[War] Russia/USA: "The Call, Part I"

[Michael Downey]

"The Call, Part I"
President Williams, United States of America
President Nemerenko, Russian Federation
31 January 2013
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

The phone wasn't actually red anymore. A 'crisis line' was available
through a text-only system link between the GRU and NSA. For
everything other than imminent nuclear war, long-distance
communications between the Kremlin and the White House were carried
out over regular telephone. Highly secured, but still just the same
phone Nemerenko used to call for a glass of water.

"What do you think will be the top item on his agenda?" Nemerenko
asked Minister Denemetov, fresh back from Beijing. The FM shrugged.

"Terrorism, regional security in the near-Middle East. I'd expect to
get a good scolding on our nuclear arsenal."

Nemerenko made a sour face. "It's been six years. The Armed Forces
aren't like that anymore."

"You're talking to an American, Leonid. How's your English?"

"Good enough. I have you just in case, and I'm sure he'll have someone
there from the State Department." Likewise, several FM flunkies and a
stern-faced agent from the SVR all sat in the President's office,
silently watching.

Nemereno picked up the receiver and pressed the marked button. There
was a slight click as the lines connected.

"President Williams," said Nemerenko. He hoped his Slavic accent was
not too heavy for his American counterpart. "Congratulations on your
entry into office."

A few thousand miles away, in the Oval Office, sitting near Secretary
of State-nominee Hill, National Security Advisor Adams, the head of
State Department's Russia desk, and his opposite numbers at NSC, CIA,
and the Pentagon, Williams replied in flawless Russian, only slightly
marked by an American accent. "President Nemerenko. Dos vedanya.
Congratulations seem rather...inappropriate given how I assumed the
Presidency, but I will take it in the spirit intended, and thank you,
nonetheless."

Inserting his security card into the secure telephone unit, he pushed
a button. 'Encrypt Call?' appeared in Russian on a display over on his
Kremlin counterpart's phone. "Might we dispense with the
intermediaries and go secure?" Williams asked, continuing in Russian
as the others in the Oval Office listened discreetly through
headphones; Those that weren't fluent in Russian were listening to a
translator, those that were heard the direct conversation. "Russian or
English, whichever language you prefer."

Nemerenko retrieved his own card from his wallet and authorized the
encryption protocols on his end. "English, since your Russkiy yazyk
does not seem to be needing any practice," he replied. Himself a
former Deputy FM, to dispense with the formalities within the first
few sentences of their first talk had implications that made Nemerenko
a bit wary. "What is it that you wish to talk about, Mr. President?"

Williams recognized the tone of voice. Switching back to English
effortlessly, "Mostly, this is a 'getting to know you' call. Insofar
as we have differences, they aren't things that are urgent or
threatening to explode, and thus are probably better left for the
usual diplomatic channels," he reassured. "You might have reason to be
wary generally, sir, but now is not one of those times," he noted with
a smile.

"Insofar as there are little things where high-level intervention
might help matters, though, I'll bring up one the Coast Guard just
sent up when I asked if anyone had anything they wanted mentioned.

"SAR in the Bering Strait. Traditionally, we've cooperated, even when
relations have been glacially cold. No incidents have -happened- yet,
but the crab season for the fleet out of Dutch Harbor and the other
islands in the Bering Strait begins soon, and the Coast Guard is
nervous about the lack of communication they're getting from their
Russian counterparts. When they inquire about doing joint exercises,
they've gotten little but static, and got pushed back with a huff when
they went through channels with their concerns.

"It could be a grumpy commander, it could be readiness issues, it
could be any number of things. Coast Guard commander in the area
thinks it's just miscommunication...But they're already losing
exercise time they'd wish they had been able to work with when
something happens, and I think we'd both prefer to have it brought up
now, not after the sea claims more crabbers and everybody starts
pointing fingers.

"If it's a grumpy commander, a nudge can do wonders. If it's
readiness, okay, if you'll authorize the entries into territorial
waters, I can task some Navy units to backstop our Coast Guard, and
have the USCG pick up the slack while you resolve them. If it's pride
and the commander wanting to think 'We don't need
any 'cooperation''...Well, the sea doesn't care about the flag a
vessel flies when it decides to claim it, and the mariners aboard that
ship don't really care about the details about who does the pickup."

Nemerenko gave Denemetov a cold stare. A request from the US for a
joint patrol or other united military endeavor would warrant going
straight to the Russian President's desk. Irina simply shrugged.

'Before I was here,' she mouthed. He decided to let it slide, but
would have stern words for some of the FM's lower ministers and
bureaucrats.

"I will see to it that the Russian Navy Chief of Staff coordinates
with the Coast Guard and US Navy to devise a proper strategy for
cooperative patrolling of the area."

"The crab fleet will appreciate that, I'm sure. Our naval attache will
put your naval commanders in touch with the proper people at COMPAC
and the Coast Guard," Williams replied, getting a nod from Pentagon's
Russia guy, who tapped a message that flashed on his computer
screen: 'CG thx for nudge; COMPAC will link USCG Dutch Harbor and
Russian Navy'

"Other than that, we actually have very few things on the agenda on
our end," he continued. "So, your turn, now. Anything you have to
bring up?"

"Technical assistance," said Nemerenko. "The MVD needs to be shaken up
a bit, and most importantly our policing institution needs to catch up
on some of the more modern methods the rest of Europe and North
America are using. Investigation procedures, forensics, criminology,
that sort of thing. It was our hope that the FBI could give us some
expertise. We are of course willing to cover the associated costs."

"That could be done easily. If your ambassador here could deliver a
more detailed statement of what you need to the FBI, we can start
organizing a technical assistance mission and figure out the funding
arrangements," Williams replied.

"A brief thought, however. Congress is going to be skeptical; I'm
going to therefore have to attach strings to satisfy them, in the form
of mandatory human rights courses for all senior officers. It's hard
to change institutional cultures, but all the technical magic in the
world won't do much unless it's backed up by habits of thinking.
Besides, when I joined a CODEL to Moscow 3 years ago, looking at human
rights and corruption, that's one thing we all noted in talking with
the militsiya, particularly the officer corps; they -wanted- to do
things right, so that their counterparts could see them as
professionals. But the institutional -culture-, the training they
got...Was mostly touched up to -look- Western, but still carried
Soviet thoughts and views of power and authority."

Nemerenko found himself having to bite back his pride. He acknowledged
that human rights was an area that the MVD and the militsiya needed to
improve, but no one liked getting lectured by the White House on it.
The DHS, Patriot Act, Guantanamo Bay, 'foreign rendition,' the SVR had
fully briefed him. Who did Williams think he was trying to fool on
American human rights?

"We knew this would come up," mouthed Denemetov. He nodded. The DHS
and CIA might send people to internment camps without charges for
years and export foreigners to third world nations to be tortured, but
the NYPD sure didn't. And that's the type of police organization he
hoped the militsiya would be soon.

"Fine, that's a term I can agree to in exchange for your technical
assistance. But the Assembly is only giving me funding for technical
assistance, not other sorts of advisors. If it is such a concern for
your Congress, then Washington can pay for the human rights
instructors themselves."

This time it was Denemetov's turn to give a sour look. The West,
especially the Americans, loved to lecture other nations about their
human rights record but loathed to do anything that required them to
actually pay for it. If it was actually a serious issue for the
Americans, this condition could be a problem.

"Fair enough. That'll get included as a line item in the foreign aid
budget for FY14, and I'll throw it at the House to get funding on it
for the current fiscal year. Shouldn't be too hard," Williams
replied. "We do have a coming surplus, after all."

"I know the way it comes across: The Amerikanskii lecturing Russia
about human rights when we have things like the camps at Gitmo, the
excesses of the Patriot Act, and so forth within the past decade.

"I grant all of these things. We're not infallible; we make mistakes,
too. And when we do make those mistakes, we can be stubborn and slow
to correct ourselves, but correct ourselves we do. Gitmo's camps
closed in 2009, we use the area to hold refugees picked up at sea now,
in infinitely better conditions than they were previously held in. The
Patriot Act we've restrained and corrected where it went too far; I
sponsored the latest bill on that topic that got signed by President
Richardson. But I think we both agree that those national things
aren't the issue right now. It's the cop on the beat in Asbury Park,
New Jersey or Gurnee, Illinois; the cop on the beat in New York City
or Los Angeles. The Militiaman on the beat in Moscow or St. Petersburg
or Vladivostok or Arkhangel'sk. Those cops really -are- a brotherhood.
The job ain't -that- different across cultures. I could teach you all
the CSI magic in the world, but it wouldn't be worth much unless the
militsiya on the streets of Moscow are as professional and as
generally trusted by the citizens as their counterpart in the US.
Because, as we've found, most of the keys to dealing with crime lie
in -preventing- it, in dealing with broken windows before the places
with broken windows set the mood for a place. The details get modified
to suit the place, here and everywhere, but the basics aren't -that-
different," Williams finished.

"On the note of cooperation. Perhaps it would for the both of us, in
terms of getting to know each other professionally and personally, to
keep doing these phone calls. Next time, no advisers crowding around,
no translators, nobody but the two of us, to assure we can speak
freely and candidly....About anything, no matter how seemingly
insignificant. We may not be very -productive- in any given
conversation, but I think you can agree with me, sir, that when we -do-
 have things to argue about, or when there -is- a crisis, it would be
better for both of us, for both nations, if the leader on the other
end is someone we know and have a rapport with," he noted.

For his part, Nemerenko was a bit surprised at how candid Williams had
been on America's own transgressions on human rights. The Russian
president was well aware that Russia couldn't really boast to have a
good track record itself, but had been irked by the idea of the POTUS
sitting on a high horse and lecturing the Kremlin. That an admission
of America's own record had been given made it easier for Nemerenko to
swallow. And really, everything that Williams said in regards to the
Milisiya was true.

"I think I can agree to that," he said over the phone. "The United
States is very important to the foreign relations of Russia, if not
Europe as a whole. More open lines of communication would be welcomed
by my administration."

"I'm glad," Williams replied, a smile on his face, especially as he
noted thumbs up from Ambassador Hill. "With that, the usual suspects,
while not really the focus of my call today, -do- deserve discussion.

"We can read each other's press statements and the like, true, but
what -are- you thinking in terms of China? "
---

Actions:
1) The US Government agrees to provide technical assistance to the Russian
MVD and militsiya (police)
2) In exchange, the Russian Government will also agree to human rights
courses for its MVD agents and militsiya officers
3) The Russian Navy and US Navy/Coast Guard will work on joint patrolling of
the Bering Strait
4) The White House and Kremlin commit to stronger and more continuous
communications between each other.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://esteroic.com/pipermail/war_esteroic.com/attachments/20070316/2c2cf570/attachment.html