Disparu - U.S. DIplomatic Conference

[Maelstrom Vortex]

Kevin Gates landed quietly at the airport. A motorcade took him to the Foreign Affairs office of Disparu where he was due to meet a delegation and talk over matters of state. He was the recently assigned as Ambassador to Disparu by the State Department. He got out of the car, popping open his umbrella in the cold wet rain. His over coat whipped in the mild wind as he jogged towards the door to get out of the rain and into the warmth of the government office building. Once inside, he waited quietly in the lobby for the Disparu ambassador, as instructed.

Edited May 22, 2010 by Maelstrom Vortex

[Pikachurin]

OoC: Wait...isn't Kevin Gates the Ambassador to Disparu?
IC:

Since it was late spring, the weather around Jubilife, the capital city, had been rainy and cold when Gates' airplane landed at Darach International Airport. He was quickly ushered into a limousine and was transported to the Centre for Foreign Affairs, the Disparuean Ministry of Foreign Affairs' headquarters. The first thing Gates would see upon reaching the Centre was a hill-shaped glass structure surrounded by a large, artificial pond. A cross-shaped pedestrian bridge connecting the Centre and other Government buildings to the rest of the city would enable Gates to cross the pond.

[center][img]http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20091215031633/cybernations/images/thumb/8/88/CentreforForeignAffairsEntrance.jpg/200px-CentreforForeignAffairsEntrance.jpg[/img][/center]

As soon as Gates entered the building, he was asked to take a seat and was offered drinks while the Minister of Foreign Affairs was called. Ten minutes later, a woman with aquamarine eyes and brown hair curled into rolls would enter the lobby. She was accompanied by an assortment of other officials and an armed guard wearing the badge of the Judicial Police. She immediately found Gates and began to walk towards him.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Gates." said the woman, smiling, as she offered her hand. "I'm Lilian Meridian, Minister of Foreign Affairs and member of the Empire Party. How was your trip?"

After the formalities, Lilian said, "The lobby isn't a secure place to discuss things of utmost importance, so we'll have to go to the Centre's meeting room. Follow me, please."

Gates would then be led to a modest meeting room. The room consisted of a long, polished wooden table surrounded by a dozen red office chairs. Paintings and images of Disparu's wildlife hung on the walls.

"So, Mr. Gates, what does the American Government have in mind?" inquired Meridian as they took their seats.

[Maelstrom Vortex]

"What is Disparu comfortable with? After the peaceful liberation of Michigan we have come to believe that Disparu is a more than benevolent government and quite frankly we are open to as extensive of a relationship arrangement as it allows. Nobility breeds friendship and the people of Disparu have definitely demonstrated quite a bit of nobility in their actions." Kevin observed.

"I appreciate the warm reception." He nodded.

[Pikachurin]

"Well, we aren't exactly noble..." said Meridian nervously as she remembered when the Government found itself in a dangerous treaty lock during the sudden war against Tahoe. Hopefully, it wouldn't happen again. "However, we do believe in democracy, benevolence, justice and freedom. Instead of campaigning for public office to pursue our own plans and goals, we are supposed to listen to the will of the masses and work to benefit the greater good. Such was the case in Michigan. When the people of the former protectorate desired to join the US, the Disparuean Parliament immediately granted the wishes of Michigan. The same goes for Coruscanta, and [i]*ahem*[/i] the Great Lakes Provinces." continued Meridian.

"Besides those four principles, the Government also has a keen interest in promoting security and stability in the region. So we were alarmed when the Great Lakes Provinces became aggressive and demanded Michigan just after we granted them their independence. To be honest, they were quite hypocritical in their demands; they spoke of democracy, and yet, they seemed to be ignorant of the fact that Michigan's people wanted to be part of the US after their former country, the Great Lakes States, failed to defend them from destabilization." she ranted.

"Anyways, if I correctly remember, the American Government sent you here to discuss a possible treaty between our nations. We would be comfortable of a mutual defence pact, or something similar, since you seem to be already in good terms with our greatest ally and friend, J Andres, as well as our two other allies; Blue Heaven and Texas. However, before we sign a treaty, we would prefer it if we knew more about how the American Government works." said Meridian. "What are the US's goals in foreign affairs? How does your internal government work? How is your economy structured, and is it stable?" probed Meridian.

"Of course, it would be unfair if we never bothered to answer those same questions." said Meridian. "Disparu is a constitutional monarchy and a federal parliamentary democracy. Power is split between the Federal Government and the Provincial Governments, though power can be further broken down into municipal levels. Generally, the Federal Government is more powerful than other governments here in Disparu. We are currently pursuing strengthened relations with nations in our region, though economic treaties would probably be welcomed from other parts of the world. Our economy is a mix between the capitalist and socialist systems, though we tend to lean towards the socialist side."

Meridian paused before continuing, "If you have any question about us, please feel free to ask them."

[Maelstrom Vortex]

The United States is a Federal Republic. We are founded on the very same principles as the same United States that was liberated in 1776 and in the spirit of that same nation which is why we have taken its name. We also formed in like manner.. a rebellion against tyranny spreading through nearby territories with a similar sense of nationalism and a desire to be free and properly represented.

We have no monarchy. We have a President that will be elected by the people and through the electoral college every 4 years. We have 2 legislatures who create laws, the President wields a veto power but that power can be over-ridden by a 2/3rd's majority vote of congress. The Justice Department, which is over our courts, has the authority to interpret those laws. In as such a balance of powers is established which keeps neither 3 branches from having absolute control over the operations of our day to day affairs. The President is over the Army and Law Enforcement. Congress may declare war, but the President has the authority to move military forces in less substantial actions.

The current goal of U.S. Foreign affairs is to unite the North American continent under treaty and to provide stability to the western hemisphere. We also wanted to unite as many of our former States as we could without war, and we have done so at this point. We will look for other opportunities to peacefully unite with other former states as we have with Texas.

Our economy is controlled by Congress which controls the Federal Treasury via the Budget. We have a systems of banks centered around a highly government regulated Federal Reserve system which is audited on a regular basis. The goal of that system is to monitor and control the money supply of our currency, the U.S. dollar. Our major financial exchange is currently the Chicago Board of Trade in Illinois. The system is proven tested and stable.. and we've even made some improvements. In the previous U.S. Government the Federal Reserve, for example.. went for the longest time as an unaudited body and was subject to corruption.

We appreciate you providing the information you have about your government and we are built in a similar pattern, but without the Monarchy having oversight.

Militarily, each state has its own national guard.. each state contributes a portion of their military forces via recruitment to the 5 branches of the U.S. Armed Forces. The U.S. Navy is still weak.. and we're working on re-establishing it, but it's going to take some time. Texas has the current strongest national guard.. almost as strong as its own national military as is commanded by its Governor.

Do you have any other questions?

[Pikachurin]

"Interesting. Our government systems are indeed nearly identical, just under different names and rules." noted Meridian. "Our Monarchy is actually more of a ceremonial and symbolic position. Their power is controlled by our constitution, and even though they still have some powers, those are rarely used and are subject to parliamentary oversight."

"Considering that both of our nations adhere to the same principles and ideals, I believe it would be in Disparu's and the US's best interest if a MDP was signed between us." continued Meridian. "Do you have a draft with you?"

[Maelstrom Vortex]

"We have a template we've been using for the treaty types. There's just a few things I need to add to formalize it."

[Maelstrom Vortex]

What do you think of this?

[quote]
[center][img]http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20090616023718/cybernations/images/thumb/7/71/Flag_of_Disparu.svg/125px-Flag_of_Disparu.svg.png[/img] & [img]http://www.rallyroundtheflag.org/images/old-glory-01.jpg[/img][/center]

[center]American Defense[/center]

Preamble
Disparu and the United States of America, two countries who wish to strengthen ties and forge a lasting friendship and cooperation in international affairs hereby agree to this pact.

Article I: Non Aggression
Both nations pledge not to initiate any form of hostile actions against the other, and shall keep an open line of communications between both governments.

Article II: Mutual Defense
Should either signatory come under attack, the other has the obligation to come to their defense by all means available.

Article III: Intelligence Sharing
If either signatory of this pact receives sensitive information concerning the safety and security of the other they are required to share it and when applicable the source of said information.

Article IV: Trade
Both signatories should endeavor to reduce or eliminate tariffs, and pledge to increase trade between both signatories.

Article VI: Withdrawal
Either signatory may withdraw from this pact at any time, but they are required to notify the other signatory forty-eight (48) hours prior.

William Caudill,
President of the United States
As ratified by Congress
[/quote]

[Pikachurin]

"This looks good." said Meridian as she took out a stamp.

[quote][i]/s/[/i]
Lilian Meridian
[i]Minister of Foreign Affairs of Disparu
On behalf of the King and the Government of Disparu[/i][/quote]

[Maelstrom Vortex]

"Well, Miss Meridian.. anything else you want to talk about? That's pretty much all we had on our minds at the time was simply coming and making sure our friendship was formalized."

[Pikachurin]

"Well, there really isn't anything on our minds right now." said Meridian as she began to gather her papers. "If anything important comes up, we'll relay a message through our ambassador in the United States, Arnaud Cantin."

[Maelstrom Vortex]

"Alright. I'm going to head back over to the Embassy. Have a good evening then. Think I'm going to try to some of your domestic films.. curious to see what your movie industries put out here." He chuckled as he stood up, loading his briefcase. "Any recommended titles?"

Edited May 25, 2010 by Maelstrom Vortex

[Maelstrom Vortex]

Given the redundancy of this treaty now with the God's Will signing by both the USA and Disparu, the U.S. moves this treaty be dissolved unless the people of Disparu feel it still serves some purpose. We await your decision as we will not dissolve the treaty without it being a bilateral decision.

[Pikachurin]

"Though the American Defense Treaty may now be redundant due to our nations' membership in GODSWILL, we would still like to keep this treaty. You see, in the unlikely event that we decide to resign from GODSWILL, we would still like to maintain direct relations with the US, if possible."

[Maelstrom Vortex]

"Hrmm good idea. A little redundancy never hurts I guess. At your request we maintain the treaty."

Edited June 15, 2010 by Maelstrom Vortex