NationStates Jolt Archive

NAJASTER, Kahanistan (AP) - The controversial right-wing Kahanistan General and former Deputy Defense Minister, Abdullah Hassan al-Ghazi, currently running for President of Kahanistan as a Fascist, has called a press conference at his home in Al-Qamar, Kahanistan, to which the media of all nations in the world are welcome.

Al-Ghazi, 48, is controversial for his handling (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=455610) of the tensions with the Excessively Armed Empire of Automagfreek, which led to a war (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=453666) in which over two million Kahanistan soldiers and two to three hundred million civilians were killed, with the highest Kahanistan estimates of Freekish losses at only two to three hundred thousand, and his liberal policies toward weapons of mass destruction, which he has been known to threaten the use of even against civilians. (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=458625)

These policies have earned him the nickname "General Gas." His anti-Amestrian views, (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=461318) and his reluctance to surrender to AMF, (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=456603) have made him popular among the far-right, which is why the Fascist Party has nominated him for President.

(OOC: Any nation with a news service is welcome to have reps speak to him. The rioting in Al-Qamar is bad, but not nearly as bad as most of the rest of the country, so you can send reps to speak with him without fear of being lynched. He's not going to shoot someone who wants to speak with him on world TV. They can talk to him about the riots, about his overall political views, criticisms of his presidential candidacy, the Fascist Party, etc.)

'Michael Stirmeg, XBC News,' announced a Xirniumite man in his mid thirties wearing a professional grey three-piece suit and fedora hat. 'Could you comment briefly on the huge wave of public demonstrations across Kahanistan? Who, in your opinion, is most to blame for the remarkable surge in public opposition to Kahanistan’s continued military involvement in the Amestrian occupation of Torontia and what should the Government do about it?'

A bearded Arab man in Imperial Marine dress uniform sat calmly at his desk and spoke to the Xirniumite.

"I would place the blame for the surge in opposition to Kahanistan's involvement in Torontia squarely on the shoulders of this man." He pointed to a paper target on his wall, with an image of Lieutenant Grant Foster, a Kahanistan defector, on it.

"Lt. Foster has sparked the powder keg that was the already existing anti-war movement. He is a traitor and should be shot for treason. The Government of Kahanistan should sever all ties with the Terrorist State of Amestria before we get embroiled in another human rights scandal. Next time, it could be us who, like the Kraven scum, find ourselves on the receiving end of the international community's wrath."

The Xirniumite reporter stood up again, clearing his throat. 'What is your opinion of recent revelations in the Kahanistanian media that the Armed Forces of Kahanistan have been involved in a policy of executing captured prisoners without trial?' he asked. 'Do you think such claims irreversibly mar the reputation of the Kahanistanian military?’

A reporter in the employ of the Amestrian Public Broadcasting Company (although of Middle Eastern Descent) stood up. "Mr. al-Ghazi, what do you say to those who accuse you of starting the riots and attempting to overthrow Kahanistans civilian Government in order to bring about a personal dictatorship?"

"Yes, they do. And that is why I have asked the Supreme Soviet many times to cut off relations with Amestria. I personally do not believe that a Kahanistan soldier would perform such an act, it would be a violation of the Holy Qu'ran and Kahanistan laws. Kahanistan will not do this as long as they are receiving aid from Amestria to rebuild the destruction caused by Dreadfire. Hopefully the riots that are swamping Kahanistan will drive out the Amestrians before the police stop them. Kahanistan will become a puppet of Amestria, if we do not stand up now and tell them we want nothing more to do with their crimes."

He turned to the Amestrians. "That is malicious Amestrian propaganda. The demonstrators had already assembled, and I, as a presidential candidate, decided to do some impromptu electioneering. The Amestrians have never liked me, and of course they would blame me for the violence that the rioters committed. Next I hear, they will be accusing me of ordering the attack on their Embassy, as if these people are taking orders from anybody. As for my plans to become a dictator, that is simply absurd. The Supreme Soviet would never go for it, any more than they would allow the current Coward-in-Chief to be a dictator."

"Is it not true the crowd erupted into violence right after your speech and until then they had been peaceful?"

"Crowds have been known to erupt into violence, and there were hundreds of thousands, if not millions of demonstrators, protesting against the war in Torontia. All I did was speak out against the Amestrian Government, and then they went mad. They were already angry that Amestria had involved Kahanistan in its dirty war, crowds do this spontaneously. They did not erupt into violence by my order. In fact, I could speak to the rioters now, order them to return to their homes, and they wouldn't do it."

"Do you know why? When you're in a mob, you feel you can do anything with impunity. I myself, when I was... 19, I was a sixth-year student at the Kahanistan Military Academy. We had a drunken party there, and I, being a Muslim, had not even had anything to drink. But I saw other students drinking, snorting cocaine, throwing rocks at police, and throwing pigs' heads into crowds. I joined the rioters. I picked up a cinderblock, and I smashed in the windshield of a police car."

"I couldn't tell you why I did it. I wasn't close with any of the other rioters. I had never had any encounters with the police. I simply felt that I could do something illegal in broad daylight, and get away with it, and that's what I did. That is what mob mentality is."

'General al-Ghazi,' began the Xirniumite reporter, 'How would you describe the response of the Amestrian military to the Kahanistanian riots, which has been to indiscriminately saturate the publicly demonstrating crowds with explosive rounds and rocket fire from roving gunship helicopters?'

The Amestrian reporter glared at the Xirnium reporter, rage gripping her face. "They are defending our Embassy, its staff, and the people who have taken shelter there from attack you fucking bastard!"

Michael Stirmeg ignored the reporter's highly unprofessional outburst. He had asked for General al-Ghazi's opinion, since it was, after all, the Kahanistanian General's press conference, not the Amestrian journalist's views.

'Mr al-Ghazi?'

The Amestrian reporter continued her tirade. "Publicly demonstrating crowds?! Are you stupid, they are firing AK-47's into our Embassy and are trying to storm it and kill those currently taking shelter inside it! They tried to ram a fucking tank into it!"

She looked as if she wanted to leap at Stirmeg and tear his eyes out.

“What, no questions about all the innocent Amestrian expatriates killed?!

"I would say it is proof of the unspeakable barbarity and hypocrisy of the State of Amestria. Notice that the Kahanistan police are also indiscriminately firing ordnance into the crowds, but theirs is non-lethal. The murderous Amestrians, however, fire millions of live rounds into demonstrators and any civilians caught in the middle. That so-called liberal democracy no longer needs deny the atrocious crimes in Torontia when they openly commit massacres in a nation that calls them an ally."

"Speaking of hypocrisy, I personally find their opposition to my candidacy for President quite amusing, given that they themselves are about to elect a known pervert and sociopathic child-rapist to their own highest office. I hate to sling mud here, but it is the truth. The Amestrians talk big about my alleged mental instability and they want to vote in a known child molester as President. It makes me sick."

The Xirniumite journalist frowned at the hysterical Amestrian. 'Calm down, please, you're making a scene,' he asked gently. 'I'm trying to hear the General's answer.'

The Xirniumite journalist frowned at the hysterical Amestrian. 'Calm down, please, you're making a scene,' he asked gently. 'I'm trying to hear the General's answer.'

"No Xirnium condemnation of the riots! Your fucking country just does not care! What about the Kahanistan women who was killed because she was pregnant and the father was Amestrian. No, you use this opportunity to fling mud upon my COUNTRY, MY STATE for doing its duty and defending its people! You bastard!"

'Just relax,' the Xirniumite said clearly, his brow furrowed as he regarded the frenzied woman critically. 'I'm an impartial journalist, I don't make condemnations. I'm merely trying to interview this individual, as is everyone else here. Please just leave me alone so I can do my work.' By now most of the gathered press were looking at the bizarre spectacle of the crazed Amestrian journalist screaming inexplicably at Mr Stirmeg.

The Xirniumite turned away, embarrassed at the Amestrian's hysterical conduct.

"The helicopters are not roving, they are defending our Embassy! And you are not impartial so do not pretend to be."

She turned back to the General.

“It is well known that you call the current President the defeatist in chief, yet is it not true that it was his surrender that saved Kahanistan from total destruction?”

"At the time of the surrender, Kahanistan had 1.5 million troops and 10 million armed civilians, facing 800,000 Sentinels. Had Mr. al-Za'if allowed us to fight, we would have been able to easily encircle and defeat the Sentinels, similar to the Battle of Stalingrad 60 years ago."

"Mr. al-Za'if did no more than save the lives of 800,000 sons of Shaitan from their rightful fates of being doomed to the fires of Hell, far from the love of Allah. Had the Freekish forces been defeated there, Kahanistan would be a world power, and Kraven would probably be a democracy by now."

"Is it not true that at that point over 300 million Kahanistanian civilians had died?"

‘General al-Ghazi,' began the Xirniumite reporter, 'you and your supporters have made the frequent assertion that Kahanistan has become “Amestria’s puppet”. Presumably you refer to the claim, widely reported in the Kahanistanian media, that the Kahanistanian military was made to follow Amestrian orders to execute captured insurgents without trial. Could you elaborate on your stance regarding this matter, and tell us if you believe that Kahanistan really has become a puppet of the Amestrian military?’

"Yes, two to three hundred million had died, out of over a billion. After the Freeks were defeated, the seven or so hundred million refugees would have flocked back, much as they did when the Freeks left. Our troops were too disorganized until near the end to offer resistance at the level that Kraven has, despite our defense budget at the time being larger than that of Kraven. But at Najaster our troops could have easily fought the Sentinels close-in, and defeated them and put Azrael's head in the Museum of War in Najaster."

He turned to the Xirniumite. "The Kahanistan military in Torontia spat on everything that Kahanistan has stood for for centuries, rather than risk an incident with Amestria, and now both nations are paying for it in... what was the term Kraven used? The blood of their innocents. They did this because Kahanistan's cowardly leaders did not want to jeopardize the aid that flows in from Amestria and lines the pockets of the Supreme Soviet."

"We are not so much a puppet of the Amestrian military as we are one of their government. The Amestrian military, like that of Kahanistan, is controlled by their respective government, if I remember correctly. Kahanistan is not completely under Amestrian control yet, if they were, they would have used the same indiscriminate lethal force tactics against the rioters that the Amestrians are using, but while in Torontia Kahanistan refusal to accept the edicts of the Amestrian occupiers would have triggered an international incident, in Kahanistan the Amestrians' actions speak for themselves."

"Is it not true that the rest of the Kahanistan Military Command disagreed with you, which is why they backed the President?"

OOC: this reminds me Kahanistan I've just realised I'm neglecting my promise to help you rebuild do you have a reconstrcution thread hanging around somewhere?

"And the Amestrians and the Xirnimites are really going at each other, once again the tensions between these two nations have reached the point of war, fortunatly this war is verbal, but it does leave this reporter to ask whether this verbal war will remain such," Turning away from the Camera and looking outtowards the General "now General, since you mentioned Kraven, what is your opinion of the current conduct of the war against them?" Janet Lisont posed, they had been more than content to film this entire thing, it would be going out later on NNN the Novacom News Network (abbreviation is pronounced in Novan accent as Deeyen) she was well known for her provacative commentaries, and this time would be no different.

She had been accompanied by one General Kitas, he apparantly was trying to get a meeting with the Kahanistanian and had volounteered to lead her escort, she wasn't regretting a second of it, they had had an animated conversation earlier, and she was quite enjoying the General's mounting ire at the squabbling pair, everywhere he went there were squabbling Amestrians, Xirnimite and Kahanistanians, I do wonder when he'll flip his lid, last time it was apparantly spectacular, if there was one thing she loved, it was adding personality to the news, and this piece of news had enough personality to kill someone.

(OOC: Not as such, but Amestria's already taken over, and the trillions of Novons were put to good use, too. Kahanistan now has a warfleet in ViZion that's going to do battle with Doomingsland, so I'm really broadening my horizons.)

"The Military Command was not consulted, only I was, and only because I approached the President. Even generals I counted as loyal had left before what was to be the final battle, but a few in the General Staff supported me and still do. The President said that if AMF didn't accept his surrender, I would then have free rein to deal with them any way I saw fit. I agreed, confident that AMF would break the surrender agreement and attack, but they didn't."

He turned to the Novan. "You asked me about Kraven. I personally feel the Kahanistan forces are doing an overall good job, they don't have any Amestrians that I know of, so they won't be committing any abuses there. I would like to personally state, right here, that any atrocities that take place in Kraven are the work of Automagfreek and not of the Democratic Soviet Republic of Kahanistan."

"Would you then say that the Presidents actions saved millions more of your fellow countrymen?”

"Unlikely, possibly five to six hundred thousand, at most. We had a better idea of what the Sentinels were capable of than we did earlier in the war, we had the best equipment in Kahanistan defending the capital, and enough supplies to last for years. The President probably saved more Sentinels than Kahanistan people. Anyone who didn't want to fight had either already been killed or fled. I think we could have won with fewer than 40,000 casualties."

"Is it not true the capital was surrounded and that the Freeks had air and naval supremacy? Is it not true AMF could simply have shipped in additional forces?"

"And what then General? What would you have done when Freekish reinforcements arrived? I do not doubt your Prowess but sheer weight of numbers that Kahanistan cannot match are possessed by Automagfreek," Janet smiled blandly, the seething general beside her gulping back water from a canteen, his face beet red. This will be entertaining, Janet was going to look forward to doing as much digging as possible, and she wouldn't be satisfied until she found a disembodied head, or worse...

‘General al-Ghazi,’ began the Xirniumite reporter smoothly, ‘you made quite a commotion recently when you announced your intention to run for the Presidency as a fascist. Many analysts have noted the irony that a Presidential candidate in a Soviet state would subscribe to Fascism, an ideology which is fundamentally and often violently opposed to Communism and other left-wing ideologies.

What are your economic and political objectives should you be elected? Do you intend to restructure the Kahanistanian economic system or dismantle any of the mechanisms of the Soviet Socialist state? Do you intend to implement any Nationalistic or Militaristic policies?

Why do you call yourself a fascist?’

"This is the first I heard of them having air supremacy, and we had about 200 MiG-29's remaining at the time. Possibly they could ship in more troops, but after losing one battle with Kahanistan, would they not want to cut their losses, possibly develop a respect for us as the Silver Sky and other nations have, and negotiate a peace settlement after realizing that Kahanistan wasn't going to surrender until the last soldier was dead?"

"The Fascist Party in Kahanistan has been around for years. I do intend to lessen the importance of Socialism, but that economic system is enshrined in our Constitution, and there is no way that 90% of the Supreme Soviet would vote to amend the Constitution against it."

"Yes, I do intend to make the Kahanistan Military more powerful, and I am indeed a nationalist, I believe that our military defeats in recent conflicts are a slur on our international reputation. I intend to strengthen our military to 20 million, and construct 40 Super Dreadnaughts, based on the class of warship we have already launched, but not yet commissioned."

"But, while political freedoms may be restricted somewhat, I have no intention of interfering with the personal lives of the people. This is not the Kraven Corporation, and I have no intention of building death camps, contrary to the propaganda about me. My government would be similar to that of Roach-Busters or Parthia, without the monarchy or personality cults."

"Was it not their goal to kill everyone in Kahanistan unless you surrendered? Kraven has put up far greater resistance and yet AMF is not developing respect for them or asking for peace..."

A man wearing a black suit, a white shirt, a black tie and black shoes,he was sat near the back of the room, almost in the shadows, watching with interest, he wore a black pair of shades and his hair was slicked back...

This was very interesting, to his left was a black breifcase he sat holding his hands together, very calm... cool and collected...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v399/HorusGodEmperor/00001.jpg

"As for Kraven, their warriors are robots. They are machines, they are as human as Shoobans or the Fallen. They deserve no respect, no humane consideration, just total extermination. The Kraven people must be saved from these abominations to Allah, as well as the Sentinels who murder civilians without regard for any human considerations. Their maker Shaitan will deal with them in Hell, as I said to Dreadfire before they attacked us."

"How do you support your ludicrously huge navy and armed forces, and how to intend to afford to build more superdreadnoughts than the combined superdreadnought fleet of Praetonia and Sarzonia, both widely respected naval powers with a combined GDP some six times your own? Do you not think that you will be forced to scale back these developments when the economic reality becomes apparent, and do you not think that in the meantime the amount of tax your citizens will have to endure will be almsot unbearable?"

"What are your Thoughts and Plans for when you Get into Power.... If... you get into power..." The Man's voice was slow and purposefull, his voice oosed calm and authoritory...

"And..." he paused adjusting his sunglasses...

"What are your Plans for The Kraven Homeland after Their Defeat at the hands of Automagfreek... If.. They are defeated.."

"The Republic Guard Air Force will take some cuts, and the Navy will become the premier armed force of Kahanistan. Also, the Government of Kahanistan needs not to spend so much on social equality. Laws to ensure the treatment of citizens is equal without regard to race, gender, or religion should suffice, especially since these ideals are already ingrained into our national culture. Why spend half on it as what we spend on defense? Perhaps you should write our ambassador about discussing an alliance?"

"We have no illusions about showing up on Damien Dreadfire's doorstep with his one-way ticket to Hell the day I am elected. These warships will be constructed throughout my Presidency."

He turned to the other man. "Kraven will become a democracy, but AMF needs to be stopped first. Dreadfire needs to be shown in no uncertain terms that Kahanistan will not allow him to commit the atrocities against the Kraven PEOPLE that he did to Kahanistan. If Kraven is defeated, Kahanistan will first ask Dreadfire to withdraw and allow us to set up elections in Kraven, if he refuses, then Kahanistan's new mighty super dreadnaught fleet and nuclear arsenal will... present him a better offer."

'You mentioned your desire to curtail political freedoms in Kahanistan, to have the Kahanistan government become, as you put it, "similar to that of Roach-Busters or Parthia".

How do you reconcile this with your self-declared mandate to bring democracy to foreign nations by force of arms?'

The Man Continued... "What if Automagfreek has other plans for the Home land that does not involve you, Will you throw your nation into a Second War with Automagfreek, that Could potentially Annihilate you... Once and For All?" His voice just as cool as before, never once becoming frantic or stuttering, his words flowed perfectly...

"Do you plan to Visit the Notorius Camp 18?"

"And How about Northern Cydonia, do you plan to Visit these areas as well?"

"I dont see how your nation can possible cope with this spending. Our economists have looked over your plans and they make no sense whatsoever. The money just isnt there, ignoring concerns such as social equality which is, we agree, not necessary for the functioning of a society and is in many cases undesireable. The fact remains that these dreadnoughts alone would cost about 2% of your GDP each year just to maintain."

"It is not so much that I have a desire to curtail political freedoms, but you have seen what unlimited freedom to assemble does, thousands of innocent Kahanistanians and Amestrians are dead or injured, our police and those of Amestria are fighting our civilians, and our nation is in chaos. In such times a strong leader is required."

"Kahanistan has never sought to impose democracy, merely a modicum of human rights. When we went into Xirnium, for example, we had no intention or expectation of Xirnium becoming a democracy, we merely wanted to stop the sales of slaves for nuclear weapons to an unstable regime. When we went to Jenrak, we wanted to stop the government from profiting from a gold mine they had slaughtered an entire city for. In Kraven our original intention was to stop expansionism, but that eventually grew to a desire to see certain basic rights protected that were violated by the Civil Law doctrines. Our attempts to bring democracy were started by communist weasels like Margaret Delray, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Mohammed bin Yusuf al-Za'if, the Coward-Liar-Secretary-Porker-in-Chief."

"The people of Kahanistan will still elect their President and legislators, I would be a president, not a Kaiser, Shah, or whatever J.L. is calling himself these days. I would still be voted out of office. But during my tenure, the people won't be assembling in positions where they can wreak havoc on our nation."

He turned to the other man. "I will admit that I have a personal hatred for Automagfreek. My country was nearly razed to the ground by those barbarians, and I hope to garner some allies who will help. Perhaps if I promise the Parthians and Roach-Busterians some more land, they will join me. As for Camp 18 and Northern Cydonia, I will see what I can do there."

General al-Ghazi looked at the Praetonian like he was a worm. "Your economists do not have an accurate grasp of the situation. I think 2% of the GDP is more than affordable, given that our economy was recently rated as 'Frightening' and we already spend more than twelve trillion USD on defense. I think we can build forty superdreadnaughts in my first six-year term."

[OOC: Kahanistan, is Mohammed bin Yusuf al-Za'if running again against al-Ghazi?]

A man in the second row of seats raised his hand. He wore traditional Persian garb, and he was a representative of the Sultanate of Whyatica.

"General, as you most likely know, Kahanistan is becoming overcrowded," the man said. Indeed, Kahanistan had over a billion people in slightly more than 33,000 square kilometers.

"Sooner or later Kahanistan will be filled to the absolute brim. What do you plan to do, if this happens during your term?"

(Yes, he'll run again, but his reputation was damaged by the cooperation with Amestria in Torontia. There will be several other candidates, too.)

The General smiled, the first show of genuinely loosening up he had shown all day. "Certainly you have not missed the fact that this press conference is being held on the 77th floor of a skyscraper? Or that most of these apartment buildings are over 130 stories, with some over 150 stories tall?"

"Each of these apartment buildings can hold, off the top of my head 100,000 people, probably more, and at one hundred of them per square kilometer, we can easily have a population density of over 10 million per square kilometer... so a city like Najaster, with its population of 250 million, could easily swell to 400 to 500 million before overcrowding becomes a problem. We've built several new cities after the Freekish invasion, with the Novan aid, of course, the Amestrian 'aid' going to greedy and corrupt Senators whose policies are favorable to Central."

"We have eight major cities now, and probably fifty or sixty isolated settlements, I think we can handle three to four billion people before we have to start worrying about land. Besides, once my navy is completed, we can establish colonies on Freekish soil."

"So you intend to declare war on Automagfreek if you are elected President?" the reporter asked.

"Don't you remember what happened to your people the last time you fought a war with Automagfreek? I doubt Mr. Dreadfire would allow you to surrender the second time around.."

"Oh, and what would you policy on foreign affairs be, if elected, in regards to your allies, and new possible allies?"


[OOC: Are you going to hold any press conferences with the other candidates, Kahanistan, because I like this idea]

(Wasn't planning on it, but I might. Also, in case you haven't figured it out yet, General al-Ghazi is a lunatic.)

"First, I'll try to re-establish relations with Doomingsland, the idiots in the Supreme Soviet decided to pick a fight with them over ViZion. Then, I'll cut off relations with Amestria, and probably the Adamantine Alliance, they're supposed to be our allies and hung us out to dry when the Freeks invaded. The Amestrians are no better, they were so eager to give us aid to rebuild and consider an alliance, but where was that aid when our people were being stuck on stakes throughout the countryside? Where was Amestria then? Where were our AA allies, Xirnium, and St. Fedski, then?"

"Kahanistan needs new allies, those who won't run away like scared poodles before our enemies. Powerful allies like Roach-Busters."

The Man in the suit called over a Soldier, Handed him a note expressing the wish to talk to the General in private after the Conference, then sent the young solider off with the note with the intention of Informing the General...

as for now, The man simply waited for the Conference to finish...

"Yes, two to three hundred million had died, out of over a billion. After the Freeks were defeated, the seven or so hundred million refugees would have flocked back, much as they did when the Freeks left. Our troops were too disorganized until near the end to offer resistance at the level that Kraven has, despite our defense budget at the time being larger than that of Kraven. But at Najaster our troops could have easily fought the Sentinels close-in, and defeated them and put Azrael's head in the Museum of War in Najaster."


Interesting spin on what took place, but allow me to correct you.

Your forces were obliterated in near record time. Your navy, air force, and army were pounded mercilessly and pushed back to your final holdout in Najaster. But even then the lessons of Al-Bahr eluded you. We did not enter that city, but instead razed it to the ground almost entirely.

You say you would have survived Azrael's final onslaught? Somehow I doubt that, as you would have been shelled and air-fuel bombed into oblivion. The fact of the matter is this my good man, you were beaten and beaten badly. After the arrogance and belligerence of the Kahanistani government vanished, your surrender was promptly drafted and accepted b the good graces of Lord Dreadfire.

Besides, once my navy is completed, we can establish colonies on Freekish soil.

Be careful what you say my good man, it would be unwise to break your surrender treaty.

If Kraven is defeated, Kahanistan will first ask Dreadfire to withdraw and allow us to set up elections in Kraven, if he refuses, then Kahanistan's new mighty super dreadnaught fleet and nuclear arsenal will... present him a better offer.

Negative, the AMF government has plans for Kraven territory once our forces emerge victorious. Granted, there are likely other Kraven elements across the globe that will take up the roles of Kravonika once its in our hands, but we are not concerned. Our agenda against Kraven goes beyond the siege of Kravonika, and we will make that clear in the years to come.

As far as you go....I would make my words soft and sweet if I were you, in case you have to eat them later. You are testing our patience with your arrogance and open threats against our Empire. If it indeed another war you want, we will be more than happy to oblige.

http://www.sideshowtoy.com/images/gold/thumb/3401.gif
Minister Hartman
-Minister of Foreign Affairs-

(This guy doesn't have the authority to declare war. In fact, he's pretty soon to be fired as a General. He has the support of maybe 10% of the voters. And if I didn't beat it into the ground enough, the good General is NUTS.)

A Kahanistan soldier arrived at the conference. "Sorry to interrupt, General, but this is important, from the President himself." He handed the General a letter.

General of the Imperial Marines, Abdullah Hassan al-Ghazi,

I am writing to request your resignation from the Imperial Marines. You have proven a threat internationally by your handling of the AMF conflict, the Psyker Bearzerkers conflict, and now the riots that are killing thousands.

Should you resign, you can avoid a humiliating trial that will harm your chances for presidential election. If not, I can't say the people will be impressed with the court-martial's spin on things. You could be charged with dereliction of duty for doing nothing to prevent the Freekish invasions, and possibly even for inciting rioters to attack Amestrians.

Signed,
President Mohammed bin Yusuf al-Za'if

[OOC: I think the national adjective is Kahanistanian. See his factbook if you don't believe me.]

"Do you have any plans for your government to rewrite the constitution?" asked a Southeast Asian reporter, "say, for example, recognizing Islam as the national and official religion of the Democratic Soviet Republic? Do you plan on changing your nation's official prefix?"

"No," said al-Ghazi. "I might try to change the prefix, but a religion that is only followed by 10% of the people could not be successfully implemented in a nation that has been secular for decades, and contrary to popular belief, the Qu'ran states that there is to be no compulsion in religion... I can't force people to convert. Some people think I'm a religious extremist, I'm not. I pray toward Mecca five times a day, abstain from pig products and alcohol, and talk about Allah a lot, and that's it. I may indeed drop the 'Democratic Soviet' label, and go to 'Republic of Kahanistan' possibly, but I can't see this becoming a religious state with so many other religious groups that outnumber us."

"The Supreme Soviet won't allow me to do half of what I'd like to do, I'd be surprised if they allocated the funding for 20 Super Dreadnaughts, but I'm stating what I'd like to do as President."

(This guy doesn't have the authority to declare war. In fact, he's pretty soon to be fired as a General. He has the support of maybe 10% of the voters. And if I didn't beat it into the ground enough, the good General is NUTS.)


OOC: I know.

Irritatingly, the King's Councillor did not relent. Smiling condescendingly at the man he said, "Quite so, General. The problem you encounter is, in my humble opinion and that of His Majesty's Advisorary Council, that spending 2% of the yearly economic produce of your entire nation on just one element of one branch of your services. When this is scaled up to cover your entire military and not just the upkeep costs of a tiny proportion of your navy, you get ludicrous figures pushing 50% of GDP or higher. This is not in any way sustainable. What would you say to allegations that this silly state of affairs will have you pushed into a head-long military retreat as your economy retreats on it's own?"

General al-Ghazi was growing irritated by the Praetonian. "You should forward those questions to the Ministry of Finance, I don't have an economics degree. The Supreme Soviet will allocate the funding for as many Super Dreadnaughts as it feels can be maintained adequately. There is a reason we have a president and not a king, and you have just stepped on it."

He nodded to a girl standing behind him, handing her the President's letter and the letter given him by the soldier. She was evidently the General's secretary, but she wasn't dressed in anything military-looking, a midriff-baring top and short skirt. "I want replies to these drafted and on my desk when the press conference ends."

"If maintenance becomes a problem, we have access to cheap labor markets. If we can ally with Roach-Busters, we would be able to import billions of Shoobans to train for maintenance work. We might even develop our own Shooban breeding program, based on the Kraven Capitol Police birthing program, which involves accelerated growth."

"With our factories run by either computers or Shoobans, and Shoobans performing all the menial labor and maintenance and other drudgery, we will be free to commit even larger numbers to the military."

The Amestrian reporter again stood up. "You are aware of Roach-Busters human rights record?"

"Yes, their civil rights is rated as, I think, 'Below Average.'" (Note: I'm referencing Magdha's stats for these purposes.) "From what I gather, they haven't committed any serious human rights abuses, and the practice of putting communists into obscenely underequipped wastelands called 'homelands' was ceased some time ago."

The General leaned back in his chair. "They are making improvements. I do have issues with the Generalissimo making his nation a monarchy, risking the possibility that some blithering moron with a 51-card deck will inherit control of the nation simply because of his ancestry, but no nation is perfect."

"When compared to the human rights record of Amestria, a country you have condemned?"

"It is not Amestria's internal policy that I take issue with, it is their external policy. They shoot prisoners without trial, they indiscriminately fire lethal ordnance onto rioters, knowing there were civilians in the area, and they involve us in their war crimes."

"Are not the rioters knowingly engaged in violent and illegal activity?"

"Yes, they are, they have killed thousands of innocent people. But that's what our riot police are trying to stop, they are using tear gas and smoke bombs to try to break up the demonstrators and arrest the violent criminals among them. This is not Torontia, you cannot set up death lines here and shoot anyone who steps over and not have the international community call you out on it."

"And your military fires machine guns from helicopters not only onto our rioters, but also on civilians in the area and even our riot police. Tell me, how do you handle demonstrators in Amestria? How do you handle riots when the rioters are Amestrians? Do you use the same militant tactics at home that we have seen in Torontia and Kahanistan?"

"As it is illegal in Amestria for civilians to own any form of firearm, lethal force seldom has to be deployed by the authorities in the unfortunate event of public unrest."

"What do you do when you are forced to use lethal force, say, a bunch of students are throwing Molotov cocktails and dynamite at police barricades? Do you aim at the ones attacking you, or do you shoot indiscriminately into the crowd, like you did here in Kahanistan?"

"Possession of dynamite by non-licensed individuals is also illegal and strictly regulated, so I fail to see how it could become available to 'students' to throw at police. As for Molotov cocktails, those are not deadly enough weapons to warrant lethal force. The rioters sir, where firing automatic weapons, military grade automatic weapons, into our Embassy and tried to ram it with a tank."

"Is possession of crack cocaine illegal in Amestria? How many of your people there smoke it? Even if something is illegal, if there is a demand for it, people will get it. You are evading the original question." The General looked smug, thinking he had backed the Amestrian into a corner.

"A crowd of angry Amestrians are mobbing a police barricade. They have Molotov cocktails, dynamite, smuggled handguns, possibly crude homemede flamethrowers. They're shooting at you and bombing you. There are about a thousand unarmed demonstrators behind them. What do your police and military do?"

"Cocaine is legal in Amestria, be it tightly regulated and propagandized against... As for your hypothetical, it is meaningless. The Amestrian helicopters were not deployed against a few rioters with improvised weapons, they were deployed against an organized hostile force armed with military grade equipment."

"And for every armed rioter, there were probably ten who were either unarmed or innocent bystanders in the area!" General al-Ghazi roared, veins on his neck looking like they were going to burst as his calm demeanor vanished.

"We can use riot gas indiscriminately, it doesn't kill anyone and the effects vanish in minutes. Our soldiers only use lethal force if we can aim at a specific threat or there are no civilians in the area. Nobody seriously criticized our human rights situation or our military rules of engagement until we cooperated with the Amestrians, or more accurately, the Amestrian aid packages started greasing the palms of the Supreme Soviet and dragging them along for the ride."

"You are aware that the aid given by Amestria to Kahanistan was managed by the Amestrian Ministry of Finance, which was put in charge of its allocation to prevent its use for patronage or political effect? All records on the matter are public and open to third party auditing. If you feel the Amestrian aid has been used for corrupt purposes why do you not call for a third party audit?"

"And the Ministry of Finance was in the perfect position to pay off officials without our intelligence or our Ministry of Finance knowing about it, so they wouldn't criticize Amestrian policy!"

General al-Ghazi calmed down slightly. "I will call for a third-party audit. Someone who has nothing against either of our nations..." He seemed to be thinking. Most of the world's probably formed an opinion on this whole mess.

"Do you have any proof to back up your claims that Amestrian aid was used to bribe or illegally influence Kahanistanian Politicians?"

"What proof would there be? The Supreme Soviet did not speak out about Amestrian war crimes, and they normally can't wait to pounce on a war criminal. They knew about the war crimes and they did nothing. Could there be a reason OTHER than the fact that they were bribed by the Amestrians to the tune of billions of Gold Hobbes to cover up the actions of their Totenkopf?"

The Council was enjoying the irriation he was causing the General. It wasnt technically his job to annoy foreign dignatries, but since Praetonia had no relations with Kahanistan and very little interest in ever establishing them with a neo-Fascist "General", he pressed on, "If my sources are correct - and I daresay they are - Shoobans can barely read, let alone maintain complex electronic systems. Your silly militarism will doubtless go the same way as that of Roach-Busters, with an unwieldably large military that has poor technology and little understanding of tactics. The fact that your military is attempting to become even bigger and more unwieldy than theirs on a far smaller budget seems to confirm your assertions that you do not understand economics.

"Now, moving on," the Councillor flicked through the pages on his notepad, causing the tassels on his unnecessarily complex uniform (http://www.morrismilitaria.com/images/uniform_lg.jpg) to flap from side to side, "What is your opinion of the Democratic Imperium of Praetonia and Her Government?" Perhaps, he thought to himself, he should have asked this one first.

General al-Ghazi looked at the Praetonian, his expression changing from one of irritation to one of interest. Then he smiled.

"You are an enemy of Automagfreek, are you not? Any enemy of AMF is a friend of mine. Perhaps your naval advisors could assist us in organizing and reforming our navy, we are soon to commission a new class of warship specifically designed to be superior to a Gholgoth super dreadnaught."

"By the way, our defense budget is larger than yours, but if you wish to advise us on naval and military organization, we could use such advice. We may have more resources to work with, but I would accept whatever assistance you cared to offer."

(While I have no intention of this maniac winning the election, links to threads on NS economics might be useful.)

[OOC: Im not sure if anyone has written such a thread. It isnt so much NS-specific economics, but just economics in general. A military budget of around 15% + as percentage of GDP starts to make your nation's economy suffer in a majorly noticeable way, because you lose not only manpower from economically productive sectors, but you also spend more of your now lower production. North Korea, for example, spends 50% of its budget on defence, but it's a tinpot little dictatorship with practically no industrial base save that that it's given by Russia and China and the entire country is basically fed by US food aid.

Your current military budget (if you use thirdgeek tax and spending rates) is ~26% of your GDP which is possible and may even be fairly realistic based on your recent experiences, but if you ever end up with a government not full of militaristic nutters who dont understand economics you should think about toning it down. As an aside, your military budget isnt bigger than mine - I only use Thirdgeek to calculate stuff that my Government has no direct control over, like GDP and GDP per Capita. The current Liberal-Tory Party policy is for 12.5% percentage defence spending as proportion of GDP, which = around $20tn.]

"I shall relay your concerns. Your alliances with nations like Roach-Busters and Doomingsland concern us, and we certainly would not like our equipment, military expertise and operating proceedures to fall into their hands. We are ourselves building a new class of superdreadnoughts - the Centurion Class. We have considerable experience in this field. Perhaps you will buy some?" He said, vaguely.

"I have no such alliances yet, I have not been elected. As for the Centurion-class warship, I am myself rather nationalistic about weaponry, but perhaps the Supreme Soviet will see fit to tide us over until we can get a working fleet."

"In fact, we are currently at war with Doomingsland over ViZion, as you know. And you may be aware of MassPwnage's recent attack on our homeland. Were I in power, we would be on the other side. As you know, I have rarely seen eye-to-eye with the Supreme Soviet or the President, who has asked me to resign, my secretary is currently drafting a response."

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v734/hobbeeb/Interplanet.jpg



From The Hobbeebian Ministry of Interplanetray Affiars

To: Kahanistan

How are these riots affecting any of your current military actions?

(Eh, what the hell.)

DEMOCRATIC SOVIET REPUBLIC OF KAHANISTAN
Ministry of Foreign Affairs

To: The Hobbeebian Ministry of Interplanetary Affairs

The rioters are beginning to disperse. We have arrested over 100,000 rioters on charges ranging from assault, petty vandalism and theft to arson, rape, and murder. More than 20,000 rioters and five to seven thousand bystanders have been killed or wounded by our Amestrian allies, and roughly 20,000 Kahanistan police and soldiers are dead or injured. Civilian casualties are unknown, but over 300,000.

We have no intention of suspending planned military actions over these riots. Over a million reservists have been called to action. Many of them will be permanently activated to replace military casualties sustained in the riots.

Far from weakening relations with Amestria as the demonstraters hoped, Kahanistan and Amestria will likely cooperate more closely in the future, they are joining us in our war in ViZion.

I must impress upon your nation that the former General, Abdullah Hassan al-Ghazi, does not represent the Kahanistan people. He is a right-wing ideologue, a warmonger, and in my opinion little more than a glorified thug. The polls show about 10% support for his presidential candidacy, which is the Fascist Party's strongest showing ever, but he has no chance of winning the election. He has a severely distorted view of reality, and in fact is rumored to be quite insane.

Signed,
Margaret Delray,
Minister of Foreign Affairs

[OOC: Kahanistan, is this still going on?]

"What is your personal opinion of the United Sovereign Nations of Southeast Asia and it's leadership? What is the majority of the Kahanistanian public's opinion of us?" the Channel News Asia correspondent asked.

"The mainstream Kahanistan position toward Southeast Asia is fairly neutral. As for me... I know so little of your nation, but I have no problem with it as of yet."