The State Department

[Potus]

DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
OFFICE OF SECRETARY POTUS2036

Department of State
Department of Defense
Agency for International Development
National Security Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
Export-Import Bank of Atlasia
Peace Corps

Department Appointees
These individuals have been appointed to help manage the State Department.
-Deputy Secretary SJoyce
-Ambassador At-Large Cassius


NEWS UPDATES


POLICY DIRECTIVES


PRESS CONFERENCES

RECENT INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS LEGISLATION
Ukrainian Technical, Economical and Military Aid Act - SIGNED 8/5
Assistance for Iraq Act - DEBATING
War Powers Amendment - DEBATING

PREVIOUS SECRETARIES
10.2006 - 11.2006 - afleitch
12.2006 - 03.2007 - Speed of Sound
03.2007 - 06.2007 - Cosmo Kramer
07.2007 - 08.2007 - True Democrat
08.2007 - 09.2007 - Ernest
10.2007 - 02.2008 - Al
03.2008 - 09.2008 - MasterJedi
09.2008 - 10.2008 - Colin Wixted
10.2008 - 07.2009 - Hashemite
07.2009 - 03.2010 - HappyWarrior
03.2010 - 07.2010 - Hashemite
07.2010 - 11.2010 - Ben
11.2010 - 03.2011 - Hashemite
03.2011 - 05.2012 - Ben
05.2012 - 07.2012 - SJoyce
07.2012 - 08.2012 - Kalwejt
09.2012 - Cathcon
10.2012 - 12.2012 - Dr. Cynic
12.2012 - 02.2013 - SJoyce
03.2013 - Clarence
03.2013 - 07.2013 - Polnut
07.2013 - 09.2013 - Talleyrand
09.2013 - 10.2013 - Bacon King
10.2013 - 12.2013 - SJoyce
01.2014 - 07.2014 - Superique

[Potus]

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[Potus]

Department of State

Per the President's announcement, the State Department is dedicating itself to dealing with the ongoing crisis in the Middle East. As a result, I will be meeting with the leaders in the region to develop a strong, regional coalition to combat the Islamic State.

There will be a large meeting with the leaders of Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Afghanistan, Turkey, the UAE, Kuwait, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Bahrain, and Israel. The larger meeting will be preceded by one-on-one meetings with each leader. The larger meeting will be called the Middle East Multilateral Working Group on the Islamic State(MEMWGIS).

Once Atlasian combat operations begin and MEMWGIS begins to implement a plan of action to confront the Islamic State, MEMWGIS will meet, at a minimum, once weekly to monitor progress and oversee operations.

(MEMWGIS is pronounced "mem" as in memory, "wig", "iss" as in hiss.)

[Potus]

Ambassador-At-Large Cassius has been dispatched to meet with our European allies, Japan, and India. I will meet with our allies around the globe after MEMWGIS is functioning and our allies have had a chance to organize their concerns, speak with their advisers, and gaining the consent of their legislatures.

[Potus]

State Department Communique

To: President Lumine, Deputy Secretary Sjoyce, Ambassador Cassius, the Joint Chiefs
From: Secretary of State Potus2036

Gentlemen,
     The cats have been herded. There is a regional coalition in place to support our efforts in attacking the Islamic State. Somehow, some way we've got Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Iran sitting at a table together.

The only agenda in place is that I will deliver our plans for military action to them, we will discuss and guarantee a thorough understanding, and they will take it to their advisers to determine how they can best augment the plans. Following that discussion, we will meet once again.

Keep fighting the good fight, gentlemen.

[Potus]

State Department Communique

To: President Lumine, Deputy Secreatary SJoyce, Ambassador Cassius, MEMWGIS Chair
From: Secretary of State Potus2036

I have made a successful trip to Europe to discuss the logistics and specific commitments of willing ally nations. These commitments, I am recommending, ought to be at least doubled by Atlasia. I will send another communique on a secure line detailing the exact commitments.

I also sat with "morally supportive" but practically reluctant allies. I've successfully gathered several humanitarian commitments to aid in reconstruction and long-term development in Iraq.

The Coalition backing Atlasian efforts have been granted a seat on MEMWGIS.

Will keep posted on any updates.

[Potus]

Communique

To: President Lumine, Deputy SJoyce, Ambassador Cassius, All MEMWGIS Members
From: Secretary of State Potus2036

There are a few things that we must go over. The situation in Iraq is requiring a faster, more robust response than any of us initially anticipated. The Atlasian Republic is calling on the members of MEMWGIS to form a multinational ground force. Preparations must be made immediately in order to merge the command and control structure of the different forces fighting the Islamic State.

Second order of business, I've sat down with the French Foreign Minister to discuss his objections once again. The compromise solution seems to be that France is under no obligation to participate in the war effort, however they have made a commitment to lead on humanitarian relief to those in Iraq and Syria.

France has also been given a direct seat on MEMWGIS. This is to recognize the role France will play in the after-action coalition.

That'll be all.

[Potus]

State Department

The thoughts and prayers of every member of the Lumine Administration goes out to the families of those who lost their lives on that plane over Iraq.

The Secretary will be live on television shortly to make a statement.

[Potus]

Good evening,
       As many of you know, a plane flying a humanitarian mission over Iraq was shot down earlier today. Those on board exhibited the greatest qualities we ask of conscious citizens of the world. When duty called and hope was threatened by evil's physical incarnation, they stepped up to give hope, to improve lives, and to fight for good. They are heroes, and though they were not Atlasians, they were patriots through and through. God rest their soul and allow their families to find peace and closure in this difficult time.

Such heinous acts of violence, acts of atrocity, must not go unanswered. The State Department, under my direction, has made several recommendations to the President. The President and I, after meeting for discussion of the recommendations, have agreed upon a practical set of solutions.

First, I will bring a resolution to the MEMWGIS to approve a new slate of intelligence gathering tools for use in the Middle East. These enhanced investigation tools will provide unhindered insight into communications all over the region and dramatically improve the pool of possibly actionable intelligence.

Second, with MEMWGIS members, we will adopt a strategy of surgical strikes on high value ISIS targets. These targets are pressure points within the organization. The strikes have the objective of degrading operational capacity in both Iraq and Syria. These strikes will take place on both sides of that border.

Third, Atlasia will lead an expanded missile campaign in Syria and Iraq. I will assemble MEMWGIS for an emergency meeting and bring the coalition on board with the strikes. The missile strikes will be conducted using every possible avenue of intelligence.

The President is currently considering a number of other options should the situation continue to deteriorate. We are not acting alone. The coalition will stand with us and we will stand with them. As I've said before, evil exists in this world and we have an opportunity to defeat this manifestation. Those are the stakes.



I will now take questions on the plan.

[Potus]

Russian Response

The State Department has the following orders to make:

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[Potus]

The Crimea Compact
After weeks of tense negotiation, Secretary of State Potus2036 and Russian President Vladimir Putin have reached a final agreement on the issue of Ukraine. The Secretary thanked President Lumine for his support for the negotiations. "Together," the Secretary said, "we have created an agreement that strengthens peace and stability around the world."

The Crimea Compact consists of five parts. These parts have been agreed upon by both the Republic of Atlasia and the Russian Federation.

The Autonomous Region of Crimea
The people of Crimea will draft a constitution which will govern the newly formed Autonomous Region of Crimea(ARC). The ARC will be affiliated with the Russian Federation, though they will be self-governing. The constitution will determine the exact relationship of the ARC to the rest of the Russian Federation.

Russian Withdrawal and Development Aid
Russia will withdraw all troops in the Ukraine. The troop withdrawal will coincide with the formation of the Ukraine Development Fund(UDF), managed by a number of NATO nations. Russia will provide $50 billion to start the UDF. The mission of the UDF is to strengthen the economy of and tame corruption in Ukraine.

Renunciation of Russian Claims
The Russian Federation will renounce any and all claims in Eastern Europe. With this renunciation, Russia recognizes the finality of its European border. Recognition of this finality is a major bulwark for peace and stability in the region.

Guarantee Freeze and Support for Busheshr Plant
The policies enacted by the Atlasian State Department in State Directive #3 are, henceforth, annulled. The investment guarantees, designed to hedge demand for Russian energy, have been halted. Money being used to issue new guarantees will now be used to cover 30% of maintenance and upgrade costs at the Russian-sponsored Busheshr Nuclear Plant in Iran.

Ruble Trading Holiday
As Russia contends with severe economic distress, privately held Russian ruble in Atlasia is frozen for a period of 6 months. This trading holiday will allow Russia to take steps to address the issues facing their economy without having to contend with a global sell-off of ruble. The trading holiday will significantly slow the decline of the ruble's value.

[Potus]

Welcome back!

I've been simulating negotiations with Cynic, who had a LOA. When he returned, we finished the deal.

[Potus]

Appeasement we can believe in!

It's not appeasement. We got much, much more out of this deal. You and I both know Russia didn't want to stop at Crimea. We haven't caved on their actual purpose. In fact, we crushed the ultimate goal of more expansion into Europe. We've successfully stopped Russian expansion. Hardly appeasement.

[Potus]

Instability with the GM and the all-consuming nature of the budget conversation have gotten in the way of foreign policy.

Kalwejt and I spoke a bit over PM earlier and we're moving ahead with one of the Administration's top priorities, a Middle East Multilateral Forum.

If we want to get the Department working again, I encourage the Senate and public to support swift confirmation of the GM nominee. I need the GM to simulate negotiations.

[Potus]

I PM'ed Cynic and Lumine both about taking new steps on foreign policy and the response was basically, "We'll get to it when the budget is finished." Calculating the budget is a monumental task. Adding negotiation sim was more than the GM could handle.

Cynic was on-and-off active during most of January. When he was active, the attention of the GM was more pressingly needed elsewhere. His resignation was a long time coming after a decline in interest and in ability to participate. I would that it is naive or ignorant of the facts to claim that Cynic's activity problem began and ended the day he resigned.

But of course that's not the case. Neither of you, Windjammer or Griffin, are ignorant of the facts. This is an effort to twist a non-story into a political positive for your team. This isn't a story. There is no argument to be had.

[Potus]

A month Riley, a MONTH.

When was the last time a bill of your writing became law?

[Potus]

I don't understand why you want to talk about my job as senator, but I will still answer you:
- the last time I posted something in the senate thread was obviously yesterday.
-The last time there was a vote on an amendment of a bill I  proposed was last week.
-The last time a bill/amendment I sponsored failed was last week too (the efficient referenda amendment)
-and 2 bills I introduced in the senate are still in the queue right now.
- And the last thing I managed to pass was the anti explosives bomb amendment, and it became a part of the constitution likely last month.

So you're telling me the last piece of legislation written by you that became law was finished up in the voting booth on December 17th. That's when the Mideast voting booth closed, the last to do so. We are quickly approaching two months of you not writing legislation.

TWO MONTHS, windjammer.

Your ability to write legislation is completely independent of outside factors. My job relies on an active GM to simulate negotiations, etc. I can't do my job when there isn't a GM, you can do yours anytime. So why are you falling down on the job?

[Potus]

I don't understand why you want to talk about my job as senator, but I will still answer you:
- the last time I posted something in the senate thread was obviously yesterday.
-The last time there was a vote on an amendment of a bill I  proposed was last week.
-The last time a bill/amendment I sponsored failed was last week too (the efficient referenda amendment)
-and 2 bills I introduced in the senate are still in the queue right now.
- And the last thing I managed to pass was the anti explosives bomb amendment, and it became a part of the constitution likely last month.

So you're telling me the last piece of legislation written by you that became law was finished up in the voting booth on December 17th. That's when the Mideast voting booth closed, the last to do so. We are quickly approaching two months of you not writing legislation.

TWO MONTHS, windjammer.

Your ability to write legislation is completely independent of outside factors. My job relies on an active GM to simulate negotiations, etc. I can't do my job when there isn't a GM, you can do yours anytime. So why are you falling down on the job?

That's not true. An active senator is a senator who participates to the senate threads. You have good senators who arent active writers like bore for example.

You your job However is to post in this thread about foreign policy, what you have obviously failed to do. There wasn't a GM for just one week and you have done nothing for at least one month.

Cynic's difficulties are well-documented, and I don't fault him for them. Windjammer, I'm ending this conversation. The truth is obvious, foreign policy is not possible without an active GM. You know as well as I that we didn't have that.