“Nations that embrace power and attempt to extend their borders will always succumb to defeat and humiliation. Germany tried it, Britain, my own country. It is difficult enough to mind one’s own store and defend its borders, that to try anything more than that which will eventually bring defeat and misery to a homeland. If a leader is to bend to the will of the people, it is that they are best left to their own capitalistic ways and be allowed to search for their own endeavors. Any leader that attempts to thwart freedom of its people will always be at odds with them and in the end it is the will of the people that will win out. Sometimes it is a process that spans generations and other times, when the freedom is simply given to the people, they will create great wealth for themselves and to its nation. If wealth is the measuring stick, and wealth is what we want, then it becomes clear when sorting the winners from the losers.
“My country and your countries have had varying degrees of success and failure and I can only ask you to look at yourselves in a mirror to decide how you compare with others. I do not judge you; however I do judge my own country and see that we must look to a different future if we are to remain a major power.
“This may sound like the ramblings of an old man, but I assure you it is not. No longer will I espouse the dismantling of the EIS as I have in the past as it is now needed to defend our European community against Iranian aggression wherever we can. With strong defenses in place my own country is safer as it would be only a matter of time until Iran turns its wrath upon us simply because we are not of their faith. I do not have all the answers nor could we hope to solve the problems of the world in one bold stroke. We can make plans to defend ourselves against the aggression that is sure to come.
“As to our relationship with Iran it is best that Russia be regarded as an ally while in fact we will be less than that.
“For this reason I must talk to your prime ministers and presidents so that we will reach an understanding that is only for their ears. I can only tell you that when you hear various pronouncements that seem hostile to your countries and favorable to Iran, that such rhetoric is more for their ears than yours and that Russia is now firmly committed to a warm relationship with EU and the United States as never before.”
Everyone was shocked and delighted. They stood to their feet and rewarded the words with an ovation.
“Thank you. I must ask that all that has been said here goes only to your prime ministers and presidents, not to your constituents. When you relay this information to them they will wish to meet with me to discuss the details of our individual relationships. I will go to your capitals if needed or they can meet with me here. This is an endeavor to bring about prosperity and peace between our nations.”
The press conference started promptly.
The Russian Foreign Minister Mikhail Vissarionovich Dostoevsky stood in the lobby of the UN before an agglomeration of microphones and began the campaign to obtain support for Somalia. “As many of you know Somalia’s late Prime Minister Sharmarke has requested assistance for his country for many years. On the day of his passing, his country signed an aid pact with my country and we intend to fulfill our part of its terms. Somalia has not been completely neglected and our members at the UN do have 8500 multinationals in Somalia at this very moment offering protection to the International Red Cross and other health organizations.
“It is our feeling that Somalia and other nations in Africa have been neglected somewhat in the outreach of the Western World and other affluent nations. We will do the best we can to restore order to their government and seek international support of our endeavors there in order to stabilize the country. Rather than ask for more multinational forces, we are seeking financial and relief support from all nations. In the interests of logistics we believe we can place the country on its feet efficiently in a timely manner as I have proposed today. We will work side by side with the current multinational forces in an effort to enhance the ongoing work.”
He went on to explain that his country would be producing a bumper crop of wheat and other foods that would go directly to Somalia. The infra structure would be enhanced in a similar manner not unlike the United States that had assisted Iraq in the recent past. “And like that endeavor it will not be an easy task however we look forward to the challenges of this outreach program the first of its kind for our country. The Russian nation has been fortunate in recent years and we felt that this is the first time we were reasonably well off and it is now time to reach out to one of our neighbors and extend a helping hand.”
He offered a question and answer session. A CNN reporter asked, “Exactly why has your country chosen this project at this time? Does the Iranian test have anything to do with this?”
He offered a cheerful smile for the cameras. “A very good question — I think we would have done this regardless of the Iranian test. Our decision to do this was no more than a humanitarian effort and we would encourage other countries to adopt a country and assist it as best they can. If this goes well, it is possible we may in good time assist other countries. We did take a look at several other countries in the vicinity and others certainly could use assistance as well. We chose Somalia as our African ally as we felt it would help to stabilize the weakest link in Africa.”
Sarah Reynolds from the BBC asked the question, “Your country has supplied Iran with the supplies to produce an atomic weapon. Do you plan to continue to supply Iran with materials to produce atomic weapons?”
“It is true we have sold many things to Iran and it is possible they may have used some of these things to do as you suggest. We have no control over this as they did tell us that their intentions were to build nuclear reactors to produce electricity. We are as surprised as anyone that they have conducted this test. We know that a WMD such as this has never been used in sixty years as the weapons are used as a deterrent. Certainly no rational leader would ever order these weapons to be unleashed other than for defense. We have always worked to reduce our own nuclear arsenals with the USA, signed the NPT and a number of agreements over the years. We see no great cause for alarm and we imagine that more countries will produce WMD’s, then agree to the NPT as time marches on, and we would anticipate that no harm can come of it.”
The cabinet members watched the press conference from the WHSR.
The Director of the CIA, Larry Deshano started off the response. “None of this makes any sense to me. Kuznetsov is running the show and he has never shown any behaviors that would indicate that he is suddenly a benevolent compassionate person. Russia has been less ruthless in recent times, but only because Reagan ran them ragged in the cold war. Hey, we all know they sold a bill of goods to Saddam and when he ran up a bill with no intention of paying, they began selling to Iran. Now Kuznetsov expects us to believe that they never suspected that the Iranians were going to build WMD and then they are going to revive the Somalis out of the goodness of their hearts. I may be a dumb hick from the bayou but I smell some Cajun catfish smok’n here. Gimme a break!”
Michael Costanzo chuckled and agreed. “Yeah Larry, I smell something fishy going on here too — not exactly sure what it is. I do know we had better figure out their angle pretty darn quick—”
Robinson interrupted, “I disagree with you gentlemen. From what I saw in Somalia I can tell you this man has a heart. I saw him stop a massacre of defenseless Somalis for no other reason than that he was there and had the power to do it. The Ethiopians, I can tell you, are heartless beyond measure. Had I been in charge I would have wiped out the Ethiopians without any remorse, however Kuznetsov and General Dimochka ended it compassionately. They sent the Ethiopians home with their tails between their legs and simply told them not to do it again.”