The Ottoman will not pay the 35 Revenue for what was a mistaken fire, not a deliberate war creation policy. We simply wanted to ensure the Middle East was under Ottoman protection, with Syria being of our interest. We as a democracy sought not to bring Syria under iron but under the wisdom of a empire that reforged itself. What of the notion that the Confederation had made a surprise assault on Syria? What of the losses made of our troops by Confederate hands? We are as the aggressor as you were. Hence the only acceptable outcome from this is the formation of a non-aggression pact between us, less we allow a blame game spiral into a storm of chaos. The only way we are paying revenue is if it will end up with the Syrian being granted the protection of their Ottoman brethren but we sense that the greed of a invasion on Ottoman natural sphere of influence is notable. The Confederacy has bought shame upon itself.
Meanwhile, the African Confederation and the Ottoman Empire clash in Syria, after an attack by Ottoman forces on Confederate tanks blocking major roads and refusing to move.
Reports from the fighting clearly show that the Ottomans were the ones to initiate the incident, which has resulted in numerous deaths amongst Confederation soldiers. Your attempts to pass off what you dub 'the blame game' as inconsequential are merely an attempt to avoid taking responsibility for the actions of your armed forces, who clearly perpetrated an act of aggression against the servicemen of the Confederation. Your refusal to pay compensation for the lives and limbs our people lost to the blood-lust of your military is merely a sign that you have no desire to treat with us fairly and equally as our common humanity dictates. Instead of assisting the families of the honourably departed, you demand the territories they died to defend, attempting to spite their sacrifice by marching your occupational forces over their graves. We grant that the non-aggression pact is an idea to pursue, but we will speak of that only after you have agreed to the remuneration of our people's losses, and to avoid pressing further attempts to absorb Syria into your supposedly-wise empire.
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"Tell me," McRothschild began "do you have any idea what McKilgore is doing? Do you think he realises what kind of a disaster it will be if people start
listening to what he says? Because there
will be a disaster if we get into a war now. We're barely ready for self defence, much less to start a campaign of conquest overseas." The minister of the Interior watched as the general grimaced in response to his words.
"McKilgore isn't stupid," Panzer McBlitzkreig said slowly "he has a fairly decent idea of what is involved in a major war when it comes to ground operations, and he has some idea of the scale of what he's talking about. The problem with Ripper is that challenge doesn't turn him away, he's the kind who'll lay a bet on long odds just for the thrill of it. He knows what he's talking about, and I'd say he's rather hoping he does find himself in at the deep end, struggling to bring our troops through against incredible odds. He's that kind of person I'm afraid."
McRothschild gave a sigh "And here I was afraid he was just too much of an idiot to realise what he's proposing. I suppose I don't have to explain to you how bad an idea such a war is, it is, after all, your area of expertise." He paused for a moment, before a nod from his companion spurred him on "I suppose now the challenge lies in convincing the senate to ignore him, and try and come to some sort of a compromise."
"I thought they were trying to compromise already." McBlitzkreig observed neutrally, watching how McRothschild's eyes narrowed at the comment.
"True, but if you ask a senator what their exact policy is, you'll get something bland about 'keeping all options under consideration' or some such nonsense. They are
trying for a compromise, but If you look at the budget I'm being asked to allocate to the military, a slightly different story arises. But then I suppose you know that as well."
McBlitzkreig nodded "I believe the exact phrase in my orders was 'cost is no object', although I expect you take a somewhat different view of that." An amused snort from McRothschild brought a smile to Panzer's face as he continued "You're right though, I'll do what I can to keep Ripper on a tight leash."
"That's all I'm asking." Banker nodded to his friend as the other turned to go "Good Luck. I get the feeling you'll have your hands full trying to muzzle that particular dog."
"You'll need it more than me, but thanks anyway." The general left the Minister to his work, each in their own way trying to keep their country from grabbing at the throat of the calamity looming before it.
DT
