“Yes, ma’am. We’ve rearmed the exiled Florida guardsmen in Cuba. Our negotiations with the People’s Republic there have paid off handsomely. The Reconquista will handily liberate Miami. Those few thousand fighters will lead a People’s uprising of millions well beyond just Florida. Within a week, I will raise for you fresh armies inside the walls of Rome! Despite the general’s skepticism, success is assured.”
General Stewart smacked his palm on the polished mahogany round table. He had everyone’s undivided attention. “What the hell are you talking about? Ma’am, please tell me you’re not actually considering this fantasy? As we’ve discussed, we need to focus all our energy on building a viable defensive force. That’s your only chance to negotiate peace from a position of strength. The last thing we can afford is to escalate things. Especially not with such off the wall stunts like this.”
President Salazar appeared genuinely surprised. “General, we are way beyond finding ‘a peace we can live with.’ I’m in this to win it, and you can bet that the Washington crowd is as well. I want to make sure you’re not laboring under any false pretenses. We’re at war!”
Salazar took a deep breath and fixed her hair. She forced down her dragon instincts, which only made her snark more threatening.
“In this war, Mr. Esterline has so far gathered us much more success than your dawdling. His maneuverings brought Kansas and Nebraska into our corner, without even holding referendums. He’s why our soldiers are facing off with the Feds across the Missouri River and not in the streets of Denver! With that record, when he speaks, he will be listened to.”
For his part, Esterline wasn’t smug about the public dressing down the boss gave his uniformed rival. He was so self-assured he didn’t need any external validation. Those puckered lips held pity and not spite for the poor general who lacked his brilliance.
Esterline jumped up and buzzed about the room with his usual intensity, shoving printouts into everyone’s hand. “As I was saying, there’s more combat power over there than you think. Here are the details. I’ve worked everything out with the Cubans. In exchange for most favored nation trade status and some other direct aid, they will support the liberators with the full weight of the Revolutionary Armed Forces.”
Another military man took over for the smarting general. “Um, I’m not seeing much in the way of weight here. A few dozen obsolete planes and even older warships. Where are the troops?”
Esterline grinned knowingly, or psychopathically, as some critics worried. “That’s where our brave Floridian Freedom fighters come in. Come now, we will use the barbarians, but we won’t repeat Rome’s mistake. No foreign fighters on our soil! But we can take advantage of their support to get our people into Miami.”
With a flourish, he produced his own digital projector and computer. The leadership crowd stared awestruck at the fabulous projections on screen. Crazy or not, you have to admit he believed every word he said. Sincerity always lends a certain credibility.
“If we launch a diversionary attack along the border, where they’re expecting us anyway, the Gaul’s, I mean Feds, will leave Florida totally exposed. Their occupation forces are scattered all over the state. They aren’t ready to meet an external invasion. Practically all of the Air Force and Navy are deployed along the border or in transit to blockade our coast. They are naked. We need to hit now! While they’re still weak and disorganized.”
More heads nodded than at the beginning. President Salazar carefully studied their expressions. Even a few of the military ones were in grudging agreement.
“Ok, I think we have plan. This is a low risk, high payoff proposition. Unless we come up with something better, it’s time to set a date. Can we be ready by next Monday?”
The general knew when he was beaten. Well, at least they’d have the element of surprise. Who in the USA would guess they’d do something so reckless? “Yes, ma’am. We can be. On 17 April, we’ll launch our offensive.”
Esterline’s face held no sense of triumph. He didn’t feel any obstacle had been overcome. The outcome of this meeting was never in doubt. His scheme was the best way to go; anyone could see that. He refilled his water glass yet again and let his mind run loose with the million little details to be worked out. No matter who ran the operation, this was still his war.
Chapter 13
Sacramento, California
Where the name United Republics of America came from is still shrouded in historical uncertainty. The favorite story claims it was first used in a heated exchange between Ms. Salazar and the president shortly after his emergency term extension. During one of the last conference calls, just before reunification negotiations broke down for the last time, her assistants and their federal counterparts were at each other’s throats. She and her rival president ignored the insults and teenager-like threats their staffs traded. Mostly.
The president’s staffers mocked the concept of a rival government and in particular her status as the legitimate president. In response to the remark that, sure, there were two Americas, the USA and the United Sociopaths of America, she stepped into the debate and coined a new term.
“The first President of the United Republics of America would like to speak to the last President of the United States of America privately.” The legitimate sounding URA silenced the president’s men. She drew a solid and dangerous line in the sand by showing that they’d moved well beyond legal squabbling and headline grabbing.
The least favorite, though most likely story, claimed the name was a product of some LA advertising agency. The well-crafted result of countless focus groups. It’s also possible that both versions hold a little truth.
Origins aside, a name was finally necessary if they were ever going to achieve complete legitimacy. It was getting confusing every time so-called federal officials warned of the dangers from other people calling themselves federal officials. URA authorities vehemently denied they were in any way, shape or form seceding from the Union, even as they redesigned the flag. Those early days were confusing, to say the least.
One unintended consequence of the title adoption is that it gave foreign powers a government to recognize. Not that anyone in Sacramento had sought such recognition. Some back channel feelers were put out, but the initial feedback wasn’t reassuring. Formal requests were not sent out to foreign governments over fear of the political embarrassment rejection could cause.
But this didn’t keep some traditional enemies of the US from immediately recognizing the newly minted URA as a legitimate nation. Iran and North Korea issued friendly press releases the same day California passed the Freedom referendum. The compliments were accepted by Sacramento with awkwardness. Unsure of the appropriate response to this unwelcomed support, URA politicians did the same as their USA counterparts: they ignored it.
One nation no one could ignore, however, was the People’s Republic of China. In a tongue in cheek mocking of the USA’s long standing quasi-recognition of Taiwan, they announced their own “One America” policy shortly after the name adoption. While publically stating that there was only one America and one legitimate American government, they chose to remain neutral and not oppose either claimant. This roundabout granting of legal status to the new regime from someone actually important opened the diplomatic floodgates.
Within weeks, most non-NATO members accepted some variation of China’s policy. Not that China offered only moral support. Apparently, in the diplomatic world, there is a huge difference between “not opposing” and “not supporting” something. In less than two weeks, a private, nonprofit “Chinese Institute of America” opened in Sacramento.