Istanbul – The Caliph's office

It was only days after the peaceful annexation of Saudi-Arabia as the Caliph and his close advisors where watching the DNN report on television. Kuwait was burning and that is just the way Caliph Mohamed Saleh Idn Al-Arabi liked it. Only through chaos can a new order rise. Kuwait had to be destabilized if the small but wealthy oil state would ever fall under the Caliphate's control. As the bearded men stared at the television they all watched how protesters clashed violently with riot police. Black smoke from fires clouded the sky as immigrant protesters burned buildings, cars, tires and other objects. The next scene showed how protesters dragged a battered and bloody man way from the fighting.

The Caliph looked at the men in his office with amusement as things where going according to plan. Soon the time will come where the Caliphate will have to intervene. Mohamed Saleh Idn Al-Arabi turned towards his minister of defense and spoke. “Mobilize our forces in Iraq and deploy them along the Kuwaiti border according to plan”.

Ahmed Marcaguz, minister of defense bowed his head slightly and nodded “As you wish, my Caliph”. He rose up from his seat and moved towards his office. He turned on his screen and connected to the personal office of general Ibrahim Ataman. “General, deploy your forces according to plan ALPHA-352”. The general nodded and a hour later his forces started to move. That night 20.000 troops of the Caliphate relocated to the Kuwaiti border.

"They just HAD to attack now!" Exclaimed Richard MacEoin "We don't even have the infrastructure ready yet! Why can't the world just progress in a logical, rational way?"

The leaders of the UTA were gathered around a square table, a holographic map in the center displaying the known locations of Midwestern Commonwealth forces. Though the map was commonly referred to as a hologram, it was nothing like the "true" holograms still in their early stages at Caltech. It just used a miniaturized version of the holograms that existed before the outbreak of the Third World War, just giving the illusion of a three-dimensional object.

"Because we aren't a logical and rational species." Said Christopher Huerta, trying to get Richard back on task. "We'll be fighting another conventional war, it seems."

"Had you allocated more funding to the Damocles Project this wouldn't be a problem." Said Yuuki "Instead we replaced all of the steam catapults on the carriers with electromagnetic ones."

"Has the Navy ever actually seen combat?" Asked Yeong Suk, earning a glare from Ančjo. Not wanting to let the situation escalate further, Richard spoke again.

"We're being invaded! You can argue over whether or not we need the Navy or if the Air Force's pilots are a mob of idiots because they can't make a carrier landing later! We're at war, Damocles is barely off of the drawing board, and we have to win! Does anyone have something to say that doesn't involve an inter-service rivalry?"

"Our fleet is already on it's way back." Reported Ančjo "The enemy wasn't planning on the resolution of the conflict over the Caliphate, and it's obvious that they were trying to take advantage of our preoccupation. It's likely that they will be unable to defeat us once we are back at full strength, though Mr. Huerta would know more about that."

"Yes, we should be perfectly fine once our forces arrive." Agreed Christopher Huerta "The question is whether we can hold out until they get here. The enemy is focusing their assault on Wyoming, the location of nearly all of our missile bases. We don't know if they've gone nuclear yet, it's entirely possible that they just want the missiles."

"We can't let them take the missile silos." Said Richard "If that's what they're after, then we can all guess what will happen if they get it. Besides the obvious threat of nuclear war, the Damocles Project needs those warheads."

"The entire Air Force is in a position to strike their forces, I say we deploy our tactical bombers en masse against their army." Said Yuuki "We've also got plenty of tactical missiles standing by on their pads right now. Not to mention our substantial fighter fleet, we should be able to establish aerial superiority."

"Perfect. We'll bombard the enemy as they advance, and have the forces falling back from the border divert to nearby military bases to establish a defensive line. Organize the reserves in the border states as well, and send them to the line. Naval aircraft will be assisting our forces, and the craft on the deployed Carriers will head to airbases near the border to refuel before joining the main force. We'll hit them with everything we've got and then some. Have any extra transports fly out to the fleet and pick up the troops we sent out, we need anyone we can get for this."

"Gotcha." Said Yuuki, hastily leaving the room to send the orders immediately. Richard had given her permission to disregard the usual formalities, since the Air Force was the quickest responding branch of the military, the quicker the orders were given the better things went.

"Yes Sir!" Said everyone else, saluting before walking out of the room.

For a few seconds the world had seemed to almost be completely at peace, but the wildfire that is conflict had already began to spread throughout the world. The conflict in the middle east was over, but many had arisen recently. Daifallah Mir quietly mumbled to himself as he read a local newspaper. “Civil war in Mexico. Massacres in Kuwait. War in the Americas? The world does not sleep easy with so much death. It is almost troubling.” When Mir had finally looked up, he noticed that Hussain had entered quietly, and patiently waited for his attention.

“I am sorry to disturb you sir, but I believe that a more pressing matter is at hand.” He handed him a copy of a message received from the USA. “Our friends in the west seem to be undergoing issues.”

Mir began to read the message, his face struggling to express the feelings of both anger and disappointment. “It seems that you are right. They are under risk of a coup, but what is that you wish for me to do about it?” He already knew the answer, but he refused to accept the truth of the matter.

“It is time for them to undergo a change of leadership. Under proper Nigerian rule.” Hussain paused for a second to let Mir process the point he is trying to make. “Personally, I feel that it may be best that we end the chaos in Africa. The deaths of kings, the military coups, the almost daily massacres in the streets. Finally bring the people under the grip of democracy. Give them two choices, freedom or death.” His face turned into an almost twisted grin.

Mir though, was not so sure on the idea. It seemed wrong, almost entirely unprovoked. “Hussain you’re mad if you truly think that would do anything other than bring more death to t-”

“As the American’s used to say ‘You have to break a few eggs to make an omelet’, yes?” Hussain quickly interrupted. “Either way though, we will invade the USA, dismantle their government, establish a pro-Nigerian government, and eventually in let’s say about four years? Does that sound reasonable, have said pro-Nigerian government peacefully integrate into our country. We will even let people ‘vote’ on whether they wish to join.”

“Is this a coup Hussain? Have you not seen what that has done to our beautiful country? Nearly tearing it apart after a few short years.”

“Not a coup, think of it more like…” He paused for a few short seconds. “You are a figurehead, and the military, meaning me, is truly in charge of how things get done.”

“You risk civil war!” Mir shouted.

“No, because I already have the military by my side. If I truly wanted to I could have overthrown the government long ago, but I laid in wait, and now is the time to strike.” He handed him a small stack of papers. “It is your official declaration of war. I was sincerely hoping not to hold a gun to your head in order to help bring your dreams of a peaceful Africa true.” Hussain finally left with a gleeful smile, as two armed guards walked into the office.

“Sir we are here to escort you safely to the plaza you are scheduled to speak at in a few short hours. The press have already been made aware, and will be there.”



Mir stood in front of the large podium, sweat slowly dripping down his face. Ready to give a speech, one destined to change the fate of Nigeria. One he had worked so long, and hard to bring into the light, finally fall into the dark once more. “I, Daifallah Mir, first president of the Republic of Nigeria, hereby announce an official state of war with the United States of Africa.” He paused slightly, giving a sense of dramatic effect. “Many of you may question the legitimacy of this war, other’s knowing that it couldn’t have come any sooner. Their government, one we have helped maintain for so long. In order to keep its democratic status has fallen under potential military coup. This is a problem for us, the people, who have spent massive amounts of money and resources spreading education and other necessary resources to their people. Not only that, but we have invested weaponry, weaponry now being used against us. So, as of two hours ago, around 50,000 Nigerian troops have entered USA territory to support the already 40,000 Pro-Nigerian troops currently fighting in the country, with the ultimate goal of establishing a new, more stable government. I hope the fighting will come to an end shortly. That is all.”

-Moscow, the Soviet Empire of Greater Russia-

"They did what?" the Tsar roared.

Anya, the Tsar's wife, quietly slipped out of the room. This was becoming a common occurrence, and this time Vyacheslav had been drinking.

The Foreign Commissar cowered slightly at the Tsar's rage, as he was but a small, frail man next to the powerfully built Putin, who had been known for showing off his abs on horseback. No telling where he got that from.

"Yes, your Majesty. Nigeria has invaded the USA."

"Well then, why don't they nuke them or something? Or are they too busy eating freedom hamburgers to get off their behinds?" The Tsar gestured his hands wildly, as a sign of his more than slight intoxication.

"The other USA, sir. The one that didn't fall apart years ago."

"Oh." The Tsar sobered slightly. "We need to know Ethiopia's stance. If they give us the go-ahead, I'm sending a few Tu-95s over there. We ought to give them a good bombing, then they'll see how a proper country behaves!"

@MetalLover

Kuwait City Harbor.

A freight ship sailing under South African flag had just docked onto the harbor late at night in one of the more darker places of this large Arabian harbor. Three men of Asian descent boarded the ship and walked toward the bridge. As they approached the door it suddenly opened and the captain commanded the men to follow him downstairs into the freight deck. Hundreds of crates where stacked in nice order. “You got the goods?” Asked one of the Asian men. The captain simply nodded and opened up one of the crates. As the men looked inside they saw they assault rifles.

The captain looked at he men and smilled. “I've got everything you guys have ordered. Assault rifles, machineguns, handgranades, RPGs. You name it and it is here. Now you only need to pay and you guys can fight your little war for freedom”

The Asian men smiled and one of them pulled out his cellphone. With the press of a virtual button on the touchscreen a large sum of money was wired into an offshore bank account is some shady island paradise. The captains cellphone buzzed as a new notification came on the screen. The man smiled as he noticed the figure on the screen. “You Asian guys must have some powerful benefactor. It was a pleasure doing business”

With the transaction closed, the ship was quickly unloaded and the crates where carried off into the night. Only hours later the first armed assault on the Kuwaiti government security forces was carried out as discontented migrant workers fired RPGs at a local police station. More attacks where carried out and the situation quickly spiraled out of control. The next morning the Emir of Kuwait released the following statement:

“Armed insurgents have taken the streets creating chaos and havoc in our beautiful country. Our police forces are not adequately equipped to fight off machine-guns and RPGs. This leaves the government no other choice then to declare martial law and order the military to protect our citizens from the marauding bands of immigrants. We do not know who has equipped these bandits with weapons but our military forces will do whatever is needed to bring the order back to Kuwait.

Emir Abdullah of Kuwait”

In a matter of days, protests changed into civil war. Images of the fighting flashed across TV screens as immigrant workers fought against the Kuwaiti government and its Arab citizens. The immigrant assault on a mosque during the Friday prayers was excessively brutal. Armed gunmen stormed the ancient building and killed 22 men. In a week since the fighting has started, over 500 lives have been lost in the small Arab state.

Istanbul, Palace of the Caliph

The Caliph had followed the Kuwaiti crisis with great interest. With the help of Dominus the Caliphate had destabilized the wealthy oil state to the point of civil war. As atrocities where committed by both sides, the international community could no longer sit idle and watch how people died everyday in the streets. For the Caliphate, the time to act has come.

Public speech by the great Caliph:

“As you all are well aware, the Emirate of Kuwait has slided into civil war. Everyday hundreds of civilians are dying in the fighting as the combatants not only target military forces. Insurgents have been targeting Kuwaiti citizens and the government has been executing immigrants on the streets. With the Kuwaiti government slowly collapsing we cannot standby idle as people die and innocent civilians are being targeted. Earlier this morning brave soldiers of the Caliphate have crossed the border into Kuwait as part of a peacekeeping mission in order to end the violence and bring back order in the streets. Also the Caliphate has been negotiating with both the Kuwaiti government and the immigrant insurgents in the past few days looking for a solution for the conflict. For now, an immediate ceasefire has been agreed upon that will be monitored and enforced by the military of the Caliphate. Later today the Caliph himself will meet with representatives of both sides to discuss the situation and the future of Kuwait. We hope to come to a permanent agreement and that peace will prevail.”

<Please reserve for a post by the Hellenic Kingdom>

Edit: Ignore