Introduction
With the continuing growth of the G1: The Guardians series, I thought it might be fun, and of some potential interest to readers, if I gave little looks into the world as it is in that future time, and perhaps to offer an occasional potted history of some of the characters and events. These will appear as ordinary posts but will be linked to elsewhere, so that they can be read at any time you may desire. This will, I hope, be of some value to anybody who enjoys the books. Every post will carry the same title with (naturally) an incrementally ascending number.
This, then, is the first such post…
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Some of the Political Features of the World: The USNA
With the economic collapse of the West, or ‘First World’, looming, nations reacted in different ways. Many, like Canada, became more insular and attempted to sever ties with the international community, in an effort to seize control of their own destinies. Europe attempted to strengthen itself by formalising the union of the nations, in the form of the Confederation of Europe (CE), and abolishing national sovereignty in member nations. The United States of America (US/USA) took a more aggressive approach, using their position as the sole remaining ‘superpower’ to pursue an expansionist policy, which was claimed to be a ‘necessary policy for the protection of the nation’ with the advent of the Second Korean War.
The US, following the defeat of North Korea, took power in the whole of the Korean Peninsula, excusing the act as being no different to the process applied to Japan at the end of the Second World War. Shortly after the victory in Korea, Canada finally suffered complete economic collapse. A bloody civil war commenced as different groups vied to seize power and establish a ‘new’ Canada. On the grounds that the US couldn’t have such an unstable situation in their northern (and largest) neighbour, Washington sent ‘negotiators’ to Canada (more than adequately protected by US military forces). Of course, there were violent repercussions and the Chief Negotiator, Doctor Solomon Thursday, used special powers to declare martial law throughout Canada, and the imposition of a strict curfew. US troops also proceeded to disarm all Canadians and to forcibly relocate individuals and small communities from outlying dwellings to major towns and cities, using camps to house them where necessary. An attempt to assassinate Doctor Thursday was met with an even more robust policy of suppression. At the same time, the negotiators successfully drew more and more Canadian leaders under their influence. After seven years of unrest, a new Canadian Government was formed and established, with US forces now backing off and even withdrawing. Less than a year later, a vote in the Canadian Parliament saw the first move in the USA’s long-term plan, with Canada suing for unification with the US. Within three months the Act of Union was signed by both nations, creating the United States of North America (USNA).
With the establishment of the USNA, efforts already underway to expand American power were given renewed vigour. Mexico and Panama ‘voluntarily’ became new states within the USNA. The West Indies followed and Cuba was finally taken and the pseudo-communist Castran Government was deposed in an American sponsored coup, with some 25,000 Cuban expatriates leading the very brief civil war. Fidel V was imprisoned and then quietly tried and executed by the new regime. Immediately afterwards, an application to become a state within the USNA was accepted and confirmed by Washington.
Within fifteen years of the end of the Second Korean War, the USNA was in complete control of Central America. With Washington feeling more secure, and with vastly larger numbers available to the Pentagon, the USNA seized island nations throughout much of the Pacific Ocean and also took control of a bankrupt Japan. Essentially, the USNA now held an empire that embraced the vast majority of the ‘Pacific Rim’.
With member nations of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) becoming more hostile towards the USNA, the US President, Theodore Franklin Ostermann, issued an Extraordinary Executive Order, with the full support of Congress and the Senate. This Order authorised the Joint Chiefs at the Pentagon to use ‘any and all means necessary to secure the interests of the United States of North America throughout the world’. Within hours of the Order being issued, American forces hit virtually every significant oil-producing nation around the globe, almost simultaneously. Using Air forces, airborne insertion tactics and new electronic warfare systems, the USNA seized power within a very short space of time. Resistance after these events was met ruthlessly and vast numbers of refugees fled to non-oil producing countries. As the world watched, helplessly, tens of thousands died or were severely mutilated with the USNA suffering only negligible losses.
And that is where things now stand. The USNA deal with other small nations with aggressive tactics. They have become global bullies. However, their expansionist policies have stalled to a large degree with the establishment of a variety of alliances by wiser nations, including some who had been traditional enemies. As is the way of such things, the economies of many nations, especially those protected by umbrella pacts, are recovering rapidly. One consequence of this is increasing arms industries, forcing the USNA to be more cautious in their international activities. While they may remain the most technologically advanced nation on Earth,some of the other allied nations are now able to inflict significant damage if a conflict occurs. At the same time,while the Extraordinary Executive Order remains in force, a change of leadership, following the death of President Ostermann, pursues a more moderate line in international affairs, led by President Ruth Imogen Jackson.
Perhaps the most significant aspect of this shift in American behaviour is the interest that Washington is showing in England’s efforts to establish a new organisation: the Union of Atlantic Nations (UAN). While they have been responsible for causing some delays in the creation of the UAN, and some suspect them of having undeclared motives, they continue to support the concept of the Union.
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