Where Empires Go To Die

[Mergerberger II]

Junior Minister of Foreign Affairs William Nam stepped off of a high-speed jet that he had flown in to Kabul, Afghanistan. He found himself quite warm, and he was not used to this climate, having lived in Canada for nearly fifty years. He found himself escorted to a car and taken off somewhere, presumably to meet with the Afghani officials that had called for this meeting. He asked his driver to please turn up the air conditioning, which he did, but the driver thought it strange that this man liked the car so cold. The driver was glad to be wearing a jacket.

[lordliam]

William Nam soon found himself in front of an imposing building that towered over the surroundings. It looked like as if it was undergoing reparis after a bomb exploded inside. The driver got out and two ANA bodyguards escorted him through the Government Head Quarters of Afghanistan. A smiling Karzai was waiting for him in his office. The two took an elevator down and sat at a small underground room guarded by smartly uniformed soldiers and video cameras that could see every corner of the room.

"Any historian would say that Afghanistan was and still is, a crossroads. Between nations, empires, cultures and religion. That is why we've been fought over so much. But to no avail, no other nation has been able to control us for long. And, we Afghanis always had this sort of aversion to explicitly siding with a specific group. It's the same today, if we are to side with the Russians, the British are sure to invade. If we side with the British, the Russians are sure to invade. If we side with neither, they will both invade. Due to Canada's recent withdrawal from the Buckingham treaty, I would like to offer your country a treaty, and alliance you might say. The treaty would see that all signatories oppose Neo Colonialism, protect each other in case of invasion and to press imperialistic countries for the release of their colonial empires. The signatories would only be able to declare war on others only when a valid Casus Belli is used, and they are absolutely forbidden from annexing other nations. I'm not forcing you to accept, but please bring the message back to your superiors and let them think about it."

[Mergerberger II]

William was a bit taken aback by this proposal. He had not been expecting something so straightforward, or something so dramatic to be proposed by the foreign representative. He regained his composure, and in his mind he thought over possibilities. First, he searched for a motive, why would they be so intent on an alliance with Canada. And then he rationalized, Canada is a strong nation with the fastest growing economy in the world, soon to have a very strong military, and allied with what was currently the greatest superpower to ever exist, and he thought of Afghanistan's position, they are threatened right on their border by the British, an ever-expanding empire that has invaded Afghanistan before. He saw himself now in a position of advantage.

"Sir, I understand you plight and I understand what Afghanistan is, and what the world may see it become without help from outside. I also can give you the guarantee that under no circumstances does Canada wish for Afghanistan, or any other country for that matter, to be invaded or destroyed. For that reason, I offer you a guarantee. I am willing to guarantee Afghanistan's independence and sovereignty in its current state. Under this form of government and within these boundaries, Canada is willing to guarantee the existence of Afghanistan through all means, diplomatic and militaristic."

He paused for a minute and took a sip of some water that had been brought to him. His opposite looked inquisitive and hopeful, like what he had just said had greatly affected him.

"Canada can offer this as a guarantee, we will not slip from this and we will work to keep Afghanistan existent as a nation. We are also willing to share our technology with you (OOC: Not the most advanced stuff, but enough to get you modern ), something which I believe will immensely assist Afghanistan in what seems like an inevitable war with the British. However, in return we are asking for the guarantee that Afghanistan does nothing foolish, because should that happen, Canada will not protect you, but I can assume that such a day will never come, eh?"

[lordliam]

"Much obliged, my igloo-dwelling friend Ah there they are, thank you Gunther. *munch munch munch* lamb kebab on your way out sir?"

Edited October 21, 2009 by lordliam