Why the US Isn't Retaking Washington and Alaska

Day 693, 12:58 • Published in USA USA • by Jack Flufferton

I constantly see people - typically newish players - asking why we are not vigorously seeking the return of Washington and Alaska. They want Washington and Alaska back immediately. Here's why that's wrong:

We are now involved in the Sol war games, so low wellness and missed experience points are no longer an issue. It is much cheaper to participate in war games - the cost is shared between all countries - than it is to attack Washington, which currently costs 124.5 gold.

We don't need Washington and Alaska for the raw materials they contain. Sure, Alaska has high oil, but Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Illinois also have high oil. Washington has high grain, but Kansas, Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota also have high grain. California has high oil and grain, which is why we have a Q5 hospital there.

Some people are under the impression that being the most populated country means we are the strongest country. This is so wrong. We have ~33% more citizens than Hungary, but the damage done by their military and two-clickers is much greater than ours. We do not have the firepower without all of EDEN and our Canadian bros fighting for the US.

Alaska serves as a bottleneck for Russian entry into the US. Russia and Hungary would have to do some land swapping, but Hungary has a Q5 hospital and defense system in Alaska, decreasing the likelihood of that. Russia didn't accomplish its goal of conquering Florida, and some citizens are still yearning to achieve that goal. Hungary is blocking Russia from getting frisky again in North America. This is a good thing while we rebuild. Plus, we don't have a border with Alaska.

The military is abroad working to free regions from PEACE occupation and is not available for an attack on Washington. By wrestling North India, India from Iran on Sunday night, we gained respect from the Indians (they didn't pass the MPP with us because they're in a very precarious position with aggressive PEACE nations surrounding them, so it's easy to appreciate their apprehension). Gaining allies by doing the right thing will help us gather the strength to take Washington and Alaska back.

Machismo or ignorance are the only reasons behind wanting to get them back right now - other things are higher in priority. They got those regions by letting their allies do the dirty work, avoiding MPPs, so don't take it too hard. Hungary already has high grain in their original region of Southern Great Plain, so they don't need Washington. Hungary needs Alaska for oil (they recently returned North Caucasus, Russia to Russia), but if we were to get Alaska back, they'd seize another oil region in a heartbeat. Getting the regions back would not deprive Hungary of anything, really.

People get bored without real war. The bickering and infighting is already coming back with the debate over the VAT tax increase on food, and it will get worse - it's the natural trend for any nation in eRep. Retaking our regions will give us something over which we can unite again.

Give it time.
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