NationStates Jolt Archive

Georgetown was a lovely city in the spring, when the cherry blossoms were in bloom. But it was still early March, still winter in the capital of The Beltway, and that meant anything from temperatures above 70 degrees Fahrenheit to full-blown snow storms. As Foreign Minister Mark Warner walked into the Oval Office to brief Prime Minister Timothy Kaine on the impending peace conference with Gilabad, he noticed that it had stopped flurrying. Well, his kids would be upset, but at least Warner would be able to drive home without any problems...

"Prime Minister, in our minds we won, and in their minds, they won. After all, we see it as us having forced them to sue for peace, while they see it as them having gotten out of a war that they probably, in retrospect, didn't really want. Their commander probably ended up acting impetuously and against orders in attacking our base, though why they didn't immediately repudiate his actions..." Warner said, trailing off, then continued, "What we need to do is come to some sort of arrangement to ensure that we don't go to war again, and to make sure that it looks like we won something from the war-"

"You need to make sure it looks like we won something, not me," Kaine interjected. "I'm leaving office, remember?"

Warner replied, "It's necessary so that the Democratic Party" - this said with emphasis - "wins in November. Further, it's necessary to cap off your legacy."

"I suppose so," Kaine demured, then, on a thought, asked, "How much money is left over from the donations we received?"

"Let me check," Warner said, then checked his Palm Pilot. He found the e-mail from Defence Minister Cardin, and then replied, reading off the Palm Pilot, "Six hundred twenty-five billion, three hundred twenty-four million, six hundred forty-five thousand United States Dollars. But why do you ask?"

"How big an island do you think that could buy us?" Kaine answered with a slight smirk...

On the tarmac, Capital North R.A.B., outside of Duntovostok, ChevyRocks

It had to snow today, of all days. It had been abnormally warm for the previous week, but today a late-winter storm had come in and dumped a foot of snow, and it was still falling. All over the base, Oshkosh runway-clearing trucks were racing around, trying to keep the runways clear.

The snow had started to trail off finally. From the black limo, President Ragnar Johanson could see the B-60E bombers, neatly placed at the flight line. More scattered around the field were C-130J transports. As usual, the press had also followed the President, they had special passes for the occasion. Because of this, he could see men in the distance frantically throwing tarps over a plane, racing to get it in a hanger. He spoke up, “Say General, what's the deal with that plane?”

CCRAF General Robert Clayton responded, “Well sir, that would be our XF-52 fighter prototype, and at the moment we'd rather the press not try and find out anything about it.”

After a few minutes of driving across the almost endless service roads and taxiways, the limo started to slow. They had reached the President's plane, a shiny new Boeing 777 Worldliner, with various special modifications for VIP transport, and with a natural metal finish like the planes of old. The President's guards opened the door and led him to the steps leading up to his plane. Before he boarded, the Vice President asked, “So do you really think this Gilabad conflict is over?”

“Well Joe, you know nothing is for sure. It's certainly possible they could try and start the battle again. But what would that really accomplish? Their government executed thousands of people. And in the battle that resulted, thousands more died on both sides. Of course the equipment can be replaced, but the lives of those who died aren't replaced as easily.”

“We were lucky that our loses were as low as they were. Obviously losing any men or equipment is never good, but think of what could have happened if there was a total war. Gilabad is a pretty huge country, and there's a lot of people there. Had us and our allies invaded, the losses would have been catastrophic. Hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions dead. Now it’s true, a lot of people died that didn’t have to. But something like that should be avoided at all costs.”

“Now what we’ve got to do, is decide on how to clean up this mess, and what lessons we can learn from it.”

The President and his guards boarded the plane, and shut the door. The stairway was towed away, the two huge GE90 engines spooled up, and the 777 started rolling. On nearby runways, four similarly new F-50B Spectre fighters fitted with multiple ferry tanks were preparing to escort the President’s plane to Georgetown in The Beltway. It wasn’t likely that they’d need to be used, but it was a standard procedure, just in case.

The President of Hamilay looked out of the window of the Presidential C-130 at the three MiG-29s flying beside them to Georgetown. These peace discussions left a sour taste in his mouth. Gilabad attacks a Beltway humanitarian aid mission, resulting in thousands of casualties, and the international community is just going to let this go? A defeat of Gilabad would have come eventually, with the backing of so many large nations behind them. Why have we decided to abandon the Gilabadian people to the regime of this warlord? Perhaps it was for the best. The President had seen picture of the early days of Hamilay, of civilians killed by suicide bombers, of burning cities and riots. An invasion would have caused the deaths of millions. But it was still the right thing to do. He watched the guards restlessly patrolling the length of the aircraft. The Hamilayan people and military were all eager to go to war, to experience in a noble endeavor for the cause of liberty and democracy. Even the few who had seen some conflict wanted to head off to their deaths to Gilabad, and he could tell they were disappointed. Not him. He knew better. Yes, perhaps this was for the best. No Hamilayan soldiers were dead on some foreign battlefield. His country had emerged unscathed.
But it was still the right thing to do, said the small voice in his head.
He dismissed such thoughts from his mind and clicked open his laptop for the long flight to Georgetown.

Prime Minister Daniel Lawson knew that it should be him who goes to Georgetown, not McConnel. But he also knew that that arraignment would require some lobbying on his part. After a long, two hour meeting with McConnel, he had his ticket to Georgetown in hand.

It was grey and dreary when Air Force 2 wheeled out onto the third runway of the Citadel. It would be a long, 14 hour flight, but the jet was well equipped with fuel, and the PM brought along many books. As the plane lifted off, he opened up Transfer of Power and started reading.

Seven hours later, the Prime Minister took a look at the letter McConnel had faxed to him. It read:

Dear Daniel Lawson

This war started because of Gilabad's violations of human rights. Our public will not stand for a treaty that maintains the status quo, especially after the public relations effort we put into getting support for this. Either secure some sort of guarantee to not practice genocide again or get some sort of punitive damages to the families of those killed or both. This is a reach, but if you can try and get Gilabad to open their government up to be a more democratic one that would be golden. But DO NOT under any circumstances let Axinon pay one penny to Gilabad, unless it is for the sole purpose of humanitarian aid. And do not overdo it.

May your negotiations bring about a better world, Daniel.

Respectfully, William McConnel

Lawson turned and looked out the window at the pair B-4 Suppressors escorting his plane. Each, oddly enough, was armed to the brim with Anti-Aircraft missles, for the purpose of holding off a large number of aircraft attacking Air Force Two. He turned back into his seat and fell asleep.

On approach to Reagan National Airport...

President Ragnar Johanson's 777 Worldliner extended its landing gear and flaps as it came on final approach to Reagan National Airport, in Georgetown, the capital of The Beltway. The F-50B Spectre fighter escorts banked away and circled the field as Johanson's plane came in to land.

The tires squealed as they contacted the runway, and reverse thrust was applied to the two GE90 turbofan engines. As they slowed down, the plane turned and rolled down the taxiway, and eventually came to a stop at the teminal. After the passageway docked with the plane, the plane's front door was opened, and a half-dozen Republic Marines quickly walked out, securing President Johanson's walk into the airport. After the all-clear was given, he walked down the passageway followed by his bodyguards, and various aides.

And for the Peace Conference, Johanson would be meeting up with Beltway Prime Minister Timothy Kaine, as well as represenatives from Axinon, Velkya, Kahanistan, and of course Gilabad, as soon as they arrived.

"President Johanson, welcome to Georgetown. My name is Mark Warner, and I am the Foreign Minister of The Beltway. We've put you up at a Hyatt in the city; the conference is being held at the old FBI building. Sorry, but we couldn't find a copy of your national anthem to play," the tall, graying politician shouted over the noise of the fighters overhead.

Above Warner, a squadron of reserve air corps pilots flying F-22s, that had radioed their prescence to the F-50Bs, neared the Chevrockian formation to guide them to the military runway that had been built at the airport. Once clearly in their sight, Captain Michael Zimmerman, who led the squadron, radioed to them, "ChevyRocks planes, this way to the runway." He then began a slow descent to the runway, looking back to admire the Chevrockian planes.

Air Force 2 slowly dropped out of the grey winter sky into view of Regan National Airport. It made a smooth landing, and then taxied to the terminal, and the Prime Minister and five Axinonian arcmarines disembarked. The arcmarines did not have their usual body armor and armament, indeed they were in ceremonial dress and only carried handguns and police batons in case some random psycho were to attack the PM. Prime Minister Lawson was in his best suit, and was thinking about what he would say when he met the representatives from the other nations.

"Thank you very much for the welcome, Mr. Warner," said President Johanson. "The Hyatt will be plenty adequate for our stay. It appears the Axinon delegate has arrived as well. I must ask if you have any transportation available for us, I'm afraid we don't have any of our own at the moment." He paused for a moment, "Come to think of it, I think it would be a wise move for us to set up an embassy here."

"President Johanson, we have a limo waiting for you. If you'll follow my deputy, Mr. Kostas Alexakis..." Warner replied to the Chevrockian president, pointing him in the direction of the Deputy Foreign Minister. Warner then stepped forward to extend a hand to PM Lawson of Axinon.

Alexakis, meanwhile, said, once Johanson had walked over, "Follow me, please. Is there anything you wish to learn about our nation?"

Poke...

[OOC: Is Gilabad here?]

IC: Prime Minister Lawson stepped out of his plane into the terminal at Regan National Airport. Escorting him were two Axinonian soldiers. The soldiers were unarmed, save for seven inch blades to use as a last ditch measure to protect Lawson in case all else failed. As the soldiers stood back, Lawson stepped forward to shake Foreign Minister Warner's hand. "Hello. My name is Daniel Lawson, Prime Minister of Axinon. And you are?"

Warlord Shawhabas sat in his presidential estate thinking to himself. "Did I do the right thing? Should I let these criminals walk away? Yes, it would save lives on both sides. I can't bear seeing innocent civilians, even in the enemy's capitol, blown to pieces by suicide bombers. Well, let's look at the positives. We kept them out. Their base was anhialted. That was a rather small force I used too"-all of the sudden, the special assistant to the president came bursting in. "Sir!, Ambassodor Brehmer has borded the VIP C-5. He's on his way with two F-22 escorts which will break away when he comes within 10 miles of Beltway". "God help him!"

Meanwhile, Ambassodor Brehmer was sitting in his VIP C-5. Still shivering in the snowstorm, he was eager to get his morning coffee. As he sat by the window, looking out at the snow covered runway, he thought. "OK just stay calm, everything is going to be good, as long as they comply with at least a little bit of the conditions. Just take a deep breath." Then as the plane took off, he was called into the briefing room with a live video conference with General Westmorland. "OK West, how's it goin down there?" "Well, we're cleaning up the huge crater that once was the Beltway base, but everything seems to be going good." "have you found any bodies?" "Some....pieces of them, we've got foreinsics trying to group the body parts together so that we can send them to Beltway for proper burial, if they allow it that is." (Chuckling). Anyway, we've also found relics that we put in coffins and sent them on C-5s headed for Beltway." "OK so everything's going good then?" "Oh yah..everything is just fine...I think I just threw up my breakfast because of the damn smell!"

"Mark Warner, Foreign Minister of The Beltway. A pleasure to meet you, Prime Minister Lawson," Warner replied. "Now, if you'll come with me to the limo we have waiting to take you to the Hyatt where the conference will be held..."

Gilabad, what's this about suicide bombers?

Gilabad, what's this about suicide bombers?

OOC: There was a post he had made in the war thread about Gilabadian suicide bombers preparing to travel to the countries that were against Gilabad.

The C-5 continued on with its primary passenger, Ambassador Brehmer. Finishing up his video conference, he then switched it to Warlord Shawhabas.
"Mr. President, I'm on my way to The Beltway, and I just wanted to brainstorm with you about the subjects needed to be covered. First off, if they ask us to stop getting rid of the liberals that litter our country in minorities, I plan to refuse that. Is that alright with you?" "Of course...yes that is what I would say to that as well. By the way, they might try and lure you into a debate trap...you know the slippery slope kind of arguments and stuff. Be sure to steer clear of those." "I hear you loud and clear sir! As for the conditions, I plan to have a nice clean withdrawl. I plan to make an offer like a plan for a base in Gilabad occupied by Beltway troops and a base in Beltway occupied by Gilabadian troops. The bases will probably not exceed 10,000 troops." "It sounds good to me, have a nice flight!" "Thankyou Sir!" The ambassador slumped back in his chair with a sigh of relief.

Meanwhile, the Gilabadian navy was on standby 50 miles off the coast when a blip appeared on the radar. The radar operator on the GSS Freedom immediately saw it but couldn't believe what he was seeing. "Contact Contact! Bearing 010!" Commander Tiptan immediately wheeled around to look. "Well I guess we can say that the peace process is going well. Tell command about this and prepare the cannons for firing!" All of the 20 inch. guns turned ready to fire at the enemy fleet. "Arm the CWIS immediately"-"But sir, this aircraft seems a little small for a combat aircraft!" "Damnit, its probablys stealth continue to arm the CWIS, has command heard about this?!?" "Yessir! Their preparing to fire!" All of the sudden, the radio operator burst in "SIR WAIT, ONE OF THE SUBS IS REPORTING THAT IT'S A TOURIST AIRCRAFT THAT GOT LOST!" "HOLY S***! CALL OFF THE STRIKE!" "YESSIR" To the navy's relief, the scenario ended without a shot fired.

Gilabad, I hope you don't mind my having your plane land; I want to get to the conference soon. Oh, and we will probably not accept foreign bases on our territory...

General Eric Shinseki, chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was tired, but at his age, this was to be expected. Shinseki, now 73, had served through Vietnam, Bosnia, and Afghanistan before retiring for the first time in 2003. Now,thirteen years later, he was called back into the service to lead The Beltway against Gilabad, but with the war suddenly over, he was left without a clear role. Someone in State - no, it was the Foreign Ministry, it had been the Foreign Ministry since the Collapse - had thought that it would be useful to have a general meet the delegate from Gilabad, as a sort of show of force, so, naturally, Shinseki was chosen for this role, as General Lim was now an ambassador and nobody else had yet truly shown themselves to be stand-out commanders.

"Ambassador Brehmer, welcome to our nation. My name is General Eric Shinseki; I am the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of my nation. In other words, I was in charge of planning our invasion of your nation up until a few days ago," Shinseki said, greeting the delegate from Gilabad. Shinseki did not offer his hand; after all, that would have been a sign of friendship, which was by no means the relationship between Gilabad and The Beltway.

Ambassodor Brehmer, seeing the General greeting him with a moderate gesture was enlightened by the fact that this man seemed like a good leader. He also knew that this was the enemy. He stood on the runway looking into the enemy's face for the first time. With his "Game Face" on, he returned the greeting.

"General, what an honor it is to meet you. As you know, I am here to negotiate an agreement. I hope you don't mind if I bring two bodygaurds with me. They only carry a USP 45. If you don't like that, they can only be armed with a knife. Or if you want to provide your own security, that is acceptable."

"Ambassador Brehmer, you may bring your guards; however, we will also provide our own security. It would not do for a visitor to our nation to be killed here. As such, two Secret Service agents have been tasked to help escort you," Shinseki said coldly. He then pointed Brehmer towards the waiting limo and said, "Ambassador, your car is waiting."

Seeing his limo, Ambassodor Brehmer said "Thankyou General", and proceeded into the limo. When he got in, he was cautious not to say anything for the risk of the limo being tapped. He simply slumped back in his seat and thought "This isn't going to be bad at all". When his two advisors got in, he looked at them with relief. "Well that went good!" "Yah, I was surprised they even gave us a car after what our two countries have been through!" said one of his advisors (George Kasie), leaning back in his seat. "Don't get too comfortable you two, there's a lot ahead of us. Don't get lured into anything, any part of this could be a trap".

Naturally, your limo has a driver from The Beltway. After all, how else will you know how to get to your destination?

"Nah, ambushes are more your style," the limo driver remarked.

Meanwhile, General Shinseki drove back on his own to the military headquarters at the Pentagon to resign his commission. He couldn't take the pressure any more; even with the war over, the new situation of the world was simply too much for him to bear. How did America go from the most powerful nation on the planet to just another country among apparently thousands?

Beltway, I'm confused. Are you America or are you Beltway?

Beltway, I'm confused. Are you America or are you Beltway?

OOC: As I understand it, The Beltway (nation) is made up of what was formerly America in Maryland, Virginia, Deleware, and Washington D.C., in his IC timeline.

OOC - Yup; note that the people of The Beltway often refer to themselves as Americans and their country as America.

After a long and informative conversation with Mr. Warner, Lawson was at his hotel room. It was getting late, so he decided to get to sleep early. There would be plenty of time tomorrow to see the sights before the conferences began. He really could not wait to see the Capitol building. In America's heyday only a few years back, the building housed five hundred of the world's most powerful men. With this thought he went to sleep, his guards watching the door and windows.

(OOC OK Beltway, I'm really confused, this whole thing about once being a part of America doesn't make that much sense to me but o well! OOC)

As Ambassodor Brehmer rode in his limo to the hotel, he rolled up the barrier between the passengers and the driver. After doing so, he pulled out his anti-survellance device. Switching it on and feeling it safe to talk, he looked at his advisors and then to his gaurds.

"Well what did you guys think of that!?" the ambassodor remarked.

"I'd say smoother than expected, but remember, he could be a different person tommorow if you know what I mean."

"Well, if he's got any tricks up his sleeve, I'll be ready for it! Anyway let's review the gameplan. I'll cover the compromises and the conditions. Then I'll cover the military stand-down's."

"That sounds good, but I'm getting tired, I think it's about time we get some sleep are we about at the hotel yet?" complained one of his advisors.

"Yessir, I think that's it up ahead." said one of his gaurds.

OOC - Sorry if it confuses you. If you like, you can post about Brehmer et al in their rooms; you have suites (one for every four people) on the twelfth floor - where all the diplomats will have their rooms - with openable windows overlooking...the other side of the hotel. The Hyatt your diplomats are staying in is quite nice, actually...

The President's aides were setting up communications equipment in the hotel room, while several Republic Marines were out in the hall standing guard. The Vice President called from the homeland, and President Johanson took the call.

"Hello Joe, how are things at home?"
"Well actually, earlier today we successfully launched one of our XSR-10A space recon planes."
"That's great news. So this means we won't need any spy planes?"
"Not quite. Like any satellite, the Blackstar is in an orbit, and it may take a few hours to get to a specific point for photo-recon. General Clayton has suggested to rebuild a few dozen Valkyrie bombers to photo-recon mission status...you know, in case we need immediate information about a location."
"That's a good idea, the Valkyries aren't much slower than our RF-40Cs, and they have much better range. Put it into action."
"Yes, sir. Oh, and by the way, what's our angle on this Gilabad issue?"
"Well, we do fully support the cease-fire they issued. We don't really want a war, I don't think anybody does. But we certainly can't let it look like it's all said and done right there. After all, they executed thousands of civilians brutally, and we can't let them get away with that."

When Ambassodor Brehmer got to his room, his gaurds immediately set up a secure sattelite comm. to Gilabad. In the meantime, both of his advisors went to bed, while 2 gaurds were placed in the hallway and 2 gaurds inside the room. He immediately spoke to Warlord Shawhabas.
"Mr. President, can you here me?"

"I hear you loud and clear, how are things there by the way?"

"It's very nice considering our social status, but I have no idea how long this is going to last. I could be ambushed any minute!"

"Don't be so pessimistic, if you do your job, everything is going to be fine"

"Thankyou sir. I have a plan written out for tommorrow"

"That should be all that you need. Get some sleep OK?"

"Yessir!"

Ambassodor Brehmer immediately got in bed and fell asleep.

Daniel Wilson woke up in the middle of the night. He was hungery so he went to the mini-fridge near his bed and grabed a eggroll. After eating it he went back to sleep.

[OOC: Bump]

Bump!!!

OOC - Probably should have told you all this; I had wisdom tooth surgery yesterday, and so am in little shape to put together a good IC post. I'll post Monday; until then, maybe have your guy visit, say, the Washington Monument?

[OOC: Ok. Hope your surgery went well.]

Lawson had some time to burn before he left, so he decided to go see the Air and Space museum. As he walked in, he looked up and saw a replica of the Wright Brother's original flyer. "To think that just over a century ago, this was the best... the only... aircraft in the world... and now, we have planes like the Blackhunter and Demograde Guardian Angel...". After exploring thoroughly all of the many interesting exhibits, he left to go see other sights.

Ambassodor Brehmer was awoken in the middle of the night by one of his advisors saying that there has been a transmission from Gilabad DF (capitol). He immediately got over to his laptop and looked in his coded mail section. He opened the message which read "Discrete Operation in progress". Ambassodor Brehmer immediately looked up from his laptop and looked at his advisors standing around him.

"What the hell does that mean?"

"I don't know sir, but it sounds serious"

"Something tells me that Old Shaw's up to something...but that aint important right now. Hmm. Does the TV get HBO?"

"Yessir" said his advisors puzzled.

Ambassodor Brehmer brought up the Adult on Demand TV selection and watched a full length movie and then went to sleep. (I just had to put that in..lol!!)

In the meantime, two Gilabadian X-2 Anacondas took off and began probing the enemy fleet from 100 miles away to see what the Beltway's reaction would be.

Sorry for the delays; by the way, our fleet has just (by the time of your probe) returned to Baltimore with the truce. Everyone else's fleets, on the other hand...

March 22, 2016
"Good morning, everybody. I apologize for the delays; I've had little time of late, with the campaign and with Kraven's new threatening stance in the world," Foreign Minister Mark Warner began, standing in the conference room before the gathered delegations on what was to have been originally the third day of the conference. "So as to get things started faster, we have created a proposal for a peace treaty that we think will be acceptable to all sides."

Aides passed out a copy of the document to each of the delegations. The Foreign Minister gave everyone a moment to glance at the document, then said, "To summarize, there are three main points to the plan. First, Gilabad is to admit responsibility for beginning the conflict. After all, every account agrees that you fired first. Please note that we will not demand reparations from you in any way. Second, Gilabad is to sell the most distant of its offshore islands to The Beltway for a sum of $50 million US. And finally, Gilabad is to rescind its law permitting the GSP to summarily execute accused criminals without trial, and to guarantee to all accused criminals the right of due process. Had this guarantee been in place, there would have been more time to let diplomacy work properly. With the existing laws in Gilabad still in place, nothing would delay similar executions from occurring. When blood has already been spilled, people tend to be angrier and more bloodthirsty than when blood has not yet been spilled."

Ambassodor Paul Brehmer, after seeing the conditions given by the Beltway, was excrutiatingly shocked, however he didn't show it, as this could be a tactic for a trap by the other delagates.

"First of all, I'd like to comment that you all be assured that the Gilabadian government WILL NOT comply with any of these conditions, as they are immoral and unreasonable, as we did shoot first, we were provoked by your idiotic decision to hold our GSP personnel captive in our own country. The Gilabadian legislature will stand as it is. We will not sell any of our territories. We might as well keep fighting if this is to be your proposal!"

In the meantime, one of Ambassodor Brehmer's advisors sent a message on his Palm Pilot to the Gilabad DF. "Opening debate currently sour, conditions unreasonable".

"Mr. Brehmer, you have to realize that, since you sued for peace, you have to give up some things. After all, suing for peace constitutes a belief that the war you are fighting is no longer worth prosecuting; in other words, that the war you are fighting is one you cannot win without a significant cost to your nation. Note that we did not call for reparations. Further, note that you failed to even consider negotiations and diplomacy, and so your claim to being provoked into an attack is foolish at best. Third, note that we can drop the land purchase; that was simply an idea we wanted to throw out to help you out. After all, according to the map I have, the most distant island you own is Libby Island, a two-square-mile uninhabitated speck of rock fifty miles off the coast of Gilabad. Finally, note that many pushed us to force you to ban the GSP or to force you to rescind further legislation. We feel that the solution we propose would be the least imposing on your nation that would be acceptable to our alliance," the Foreign Minister replied smoothly.

In the meantime, two Gilabadian X-2 Anacondas took off and began probing the enemy fleet from 100 miles away to see what the Beltway's reaction would be.

OOC - You don't have those yet. It's been maybe two weeks, tops, since the war began. The war went rather quick; the peace is taking a bit, but not nearly long enough to even get to a finalized design for the X-2 by the company that's building it.

"It is unreasonable, I believe," President Ragnar Johanson spoke up, "for the Gilabadian government to be allowed to punish civilians without the due process of law. It is unfair for the accused to be dragged out into the streets and gunned down, simply because the government does not agree with their beliefs."

"Mr. Brehmer, your government decided to attack the Beltway troops after they had detained GSP personnel. Whether or not the detainment was a right move could be debated forever, but the fact remains that you simply avoided diplomacy and went straight to war. This whole conflict could easily have been avoided if you had tried to resolve the situation peacefully."

"Your government decided that they wanted to end this conflict. Decided, that it was not worth fighting it out on the battlefield. You started a battle, and now you must accept that there are consequences to your actions. I think it is perfectly reasonable, that the government of Gilabad, at the very least, should allow all of it's citizens the right of a proper trial by jury if they are accused of a crime."

(OOC: OK Beltway, I don't know where in the hell you came up with that island, considering that I never stated that I had any islands. I again find your godmoding very amusing. Again I will be gracious and RP with this. :OOC)

Ambassodor Brehmer calmed himself and said "This Cease Fire was issued after a stalemate by both of our military forces, and we will gladly resume fire if that's what you want, I will again state that we will not give any of our territorries, and we will sure as hell not change any legislation. If you must know, Gilabad is a very large nation and we are very well capable of taking all of you comm.... nations on!"

Oh and by the way Beltway, since you somehow magically transported SAMs, tanks, APCs, and artillery to your base that was specifically meant for troops, I get X-2s.

I gave you an island for my own purposes; my maps could be wrong, however, so you might not actually have that island, depending on how you want to rp it. As for the weaponry, you never said that those weapons were not permitted to be deployed. I specifically sent a division; a division means troops, tanks, vehicles, SAMs, the works. But I won't argue the X-2s now; after all, I want peace, and hope to get peace.

"Mr. Brehmer, you did ask for a cease-fire; we did not. That does not mean that we wish to resume the war; it merely means that you wanted to end it first. Now, then, I am prepared to drop the first and second clauses; the third clause, however, is key to keeping a lasting peace. Quite simply, national sovereignity is, while not dead, altered in the modern world. In other words, nations nowadays are more likely to make massacres within one nation the business of the world. Therefore, the GSP's power of summary execution without trial creates an undue risk of continued diplomatic spats and of future warfare. Unless you have any other options..." the Foreign Minister said. He realized he had used the wrong word earlier; hopefully, the Gilabad diplomats would not notice it.

Lawson had been quiet while the national leaders debated.

"Gentlemen, while it is true that Gilabad was the one who asked for peace, I do not see where the Island demand comes in. I think that demand is somewhat out of bounds, considering the neutral nature of the fighting when it was halted.

I propose that the only term of this treaty be a requirement that, should Gilabad choose to rid themselfs of a certain group, be it the ICLU or something else, they should deport these individuals instead of killing them. I personally do not think this system is very good, but I hope it is reasonable enough…”

[OOC: The Axinonian fleet has withdrawn to Khanistan with the rest of the trinational fleet.]

Ambassodor Brehmer resonded, "When you say "due process", the process has already been done with the Anti-liberal Activist Group Act. Any liberal activist group found in Gilabad, can be executed on sight. The ICLU broke the law and payed for it. The legislation stands. The GSP will not be altered in any way."

"Mr. Lawson," Mark Warner began; no use in using formal titles here. He continued, "It was an island purchase, not an island demand, and can be removed if desired. As for your proposal, I will certainly take it into consideration. Mr. Brehmer, the ICLU may have broken your nation's laws, but the fact remains that their execution is tantamount to murder in many ways. After all, execution normally comes after a lawbreaker is convicted of a capital crime in a trial, not before trial. Not having a trial can lead to problems. Say, for instance, that a man, Bob, hated his neighbor, Jim. Bob could take matters into his own hands, shoot Jim privately, and claim that Jim was a liberal activist and therefore committed a capital crime. Jim could have been a normal, law-abiding citizen, but, because Bob was obligated to shoot Jim on site after he determined that Jim was a liberal activist, it will be impossible to determine whether Jim was or was not a liberal activist."

"These were known liberal activists and they had arrest warrants as well as bounties on their heads" Brehmer again replied.

"With the ICLU members, perhaps it was always the case that every person who was accused had actually violated your laws. Yet, what would stop such a situation as that which I outlined earlier from happening? What would prevent people, especially GSP agents, from shooting those who they dislike and claiming that the dead were executed properly as 'liberal activists,' even if those who were killed were not liberal activists? No justice system can be perfect; thus, trials take place in order to ensure that mistakes are not made, or, at least, are made less often than otherwise," the Foreign Minister said.

Feeling a little frustrated, Brehmer gave a stern response, "As I stated, they had arrest warrents on their heads, they were not shot because they were disliked, it is standard procedure to do so, especially when they ressist. They were documented liberal activists, and terrorists. There is no evidence to suggest that they did it out of hate, it's standard procedure."

"Mr. Brehmer, I'm not talking about what has happened; I'm talking about what could quite plausibly happen under your laws. I am trying to give your government a reason to end summary execution without trial," Warner replied, quietly annoyed. "We do not need to, after all, make that a part of the public treaty, so long as it gets implemented."

"I am sorry, I misunderstood what you said, Mr. Warner" Lawson said.

"For the record though, the only term that Axinon seeks in this negotiation is some sort of arrangement to cut or eliminate killings of people for affiliation with groups like ICLU."

"Mr. Lawson, have you any suggestions as to how to accomplish that?" Warner asked, relieved to be able to talk to someone other than the combative Brehmer.

(OOC: Sorry guys I accidently pressed the unsubscribe button :OOC)

Ambassodor Brehmer again controlling his emotions said "The legislation will stand, in Gilabad, liberal affilitated groups have no right to fair trial. It's the law. We willin no way go out of our way to put your views into our laws."

11:20 AM, March 22, 2016
An aide entered the room and passed out menus to everyone present. "Lunch is in forty minutes; I'll come back in ten minutes to get your orders," she announced.

That should work well, Warner mused. After all, everyone would now have to spend a minute or two deciding on orders, and that would end, temporarily at least, the fruitless debate. Who knows; maybe inspiration would strike...

There was a pause now, as one of Mr. Warner's aides handed out menus for the upcoming lunch. While President Johanson browsed the menu, one of his aides approached. He informed the President of various news from home, then they started discussing the conference itself.

"The conference appears to have stalled, sir."
Johanson motioned the aide to come closer. He spoke more quietly, "Indeed, it has. That Brehmer is certainly persistent, or at least stubborn."
"Do we have a plan, sir? I mean, to end this deadlock?"
"Well, we'll see how this proceeds. We may still be able to turn this in our favor." He looked back down at the menu, "I think I might go for the steak..."

Ambassodor Brehmer taking a sip from his glass of water, recieved the menu handed from one of his advisors. As he scanned one the choices, one of his advisors came up to him and said.

"Sir this has definately stalled in place. This probably isn't going to be solved if we don't cooperate somewhat."

"Well, I know we have to be a little flexible, but these are not easy issues. However I do have an idea, along with our submission to guidlines, we can ask for their submission to guidlines. I have a plan..."

"Oh, by the way sir, what would you like?"

"Hmm. I think I'll go with the 12 oz. Tbone."

"Hello? Oh, hi, Kostas... Lousy; Gilabad won't give... Well, Axinon wants the ICLU killings halted, while ChevyRocks hasn't said much of its intentions... Thanks. I'll see what I can do," Warner said quietly into the cell phone he picked up. He then looked at the menu and noticed the beef stew with a smile.

Ambassodor Brehmer, awaiting his food, calmly said to the Beltway representative, "Mr. Warner, I am going to propose that we are willing to give the ICLU criminals representative trials in a court of law only if you are willing to accept the sovernt of our nation. Do we have a deal?"

"You will allow for due process in exchange for our recognizing your sovereignity... what specifically do you mean? The Beltway might consider a guarantee that we will not interfere in your affairs unless it is a matter of our nation's concern. Further, are you referring specifically to The Beltway, or to all present?" the Foreign Minister said after a minute's thought.

Before Brehmer could reply, the aide returned; she was bit early. "Hello again. I'll start with you, Minister Warner. What will you have?" the aide said in a perky voice that bugged Warner slightly.

"Beef stew and a coffee," Warner replied, handing the aide his menu. Before the aide could speak, he added "No, I do not want an appetizer along with my main dish, thank you."

"No problem," the aide replied, taking Warner's menu. She moved on to the Gilabad delegation and said, "What would you like? Remember that you can have a drink, an appetizer, and a main dish."

Ambassodor Brehmer replied "I'll have a salad for an appitizer and a 12 oz. Tbone for a main dish." before the Ambassodor could reply, the waitress had already taken the menu.

"Good," the aide said, then turned to Brehmer's aides, got their orders, and moved on. "And you, Mr. Johanson? What will you have?"

Johanson had decided, "I think I'll go with a 12 oz. T-bone as well, but with a baked potato on the side."

"Fine with us. Here, I'll take that," the aide said, picking up the Chevrockian President's menu. She then took the orders of the other Chevrockians and moved on to the members of the delegation from Axinon.

Ambassodor Brehmer stood up and again announced "To all present, I am willing to propose on my nations behalf that we will give the criminals representative trials in a court of law only if we have an agreement that our soverinty will be respected! They will be tried accordingly, and if the ICLU criminals pose an immediate threat to the GSP, they will defend themselves at all costs. In other words, if they're armed and ressist in any way, they will be percieved as a threat." He calmly sat down and awaited a reply.

"I will have the 12 oz T-Bone steak and baked potato also, please," Lawson said, handing his menu to the aid.

"I was wondering if the people of Gilabad would accept a lesser punishment for being convicted of ICLU activities. Would a forty year prison term, without parole be acceptable to your nation as a maximum punishment Mr. Brehmer? The rest of your proposal is perfectly acceptable to Axinon."

11:45 AM
"Mr. Brehmer, we find your proposal intriguing, and are heartened by it. Nonetheless, we would prefer if you adopted Axinon's amendment as well; however, that is not a sticking point for us. What is key, however, is that losses are recompensated. We greatly appreciate your willingness to return the remains of our dead. Other nations may need to talk about other issues, especially regarding downed pilots," Mark Warner said, relieved to have a reasonable agreement. He had won a vital concession from Gilabad; the clause about Gilabad's sovereignity was a minor point for Warner, and would be played down. This was a treaty that he could get through Congress...

"Thank you," the aide said, taking Lawson's menu. She then took the remaining orders and said, "Your meals will be served in fifteen minutes. Enjoy!"

Warner got out his cell phone and texted Prime Minister Kaine a single word: "Breakthrough."

Ambassodor Brehmer was already irritated, having altered the legislation even a little bit was a push. When he heard Anxion's proposal, he made stern note in his mind. "This is not to come through". He calmly spoke to the congregation. "We have offered the maximum in which we are willing to change the legislation. Being affiliated with the ICLU is a capitol crime being subject to capitol punishment. We cannot change the legislation any further. General Westmorland is finishing up gathering the remains of your dead at the base and is placing them in sealed steril boxes with names. I will notify him of your concern of your pilots..." Ambassodor Brehmer got out his PDA and E-mailed General Westmorland.

Meanwhile, at the former Beltway base, General Westmorland was sitting in his M4 Command & Control vehicle when his advisor, Colonel Jeffries came in and said.

"Sir, we have an e-mail from Brehmer. Apparently there is concern for the downed pilots from Anxion, Chevy Rocks, and Beltway."

"Oh! How in the hell did I forget about them....Get Alpha Force on the search and rescue immediately and have at least one MedHumvee with them while their searching. Didn't most of the dogfight happen just north of the base?"

"I believe so sir. We have Alpha Force and GSP on it now-"

Colonel Jeffries picked up his radio which alert siren just sounded. Major Sikes was on the other end.

"Sir, we have reports that a couple got their car hijacked by a uniformed pilot in Al Kadre!"

Al Kadre was was a small town just north of the base...

"We believe there could be a middleground bewteen the two proposals for sentencing of criminals," President Johanson said.

"For instance if one were simply affiliated with the ICLU, then it would make sense to go with a 40-year sentence, as Mr. Lawson proposed, to reflect the current legal system of. Of course, if any particular person were to engage in far more radical things, such as inciting revolts against the government, attacking government facilities, or anything else sufficiently, certainly a harsher sentence such as life imprisonment or execution would be more appropriate."

"Of course, we don't want to push this matter if your government is unwilling to change any more than already discussed, Mr. Brehmer."

"On the matter of losses, we have recalled the majority of our naval deployment near your coast, however we have a small contingent remaining to search for the wreckage from our aircraft, since the fighting between our forces was for the most part, over the ocean. If we come upon any remains of Gilabadian aircraft and their crews, we shall inform your people, Mr. Brehmer, so they can be properly dealt with. Of course it may take some time, as it isn't particularly easy to find such wreckage in the ocean. So if you intend to conduct a search as well, we will do our best not to interfere."

OOC: Might not be able to post again until Wednesday night, I'm a bit busy the next few days.

"While we are on the topic of body recovery, we doubt any Axinonian equipment will be found. Our fighters never went over land, and we salvaged any ships we could and sunk the rest. If you do find any of our soldiers remains or equipment or pilot or sailor bodies, we would appreciate it if they could be sent back."

"As for my proposal, I hope that sometime in the future your land something like it or better is implemented, but I think that providing fair trials is a good step forward. If that is all you can provide, then that will be acceptable..." his voice trailed off at this, knowing that such a compromise went against every moral instinct in his body. But he knew that the lives that would be lost in a continuation of war would be far greater than those lost in killing members of an outlawed political group...

11:58 AM
"The food will be here in a minute; I propose that we break for lunch. We'll draft and sign the final treaty when we reconvene at, say, 2:30 PM. With luck, this will all be done with by the end of the day," Warner said.

The hijacked car was tracked down by the GSP who were trailing it. The car eventually ran over the spike track and the Alpha Force helicopter deployed a team of Alpha Force Special Forces. The team surrounded the vehicle and said on loud speakers that the war was over and were eventually able to get him to comply after he fired a few bursts at them and he was temporarily detained and then sent to a POW collection point in Gilabad DF where the Gilabadian government was trying to put all of the pilots ready to be flown to their homeland.

Meanwhile back at the remains of the Beltway base, General Westmorland was conducting a search and rescue effort for the downed (former) enemy pilots. GSP and Alpha Force Special Forces got on UH-1 Huey Gunships with thermal imaging and loud speakers. As one of the helicopters flew over a reveen, there was a sporatic burst of small arms fire from the wooded area below, and the pilot was able to track 4 different body heat signatures together and immediately got on the loud speaker.

"This is the Gilabadian Government, The war is over we are here to bring you home, the war is over!"

Then as the Alpha Force team was repelling down, there was another sporatic burst of handgun fire from the woods below. But by then, the Alpha Force Special Forces were on the ground and had tranquilized the ressisting downed pilots, who were immediately put on the gunship and airlifted to a hospital where they regained consciencness and were informed of what happened and were given full medical exams. They were then given a meal as they were transported to the POW center in Gilabad DF.

Over 35 Beltway Pilots were recovered and given medical treatment for any ailments and transported to the POW center overnight.

Ambassodor Brehmer made his response,"So we all are in agreement here? The Gilabadian government will give these ICLU criminals representative trials in a court of law. We'll continue after we eat..."

Noon
"Indeed, Mr. Brehmer," Warner replied, then noted, "The food's here. After lunch, you may have some time to visit the city; just be back by 2:30 PM."

"We are in agreement to this proposal as well," said President Johanson.

One of the President's aides raced into the conference room and up to Johanson.

"M-M-Mr. President, there's a call for you."
"Who is it?"
"Defense Secretary Borgesov, it's urgent, sir."
"Very well." He stood up, and spoke "Gentlemen, if you'll excuse me for a moment, I have some business to attend to."

(OOC: Johanson will be back in a few minutes, I'm sorta tying this in with another RP thread I've got going.)

At the ruins of the former Beltway base, General Westmorland was hopeful in getting the rest of the Beltway pilots. So far there were 53 pilots recovered. He immediately ordered them onto a Gilabad Airline 747 and they were in the air headed towards Beltway. Ambassodor Brehmer was immediately notified.