerge.”
Volunteers from the 1st Scout Ranger Regiment on a combat mission in southern Chiapas, Mexico. Filipino and Chilean volunteers have arrived, with the support of the CIA, on the request of the Mexican government in their war against the Zapatistas in the growing Chiapas conflict.--- “It was not surprising to see the hand of the CIA in the increasing conflict in the Mexican province of Chiapas, with the way their agents had been directing the Mexican generals in the extension of Mexico’s Dirty Wars. However, the presence of volunteers from the Philippines and Chile had resulted in the Chiapas conflict worsening, as human rights violations were committed against captured Zapatista fighters, mainly through torture, incarceration, and mass murder. Their actions only served to swell the ranks of the Zapatistas, but the CIA did not mind. In fact, they welcomed the increase in the number of Zapatista volunteers because it would also give more reason for the Mexican government to resort to more, hardline measures enacted towards the Zapatistas. In 2003, a farmer in Cintalpa, Chiapas had gone exploring in the jungle when he suddenly smelled the rotting smell coming from deep within the jungle. To his horror, he found a rotting corpse of what appeared to be a murdered Zapatista, and following additional investigations, the other Zapatista fighters and their civilian supporters have dug up more bones and corpses, revealing a mass grave of murdered Zapatistas. There was one body of a dead Zapatista with half of its head sheared off, that was found by another civilian. The discovery of the mass grave in Cintalpa was the main reason why the Chiapas conflict exploded into what is now seen as the start of the Mexican Civil War, between the Mexican government and the growing Zapatista movement. Although Nicaragua’s Sadinista government had fallen in 1989 by America’s military intervention, most of the Sadinista-aligned troops had retreated into the jungle, resorting to guerrilla warfare to eject the US military from Nicaraguan soil in America’s first jungle war since the Vietnam War. However, like the Vietnam War, there would be significant opposition from the anti-war left to the Nicaragua War, as the American military called it. Up until 1993, the US military occupation of Nicaragua has resulted in over 500,000 Nicaraguans dead, injured, or missing, with President Jesse Jackson being elected on the platform of pulling US troops out of Nicaragua because he saw it yet another pointless intervention from the Dole administration. However, the Chinese two-pronged attack against Vietnam and the Philippines in the South China Sea War, along with the involvement of Brunei, Malaysia, and Indonesia, had nearly threatened to drag the entire world into a world war. It was only thanks to the intervention of German Chancellor Rudolf Scharping in 1996 that stopped the Spratly Islands conflict from turning into a major war, but by then, the Chinese PLAAF fighter and bomber planes had not only bombed parts of northern and central Vietnam between July of 1995 and November of 1995, but had laid waste to the entire Philippines within the same time period (although the bombing of the Philippines would end in December of 1995, with significant larger casualties from the Filipino side). The perceived US military impotence within the Jackson administration had resulted in several calls for impeachment against President Jackson, and Jack Kemp was able to capitalize on Chinese military aggression in the Spratly Islands dispute and tie it to President Jackson’s political impotence that led him to his victory in the 1996 US Presidential election. No sooner did Kemp and his Vice-Presidential running mate Lamar Alexander had secured the White House, that they began to re-assess their policy of economic sanctions and arms embargo towards the Tadiar regime in the Philippines. However, by then, Tadiar had gradually started to turn towards an old enemy turned ally: Japan. What did this conflict had to do with Mexico? Simple: The Kemp administration had played a role in the rise of Mexico’s own Tadiar, Mario Arturo Acosta Chaparro, as the new defense minister who served in the Mexican presidential administrations of Luis Echeverria and Jose Lopez Portillo a while back and had now positioned himself to seize power from Acting President Ernesto Zedillo. However, General Chaparro would seize power in a palace coup, backed by extreme anti-communist elements of the Mexican far-right movement, the Mexican Radical Nationalist Party, after the Popular Revolutionary Army's car bomb attack that killed former President Diego Fernandez de Cevallos.” Alex Jones, from “Corporate America’s Dirty Little Secret”, sponsored by “The American Cause”.
--- “President Dole has dragged America into yet another unwinnable war, this time in Central America! When will the imperialist interventions end? Will we see more working-class Nicaraguans in mass graves, murdered by the US military because of corporate greed? Will we see more Chiapan farmers and workers end up in death camps run by Filipino and Chilean mercenaries? Therefore, we need to say no to President Bob Dole’s wars! Say no more to imperialist wars that invite foreign mercenaries from far-right regimes that are responsible for the mass murder of innocent victims!” from an unnamed anti-war left-wing activist, during the anti-Nicaragua War peace march in Washington, May 14, 1992.
--- “The United States is responsible for the creation of the worst monsters since WWII, with dictators like Suharto in Indonesia, Marcos and Tadiar in the Philippines, Pinochet in Chile, and now we are going to see General Chaparro emerge as a would-be dictator of Mexico, along with Toshio Tamogami of Japan. This is sheer insanity on our part! And the worst part of this is that we are doing this in the name of anti-communism! Capitalism is responsible for the deaths of millions of people everyday, and our government chooses to suppress the aspirations of the working classes of the world. When will we have another chance to undo the mistakes of the Republican governments after these very same Republicans have sabotaged and destroyed President Jackson’s attempts to forge a new path for the United States? We will never get a chance to do it if Corporate America’s biggest backers continue to profit from the bloodshed around the world. Hell, we even shipped tanks to the Philippines that were used to kill those peaceful demonstrators fighting the emerging Tadiar-led junta!” Bernie Sanders, speaking in the House of Representatives, on the official report released on Americas’s Legacy of Dirty Wars.
--- IRAQ RECOGNIZES NEW RUSSIAN PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT OF ACTING PRESIDENT BURBULIS AND ALEXANDER LEBED’S LEADERSHIP OF NATIONAL REDEMPTION ARMY
The Moscow News
July 24, 1990
Yekaterinburg/Isetgrad, ISETGRAD OBLAST – To the surprise of the world, Iraq became the first nation to recognize the legitimacy of the Russian Provisional Government, led by newly appointed Acting President Gennady Burbulis and Supreme Commander of the National Redemption Army Alexander Lebed. This recognition comes at the same time as the Iraqi government’s de-recognition of the Soviet government as the legitimate government that covers the entirety of the USSR, with Iraqi Foreign Minister Tariq Aziz traveling through neutral Turkey and into Soviet territory under loyalist control, before landing in what was then Sverdlovsk, now renamed to Isetgrad, after the Iset River that flows through the city that bore its name. Though acting in the name of current Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, Tariq Aziz formally asked Burbulis and Lebed for advice on how Iraq should proceed with its plans to occupy Kuwait, but upon the meeting in Isetgrad with Burbulis and Lebed, they sharply rejected the idea.
“Iraq has barely started to recover from its war with Iran, and right now, a conflict with tiny Kuwait, though it has powerful allies, would be detrimental to Iraqi security. We would, therefore, advise the Iraqi government to focus on reconstruction efforts and to establish new trade deals with the Russian provisional government,” says Acting President Burbulis to Tariq Aziz. “We would also welcome any Iraqi assistance in our dealings with the Muslims of the former Soviet Union too.”
Though Saddam Hussein is disappointed by the Russian Provisional Government’s advice against the planned occupation of Kuwait, he has accepted the Russian proposal to act as a mediator should there be any planned conflicts between the Russian Provisional Government and various Muslims groups that are fighting against the Soviet government, either on the same side as them, or in the case of Azerbaijan, pro-independence factions. Unfortunately, due to the growing civil war in the crumbling Soviet Union, Iraq would not receive any shipment of arms and ammunition until the civil war ends in victory for either side.
|
|
stevep
Fleet admiral
Posts: 24,836 
Likes: 13,225
|
Post by stevep on Jan 9, 2021 13:25:50 GMT
Interesting. The CIA are emerging as a state within a state here as even within a Jackson Presidency and despite the crimes highlighted during the Reagan period their still involved in operations to undermine stability and democracy in other countries, resulting here in a bloody civil war in Mexico. Which even the idiots in the CIA must recognise as a mistake as its going to cause a massive refugee crisis with many seeking to escape to the US.
Also interesting that we may see the Kuwait invasion avoided here, although that could mean Saddam's regime lasting longer as well. Mind you given his character I suspect that Burbulis and Lebed giving him good advice would be likely to see him seeking to switch back to supporting the loyalists, especially if he could get support for such an operation. Especially with the problems in the US Saddam might even get away with an invasion here and possibly be tempted to extend into Saudi if there's no one opposing him.
So with a murderous regime in the Philippines, which is acting with and supporting a similar one in Chile, civil war in Mexico leading to another military dictatorship here as well as bloody massacres in Nicaragua and China being more aggressive earlier, then a Russian civil war this is getting very dystopian.
I can't remember if your side much but what is happening in eastern Europe with Russia in civil war and the US bogged down in fighting in Mexico and elsewhere. Is the WP still in existence or is it falling apart?
Steve
|
|
|
|
Post by TheRomanSlayer on Jan 9, 2021 19:38:40 GMT
Even more curious about the Sino-Philippine War. I'm not sure if Chinese bombers could reach the Philippines though especially in this period. What too were the targets in the Philippines? The H-6 Xian bomber has a range of 6,000 km, and judging by the close proximity between the targets in the Philippines and the Chinese airfields scattered throughout the Southern and Eastern Theater Commands, it might be doable. In addition, you also have fighter planes that would target key Philippine areas, ranging from highways to even industrial centers. Keep in mind that Manila during the 1990s has not yet been cleaned, so the figure of 500,000 dead from bombing raids might be a bit realistic (if you take into consideration the effects from the type of bombs dropped on the Philippines, as well as the state of the food supplies). Would Tadiar even attempt to build a nuclear arsenal ala South Africa? I suggest that the South African nuke arsenal is "officially destroyed", only to be given to the Philippines secretly together with the codes.
I could see Tadiar going for something like that but what would there be in it for the white minority government? The Philippines wouldn't really have any economic assets and the military are too busy suppressing their own population for large numbers to be sent to S Africa, which might also be politically very explosive. Also its likely that sooner or later news would leak out, which would be even more explosive.
Plus as has already been mentioned the regime would have problems maintaining such a capacity as its likely to be expensive and also they would need some system to deliver it.
I don't think the Philippines has the capability of building even one nuclear bomb. Plus the Bataan nuclear plant in the long run might be unfeasible, given the Philippines' location in the Ring of Fire, it could have a worse impact than OTL Chernobyl if it was damaged.
Interesting. The CIA are emerging as a state within a state here as even within a Jackson Presidency and despite the crimes highlighted during the Reagan period their still involved in operations to undermine stability and democracy in other countries, resulting here in a bloody civil war in Mexico. Which even the idiots in the CIA must recognise as a mistake as its going to cause a massive refugee crisis with many seeking to escape to the US.
Also interesting that we may see the Kuwait invasion avoided here, although that could mean Saddam's regime lasting longer as well. Mind you given his character I suspect that Burbulis and Lebed giving him good advice would be likely to see him seeking to switch back to supporting the loyalists, especially if he could get support for such an operation. Especially with the problems in the US Saddam might even get away with an invasion here and possibly be tempted to extend into Saudi if there's no one opposing him.
So with a murderous regime in the Philippines, which is acting with and supporting a similar one in Chile, civil war in Mexico leading to another military dictatorship here as well as bloody massacres in Nicaragua and China being more aggressive earlier, then a Russian civil war this is getting very dystopian.
I can't remember if your side much but what is happening in eastern Europe with Russia in civil war and the US bogged down in fighting in Mexico and elsewhere. Is the WP still in existence or is it falling apart?
Steve
The 'civil war' we are seeing in Mexico ITTL is more of a low-key to mid-key Chiapas conflict, though with the addition of the volunteers and their reputation on the battlefield, let's say that their actions would give stronger support to the Zapatistas as well. Not that they would care, since it would only encourage more atrocities, sadly speaking. I doubt that the Soviet loyalists might be able to give Saddam permission to attack Kuwait, let alone supply the Iraqis with military hardware, since the civil war will take priority over Iraq's military adventures. Plus what we will see before 1990 is that with a Bob Dole administration, they might have a different policy towards Iraq as well. Another thing too, is that the US would be so busy being bogged down in yet another jungle attrition warfare, this time in Nicaragua, that they might not have any more troops to spare for any possible Middle Eastern military adventure. Granted, the Sadinistas would still be alive and kicking, but with the US inside Nicaragua, that might have an effect on Panama as well. (Manuel Noriega might keep a low profile, or do something stupid). By 1989, I think we can safely assume that the Warsaw Pact would dissolve, on schedule. Also, we might also visit South Africa and what is happening right now, since that country is ripe for a Yugoslav-style civil war that almost happened IOTL (the AWB misadventures in one of the Bantustans might be ugly TTL). You know, I could ask for your help in redesigning the AFP army, navy and air force uniforms at some point in the future, and for the uniforms of the Army and Marine Corps, I can see the Army's uniform being a blended fusion of OTL Chilean military parade uniform and the early versions of the IJA. Kinda like this:  Or blended like this:  Although it might be olive green in color for the Army's uniform and Prussian blue top/sky blue pants combo for the Marine Corps (think American Civil War Union uniform), the uniforms of the NCO for the alt-PMA would resemble a mixture of old WWII Philippine Army khaki uniform, and WWII Imperial Japanese Army uniform, with Confederate States style butternut color and a butternut colored M56 helmet (possibly purchased from the reunified German state, though they would sell the old East German M56 helmets).  |
|
