Blue Skies in Camelot: An Alternate 60's and Beyond
- Thread starter President_Lincoln
- Start date
I would assume this is after TTL's version of the Fuhrman decision (which is when Preston Smith commuted the sentences of everyone on Texas Death Row), @President_Lincoln (IMO, I still see that happening)? On a side note, Oswald will never get out of prison alive after murdering the Texas governor and a sheriff's deputy...
Thanks for answering my question about the Great Recession Mr President. I wasn't expecting President Kennedy to forgive Lee Harvey. I liked what you wrote about him and Arthur Bremar.
AeroTheZealousOne
Monthly Donor
My interest is peaked and I'm interested to see where this goes under Act III begins. Was also curious about Oswald and Bremer's fates myself.
Also. @President_Lincoln, I know its a future topic of discussion, but what will the new Hussien-led UAR be like? Not to let out any spoilers, that is.
I doubt it will be any less monstrous than OTL Iraq.
Nice to see it living again. Wonder how worldwide trade is getting on, especially from a British perspective, as we get into the next part of BSiC?
Thank you, @QTXAdsy and @AeroTheZealousOne!
The TL does live and I hope to get new updates out by the end of the week. To answer your question, QTX, global trade has taken a bit of a hit due to the global recession, though some countries are obviously being hit harder than others. The UK's economy is struggling more than most, and PM Thatcher may soon find herself facing a crisis of confidence, especially as the calls for Scottish and Welsh devolution grow louder and her stance on the issue refuses to bend... Saddam Hussein is still the horrific, villainous man he was IOTL, and here, he has continued backing from the Andropov-led USSR. What this will mean for the rest of the Middle East and the world at large remains to be seen, but if the Iraqi "intervention" (invasion) of Syria is any indication, Saddam intends to build the Iraqi-led UAR into a nationalist regional power.
As per OTL, President Kennedy initially sought to warm relations between the United States and Nasser's Egypt. Unlike his predecessors, JFK did not see nationalism in the third world as inherently dangerous to U.S. interests, and largely believed that nationalism could work hand-in-hand with American values like self-determination to oppose Soviet influence abroad. This belief would go on to form the basis of the Kennedy Doctrine, which was largely continued under the subsequent Romney, Bush, and Udall administrations. Though President Kennedy hoped that his personal touch and correspondence with President Nasser would be enough to bridge the two countries' relationship, Kennedy's continued support for Israel doomed any potential alliance between the United States and Egypt. During JFK's second term, relations between he and Nasser cooled significantly, especially during the Six Day War of 1967, as the Americans once again favored Israel over Egypt. In the end, Kennedy left office in 1969 seeing rapprochement in the Middle East as a missed opportunity. Nasser would serve as President of Egypt until dying of a heart attack in 1970, whereupon he would be succeeded by Anwar Sadat, as per OTL.
JFK may have been a great foreign policy President - opening up relations with China, securing peace in Vietnam, strengthening alliances and friendship with Latin America, etc. - but it would take another fine diplomat, President George Bush, to negotiate the beginnings of a peace process between Israel in Egypt, in 1976.
Also, a quick update! I've decided to keep posting on this thread for the time being. Might as well take it to the limit, eh?
Might as well take it to the limit, eh?
Start of Act III
Blue Skies in Camelot: An Alternate 60’s and Beyond
Act III: Progress & Prosperity
Act III: Progress & Prosperity
“America - We ain't perfect, but we ain't done yet!" - President Mo Udall, in his Inaugural Address.
“Once you’ve been in space, you appreciate how small and fragile the Earth is.” - Valentina Tereshkova, Hero of the Soviet Union
“The Cold War isn’t thawing; it is burning with a deadly heat! Communism isn’t sleeping; it is, as always, plotting, scheming, working, fighting...” - Fmr. Secretary of State Richard Nixon at the 1980 Republican National Convention
“We’re just talkin’ about the future. Forget about the past. It’ll always be with us. It’s never gonna die. Never gonna die! Rock and Roll ain’t noise pollution!” - AC/DC, “Rock and Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution” from 1980’s Back in Black.
“Go ahead, make my day.” - Clint Eastwood as Harry Callahan in Sudden Impact.
“Nothing’s ever easy as long as you go on living.” - Marilyn Monroe
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Great update. I'm definitely getting the vibe that hopefully Act III: Progress & Prosperity will be more akin to the Kennedy years then the Romney and Bush years. Hopeful and optimistic
Oh hell yeah!
Can't wait to see where this story goes next! Writing this from school!
Blue Skies in Camelot: An Alternate 60’s and Beyond
Act III: Progress & Prosperity
“Good politics are often inextricably intertwined.” - President Mo Udall
“Once you’ve been in space, you appreciate how small and fragile the Earth is.” - Valentina Tereshkova, Hero of the Soviet Union
“The Cold War isn’t thawing; it is burning with a deadly heat! Communism isn’t sleeping; it is, as always, plotting, scheming, working, fighting...” - Fmr. Secretary of State Richard Nixon at the 1980 Republican National Convention
“We’re just talkin’ about the future. Forget about the past. It’ll always be with us. It’s never gonna die. Never gonna die! Rock and Roll ain’t noise pollution!” - AC/DC, “Rock and Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution” from 1980’s Back in Black.
“Go ahead, make my day.” - Clint Eastwood as Harry Callahan in Sudden Impact.
“Nothing’s ever easy as long as you go on living.” - Marilyn Monroe
Before you get too far into this, I have one major issue I want to bring up. In OTL, Yuri Andropov wanted to bring an end to the Brezhnev-era stagnation, bureaucracy and corruption. While I understand butterflies at work, I don't think Andropov would become the very antithesis of himself, especially seeing as he was on the cusp of becoming the KGB Chairman when Marilyn survived and started this TL. There are a lot of ways to get to a Soviet economic collapse, but having it be Andropov's doing through deliberate re-Stalinization is ASB.
I know I'm coming on strong here, but I minored in history with a European/Russian focus, and so it's an area I take great interest in.
Hello there @wolverinethad! Thank you for sharing your intriguing and well informed perspective on this very important topic. I agree 100% that Andropov would be unlikely to become an antithesis of his OTL self, and do not intend to have him become an alt-Brezhnev, if you will here. ITTL, Andropov has spent him time as First Secretary passing moderate economic reforms (which had begun under Khrushchev and Kosygin in '65) and consolidating support for the USSR from the communist world, as well as attempting to spread Soviet influence in Africa and Afghanistan, via its joint invasion with Pakistan. While Andropov is certainly more conservative than many in the USSR would like (think people like Gorbachev), he is definitely fighting as much of the bureaucracy and corruption as he feels that he can without losing his seat. By the late 70's ITTL, the Soviets, like China, are pursuing more decentralized economic policies, with reformers like Gorbachev even coming out in support of a move toward market socialism.
Political reform however is absolutely not on the table with Andropov. From everything I've read about him, he favored the use of force and was not open to the idea of opening the political sphere or anything like that. I would like to be corrected if I'm wrong, however.