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The year began, as had thousands before it, not knowing what was in store for the Human race. There was no hint that dark storm clouds were off in the distance as the planet began a new year. Having said that, things on the planet were not at their worst. Yet, from the high hopes of peace & prosperity at the beginning of the new millennium, few now shared such thoughts. Nonetheless, not everything appeared lost. Although things were not great, they were not all that bad either. There was even the hint, that with a new American President about to take office, things may even get better.

John Drache was an unusual politician as American Presidents go. Coming out of obscurity, virtually little was known about him prior to his candidacy for the President. The media, at first, dubbed him John "Who?", but once the television cameras rolled it was another story altogether. He seemed so natural when in "presidential" mode & soon thereafter, the John "Who?" nickname was quickly dropped. Although his distracters were soon to point out that he was too young & inexperienced in high office, he always had an answer which appealed to many Americans. Many thought that the boss had eventually arrived.

Yet his distracters would not go away. In fact one group of concerned citizens even turned the Presidential election into a Constitutional crisis by challenging Drache’s nomination validity in the Supreme Court. The news of the legal challenge (Article II, Sc I, Par V, US Constitution) made the headlines as did the Court’s Judgement. The Court decided on a split vote, that even though Drache was born in Damascus Syria, his candidacy was still valid because of the fact that he was born in the American Embassy in Damascus. Furthermore, being the son of the then American Ambassador to Syria also helped in the Court’s verdict.

Even with all this turmoil Drache was eventually elected President of the United States. It was not a great victory, though, as many were truly concerned by the three main criticisms of Drache: he was too young at only 43; he had little experience in public office; & finally there was still the legitimacy of his candidature under the Constitution. Nonetheless, unlike his predecessor, Drache did win the election outright. He did gain a small majority of five votes in the Electoral College & did win a small majority in the overall popular vote of 300 000. Regardless of his background, Drache was without doubt elected the President of the United States.

Still, there were lingering doubts about his experience, especially in foreign affairs. Ironically, this was where Drache put most of his energies into immediately coming into office. Although the Middle East had settled down somewhat, in fact it had become overshadowed by events in Korea, Drache nonetheless concentrated on the Middle East. No one at the time really understood why, until it emerged that Drache could speak Hebrew & Arabic fluently. He also had contacts in high places in Israel, Syria, Palestine, Iraq & Jordan. In fact it would later emerge that he was the best American President ever in relation to first hand knowledge on the Middle East.

Korea, though, was another story. In this respect Drache was thoroughly ignorant & this probably resulted in his almost non-committal to the region. Having said that, he continued the policies of his predecessor by keeping the American armed forces at full strength in South Korea & keeping the embargoes in place. When questioned about the lack of progress in Korea, Drache reminded everyone that it was up to North Korea to do something about it as they were the ones making threats all the time.  Besides, as far as Drache was concerned, the Middle East appeared much more promising.

Those neighbouring Korea, however, had little concern for the troubles Middle East. Their concerns were closer to home. Citing many such concerns, first the South Koreans & then the Japanese began raising the issue with the Americans. Even the Australians added their efforts to their northern allies. Drache, though, reminded these countries that they were all in an alliance with the USA & not to worry. As America had already committed extra forces to South Korea, likewise Australia & Japan could depend upon American help.

Although the South Koreans saw this help in practice, the other two nations had seen little of it other than words. Knowing that the Americans were somewhat stretched around the globe did not help the American cause either. But out of nowhere, Drache made an amazing offer to his two allies. It would be an offer too good to be true & one which could not be refused. As far as Drache was concerned, it would prove to his Pacific allies that America was committed to them. He was also hoping that the deal would ensure that they would be committed to him.

To Australia, Drache offered two small Iwo Jima class "carrier", updated with all the latest gadgets, including an air wing of 16 F-35 STOVL variant fighters for each "carrier". Including 8 trainers, that made for 40 F-35 jet fighters. And it would be all for free. Considering the Australian Navy had mourned the loss of its two aircraft carriers since the mid 1970s, this American offer was accepted without question. To add further to the deal, four American Kidd class destroyers, which had been placed in reserve some years ago, would also be modernised & come free with the "carriers" & the F-35s.

The Japanese got a different deal. Instead of being given surplus US Navy ships, which would have been decommissioned soon anyway, Japan received an up-front payment in the billions of dollars to construct two of their own small aircraft carriers & a number of escorting destroyers. This arrangement was immediately challenged in the Japanese Parliament as being unconstitutional, whereupon the deal was altered. The carriers would now be ordered by the American Navy in Japanese shipyards to a Japanese design. After they had been built, they would be leased to the Japanese Navy for "trail, evaluation, & experimentation on behalf of the US Navy".

Work commenced immediately on the two carriers thanks to the Japanese practice of copying other people’s designs. In doing so, the Royal Navy’s Invincible class "through deck cruiser" gained a new lease of life.  The two ships would be built quickly as the tension on the Korean Peninsular did not seem to be lowering anytime soon.

Like with the Australian deal, Japan was offered 60 F-35 STOVL variant fighters for the two Japanese carriers. As with everything else, they would also come free. Furthermore, not only was America paying for the fighters & the carriers, but four Ageis class destroyers would also be paid for. The deal for the Japanese was again, simply too good to refuse, even with the constitutional problems. As a result, even with strong opposition from many Japanese over the American offer, the Japanese government, fearing a North Korean attack at any moment, accepted it.
 

Peace In Our Time
 

If the world thought that the offer to Australia & Japan was impressive, it was in for one huge shock for the next one. Having settled the Korean issue for the moment, Drache turned to his main effort - peace in the Middle East. Many American Presidents, & other national leaders over the decades, have tried countless times to achieve this goal, so few were surprised when Drache announced his initiative to do the same. But where others had failed, he was convinced he could succeed.

Months went by as negotiations took place in which Drache handled personally. At times all seemed lost, but that was nothing new in these matters. Suddenly, though, there was a breakthrough  the likes of which shocked the world. A "new Middle Eastern order would take place which will see America truly commit itself to world peace" Drache announced. "The United States will welcome Israel and Palestine into its family as autonomous zones enjoying full independence, whilst receiving the fullest protection which we can offer."

No one really knew what Drache was talking about until details of the treaty were released. Although rather complicated, it basically came down to two things. US forces would, instead of Israeli or Palestinian forces, patrol the border between the two territories plus the city of Jerusalem. Not only will Palestine be free from Israeli incursions, but Israel would be protected from terrorist bombers. Jerusalem would be neutral to all & be declared a Holy City to everyone.

As a sign of this undertaking, the Temple of Israel would be built on the Temple Mount next to the Dome of the Rock. "Here, the two main religions of the region will share in peace, as a symbolic reminder to the peoples of the region, that they too must share if they want peace" said Drache. In a further offer to the Muslims, Drache also announced that the city of Babylon in Iraq would be "… rebuilt as an international city of wonder. I true sign that we mean the business of peace to all mankind."

Although the news was enthusiastically greeted in  the United States & elsewhere, it got a very different greeting in the Middle East. The Israelis did not quite know how to react. Yes they gained much from the deal, especially the long awaited rebuilding of the Temple, but they would also lose some of their independence, regardless of what the Americans said. For the Muslims though, it was an outrage. The Temple Mount was to be desecrated by the Jewish Temple. Nothing was worth this, regardless of the fact that their Palestinian cousins would finally gain freedom from Israel & that Babylon would be rebuilt.

Drache, however, was not going to let his peace deal die. Getting on Arab & Jewish television, he argued the case whilst quoting passages from either the Bible or the Koran. And he did so in Hebrew or Arabic, depending upon whom he was referring to. The Middle Eastern world was truly impressed. This was a very different American. When it became common knowledge that the American President was actually born in Syria, a whole new view quickly formed in the Muslim world about this American. Through his own efforts, Drache thus saved his peace plan. Soon the builders went in to Babylon & Jerusalem to begin their respective construction duties, guarded all the while, by American troops.
 

Effects
 

Reaction from other parts of the world, however, began to vary as the construction got under way. The first real negative feedback came from various religious fringe groups claiming that the End Times were near. All sorts of crazy claims were being made, especially about Drache. He was either the Messiah or the Anti-Christ according to some. Most people, though, dismissed this as sheer rubbish, although many had mixed feelings about America getting so deeply involved in the Middle East. The main criticism was, of course, about controlling the oil supplies. Drache dismissed all this as lunatic conspiracy theories. "The next thing we’ll be told" Drache announced to the press corps at the White House, "is that aliens are going to land on the front lawn. Independence Day anyone?" Everyone laughed.

The Europeans, though, were not laughing. They saw this American peace plan as anything but pious. Clearly, to them, there was something far more sinister going on. Having already noted that the Americans had recently succeeded in a global strategic treaty, this latest move was again a way of limiting their global influence. In many ways they were spot on, but they believed that, like many others, it was about the Middle Eastern oil. This had become even more the leading theory when, by the end of the year, Syria, Jordan & Iraq had signed up, with Israel & Palestine, to the so-called "Holy Treaty" (which the media had named the Drache Peace Plan).

Hence, like the case in Israel & Palestine, US forces would patrol the borders keeping apart the various waring factions between the countries involved. What happened inside each country was not America’s concern. Babylon was also declared a neutral city in the same manor as Jerusalem, although it would not necessarily gain the same religious importance. It was planned to be more of a living museum than an actual large thriving metropolis.

Of course one cannot go on a great program, such as Drache had started, without balancing the books so to speak. All this was going to take money & resources. America may have had the short-term money, but it needed long term money to continue to pay for all of the forces & construction projects. This meant getting money from somewhere & that meant taxes. Being a politician, Drache knew that raising taxes had never been a popular thing with a population &, even if he did pull off the Middle Eastern peace plan, he could be kicked out at the next American election.

Yet billions of dollars had to be raised & resources found in order to get Drache’s plan working. The resources, however, turned out to be not too hard. Basically it meant moving around a number of American military units & giving them new missions. For years now, America stationed two divisions in Germany. This was a left over from the Cold War, & although it had been planned to move them back to America, for many reasons this had not been done. Now it would.

The orders went out virtually over night. Soon two US divisions were on the move in Europe. The 4th Armoured & the 55th Mechanised Division, along with the 14th Armoured Cavalry Regiment, moved lock, stock & barrel across an entire continent. It was a huge undertaking, which surprised many in Europe. Other than these US Army units, all of the US Air Force units in Europe likewise flew to airfields in the Middle East. To all intents & purposes, it looked like an invasion, but Drache reassured everyone that it was anything but that.

The Europeans, however, had mixed feelings about the sudden relocation of the American military. The French were the biggest critics & made their feeling very clear on the subject. They thought it was the latest sign that the Americans were no longer a friendly country & that they should be considered a hostile threat. Germany was not far behind French opinion, but they also felt the sudden drop in local economies as American servicemen & servicewomen, not to mention their families, no longer spent their money in Germany. Having said that, the local populations were mostly glad to see the end of the American "occupation" forces.

But it was not the military movements of the Americans which would make the Europeans finally split with the Americans & destroy NATO in the process. That was something else although not unrelated. Drache finally believed he had solved his money problems. Looking at the NAFTA arrangements he decided to strengthen the economic ties between the three member nations. In doing so he gave more power to the NAFTA Secretariat by including himself & the leaders of Mexico & Canada on it. Furthermore, uniform trading laws were introduced which, in the end, meant that tariffs were introduced in all three countries on anything coming in from the European Union, although exception was given to Britain & other European allies. It was, though, only a very small tariff, one only meant to raise enough funds for the "Holy Treaty".

The Europeans were, naturally, outraged. They challenged the United States at the UN & elsewhere only to be ignored in the process. By the end of the year, not only had the Europeans introduced their own tariffs on all NAFTA trade & products, but they had walked out of NATO in protest to everything American. Only a handful of countries thus remained in NATO, all of whom supported the United States. Effectively, however, NATO ceased to exist as a workable organisation.

The effects back in America, though, was one of outrage at the Europeans. The basic opinion from most quarters was one of betrayal. America had saved Europe on many occasions in the last century only to be treated with contempt in the new one. Examples such as Gulf War II were citied, not to mention the current peace plans which the United States was endeavouring to undertake. If the Europeans wanted to enjoy the benefits, which came from such efforts of the United States, then they should pay a little towards supporting them. About the only thing the European protest succeed in achieving was to reinforce the now American opinion that the Europeans were out to get them. This gained similar support in Mexico & Canada who had benefited greatly from the various NAFTA arrangements much more so than the US.

Thus it came as no surprise to many that at the end of the year, Drache announced that the United Nations was next to useless. Furthermore, he added that "… due to the very anti-American stance, which the UN has taken over the last few years, I can’t see why we should go on paying for it. Our country, on our own initiative, has done far more for world peace in one decade, than the UN has achieved in six decades."

It was clearly an ominous warning to the UN delegates & to the world in general. Just as the United States never joined the League of Nations in 1919, & in doing ensured its weakness, a non-committed America in the United Nations was just as dangerous for international relations. And as the clock ticket over to a new year, things appeared, even with peace in the Middle East achieved, bleak for the rest of the planet.

On to Year Two

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