MostGloriousLeader

[quote]While we are not very familiar with the Vicidalian people or it's history we, nonetheless, wish to give our congratulations and best wishes to a new nation of North America. -American Commonwealth State Department Communique[/quote]

[quote]The Hershey Company would like to inquire about licensing products based upon the Generalissimo himself included, but not limited to, chocolate products, other candy products and perhaps even an ride at the world famous Hershey Park theme park.[/quote]

[size="5"][u][b]2012 Defense Budget Augmentation Report (Q1)[/b][/u][/size] The purpose of this report is to provide the Congress of the American Commonwealth a general outline on how additional funds will be used by the military of the Commonwealth for the purposes of adding increased capabilities of the military and measures to improve the defense of the Commonwealth. A much more detailed financial statement will be made available for those interested, this report merely highlights the main uses of the additional funding. [b]1) Personnel[/b] Out of total of $20 billion in additional funding, roughly $6 billion will be used on doubling the amount of troops in the army along with civilian support personnel. Smaller additions of personnel will be granted to the navy and air force as their manpower needs are almost entirely met at this point. The $6 billion will be spent on active recruitment, training and the support of additional combat troops, expansion of training facilities, increasing the size of garrisons as well as expanding medical and logistics coverage to an additional 100,000 troops. Note that $8 billion does not represent an permanent increased cost of additional personnel but also the cost of additional facilities and programs. Estimates of additional required support costs for the extra personnel are at about only $3 billion at most. Money will also be used for retention and incentives programs to encourage soldiers to reenlist in order to further develop the professionalism of the military. [b]2) Equpment[/b] Acquiring the larger amount of equipment required to arm and support the new expanded military force will take a sizable $10 billion investment. The total force of tanks shall be increased to roughly 1,000 MBTs along with the procurement of other armored and support vehicles. Total levels of 2500 IFVs and another 3000 other armored fighting vehicles will be procured along with perhaps 10,000 more support and miscellaneous vehicles. Funding will also be made available for improved vehicle and equipment research. Stocks of individual and crew served weaponry will be nearly tripled to equip new units. The purchase of body armor has been halted for the time being in order to see if it feasible to acquire a new and improved model. [b]3) Intelligence[/b] Improvement of intelligence gathering capabilities is necessary if we are to be able to compete with other nations militarily. First and foremost is satellite support for reconnaissance and communications. Roughly $2 billion will be invested in satellite research and procurement as well as analysis facilities and staff. Some of the money will also go into more human resources, expanding our physical intelligence network to improve counter espionage and counter terrorism capabilities. [s][b]4) Projects (Classified)[/b] The remaining $2 billion are to be invested into three top secret programs. The first and foremost is the chemical weapons development project, while chemical weapons production has actually begun we do require additional funding to expand production, fund facilities and research, and develop more efficient delivery systems. The second project is an anti-satellite weapons program that we have just begun. The use of satellite information is very critical in most modern militaries and such weapons will be able to deny the enemy such an advantage. Funding will be used for research and development of such weapons. The last program is a lower priority and is the cyber warfare project. Integrated sophisticated computer networks are a necessary component of command and control and is used by almost every single major military power. Again, the ability to disrupt such networks will be able to negate an potentially important enemy asset. This project will also be used as the groundwork for a cyber defense unit so that we can safeguard both civilian networks as well as our probable future integrated military network.[/s]

[u][b]Name Change[/b][/u] In a surprise move H.R. 107, a law renaming the Assembly, was passed and now the lower legislative house shall be called the House of Representatives instead of the Assembly. Supporters say this is an attempt to embrace the history of the former United States of America and it's ideals of freedom, liberty and elected government as well as to reflect the nature of the lower house of representing their constituents. [u][b]Religious Taxation[/b][/u] In a fiercely contested legislative battle, the bill H.R. 131 was defeated by 120 votes. If passed the law would have levied a 5% flat tax on all recognized religious institutions after operating expenses were taken care of. Religious leaders and other opponents have praised the defeat of the bill as a successful effort of protecting religious freedoms. Representative Randy Ricktor from Maryland, a big opponent of the bill, said that [i]"We have taken on the left wing secular agenda and won. But we need to be wary, there is no doubt that the left is waging a war on religion in this country. A war that seeks the destruction of the christian faith that this great nation was founded on". [/i] Supporters of the bill have argued that religions are not much more different than corporations and other businesses and that most of the money made by religious institutions aren't used in a constructive manner or at all. An "leak" of Catholic financial records in the Commonwealth have revealed that after expenses and other programs that the Catholic church had been sending nearly $300 million in excess money to the church's central headquarters in the Vatican before it was blockaded by the Athenian government. Other religious institutions have reported total profits in excess of $800 million. When asked about his stance on the bill President Bronson said that while he felt religious institutions should use their money proactively to benefit their communities more he acknowledged that [i]"Religious freedom is one of the many freedoms that this nation and most other nations before us here were founded on. If the bill was actually passed I would have been obligated to veto it to protect the individual rights of the people of this nation".[/i] A recent study conducted has revealed that more than half of the population of the American Commonwealth was actually not religiously active. Out of a roughly 10,000 person poll spread out across the nation only 43% said that they actively went to services on a regular basis. A further 31% said that they were religiously affiliated but did not attend religious services regularly. Another 20% said that they either didn't have the inclination or time be active in religion and the last 6% said that they were atheist and did not practice any religion. [u][b]Military[/b][/u] The military has announced a massive expansion and development program after Congress approved a defense budget augmentation of $20 billion. This money will be used to roughly double the size of the Commonwealth Army in terms of personnel and equipment as well as supplement research and development programs for the military that are under development. A detailed and semi-classified [url="http://forums.cybernations.net/index.php?showtopic=108249&view=findpost&p=2922578"]report[/url] was given to congress outlining spending with the classified material omitted from the report. A special subcommittee of the Armed Forces Committee reviewed the full report and gave it's approval. [u][b]Commutation Challenged[/b][/u] The commutation of the death sentence for the six American Communist League members convicted of high treason and terrorism to life imprisonment has met with some opposition. The American Nationalism Party and the Anti-Communist Alliance have filed a joint lawsuit challenging the President's authority to commute and pardon sentences. It was however, thrown out in the D.C. Federal District Court after a judge ruled that the suit had no legal basis because the president's authority to take such actions are clearly stated in the constitution. The Federal Appeals Court has denied an appeal by the plaintiffs on the same grounds as the District Court.

[i]State Department Representative Stiller was a short and stocky man who had worked as a Pennsylvania State Department negotiator for nearly a decade. Retiring on a decent pension he moved to an isolated area of northern Canada until one day an old friend dropped by to give him some news. Pravus Ingruo had granted independence to most of it's states and that his home state of Pennsylvania was becoming part of a new nation with a need for skilled diplomats. He reluctantly came out of retirement seeing as moose hunting could wait, probably another damn decade or so, and that he had a responsibility to do what he could. Stiller had been briefed on Texas before arriving including it's history, geography, politics and current events. Even so he wasn't anticipating the heat when he arrived. Even though the limo was air conditioned he still felt overwhelmed by the heat. Perhaps living so far north didn't really help much either. Arriving at Secretary Damon's office he was parched and, when offered, the representative politely accepted a water. Now down to business.[/i] "Well Mr. Damon, my government sent me here to see if we can improve diplomatic ties with the Republic of Texas. I'd like to discuss potential economic and possible military cooperation between our two great nations. My government has noticed that North America is not what it once was. A continent dominated and governed by principles of individual liberties and freedoms. I understand that with time things change and so we are where we are today. Your nation definitely seems to adhere to such principles and as we appreciate and respect that." Stiller took a another sip of water to quench his parched throat. "That being said we'd like to propose an economic treaty or agreement for free trade and free individual movement between the Republic of Texas and the American Commonwealth. This would be conducive to economic growth for both of our nations. I have also been asked to bring up the topic of educational cooperation at least from some friends back home at Princeton and the Education Department. Texas has a strong history of education excellence just as we do. As such we feel that creating a new multi-university organization, with minute amounts of governmental interference, would be a great boost to our peoples education systems. Standardizing things like curriculum, credit and college transfers, even inter university cooperation would be an excellent way to promote future ties." The representative was annoyed that he was still thirsty, although thankful he wasn't visibly sweating, and took another drink. "Lastly we come to the topic of military cooperation which you may be, understandably, reluctant to engage in with a smaller nation. We know we can hardly ask a nation we've never really had major ties with to sign a defense pact or anything of the sort. I propose we start small, a lower level of cooperation. The Commonwealth possesses several fine military institutions as does Texas. Perhaps we could come to agree to something along the lines of an officer exchange program so to lay the groundwork for possible future military cooperation. Maybe throw in a few joint training exercises or programs in there as well?" OOC: Sorry if I went ahead with too much. I just wanted to lay it all out at once.

By some chance two State Department officials had been on vacation on the island and after a couple quick calls they were coordinating with local authorities in locating and evacuating American Commonwealth citizens. Official rosters listed a total of 325 people that had to be evacuated. Meanwhile the evacuation mission was underway with the two C-141s and six F-15s flying out of Andrews. The Starlifters could make it on their own but the Eagle's were equipped with conformal fuel tanks to help expand their flight range. Each F-15 was armed with two AIM-9 Sidewinders, two AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles and a full gun load but the pilots had been rigorously briefed on the rules of engagement. Combat was forbidden unless the fighters or the transports were in imminent danger. Colonel Gregory Paulson was the mission commander and was aboard one of the Starlifters. He was the commanding officer of the 42nd Air Mobility Squadron and his aircraft were now responsible for the well being of the people he was supposed to evacuate. Halfway there they met up with two KC-10 Extenders as well as an E-3B Sentry AWAC. Two more tankers and six more fighters were on the way from Andrews to provide relief when they arrived at Sao Tome and Principe. After refueling was done the flight resumed it's course. Soon Colonel Paulson received a transmission from the Air Mobility Command. Most Commonwealth citizens were being evacuated by the cruise ship provided by the Canadian government for the sake of expediency but there were still 31 people unaccounted for. As such they were ordered to continue with their mission in the hopes that they could be found quickly. It was also publicly announced that any foreign national that wasn't able to board the cruise ship would be permitted aboard the Commonwealth aircraft. 100 miles west of the island the fighters broke off along with the tankers and Sentry moving in a patrol route that would conserve fuel. The relief force would arrive in two more hours with two more relief forces ready after that one so operations could be sustained for a little bit. The transports landed and refueled to be ready for departure. In the time between being notified of the alternate evacuation and arrival, 12 people were found but that still left 19 unaccounted for on the island. The colonel made the decision that the situation was escalating and exposure to danger had to be minimized. He ordered the other transport to leave take the 12 evacuees along with any foreign nationals that had arrived. He stayed with his transport and hopefully the other people would be found soon. The security team consisted of one ranger squad who were ordered to remain near the plane at all times and with weapons slung and unloaded, an order they balked at especially coming from an Air Force officer but they obeyed nonetheless. The medical team was composed of two doctors and six nurses who remained inside the transport making sure their equipment was organized and hoping they wouldn't need it. The plane was fueled and ready to take off but in the last half hour since the other transport left only two others had showed up. Time was running out. OOC: Anyone mind if I try do a character RP here perhaps? I'm not going to be supporting one side or the other (not like this meager force could do anything anyway). This will depend upon your guy's permission and, mainly, time available over the course of the weekend.

[quote name='JEDCJT' timestamp='1328572137' post='2915671'] [b]CLASSIFIED DISPATCH TO AMERICAN COMMONWEALTH[/b] To: American Commonwealth State Department From: Canadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Topic: RE: Commonwealth Civilians You are cleared to send up to two C-141 military transport aircrafts for the express purpose of evacuating your citizens from Sao Tome and Principe. If necessary, government and military officials stationed on the province will provide support and assistance in executing the operation within the shortest possible period of time. [/quote] RESPONSE To: Canada From: American Commonwealth State Department Topic: Commonwealth Civilians We would be most appreciative of any assistance you can render to locate Commonwealth citizens. We shall be forwarding a list of all known citizens currently in Sao Tome and Principe along with their stated purpose for their trip which may help locate them quicker. We will also be sending a small fighter escort which will hold 100 miles west of the islands to avoid any problems if that is acceptable. Estimated arrival time for aircraft is at roughly 11 hours.

[quote name='Tidy Bowl Man' timestamp='1328748055' post='2916980'] Kummm bbaaaayy yaaaaaaaaah mah lord, kumbuyaaa.... kumbuyyyyaaaaaaggg mmmy lord cum bat yaaaaah! I'm on fire m'lord! Kummmm buyyyyy yaaahhhh OHHHH god... someone is pissing out the flames.... Needing skin grafts m'lord!!! Kummmmmm baaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyy yaaahhhh... got them third degree burns kummm buyyyyyy yaaaah... [/quote] lol, I wanna see this version sung.

[u][b]PROJECT PENNY PINCHER[/b][/u] National Intelligence Agency operative Mark Sanders was currently driving to his next 'job' in a white van marked Morgan Security Services. Mark was, in spite of his real identity, an employee at MSS and had been very busy of late as the Financial Institution Security Executive. Oh well, at least he was able to keep both paychecks. Hell, Morgan Security Services seemed to pay better than the NIA but then again he didn't do this for the pay check. Morgan Security Services was one of the Commonwealth's premier security and safety firms offering everything from private bodyguards, security systems and, in this case, bank security services. Mark was one of the NIA's top computer programming experts and cyber warfare experts but he was using the first skill rather than the second today. As the Financial Institution Security Executive he headed up the entire department which was good considering nearly half of his staff were NIA agents similar to himself. Today was just another day as he parked outside the PNC Bank where he'd been scheduled to do a security review and overhaul. While he exited his vehicle he grabbed his laptop and a tool kit and entered the bank where he was greeted by the chief security manager, who also happened to be a Morgan Security employee, and was lead to the vault. After about an hour of inspection (which he really did seeing as it was technically his job) Mark noted several small defects that should be taken care of but otherwise cleared it in good condition. He was then taken to the main computer where his real purpose was. He grabbed his laptop and interfaced it with the bank's network and went to work. After about 10 minutes he told the security manager that the system was ok but that he was going to be installing an updated security program to boost security against hackers. Mark began to ran a program called Bank Safe 3.0 which was being installed into the bank's computers. Bank Safe 3.0 was actually a Malware program codenamed PENNYPINCHER which was developed by Mark and his small team currently working at Morgan Security. The program accessed private bank accounts and siphoned off minute amounts of money and deposited them into a dummy account which would be physically withdrawn and deposited into a completely different account. Minute amounts translated to less than a dollar which was taken off every time a transaction was made. Money people wouldn't miss and wouldn't notice. There was also a safety built in to stop the program from operating on bank accounts under $10,000 which were pretty few and far between anyway. PENNYPINCHER was envisioned as a way for the NIA to procure funds for covert missions and secret projects. The problem was that this was highly illegal in every way and this project itself was a black op. The only people who probably new about it were him, his team, his manager and maybe a half dozen spooks in accounting. The Director stated that so long as nobody was hurt getting the money he didn't want to know anything about it, not even the President was informed. If Mark or his team were discovered they'd be looking at some pretty hefty prison time but it wasn't that big a deal seeing as the program was almost impossible to detect unless you were specifically looking for it and that would require a programmer of comparable skill which was hard to find around here. With his work done he bid the bank manager a good day and exited the bank to get into his van. He was curious about the operation's status and took a look at the project on his laptop. So far they had accumulated a respectable $120,000 since the start of business today and that number was climbing. 'Excellent' mark thought as he drove back to his office at Morgan Security.

The American Commonwealth would like to extend it's sincere congratulations and welcome to our new neighbor in the north, especially a nation founded on very similar values of liberty and freedoms. We are very keen to establish further diplomatic ties between our nations, if that is something that would interest you, after you sort out any issues you might currently be dealing with. If so we look forward to hearing from you in the future. President of the American Commonwealth David Bronston EDIT: Grammar police

Nation name, long form: The American Commonwealth Nation name, short form: AC Head of state, with titles and styles of address: President of the American Commonwealth David Bronston Form of government: Democratic Republic Official language(s): English Will the applicant allow freedom of travel between our nations: Yes Will the applicant allow free trade between our nations: Yes Name of ambassador: N/A Does the applicant want an ambassador from Procinctia: Yes Additional Requests: We do not wish to open up a full embassy as our government is withholding full recognition of your nation. We do however, agree that the circumstances surrounding the invasion of Proncinctia are very controversial at best. We are open to allowing a Proncinctian consulate to operate in the American Commonwealth to start initial diplomatic ties.

[quote name='graniteknight' timestamp='1328581291' post='2915831'] I wish there was a way to get players to leave others the heck alone- like sure roll me if I do something necessarily bad to you- but don't stick your nose into my business if it does not directly concern you- We have too many United States' in CNRP who think they're the world's policemen (speaking metaphorically) [/quote] I think you meant to say "mega" US. There's no way the US as is could conduct the amount of warfare taking place in CNRP. We certainly couldn't intervene in every little thing either, we just don't have the ability to do that. But because it's CNRP everything's all hunky dory and good. As for this proposal, I see some merit in it but I've always played as the rules are now and I know it's not always right or great but it's "worked" for years.

[b][u]OFFICIAL NOTICE[/u][/b] The State Department has issued a travel warning for Africa due to the recent outbreak of hostilities. American Commonwealth citizens are especially encouraged to avoid travel anywhere near São Tomé and Príncipe. A spokesperson has also said that an outright ban on travel is being considered. All Commonwealth citizens currently in the area are strongly encouraged to leave as soon as possible. OFFICIAL DISPATCH To: Canada From: American Commonwealth State Department Topic: Commonwealth Civilians It has come to our attention via the Commonwealth Border and Customs Department that there are over 300 civilians in São Tomé and Príncipe on business or vacation. As such we request permission to use American Commonwealth Air Force transports to remove them from the potential conflict zone through air transportation hubs on the island. If that is not acceptable then civilian aircraft will be chartered instead but the first option is the quickest available. If access is granted we will be using two C-141s with a small medical and security detachment.

Representative Herman Stiller was bringing his seat out of it's recline to prepare for landing. The official State Department aircraft was fairly small, being a Gulfstream V business jet. It was nearing 9 hours of flight time and he really needed to get off the plane as they had taken a wide ranging path around the Caribbean to avoid any airspace violations. In the cockpit the pilots were preparing to land the plane. "Austin control this is American Commonwealth Dispatch 42-53 on an official diplomatic mission and we are requesting permission to land. Over". OOC: You can RP the arrival to speed this up if you want.

Maybe if you keep poking the Horde with a stick it might eventually get annoyed and just go away.

[quote name='Rotavele' timestamp='1328336370' post='2914337'] The Republic of Paris would like to know if Foreign Nations are open to invest in your nation's bonds. [/quote] The Treasury Department has confirmed that it is currently prepared to issue up to $10 billion in foreign bonds. Issuance of further bonds shall be withheld until all other bonds are issued and stabilized.

[u][b]PRESIDENT GRANTS MERCY[/b][/u] Today President Bronson has announced that he has signed an executive order to commute the death penalty sentence for the 6 American Communist League members, including former candidate Hugo Brown, to life imprisonment. At a press conference he told reporters that [i]"The execution of 6 men is not the note our nation should start on. Their crimes are severe but we must be able to move on from this scandal continue forward towards the future. It is my hope that we can promote unity through this simple act of mercy". A spokesman later stated that the commutation is not a permanent measure and that, if required, the original sentence may be re-invoked at anytime by the office of the president.[/i] [u][b]GOVERNMENT ISSUES BONDS[/b][/u] The Treasury Department has announced that it will be issuing $100 billion in public bonds through the American Commonwealth Central Bank with the possible issuance of a further $30 billion open to foreign investment as well as the general public. Bonds will be issued for a minimum of $100 with a yearly compound interest rate of 4% up to a maximum of 20 years. [u][b]ANNOUNCEMENT OF MILITARY EXERCISES[/b][/u] The government has put out a notice for a nationwide defense exercise to the general public. Ground and air traffic will be rerouted and restricted in some areas. The city of Washington D.C. and other border areas will be fully participating in evacuation drills in cooperation with military training. Nearly the entire Commonwealth military will be participating in these exercises.

[quote]To: Texas State Department From: American Commonwealth Department of State Topic: Meeting We would like to request a meeting, if possible, to discuss mutually beneficial ties and other issues that concern both of our nations. [/quote]

Upon receiving news of the availability of these Procinctia Sedan Combat Technicals the curiosity of many Commonwealth citizens were peaked. Soon over 200 orders would be made to purchase such a vehicle by a variety of consumers including collectors, historians, conspiracy theorists, war reenactors, people who really needed a cheap car as well as hardcore Mad Max fans.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff had been convened in the Situation room again just a couple days after the last meeting. The president looked a little sullen when he entered the room followed by General Morgan. As they all took their seats the president began to speak. "Well you all know why we're here today. In spite of my objections the Armed Forces Committee has passed a secret binding mandate to start the development of a chemical weapons program. Apparently because it's classified I can't veto this measure because it would require me to announce it publicly. Idiotic as that sounds we have to follow through with it. General Morgan can we please start this presentation?". "Yes Mr. President" said General Morgan. "We have decided that a moderate sized secret underground facility will be able to serve our strategic needs. We can construct such a facility at the Edgewood Chemical Biological Center where we conduct a large amount of NBC research already for defense purposes. Construction should take roughly two months for a small facility which can be expanded if required. Production is pegged at roughly one ton per month wih the goal of eventually reaching a stockpile of 200 tons. Such weapons may be deployed via standard aircraft bombs, artillery shells and cruise missiles. We have decided not to develop an ICBM delivery system due to it's heavy cost as well as political ramifications should this program be revealed. As such we have developed a weapon usage policy that is located inside of the folder in front of you. [quote][u][b]AMERICAN COMMONWEALTH CHEMICAL WEAPONS DEPLOYMENT DOCTRINE[/b][/u] 1) Recognizing that chemical weapons are highly destructive in nature, both in the short and long run, the only person authorized to order the usage of such weapons is the President of the American Commonwealth. 2) Usage of these weapons will be governed by a no offensive first strike policy. This weapon is one of great power and responsibility that we have procured for self defense. The right to use such weapons in a first strike on enemy forces in American Commonwealth territory is retained. 3) Chemical weapons are forbidden to be deployed in a population center that still has non combatants present. This applies for both defensive and offensive usage of these weapons. Violation of this policy is punishable by death or life imprisonment. 4) Such weapons may be deployed in retaliation for other WMD attacks on American Commonwealth military forces and citizens wherever they are in the world. This includes all biological, nuclear, chemical and radiological attacks.[/quote] After reading through the paper the president looked up. "Well I guess this is good enough. I suggest we get this started then. Remember that this project is above top secret and the only people who should know about it are the people working on it. Good day". With that everyone left the room to go about their daily business.

[quote]To: Deutschefreikorps Security Services LLC From: American Commonwealth Department of Defense Topic: Instructors We have recently heard of Deutschefreikorps Security Services LLC and have a contract proposal for your company. Our nation's military requires instructors to train troops and officers but have found the availability of suitable instructors lacking with the withdrawal of Pravus Ingruo military forces. Local contractors can only take up a small amount of what is required and training will suffer until a suitable training cadre is built up. As such we would like to know if it would be possible to hire up to 500 instructors for the next 3 years in order to both plug current gaps in training as well as help train future instructors. [/quote]

[i]General Morgan was watching the news on a TV just outside the Situation Room in the White House while he was waiting for the meeting to begin along with several other staff officers. "A large explosion at a military depot has rocked the capitol-". He smiled a little bit, project EARTHWORM was roughly 20% complete and the movement of military equipment was to commence as soon as possible. The 'explosion' was the the use of a well placed fuel air explosive bomb at a facility run by a dummy corporation of the National Intelligence Agency. The men 'killed' were all very much alive and well, their bodies being unclaimed cadavers that were now damaged beyond all recognition. All of the wreckage and debris shown to the media were discarded weapons and vehicles that had also just been rendered unrecognizable. More supplies and equipment would be procured through less noticeable means but this was a good way of getting a large portion of what was needed while being able to actually explain what happened to the stuff. The door opened and the president's aide beckoned them to come in.[/i] The eight officers in the room consisted of four generals, one admiral, two colonels, and a major who all sat down at the table. As Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Morgan started the meeting. "Mr. President, as you know the Armed Forces Committee has mandated that we look at the possibility of starting a strategic weapons program and have concluded that the procurement of chemical weapons is the most pertinent and economic choice available. We are not projected to acquire nuclear capabilities anytime soon without massive and virtually nonexistent research. Biological weapons have been rejected due to being ineffective for battlefield and morally repugnant." President Bronson was very uneasy with the proposal just given to him. "General, forgive me but I have always had reservations about these types of weapons. I know that the Committee mandated the study but they haven't mandated that we follow through." General Morgan sighed before speaking "I agree Mr. President but I was told by the Committee chairman that if we didn't follow through on our own he'd force it through via the committee." "I understand but I'll do what I can to avoid that" said the president. "Please continue". "Well the study here was conducted on the basis of finding the ideal strategic weapon and delivery system which was conducted by General Tanaka and Bri-". "Wait, if he conducted the study where is General Tanaka?" interrupted the president. "Sir, he was appointed to attend an international conference on WMDs". One of the other general officers spoke up. "We don't need Tanaka here, he wouldn't be useful for this anyway". General Morgan looked at the man with contempt and said "You will not ill of a superior officer Brigadier General" with an emphasis on Brigadier. "Yes sir" quipped the other officer. The president was a little confused and asked "So what's going on here that I probably need to know?" "Yes Mr. President" replied General Morgan. "General Tanaka is our nations premier WMD expert, probably one of the best in the world. He has a M.D. from Harvard, a Bio-Chemical Engineering Degree from Yale, a degree in Nuclear Physics from Columbia as well as nearly two decades of uniformed service in the Empire of Pravus Ingruo Army. We are indeed fortunate to have him. The reason he has his aversion towards WMDs is in his past. His grandfather was an officer of the infamous Unit 731 during World War II. Ever since he found out he's devoted himself to prevent the usage of such weapons." The other general scoffed before speaking. "Such a tragedy I'm sure but this sob story is getting us nowhere". General Morgan looked furious and Bronson new that was pretty hard to do. "Mr. President, the study was also conducted by Brigadier General McClintock here along with General Tanaka. Seeing as he doesn't have any reservations on these weapons I'll turn this presentation over to him". "Thank you General Morgan" McClintock said as he stood up to get to the projector screen. The lights dimmed and a power point presentation appeared. "As you can see" he said gesturing towards the slideshow "we have come to the conclusion that chemical weapons are the most economical, attainable and effective strategic weapon we are able to procure at this point. We have concluded that a secret chemical weapons program will be able to produce the necessary amount of agents needed to provide a strategic defense coupled with their deployment on ICBMs as well as cruise missiles and other tactical delivery systems. I do stress that this must remain classified to avoid damaging relations with foreign nations. Official guidelines and policies must be set before usage of these weapons is allowed. This concludes my report". With that the general returned to his seat. "Well gentlemen" the president began "This has certainly been an enlightening evening for me. I will consider this proposal although I'm going to have a talk with Senator Rodman and see if this can be avoided all together. Thank you for your time." With that everyone cleared the room, all but one a little worried about what they had just discussed.

[u][b]Trial Conclusion[/b][/u] Today the trial concluded for former presidential candidate Hugo Brown along with 30 fellow members of the American Communist League. Twenty three were found guilty of the crimes they were charged with and have all been sentenced to lengthy prison terms. Two were acquitted while Hugo Brown and the remaining five have been sentenced to death for high treason. A riot started outside the courthouse when nearly 200 Communist League members who turned up to show support turned violent after the verdict was announced. Police managed to disperse the crowd after using tear gas, water cannons and rubber bullets. Five officers and ten rioters were hospitalized. Military forces were alerted for possible mobilization in the event of another incident. [u][b]DC Explosion![/b][/u] Washington D.C. was rocked by a huge explosion earlier tonight when a military munitions storage facility on the outskirts of the city detonated. Collateral damage was minimal due to the more isolated location of the facility which has been ruled as a total loss. The fireball was able to be seen across the city. The military has listed nearly 30,000 tons of weapons and munitions as well as over 200 vehicles as lost along with two managers and a security guard. Being a non-military facility, storage and maintenance was contracted out to Bertman Inc which has been cited for numerous safety issues in the past. The initial reports implicates that the facility's gas storage warehouse, which held a fair quantity of liquefied natural gas, set off the chain reaction after an electrical fire. This in turn triggered off an explosion in several munitions and storage buildings. The military has suspended all contracts with Bertman Inc until the matter is fully investigated and the government will probably assess a fee for negligence as well as for the replacement of lost equipment. A Bertman Inc spokesperson was not able to be reached for comment on this matter. [u][b]Taxing Religion?[/b][/u] A proposal has been made in the Assembly to revoke tax exemption status for established religions and institutions. The bill would introduce a flat tax rate across the board for all institutions recognized as religions by the Department of Culture. According to the bill, taxes will only be levied on surplus income after daily expenses are taken care of which include maintenance, salaries and charity programs among other things. Proponents of the bill argue that religion shouldn't be given preferential treatment when they make as much, if not more, money than many corporations. Opponents have decried this act as an assault on religious freedom and as part of a broader atheist agenda to eliminate religion from the nation.

[i]"I propose that the nation's here make a binding pledge to ban the development and study of biological weapons for anything other than preventive medical research. I suppose some nations may differ over their feelings about chemical weapons but I believe almost everyone here has reached the same consensus about biological weapons. We can work out what can be done for nations not present later but we must first set an example for others to follow before we can do that."[/i]

[size="5"][u][b]Commonwealth Military Infrastructure and Realignment Assessment[/b][/u][/size] With the withdrawal of the Empire of Pravus Ingruo and the establishment of a new national military, much of the existing military support infrastructure that used to maintain military forces in the Commonwealth area have disappeared. As a result new facilities must be constructed along with large improvements to existing installations. [u][b]Training[/b][/u] Current training facilities lack the capacity to process the amount of recruits needed to expand and maintain the new military force of the American Commonwealth. Most such installations are located in other areas of the former Empire. Currently the largest training facility available is Fort Dix which has been designated as the Commonwealth Army's primary training facility due to it's history of training troops and existing infrastructure. A $150 million renovation project will expand the base's capacity to be able to train over 20,000 troops per training cycle. Fort Dix itself is part of a larger military complex, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst which will also be home to the Commonwealth Air Force training programs. Naval training facilities shall be constructed on Sandy Hook which has been acquired and designated the Sandy Hook Military Reserve. Fort Monmouth shall be reactivated and provide extra training and garrison facilities. Officer training facilities have been established with the three service academies but they alone will not be able to provide the amount of officers needed to fully staff the armed forces. Funding has been provided for ROTC programs at Pennsylvania State and Princeton as pilot programs which will be expanded if successful. Fort Carlisle will become home to the General Staff College as well as the Army War College in order to further train senior officers. Fort Leslie J. McNair shall remain the National War College. [u][b]Research & Development[/b][/u] In respect to military testing and research facilities we are actually fortunate to have a fair amount already in existence. Fort Detrick shall remain the premier medical research center of the nation and armed forces. It shall be home to the Army Medical Research and the WMD Defense Command. The Aberdeen proving grounds shall become the headquarters of the Army Combat Research Command to improve military technologies. [u][b]Naval Facilities[/b][/u] The Washington D.C. Naval Yard has been reactivated and shall serve as a major shipbuilding and maintenance facility for the new naval service. While very small now, we are projected to expand the navy into a blue water force within the next year or two and thus prefer that a robust naval infrastructure be in place beforehand. The Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company shall be reactivated at Kearny Point to serve as a joint navy/civilian shipyard. Siting of a future primary naval base is still pending. [u][b]Air Force Facilities[/b][/u] Numerous Air Force bases and installations will be renovated, restructured or be constructed within the next year as an integral part of the national defense strategy. The Benton, Claysburg, Oakdale, Palermo and Gibbsboro Air Force stations will be reactivated and form the basis of the military's air defense network. These radar facilities shall be renovated and improved with new radar models and communications technologies providing complete coverage of Commonwealth airspace and territorial waters. Andrews and Bolling AFB will become front line facilities and be home to mainly combat units with the exception of Andrews which will remain an air mobility hub. McGuire AFB will become a major Air force installation and will be expanded to accommodate it's future responsibilities. Harrisburg Air National Guard Base will be re-designated as the Harrisburg AFB and also be expanded as a major Air Force installation. In addition to these changes, numerous other small facilities shall be maintained at airports and independent airfields. [u][b]Support Facilities[/b][/u] There is a good underlying logistics infrastructure already in existence that will be expanded upon. Numerous national guard depots will become regular military facilities and act as logistics hubs and armories. Intelligence support infrastructure also needs to be created. Most intelligence services and training will be located at Fort Meade, namely the National Military Intelligence Network as well as the newly created Cyberwafare Command. [u][b]Defense Facilities[/b][/u] Frontline defense and mobilization facilities are necessary (especially along the Potomac) and therefore several dozen smaller military installations shall be created to fulfill this purpose. Fort Washington shall be constructed and house up to a battalion in order to provide defense for the Washington D.C. area. Numerous air defense and anti-ship missile sites will be placed where necessary as well.