The SoEA is back and have something important to say

[Proud Lieberal from Northeast]

Ladies and gentlemen,


First, I want to apologize for my recent disappearance, but the process I've been engaged in required deepest discretion.

During last few days, I've been in Islamabad, meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister, Mr. Ali Akbar Salehi and I'm very pleased to announce that, in result of these talks, we'll approach a new chapter in our relations with Iran.

For the first time since 1979, our governments will be in direct contact with each other. We do realize that back channels are no longer sufficient and we cannot leave 75 millions people, living in a key region of the world, in angry isolation. Within weeks, respective liaison offices will be opened in Nyman and Tehran.

I want to emphasize that we are not establishing full diplomatic relations now. This process will take time and there are many issues between Atlasia and Iran to settle before any normalization is possible but, like we did decades ago in regard to China, we're setting the first step.

[Governor Scott]

Excellent news!  Though our diplomatic relations aren't quite up to par yet, this move could very well have prevented decades of unnecessary bloodshed.

[Senator Napoleon]

Welcome back! We missed you.

[Senator Ben]

Excellent!  Please go to the NSC room and testify to the Committee about all of this.

[Comrade Funk]

This is great news.

[Supersonic]

Fraternizing with our enemies? This is a defeat for Atlasia.

[Emperor SJoyce]

Fraternizing with our enemies? This is a defeat for Atlasia.

Demonizing another nation as 'our enemies' who we should never ever try to negotiate with? That's a true defeat for Atlasia.

[Governor Scott]

Fraternizing with our enemies? This is a defeat for Atlasia.

Demonizing another nation as 'our enemies' who we should never ever try to negotiate with? That's a true defeat for Atlasia.

Some people just enjoy war.

[CathKhan]

Thank you for your work, Secretary Kalwejt. I am now free to step down from my position as Acting Secretary of External Affairs. I assume I am now free to move on from Germany?

[HagridOfTheDeep]

Very commendable that such a nearly impossible and farfetched series of events was able to happen for our liberal-controlled, fictional country!

[IDS Legislator Alfred F. Jones]

Very commendable that such a nearly impossible and farfetched series of events was able to happen for our liberal-controlled, fictional country!

Very commendable that you managed to get yourself elected whilst babbling on about some TV show!

[Senator Napoleon]

Very commendable that such a nearly impossible and farfetched series of events was able to happen for our liberal-controlled, fictional country!

Obviously your party knows the way: start a nuclear war with Iran and see what happens.

I think its your worldview that is unrealistic, not the fact that we are reaching out to a nation that could be a threat if we continue this Cold War style dick measuring contest.

[ZuWo]

Hagrid raises a very valid point. While it's good to have a SoEA who cares about his job, it's probably not the smartest idea if the SoEA starts making up stories which cast a positive light on himself and the entire administration. I think this should be left up to the GM, who is much more objective and neutral on such matters. I mean, if this kind of thing becomes widespread, what prevents me - or any other Governor for that matter - from claiming that I reduced the unemployment rate to 1%?

[Proud Lieberal from Northeast]

Hagrid, ZuWo, I don't understand your concerns.

I'm not making up a story. I'm merely opening liason office.

[Senator Napoleon]

Hagrid raises a very valid point. While it's good to have a SoEA who cares about his job, it's probably not the smartest idea if the SoEA starts making up stories which cast a positive light on himself and the entire administration. I think this should be left up to the GM, who is much more objective and neutral on such matters. I mean, if this kind of thing becomes widespread, what prevents me - or any other Governor for that matter - from claiming that I reduced the unemployment rate to 1%?

Who said only the SoEA was involved with this story? Do you know the law?

[ZuWo]

Hagrid, ZuWo, I don't understand your concerns.

I'm not making up a story. I'm merely opening liason office.

The "story" is that there is an obvious and extremely surprising (and also kind of far-fetched) breakthrough in Atlasian-Iranian relations. The fact that such offices are opened is the "story". The story is not bad per se, but see what I wrote below in response to Napoleon's post.

Hagrid raises a very valid point. While it's good to have a SoEA who cares about his job, it's probably not the smartest idea if the SoEA starts making up stories which cast a positive light on himself and the entire administration. I think this should be left up to the GM, who is much more objective and neutral on such matters. I mean, if this kind of thing becomes widespread, what prevents me - or any other Governor for that matter - from claiming that I reduced the unemployment rate to 1%?

Who said only the SoEA was involved with this story? Do you know the law?

The job description of the GM office says that the GM is responsible for providing news and analysis on national, regional, international and economic matters. I obviously don't know who was involved in creating this storyline, but this suggests that the GM should be primarily responsible for inventing and publishing such stories (or at least visibly participate in doing so). Otherwise the entire story gets a fishy touch (i.e. the SoEA publishes a story on his own which casts himself in a positive light).

[Senator Napoleon]

Hm, well that much I tried pointing out well over a year ago.

[Senator Ben]

For the record, I stand with Kal on this issue.  Some stories will make the SoEA look good; I don't see anything nefarious about this.  When I was SoEA, I worked with the GM to produce stories, but often published them myself.

[HagridOfTheDeep]

I understand the differing points of view about Iranian relations, but I think half the reason the war option looks even worse is because in the context of Atlasia, some really miraculous breakthroughs have happened. And I have a hard time believing them.

I'm not meaning to be rude or anything. I just don't think our policies would actually lead to this sort of peace.

(And Al--I lost that election. I won my second one on pity-vote write-ins instead. )

[Senator Clarence]

I don't exactly understand... if I had won the Presidency and posted that I had launched air strikes against Iran which eliminated its nuclear program without a single civilian casualty- would that have been accepted as reality? I believe it would be

I am fine with this but do have some problems here with the actual policy pursued.... I don't believe direct diplomacy works with nations committed to conflict which I believe Iran has shown itself to be. I believe Iran's nuclear capability should be the shame of the world and a symbol of inaction on the world community and especially on our part. To now sit at the table with a regime that abuses its own people and has repeatedly lied to the world community shows tremendous weakness on our part...

[shua]

Hagrid raises a very valid point. While it's good to have a SoEA who cares about his job, it's probably not the smartest idea if the SoEA starts making up stories which cast a positive light on himself and the entire administration. I think this should be left up to the GM, who is much more objective and neutral on such matters. I mean, if this kind of thing becomes widespread, what prevents me - or any other Governor for that matter - from claiming that I reduced the unemployment rate to 1%?

Generally, I think it'd be good for the publishing of major international events to go through the GM , but this case is mostly a change in the Atlasian policy, and it is most likely that Tehran would respond to such an overture in this way.  I think the initiative taken by the External Affairs Dept recently by Kalwejt and Cathcon is a very good thing, and the former situation was at a standstill (which means it became uninteresting).  Note that Iran still has its nuclear weapons and may still be a threat to the region, so we'll have to see if this new approach bears fruit.