Oblige Speaks Out about eUSA - Asteria Non Aggression Pact

Day 2,560, 19:22 Published in USA USA by Gnilraps

New Coat of Paint (Mandatory listening)
Day 2560 of the New World
23 November, 2014
Evening Edition: Late-breaking news!

Tracker courtesy of Mike Ontry's Hit Tracker


If you have not read the following statement issued by Secretary of State Wild Owl, please read it first. It is brief:

USA-Asteria Non Aggression Pact.

After reading it myself, I dialed up President Oblige to ask a few questions about this game-shifting agreement.



Brief Backgroun😛

eUSA had been a member of the Sirius alliance until then-President Molly Emma led us out. (Technically we were kicked out, but that was just a formality which expedited what was already afoot.) Shortly thereafter Pacifica was formed and eUSA was pleased to be in a smallish alliance that was geographically expedient for us. The real questions all revolved around how Pacifica would fit in with Sirius, Asteria, and LETO. Today we begin to see some of those questions being answered.

It is my view that President Oblige and his State Department deserve a massive congratulations for this big step.

What follows is my conversation with Oblige (mostly) untouched.



Gnilraps:Congratulations on a rather groundbreaking development.

Oblige: Thank you. It's been in development all month, and it's something we're very proud of. We've gone back and forth on the negotiations several times. And after some excellent negotiation on both sides, we came to some mutually acceptable terms.



Gnilraps: First question: What are eUSA's primary enemies right now?

Oblige: At the moment I'd classify us as in a period of transition. We don't have any primaries at the moment, but I suspect in the near future (most likely in the next Presidential term) they will be defined by us within the new world order. The events of today put the eUSA in an excellent place to dictate whom our future enemies will be.



Gnilraps: To clarify, are you saying that eSerbia is NOT a primary enemy of eUSA?

Oblige: I'm going to be a politician here and hedge my answer, which I hope you'll print in full and let stand on its own. Basically it's not for me to decide, nor does this NAP place any restriction on that. We're still free to harry Serbia or any Asteria country via RWs and through MPP battles if we so choose. But, trying to hold "Serbia as our #1 enemy" as the lynch piece of our foreign policy, while many of our long time friends (like Croatia) sign NAPs with them and move towards better relations, seems to me to be an antiquated policy.



Gnilraps: That leads me to one of my questions about the pact itself. It reads: "The two parties agree not to consider hostilities against each other...." That is slightly unusual language. What exactly does it mean to "not consider hostilities"?

Oblige: Well, there's the overly flowery language of international diplomacy for you. We wanted something which could encompass air strikes, declarations of war, and natural enemy declarations. That's what it means.



Gnilraps: Are you saying that the language of "not to consider hostilities" is equal to "will not engage in hostilities"?

Oblige: It means only what I just mentioned. As I stated above we would be, within the terms of the agreement, free to fight via RWs or MPPs battles. Obviously as well though, this opens the door to new opportunities.



Gnilraps: What is the procedure, if any, with Pacifica in our signing such a pact? Are we free to do it without consultation with them or did we need to have some approval there?

Oblige: One of the best parts about Pacifca is that it's a very free flowing alliance that isn't bogged down by procedural rules or such. Of course, we still discussed it with some of our key allies. As you can see nimnul (CP of Russia) is one of the first commenters on the accord.



Gnilraps: Is there a key Asteria nation that you are particularly pursuing?

Oblige: No comment at this point, but expect to see something equally exciting tomorrow.



Gnilraps: So are you not willing to comment on eChina at this time?

Oblige: I am happy to comment on China. They're air striking Ireland tomorrow. We are friends with Ireland and share an MPP with them. At the moment we're having high level cabinet discussions on the right way forward with that.



Gnilraps: We are currently under a trade embargo with a LETO country (Montenegro). Has there been any discussion about the future of that embargo in light of this pact?

Oblige: The USA actually did not pass that embargo - Montenegro did. One of the lesser known facts about embargoes is that they show up in both countries. The USA hasn't passed an emabrgo for... several years... at least two or three I think.

Gnilraps: I was trying to get a feel for how deeply conversations went with LETO. Was this mostly an Asteria thing? or did LETO have a lot to do with it?

Oblige: The negotiations were held between the USA and Asteria HQ. I'm not privy as to how things were handled within their back channels, but it's rare to see any dissonance between Asteria and LETO foreign policy.



Gnilraps: In the article posted by the State Department, this sentence concluded the piece: "We look forward to reuniting with many former friends..." can you be more specific about which former friends you have in mind?

Oblige: That would have to be handled by my earlier "no comment but something is coming down the pipeline tomorrow."

Gnilraps: I figured.



Gnilraps: Did you negotiate this directly yourself or did your SoS do it?

Oblige: WildOwl is our Secretary of State and my #1 eSon. He did the negotiation after approaching me to determine what would be acceptable terms for us. We discussed each of the counter proposals and how we would respond. WildOwl deserves all of the credit for handling the negotiations, but the terms were set by myself after consultation with the inner cabinet. It was truly a team effort. This is the crown jewel of my FA policy.



Gnilraps: What is the foreign media asking you (about this) that I have not asked you?

Oblige: Nothing really, just specific questions on how it will effect their zone of influence etc.



Gnilraps: Do you have an official statement about Croatia/Turkey? Bulgaria?
*(Today Croatia/Turkey left Sirius and Bulgaria left Aurora)

Oblige: In regards to Croatia / Turkey - I assume you're familiar with this?



Well obviously Croatia and Turkey felt they had to act in what was clearly an abject betrayal by Poland. We fully support Croatia and Turkey in all their future endeavors.

Things are not unfolding quite so well for Poland, and because we're thankful of their support in the past and the friendship we've shared with them since the CTRL days, we're sympathetic to their current plight.

Regarding Bulgaria as well we understand their frustration and are also sympathetic.



Gnilraps: Oblige, thank you for your time, and once again, Congratulations on this truly ground-breaking Foreign Affairs development.

Oblige: No problem



OK, readers, time to sound off.

What do you think about the Pact?

What do you think about President Oblige's answers?

And with whom do you expect we will be announcing an MPP with tomorrow?




You may now return to your regularly scheduled clicking