April 21, 1956
The Secretary of CRASH, currently Erizo Vasquez of Panama, has delivered the following address to the Council, the Confederacy, and the world:
"Delegates, Citizens, Dignitaries, Esteemed Guests,
Today we make clear the intentions of CRASH, the CRASH of today, tomorrow and yesterday. We emphasise that peace, freedom and prosperity are the doctrines of the Confederacy, not war, greed or exploitation. That we bear no nation ill, nor bias. That our sole desire is to secure trade and opportunity of our citizens as much as other states desire the same for their own.
As the PADC utilises the power of the private sector for the betterment of all, it is up to the government of the Confederacy to wield the power of the public sector for the same. We must remember that the United States made use of its federal power to build the highways, to secure Louisiana, to free up land for settling and development. It is obvious that the government is not the antithesis to economic growth, not anymore than science and faith are to eachother. In fact, just like the latter two, the private sector and public sector all too often foster eachother, with their "inherent conflict" being wishful thinking. It is obvious our state must have a hand in securing the futures of our people.
As such, our armies have begun to roll across the land formerly known as Mexico, seizing its vast population and resources, and adding yet more rich cultures to our already diverse society. The Mexican people will be granted the safety and liberty their previous governments have so grievously denied them. These governments are not being destroyed, but integrated into a more harmonious, collective whole, with new markets for each of us to sell our goods, and new consumers to buy them. The resources available to all sides increase; such is the reason that integration will always be the best choice for the smaller nations of this Earth.
The forces of SONIC have been neglected for far too long. It is a grave injustice to our brave men and women and their families to send them patrolling offshore in what are basically little more than wooden boats with armor plating hastily glued on. Accordingly, the new budget that has passed the Council has made room for ten new battleships, complete with escort and all the personnel necessary to staff them. With a nation as dependent on trade as ours, it is but another example of the government protecting the private sector - citizens of the Caribbean need not fear the pirate scum who would plunder their fortunes and those of their children and grandchildren.
The navy, furthermore, serves as a deterrent to foes foreign and domestic. The impatient and immature who would seek violence over the vote shall know that SONIC will always preserve law and order. The plunderers of the sea would sooner scuttle their own vessels than try to go head to toe with our proud fleet. And those who would seek to invade the Confederacy and reap the fruits of its labor shall find a steel wall opposing them, ready to show them that no nation has the right to subjugate another.
On the subject of the sea and its importance to our fair Confederacy, we naturally have the issue surrounding the Straits of Gibraltar. While we had a brief dispute with the noble Italian Republic over the region, they have agreed to relinquish their claims, put the misunderstanding behind us, and have allowed us to embrace them as trade partners and our human brethren.
Gibraltar as a whole, has strangely enough not attracted the controversy we feared it would. We should accept this as a blessing, however, and a passive agreement of the international community that CRASH has the best interests of worldwide trade at heart. Our acquisition of the straits has solely been to keep it neutral, so that we as well as all other nations may profit from such a vital waterway; it would be a horror to deny a nation the wealth that comes from such ready access to the Mediterranean or Atlantic.
In that regard, that is why today, we declare our intentions in foreign policy, now and forever. There is no true winner in a war; there are only losers. Every person drafted is one less person working the fields or laboring in the factories. Every acre of land paved over with bases and airstrips is one less to feed the hungry. Every house obliterated is one more family left without a place to stay. Every life snuffed out is one less that could have contributed to the economic, cultural, and moral pursuits of our species.
With it being known war is never something to be desired, we hereby forever renounce our capability to pursue wars of aggression. We will treat all nations as we wish to be treated; we will trade with those who wish to grow wealthy, and defend against those who would attack us and violate our sovereignity and the rights of our citizenry.
As the world's wealthiest, most powerful nation, we cannot afford to retreat from it anymore than we can beat it into submission. We must strive to remain a shining beacon to the values of independence, self-determination, and prosperity, and do our best to lead by example, rather than by force or threat thereof. Good shall always triumph over evil, for the righteous unite whereas the wicked quabble amongst themselves.
Thank you, God bless you, and God bless the Confederacy."