NationStates Jolt Archive

Amestria and Kahanistan had always been geographically close to each other, a few hours flight across the Mediterranean or two-day trip by ship. It was not uncommon for Kahanistanians to vacation in Southern Amestria. Both nations had numerous economic contacts, Amestria providing Kahanistan with 14% of its imports (primarily construction material, food, and intellectual property) and shared strong elements of European Culture.

So, it was no surprise that in the aftermath of the AMF invasion Amestria would lend assistance to Kahanistan. The Amestrian Ministry of Finance donated hundreds of billions of Gold Hobbes (with appropriate oversight) for the reconstruction of Kahanistan in general and Al-Bahr in particular. Four Divisions of Amestrian Military Police under the command of Lieutenant General Jean Breda had been dispatched to perform Peacekeeping duties throughout Al-Bahr.


Recent Amestrian Military Movements

An additional Division of Amestrian Military Police is flown into Al-Bahr International Airport.

As enormous quantities, VX nerve agent had been liberally deployed by both sides during the conflict and assistance was needed in the cleansing of the countryside. To assist in that enormous endeavor three Divisions of Amestrian Military Bio/Chem. Warfare personnel are flown into Kahanistan. They immediately set up the necessary facilities and begin the decontamination of the Kahanistan countryside.

Little did the people of Kahanistan know, that events halfway around the globe threatened to damage this friendly relationship, which many analysts predicted would result in a long-term alliance.

---

In Western Torontia, the Amestrian-backed government of the now-divided former Kraven ally, extremists deployed a biological weapon, spreading viruses throughout Western Torontia. Martial law was declared, allowing the establishment of quarantine lines in cities and secretly authorizing the Amestrians to execute captured insurgents. Some said the executions were being applied against any political opponent of the Torontian Provisional Government. Kahanistan had sent troops to Torontia, both Eastern and Western, to fight the insurgents, hoping to end the occupation before Amestria and St. Fedski, an ally of Kahanistan, fought over whose occupied area of Torontia held the legitimate government.

Kahanistan had not taken a position on that issue, preferring to avoid war if possible. Their policymakers wanted to defeat the insurgency and then talk peace, but neither the St. Fedski-backed Eastern Torontia nor the Amestrian-backed Western Torontia could agree to unification talks.

Meanwhile, Xirnium, another ally of Kahanistan, suspected that, contrary to the Amestrians' denials, large numbers of innocent people were being executed. Rumors had existed in Kahanistan about executions, but few believed them until recently. Recently, a Kahanistan Republic Guard first lieutenant gave information to the Xirniumite Inquisition revealing the actions of the Amestrians. He was now fleeing from the Amestrians and Kahanistanians, along with an Imperial Marine who had joined him, and two Inquisitors.

This idealistic young man would, once he got out, unleash the greatest scandal Kahanistan would ever know... but it would be a few days before he could escape.

---

Najaster, Capital of Kahanistan

Presidential Palace

President's bedroom, 6:30 AM

President Mohammed bin Yusuf al-Za'if dismounted from his secretary. It was common knowledge that the single politician was having an affair with the pretty assistant, so they had made no effort to hide the noises as they cavorted on the bed.

Afterwards, they dressed and went to the President's office. There, the President sat, eating his breakfast of fried pork rinds and beer, as he awaited the appointment his secretary had made with the Amestrian Ambassador, to discuss matters that were officially top secret, but were soon to be displayed for all the world to hear, and he had to figure out how to save relations with Amestria.

Kahanistan,
Najaster,
Office of the President of Kahanistan

The Amestrian Ambassador entered, accompanied by an Amestrian Military Officer wearing the insignia of a Colonel. The Colonel was carrying a large brief case.

“Mr. President, this is Colonel Ney of Amestrian Military Intelligence. He is here to discuss the unfortunate events which have occurred in Torontia.”

The President sat down in his office, and asked his secretary to bring in two chairs. She brought them in within two minutes.

When the Amestrians were seated, President al-Za'if nodded. "Yes, most unfortunate from what little made it out here that isn't rumor or conjecture. Fill me in."

Colonel Ney spoke. "But Mr. President it is all rumors and conjecture. Lies mouthed by a traitorous Kahanistan soldier, who after murdering numerous fellow Kahanistanian officers and killing 20 of our own soldiers* escaped with the assistance of Xirnium and SF…”

Colonel Ney handed the President photos of the downed SF helicopter.

“Our sources have found that this Grant Foster has accepted millions of dollars in bribes in exchange for smearing our two countries and his terrorist activities..."

Colonel Ney handed the President forged documents.

“There where no mass executions Mr. President, those are lies cooked up by a traitor in the service of hostile foreign powers.”

(*Lies, but no one will know. The soldiers died during the SF conflict and the paperwork has been altered.)

The President looked over the documents, and Lt. Grant Foster's service record. "Rumors of war crimes have persisted for months..."

"I should have expected that many would believe it. I've had the military mail going in and out of Torontia censored months ago. We have a military warrant for him on charges of espionage, being AWOL, assaulting officers, and now murder. He's going to be over a hundred years old when he gets out of prison, when we catch him."

"But are you telling me that ALL of the rumors of Amestrian war crimes started with this one man? That this young lieutenant singlehandedly started the widespread belief in genocide that pervades the ultra-left here?"

"I will not deny that he is a threat... what about the girl that was with him?" He had Corporal Eileen Holland's record pulled up. "21 years old, tank driver, went missing when her tank was attacked by Foster, we have information she wasn't killed and was seen alive when the checkpoint in Blaine was breached... do you have anything on her?"

Colonel Ney again spoke. “Those rumors are being made by powers hostile to Amestria. This is a concentrated attack against Amestria and Kahanistan by Xirnium and Saint Fedski. This former Corporal Eileen Holland was obviously in league with them. The Kahanistan Military should conduct an immediate investigation as there has been obvious infiltration. This is quite a scandal, the Kahanistanian deployments in Torontia have dismally mismanaged...”

The Amestrian Ambassador interjected. “All do to the incompetence of the former commander, General Abdul Aziz Kantari and the former Deputy Defense Minister al-Ghazi… al-Ghazi, the same individual who bears so much responsibility for the unfortunate AMF Kahanistan conflict and is obviously mentally unstable… He pranced around making threats about poison gas instead of doing his job. The Kahanistanian Government and the Supreme Soviet should take this opportunity to clean house at the Defense Ministry and the Military…”

Colonel Ney continued. “Kahanistan should also reexamine its relationship with Xirnium and Saint Fedski…both nations that have participated in the murder Kahanistanian Soldiers…”

The Amestrian Ambassador once again interjected. “Focus the Government and the Media’s attention on the terrorism, espionage, betrayal and incompetence. What really concerns Kahanistan, a few alleged killings, or the actual murder of its soldiers and the infiltration of its armed forces by foreign agents do to incompetence…and the fact that Parliament is debating the allocation of an additional 200 billion Gold Hobbes to assist Kahanistan in repairing the environmental damage caused by the AMF invasion…”

Colonel Ney continued. “As for the allegations of mass graves, an investigation has been launched by the Military Intelligence Division under the authority of Lieutenant Colonel Zolf Kimblee. We are confident that it will be discovered that most of those corpses were victims of the New Order or the TPLA…perhaps one or two unsanctioned killings by the TPG, but no killings by the Amestrian Military.”

President al-Za'if frowned. "Xirnium has been our ally since the outbreak of the Kraven War. We helped to defend St. Fedski when their nation was plagued by terrorists who had murdered their Foreign Minister... Joe...? Jean...? Jesse Russell. Our three nations are formally allied."

"As for Major General Kantari, he is an idealist. He is a good man... very competent... but he is not willing to get his hands or his conscience dirty. It was his superior, General Kalazanov, who reassigned him to Kraven after Kantari contacted me with reports of atrocities and an officer who went mad, and you will not convince me Kantari is a liar."

"Right now, I'll have someone speak to the people, the standard denial of the various rumors that are cropping up... maybe I'll do it myself later today..."

"I haven't followed the conflict as closely as you probably have, but we'll have to investigate. We'll have to catch this Foster and his comrades..."

"And something else... unsanctioned TPG killings? I was under the impression that the TPG was the one who sanctioned everything there, and that Amestria was merely an advisor... that your nation and mine were merely enforcing the domestic laws of Torontia... but I doubt the people will see it that way if Foster goes public. We might have to relocate some other officers from there... I can think of at least one, she's been a pain in the rump for years... if she's opposed to the policies, she might be dangerous..."

The President pressed an intercom button. "Lara, can you draft a standard denial of war crimes for dissemination for me sometime today?"

The secretary's voice came back from her office. "Certainly, I'll have it on your desk in two hours."

He turned back to the Amestrians. "General Abdullah Hassan al-Ghazi told me himself. He will run against me in the next election, as a candidate for the Fascist Party. That man is quite popular among the far-right, unfortunately... his invective makes Der Sturmer look like a bleeding-heart liberal rag."

The Amestrian Ambassador spoke. "You would know General Kantari better then us. If you feel he is competent then he is competent... By unsanctioned TPG killings we meant that elements of the TPG military acted without their governments permission, after the initial outbreak things got a little crazy in BC, it is not hard to imagine a platoon taking illegal action and then covering it up before proper oversight was restored... It will all come out in the investigation..."

Colonel Ney spoke. "General al-Ghazi was Deputy Minister of Defense, which means he managed a great deal of the Kahanistan Torontian deployments. His incompetence is what has allowed the infiltration. You should fire him, as Commander in Chief you must remove that unstable officer from the Government before he can do anymore harm, even in his weakened position he is a danger... The Amestrian Intelligence Division can assist in any investigation, in the meantime I suggest we take action so Fosters crimes are well known before he goes public..."

The Amestrian Ambassador interjects. "What is the name of the women you feel to be a danger?"

"You're not going to assassinate her, are you?" asked the President. "She is a general whose position on the Amestrian policies is not even known yet, she may have no problem with it. She is someone who has, as we say in Kahanistan, butted heads with the establishment. She has recklessly engaged forces that are far superior in strength to her own, associated with known war criminals who are now in prison, and disrespected the courts when she has stood trial on numerous occasions."

He gave the ambassadors a service file on one Brigadier General Rachel C. Levitt. The file showed a woman in her late thirties with short reddish-brown hair and hazel eyes, bearing some moderate scarring on her face that could have come from grenade shrapnel. She might have been pretty, if not for the scarring and poor lighting of the military photo. She was stationed in Torontia, commanding the Imperial Marine combat troops. Her role had increased in importance with Kantari's reassignment to distributing NBC suits to Kraven civilians, and had a solid record as a commander, but her personality and demeanor did not entirely endear her to the military establishment.

"At worst, I would send her to Kraven before she does something crazy. But I'll wait on that... till I at least know her position..."

"What more can I do with General al-Ghazi? He is a General of the Imperial Marines, a five-star general and a hero of the right wing. Are you suggesting that I have him killed? Kahanistan does not conduct assassinations, Mr. Ambassador. Discharge him? That would require a court-martial, and with a man of his position, that would be a media circus. Reassign him? If I assign him anywhere, it will be Kraven, or some other area where he can operate with little interference. I could make him the head of Presidential Security... keep him close... but he is several ranks high for that, and Major Fulton would not be happy... She is the current chief of security here."

"The State of Amestria does not engage in murder!" The Ambassador was obviously offended. "Concerning Levitt, do what you feel is correct..."

The Colonel spoke. "Sending al-Ghazi to Kraven risks making him a hero to more then the right-wing. Killing him would be illegal for both Kahanistan and Amestria... You mean to say your military Central Command does not have the power to dismiss an officer without a public court martial. What is the process by which the Kahanistan Military discharges a soldier for incompetence?"

"I am sorry," said al-Za'if. "It is that many nations, even democratic ones, have been known or accused of committing assassinations of figures they fear..."

"As for discharging an officer for incompetence, he fucks up badly enough to be court-martialed and sentenced to be discharged. So far, General al-Ghazi has not. He has never actually deployed VX against civilians, just threatened to in order to cow the Psyker Bearzerkers... but it appears he needn't have bothered, the Berserkers have destroyed the Kraven arms with computer chips in them that controlled the soldiers and are now fighting against Kraven."

"As for his involvement in the AMF conflict, he did a very good job of commanding Kahanistan forces... in fact, I would pit him against almost any Amestrian commander who thinks he or she can do a better job in the field. Maybe we can even conduct a wargaming scenario in the future... assuming Lt. Foster does not destroy the relationship between our nations..."

Colonel Ney looked at the President in a very solemn manner. "How can a terrorist, traitor, and murder destroy the relationship between our two countries. How can the allegations of two countries, which have participated in the murder of Kahanistanian soldiers, harm the relationship of our two countries. Xirnium may claim to be your ally, but tell me Mr. President, what have they done for Kahanistan recently? How does claiming to be your ally excuse the murder of your soldiers? Mr. President Amestria is helping Kahanistan, Amestria would never harm Kahanistan, Amestria and Kahanistan have a shared history..."

The President was clearly confused.

"St. Fedski and Xirnium have been our allies longer than Amestria has even had relations with us. I believe what you're telling me, I'm ready to issue the statement of denial that my... assistant... has prepared."

"But what I believe may no longer matter... what the people will believe does. Will they believe their government? Will they believe the claims of a new friend over those of two longer-term allies? Will they believe a fresh-faced young man who has been slandered as a liar and traitor? Will they believe the anti-Amestrian rantings of a venom-spewing nut job?"

"Will they believe the words of a man who has murdered his fellow soldiers? Will they believe a man who is in the pay of Foreign Powers. Mr. President, SF and Xirnium killed your soldiers in a premeditated fashion...how can you call them allies?"

There's more than one defector. More than one person who learned of the executions and is opposed to them.

The President shook his head. "They won't... but he can't be the only guy who has issues with the policy... I did myself, until you contacted me. Luckily, the Supreme Soviet is too busy arguing amongst themselves to go public, several of them have contacted me with letters smuggled out of Torontia by no less than eighty soldiers, ranging in rank from Private up to Colonel."

(Amestria, TG.)

"Background details, let us concentrate on neutralizing Foster. Any soldiers you suspect of following him perhaps could be assigned to a covert post where they will be unable to send letters or electronic mail, be it the need for secrecy or remoteness..."

The Colonel got up and began pacing around. "Perhaps if Kahanistanian Military Officers were to assist us in our investigation it would further neutralize this issue... Good Officers, Officers you could trust..."

The President nodded. "Let us capture Foster... if he has not already escaped to Eastern Torontia, which he likely already has. In the meantime, we should deliver a statement now, that Kahanistan officers are being influenced by the TIG."

"I can dispatch two squads of Kahanistan Military Intelligence, twenty elite operatives. As it is now, our intelligence is spread thin in a lot of areas. If you capture him, do not kill him, it will only strengthen his accusations. If he is smart, he has already given some other officers information with instructions to go public or otherwise wreak havoc should he be killed or disappeared."

"As for Holland... find out what she knows about the plans, then we'll probably reassign her to some remote location while we gather evidence on her."

"Since they probably already escaped, I think we should issue a statement to the Kahanistan people NOW."

He showed the Amestrians a draft of his secretary's letter.

Recently, rumors have surfaced in Kahanistan about extrajudicial executions taking place in Western Torontia by Kahanistan, Amestrian, and TPG soldiers. We wish to dispel these rumors once and for all. First of all, Kahanistan lacks the death penalty for its own citizens, why would we seek to impose it on others? Secondly, Amestria, like Kahanistan, is a liberal democracy with a solid human rights record. They are embroiled in a very unpleasant conflict with fascist terrorists who will say and do anything to turn our two nations against each other, thereby allowing them to turn Torontia into a fascist dictatorship. Thirdly, if TPG soldiers are committing atrocities, then that reflects on their government, and should not affect relations between Kahanistan and Amestria, nor affect the reputations of either nation.

If it is discovered that rogue elements of the Kahanistan Military are committing atrocities, those soldiers will be court-martialed, and punished accordingly.

Colonel Ney nodded. "Good, good... Add that the fascist terrorists in Torontia are allied with Kraven. We have evidence of such a connection."

Colonel Ney handed the President 31 signed confessions from captured TPLA leaders and pictures of the Kraven Sardaukar corpses fished out of Port Angeles harbor.

The President shook his head. "That would look too much like last-minute Amestrian propaganda. Kahanistan and Xirnium are both enemies of Kraven, and from what I know of Amestria and St. Fedski, neither of them are overly friendly to Kraven, either."

"Those Sardaukar could have come from anywhere. We have several hundred captured suits of Sardaukar armor ourselves, and thousands of captured Capitol Police. It would be nothing to Amestrian operatives, or even Fedski operatives trying to smear Amestria and having it backfire on them, to sneak into Kahanistan and pilfer Sardaukar armor from the battlefields after we fought a Kraven invasion on our own soil right after the Freekish invasion. Even if they didn't, it is well known that Torontia is in the situation it is in because it allied with Kraven, and we have no idea how long those Sardaukar have been there."

"We have enough political problems without being accused of being an Amestrian puppet. We will not publicate Amestrian propaganda in a government statement while we're trying to end the Torontian situation once and for all. If Amestria wants to speak to the Kahanistan people, we have a free press, you can say what you like to our media. Whether the people believe it or not, is another matter."

"As for the TPLA confessions, we all know that a TPLA soldier who confessed and gave information had a chance of being spared the death penalty and given prison time instead. Those will look very suspicious..."

"Sardaukar have been found and only found in the wreckage of SF ships. They are not just armor, they are full Sardaukar, cybernetics and everything. Kahanistan is free to send people to verify..."

"This seems very suspicious, we will need unrestricted access by our observers," said the President. "But this statement will have to be released very soon, probably today or tomorrow, we don't know if Lt. Foster has already contacted the media or not, we can't wait to verify the Sardaukar story."

"There are many ways the Sardaukar could have gotten there, and no matter whether or not you convince me, it will still look like propaganda to the masses, coming out on the eve of peace talks."

"The Kraven could have captured a Fedski ship. They may be St. Fedski's attempt to reverse-engineer Sardaukar for use against Amestria, we have our own programs for reverse-engineering enemy weapons, but we don't have anything nearly as advanced as Sardaukar yet. The Kraven may even have built or used a class of ship known to be used by the Fedskies to avoid suspicion."

Ney nodded in a disappointed manner. "Release the Statement then."

The President had the statement wired to every Kahanistan media outlet. Some of them aired it, but as the media in Kahanistan are free from government oversight, some of them refused to air and even criticized the ones that did.

Later that day, a slim, pretty brunette in a military dress uniform entered the President's office. She was in her late 20's, wore a major's rank insignia, and had an M-16 slung across her back. "Mr. President, there are about 700,000 people protesting near the Presidential Palace. Standard issue anti-war people, judging from their signs."

The President nodded to the Amestrians. "This is Major Mara Fulton, Republic Guard. She's the head of Presidential Security. Major, this is Colonel Ney from Amestrian Intelligence, and Ambassador... Ross, was it?"

The major smiled and extended her hand.

Outside, she had barricades set up so the Presidential staff could enter and leave the palace, but the 1,500 or so soldiers manning them were lightly armed, with sidearms, smoke grenades and tear gas. They did not otherwise interfere with the protestors' freedom of speech. The soldiers would only act if the protests turned violent...

Colonel Ney and Ambassador Ross each shook the Majors hand. "A pleasure to meet you Major," Colonel Ney, remarked, "I hope you have plenty of experience dealing with civil disturbances."

Colonel Ney turned back to the President and gave him a questioning glance. "The Media in Kahanistan can refuse to air an official statement from the President?"

Ambassador Ross went to the window and looked out at the protestors. "Look at them all...it is going to be a long week...(sigh). Mr. President, are you aware of any additional ways for us to diffuse the situation?"

Ney turned back to Fulton.

"So tell Major Fulton, would you care to join me in a non-alcoholic beverage?"

The major explained. "We do have a government station, but all other media outlets are free to air what they like. Freedom of speech and all that."

She turned back to Ney. "All right, but I won't be able to spend a lot of time here, these demonstrators can get out of hand pretty quickly, this is the biggest gathering I've seen in years."

President al-Za'if shook his head. "I can't think of a way to diffuse the situation... but if they mob the palace there are tunnels that can take us into a military base about twenty kilometers east of here, there's even a cart that can take us in the tunnel. We'll be safe."

Ney looked perplexed. "Out of hand quickly, mob the Palace, escape? Should not under such circumstances more soldiers be brought in to maintain order?"

Fulton looked at the Colonel. She was merely in charge of presidential security, not crowd control. "I don't have experience in crowd control, I'm just here to protect the President. We only have 1,500 troops in the palace itself, and there are about 60,000 city police out on patrol in this part of the city."

"I suppose if things turn really bad, we could call in Republic Guards from the nearby bases... but that's a bit aggressive for now, the demonstrators haven't even turned violent."

The demonstrators' ranks had swollen to over one million...

"Prevention should be a priority."

Ney turned to the President. "A military officer with no experience in crowd control?! Once this little unpleasantness is over an officer exchange program should be set up between our two countries. I believe it would benefit everyone involved."

Ross stared out the window. "In Amestria one million protesters could not gather without the presence of several hundred thousand police and troops... Here they can gather and there are only 1,500 standing in their way... Ever heard of crowd poisoning? It is sociology, when you get so many people together, irrational and violent action becomes more likely... And it is hot weather, which just makes things worse!"

Ney turned to the Major. "I am not about to tell you how to do your job, but I suggest strongly that you bring in those troops..."

Major Fulton nodded. "Good idea..." She had no knowledge of crowd poisoning or sociology, her degree was in communication. She called one of the bases near the city and asked if 25,000 Republic Guards could be spared.

Meanwhile, another military element was pouring gasoline on the flames. A thickly built, bearded Arab man in his late forties, wearing an Imperial Marine dress uniform fat with medals, was speaking to the crowd in Arabic.

"People of Kahanistan! For too long, we have been puppets of imperialist powers! First, the Freeks move in, attack us and our allies lift nary a finger. They slaughtered our people, imposed the unspeakably barbarous hell of Puritania on six million Kahanistanians, the Coward-in-Chief capitulates to them without a fight, and the Amestrians take advantage of our defeat, the desperation of a broken and defeated people, and pour trillions of Golden Hobbeses into our nation, hoping to rebuild it and make us dependent on them, to make us part of their imperialist regime!"

Major Fulton did not speak Arabic very well, but she knew enough of it that she knew the man was not trying to calm the crowd down. He was shouting at the top of his lungs, waving his arms frantically.

The man continued to speak to the crowd. At this distance he was still not recognizable. He drew his officer's sword.

"And they will not stop with Kahanistan, they have moved in here without even finishing with Torontia! Their lust for land is so great that they, in their infinite greed, must eat one meal without even swallowing the last! But we will make them vomit us up before they can swallow us whole!"

Three hundred tanks and 25,000 troops moved into the city. Now 1.2 million Kahanistanians had gathered to hear the vitriolic anti-Amestrian speech. Some of them were starting to throw rocks at the Kahanistan Merkavas and soldiers, and even at the palace itself.

Whoever this man is, he's one hell of a propagandist, thought Major Fulton as the officer ranted through a microphone the most vicious anti-Amestrian propaganda.

Ross could understand Arabic perfectly and was not impressed by the little man. "He is an idiot; Amestria has given billions to Kahanistan, not trillions... We don't have trillions to spare!"

Ney gave the Major a worried look. "Please tell me that is not one of the soldiers under your command and on duty."

Ross began to message his forehead with his right hand. "Mr. President, perhaps you should take this opportunity to inspect some distant military facilities until more troops can be positioned in the capital...dependable troops, professional Soldaten*."

(*soldiers)

Major Fulton shook her head. "Nope, I can tell you right here, he's not under my command. He's an Imperial Marine, and he's got a load of medals..." She scanned the speaker through her telescope. The man raised his head, and Fulton could see his bearded face through the telescope. She went pale.

"It's Old Bad News himself." The President looked at her. "General Abdullah Hassan al-Ghazi." She explained to the Amestrians. "He used to be the Deputy Defense Minister, and now he's running for President as the Fascist Party candidate. He's a good commander, but he's also one hell of a politician. I personally don't agree with most of his views, but you've got to admit he knows how to campaign."

Meanwhile, the general continued to spew his venomous, anti-Amestrian views as effigies of various Amestrian officials and generals were hung, burned, impaled, etc.

"Vote for the Fascist Party in the next election! Vote for me! Vote for General Abdullah Hassan al-Ghazi to lead Kahanistan into an age of freedom from the world!"

Most of the demonstrators were moderate left-wing demonstrators, but many of them had been sucked in by al-Ghazi's speech. They were not mainly fascist, but some were. And to the demonstrators, some of the General's claims seemed to make sense. Amestria had not been willing to disband the TPG, and the general clearly hated Amestria.

Fulton grimaced. "He's a genius. If we call in the Republic Guards on the demonstration now that he's co-opted it, the President looks like a military dictator and General al-Ghazi will call him an Amestrian puppet in the next election. If we don't, we get to sit back and watch as he singlehandedly destroys relations with Amestria. This guy is good. He should get his own talk show."

The President turned to the Amestrians. "Which military facilities did you have in mind for me to tour?"

Ross turned to the President. "Someplace very far from here. A large instillation..."

Colonel Ney turned to the President. "Well, the man’s a mental case. You are telling me there is nothing you cannot use on him...?"

Ross looked back out the window. "Mr. President, you claim firing him would produce a media circus. Well that looks like an angry mob outside, which is far more frightening then a circus. I suggest after he gets away from that crowd you fire him! On the bright side it would make you look decisive..."

Major Fulton nodded. "There is an Imperial Marine base about forty kilometers southwest of here. It's one of the few bases that survived the Freekish invasion without needing repairs. The jeep in the tunnel will take us out into an abandoned military base north of Najaster, then we look just like an ordinary vehicle coming out. I'll lead us there."

The President spoke. "I'll do just that. I could bring him up on dereliction of duty, he's not doing anything to stop this demonstration from turning into a riot. That'll get him out of the military, but it might not be as high-profile as a drawn-out court-martial. He could be sacked fairly quickly."

Now, the demonstrators were growing larger, 1.8 million of them, and they were throwing more than rocks at the police. General al-Ghazi slipped into the crowd, his destination unknown.

Meanwhile, the demonstrators started to burn the Amestrian flag, and burned huge bonfires of items with "Made in Amestria" labels. Crates of Amestrian wine and brandy, the few that had made it to Kahanistan, were smashed and the liquids, some over 70 years old, flowed into the sewers of Najaster.

Ross looked pained. "Those barbarians, wasting good wine and brandy like that...well their loss, I just hope we were paid for it in advance..."

Ney took out his pistol and checked how many bullets were in the chamber. "Mr. President, after the good General is fired I also suggest he be arrested. I am sure there is something you can get him on."

Ross turned and faced the President. "Mr. President, after you..."

The President went to an elevator and held it open. Major Fulton took Colonel Ney's hand to lead him to the same elevator.

"Mr. Ambassador, this elevator will take us to the 27th sublevel. From there, we'll enter a disused utility room, pull up one of the floorboards, and jump down a trap door into the tunnel. My jeep is right there," she said.

Meanwhile, in the demonstration, General al-Ghazi, who had blended into the crowd only minutes earlier, crouched behind a garbage can and fired his pistol into the rubbish. The sound of the pistol shot caused the demonstrators to think they had been fired on by one of the police or Republic Guards.

The crowd of angry demonstrators was now a crowd of two million angry rioters. They had hijacked bulldozers, forklifts, and other vehicles, and even overturned one of the Merkavas that had been sent to the demonstrations. Kahanistanian citizens of Amestrian descent or even appearance of such were dragged from their cars and savagely beaten or lynched.

The University of Kahanistan - Najaster, and Kahanistan National University, where smaller demonstrations had taken place, soon found their 100,000 campus security forces were unable to prevent the swath of destruction from looting campus bookstores, burning Amestrian textbooks and beating up Amestrian language professors. Luckily, the buildings themselves had been constructed so sturdily that even a B-52 strike would have had minimal impact on the infrastructure.

A mockup of the Amestrian flag, with a Swastika over the emblem in the middle, was raised over the smoking ash heap of what used to be Amestrian goods. The President of UKN called for the Republic Guard to move in, but was thrown out of his window by angry mobs, to his death at the ground 170 floors below.

The forces of 200,000 security and 80,000 Republic Guards were no match for the ever-increasing waves of angry rioters.

Ross received a call on his cell phone as they followed the President towards the escape route. "Bonjour... oui... l'OH cher..."

Ross put away his phone. He looked angry. "I have received reports from the Embassy of attacks on our people! This city is clearly in a state of insurrection. Once we reach the safety of the military base I suggest you declare martial law and send what military forces there are to restore order."

Ney also spoke. "Have your men find General al-Ghazi and shoot him. He is clearly attempting to destabilize or outright overthrow the government."

Major Fulton climbed into her jeep and handed her M-16 to Colonel Ney. "There should be body armor and NBC in the trunk," she said, starting up the old vehicle.

The President rounded on the Colonel. "The Democratic Soviet Republic of Kahanistan does not engage in assassinations. I assure you, the General will be fired from the military, but he will run against me in a free and fair election. I would strongly advise the Amestrians not to shoot him either, as it would prove what he said to the demonstrators about Kahanistan being an Amestrian puppet. You'd be removing a major opponent of the planned alliance with Amestria, and that wouldn't be good for those who accuse Amestria of killing political opponents, like Xirnium claims."

Fulton's jeep started to run through the tunnel at over 120 kilometers an hour. "Besides, martial law has not been imposed in Kahanistan in 150 years. Our military is no longer even trained for police work, except for a few battalions of military police and the Presidential Security under my command. Besides, we've been trying to end martial law in Torontia, what will the international community say if we impose it here? They're already pissed at us for imposing it in Torontia, you for setting it up, us for helping. Besides, how WOULD we impose it? We have almost no gun control, in fact my grandparents are stereotypical 'elderly gun nuts' who own, I think 20 different types of Kalashnikov, and they have OICW's, M-16's, XM-8's... all legal to own in Kahanistan."

The army groups of 400,000 Republic Guards stationed in each major city composed almost all of those not currently deployed to ViZion. They entered the action, but by now the rioting had spread to all of the major cities. His mission accomplished, General al-Ghazi fled by helicopter to his home in Al-Qamar before the Amestrians came looking for him.

The Amestrian Embassy in Najaster was fired upon by a captured Merkava driven by a rioter. The rioters hoped to breach the defenses and lynch the Ambassador, not knowing he was in a jeep escaping the Presidential Palace to a military base.

Kahanistan was now a battleground, and General al-Ghazi had done what AMF couldn't: penetrate into the heart of Najaster.

Ross gave the President a look of disbelief. "How is killing a rebel assassination?! At least you can arrest him..."



The Amestrian Embassy in Najaster was fired upon by a captured Merkava driven by a rioter. The rioters hoped to breach the defenses and lynch the Ambassador, not knowing he was in a jeep escaping the Presidential Palace to a military base.

The Guards at the Amestrian Embassy had little patience for the rioters, so they shot three shoulder fired anti-tank missiles into the Merkava as it approached. Anyone who approached the gate was mowed down by machine gun fire.

The Merkava's turret was disabled, its treads were torn off, and its engine block struck by the Amestrian missiles. It was now little more than a piece of cover from the hail of machine gun fire that was being poured out by the Amestrians. Blood, internal organs and other body parts littered the embassy grounds where the Amestrians' fire struck.

Many of the rioters fled to their homes to get their weapons. The Amestrian Embassy was besieged by rioters hiding behind overturned trucks and other cover and throwing Molotov cocktails, sticks of dynamite, and bottles filled with acid at the Amestrians. By now Lieutenant Foster's defection had been publicized, and the left-wing media ran with it. The rioters had swollen to over six million in Najaster alone, which had a population of 250 million. More than forty million rioters were running rampant throughout the nation, destroying all things Amestrian. At least one Kahanistanian woman who was pregnant by an Amestrian man was dragged out of her apartment by a furious lynch mob, stomped repeatedly in the stomach until she lost the baby, then thrown into a pig pen and shot.

The President and his company had escaped, and surfaced in an abandoned base north of Najaster. From there they drove southwest toward the Imperial Marine base Fulton had mentioned.

"Legally," said President al-Za'if, "all General al-Ghazi did was speak to the demonstrators, and speak out against Amestria. If what you said about crowd poisoning is correct, the crowd would have turned violent even without him. So legally, he is not a rebel, just a far-right politician."

Ross was trying to contain his anger. "Legally the attack upon our Embassy is an attack on Amestria! Legally your Government is failing to protect our citizens... Have him arrested, find charges later!"

Ney remained calm. "Mr. President does Amestria have your permission to fly into Najaster several of its military helicopters currently stationed in Al-Bahr to protect the Embassy? Furthermore, cannot the Government organize supporters to aid it in the suppression of the riots?"

The President sighed. "Yes, bring in the choppers, the Kahanistan police are probably getting ready to help too." By now, they were almost at the base.

The police certainly were. 200,000 riot police faced off against what was now seven million rioters. They indiscriminately fired CS gas and smoke grenades into the city. B-52's from the Air Force bases in Al-Qamar were loading up hastily designed riot-control ordnance, smoke bombs and CS gas grenades crammed into canisters the size of standard B-52 bombs. More accurately, they WERE standard B-52 bombs, only with the explosive removed and CS gas or other anti-riot chemicals put in.

If these did not stop the rioters...

Having received the Presidents permission Colonel Ney phoned Lieutenant General Jean Breda. Within twenty minutes, four Amestrian Military helicopters were dispatched to Najaster. They flew between the Najaster skyscrapers and descended onto the street of the embattled Amestrian Embassy, spraying canon fire down both sides of the street.

The Kahanistan civilian police charged into the rioters, their riot shields raised and carrying cattle-prod-like devices to stun rioters. Some rioters were now shooting at the Amestrian helicopters and Kahanistan police with M-16's, but the police remained in phalanx formation with their shields locked together, so the main threat was from the smoke grenades and the rioters' Molotov cocktails. A mobile gallows was being wheeled up by the rioters, intent on using it to hang Ambassador Ross. They called upon him to come out of the embassy and surrender to their tender mercies.

With the knowledge that two more tanks had been taken and used against the Amestrians, the Kahanistan tank commanders ordered their armored units to stay in formation and stop any tank that wasn't in formation. The B-52's with their anti-riot bombs took off from their bases.

Meanwhile, General al-Ghazi was calmly holding a press conference (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=462530) at his home.

The shots fired at the helicopters by the rioters had little effect do to the helicopters armor.

A mobile gallows was being wheeled up by the rioters, intent on using it to hang Ambassador Ross. They called upon him to come out of the embassy and surrender to their tender mercies.


One of the helicopters fired a rocket at the mobile gallows and then proceeded to spray the crowd with additional canon fire.

Panicked by the lethal Amestrian fire and the non-lethal Kahanistan ordnance, the rioters broke, fled from the Embassy grounds, and proceeded to loot the few Amestrian businesses and those who catered to Amestrians that had survived Kahanistan's answer to Kristallnacht. They now were almost all armed with M-16's, OICW's, and IED's, including Molotov cocktails, and proceeded to destroy much of what the Amestrians had helped to rebuild. The Kahanistan Republic Guard and Najaster Police were closing in, helping to secure the embassy.

Luckily, Kahanistan's lack of gun control meant that at least some business owners were packing. The rioters were now facing the fierce Kahanistan civilian resistance, which had been the backbone of the nation's resistance to Automagfreek. They were in battle with the Kahanistan PEOPLE now, not just the police or military, or even just the Amestrians.

Meanwhile at the Kahanistan Military Base

The vehicle bearing the President, his companions, and the Amestrians arrived at the base.


Amestrian Public Reaction to the Kahanistan Riots

In Amestria, there were thousands of Kahanistan citizens/expatriates and tens of millions of Amestrians of Kahanistanian descent. Thus, the Government took immediate action to prevent retaliatory violence from breaking out in Amestria. Under Section 24F of the State Security Act, a 24-hour blackout on media coverage of the riots was declared, never-the-less news leaked through by the internet and word of mouth. All Kahanistanian citizens who could be located were taken into protective custody under Section 12C of the State Security Act. Minority neighborhoods and areas of transit were saturated with police and military patrols to discourage disorder.

There were several dozen spontaneous and unauthorized demonstrations, which were immediately broken up and the participants arrested. Small riots broke out on several major Amestrian campuses, but where such disturbances happened security services quickly moved in and restored order.

On along a South Amestrian beach several families of vacationing Kahanistanians were attacked by a mob of unruly youths. Many were injured and about seven where killed. Twenty-eight Amestrians were arrested for their roles in the attacks.

Once authorization had been granted by the relevant Courts, there were mass protests outside the Kahanistan Embassy, but they remained peaceful do to the presence of several hundred thousand Civil and Military Police.

Imperial Marine base, SW Kahanistan

Major Mara Fulton, President Mohammed bin Yusuf al-Za'if, Colonel Ney, and Ambassador Ross are escorted into the base by armed Imperial Marines.

Amestria City, Kahanistan Embassy

The Kahanistan Ambassador, Moses Ben-Ithamar, condemned General al-Ghazi as a dangerous influence on Kahanistan and Amestria, and while he criticized Amestrian military practices in passing, stated that the proper means of opposing the war crimes was to demonstrate peacefully and not make Kahanistan look like a nation of savages.

Outside Najaster, in the other major cities of Kahanistan

Al-Bahr had taken fire from the Pwnage fleet. Social disorder there increased dramatically as citizens armed themselves and proceeded to loot whatever they could find. Others holed up in their homes and armed themselves to protect their homes and businesses. Those whose new, rebuilt homes were destroyed or damaged again took to the streets, joining the riots. Traffic in and out of the city was totally blocked off as rioters took heavy trucks and sat over them with RPG's and assault weapons.

In the other cities, the rioting began to die down following a statement from the Minister of the Interior.

DEMOCRATIC SOVIET REPUBLIC OF KAHANISTAN
Ministry of the Interior

The Government of Kahanistan would like to announce that it is going to try the Kahanistan officers who ordered war crimes in Torontia as war criminals. General al-Ghazi has been asked for his resignation, and a response has likely already been drafted. The Reserves have been called in to deal with the rioting throughout the nation.

I urge all citizens who have homes left to return to them. If they have no homes left, Civil Defense and the Ministry of the Interior will assist the rebuilding.

Signed,
Vladimir Zygonov,
Minister of the Interior

Najaster, Capital of Kahanistan

In the capital, al-Ghazi enjoyed far greater support than in the general population, about one-eighth of the populace held a higher than neutral view of him. The number of rioters dwindled to about half a million, some of them veterans of the militias that had supported al-Ghazi when the Kahanistan Republic Guard was faltering during the Freekish invasion. They were not now taking his orders, as he was holding a press conference in another part of the country. They had swallowed his claim of Kahanistan being an Amestrian puppet state.

The Amestrian troops in Najaster were now facing the ferocious warriors who had been prepared for a fight to the death against Automagfreek a month earlier. They laid out IED's in areas where Amestrians had been seen, snipers fired on the Amestrians near the Embassy from the tops of buildings, using Dragunov sniper rifles and sometimes throwing Molotov cocktails onto the Embassy grounds, and the roads were barricaded with hijacked trucks and police vehicles. The Republic Guard was holding the outskirts of the city, and the police were holding them away from the major population centers somehow, but it looked like the Amestrians would have to do the toughest fighting.

Hospitals throughout Kahanistan were treating the wounded of all sides from the early fire exchanges, but they were filled to capacity and more wounded would have to be choppered to nearby cities.

Imperial Marine base, SW Kahanistan

Major Mara Fulton, President Mohammed bin Yusuf al-Za'if, Colonel Ney, and Ambassador Ross are escorted into the base by armed Imperial Marines.


Ambassador Ross turned to the President. "What now?"


Amestria City, Kahanistan Embassy

The Kahanistan Ambassador, Moses Ben-Ithamar, condemned General al-Ghazi as a dangerous influence on Kahanistan and Amestria, and while he criticized Amestrian military practices in passing, stated that the proper means of opposing the war crimes was to demonstrate peacefully and not make Kahanistan look like a nation of savages.

The Kahanistan Ambassador is publicly rebuked and by the Amestrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as "there have been no war crimes!"


Outside Najaster, in the other major cities of Kahanistan

Al-Bahr had taken fire from the Pwnage fleet. Social disorder there increased dramatically as citizens armed themselves and proceeded to loot whatever they could find. Others holed up in their homes and armed themselves to protect their homes and businesses. Those whose new, rebuilt homes were destroyed or damaged again took to the streets, joining the riots. Traffic in and out of the city was totally blocked off as rioters took heavy trucks and sat over them with RPG's and assault weapons.

The 100,000 thousand Amestrian Military Police stationed in Al-Bahr set up checkpoints, restrict movement, and shoot any armed rioter that attacks them.


In the other cities, the rioting began to die down following a statement from the Minister of the Interior.

DEMOCRATIC SOVIET REPUBLIC OF KAHANISTAN
Ministry of the Interior

The Government of Kahanistan would like to announce that it is going to try the Kahanistan officers who ordered war crimes in Torontia as war criminals. General al-Ghazi has been asked for his resignation, and a response has likely already been drafted. The Reserves have been called in to deal with the rioting throughout the nation.

I urge all citizens who have homes left to return to them. If they have no homes left, Civil Defense and the Ministry of the Interior will assist the rebuilding.

Signed,
Vladimir Zygonov,
Minister of the Interior

Najaster, Capital of Kahanistan

In the capital, al-Ghazi enjoyed far greater support than in the general population, about one-eighth of the populace held a higher than neutral view of him. The number of rioters dwindled to about half a million, some of them veterans of the militias that had supported al-Ghazi when the Kahanistan Republic Guard was faltering during the Freekish invasion. They were not now taking his orders, as he was holding a press conference in another part of the country. They had swallowed his claim of Kahanistan being an Amestrian puppet state.

The Amestrian troops in Najaster were now facing the ferocious warriors who had been prepared for a fight to the death against Automagfreek a month earlier. They laid out IED's in areas where Amestrians had been seen, snipers fired on the Amestrians near the Embassy from the tops of buildings, using Dragunov sniper rifles and sometimes throwing Molotov cocktails onto the Embassy grounds, and the roads were barricaded with hijacked trucks and police vehicles. The Republic Guard was holding the outskirts of the city, and the police were holding them away from the major population centers somehow, but it looked like the Amestrians would have to do the toughest fighting.

The Amestrian Embassy begins preparation to evacuate and asks the Kahanistan Government for temporary facilities to be set up at a secure military base.


Hospitals throughout Kahanistan were treating the wounded of all sides from the early fire exchanges, but they were filled to capacity and more wounded would have to be choppered to nearby cities.

Two Amestrian Military Medical Divisions are flown in to help with the wounded and injured.

"Now," said the Major, "we wait until the riots in Najaster die down."

In Najaster, a column of 100 Kahanistan Merkava IV MBT's pushed into the area surrounding the Embassy. They ignored the rock-throwing, Molotov-dropping, sniping rioters (or were they rebels? Terrorists?) as the heavy armor pulled up to the Embassy. Republic Guards laid down cover fire as they called for the Amestrians to get into the tanks. Their commander offered to take them to one of the Imperial Marine fortresses in the southwest.

Some of the Merkavas were damaged by the IED's, but their crews quickly fanned out, wearing their body armor and scanning for snipers and more IED's. In all, four Merkavas were destroyed and eleven damaged.

The Kahanistan people received the Amestrian police and medical personnel warmly, after all, the vast majority of them were not rioters. However, import stores, eager to avoid being looted and ransacked, hastily put labels on the Amestrian wine and brandy that read, "People's Wine" and "People's Brandy" over the Amestrian labels so their Amestrian imports would not be looted. Relations with Amestria were certain to go to pot.

Secret Message from the State of Amestria

From: The Amestrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
To: The President of Kahanistan
Subject: The Torontian Constitutional Convention

It has come to our attention that Brig. Gen. Rachel C. Levitt of the Kahanistanian Imperial Marines has taken it upon her own authority to represent Kahanistan at the convention. We feel that Brig. Gen. Levitt does not have the qualifications to attend such high-level diplomatic talks and that she will only serve to disrupt the proceedings. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs asks that the Kahanistan Government order her not to attend the preceding and that a delegation from the Kahanistan Foreign Ministry be dispatched. We request that the Kahanistan delegation include trustworthy individuals, individuals who will not talk about divisive and irrelevant matters such as BC and will focus on the creation of a constitution for Torontia that will establish and preserve liberal democratic institutions.

[signed]
Dominique de Villepin, The Honorable Minister of Foreign Affairs

The President read over the letter. I thought she couldn't do any harm over there.

He looked over a copy of General Levitt's letter. ...to end the political division in Torontia, and, of course, justice for the victims of the Amestrian Genocide.

Genocide? 5,000 dead is genocide? She always had a flair for the dramatic. On the other hand, she had little, if anything, to gain from disrupting the talks. She probably wants to get home as much as anyone else there... and the troops like her.

He called his secretary to ask her to draft a letter to General Levitt. Hopefully it would arrive in time to reach her before her vehicle left. He couldn't take a chance on her not checking her e-mail, and didn't know if signals were still jammed into Torontia anyway. As soon as the draft reached the base the President was in, he would sign it and mail it to Torontia.

"And find out if Foster's gotten his pardon letter yet. Get on the horn with the Xirniumite Embassy."

The letter the secretary drafted read as follows:

DEMOCRATIC SOVIET REPUBLIC OF KAHANISTAN
Office of the President

To: Brigadier General Rachel C. Levitt, Commander, Military Assistance Command, Torontia

In light of Amestrian concerns about your diplomatic skills, and your known disregard for protocol, (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=448344) it concerns us that you have taken it upon yourself to attend the Constitutional Convention in Torontia.

While we know that you are bringing an aide to the meeting whose diplomatic skills you trust, we are concerned that you would push your desire for justice above the need for political stability. While justice is laudable, political stability in that wartorn nation is paramount.

We would strongly prefer that you not attend the convention. While we understand your position, using loaded terms such as "genocide" to describe an admittedly illegal practice of killing prisoners of war does not help your cause, and may in fact harm relations with Amestria.

"And find out if Foster's gotten his pardon letter yet. Get on the horn with the Xirniumite Embassy."
A young woman's voice on the other line answered the phone. ‘Hello, this is the Xirniumite Embassy to Kahanistan. Catherine Helm speaking.’

‘Err, one moment please, madam, allow me to check for you.’

Several brief minutes later...

‘Yes indeed, Mr Foster received notification of the full pardon issued by your government several days ago. Was there something more?’

"No," said the secretary. "We just hadn't heard from him in a few days, we thought he'd be back in Kahanistan by now to resume his duties. Thank you."

Meanwhile, the whistleblower was putting on his new Captain's rank insignia and boarding a train to Kahanistan. Damned Amestrians, anti-Amestrian riots and now this? he thought as he read about Kahanistan picking a fight with Doomingsland. Damn, I'm pissed.