NationStates Jolt Archive

Ghana

Almost a year after its destruction at the hands of French bombers, artillery, and poison gas, the Ghanaian capital begins to show signs of life once again. Most of Accra's pre-war population continues to reside in the camps established outside the city, crowded and dirty but well-supplied with medicines and foodstuffs from abroad, but some of Accra's districts, those cleared of unexploded ordnance and hazardous materials by the multi-national cleanup crews working in the city, receive inhabitants. These new neighborhoods, built from the rubble and debris made by French bombardment, aren't necessarily a pretty sight, and they generally lack running water, proper sewage, and electricity. But they represent the earliest stages of Accra's revival, a city left for dead by France and until fairly recently only inhabited by the dead. Military vehicles and heavy construction equipment are often joined on the cleared roads by auto-rickshaws and minibuses, carrying people back and forth between the various re-inhabited neighborhoods, and a handful of fishing boats start putting to sea on a regular basis from the city's only recently deserted beaches.

There is still, of course, much work to be done, and of all Accra's pre-war infrastructure the only major building still more or less intact is Osu Castle, scarred and battered but still standing, and center for the coordination of reconstruction efforts. For the Ghanaian government, prosperous by West African standards but cash-strapped in the best of times, the cost of rebuilding the capital is prohibitive, and if it wasn't for significant sums of foreign aid money it wouldn't be attempted. Fortunately, Ghana's two major deep-water ports at Tema and Sekondi-Takoradi remain intact, as does most transportation infrastructure outside Accra itself, so supplying Ghana's internally displaced does not represent the kind of problem that it might have under different circumstances. The Akosmobo Dam on Lake Volta also remains intact and fully operational, having escaped demolition by a very small margin. Unlike most African nations, and in spite of all the damage suffered, Ghana is still self-sufficient with regards to electricity generation.

Ghanaians, for the most part, are not inclined towards a passive stance with regards to the situation in West Africa, and Ghana remains very much committed to the struggle against Holy League occupation across the region. John Kufuor's government can't exactly send a mechanized corps north to kick the French out of Burkina Faso, Benin, and Togo in a timely fashion, but significant Ghanaian support is given to guerrilla fighters in occupied territories. A wide variety of military stores are passed through rugged and remote portions of shared borders, meant to sustain the large irregular formations armed and established before the occupation.

Burkina Faso

The French, no doubt, find themselves mired in a very disagreeable sort of fighting in all their newly-reoccupied colonies. Certainly France is no stranger to guerrilla warfare, and to some extent the French commanders have wars in Vietnam and Algeria to look back on, but review of past experiences may well cause the present state of affairs to seem even more daunting. Vietnam and Algeria were, after all, wars fought with heavy and uncontested naval and air superiority, against guerrilla armies not actively supported by foreign troops, and without the necessity of transporting supplies overland across the world's largest desert.

French occupation forces encounter heavy and determined resistance more or less across the board, largely carried-out by irregular forces armed and established prior to the commencement of hostilities. ECOMOG conventional forces were unsurprisingly defeated by French forces markedly superior to them in terms of numbers and equipment, but the guerrillas and irregulars are a good deal more difficult to get rid of, and they conduct a vigorous and active campaign of their own against the occupiers. Nowhere do irregular forces exhibit a higher degree of organization and ability, however, than in Burkina Faso, where resistance is led by a cadre of Lusakan-trained experts numbering close to 300. It is estimated that as many as 150,000 Burkinabe citizens are in some way affiliated with the Army of the Interior, widely-supported and generally popular, though only about 30,000 out of the organization's total membership are members of the field force that carries out military operations against the French occupation.

The field force, as the operational wing of the Army of the Interior is known, is a rural guerrilla army operating very much along Maoist lines, commanded by men who are if nothing else extremely well-educated in their areas of expertise, and who were taught tactics and fieldcraft by the LRAC, Africa's premier bush warriors. Generally avoiding pitched battle with French forces superior in terms of mechanization, Burkinabe irregulars do their best to conduct a war of ambush and raiding, using the terrain and their knowledge of it to best advantage. As with most guerrillas, members of the field force are not armed and equipped to very high standards. Effective but elderly MAS-36 and MAS-49 rifles predominate, and the proper ammunition is often hard to come by. Support weaponry is scarce, and a healthy dose of improvisation is often necessary to defeat armored targets. The supply situation does, however, show signs of improvement, with the independent ECOWAS states providing much support in that respect, and opportunities to capture French equipment are also usually taken advantage of.

Though primarily rural in terms of its operations, the Army of the Interior does include a cell of fighters in Ouagadougou, though communication between the countryside and the capital is difficult and operations are not easy to coordinate. Armed mainly with pistols and captured small arms, the group in Ouagadougou participates in sabotage operations and ambushes against French forces in the urban landscape.

Burkina Faso may be, according to the French, a cornerstone of their West African empire, but the situation there is far from stable. Initially intent on extracting natural resources from the region, the French might come to the conclusion that sticking to economic forms of extortion would have been cheaper in every respect. Now, after all, they have a major guerrilla war on their hands, and ministers in Versailles will doubtless start to see their coffers drain at an alarming rate as the conflict in West Africa drags on.

Dakar, Senegal

Weeks behind schedule, the RO/RO cargo ship M/V Clarion finally arrives in the port of Dakar at the head of a convoy carrying the INA's 107th Tank Brigade, the last of three independent brigades derived from the 4th Armored Division. For ECOMOG commanders told in the early weeks of the war to expect as many as 150,000 INA troops, the arrival of a single division's worth, about 15,000 personnel, is decidedly underwhelming, though Clarion itself carries more modern tanks than exist in all the ECOMOG armies put together, and the three brigades themselves would easily account for one half of Senegal's conventional army. It is clear to most observers that this UDF force alone will not come close to solving the French problem by itself, but Hindustani troopers are greeted positively as they move through the capital.

ECOWAS's security situation is, from the INU's perspective, steadily improving. The Holy League did indeed cause grievous losses amongst the late Ali Khan Marakkar's 1st Fleet, but within a matter of days Armandian reinforcements presented themselves, and, not long after that, the Union Admiral Vijay Ramsingh, leaving ECOWAS, or at least its associates, firmly in control of the coast, and in a position to intercept any League supplies headed for Nigeria. Several IAF squadrons have also shown up on the West Coast, denying France the air superiority that made the early stages of its campaign go so smoothly.

Abdoulaye Wade's government, confident in its ability to defend Senegal's borders from any likely French attack, now turns its attention towards assisting its neighbors. Senegal's General Staff, nominally in command of all UDF forces in Senegal itself and heavily reinforced by Hindustani military advisers, is ordered to investigate the viability of making an offensive into Mali. Dakar also reaches out to Mauritania, no longer a member of the ECOWAS organization but similarly targeted by the Holy League, with government officials discussing very publicly the idea of inviting Nouakchott back into the organization, a move likely to be endorsed by most of the other member nations in light of the state of affairs in West Africa.

For several years now the Indian Soviet Commonwealth has been trundling towards its much-vaunted final conflict, a cornerstone of Igovian Communism that some close to Graeme Igo have suggested was never meant to be regarded in such a concrete and conventional sense as Calcutta's Supreme War Soviet would like to have the masses believe. The national economy, says Calcutta, may be worth six-trillion US dollars this year, an increase owing much to massive increases in defence activity such as has not been seen since the 1980s.

And yet, even with some estimates suggesting that perhaps 20% of all Soviet economic activity may now be accounted for by one military application or another, making the Commonwealth Guard perhaps equivalent to the nation of Hudecia in economic capacity, the Soviets have if anything been backing away from expected deployments to West Africa. This is, of course, owing largely to a secret Calcutta-Versailles understanding that potentially keeps the region divided and ostensibly disputed for the foreseeable future. The SWS's increasingly elite membership owes its elevated status chiefly to the final conflict, and as such victory by over-running Catholic and Orthodox Christian forces in Africa is no more palatable than defeat by turning openly against the United States and Britain.

So, as struggle must continue, Calcutta needs urgently to engage its great resources in a visible and sustainable manner.

Enter comrade Vera Igo, spouse to Graeme, mother to Sopworth. Like Graeme she is short by Geletian standards, raising questions over Sopworth's more conventional Celtic stature, and may almost be described as chunky by those who'd dare. In her sixties she makes no attempt to disguise the perfect whiteness of her hair, but it would be fair to call her a voluptuous woman, in good health and sharing with her partner and off-spring an undeniable strength of character and the aura of some special destiny. Vera, despite common enough elements of Indo-aryan history to her family line, is as Geletian as they come, adorning herself with pagan artifacts and seeking regularly the advice of Deceangli Druids in Sri Lanka. And she has been nominated and approved to head the Commonwealth's West African Friendship And Development Soviet.

WAFADS will take the form of one of history's greatest aid programmes, drawing resources from the Commonwealth Guard and from the Commonwealth's traditionally healthy foreign aid budget, which usually has looked first to Bangladesh, Nepal, South East Asia, and parts of Southern Africa and sometimes Latin America. WAFADS, Calcutta hopes (and Raipur approves, without fully understanding the true motives of the SWS), will be equivalent to a war effort, an entire theatre command with capacities sufficient to fight an enemy army... except that the objective is not military victory but the erasure of severe poverty and related ills in the unoccupied nations of ECOWAS, with the expectation that Soviet-sponsored development will bring with it natural Igovist trends. This isn't a mere missionary expedition but an offer to lift nation states as if they were instead Soviet States, West Bengal the poster-child.

If not turned away (in the event of which great trouble is sure to follow from Calcutta at least), Vera and WAFADS will headquarter in Dakar, and thousands of personnel will follow, engineers, doctors, scholars and teachers, and Guardsmen. Senegal will lead the way in receiving new capital goods from Soviet India, potentially increasing its economic output by tens of percent in short order, with Indo-Senegalese trade opportunities boundless where bare minimums of Igovian standards of economic relation are met in the workplace. The capital needed for years by the potentially lucrative phosphate sector could begin to arrive within weeks, and Soviet India is interested in helping Senegal to produce zirconium for use in its nuclear reactors. The further development of Dakar's port need hardly be doubted.

Vera Igo invites other ECOWAS governments to arrange consultation with WAFADS for their shares in the project. It is clear enough that the Igovians intend to tackle corruption as they are doing in Bangladesh (and even the Commonwealth's own northern states), but the Bangladeshi example at least suggests that formerly corrupt officials can still retain high status, influence, and more than average working benefits if they are not too slow to co-operate with development projects.

Meanwhile the Soviet Marine and Air Guard presence in Senegal is maintained against foreign aggression, without significant changes to suggest that any offensive plans are in preparation.

London

With spending verging on unsustainable, the Exchequer looks with ill-disguised distress at the SWS' deployment of an army group's worth of resources to the African continent. In the war of hearts and minds, Britain alone is ill-equipped to compete pound-for-pound against the Soviets, and within the halls of government many privately question whether or not Britain ought to be engaging in a contest that it is not likely to win. Certainly the argument can be made that the British have the advantage of a close working relationship with the Hindustanis and Quinntonians alike, and therefore stand a better chance of being effective on the continent. On the other hand, a citizenry exposed to the very worst of centralised government may well seek to go to the opposite extreme of Soviet-style anarcho-communism.

This itself is not, it is true, a bad thing. The Soviet system has distinct advantages when put into proper operation, and is arguably one of the freest societies on the planet. On the other hand, such organizations as the Supreme War Soviet possess the capability to turn a relatively free anarchy into a pseudo-Stalinist dictatorship of the masses if given a free reign, and from rule by the mob it is only a few steps to rule by the Leader. If there could be said to be a reactionary wing of the Soviet 'government', the Supreme War Soviet was very clearly it.

And so: the necessity of competition, if only to secure Africa in large part to a more moderate form of government. Though Britain had not the wealth to really accomplish this goal on its own, Britain's Empire might just be able to give the Soviets a good fight. Taxes were raised for the first time in the premiership of Sir Andrew Strathairn, and construction of a third and fourth Godfrey class carrier was stopped. Tariffs on foreign imports were increased and the money funneled into the cabinet's war chest, and then to the fund earmarked for developmental aid in Africa. In anticipation of demand-pull inflation, the Bank of England raised interest rates .1%. Whether this would prove to be an effective stopgap measure remained to be seen, but the British economy had shown itself to be surprisingly robust over the last year or so, resisting the expected series of crashes following the declaration of war and the barring of German imports.

No doubt this has something to do with the job increase provided by the sudden need for aid goods on the world's largest continent. Those aid goods, stamped with the Union flag and delivered largely by lorries of the British Army's logistics corps, could be found in great numbers in Ghana, Sierra Leone, Mauritania and to a lesser extent, the occupied ECOWAS states of Togo and Burkina Faso.

Accra

Major General Morrell scratched at a moustache that he'd grown out of irritation with the constant upper-lip sunburn that came with Africa's climate. Fair skinned, the general had taken to wearing a burnoose to cover his neck and light, long sleeved Ghanaian fatigues, despite holding his commission in the British Army. Having sent too many to their deaths over the past year, the erstwhile garrison commander at Accra was now that city's co-ordinator of aid supply, responsible for getting the food to the people. He had a small office in the somewhat-worse-for-wear Christiansbourg Castle (known to the Ghanaians as Osu), from which he had a rather commanding view of the rubble-strewn streets being cleared by Ghanaian and British engineers.

Though the British Army's engineers weren't really qualified to construct civilian apartments, they had plenty of experience moving dirt, rubble and trash from point A to point B, or at least to point not-A. Bulldozers and converted Centurion tanks with scoops on the front pushed rather impressive piles of concrete, rebar and unidentifiable garbage out of construction zones, the Ghanaian workers going to work in their wake. Most of the Australians who'd survived the siege of Accra had stayed on to help, reluctant to leave the men and women that they had come to think of as friends. They formed something of an NGO in their own right, some eighty-odd ex-military advisers whose skills in warfare had some overlap in the realm of rebuilding.

Morrell leaned back in his chair and put his booted feet up on the windowsill. It was a few moments' rest, but it was all he could afford before turning back to his desk and resuming his endless litany of phone calls, dictations and muttered curses as he inflicted accidental paper cuts on himself. Times had changed in Accra.

OOC: Gurg, where did you post before that you barred German imports? We agreed to not do that via TGs. Remember? Can you please RP the OOC stuff where Britain again said something OOC and then changed their minds.

Senegal

The major Quinntonian mission to the embattled ECOWAS states had arrived in Africa and had arranged a summit with the major leaders of the governments and military forces from pre-war ECOWAS, as well as a good number of leaders and delegates from current resistance movements that were involved in coordinating the resistances against the HL all over West Africa and even Hindustan and the UK. The man that the USQ government had trusted with this massive job was a ex-Nigerian national named Rev. Sunday Ngebe that though he stood at only 5’7” tall, had shoulders and a neck as thick as a bull, which made his collar chafe a little. He was very familiar with the situation, and though he was pulled off of the ongoing missionary efforts by Quinntonian missionary efforts to Central West Africa a couple of years earlier to take on a government position in the Foreign Office, he was widely considered Washington’s most trusted man in Africa. He was also working closely with a layperson and missionary couple that were his assistants in this matter, Mr. Tamba George Foryah and his wife Yada, both from Sierra Leone, he from the Kisi Tribe and she from the Mende. All three of them could speak a half dozen or more languages, each including Creole, English and French fluently, and so considering the colonial nature of the nations’ pasts that they were talking to, communication should not be a major problem. The couple was in stark juxtaposition to their leader, the Rev. Ngebe, whose intelligent eyes brooded out of his heavy forehead and roundish face, with their very slight and short bodies and builds, with a more angular look to them, though on Yada, a near perpetual smile that was endearing to the harshest critic.

As the church that they were meeting in, not for religious reasons but only for logistical ones as the largest building in this out of the way village that they were using for this summit, started to fill to capacity, with vehicles and guards outside and on far reaching patrols ensuring that they were not disturbed, Rev. Ngebe signalled Tamba and Yada who began singing loudly a song of praise to God in Creole while happily clapping his hands together and keeping to the side for fear of offending the resident Muslims who had insisted after all, that the cross and altar be covered in their presence. After that song was complete, all of the while with Rev. Ngebe praying quietly in the corner before corssing himself and standing to greet the assembled guests.

He began in a deep and baritone voice in English, “Let us praise our G(g)od’s that we could gather together this day and finally settle this massive matter and undertaking that is before us. I know that many of you were only willing to come due to the promise of the $1 million USD that is being transferred to your accounts for use in the combat that is ongoing, and I respect that. But you and I know, as I have personally travelled the whole region and met with most of your groups through delegates or personally, that we have worked long and hard to build relationships, trust and a dialogue that I hope will serve us here more than simple financial incentive. It is my hope and prayer that this can be the beginning of your liberation to the forward thinking and free society that you were before. And my government is willing to move Heaven and Earth to make sure that happens. Firstly, as you already have heard, my government has nothing but sorrow for what has happened here, and is hoping to make up for its sin of not getting as involved as it could immediately by earning forgiveness from you by both fighting to help you, fighting to return you to leadership of your own lands, and building a relationship wherein we can ensure that both militarily and economically, your position on West Africa is viable. Now, already my government has committed to landing a significant force of arms here on the continent and is in process to begin moving them as we speak. The reason that this is taking so long, is the sheer size of the men and resources that are involved here, as well as the vast maritime distances involved means that very careful planning and meticulous preparation must happen or military aid will do nothing to help you once it gets here, but perhaps even be a burden. We have also gathered together an aid package with no strings attached to be distributed in an as of yet unclear way to you all and your organisations exceeding $50 billion USD, with hopes to double that amount by the year’s end. Now, this is going to be yours soon no matter what is decided here, it is over and above anything that we decide here, though again we are unsure how to distribute it fairly and equitably. We need to know several things, and I will just read them from the agenda that you have all been given:

1. Where should we land our troops to best effect?

2. How can we help you materially once we are in place?

3. What is going to be the nature of the cooperation between us, Hindustan, and your various fighting forces once the operation begins in earnest?

4. What are your goals for this operation, i.e. what should be our strategic priorities?

The Quinntonian position is that today we must come to some kind of formal agreement to work together on general strategic and philosophical principles and then elect a small committee of no more than ten members to speak to your issues and concerns while helping to coordinate efforts between your nations and ourselves in the coming conflict. This committee will also contain representatives from both Hindustan and the UK as to make the coordination as smooth as possible. Further, the Quinntonian position is that we are willing to fight to return West Africa to pre-war borders and will accept no diplomatic solution from the Holy League or the Soviets in that end. Victory and achievement of that goal is the only acceptable option to my government. Our position is also that we will prosecute this war to any extent necessary to ensure your freedom, and once that freedom is achieved, will stay no longer than absolutely necessary. If you ask us to leave, we will simply leave. We are not interested in staying if we are not wanted. That being stated, I want to reiterate that we will stay for as long as you wish us, you may count on our presence for as long or as little as you desire or need our help. I also wish to emphatically state that religious proselytisation is not our priority here or the basis of our desire to help. We wish to help you materially; your spiritual states are not our concern presently. At this stage, I think we can open this up to the floor, I know from the pre-meetings that I was having with many of you that there is much to discuss.”

WWJD
Amen.

Quinntonians coming to Senegal, whether it be through the port of Dakar or the half dozen or so decent-sized paved runways in the country, see the red flags of Soviet outposts the moment they arrive. The letters, "WAFADS" are encountered with increasing frequency day by day as Vera Igo's organisation follows the long-present Soviet Marine force into West Africa.

While the Soviets are of course far less engaging with Senegal's tiny Christian minority, no small number of the WAFADS membership is drawn from the remaining Islamic populations of Sri Lanka (nominally one and a half million strong, though ordinarilly with far lower observation) and the mainland, and Consuls are tasked with forming relationships with the nation's marabouts and other Islamic leaders.

Probably the most severe truth of it is that no small number of Igovian personnel, quite without official sanction, are more than likely doing their part to turn other Senegalese against the Christians. This is especially so in the case of the Catholics, who make up the bulk of the four or five percent of the populace claiming any sort of Christian faith. Soviet Indians widely regard Christianity as, "the imperial faith". Geletians have thought so since their last clashes with the Romans in Anatolia following St.Paul's letter to their peers, and have done little to discourage their Indian comrades in viewing the British Empire and Llewellyn's Principality as the realisation of what their newly-arrived ancestors first warned against. Now, many Igovians warn that the Christians are coming back, and it won't be any better than last time... we know! After all, we only finally got rid of them in 1989!

Needless to say, the SWS especially has gone to pains to discourage the spreading of such attitudes amonst smaller Soviet detachments in more Christian parts of West Africa, something managed with relative ease given the smallness of Igovian numbers outside Senegal.

Whatever else happens, Quinntonians in Senegal will become almost as familiar with Indo-Geletian faces as Senegalese, finding it hard to say a prayer without it being recorded word for word by probable GSIC informants and operatives.

Dakar, meanwhile, is encouraged to see its position as safe and secure thanks to Igovian investment and what is called a French fear of the Soviets (actually the agreement between Versailles and Calcutta that means Senegal is unlikely to be attacked), and to regard the Quinntonian surge, with all its talk of landing forces and massive troop movements, as sure to make the country a battleground. Best to send the Quinntonians on their way, to look elsewhere for a fight, says Vera.

OOC: Gurg, where did you post before that you barred German imports? We agreed to not do that via TGs. Remember? Can you please RP the OOC stuff where Britain again said something OOC and then changed their minds.

Fleur, it's in the 28th post (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13436024&postcount=28) of 'Germany Liberates Portugal!'. We did indeed agree not to do that via telegrams, but this was before the Portugal situation reached a head and before the detonation of another nuclear weapon in the North Sea, both of which changed things significantly. Sorry that it was buried in a speech... I'll be sure to telegram you in the future before I do something like that.

Specifically, this section: "Henceforth all British co-operation with the government of Germany is suspended. All military trade between our two states is suspended. This state of affairs will continue until such time as the Bundeswehr leaves Portugal in the hands of its elected president and senior living political leader, Aníbal Silva. At that time, we shall re-evaluate our stance on Germany's government. Gunter Shultz must show the world that he is a democrat, that he respects the rule of law, and that he holds sacred the sovereignty of nations as all legitimate political leaders must do.

OOC: I decided to separate IC and OOC posts, sorry for the somewhat-spam...

Senegal

It wasn't every day that the British set foot in Senegal, and their decidedly uncomfortable bearing all the way from the airport suggested so. Their point man, Lieutenant General David Pearson, was in his iconic No.6 bush jacket that would have looked familiar to Sir Richard O'Connor's Western Desert Force of 1939. He was flanked by his staff, mostly captains and majors. Perhaps the least awkward of the visiting dignitaries, Pearson was the commander of Operation Ivory, the overall aid mission to Africa that operated under the auspices of the British Army. Glad for the stupendously huge aid offer as well as the appearance of a sane, well ordered western contingent, there'd been no question amongst his staff as to whether or not the general would be attending.

"Well, if you're going to give me free reign to ask favours, here's what we've managed to come up with back in Sierra Leone. What we really need is logistical support, both on land and at sea. We'd greatly appreciate the loan of one of your supply ships... or perhaps an LPH... but if neither of those are possible we can talk further about what makes sense. Other than that, we're doing all right with distribution of aid supplies, particularly in Ghana. If you're looking for something to do with your military deployments, a division of detachments in military policemen could probably be spread over ECOWAS to help us keep internal order. That, and a bit of a lean on our French colleagues to start pulling back, is really all that Operation Ivory needs." He paused for a moment and glanced sidelong at the French delegation.

"I'm glad to see some friendly faces here, and I think we can all agree that as long as the United States keeps its deployment limited to peacekeeping, something of which I'm fairly confident, we'll be able to get a positive result sooner rather than later."

OOC: I decided to separate IC and OOC posts, sorry for the somewhat-spam...

Senegal

It wasn't every day that the British set foot in Senegal, and their decidedly uncomfortable bearing all the way from the airport suggested so. Their point man, Lieutenant General David Pearson, was in his iconic No.6 bush jacket that would have looked familiar to Sir Richard O'Connor's Western Desert Force of 1939. He was flanked by his staff, mostly captains and majors. Perhaps the least awkward of the visiting dignitaries, Pearson was the commander of Operation Ivory, the overall aid mission to Africa that operated under the auspices of the British Army. Glad for the stupendously huge aid offer as well as the appearance of a sane, well ordered western contingent, there'd been no question amongst his staff as to whether or not the general would be attending.

"Well, if you're going to give me free reign to ask favours, here's what we've managed to come up with back in Sierra Leone. What we really need is logistical support, both on land and at sea. We'd greatly appreciate the loan of one of your supply ships... or perhaps an LPH... but if neither of those are possible we can talk further about what makes sense. Other than that, we're doing all right with distribution of aid supplies, particularly in Ghana. If you're looking for something to do with your military deployments, a division of detachments in military policemen could probably be spread over ECOWAS to help us keep internal order. That, and a bit of a lean on our French colleagues to start pulling back, is really all that Operation Ivory needs." He paused for a moment and glanced sidelong at the French delegation.

"I'm glad to see some friendly faces here, and I think we can all agree that as long as the United States keeps its deployment limited to peacekeeping, something of which I'm fairly confident, we'll be able to get a positive result sooner rather than later."

There are no French or Tsarists or HL of any kind here. This meeting is very much on the DL.

OOC: Apologies, misread. Anyway...

Senegal

ECOWAS foreign ministers, expecting the Quinntonian delegation to remain in Dakar, are not pleased by their guests' decision to hold their summit in what many regard as the middle of nowhere, and the ride out is not a pleasant one for lower-level functionaries. Besides being unhappy about leaving the more comfortable environs of Dakar behind, the foreign ministers have legitimate reason to fear for their security, and, though by now reinforced, Senegal's air defense network is hardly watertight.

After many hours on the road, the ECOWAS motorcade finally arrives at its destination, and the venue itself does little to brighten the temperament of West African diplomats. With the exception of Niger, every single ECOWAS nation is represented by their foreign minster, along with the Burkinabe Army of the Interior and Mali's Territorial Army, no small accomplishment for the ECOWAS organization, especially in light of the exile status held by the governments of several member states. That the Quinntonians have dragged them out to some church in the countryside sits well with nobody, but at the same time foreign ministers are not willing to snub such a powerful nation as Quinntonia, in spite of inconveniences. Indeed, with such large sums of aid money to be had, they'd put up with far worse.

Multilingualism is, generally speaking, the rule rather than the exception in West Africa, especially in government, but English is not readily understood by most of the ministers and translation of Reverend Ngebe's opening remarks into French and Portuguese necessitates a short break in the proceedings. Once the whole ECOWAS delegation is up to speed, Cheikh Gadio, the Senegalese Minister of Foreign Affairs, takes his turn speaking. An experienced diplomat, and representing the host country, Gadio is tasked with speaking on behalf of the organization. Talking to sixteen delegates in turn would, after all, be rather cumbersome, and so long as Ghana, Guinea, and Senegal are in agreement, the rest of ECOWAS is likely to follow suit.

Gadio starts by thanking the Quinntonians for their generosity and their championship of West Africa on the world stage. Though there is, privately, a great deal of bitterness about Washington's refusal to assist ECOWAS when that help was needed most, the aid offers being put on the table are too big to be passed-up, and the West African delegation takes care not to do anything that might offend the Quinntonians. At the same time Gadio is careful to point out that ECOWAS in no way considers the Soviet Commonwealth a hostile power, a notion that some of the more cynical West African diplomats believe runs contrary to Quinntonia's entire purpose in the region. Ngebe is told that ECOWAS will accept assistance offered by any nation committed to the eviction of the French and the restoration of local sovereignty in West Africa, and that the organization expects whatever nations those are to work together under the ECOMOG command umbrella.

ECOWAS's first strategic priority, says Foreign Minister Gadio, is the liberation of member states presently occupied by foreign imperial powers, and the organization will remain in a state of conflict with the French and their allies until such is achieved. Most member nations, he explains, would prefer to give France the opportunity to withdraw its troops peacefully, given that the region has already suffered terribly from the present war. The prospect of direct Quinntonian involvement, most believe, will be sufficient to make the French think twice about whether their attempt to re-assert colonial dominance in West Africa is worth the trouble, or viable at all in the long term.

Exactly how Quinntonian troops will fit into the overall ECOMOG strategy is not Gadio's area of expertise, but the Quinntonians will doubtless be aware of the region's severe infrastructural shortcomings, the likes of which have already conspired against the Holy League's own offensive. Moving one or two divisions into the region ought not to pose much of a problem, but it might be beyond the capabilities of existing ports and inland transport networks to support the influx of hundreds of thousands of -presumably highly mechanized- Quinntonian troops. Of course, hundreds of thousands could be more than is absolutely necessary to secure the capitulation of the French, whose occupation force is spread out across several nations and whose nearest supply port is on the other side of the Sahara, to say nothing of the activities of guerrilla bands in occupied areas.

Gadio also expresses ECOWAS's desire to become largely self-reliant in terms of the defense of its member states, and Quinntonia is encouraged to supply the armies of West Africa with modern arms, especially artillery and air defense equipment.

Back in the capital, Abdoulaye Wade and the rest of his cabinet analyze the present political situation. The arrival in Dakar of Vera Igo's WAFADS hardly goes unnoticed, and those in government tend to view that organization with particular suspicion. With the general populace, however, the Soviets are still very popular, most Senegalese remembering them primarily for defending Dakar against a French ballistic missile attack. The ideological message carried by visitors from Soviet India also gains current in Senegal, a nation suffering from a wide range of economic difficulties and with extremely high rates of poverty and unemployment. Under normal circumstances action might be taken to curtail the activities of Vera Igo's group, but Abdoulaye Wade is willing to alienate neither the Soviets nor popular opinion, and he is not personally opposed to the implementation of a more leftist form of government. Wade as president is far from a steadfast champion of social justice and honest government, but he is not notably corrupt and still commands general popularity.

Though quite unaware of the Franco-Soviet secret agreement, the Soviets' seeming unwillingness to press the imperialists harder does dissatisfy many Senegalese and the Malian government-in-exile, while Quinntonia's policy on the matter is exactly the opposite. Some speculate that what the Soviets really wanted in the first place was to establish political control over Senegal, and fighting the imperialists was never their real priority, though others point to the extremely low number of Commonwealth troops present in the country as evidence to the contrary.

Whatever happens, the government in Dakar is determined to maintain Senegal's sovereignty, and it does not intend to become the puppet state of a larger power bloc, that much is certain, and, for better or worse, the same goes for the rest of the ECOWAS member states. But at the same time Dakar is painfully aware of its relative inability to counter the influence of outside forces even within West Africa, and circumstances may well conspire against the desire to see ECOWAS come off as an independent and self-sufficient power bloc in its own right.

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Gadar! Defence-hike billions go to foreign militaries!

Soviet India's 2008 defence budget may be said to cover a record US$1.2trillion in expenditure, likely to be equivalent to one fifth of GDP, but after saying that much of the increase would be invested instead in the WAFADS, it has now emerged that Calcutta is in fact sponsoring military upgrades and mobilisations in Igovian and allied states.

Libya, Vietnam, Bangladesh, and Zimbabwe are amongst the biggest beneficiaries, while Mumbai has already been informed of a windfall, no doubt assuring Unioners that, essentially, there are no hard feelings over the Atlantic naval disaster.

The Gadar! report could give few details beyond this, but there was much more to be learned.

Wade's Senegalese government, too, was already aware of a massive defence-related aid package with no strings attached, while the resurrection of once-generous Indo-Soviet development assistance was hinted at for the future, with a scale likely to mirror the defence aid and an expectation of Igovist economic -but not political- reform. Calcutta, it seems, wants Igovian economies a little more desperately than Raipur wants Igovian democracies.

Namibia, Madagascar, Tanzania ($1bln), Zambia ($1bln), the African Commonwealth ($1bln), Nepal, Laos, Kampuchea, Neo Anarchos ($1bln), are also receiving or set to receive military aid out of the bloated Soviet defence budget.

Potentially, however, this means that Soviet India will put in excess of $6bln into the simmering Congolese conflict, funding both Kinshasa and sympathetic Lusaka on one side, and Harare on the other.

Meanwhile the Supreme War Soviet is preparing allies for the Final Conflict, with Vietnam and Bangladesh sharing in an epic $24bln this year alone, and buying continued Libyan and Zimbabwean support with a further $9bln.

While it could not publish word of these transactions, Gadar! has revealed that Soviet WIGs have transported foreign troops to Cambodia to gain combat experience as the Khmer Rouge approach Phnom Penn. These presence in Libya and Dakar of Bangladeshi and sub-Saharan African military personnel has also been speculated over in recent Gadar! publications.

Senegal

Soviet development assistance is well-received in Senegal, and the Wade government is sure to publicly thank both the Soviets and the Quinntonians for their generosity, which as things now stand equates to 50% of Senegal's GDP, at every opportunity. It isn't too often that a nation such as Senegal is given billions of dollars almost unconditionally, and officials in Dakar are very conscious of the fact that the present situation is by no means normal.

Government administrators and ministers of parliament set their sights on a variety of projects that, some months previously, would have been quite impossible due to a lack of funds. Plans are drawn-up for the expansion and modernization of Senegal's education system, for instance, with the aim of achieving western levels of literacy within the next few years. The unemployment rate, which hovers dangerously close to 50%, is also expected to fall as infrastructural development programs get underway. For the first time since independence, it seems, Senegal has a shot at becoming a relatively prosperous nation, an opportunity that, oddly enough, may not have arisen if the French never tried to come in and take ECOWAS over.

In keeping with Soviet wishes a good portion of the four billion awarded by Calcutta is set aside for military expenditures. A genuine fast jet capability, long out of Senegal's price range, appears to be within reach and a delegation is sent to Yugoslavia in order to negotiate the purchase of as many as 18 L-20 Putin fighters and conversion trainers, plus a fair few Super Galebs and Utva 75s. Senegalese forces are also likely to adopt the Soviet 6.5mm caliber and Indian communication systems, and a naval expansion is planned in order to assist in enforcing Senegal's often-violated EEZ. As a show of good faith to its ECOWAS neighbors, Senegal will probably pass a fair amount of the Soviet aid on to Mali and Guinea, a move that will, hopefully, not displease the Soviets too much while at the same time proving Dakar's continued loyalty to the ECOWAS organization.

Always enthusiastic about an opportunity to spite the Holy League, Marshal Lav is not slow to authorise sale of Yugoslavian defence equipment to Senegal. After all, Yugoslavia's continued economic growth is increasingly reliant on the defence sector, and since conflict with Greece is likely to spur further production it only makes sense to earn a few dollars on the side.

The new G4M Super Galeb version with marginally improved avionics and typically armed with Lvb-250 laser-guided bombs and Komarac ASRAAM is offered at $16million a unit inclusive of some servicing and parts (though that sum is unlikely to completely cover the aircraft for their potential service lives). VTI's Yu-Supersonik (L-20 in JNA service) retails at around $20 million thanks to especially high production after losses at home and small sales to the FUARL states. The Novi Avion's Grom-B TV-guided and anti-radiation missiles have been cleared for export to Senegal, and are touted as offering some light anti-ship capability in addition to their ground-attack roles.

But Belgrade is hesitant to allow Komarac to be 'put at risk', apparently fearing French espionage against Senegal as likely to compromise one of the JNA's best weapons. A somewhat unusual suggestion from the Yugoslavs is that R-60/AA-8 Aphid derivative missiles be acquired from the Depkazi Caliphate, since getting compatible missiles from the Russians is not realistic. For Novi Avion's long-range component the Soviet L'Angelot Maudit seems realistic enough.

There is no problem in supplying world-beating UTVA Lasta 95 (Lasta 3) basic flight trainers if desired, but decent mothballed Lasta 75s are also available at bargain basement prices.

Getting wind of possible naval expansion, Belgrade is not quiet about the planned phase-out of its Type 240 Rade Koncar Class missile boats, which are being replaced with Brahmos-capable Kobra Class craft. A small number of Rade Koncar are available at low prices, specified thus:

Displacement: 242 tons full load
Dimensions: 45x8x1.8 metres/147.6x26x5.9 feet
Propulsion: 4 shafts; 2 cruise diesels, 7,200bhp; 2 boost gas turbines, 9,000shp; 16,200 shp total
Speed: 37 knots
Crew: 30
Fire Control: 9LV200 MkII missile control, 30nm range
EW: chaff and flare dispensers
Armament: 1x Brom SSM, 1x 57mm/70 Bofors DP gun, 1x 30mm/62 AK-230 gun

Yugoslavia would also be prepared to construct Heroj or Sava Class submarines, but does not really expect to compete with the ready availability of Indian Hounds, especially as the smaller Yugoslav shipbuilding industry is currently tied-up replacing Black Sea losses and even dealing with a secret-ish order from the Depkazis. Still, highly mobile truck-mounted Brom anti-ship missile systems are offered as an alternative to some warships.

Belgrade may not be free to involve its own forces much in West Africa, but the SFRY sees no reason to sit idly by while there's a killing to be made, as it were!

Compound 20 kilometers west of Kalemie, The African Commonwealth

Captain Tokezi adjusted the strap of his weapon as he crept through the high leaves at night. Years ago he would be dreading the fact that he officially did not exist, and that his squad could not expect any backup in a tight spot. However, his special forces training and the ritual taught to him during his introduction in the Manus Nigra had expelled all that - He was a warrior of stone, tasked to bring death in the name of the Commonwealth to any who would dare turn against it. Even if he had been a lesser man, the knowledge that other squads from the rangers and his own elite force were creeping in on the compound ahead could have given him peace of mind.

Rustling from the leaves made him instantaneously flip up the sight on his R22 SOCMR and crouch, but a rattle of 5x56mm and a muffled cry told him that his enemy had been neutralized by his pointman Bembo. As the rangers made contact with perimeter militia details on the outside, the squad inconspicously covered the distance to the large garage at the end of the compound, and the clatter of shattering glass alerted Tokezi to the fact that snipers had now silenced the assumed control centre - Opening the door hatch, he gave a sigh of release as he saw the long truck-mounted launchers and missiles, their awkward shape belying their hideously deadly payload. He turned and flipped down his mouthpiece - "Garage secure, tell Kinshasa that the coffee is in the cup"

Kinshasa

A beleaguered Commonwealth could not do all it wanted for neighbours to the north and west. Still tasked with a large and determined resistance in eastern and southern territores, CAF commanders are loath to give up troops - if it could though, such a commitment would be against the hated French. Still, with control over industrial centres regained, foodstuffs, ammunition and what little else could be spared was sent to Ghana and other areas hit hard by the fighting. Trade was thriving again, and what could in fact be traded without risking attack from HL forces was carefully sent by the usual channels to Igovian, Indian and Quinntonian brokers on the continent.

Those army rangers who had volunteered to help were sent north to Burkina Faso - Expertise in demolitions, bush warfare and marksmanship could only help the Army of the Interior. Also, another positive development, for Kinshasa at least, was kept hidden as of now: Control with nearly all VX and missile stocks that had been commandeered by rebel elements was now back in Ndelebe's hand, and he will have the army back under control again soon. As Ndelebe muses to his aides in private: May God have mercy on my enemies, for I will not.

Senegalese officials and representatives in Yugoslavia are certainly impressed by the Novi Avion's capability, but they eventually settle on a somewhat lower number of airframes than was initially intended. Dakar's order so far accounts for ten Novi Avions and eight Super Galebs, along with fifteen Utva 75s taken from storage and associated spare parts and maintenance support for all three types. Strong interest is also shown in purchasing three Rade Koncar FACs for fisheries protection duties, though there are concerns over the costs associated in transporting those vessels from Yugoslavia to West Africa if access to the Strait of Gibraltar continues to be blocked by the Holy League powers. The Senegalese purchasing commission also asks about whether it would also be possible to acquire a number of Orao strike aircraft and SOKO-built Gazelles, two more aircraft types identified as worth operating by Air Force officers. Grom-B missiles and Lvb-250 laser-guided bombs are purchased in quantity, along with whatever L'Angelot Maudit AAMs the Soviets are willing to part with. Aware of the fact that they will not have such a massive reserve of capital to draw from in the future, Senegalese officers hope to establish a sizable cache of ordnance while the opportunity exists.

More limited defense assistance is also received from the Indian National Union, which provides several modern early warning radars, a Chhattisgarh Class patrol ship and eight HAL-built Twin Pioneer STOL transports. Per Dakar's request, UTS also begins modernization of a mothballed ex-Igovian Hound Class submarine for the Senegalese navy, a program paid-for in full by Parliament.

If it is naval equipment that Senegal desires, Britain is probably the place to look. Planned fleet expansions and upgrades have made the last two Oberon class submarines obsolete, and while not as cheap as Yugoslavian offerings, the Oberon design is both proven and highly effective. Considering the slaughter perpetrated by submarines in recent naval engagements, Senegal would be well served by a small but effective undersea arm. Priced by negotiation, the Oberons are available should the Senegalese desire them.

OOC: No time, just running out the door for a camping trip!

Senegal does show some interest in British Oberons, and the Hindustani naval attache certainly speaks highly of the design, but at present no order is placed for additional submarines, and no order is likely if second-hand Oberons prove to be more expensive than newly-built Yugoslav types. Certainly Senegalese defense planners see a submarine force as the best method of protecting the nation from larger surface navies such as that fielded by France and the Holy League, but the modernization of land forces is considered a higher priority and most in government would prefer to wait for the best possible deal before they consider additional submarines. If Dakar does not act, however, it is probable that Mumbai will, Parliament always being on the lookout for surplus British defense equipment.