"A Candid Letter"<br>President Leonid Nemerenko<br>Russian Federation<br>5 March 2014<br>-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-<br><br>It was a rare thing for Nemerenko to be nervous. Annoyed, dismayed, even fretful. But this feeling that he had now was a genuine inkling of fear. Of uncertainty about the future and what was going to happen. Not just to Russia, but to the entire world. <br>
<br>"And over what," he cursed quietly, resisting the urge to slam his fist onto his desk. Good leaders let themselves be guided by logic and pragmatism, not unbridled emotion. That was a key lesson his Sensei had taught him. Still, he could not help but feel an immense amount of frustration. Who honestly cared about North Korea? Maybe when they had been a rogue state with nuclear weapons, but now they were just another war-ravaged, dirt poor nowhere. No threat to Russia, no threat to world stability. Or at least that should have been the case. He cast an angry look at the phone on his desk. Nemerenko had picked it up twice with the intent of calling Williams and let that irrational pretender to the Oval Office have an earful. You never heard cursing until you heard Russian expletives. <br>
<br>You made a fatal error Ivan, thought Nemerenko. And now you are too proud, stupid or both to give up and go home and are making the situation worse.<br><br>An embargo on China! What utter idiocy! To simply cut off all trade with the second largest economy on Earth and expect it will make everything better! That lull after the fall of the Soviet Union truly had made America arrogant beyond measure. This was not some pissant Arab state that could be smacked around with some choice sanctions and a few F-16s buzzing airfields, this was a superpower! A <i>nuclear</i> superpower!<br>
<br>A disruption in trade between China and America would cause severe economic loss for both, which would in turn affect Europe and Asia and in turn affect Russia. The Soviet Union had been a completely different economic bloc than the USA, but the Americans and Chinese operated within the same market system. This... lunacy was the start of a global recession. And if they were unlucky, it might turn into something even worse.<br>
<br>And Russia had terrible luck. <br><br>He began to type.<br><br>---<br>To: President John Williams, USA<br>From: President Leonid Nemerenko, Russian Federation<br>[Encrypted, Moscow/Washington Protocol]<br><br>Ivan, <br>
<br>Please allow me to be candid in this letter. I write to appeal to you, one leader to another, to end this mad fiasco before the fallout has severe consequences for the people of America, Russia, Korea and the world as a whole. <br>
<br>Let us be honest, this is not about freedom for North Korea. This is not about you protecting the world from some sort of new Soviet Empire, this isn't about democracy versus communism (if there is such a thing anymore). This is about fear. Fear and pride. You are afraid of China as a potential rival on the global stage, a nation that can openly defy the United States after nearly a decade of the world being your playground. And pride over the fact that your reckless scheme in North Korea has been uncovered and that you have been caught.<br>
<br>Make no mistake, I believe the Chinese. Even before your own public admission of guilt, the GRU had confirmed the authenticity of the PRC's information. What you have done is a gross violation of international law and the sovereignty of China. <br>
<br>You attempts to hold China to some sort of standard are foolish and hypocritical. America is responsible for just as many atrocities as China. Or Russia, for that matter. How many Iraqis did you butcher? A hundred thousand? A hundred and fifty thousand? I believe the death toll in Vietnam was over two million. And despite the adamant denials of your government I and every other world leader with even a second-rate intelligence agency knows about the incidents of torture and illegal detention your government carried out during that farce you called the 'War on Terror.' So much for democratic decency. You also gave Saddam Hussein the means to produce chemical weapons that he used to massacre hundreds of thousands of Iranians and Kurds, supported the Shah and his SAVAK killers, ignored human rights abuses by Israel (and post-Soviet Russia) that were just as inhumane as anything China has ever done. <br>
<br>Ah, and let us not forget when America was funding the operations of Mr. Bin Laden against my countrymen. Not that I deny our own atrocities in Afghanistan, but so long as Bin Laden's murderous rhetoric was directed at Russia and not America you had no problem getting into bed with that madman. I'm sure you recall how that turned out in the end. <br>
<br>I can sympathize with attempts to undermine a rival. This is politics, after all. But to so blindly pursue this confrontation with China while pretending that America is something that it is not, namely a nation that cares about the right, lives and decency of anyone other than its own citizens, is irrational and irresponsible. If this was just about power and balancing the scales against China, you would have cut your loses and moved on. Pursuing this is dangerous to global stability. China will not back down. This embargo and escalation of tension will only hurt the American economy and economy of the world. It is unfortunate that your men will be executed by the Chinese, but both you and they knew the risks when you (illegally) sent them to carry out this operation.<br>
<br>Do not bore me with transparent outcrys of 'democracy' and 'human rights.' I will let your country's records speak for itself. And do attempt to dismiss my warnings as irrelevant based on the past atrocities of my predecessors. I am well aware of the crimes Russia stands guilty of and I have taken care to learn from that. Perhaps you should as well.<br>
<br>The world tolerated the arrogant and irresponsible behavior of America in the post-9/11 world because your actions only affected smaller nations. Now you have angered a superpower with nuclear weapons and possesses a critical role in the world economy. Your CIA operation in North Korea was irresponsibly foolish and your embargo on China is as well. End this now, Ivan, before it becomes worse. And I can assure you, it will become much, much worse.<br>
<br>With regards and hope,<br>Leonid<br>---<br><br>Actions:<br>1) Russia thinks the American embargo of China is a bad idea<br>2) Send a rather scathing private letter to President Williams<br><br>