Balance of Power (Gameplay Thread) - Epilogue and Game Over

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~King Vittorio Emanuele III

President John Hay



I am delighted to officially signify the friendship that exists between us- American and Italian alike. I look forward to our future

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The US Navy's Mediterranean Task Force is ordered to assist our allies in Morocco upon request

The USA commends the Belgian Parliament for seizing the Congo- we offer humanitarian assistance as requested

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OOC---I am having the family over for Father's Day......I get to be spoiled!  I will reply to this either this evening or tomorrow morning...

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I would like to congratulate my Italian ally on the birth of his son- may he bring joy to your lives and pride to your nation!

Congratulations to the Kaiser on his engagement- I hope to get an invitation to the wedding!

And now on to some business.... (this will be done over several posts)



First- I order the release of all prisoners still locked up from the constitutional crisis- barring those who are reasonably believed to pose a threat to other Americans. I expect the vast majority will be freed and I look forward to them rejoining a peaceful and civil debate


Second- we stand with our Ottoman and German allies of the Triple Entente in strongly condemning Russian incursion into Turkestan. This is unacceptable....I urge the Tsar not to find himself in another war. He has my word that if the world is again forced to confront the Russian menace- he will not remain Tsar, and will likely not remain alive. I join my allies in pledging to protect Russians in that country- those who pursue attacks against those of Russian nationality deserved to be punished to the fullest extent. But Russia has proven unable to responsibly hold power over its sphere of influence and thus must remain away from this crisis

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Annexation of Greenland

The USA hereby annexes Greenland as a territory. The Danish military personnel stationed in and around Greenland have six months (to the end of this turn) to return to Denmark- they will be given safe passage and assistance in their transit as requested. After six months- we will forcefully remove any lingering agents of the Danish military

I order the previously composed task force out of the US Navy's Atlantic Fleet- hereby named the Greenlandic Task Force- to engage in patrols surrounding the island and extending nearly to Jutland. The US Navy will not hesitate to use its might to enforce this annexation

I order a brigade of the US Army to move from Canada's First Military District into Greenland. I order US troops to treat every person in Greenland with the utmost respect and dignity- provided they do not take up arms against us

For the remainder of this turn- I remain open to negotiation a payment to Denmark in exchange for them peacefully ceding Greenland to us. However- their foolishness thus far does not give me hope.

I thank the other leading nations of the world for supporting the US claim and remind Denmark that- barring the toothless Russian bear- they are alone and ought to consider their position before acting further

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Wall Street

I call a meeting of VP La Follette and Speaker Cannon to discuss this issue. I urge both to come to a compromise- trusts which harm the consumer must be curbed,while still maintaining our free market principles. There is indeed a middle ground and with our congressional majorities- we ought to come to a conclusion amongst ourselves and vote it in



Triple Entente

I am honored to host my dear friends and allies in Milwaukee- there will be must private discussion among the three leaders
With me are business and military leaders to discuss many items of importance with their Ottoman and German counterparts

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Cabinet

My major appointments are as follows

Secretary of State- former President William McKinley
President McKinley has vast experience in world affairs and commands the respect of our allies and every other world leader

Secretary of War and the Navy- Truman Newberry
Secretary Newberry has led our Navy and I believe there must be coordination between all branches of the military- thus,I nominate him to lead both the War and Navy Departments

Secretary of the Treasury- Leslie Shaw
Mr. Shaw is well experienced in banking and finance as well as government bonds- specifically with agriculture serving as Governor of Iowa. I believe he will be a dedicated executor of policy which will be deteremined by VP LaFollettee and the Republican Congress

Attorney General- Elihu Root
Mr. Root has served the government honorably in many roles and will be a respected Attorney General- which we need after the constitutional crisis

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OOC- Windjammer,my apologies. I took Lumine's update on the situation as gospel here and assumed there was no wiggle room in the price...

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The USA appreciates the Tsar's urging of the Danes to peacefully negotiate the transfer of Greenland. Now- it must be clear to the Danish that holding Greenland is not a feasible option


The USA is committed to finding a peaceful solution to the Turkestan situation- I will happily send an envoy to peace talks with the Ottomans, German,s Russians, Italians, French, British, and others who have a stake or an interest in the resolution of this crisis

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The USA confirms its commitment to ending bloodshed in Turkestan
We share the commitment to ending mass murder of Russians with our allies both within and outside the Entente

Our French and Italian allies must consider other methods of ending this crisis then Russian expansion

I offer US troops as peacekeepers to end the bloodshed....I challenge my French, Italian, and British allies to do the same

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I propose the following.....

An international contingent with contributions of men from every willing major power. Each nation sending at least 1,000 peacekeepers will be permitted a spot at the table- unanimous voting to decide course of actions

Turkestan Administration Council

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I would like to reiterate that this is not an affront against Russia's goals here....every nation deserves a second chance. As the Sultan said- no single nation should act alone in a circumstance such as this, whether it be Russia or the USA or any one else. We are working together in this regard

Let this be the beginning of a new era of cooperation between great powers

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The USA also understands and applauds the position of our French allies

We also question why Russia would be weary of accepting help...

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The USA shall commit a brigade of 5000 men to the Turkestan mission...they are en route from our bases in Italy-

I order the US Navy's Mediterranean Fleet to assist our Italian friends and all others who have chosen to send troops to Turkestan as peacekeepers- including any assistance our Russian partners may request

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I thank the Russian government for its cooperation

I order the US peacekeepers to intervene and halt any ethnic violence- including anti-Russian violence. I order full cooperation with the other national authorities present

To the Tsar- I hope that our working together here can lead to better relations down the road. I understand your goals and my peacekeepers are there to help

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After consulting with my Director of the Bureau of Investigation- I have confirmed that no agent of mine was involved in any terrorism in Russia. Perhaps the Tsar instructed his goons to torture the perpetrators into falsely confessing American citizenship as a pretext to start a conflict with the United States

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I would like to remind the Tsar that there are 5,000 American troops in Turkestan
There are thousands of troops from other nations- including France, Italy, and the Ottoman Empire

His decision to launch an assault in Turkestan increases the chances of the peacekeepers being accidentally targeted in the aggression

The Tsar must pull his forces back NOW

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The British Empire using this time of renewed tension to increase trade with the Russians- who have wreaked havoc in the world the past few years- concerns me greatly for the future of our alliance

Providing diplomatic cover to a nation with which we were so recently at war is not a sign of strength and does not give me confidence that Britain will stick with her allies no matter what

I hope the British reverse course on this issue,or I may have to declare our alliance with our mother nation temporarily void

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I thank the Tsar for recognizing that he perhaps moved too swiftly...as we are all guilty of at times

I hope that we can have a future of cooperation between our nations

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The British Empire has- for a century- ruled a quarter of the world with increasing neglect for the people whose lives depend on benign governance. The holiest sites in Islam have been desecrated due to British arrogance and neglect....the world must no longer sit idly by while London ignores the plight of its subjects

The United States of America hereby suspends her alliances with the British Empire

It is with no great pleasure that we must take this step with our mother nation- but until our British brethren see it fit to rule their empire with care for the people under their flag, we cannot support their colonialism with our continued alliance

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The British insinuation of guilt of the USA in the Trafalgar Square bombings is ludicrous and is a clear attempt to change the topic of conversation (OOC- Spamage mentioned to me that the USA was one of several nations to be mentioned in the Scotland Yard leads, not the only)

Typical British duplicity....making an absurd charge when they themselves are guilty of barbarism. This is indicative of how they run their Empire....which is why my founding fathers long ago wisely decided to leave it

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The British insinuation of guilt of the USA in the Trafalgar Square bombings is ludicrous and is a clear attempt to change the topic of conversation (OOC- Spamage mentioned to me that the USA was one of several nations to be mentioned in the Scotland Yard leads, not the only)

Typical British duplicity....making an absurd charge when they themselves are guilty of barbarism. This is indicative of how they run their Empire....which is why my founding fathers long ago wisely decided to leave it

We were checking to see if you'd be honest and confess or deceive us further when we told you there were multiple leads. You lied to us.

The United States is one to talk shot running a country well, how long did it take you to finally end slavery? How many native Americans did you kill? Were we the ones to descend into civil war? You can criticize this incident, sure but don't attack how I run my empire which is both the largest and most powerful in human history. Furthermore we codemn he increasing of tensions by the Ottomans, we mobilized to put down uprisings and keep order, you're mobilizing to create war.

The United Kingdom has nothing but sadness for this incident but we'd like to note how quick America and the ottomAns were to throw us under the bus when we've been forgiving of them in the past. I gave the US the benefit of the doubt when I heard the were responsible for the London bombing, why won't they do he same for me?

Forgive me while I consult the history books....but I do believe you Brits had a civil war of your own. Your history is far longer than ours- and your fighting amongst yourselves and your brutal conquering of other nations of the world speak for itself

My nation was not responsible for your London bombing.....either your intelligence is faulty or- as I suspect- you are suddenly making this accusation to distract the world from attention to your own atrocity. If you had such proof- why not bring it up before? You Brits never cease with your deceit....and it is time for you to understand that there are limits to your power

British dominance of the world is a thing of the past.....

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It's quite amusing the British are trying to switch the discussion to historical misdeeds (that every nation has comitted, the United Kingdom including).

I understand why they are doing so....they were just responsible for the barbaric desecration of the holiest site of Islam

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The USA appreciates France's generous offer to host this conference...while we had previously indicated to the Prime Minister our attendance, I must delay that decision. I will continue to speak with the British bilaterally- but until they drop their outrageous claims against the USA and until they make right their barbaric destruction of Mecca, I cannot see a peace conference holding much validity

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I'd like to remind the Prime Minister that he currently has no troops stationed in Canada- ever since we agreed that the USA was to take responsibility for Canada's defense long ago

And if the Prime Minister continues to accuse the USA of sponsoring terrorism- we advise that he recall that his largest (by area) colonial possession is in the hands of the US military and we will not hesitate to raise our flag atop every building in the land, while burning every Union Jack we find

The fact that the Union Jack flies high in Canada even today is an example that the USA keeps her agreements...unlike the duplicitous, double-dealing British we once called our allies

I caution the Prime Minister to end such talk at once or he will soon find that his once-mighty empire has joined the Romans, Greeks, and Mongols in the ruins of history