From michael.michaeldowney at gmail.com  Thu Sep  6 16:47:12 2007
From: michael.michaeldowney at gmail.com (Michael Downey)
Date: Thu, 6 Sep 2007 18:17:12 -0230
Subject: [War] Canada: "The Proposal"
Message-ID: <6b6ab8a70709061347p46bf3666v77e3c2f5566b4ff5@mail.gmail.com>

"The Proposal"
Prime Minister R. Leon MacIntyre
Canada
14 March 2013
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

*Note: These events take place immediately following the US-Canadian
Summit in Washington

<Ottawa>

Very quickly the Prime Minister had communicated to his offices back
in Ottawa the course and progress of his talks with the President of
the United States. Most had applauded the deal on cattle and bemoaned
the stonewalling of any relevant moves on pharmaceuticals.

The item that generated the most buzz in the upper echelons of the
Canadian government were the expectations the Americans in Canada's
military. Given that the military was slowly becoming a hot button
issue on Ottawa, likely even more so now, and that a build-up would
cost a lot of money (and spending money was something no government
liked to do) it was decided that a special meeting should be held
among members of the Cabinet.

The Cabinet of Canada functioned more like the Politburo of the Soviet
Union then it did the American Cabinet; ministers were more often than
not high ranking members of the Liberal Party caucus, unlike their
American counterparts who were unelected bureaucrats.

This particular circle of men and women who were currently filing into
an opulent conference room at the Central Bloc were the 'inner
cabinet' of the government. They were the ones all largely responsible
for the election victory of the Liberal government and the chief
policy and ideological architects of the Liberal Party. Prime Minister
MacIntyre was the 'primus inter pares' of this group, but he was not
their king, as past PMs had fancied themselves.

So Government House Leader Felipe Dechard did not see it at all
treasonous or treacherous for he and the others of the inner cabinet
to meet and discuss the events in Washington.

In all there were six of them including Dechard; Charles Daudelin the
Foreign Minister, Vernon Garneau the Defence Minister, Rebecca Belford
the Chief Whip, Eric Lancaster the Public Safety Minister and Pierre
Saint-Gelais the Health Minister. The only two not in attendance were
the PM himself and Steven DeMonte, Finanace Minister and Deputy PM.

In addition to these ranking politicians was Army Lieutenant-General
Sandra Newcastle, Chief of the Defence Staff. She was there in a
purely advisory role; Garneau, like the majority of Defence Ministers,
was not and had never been a soldier. He was a former board members
for BAE Systems and was greatly connected in the global defence
industry. Though he was undisputed expert on the technological side of
things, it was Newcastle that would provide this circle with a more
military perspective.

"Let's get started," said Dechard as he snapped the top of his bottled
mineral water. With MacIntyre and DeMonte in DC, he was the most
senior man present and would chair the meetings. "Vernon, has the
Department of National Defence come up with a draft proposal of what
we will be doing with the CF?"

"I have," said Garneau, opening his briefcase and quickly slid
identical folders to each everyone. 'Top Secret' was written on the
cover of each folder. "When writing this report we took into
consideration two important questions; Number one, what role should
Canada play in the defence of North America and number two, how will
we prepare Canada's military for the demands of peacekeeping in the
21st Century?

"To begin, general operational funding. The proposal by the Pentagon
that we set our yearly military budget to 2% of the GDP is, in my
opinion, a very logical and reasonable suggesting. In fact on average
our principle allies, not counting America, such as France, Britain
and Australia spend an average of 2.4% on defence. Given that we are
entering into a period of expansion, a budget of 2% seems reasonable?"

The last part was posed as a question, and there were no objections.

"Alright then, we will begin with the expansion of the Army,"
continued Garneau. "General Newcastle?"

"Thank you Defence Minister," nodded Newcastle before using her PDA to
bring up the display on the projection screen on the far side of the
room. "The proposed expansion calls for a division of new troops
consisting of three full-strength brigades. We will model these
brigades as we do our current formations, with each containing one
armoured, mechanized infantry, and artillery regiment each, plus air
transport and service support formations. Ideally we would like the
capacity to have two brigades operating anywhere in the world at any
given time with a third brigade ready for surge deployment with only
limited preparation.

"In terms of equipment, there are several things that we will be
needing. One, the RCAC could use some new tanks. Our Leopard 1s are
way beyond their operational lifespan and are obsolete. Our current
inventory of Leopard 2s, while an excellent and highly capable design
even now, are all second-hand units purchased from Norway or Germany
and are close to 30 years old. And with three new armoured regiments
being organized, we will need to not only replace our Leopards but
outfit those new regiments as well. We're looking at about 300. The
RCAC has expressed a great deal of interest in the GIAT Leclerc MBT in
use by France and the UAE. It's a very new, very modern tank that
compares quite favourably as a successor to our Leopard 2s."

"I can have Ambassador Gardner speak with the French President about
an arms acquisition," noted Daudelin.

"Second, we need new APCs," went on Newcastle. "As our Army is
designed to be a highly expeditionary force, given our heavy
participation in peacekeeping, we must be able top operate in any
number of environments with any number of roles. Now while we may be
building up our armed forces, we still cannot afford to have a wide
variety of single-purpose vehicles to do a variety of tasks. Or, not
to the degree that the Americans have. Because of these we are looking
at making a purchase of the Boxer MRAV, or multi-role armoured
vehicle, in use by the European Union. It's a very flexible design
that can be outfitted with mission-specific modules. We're looking at
about 700, to replace our fleet of AVGPs and M113 tracks.

"Mobility is critical to any military and air mobility is paramount.
We only have eighty transport utility helicopters in use by the RCAF,
the Bell 412 or the 'Griffon' as the CF refers to it. Now again, this
is an issue of an older design that is few in number. We want to give
the Army its own fleet of UH-60M utility helicopters, the latest
production variant of the US Army's 'Black Hawk' design. With the army
now boosted to two full divisions in size, we'll need about 150 of
these at least. On top of that, we have a lack of heavier helicopters
which can ferry larger cargo at longer ranges than medium aircraft
like the Black Hawk or Griffon can. We will thus request we also be
given the funds needed to purchase 25 NH90 TTH helicopters from the
European Union."

"Opinions?" asked Dechard.

"It seems a reasonable enough course of action," offered Lancaster. He
was the only other soldier, a past member of the Royal Canadian
Regiment, among them after Newcastle and the second most senior
security expert. "It's not like the Canadian Army is never in use.
We've fought in every major NATO and UN operation since Korea and done
dozens of peacekeeping operations. Of all the branches of the CF, it
does the most work and takes the most punishment for it."

No objections were raised and they seemed to have a consensus.

"Okay," said the House Leader. "How about the RCAF?"

"The RCAF is in very dire straights," admitted Newcastle. "We only
have eighty fighters, sixty of which are combat fighters. The other
twenty of been converted into trainers. We barely have enough aircraft
to effectively cover Ontario and Quebec, let alone the second largest
airspace in the world. For some time now, back as early as 2004, we
have been participating in the JSF development project with the United
States and United Kingdom. I would like to see the RCAF equipped with
the F-35A Lightening multirole fighter. It is very comparable to the
Eurofighter Typhoon and Dassault Rafale and Sukhoi Berkut. Ideally, we
would be taking an order of 200 fighters. That is enough to both
patrol our own airspace effectively and have squadrons operating
overseas.

"The other area the RCAF is lacking in is strategic lift. This is
something the Pentagon has been complaining about for years. We are
far too heavily dependent upon the USAF to actually get our men to
where they need to go outside of mainland Canada. Our purchase of four
C-17 Globemasters in 2007 was a good step, but now we need a larger
fleet of slightly smaller lifters. Originally we were going to
purchase 17 C-130s, but that did not materialize. Now the RCAF is
seriously considering purchasing 15 Airbus A400s. They are more
expensive than the C-130 but are more capable, and newer; they only
became available in 2009, while the C-130 is a product of the 1950's.
We should be making a highly modern force with equipment that will
last us twenty to thirty years, not older designs that will become
obsolete in ten."

This time the looks were more reluctant. The need was apparent, true,
but there was something less?. Human about the Air Force. The Army was
made up of young kids with very human faces out fighting the Taliban
and giving out water and food to poor people in some distant country
that you saw on CBC, while the Royal Canadian Air Force was a bunch of
big iron birds landing on some runway somewhere.

But how could they argue with the decrepit state of their fighter and
lift forces? Though the hesitation was apparent, no one voiced
objections.

"General before you begin your brief on the status of the Navy,
General Newcastle, I would like to make it known that I do not support
the idea of Canada acquiring nuclear attack submarines," explained
Saint-Gelais in his twangey Quebecois accent. "I have looked at what
we would be paying the United States to build us these ships. At the
very least it will be 1.65 billion American dollars. That is, as they
say, real money. Now I understand and agree that the military needs
improvement and expansion, but I question the cost of this particular
purchase."

"I think I must agree with Pierre, though for different reasons," said
Lancaster. "I'm not a Navy man but I can tell you that apart from
aircraft carriers and ballistic missile subs, nuclear attack subs such
as the Virginia-class are among the most powerful weapons of war ever
created. Able to sneak anywhere in the world and attack with a
devastating array of torpedoes and cruise missiles. The Virginia-class
can even perform advanced intelligence gathering operations and
deliver special forces teams. Should we not stop and think that having
such powerful tools at our disposal might be a bit too MUCH power?"

"These are nuclear subs, not nuclear weapons, Eric," noted Garneau.
"Powerful weapons? Yes. But we face nations that could be powerful
enemies. In the North we have Russia slowly creeping into Arctic
territory that is ours. And they have nuclear subs at their disposal,
a huge tactical advantage over us. We don't even HAVE submarines,
period. The Upholder-class boats the British sold us don't even work
anymore. Half of them had to be taken out of service almost three
years after we got them due to technical problems. And what about
China? Are they not building up their nuclear sub fleet? Newcastle,
what are the new subs class they've been working on?"

"Type 093," said Newcastle. "The NATO reporting code is Shang-class."

"Yes, exactly. China is producing new subs. And it could be as little
as two years before Russia starts producing Severodvinsk-class boats.
Furthermore, what if Russia and China start collaborating on sub
development? It may have fallen through this time, what about next
time? With Russian technology and Chinese financing, they could build
more advanced subs in greater quantities than they are now."

"I should point out that we have not engaged in hostilities with
Russia over the Arctic yet and are a long way from doing so,"
countered Lancaster. "And we have good relations with China as well.
And say we do have to fight one or the other, the US Navy has more
than enough nuclear submarines to protect us. Given that we are
spending billions of dollars improving every other aspect of our
military, it is not an unreasonable expectation on our part for the
Americans to defend us against such threats. Anyway, what about diesel
subs?"

"They are cheaper," admitted Garneau. "And faster to build. But our
coastline is large, and our Arctic territory makes it difficult to
surface regularly in the North. Diesel subs have to periodically
access air, and have more limited range based on fuel. Nuclear attack
subs are limited only by food stocks and do not need to surface for
months at a time. They have a distinct advantage, especially if we
have to defend ourselves against Russian encroachment in the Arctic."

"I still think it will cost to much," mumbled Saint ?Gelais.

"Did it ever occur to you that maybe we need such weapons?" asked
Garneau of Lancaster. "You said it yourself, cruise missiles,
intelligence gathering abilities and the capacity to deliver special
forces. Peacekeeping is become more dangerous and more intensive.
Often we don't simply have to keep two foes apart, we have to actively
fight and eliminate one or two of the warring sides. Remember
Yugoslavia? The African Union's mission in Sudan? They only ended when
the Serbs were beaten and the Sudanese rebels were forced back."

"If I may offer a suggestion," said Daudelin. All eyes turned to him.
"If we were to buy diesel subs, what type would we likely get?"

"Germany's U212-class are supposedly the most advanced," replied Garneau.

"Okay. My proposal is that we hold a design competition between the US
Navy's Virginia-class subs and the Deutsche Marine's U212-class. The
RCN will place an observer aboard each ship and report as each sub
does sea trials. After that we'll stage a war game exercise between
both ships, and whoever gets the best two out of three wins the
contract."

At the very least it was a delay tactic. Even those among them who saw
a use for nuclear submarines realized that the rest of the CF
expansion was more important. Better that the rest of it get passed
through Parliament and then the final decision on the sub fleet be
made at a later date.

"Moving onto the rest Royal Canadian Navy," said Newcastle. "We'll be
purchasing four Zumwalt-class Destroyers to replace our Iroquois-class
Destroyers and fourteen Freedom-class Littoral Combat Ships to replace
our Halifax-class frigates."

"What is the ultimate cost of all this?" asked Saint-Gelais. Newcastle
tapped her PDA once again and the display changed.

"Some of the costs are not finalized pending diplomatic negotiations.
But here it is."

4 Zumwalt-class Destroyers at 3 billion=  12 billion
14 Freedom-class LCS at 200 million=  2.8 billion
300 Leclerc MBTs at 4.3 Million=  1.29 billion
200 F-35As at 40 million= 8 billion
700 Boxer MRAVs at 6 million= 4.2 Billion
150 UH-60Ms at 5 million= 750 Million
25 NH90 at 19 million= 475 million
15 Airbus A400s at 135 million= 2.025 Billion
Total: 31.54 Billion USD.

"Now these figures may change depending on how much the French and EU
joint companies charge us for the tanks, A400s and MRAVs. We're basing
this list on standard prices as they were now. With the increase in
orders, we might get a bargain price as we are with the Pentagon. Add
another five billion for recruitment and training, the entire cost
will be 36.54 billion US Dollars."

"Payment will be done in phases," explained Dechard. "If Parliament
agrees to the build-up, seven billion dollars up front followed by six
billion dollars a year for the next five years. Obviously this does
not include our submarines; a separate payment plan will be devised
for them once we make a decision to go nuclear or diesel."
---

Actions:
1) Outline equipment and manpower requirements for the Canadian Forces
2) Submit the requirements to Parliament for approval, followed by the
actual spending bill after all the needed political wrangling is
complete.
3) Issues a competition for the Royal Canadian Navy's next generation
submarine; the RCN is consider either the American Virginia-class or
German U212-class. If both parties agree, hold sea trials with an RCN
observer aboard each boat.
4) Set Canadian defense spending to 2% of the GDP


From Chazenesq2b at aol.com  Sat Sep  8 23:41:45 2007
From: Chazenesq2b at aol.com (Chazenesq2b at aol.com)
Date: Sat, 8 Sep 2007 23:41:45 EDT
Subject: [War] China/Japan/Russia:  "The Beijing Conference"  Part One
Message-ID: <d34.1354e6f8.3414c579@aol.com>

"Shaping    Asia"

President  Xia Hong
People's Republic of China

President Nemerenko
Russian Federation

Prime Minister Shunichi Sato
Japan
================================================

(Estate  Room-  Executive Residence)

The Estate Room was perhaps the largest  single room in the Chinese Executive 
Residence.  Fashioned  after  an old fashioned ballroom right out of European 
history... but like so many  western inspired products   in the country, with 
a distinctly Asian  flare.  Rather than hosting a traditional ball however, 
it would be  the     setting for a major international conference... it's  
originally intended purpose.

A heavy, elaborately hand-sculpted marble  and stone table sat at the far 
edge of the room, making space for the  requisite media entities and the various 
staff members each delegation was  likely to bring with them.
Security was understandably tight, even by China's  already strenuous 
standards.   The MSI and Executive     Security teams were coordinating well, and 
even America's Secret Service would  have been impressed by
the amount of precaution and technical skill  showed.

It was arranged that the official meeting would begin precisely  at 1:00 PM 
local  time, which was why Xia      showed up  at 12:30.  She preferred having 
the leeway of organizing things  herself, or at least over seeing
them.  The Ministry of State had  exceedingly capable staffers, but there was 
nothing like  feeling prepared.
***

Sato felt prepared.  Even with concern  laying heavy on his mind regarding 
the plane crash at Midway, he felt he  was ready for what today and the 
following days would bring.  Though just  to be safe he went over his
notes again, in hard copy, he was a dinosaur when  it came to technology, and 
then closed them up in his    briefcase and  passed it to his daughter Akeme 
as the Japanese motorcade arrived at the  Chinese Executive
Residence.

Katsuo, his director of Public  Affairs, leaned over and adjusted his tie.  
"No smiling," he reminded  Sato as he did so.

Of course he couldn't smile as he exited the car,  there had been a plane 
crash, hundreds were dead, he knew enough not to  smile for the media in a time 
like this.

"He knows," Akeme  said.

Katsuo bowed his head in apology and retreated back to his  seat.  Sato 
finished adjusting his tie as the car came to a  stop.

Yamazaki, the leader of his personal team of bodyguards opened the  car door 
for him and he got out while   Akemi followed and Kazuo  stayed in the car.  
An official from the Ministry of State came down and  greeted
him.  "Mr. Prime Minister welcome to China."

Sato bowed  his head and gave an earnest if not exuberent look of greeting to 
the  official.  "Thank you, may  I say the residence is lovely, I am  afraid 
pictures have not done it justice."

They continued small talk up  the stairs and were lead through immaculate and 
tastefully decorated corridors  to the Estate room, which was simply 
cavernous and it was clear even though most  of the Chinese
delegation was in the room, it could hold considerably  more.

Sato was impressed; somewhere in the dark tunnel of communism the  Chinese 
had remembered their sense of style, even if it  was in this room at least 
heavily borrowed from the West, but what wasn't these  days?

Still taking in the room Sato let himself, and it was only himself,  as his 
daughter and the aides who had  come in the second car took their  places by 
the conference table, be led by the official to where
President Xia  Hong stood.

He bowed formally, just slightly deeper than what an equal  would receive 
after all President Hong was,    *President* Hong, and  thusly of a higher rank 
than himself, a head of government.

"President  Hong, pleased to finally meet you," he offered in English.  As he 
 said, who didn't borrow from    the west?"

"Prime Minister  Sato."  Xia allowed a small smile, and returned the bow in 
equal  fervor.  After all, President,  Prime Minister, or what not,  they were 
all equally leaders of their respective nations,  and in that  sense were
all equals.   Besides, for as much as Asia had developed  technologically, it 
was still a continent and a cluster of peoples highly  indulgent in 
tradition.  "Welcome to Beijing.  I've been looking  forward to finally
meeting you."  The man hadn't even been given a  chance to settle in before 
photographers and videographers started their  particular bombardments, not 
missing a beat in getting portraits of the leaders  of the two    greatest Asian 
nations and long time rivals side by  side, and actually greeting each other 
warmly.  "I hope
that all the  accommodations have been acceptable?"  It was impolite to get 
immediately  to business, even  in Asian politics.

Sato nodded.  "More  than acceptable, thank you," he said cordially.  "And I 
must say, the  Executive Residence is spectacular.  I hope our schedule will 
permit  time to better examine it."

Xia chuckled, Prime Minister Sato seemed to  be the only leader other than 
North Korea's Wi Cheng that she might actually  find easy to work with.  It 
would be nice to guarantee the region's two  most dominant powers
had a decent relationship.  "Consider your  delegation and yourself as guests 
of the Chinese people Prime     Minister, you are all welcomed to remain as 
long as you like."  Her  childhood Californian accent shone  through just a bit 
as they conversed in  English.  "You may even be surprised at how many of the 
 appliances
here you may find familiar."  She was referring of course to  the large 
number of appliances Japan exported,   or Japanese companies  made in China with 
their own brand names.

"Always a pleasure to see  our work is appreciated,"  Sato said allowing a 
slight smile as the  President was laughing. "And we will take you up on your 
invitation to remain  for a time, it is good to see we are welcome
in China."

"The city  may be forbidden, but the rest can be quite welcoming."  She 
joked,  pouring each of them a cup of authentic green tea.  "You are always welcome 
 in China, Mister Prime Minister.  "I have nothing but respect
for  your country and your people.  Japan has certainly earned it's status as 
a  world leader."

"It certainly has," came a voice tinged by a Slavic  accent.  Nemerenko 
approached the two other leaders.      "Prime Minister Sato,  I am pleased to 
finally meet you in person.   And greetings to you also, President
Hong.  Your government has done a  commendable job of organizing this 
conference."

"You flatter me, Mister  President."  Xia gave a respectful nod to Nemerenko 
before immediately  pouring him a cup of the same tea.  They may have their 
differences, but  Russia's commitment had helped them keep
North Korea stable from a  humanitarian standpoint, and as such he certainly 
warranted an invitation  to a  conference where North Korea was likely to be a 
major issue.   "Please, make yourselves comfortable.   Minister Cheng the 
leader of  the current North Korean government should be here  shortly."




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From Chazenesq2b at aol.com  Sun Sep  9 14:38:35 2007
From: Chazenesq2b at aol.com (Chazenesq2b at aol.com)
Date: Sun, 9 Sep 2007 14:38:35 EDT
Subject: [War] "Shaping Asia"  Part Two
Message-ID: <c05.1f9d1b84.341597ab@aol.com>

"Shaping    Asia"

President  Xia Hong
People's Republic of China

President Nemerenko
Russian Federation

Prime Minister Shunichi Sato
Japan
================================================

Nemerenko  graciously accepted the tea.  "My government of course puts a 
great deal of  importance on  these talks.  We hope that through mutual 
cooperation  we can create a stable and efficient road map for
the future of  Korea."

Xia nodded.  "I'm sure an understanding can be reached on  Korea, though I 
hope this conference will not be limited solely to Minister  Cheng's government 
or country.  There is much we can accomplish as each  of     our countries 
have much to gain through  cooperation."

Sato's interest was piqued by that.  "What sort of  things did you have in 
mind?" he asked conversationally  as he too sipped  at his tea.  "Not to get 
ahead of  things before our Korean friends  arrive."

"Well I believe it's time we consider moving  beyond Asean, away from an 
organization intended to address  the  specific concerns of South East Asia, to a 
broader Union of all Asian  nations.  Russia certainly has a
stake in the economic development of  Asia, at least as much as it does in 
Europe.  Likewise it's about time we  began to integrate, to be able to deal 
diplomatically and economically with the  West as equals."

If Sato had not been Japanese and  a politician his  jaw would have dropped.  
That was quite the proposal, and here he had been  expecting a photo op and a 
chance to meet the other regional leaders.

Xia  Hong obviously had other things in mind.

Fortunately another aspect one  learned being  a successful Japanese 
politician was flexibility.   Knowing his  staff would be feverishly churning things 
over in their  heads to advise him when he had a moment, he
pressed for more  details.

"How much integration are you suggesting?" he asked.   "Something like an 
Asian version of NAFTA or as   far reaching and  revolutionary as the EU?"

Xia smiled, she'd figured the air would  have been sucked out of the room and 
the proposition, along with all  those  gathered, would have died from shock 
and hypoxia.  She was only  partially right.  "Well I understand
there is a great deal of confidence  building that must be made before hand, 
but in the time our governments have  been running we've resolved long 
standing territorial disputes,  responded  to humanitarian crises,  and  cooperated 
on a level previously thought  unimaginable given the blocks put in place 
between us over history
and  alliances.  Yet we've prevailed."   She took a sip of her own  tea.

"I don't think any of us are prepared just yet to make the commitment  to 
each other that the European  nations have made among  themselves, but it's 
likewise important to remember even the  EU started off as a   simple trading 
alliance between two  nations.  I would like to start us down a road, taking the 
first few steps,  if we are ready."

Sato smiled.  "We're here aren't we?" he  said it wasn't a yes or a no.  This 
was new ground after all, and it paid  to be cautious.  However somewhere 
deep under years of  control   he was   curious.  Was Xia Hong  offering this in 
good  faith?  If so, then this could very well be one of the defining  moments 
of the century,  though on the other hand, a healthy dose of  skepticisim, 
born of a life time of China as the enemy, one of  those  blocks Xia had spoken 
of, kept him from giving into it.

Nemerenko sat  silently, not saying anything.  He waited patiently for others 
to  voice their opinions.

There was a long silence following the Russian's  non-reply and Hong was not 
taking the moment to speak      so, eventually Sato  did.

"What sort of trade agreements did  you have in mind?" he asked.  "And would 
they be  bi-lateral, Russia to   China, Japan to China, or would we all be  
agreeing to the same set of terms?"

"I would hope that all parties  could agree to an identical framework through 
which we can work, and modify  as needs may dictate.  Nor was  I aiming to 
confine such an agreement  to our nations, though as the   leaders of the 
Pacific's greatest  powers,  I felt it important to gauge your reactions first."  
She  offered truthfully, deciding it best that, if the two Korean 
representatives  would not make themselves present, to  continue on anyway.  She sat  down, 
passing to each of the leaders a bound copy of the  agenda.  "If your
governments are receptive, it would be  a  great incentive for other nations 
to join  us."

Nemerenko looked over the agenda.  It posed serious  concerns for him.  
Russia was a European nation, not  an Asian  one.  Russia did more trade with 
Germany or France than it did China  or Japan.   Increased trade
with the two Asian powers  was something he was all for, but he had no 
intention of linking  his state into   some sort of East Asian version of the EU.   
Not to mention that to this day he still regarded China and its   leaders, for 
all their value, with great suspicion as a potential  adversary.  
Particularly after the debacle involving the failed  non-aggression pact.

"An increase in trade is of course welcome,"  observed the Russian President. 
 He braced himself for extreme  acrimony.  "As is the idea of more open 
diplomatic  cooperation.  But Russia is a European  country, not an Asian  one.   
And right now the Federation is not in a position to  consider membership in 
any form of  supranational union, be it this or  the EU."

It occurred to Nemerenko that he may have just  marginalized his position;  
if Hong had gathered them here  with  the hidden intent to sell this idea, then 
she might simply  dismiss Russia with condescension as    somehow being  
useless to their plans.  And he knew from experience she had a  low personal 
opinion of him, especially when he  disagreed  with    her.

"I fully support and endorse your  idea," he  added.  "It has worked for 
Europe and it can work for Asia.   And   Russia will  be  happy to  be a partner 
to  such  an   organization. But not  a    member."



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From pentaj2 at Scranton.edu  Sat Sep 22 15:44:18 2007
From: pentaj2 at Scranton.edu (pentaj2 at Scranton.edu)
Date: Sat, 22 Sep 2007 15:44:18 -0400
Subject: [War] World Report, Volume 4
Message-ID: <fd4fd81a354a.354afd4fd81a@scranton.edu>

WAR: World Report, Volume 4

- For all actions since Volume 3, advancing the timeline to Mar 17 - 
Mar 31, 2013

United Nations Security Council (Permanent Members): United States, 
United Kingdom, France, China, Russia

United Nations Security Council (Non-Permanent Members):
Until September, 2013:  India, Egypt, Norway, Mexico, Venezuela
Until October, 2013:  Canada, Chile, Italy, South Africa, Japan

Pending UN Security Council Actions: None
Pending UN General Assembly Actions: None
United Nations Secretariat: No news.
==============
GM Babble:
 
Alright this took a while to get out but here it is, thanks to all of 
those who had hand in putting it together.

Anyhow everyone, post and recruit. 

-Ian

===============================================

WORLD NEWS (Please review the following topics for potential posting 
fodder):

Final counts of survivors and dead released in Air China-JAL crash 
over Midway
 
Honolulu, March 11 (AP) - After a delay of 3 days caused by 
difficulties notifying next of kin, the United States Coast Guard has 
released the final accounting of the numbers of those rescued and lost 
in the collision of JAL Flight 346 and Air China flight 453 over 
Midway Island in the Pacific.
 
At a Honolulu news conference today, Coast Guard Rear Admiral Sally 
Brice-O'Hara, Commander of the Fourteenth Coast Guard District, 
spelled out the toll of the accident:
 
"On JAL 346, of 418 aboard, 236 were rescued; Of those, 10 later died 
of wounds sustained in the crash.
 
"On Air China 453, of 418 aboard, 210 were rescued; of those, 8 later 
died of wounds sustained in the crash.
 
"The Cockpit Voice Recorders and Flight Data Recortders of both 
aircraft have been recovered and sent to the National Transportation 
Safety Board in Washington for analysis.
 
"Due to the location of the crash, Coast Guard, Fish and Wildlife 
Service, and other responders were fortunate to recover all remains; 
unidentifiable remains have been sent to the United States Army 
Central Identification Laboratory in Hawaii for initial classification 
and a first attempt at identification. DNA samples have been collected 
from all remains and have been sent to the Armed Forces Institute of 
Pathology; Samples have been collected from family members to ensure 
the positive identification of remains before they are released."
 
An NTSB spokesman confirmed that the joint FAA and NTSB investigation 
into the crash remains ongoing, and has yet to reach preliminary 
conclusions as to the cause.


ACTION RESPONSES
=============================

CANADA

Population Approval: 57%
Government Approval: 55%
International Favor: 55%
Economic Growth: 2.3% Average
Inflation: 1.8%
Unemployment: 7%
----------------------------------

The Canadian people are pleased with the performance of the MacIntyre 
Liberals since giving them their first majority in thirteen years. The 
governments early actions to make the Federal government more 
efficient is well received if not totally understood by the general 
population. However the results of the Prime Minister?s trip to 
Washington are. Albertans in general are very happy at the news their 
beef will be back on US shelves next year and the rest of the country 
is pleased to see that relations are improving with their neighbour to 
the south.

However, they aren?t so sure about the scale of the military build up. 
While the government has done its best to show that the build up will 
be in manageable chunks, the people are a little taken a-back by the 
overall costs, and observers both inside and outside the defence 
industry wonder if the country really needs nuclear subs. The 
Conservatives, though traditionally for increases to military spending 
are making a big deal of the price tag, and are calling the ?trials? 
between the Virginia class nuclear subs and the German built U212-class
a sham, as the conclusion is more or less a forgone conclusion. Former 
defence staff have agreed.

The other trouble facing Prime Minister MacIntyre is the Triple-E 
Senate. While provinces who are going to receive more seats as a 
result of the changes are generally happy about the proposal, as are 
the people, though mostly it?s a knee jerk, democratic equals good 
approval. Meanwhile Quebec and Ontario are both promising to vote down 
the proposal which in turn has given the Senators cover to vote it 
down themselves. 

However there have been some back channel indications from the Ontario 
provincial government that if they dropped the changes to the number 
of seats each province would get, they might be more receptive. While 
both the Senate and Quebec stand firm in their opposition.

=============================================

CHINA (PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF)

Population Approval: 57%
Government Approval: 59%
International Favour: 51%
Economic Growth: 9.6%, high
Inflation: 2.7%
Unemployment: 10.3%
----------------------------------

It has been a busy if not particularly pleasant couple of weeks for 
the 
Chinese government. Thanks to a massive outpouring of international 
aid and the swift action of the Chinese government the Mt. Baekdu 
clean up is going a pace. The quick assistance the Chinese gave the 
North Koreans has worked to soften international opinion about the 
occupation. While it isn?t exactly support, the world does concede 
that the North Koreans would not have saved as many lives trying to 
deal with the disaster on their own. The clean up is slated to be 
completed in a month.
 
The rest of the news from North Korea is a mixed bag. The Ministry of 
State has assembled a provisional government and selected with 
consultation from the people governors for North Korea's provinces. 
The majority of those chosen are either figures from the now defunct 
Korean Workers Party or officers from the Korean People's Army. In 
short: meet the new boss same as the old boss and while the new 
government is getting the job done corruption is rampant. The majority 
of the 10 billion in business grants offered by the Chinese going to 
members of the government or officials in the bureaucracy causing 
concerns that this is the start of a political and financial elite.
 
Militarily, the Ministry of Defence is reporting that the recruitment 
of the new North Korean Army is proceeding very well; the paint had 
barely dried on the new training camps before they were at maximum 
capacity. Most of this is credited to the lack of other employment 
opportunities in North Korea and the massive size of Korean People's 
Army before Chinese control. Predictably almost all of the former 
soldiers recruited do not meet Chinese requirements but they have 
taken to re-training with enthusiasm, and they expect the first units 
of the new North Korean Army will be in the field as early as three 
months from now. However the majority of these soldiers come from the 
North Korean political class and do not suffer from a life time of 
malnourishment. The next groups the Defence Ministry reports will be a 
mix of peasant and political classes and expect their performance will 
be poorer than the current units in training. Another concern is that 
of the state of North Korean 
equipment. It is outdated and in bad condition, the replacement 
program will have to be sweeping and thus expensive a cost North Korea 
is likely unable to bare easily. There have been some suggestion from 
within the Ministry of Defence of reducing the target size of the 
North Korean armed forces and thus the amount of new equipment 
required to make it function.
 
On the Military's other front, keeping the country under control, 
things have been good, patrols and convoys in high risk areas have 
been better protected and attempts to them have been only occasionally 
effective. The Ministry of Security's efforts to round up the missing 
weapons have also been credited as part of this success though few 
weapons have been found; those in possession of them have been forced 
to spend more time looking over their shoulder than using them to 
attack Chinese forces. The Ministry of Security also reports that the 
prison torture equipment has been removed and while the facilities are 
hardly humane by western standards they share the same problems as 
most of the country, little heat, little power, little food, and are 
by the standards of the Chinese security services at least, good 
enough.
 
And finally on the Korean front, the Chinese efforts at containing the 
diseases have so far kept them from crossing the borders into China 
(though South Korea's border is another matter) however the Ministry 
of Health has called for even stricter controls on the people coming 
in and out of the country and a thirty day quarantine for all troops 
returning to China, stating that an outbreak of a number of these 
diseases would be a disaster for China, both in loss of lives and 
economically. At present 2000 Chinese soldiers are reported to be 
infected by local diseases.
 
Back home the President still enjoys strong support in the People's 
Congress, her centrist base and the war hawks have formed a strange 
coalition of support for the government's efforts in Korea and the 
clear goals of the mission have at least placated those who have 
wondered aloud, how long? And of course: how much? Though there is 
some division as to the future of North Korea, in general the 
centrists back the President's plan to allow the North Koreans to 
choose their destiny after the withdrawal of Chinese support, however 
the hardliners argue that since China bears the costs, they should 
bear the benefit, and push for the President to change her mind and 
push for more Chinese influence in the future of the broken state. 
Additionally the remaining true Marxists in the government quietly 
protest intervention in Korea as a break from their ideology. However 
it is not the first and certainly not the last time modern China has 
stepped away from its communist roots.
 
The people though are generally pleased with how things are going, 
they were shocked to see the state of things in Korea during the Kim 
Regime, and feel a swell of pride at the notion of China going in to 
change that for the better. As well the outpouring of international 
support in the wake of Mt. Baekdu has given them a sense President 
Hong is greatly improving China's standing internationally.
 
And lastly, the Ministry of Commerce's plan for the putting breaks on 
the Chinese economy has been put into effect they have used some of 
China?s vast store of US currency to buy back some of the Yuan on the 
market thus raising it?s value lowering the demand for Chinese goods 
overseas which has slowly begun to reign in China?s export based 
economy.

=============================================

FRANCE

Population Approval: 59%
Government Approval: 55%
International Favor: 53%
Economic Growth: 2%
Inflation: 2.6%
Unemployment: 8%
--------------------------------------------------------------------
No news to report.

==============================================

GERMANY
 
Population Approval: 55%
Government Approval: 55%
International Favor: 55%
Economic Growth: 2.5%
Inflation: 1.8%
Unemployment: 7%
----------------------------------------------------------
No news to report.

==============================================

JAPAN
 
Population Approval: 61%
Government Approval: 56%
International Favor: 59%
Economic Growth: 3%
Inflation: 0.6%
Unemployment: 3.9%
----------------------------------------------------------

Newly installed as Prime Minister of Japan, Shunichi Sato has had a
true baptism by fire with the rapid storm of events that have struck
the island nation.
 
The PM's actions over the Akita tsunami disaster are widely applauded.
Quick and timely economic intervention by the Diet is expected to help
cushion the economic fallout and jumpstart reconstruction. With such
good PR coming out of Sato's public visit to the affected areas, the
top six Japanese construction firm have donated close to $300 million
USD in material and manpower to the effort. US and Canadian lumber
companies are trickling in resources slowly, but every bit helps.
 
Likewise people are complementing the cooperative tone of Tokyo in
regards to the recent airline disaster and how smoothly things (seem)
to be working with the United States and China over the crash.
 
To no one's surprise the Kuril Islands Treaty is defeated 430 to 50 in
the Lower House of the Diet. Moscow has simply shrugged and retained
control of the entire island chain. However people are generally
nodding their heads at the trade treaty which will bring in a modest
amount of capital and jobs. The acquisition of Russian missile
technology continues to make some people nervous, but with China's
recent military activity it is becoming, along with the joint rifle
development program with the US and UK, a necessity of national
defence in the eyes of many.
 
Lastly, the anti-piracy project is finally getting of the ground with
Singapore's inclusion. If all goes well, the crackdown in piracy could
save all of the Asia-Pacific region up to a billion dollars a year in
goods lost to pirate activities.
 

======================================================

UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND

Population Approval: 58%
Government Approval: 59%
International Favor: 56%
Economic Growth: 3.45%, Average.
Inflation: 2.5%
Unemployment: 5.3%
----------------------------------------------------------

No news to report.

=============================================

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Population Approval: 60%
Government Approval: 57%
International Favour: 63%
Economic Growth: 2.9%
Inflation: 3.3%
Unemployment: 4.6%
----------------------
Things are more or less rosy if not very exciting in Washington right 
now. The American public and the international community were pleased 
to see the US?s swift and competent response to the Mt. Bakedu 
disaster. An opinion improved by the fact the US worked together with 
the Chinese to do so; which see as evidence that future cooperation is 
possible. This has not however stemmed the tide of calls for action on 
North Korea from Congress. The suggestions range from holding a summit 
with China other leaders in the region to dropping bombs on Beijing. 
However both camps and everyone in between agree a list of objectives 
sent to the local powers is not enough; especially when none of those 
powers seem to be listening.
 
Nemerenko?s informal visit is seen as a positive in the Russo-American 
relationship and a sign that the Cold War might be well and truly 
over. The free trade agreement that was signed is looked at as a good 
move on the administration?s part as the Russian and American markets 
are very 
compatible for trading. Or they are except where lumber and cattle 
states are concerned. The idea of tariff free lumber and beef coming 
in from Russia has threatened these industries domestic market share 
and caused an uproar. Especially in the beef industry who was sent 
reeling a short time later from the FDA?s announcement that Canadian 
beef would be allowed across the border. Protests and boycotts have 
been planned by both industries and the congressmen and senators from 
the cattle and lumber states have been getting an earful but it looks 
like the treaty will pass smoothly through the house.
 
The visit of Prime Minister MacIntyre and his address to Congress was 
well received domestically. The DoD in particular is thrilled that 
Canada is *finally* pulling its weight in defence and the contractors 
who will profit directly from the build up are very happy as well. 
They are less happy with the review of the ADS. The reviews of the 
medical professional associations were fairly objective in saying yes 
it?s an unnerving concept, but the facts are it?s less lethal than 
existing crowd control measures. Amnesty International and Human 
Rights Watch however posed a difficult question for the DoD reps: will 
this weapon be used on Americans and if not why then propose to use it 
on citizens of other countries? This has caused some discomfort in the 
defence establishment and a lot of buck passing as nobody wants to be 
the one to say, yes we?ll use our new pain ray on Americans or no but 
we will use it on foreign nationals. As it is an otherwise a slow news 
week domestically this
 question has been getting considerable play in the media and with it 
the demand *someone* answer something more than ?it?s 
under review?.
 
 
In economic news China's efforts to curb its runaway economy is being 
felt in America through rising prices on both Chinese and American 
made goods; the last due to the fact Chinese made products are part of 
almost everyone?s supply chain. This has caused American manufacturers 
and importers to shift away from Chinese suppliers in favour of India. 
This in turn has caused State to suggest to the Administration that 
this might be a good time for furthering trade talks with India. 
Additionally the Federal Reserve is watching the dollar carefully as 
result of the Chinese sale, and will take measures to counter any 
steeper drop in value if China should continue to buy back the Yuan 
with US dollars. In the meantime the slight dip in value of the dollar 
has increased exports and should it continue will be a boon for the 
summer tourist season.
 
Finally, the swift and efficient action is generally praised by the 
FAA and USCG but members of the State department are a little 
concerned by the blunt instrument of the President's influence being 
used here and the possible fallout it may cause with the Japanese and 
Chinese governments.
 


=============================================

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

NOTE: Initial indicators were gleaned from as recent sources as
possible, for the most recent term possible (annualized). In some
cases, the numbers used are published estimates, but the English-
speaking nations' data is more or less right from the source.

Depression: Economic forces retracting uncontrolably and at a
dangerous pace with little end in sight.

Recession: Economic forces retracting, but more shallow than
Depression and more controlably. Sometimes necessary and part of
regular economic trends, although prelonged.

Revision: Economic forces retracting slightly and short term,
associated with economic systems refitting to accomodate new
industries, concentrations, etc.

Zero: No movement one way or the other.
Low: Comparatively low Economic growth/activity. (miniscule to about
2%, depending)
Good: Average economic activity (ranging from 2%-5% normally)
High: Above average performance (Greater than 5%) Sometimes
dangerous if in excess of 8% continuously.

SITES OF INTEREST

WAR Website: http://war.dagarcia.net/
Nova Horizon Simulations: http://www.novahorizon.com
United Nations: http://www.un.org/
Central Intelligence Agency: http://www.cia.gov/
CIA World Factbook: https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/
Federation of American Scientists: http://www.fas.org/
GlobalSecurity.org: http://www.globalsecurity.org/
CNN: http://www.cnn.com/
BBC: http://www.bbc.com/
New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/




From Chazenesq2b at aol.com  Sat Sep 22 23:31:23 2007
From: Chazenesq2b at aol.com (Chazenesq2b at aol.com)
Date: Sat, 22 Sep 2007 23:31:23 EDT
Subject: [War] "Beijing Conference"  Finale
Message-ID: <c1d.22073ad1.3427380b@aol.com>

(You all know the header by now)
=================================
 
Xia nodded.  She honestly hadn't expected much of a warm reception for  it, 
especially  not from  Russia, and  the   fact they  were willing to support and 
interact with any  potential   agency  was something well  beyond  what   she 
expected.   It  was a sign of  possible  success,  all   things   considered. 
  "I   can
certainly  respect your  decision  Mister  President,  and we   would  
welcome  Russia as a trading   partner."

"As  does Japan,"  Sato  said  nodding to  the Russian   President   before 
turning to  President  Hong.   "Japan   would be  interested in pursuing  this  
closer  relationship    between  the Asian nations as  a full member  of  
that alliance.  That  said,   how do we   proceed? We  are not all of an accord 
about    this
alliance,    so  I think perhaps settling the details of  this    agreement 
should wait  until later, but for the  present,   shall  we discuss North  
Korea, even if the  others have  not   arrived?"

"That seems to  be a  wise   course  of  action,"  agreed Nemerenko. With  
Russia's   position clear,  only  China  and   Japan could negotiate  about the  
 proposed    organization.

"Then let us  proceed."  Xia  nodded  her   concurrence,  folding her  hands 
on the table.   "As  I've  iterated  to  President  Nemerenko and  his  
delegation previously,  China  believes that   above  all else the  sovereignty  and 
integrity of     the Democratic People's    Republic of North Korea must rest 
in  the  hands  of
the North  Koreans.  On  this point  I'm sure we  can  all   agree?"

"Agreed," said  Nemerenko with a  nod.   "But care must  be  taken in  the 
construction of a new North   Korean  national   government.  History has shown 
us, and I  can  say from  personal   experience, that   the
reconstruction of   governments from dictatorships   often   creates 
corruption  and  malpractice. And  as the  DPRK  was one of   the   most repressive 
and totalitarian  regimes since   Hitler, Stalin or   Mao,  the
everyday  people of North  Korea are not  prepared to   create   a 
functioning  government on their own. More  mature nations   must  lend  them  their 
experience and advice in how  to   weather  this  transition."

"Agreed,"  Sato said. "Though    we  must fall short of  dictating a 
government upon them   as   well. My  suggestion is that an  advisory council   be 
formed made up of   Chinese, Russians, Japanese  and   if  they show up, Koreans 
to oversee the  transition  and offer  advice  to  the provisional  
government. And  I would  like  to  further suggest, we do  our best  to   convince the  
provisional government,  that the best way   to   promote  democracy, is to 
start from the village or   ward  level and    expand upwards, after all the 
key  to
democracy is a society    accustomed  to  participation  in it's process. So, 
let  them choose who   speaks   for  their village, or city ward,  then 
expand that  to   their province, and   then finally their  country.  At least  
that is  what I think,"  Sato said  and   then  smiled.  "Though I realize  
belatedly, that I am  contradicting   myself  by  suggesting this as  it  comes 
very near dictating how their  government should  be   formed."

All this talk about what 'they'  should do in  North   Korea  made Xia cringe 
internally.  Chinese  troops  bled  to  take the  North, and were sweating to 
keep  the North  safe   enough that major  humanitarian disasters  could be 
avoided.  Though  the  Russians had  a definite  stake in  terms of their own   
aid workers, Japan
itself  didn't have  much claim, and she  feared   American   influence 
oozing in via Japan.  "We  must allow the   North   Korean government  to  develop 
naturally. The  American   invasion of  Iraq is proof  positive that   simply 
forcing any kind of government  on a  people, even democracy,  is  doomed  to  
failure.  We have a
current basic   framework in place  as it stands, if the   North Korean 
people  decide to change that  framework, they must be   allowed   to.   Likewise, 
I find it difficult to  justify  any  decision being made at    this table  
about another nation's  government.  I think it would  be   more    beneficial 
to limit the focus  of
our discussions to     providing increased aid and   humanitarian efforts,  
which will  help  the  North Koreans  gain security and thus    encourage them 
to develop."

*This*  was what Sato had expected out  of  this  conversation.  Being  told 
by
China that this  was their  project and the  rest of the  world  was not  to
interefere. It was  nice to see his   predictions were not  entirely  wrong
about the  Chinese  government's   position. He nodded. "You are correct,    
those
things are  very  important, but I think the first step   towards   
cooperation
President Hong is trust, and while person  to  person I  trust you;  my  
government
will not be so  forgiving,"  he  said. "If you gave us  something,  a sign of 
trust on
your  part,  like allowing us to form  the advisory  council,  or  if you
prefer something less formal allowing  a  Japanese  delegation to be   sent to
Pyongyang, to observe  and  communicate  with the new government.  This
would calm  any  suspicions in those who  see North Korea as a  future   
Chinese
puppet state and would be of  assistance to China in    that the western 
world,
specifically America, would  likely be   more  willing to trust reports on
the North Korean's progress  if   they were  written by a neutral party, like
Japan. Which  in turn  will   accomplish your latter goal of improved aid.  
Because
while I  understand  China  feels a certain ownership  of this project, after
all whose sons  are at risk  to keep the  peace even as we  speak? The rest
of the world  will be hesitant  to  believe reports  from Chinese or North
Korean sources, which  will in turn   lessen if not completely remove the   
chance
they will contribute  aid, which  will reduce North  Korea's  security, and 
in the
end  cost more Chinese lives.   All Japan asks, is  that we be allowed to be
on hand to observe the  process as  it  progresses in North  Korea and be on
hand to  offer any advice and   experience we might  have to share to  the
provisional government, if and  when  they   ask."

"With all due respect Mister Prime Minister, so  long  as   American troops
are on Japanese soil I hardly consider   Japan   'objective'."  She may have 
been
Chinese, but the  smirk on  her  face was  the distinct hallmark of   American
style sarcasm.   "But at the same  time I see  no  reason we can't reach  an
agreement.  Russian  workers  and  observers are in North Korea  already, and 
  for  the
benefit of  the North Koreans I'm  certainly willing  to  offer the same  
protection
and security  agreements to  Japanese  observers.  I'm sure you'll   
understand
if I  must insist on each Japanese observer being provided  a    Chinese  
security
team... the last thing I would want is  to  be  blamed  for allowing foreign 
citizens
to die because I   failed to  offer adequate  protection.  In  addition any 
and  all
aid  stations set up by  Japan or Japanese agencies  would  be   similarly
protected, you have my    word."

Nemerenko looked at Sato  out of the corner of his eye.  Hong  had,  in
the opinion of the Russian  president, gravely  insulted  the Japanese  PM
by implying Japan was a  puppet  state of the  United States. Now  while
that was Sato's  problem  and not his, the  greater allusion was. He  set
down  his tea and turned  to regard  Hong clearly.

"Madam  President,  just how much of all this  is  about the United  States
of America?"

Sato  nodded waiting  to  here  Hong's reply before he made any comment.

"Thirty-thousand   American  combat troops are stationed in South Korea.
The American  Pacific  fleet maintains facilities in Japan, which is also   
home
to thousands more  American troops, and Russia herself hosted  a  joint 
military
exercise with the  Americans who maintain a  hostile  stand-off policy with
China militarily,  just after your  government  tenaciously sought to 
negotiate a
Non-Aggression  pact  with  China."  If she was going to get cornered,  she 
intended
on laying it all out on the table.  "Furthermore,  the   Americans  have made 
it
obvious they prefer a single  unified  Korea,  which would move their  troops 
even
'closer'  to  Chinese  territory.  As a matter of fact, if I'm not  mistaken,
you just  recently returned from a trip to the United  States,  so tell   me, 
Mister
President, how much of this  'is'  about   America?"

Inwardly Nemernko smiled about the  joint  US-Russian wargames  exercise.
If it had gotten the Chinese  rattled then  they'd be less inclined  to
accelerate the plans many  in the Ministry of  Defence suspected  China
had of invading  Siberia.

"You're being  far too paranoid,"  commented  Nemerenko. "First, no
American military  forces in our joint   wargames came within a thousand
kilometers of the  Sino-Russo border.  Siberia  is a very big place,
after all. I see it as  no different  from when WE staged  wargames
exercises together in the  early  2000s. Second, yes I did meet  with
President Williams recently.   Russia wishes to pursue  peaceful
relations with America after over  half  a century of hostility.  In
fact, I believe MOST world  leaders at some  point meet or speak with
the  President of the  United States, including  many of your
predecessors. If that  now  makes people suspect in the view  of China,
well, you have just  become  very alone in this world Madam  President.
You have my  sympathies." He sipped  picked up his tea and  sipped it
casually,  for effect.

"Of course there  are American  military forces in  South Korea and
Japan. Fitting that they only  become  such a major  concern now.
Remember that it is those same military   forces that  since the Korean
War kept the free people of South Korea  and   Japan safe from the
tyranny and aggression of North Korea while  China,  and I  must admit
Russia also, did little. If anything we both   helped keep  that
despicable regime alive for as long as it was. You  are  a  former
military officer; you know that it will take time  for them  to  move
those forces out. If they ever do, which I  doubt. There  are  thirty
thousand American troops on the Korean  peninsula? There  are  HUNDREDS
of thousands of Chinese troops  there as well! If you were  South  Korea,
wouldn't you want some  insurance against the the might of  the  PLA
staring you down the  face?

"I know you regard America as  a rival.  I know that they  have also in
the past demonstrated  imperialistic tendencies.  So  has the PRC. Don't
get me wrong, I would  be wary of the USA if I was  in  your position.
But you are now accusing  us all of being  puppets based upon  our very
reasonable, and in the case  of Japan  and South Korea, very  necessary
relations with them, and are   using this as an excuse to stonewall  all
foreign observation and   oversight of your occupation of a   sovereign
nation."

Nemerenko  caught himself. He had to remember  that  in the end he didn't
give two  shits about who rules North  Korea, and not let  his personal
fear of  Hong and China cloud his  judgment.

"Make no  mistake I do not  contest the necessity of  your invasion," he
added. "It was  either China  moves in or North  Korea disintegrating
into a bloody civil war  that  destabilized  the Far East. The question
is about how legitimate your   future  plans for North Korea are." He
turned to Sato. It was about time   Japan  started saying a bit. "What do
you think, Prime   Minister?"

Outwardly  nothing of Xia's facade changed.    Inwardly however, she wished
she could  deck Nemerenko something   rough.  "Several hundred thousand  
Chinese
troops were not there  a  year ago.  Nor were they in Korea two  years ago,
or five,  or  ten.  The United States has spent five decades in  the   Korean
peninsula, despite the fact that the South had maintained a   force  ratio
highly in their favor alone.  If it's Chinese  troops  that are  feared, allow
me to allay your concerns.  My  government  will gladly sign  peace and
non-aggression treaties  with the governments  of South Korea and  Japan,
provided realistic  timetables for the  withdrawal of American forces  from
these  countries is provided."   Clearly Prime Minister Sato had  become  the
focus of the  conversation.  "You had asked for  reassurances,  Prime
Minister.  I offer them, the question now is  if you believe your  nation  
can accept."

"Actually Madam  President," Sato chuckled. "The  question is  if I want to
follow  my predecessor into a forced  retirement. You can't   seriously
believe that Korea or Japan in the  current political climate  can  afford to 
discuss
the withdrawal of US  troops from our  country?  Our people  are afraid of
yours, and it will  take  more than a piece of paper with all our  signatures
on it to  assure  them they or their children won't wake up one day  and  find
themselves a  Chinese province."

He let that sink in as  he  sipped his  tea.

"That said President Hong, we all know  that is not a  realistic  scenario,
but it *is* what people think  when they think about China  in  Japan. It's
unfortunate, just as  it is unfortunate that your hardliners   see the
Japanese as the  imperialistic invaders of the past century, or as  you  
alluded  to
earlier, puppets of the United States. In the end though  it  falls  to us
you and I, to show our people that things change,  that  we are not  enemies 
but
potential allies. Unfortunately  pushing for the  United States to  withdraw
it's forces from the  region is not how it  will be done. The US  presence is
tolerated  by the Korean and Japanese  peoples as a symptom of  their fear  of
you, if you can work with me and  if we can avoid wasting this   opportunity
at a history making summit  exchanging insults like  school  children we can
make a difference you  and I and someday,  hopefully in the  near future, the 
US
will be gone  from the  region, and Asia will be run by  Asians. As it stands
though,  our  fear of you drives my country closer to the  US and your fear
of  the  US drives you further from us. So, say what you will  President  
Hong,
we are both you and I puppets dancing on the same strings  pulled  by the  
same
masters. So, how do we begin to cut the strings. We do  so  by  working
closer together and this situation in North Korea  provides  that  
opportunity.

So this is what I offer. First, I  will accept  your terms for  our observers,
however I ask that it  be a joint Japanese  and Chinese security  detail for
the sake of  cooperation. Second, I am  willing to offer Japanese  assistance
in  upgrading the North Korean  infrastructure specifically in the  areas  of
transport and power, third  I offer money, equipment and expertise  to  the
ongoing effort both  Russia and China are making to find  cures and  contain
the illnesses  discovered in North Korea.  Lastly, I propose regular  summits
to  continue this dialogue and  continue the peaceful association of  our
two countries, in preparation  for the creation of the much larger   Asian
alliance, after all if  you and I can't get along President Hong,  what  hope
is there for  the countries that *really* hate each other?" he  asked with   a
smile, knowing full well that few countries, even in Asia,  where  the
hatred could run as deep as it did between Japan and China.  Well  except  
perhaps
Japan and Korea.

"I must concur that it is   unreasonable for  you to expect South Korea,
and certainly not Japan,  to  have American forces  leave their territory
in the near  future,"  observed Nemerenko. "I also  question your
sincerity in  regards to your  offer of a non-aggression pact for  both
South  Korea and Japan. When my  government offered a similar   proposal,
under much more cordial  circumstances, you flatly refused  and  cited
vague reasons for it  somehow making the UN irrelevant,  even though  the
UN actively  encourages such treaties as it did  during the Cold  War.
Now you  yourself make the same type of  offer. You say one thing,  then
do  another. You are bargaining in  bad faith."

"It's impossible to bargain  with a fool."  Xia,  who plainly reached  her
limit with the Russian  President spoke  equally succinctly.  "It was you
who pulled away  from a bi-lateral  agreement regarding military corporation
over  some paranoid fear of  China's lust to spend the lives of it's people 
invading  a
vast frozen  wasteland when we can buy the resources for far cheaper then
any ultimately  unwinnable war would cost.  You who would offer  an
agreement  and  then revoke it 'dare' to lecture me about  'bargaining in  
bad  faith'?  Right
after Prime Minister Sato  correctly  pointed out discussions  must remain 
cordial
none the  less?   The fact of the matter is Mister  President, if anyone came 
to
this  table in bad faith, it was you."  That  being said, she  turned  her
attention back to her Japanese compatriot.  "My    apologies, Mister Prime 
Minister.
China certainly accepts all    conditions you've placed upon Japanese 
participation in North Korea, and  on  a  personal note I would very much be 
interested in keeping open  a  permanent line  of communication between our two 
nations.  May  I suggest a bi-lateral  Cooperation Council be established to  
monitor  the
mutual concerns and interests  of Japan and China, and  provide  advice on 
how we
can work together more    affirmatively?"

Hong's outburst did not seem to phase the Russian  leader,  coming from
a nation where hot-blooded debate had led to  multiple brawls on  the
floor of the national parliament. If anything he  had a hard time  not
letting his neutral poker face slide into a look of  utter  amusement.
Instead he looked over at Sato to see how he responded  to  Hong's
offer.

Sato had blinked when Hong had began her  outburst, Sato  was not one to shy
away from conflict, but still  something deeply cultural  still left him
feeling uncomfortable  afterwards. However Sato was not one to  let that sway
him away from  making a good deal.

He took a moment to  sip his tea gather his  composure and then replied with
a smile as though the  outburst at  President Nemerenko had not happened 
before
the offer.

"A  good  idea," he said. "It would give both our peoples a chance to work
more   closely together and see that the enemy they saw one another as, was
a  product of history and not reality," he sat back in his chair and looked
from  the neutral face of Nemerenko to the still slightly flushed President
Hong.  "So then what's next?"

"I believe we should move forward with attempting  to enact what we've
established in terms of understanding here."  Xia  offered in a calculatedly
cool manner, the exact opposite of what she  appeared to be only a moment  
ago.
"And perhaps we can agree to a  location and time for our next  meeting?"  It 
was
an open question,  even to Nemerenko.  Just because  she wanted to run the guy
over  personally didn't mean she wanted to stop working  with Russia.

Sato  nodded. "Tokyo is nice in the late spring. Would there be any
objections to  meeting there?"

This too was an open question. Nemerenko was not excluded  from the
invitation.

"As to enacting what we have discussed here," he  beckoned Akemi up and took
the folders she offered and handed them to both  Hong and Nemerenko. "Japan
is offering a special grant of 10 million USD to  aid in the research of the
diseases discovered in North Korea, and through  our funding of the
institution, we have also recruited the help of Osaka  University, one of
Japan's premier medical schools to lend us lab space and  specialists. In
fact, I understand many of them jumped at the chance to get  involved. As for
the infrastructure project our numbers in this area are soft  as we didn't
have an assesment on the exact amount of work that needs to be  done, though
our interest is in making sure the whole country can have and  keep electric
power provided if possible by non-nuclear sources, and to  convert the
country's rail system to one that is compatible with the gauges  used by the
rest of Asia."

"That seems like a logical step," observed  Nemerenko. He still
appeared rather amused, as if somehow he had won  something. "Although
creating a stable law and order environment must take  priority before
we begin planning too far ahead."

"Yes though,  President Hong I think made it clear that was going to be
primarily a Chinese  concern. After all it is her people on the ground doing
the  work."

"And let us let them do that before we get ahead of ourselves,"  said
the Russian President. "We have set out to do much here. Let us  allow
the PLA to conduct its operations and discuss further involvement  and
aid at Tokyo."
========================================================
 
ACTIONS
 
1.  Japan to offer assistance to North Korea.  Japanese observers  to be 
allowed into the country, escorted by Chinese and Japanese security  details.  
Japanese medical assistance will be used to contain/cure  outbreaks in North 
Korea, and engineering expertise to be used to collaborate on  rebuilding North 
Korea's infrastructure.
 
2.  China and Japan to begin taking trust building measures towards  the 
ultimate goal of establishing a more tightly networked Asia, starting with  trade 
agreements.  A mutual cooperation council to be set up to monitor  mutual 
interests and provide regular reports and suggestions to both  governments.  
 
3.  Agreement for a next series of conferences to be made, setting  will be 
Tokyo.
 
4.  Russia and China to strengthen military collaboration.   (Despite their 
leaders' mutual hatred for each other)  Russia, China, and  Japan to agree to 
tighter economic ties.
 
5.  North Korea to be allowed to develop on it's  own.



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From ssiruuk25 at yahoo.com  Sun Sep 23 01:09:58 2007
From: ssiruuk25 at yahoo.com (Daniel Garcia)
Date: Sun, 23 Sep 2007 01:09:58 -0400
Subject: [War] France:  One Code to Rule Them All
Message-ID: <5C002C83-D5B3-49FC-BA0A-A3DA180DA2C1@yahoo.com>

"France:  One Code to Rule Them All"
President Zo? Amp?re, French Republic
April 1st, 2013

(OOC:  I wrote this instead of doing other things I really should be  
doing...  :) ).

[This letter is directed to the EU member state governments, and is  
generally private though some of the general outlines of what is said  
will and should make it to the press.]

Dearest Colleagues,

The recently concluded Beijing Conference between the East Asian  
powers of China, Japan, and Russia has raised the prospect of a new  
economic bloc which could conceivably, assuming that the directions  
signaled by the Conference are followed through to their stated  
destinations, pose a significant danger to the place and position of  
the European Union, particularly in economic affairs.  The possible  
dynamical combination of Japanese capital, Chinese labor, and Russian  
resources has the potential to dramatically shift the economic center  
of the world sharply away from Europe, to the detriment of the  
European economic position.

The European Union was born, in a historical sense, out of efforts to  
pool economic resources and capital in the aftermath of the Second  
World War.  The first fifty years of this collaboration led to  
significant and even spectacular economic gains.  The reasons for  
this are wide and varied, but include the fact that the institutions  
which would eventually become the cornerstones of the European Union  
were a force for economic liberalization, fair competition, and free  
markets and trade.

Since the 1990's, Europe has faced a relative decline in economic  
power.  The expansion of the European Union has helped to disguise  
this fact, and indeed some relative decline should be expected as  
many of the poorer states in the world develop economically.   
However, this decline has also partly been relative to other  
developed nations, including and in particular the United States of  
America.

There are many things that this decline can be attributed to, but one  
of them must sadly be the European Union itself, and in particular  
the increasing bureaucratization of the EU governing bodies.  Since  
the 1990's, large quantities of legislation have been passed in the  
member states to comply with European Union law.  This explosion in  
law has led to a vast increase in red tape.  In short, the European  
Union, instead of acting in its historical place as a champion of  
economic growth and liberalization, has worked in effect, though not  
in intention, to diminish economic growth.

The French government is deeply concerned about these trends.  In  
some political groups in France, this has led to dissatisfaction with  
the European Experiment (OOC:  Note that, among other things, this is  
a veiled reference to some reasonably strong Euro-skepticism among  
the ruling party and some lose to the government.).  The French  
government believes that a new approach is desirable in light of  
these issues, and would like to make a general proposal.

One of the larger roadblocks to economic activity in the European  
Union is that, despite the drafting of many laws at the European  
level, it is in the end up to the various member states to implement  
the European legislation.  This can result in subtle but important  
differences in law between member states.  This is not an efficient  
procedure, even taking into account the desire of many member states  
to "opt-out" of certain portions of European law.

The French government would like to propose that the European Union  
adopt a more uniform law code, at least in economic and business  
law.  This code would not necessarily need to be in force in its  
totality in all member states, but would instead serve as a uniform  
framework.  Some portions of this code would be mandatory for all  
states, and others be optional in adoption.  But, the key to this  
scheme is that the member states would not create their own  
interpretations of the wider European law, but simply confirm, via  
ordinary legislative procedures, the validity of the code, or those  
portions of it which are mandatory or desirable.

The advantage of this scheme is that a business would only need to  
know, understand, and consult one body of law with which it would  
need to apply to its operations so that it might operate across the  
whole Union.  And in the case of those portions of the code which are  
not mandatory for member states, a business would only need to know  
that a certain portion of the code is not operative in a given member  
state and thus choose to alter its operations accordingly.

The French government believes this proposal, which is in part daring  
and in part a logical extension of and remedy for the current system,  
is at least an important starting point for discussions on how to  
restore the competitiveness of the European economy.  Moreover, it  
would be an important step towards revitalizing the European Union as  
a vehicle for economic growth and liberalization.  Finally, it could  
serve to address concerns of those portions of the European  
electorate who are growing ever more skeptical at the ability of the  
European Union to make a meaningful, positive difference to the lives  
of the people of Europe, heading off the possibility that such  
skeptics could gain power and influence within a major European  
government.

Such a reform would also boost European economic competitiveness and  
economies of scale and help stem Europe's relative economic decline.   
This must be seen as particularly important in light of the prospects  
for a high degree of economic cooperation to develop in East Asia.   
Though these prospects are only that, prospects, their realization,  
even if partial, could detrimentally affect Europe's role in the world.

Sincerely,
Zo? Amp?re
President of the French Republic


ACTIONS:

1)  Privately (but not necessarily secretly) circulate the above  
letter to the EU member governments.

2)  Tentatively propose a European uniform code of business law.

3)  Warn in a vague and veiled way of the rise of Euro-skepticism,  
particularly with an eye towards France.



















From pentaj2 at Scranton.edu  Sun Sep 23 12:15:30 2007
From: pentaj2 at Scranton.edu (pentaj2 at Scranton.edu)
Date: Sun, 23 Sep 2007 12:15:30 -0400
Subject: [War] US: Taking Advantage of Opportunities
Message-ID: <fd4ff2131219.1219fd4ff213@scranton.edu>

"Taking Advantage of Opportunities"
18 March 2013
Pres. John Williams
USA
============================
<Washington: Cabinet Room, the White House>

   "Okay, hope everybody enjoyed their St. Patrick's Day. Now, we have 
opportunities arising and possibly limited windows in which to grab 
them, so we'll be moving quick," Williams said to his assembled 
Cabinet. This wasn't a session for discussion so much as assignments 
and strategy.

   "First off: Chris, your idea in regards to India is a go. You will 
meet with Bill," he said, gesturing to Bill McBain, the US Trade 
Representative, "and approach the Indians with regards to furthering 
talks on a bilateral trade deal. Bob," here he glanced to the 
VP, "will be working the Hill with your colleagues at Commerce, Labor, 
and Treasury to convince Congress to sign on.

   "Next: I've noted the questions put forth by the human rights 
groups in regard to ADS. Julius, you and me are going to meet with the 
Joint Chiefs, DOD General Counsel, and whoever else wants to help us 
thrash out that issue. Because they're right: If we can't use it on 
our own citizens, we shouldn't use it on foreigners. So we're going to 
look, privately, at the moral and legal issues, and then we're going 
to blitz the airwaves with our decision. Including me going on the 
morning shows or the Sunday Morning circuit, if need be.

   "Last but not least: Me, Julius, Nick, Chris, and JCS. DPRK. We 
need to start considering actual actions. Obviously, hoping the locals 
would ease China out ain't working. Wednesday, 0900, The Tank.

   "Finally: Next week is Holy Week. I've taken up the Archbishop's 
invitation, and am going on retreat from Palm Sunday to Holy Saturday. 
I'll still be in communication, still be briefed as usual, but no 
appointments unless Yet Another Crisis hits," Williams concluded. "Bob 
will not be recieving anything under the 25th Amendment."

   "You sure this is a good time for that?" asked Kevin Sisco, the 
White House Chief of Staff.

   "Yes. Showing what I actually believe: That things are SO under 
control that I don't -need- to be in Washington 24/7/365," Williams 
replied.

   Orders having been given, the group dispersed.
======
Actions:
1. USTR and SECSTATE to mutually approach India on furthering talks on 
a trade deal, given China's weakness.
2. VP, Commerce, Labor, and Treasury will work the Hill to get 
Congressional agreement and/or acquiescence on said trade maneuvers: 
We have an opportunity opening, we gotta take it, we can't afford 
Congress slowing things down or nibbling away at an agreement already 
signed.
3. POTUS, SECDEF, DOD General Counsel, and JCS, along with whoever 
else wants to join the discussion, will privately thrash out the moral 
and legal issues in regards to ADS. Once a decision is made, it will 
be blitzed all over the airwaves after Easter, including POTUS 
potentially making the rounds of the network morning shows and/or the 
Sunday Morning circuit to explain the discussion and keep promoting it.
4. Various Folks will be meeting in a location known as The Tank to 
discuss the DPRK.
5. The President and First Lady, at the invitation of the Cardinal-
Archbishop of Washington, will be on retreat from Palm Sunday to Holy 
Saturday, before proceeding to Camp David for Easter with family, 
friends, pets, and the local wildlife - Camp David is said to have 
deer about, and they're teeming in the surrounding park.


From michael.michaeldowney at gmail.com  Fri Sep 28 10:55:03 2007
From: michael.michaeldowney at gmail.com (Michael Downey)
Date: Fri, 28 Sep 2007 12:25:03 -0230
Subject: [War] Canada/China: "Sitting Down to Talk"
Message-ID: <6b6ab8a70709280755k57ab66fmcf0a9901d738df3@mail.gmail.com>

"Sitting Down to Talk"
Prime Minister MacIntyre, Canada
Ambassador Jao, People's Republic of China
20 March 2013
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

MacIntyre had been happy with how his summit    with     President  Williams
had gone. One of  the  key criticisms of the   PM   during  his    election
campaign was his relative  lack  of  experience   in   international  affairs
and   diplomacy.  His  relatively  successful   discourse  with   Williams
had,
MacIntyre hoped,  given him   more    credibility in that  field.

The   PM   cautioned himself  that Canada  had     historically enjoyed at
the
very  least fair  relations   with   the US and a  traditional
understanding
of  cooperation  between   both  nations.  Other    countries were   less
accommodating, and required    more    delicate   handling.

"Like China," said   Ingram.  MacIntyre   looked over  at  her.  His    Chief
Political Advisor had probably  been   speaking   the  exact same   thing
MacIntyre had been    thinking,   he  just hadn't bothered listening  to
yet
another   of  her worrisome   lectures. "Don't think  that  they'll      be
anywhere near as  compliant  as the  President  was."

"As  I    understand  it, we enjoy   pretty  good relations with  China  as
it
is,"   replied  MacIntyre.  He had of   course  read into  the  subject  in
detail.  Canada  generally had   the   most   cooperative and cordial
relation
with  the   People's Republic  out  of   all  the  Western nations, which
dated
back  to   Trudeau   being the  first NATO leader  to  open  formal
relations
in  1970,  two years  before  Nixon's    visit and nine  years before
Congress
broke it    off   with the ROC and formally  recognized  the  PRC.  "We  have
no
territorial  disputes with them, no  military   concerns in    Asia,  and  no
diplomatic  problems.   We'll talk  trade  and    technology."

"You  said you   would  press them  on  intellectual  property  laws   and
patent    rights,"  noted Ingram.  MacIntyre   nodded.

"Yes, I did,  and I     will,"  assured the PM.  "But let's  go  into this
with
a  positive  attitude,   shall     we?"

Ambassador Win Jao  had spent the   better part  of  the last  week
preparing
for
this    upcoming  discussion.  It was rare to   be given   the   chance  for
such
a
high-level dialogue,  but   with the   invasion of North  Korea  and   the
Beijing
Conference ongoing,  it  was  decided  that    international cooperation
and
diplomacy
should be a   cornerstone  of    China's  foreign policy.  This
particularly
included
the  new  world  nations, and  although   President   Hong  would  soon be
making
her
own
trip  to   the   Americas, the   foundation of understanding   and
communication
always remained, as   per tradition,  between  the  Embassy  of  one
nation,
and
the
government of  another.

Win  was   a  full  sixty-five  years old... but  despite his age  was  at
the
very
peak of his game,  and    career, in  China's  Ministry of  State.   He'd
served
in
several    important posts over  his   career... helping to  oversee   the
successful
transfer  of  Hong Kong to  Chinese   control,  serving as China's   formal
ambassador
to  the     European Union, and prior  to his  assignment  in Canada working
in
the
United   Nations as  a senior advisor to China's    formal   mission.   He
knew
a
lot
about the west and it's  ways...   how  to   speak nearly perfect English
(his
accent 'did'   cut  in at times,  much  like the  President's  did),
attended
several
semesters worth of  classes   at  Johns  Hopkins,  Harvard, and    Queens
University.    He
was one of  the   few  classically trained diplomats  (by    western
standards)
at
Xia's disposal, and  she'd seen fit  to  place   him  in Canada  for
several
reasons.


"Mister   Prime     Minister."  Win smiled  warmly and genuinely,  he    had
always
been  the kind of person who  loved     associating with people,  and learning
about
the various    cultures  and  societies that made up  the 'global    tapestry'
as
his
doctoral  thesis had called    it.   Even with critics  of  China's  policies
or
government   attacked, he was  the type to  simply  shrug it off as   part
of
his
job,
maintain a warm smile, and attempt a    more    personal  connection, which
he
saw
as
vital  to   substantive    advancement in any  of the dozens of  major
issues
facing
the People's  Republic  at any   given    time.  "It is a great pleasure    to
finally
meet you   in   person.  I am  looking  forward to  working with you  as   I
did
your
predecessor."  He offered his  hand   after   straightening  his
immaculate
suit.
"Your   government was gracious enough   to   provide me in   advance    a
compendium
of
the topics you  wished to  cover    today.    I've  consulted with   Beijing
and
hopefully  we  can reach a level   of     understanding.  Correct me  if I
am
wrong, but    you
wished to discuss  issues   of  mutual trade   and    technology?"
Understandably
China  was   very   interested   in  both.  Chinese heavy   industry  viewed
Canada
as
a
potential  source  not    only  of  expertise, but of buyers of   finished
products.
Atop  that,   Canada  was a  global  leader in the  development of       green
technologies
and environmental   engineering...  and   China  was  most    definitely
interested
in
acquiring  that  know   how  and   technology.   It was no  secret  among
the
people
of
China   that   President  Hong  viewed   environmental concerns as one  of
the
top
problems facing      them.

"Ambassador,"   responded  MacIntyre, accepting  Win  Jao's  hand  and
shaking  it  firmly. "As  always,   Canada is happy to  have a
face-to-face
discourse with  our friends  across the   Pacific.  Please,  follow   me."

The PM usually  hosted   foreign  dignitaries in  his  own office  in  the
Central Bloc.   Large,   sweeping conference  rooms  created too much of     a
standoff-ish  atmosphere  and obstructed real  dialog  and    negotiation
with  too much   formality.

"I    remember  when I was finish my degree at  Dalhouise   that  the  Cold
War
ended," commented  MacIntyre as he sat down in  one  of   the    armchairs
clustered around the  oval coffee  table in the  middle  of   the   office.
"The end of  communism in Europe.  Your  country  had  already  begun   its
own  transition to  capitalism.  I thought that  maybe,  perhaps,    the  idea
of mutual trade  between us, the  West,   and  emerging  capitalist  states
would  be what   would really  create  a true state of  global  peace.    Some
ways  it did, some way it  didn't.  There was that     eleven-year  lull,
apart from  brush fire  wars like the  Persian  Gulf  of   Yugoslavia.  But
then September   11th, the 'War   on  Terror,' the Iraq  War......."   The
Prime   Minister  shrugged.  "And here we were,  twelve  years  later, in
the
middle of  another  lull. Islamic  extremism is still  a  problem  but     Bin
Laden is dead and democracy has finally  been  brought    to   Afghanistan
and Iraq. Now I  think  it's time for us to  start   working  on  that  whole
'era  of peace'  thing, and maybe not   get  sidetracked like  we  did
twelve
years ago.  And I think  relations  between Canada  and  China  are  a  good
place  to   start.

"Anyway,  the  first issue is trade.  China is a   big   source  of  imports
for Canada. In particular  textiles,    footwear, toys   and  plastics. We,
on  the other hand,  can offer  China a   great deal  of things  that   I am
sure you country  could use.  Cars and     auto parts, and prices a  bit
fairer than  what  the  Americans  charge  you,  to begin with.    Second,
wheat  and  cattle. Canada can produce  and  export   both in  abundance   and
you have 1.4  billion mouths to  feed.   Third and  most    importantly,
uranium and the  reactor   technology. The two  CANDU   reactors we   built
you are  still   chugging along nicely, and  our   scientists at Chalk
River
have  finalized the first   Advanced CANDU   Reactor, or  ACR,   prototype.
China  needs  energy,  and no one wants  to  become MORE  dependent  on
oil."

Not a diplomat  by training,  MacIntyre  was   a  businessman. He   was
careful to put out options  but  made  no   overt proposals.  Let  the
Chinese   pick out what they wanted to  run    with, and then  they  could  go
from there.

Win  nodded,   folding   his  hands as both men began their     discourse.
"Certainly
it's China's  position that all    responsible  nations should  pursue
peaceful
coexistence  with  each  other.  Unfortunately  events  in  North   Korea  may
make
that
seem like hollow  words,   but the  fact remains that   the only  reason  the
invasion took   place  is because a peace  at  the  expense of millions    and
possibly
billions  should North  Korea's  nuclear    materials have fallen into the
wrong   hands
was  simply   unacceptable to live  with."  He  straightened   a    little,
confident
that he'd  explained  the North  Korean  issue    adequately.   "We  certainly
appreciate the    incredible   technology Canada  has access to,  and
President  Hong  places
high    priority on  petroleum independence.   Were   Canadian   companies  to
approach
the Chinese  government, I'm sure   they  would find  a very  warm
reception
for
testing the new  ACR.  I'm absolutely   certain   our   universities and
the
students
they educate would  benefit  greatly  from   the   research potential.

As  for  auto-parts, China   has it's own   manufacturers and   companies, and
simply I'm  not authorized  to speak on   their   behalf.  I've  gotten
direct  word   from
the  President   however  that China will adjust  policy to be     generally
receptive
of Canadian   goods.  Both nations,   we   believe, would benefit  from
stronger
economic   ties."

"Well  since there  is only one  Canadian  company  that  handles  our
nuclear  industry and it's  owned by the   Crown,   consider the offer
already made,"    grinned  MacIntyre. "I am also glad  you are   receptive
to
Canadian  agricultural   exports.

"Nuclear power  aside,  if  China were to  agree  to free  trade when  it
comes to  Canadian beef  and wheat  exports, I will    lift all tariffs   on
Chinese-made textiles and footwear, your   number   one   export to Canada."

"Why not go  further?"   Win  adjusted   himself  as he spoke,   leaning
slightly further in as his  interest  in what   the   Canadian leader was
offering   increased.    "China is naturally very   supportive of  free
trade
policies.  We have benefited from  it    extensively,  and  believe that it
can  certainly be a tool for the  poorer    nations of  the  world to help
lift themselves  from poverty when   used    responsibly.  To that end,  why
not  consider  establishing a free   trade   pact?   Such an agreement  would
be greatly beneficial to   both   our   nations."

MacIntyre shook his head. "No,  that's  too  far and  too  fast of a  step
to consider at   this time. Further   discussion may be  appropriate  for   a
future time, but not   now."

"I'm sorry to  hear   that, though I do understand the need  to   proceed
carefully.   That being  said, I do not believe   such an  exchange  would
be  equivalently
in  each  party's  favor.    Would you consider eliminating   tariffs on
Chinese
made steel  and  heavy industrial products  as  well?"

"Not   equivalent?" MacIntyre was  no  diplomat but he was  a  businessman
and wasn't  going to get  talked  into anything  more  than he wanted. "I
think it's  very  equivalent. I  give  you free  trade on your top  export
to my country, which I  can  also  get from  India  and a very similar rate
to what China exports  for I    should  point out, and you get free trade
on food you  NEED to feed  your   1.3  billion people. My offer is very
fair  and  will not   change."

"With all due respect Mister Prime   Minister, food is cheap   and  plentiful.
If you do not   produce it, we will simply pay those  who  will for   a
resource
that is overly abundant and subsidizes  more than   one  nation on this
Earth.  That
being said, India is   a  primarily  service-oriented economy, and  far  less
an
industrial  power house than  China.  We can  produce in  numbers  well
beyond
what
you'll get  from  India, and at  the same time with more  interest  in  Indian
goods, their   prices will begin increasing  fairly  rapidly.  Are  you
prepared
to
face voter back-lash and  a  severe economic reversal  given much  of   your
reputation is based  on your business  acumen?"   Win  shrugged.     "Besides,
Indian
policy has  always favored tariffs on  foreign   products.   You  will not
get
this
kind of cooperation  that   China offers  from the Indian  government.  Much
of
the
machinery  and  heavy industrial products upon which   your  nation's  very
affluent
economy is based already originate  in   China.   It would be  a great boon to
have access to   these  products without having to pay  the  taxes  imposed
by
tariffs."

Now he was getting irritated. He was  not  and  never  had the intention
of creating such a massive  trade increase  with  China.  His offer had
been modest but  fair, and now this guy  was pushing him   too hard. Time
to  push back.

"You ask me  for too much,"  countered   MacIntyre. "You want Canada to
buy and  buy and buy from you  and  offer us  nothing in return. That is
why  it's called 'trade.'  You  simply start buying  foodstuffs from us  at
reduced and  in exchange I am  to give you free trade, no   tariffs  on
steel, on textiles? What does  that get me, other than a   trade  defecit?
You want me to lift tariffs on  steel? What  tariffs  are you going  to
lift on Canadian   goods?"

"Wheat and  meat."  Win reiterated the position   simply.   "Products  that
are
bought every day, that are  a  'necessity'.   Certainly  they are of  far
greater
value given volume  of sales  than heavy equipment  which  lasts for years
once
bought and  isn't  as universally  required as food."

"Okay, fine," said MacIntyre. "No   tariffs  on Chinese steel. In
exchange, you put no tariffs on Canadian   coal  and uranium."

"That would be an absolutely reasonable  request  were it to include a mutual
elimination of tariffs on  manufactured  electronics.  Again, that way we
will
both  benefit."

The PM  considered it. "Alright, mutual free trade on  consumer
electronics. But, that  brings us to a concern I have. You  really
screwed over Dell and IBM a few  years ago with patent  violations, and
the World Trade Organization has cited  China for  turning a blind eye
to continued patent violation by certain  companies  in your country. I
reserve the right to withdraw from a consumer   electronic free trade
pact if the WTO cites you again for  violations."

Win nodded.  "There is no nation in the WTO that has  not factually  violated
the WTO's charter in it's own interest.  I  would think it goes  without
saying
any agreements should include mutual  clauses allowing the parties  to
dissolve it."

"Then we are  agreed," said the PM. "The other item I wish to discuss
is North Korea. Now  whatever your reasons or motivations are for
invading the country, the fact  remains that like in all wars, noble or
ignoble, people are suffering. As a  country of peace and a believer in
the prosperity of all men, Canada will  offer humanitarian aid to North
Korea."

"Both your statements are excellent news, Prime Minister."  Win smiled
broadly as he clasped his hands together.  "With regards to North
Korea,  I'm sure
the North Korean government and people will be extremely receptive of  such a
generous offer.  I can not speak on their behalf, but I will  certainly
recommend we support an affirmative response."

"I'm sure," answered MacIntyre, trying to put on the most sincere
smile he could muster. "Thank you for meeting with me, Mr.
Ambassador."
---

1) Canada agrees to lift tariffs on Chinese steel, footwear and textiles
2) China agrees to lift tariffs on Canadian wheat, cattle, uranium and lumber
3) Canada and China agree to mutual free trade on electronics, with
Canada reserving the right to withdraw if China is cited by the WTO
for patent violations.
4) Canada will provided humanitarian food and medical aid to North Korea


From pentaj2 at Scranton.edu  Fri Sep 28 14:07:07 2007
From: pentaj2 at Scranton.edu (pentaj2 at Scranton.edu)
Date: Fri, 28 Sep 2007 14:07:07 -0400
Subject: [War] US: Minor Grumpiness
Message-ID: <f7ccbf131830.1830f7ccbf13@scranton.edu>

"Minor Grumpiness"
18 March 2013
Various folks
United States
===================
<excerpt from AP article>
State Department "frustrated" at Japanese actions in Beijing

State Department sources describe opinion in Washington 
as "frustarted" at the Japanese actions in Beijing.

"It really isn't helpful to go to Beijing while the PRC has 750 
thousand troops in North Korea and focus on negotiating trade 
agreements and agreeing to put your own nationals in positions where 
they would be under Chinese control and legitimize Beijing's attempts 
at controlling North Korea," noted a State Department source.

...
====
Actions:
1. Oh, nothing much. Just expressing our frustration with Japan 
playing ball with China.


From martellian at hotmail.com  Fri Sep 28 20:14:43 2007
From: martellian at hotmail.com (Ian Martell)
Date: Fri, 28 Sep 2007 17:14:43 -0700
Subject: [War] Japan: "More Minor Grumpiness"
Message-ID: <BAY141-W15A87D739C7F94E3E8B5E8C6B30@phx.gbl>


"More Minor Grumpiness"
18 March 2013
Various folks
Japan
===================


State Department "frustrated" at Japanese actions in Beijing State Department sources describe opinion in Washington as "frustarted" at the Japanese actions in Beijing. "It really isn't helpful to go to Beijing while the PRC has 750 thousand troops in North Korea and focus on negotiating trade agreements and agreeing to put your own nationals in positions where they would be under Chinese control and legitimize Beijing's attempts at controlling North Korea," noted a State Department source.

When asked to comment the a representative of the Japanese Foreign Ministry stated: "Japan stands by its policy of diplomatic engagement with China." When pressed further he added: "Americans should not be surprised by this turn in Japanese policy. With no support from Washington America's Asian allies have no choice but to deal directly with China."

Pundits predict that this may spark a cooling of relations between the two countries. 
====
Actions:
1. Reply to American grumbling.
_________________________________________________________________
Connect to the next generation of MSN Messenger?
http://imagine-msn.com/messenger/launch80/default.aspx?locale=en-us&source=wlmailtagline

From Chazenesq2b at aol.com  Fri Sep 28 21:37:02 2007
From: Chazenesq2b at aol.com (Chazenesq2b at aol.com)
Date: Fri, 28 Sep 2007 21:37:02 EDT
Subject: [War] "While The World Is Grumpy"
Message-ID: <bd9.1c988e87.342f063e@aol.com>

OOC:  Since we're all on the grumpiness kick...
 
"While The World Is Grumpy"
Xinhua Official News Service
People's Republic of China
=================================
 
Beijing, CHINA (Xinhua Reporting):    Amid harsh  diplomatic rhetoric between 
the United States and Japanese foreign affairs  officials, President Hong 
announced today an increased and emboldened initiative  of good will towards the 
majority of the world's nations who routinely go  unheard.
 
    The Ministry of State announced that following her  next planned trip to 
visit Chinese peacekeepers and confer with the present  Government in North 
Korea, President Hong will begin a rigorous pace of  international meetings.  On 
the agenda so far, and in apparent  chronological order, are the American 
nations of Mexico, Venezuela,  Argentina, Brazil, Cuba, and the African nations 
of South Africa, Sudan,  Zimbabwe, Morrocco, and Egypt.  
 
    Likewise, a multitude of nations have been offered  invitations to engage 
in high-level talks with the People's government.   Although the Ministry of 
State is not releasing the names of these governments  invited until 
confirmation on acceptance or rejection can be achieved,  associates close to the 
Ministry say the list includes nations of historic power  and importance, as well 
as a plethora of smaller nations.  This is on top  of a 'Pan-Asian' conference 
also announced for Beijing this summer, where it is  widely expected the main 
topic of discussion will be furthering cross-border  alliances and 
partnerships.  
 
    It was also noted by the Ministry of State that the  list did include 
nations from North America and Europe, but neglected to mention  specifically 
which countries.
 
    During the conference, President Hong received  repeated questions 
regarding the apparent diplomatic dispute between the United  States and Japan, as 
well as America's belligerent tone over the issue of  continued Peacekeeping 
Operations in North Korea, at one point quipping that "It  is important for the 
United States to speak it's mind regarding a successful  Peacekeeping 
operation... less the world forget only America is allowed to  conduct such 
operations, and even then only so that they fail."  After a  round of chuckles, she 
added "China has a vested interest in seeing to the  safety and security of an 
independent, peaceful, responsible North Korea.   The people of China, and their 
North Korean neighbors, should be instilled with  pride and hope over what 
they have accomplished thus far, and what the future  will bring."
 
    When prompted about why such an emphasis on some of  the poorer nations 
on the world, the President replied that "The world has long  ignored these 
nations, concerned solely with the benefit of a relative  few.  It's time that 
even the poor and weak be given a voice, particularly  at a time like now where 
the force of globalization is bringing all nations  together."
 
    She left off by asking for patience and  understanding of all parties in 
North Korea.  "North Korea's affairs must  be it's own, as is the right of all 
free nations."
=======================================================
 
ACTIONS
 
1.  Use the advantage of everyone else being side-tracked by their own  
bickering to announce a major diplomatic initiative.  



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From ssiruuk25 at yahoo.com  Fri Sep 28 23:28:59 2007
From: ssiruuk25 at yahoo.com (Daniel Garcia)
Date: Fri, 28 Sep 2007 23:28:59 -0400
Subject: [War] France:  Grumpy Tidings
Message-ID: <6FF0E07B-319F-41B7-9CA9-6FE0FB7A62CC@yahoo.com>

"France:  Grumpy Tidings"
President Zo? Amp?re, French Republic
March 18th, 2013

(OOC:  A few notes.  Firstly, I noticed that the timeline is only up  
to Mar 17 - Mar 31, 2013, which I took to be the time period of the  
previous posts, not the current ones.  Thus my last post is wrongly  
dayed, and should be March 17th, 2013, and not April 1st, 2013.  On a  
side note, I also see that we went from World Report Volume 2 to  
World Report Volume 4.  Reminds me of Monty Python and the Search for  
the Holy Grail, "1, 2, 5!" "Three, sir." "3!"  :)  And secondly, this  
post has no actions, but is pure fluff inspired by the current bout  
of grumpiness in the international community...)

"So let me get this straight," Zo? stated as though she were ready to  
break something.

"Okay," said Alain Vauban, the Minister of Foreign Affairs.  Zo?'s  
chief political advisor, Johann Arrau, sat there, investigating his  
hands while the President of the French Republic expressed a bit of  
incredulity and let off some stress.  Zo? began pacing.

"So the Beijing Conference ends, there is some agreement on economic  
issues and cooperation, some murmurs of increased military  
collaboration, and a little bit of talk about the North Korean  
issues.  Nothing too spectacular.  Certainly the progress on the  
North Korean issues was minute, and not affecting China's grip and  
near total control over the fate of that country.  But I don't think  
anyone was realistically expecting much more.  Indeed, the fact that  
the Japanese are being allowed in is more than I was expecting."

Zo? stopped, and turned to the pair sitting at the table.  Vauban was  
stoic, while Johann was showing the beginnings of a grin which could  
very well give birth to a belly laugh at any moment.  Zo? ignored  
both men's responses.

"Am I right so far," she asked.  Vauban nodded, and Zo? began  
speaking and pacing again, somewhat frenetically this time.

"So, nothing big.  We use the specter of an East Asian economic  
community to push our own agenda within the Union, try to rattle a  
few chains to get some action.  Nothing any Western politician  
doesn't do as a matter of course.  And it's all no big deal."

Zo? stopped here briefly, and inhaled.  Johann began to grin widely  
at this, and sat back to enjoy President Amp?re's outburst.  Zo?  
continued, beginning to gesture with her arms.

"Then, the United States of America, in all it's infinite wisdom, in  
a cunning and devious move of diplomacy which will certainly make  
Beijing reconsider its course in North Korea and endear themselves to  
the Japanese government at a moment when Japan and China have begun  
to enter into a closer relationship which the United States might  
find useful in influencing China, now a best friend once removed,  
practically tells the Japanese that they are idiots who either don't  
know what their doing or have no concern for the status of North  
Korea and the threat that that nation has and could in the future  
pose to its own security and the security of the region.  After all,  
it's best to be honest in diplomacy and try to make allies feel like  
they are idiots!"

Zo? was gesturing energetically now, and more than once almost  
knocked something over.  She also bumped her shin into a piece of  
furniture.  This did not slow down either her speech or her pacing or  
gesturing in the least.  And still she continued.

"Then the Japanese, feeling hurt and yet infected by the same desire,  
nay, need to cause friction in the Pacific alliance that has  
seemingly possessed the Americans, complain that the United States  
has offered no support to her East Asian allies, leaving them with no  
choice but to absolutely jump into the arms of the Chinese government  
and abandon a half-century of good relations with America.  I suppose  
they're also ready to go kowtowing to Beijing in severe regret for  
all the Chinese people they killed in and before the Second World  
War, which they have to date absolutely refused to do."

"And," Zo? exclaimed, thrusting an arm into the air as if to accuse  
the heavens of a great injustice, apparently coming to the climax of  
her great venting, to the anticipation of Johann and the continued  
stoicism of Vauban.  "And, to top it all off, the one party to all  
this which has managed to keep their cool and act intelligently is,  
of course, China, using what must assuredly be a diplomatically  
embarrassing episode and distraction between the United States and  
Japan to good effect, embarks on a massive diplomatic tour of the mid- 
range powers of the world, not only shifting the focus of diplomatic  
discourse away from North Korea, a subject which has potential to be  
most troublesome for them, to a subject which makes them look good,  
but also demonstrating a diplomatic finesse that the Most Powerful  
Country In The World apparently lacks at the moment.  You would think  
that either President Williams or Prime Minister Sato, being elected  
officials of large, stable democracies with difficult, complicated  
political landscapes, would know, understand, and have perfected the  
ability to stay on message.  But no, they decide to change to subject  
and attack each other - close allies and all! - while the proper  
focus of their attention runs to the candy store while it should be  
having a time out!"

"Damn it all," Zo? yelled, finishing her diatribe, "and the Americans  
think that French people do odd things!"

Johann began laughing at the end of this last statement, and only  
slightly at the limited humorous content therein.  Though Zo? never  
acted this way in front of anyone but her closest friends and allies,  
it was something which had first concerned Johann, as her chief  
political advisor.  But, when he learned that Zo? could be trusted to  
keep such outbursts private and that they helped her relieve her  
stress and anxiety, Johann relaxed and began to enjoy the diatribes.   
By this point, he found them just short of hilarious.  It didn't hurt  
that they also gave him a peek at her honest thoughts on a matter.   
More than once, he had advised her to change strategy after an outburst.

Zo? sat down, and sprawled out somewhat on a couch, appearing  
somewhat miffed at Johann's laughter, though in reality it made her  
feel better.  She looked to Vauban, still sitting stoically.  Yet, it  
was Vauban who was first to speak.

"Well, I suppose the diplomatic news is somewhat full of grumpy  
tidings today," he said in a deep, serious voice.

"Enough to make our President a bit grumpy," Johann said, standing to  
get her a glass of water.

"Well, at least I don't show it publicly," Zo? grumped.

"Only privately, then," Johann said, poking fun at the President one  
more time.  Vauban stepped in.

"Should we act?  Perhaps consult privately with the Americans and  
Japanese," he suggested.  Zo? shook her head.

"No, not yet.  Hopefully this nonsense will pass.  If it looks like  
there's been a significant rift in US-Japanese relations, then  
perhaps we would step in and remind them that they have more to loose  
by splitting than by cooperating.  But I imagine that good sense will  
prevail all on its own in this case, without any outside  
intervention.  After all, they've been allies for a long time now,"  
Zo? reasoned.  The two men in the room wondered how much credence the  
President gave her own logic.  Vauban then stood to leave.

"If you'll excuse me, Madam President, there are issues I need to  
attend to," Vauban said properly.  Zo? nodded, walking him to the  
door.  When she returned, Johann was investigating his glass of water.

"You should really keep some good liquor in here," Johann suggested.   
Zo? didn't drink unless absolutely necessary, and with good reason.

"What, so that you can entertain me next time," Zo? said, winning  
points back from her advisor.  Johann smiled.

"Perhaps," Johann said.  Zo? looked at the time, and suddenly  
realized it was late.

"I think I should get some sleep," she said.  Then, "After all,  
perhaps tomorrow either the world or I will be less grumpy.  That  
would be nice."


ACTIONS:

1)  None.  Just character development-ish stuff.