Nazi Space Spy
Banned
My wifi at home has been really bad of late so sorry for the slower pace in updating. I’m gonna try and get an update up today!
Five Decades of Fear and Loathing - A Drew Spinoff.
- Thread starter Nazi Space Spy
- Start date
Chapter XXIV: January, 1974
Nazi Space Spy
Banned
January, 1974.
With the onset of 1974, the reality of the impending midterm elections began to weigh on the President. In order to shore up support from Democrats, who were sure to expand their majorities in both chambers of the Congress, the President looked towards the late John McKeithen for inspiration. Announcing his intent to push for the implementation of an earned income tax credit (a policy proposed by the deceased Democratic presidential candidate), the President argued that such a program would pump badly needed money into a stagnant economy. The plan receives bipartisan support from members of both parties, putting the President on course for his first major domestic policy fight. But while Congress and the media continue their honeymoon phase with the new administration, the lingering scandals that had brought down the two preceding Presidents continued to simmer just under the surface.
Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox.
Former President Nixon's legal team (led by Edward Bennett Williams) find themselves in a bind when they are unable to explain the eighteen and a half minute long gaps in the President's Oval Office tapes, resulting in Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox moving forward with a plan to charge Nixon with evidence tampering and obstruction of justice. The former President's legal woes continue to mount, while his successor Spiro Agnew - who has not been seen in public since his impeachment - resurfaces to address a rally of conservatives in Virginia, where he condemns Gavin as "an American Pinochet" and is greeted by thunderous applause from those present. The irony was not lost on the media, with Walter Cronkite noting in a scathing editorial at the end of his broadcast that Agnew himself had warmed up to the newly installed Chilean military dictator only months before. Agnew's outburst, though minor and predictable, gave Nixon's legal team badly needed cover as they prepared for the indictments from Special Prosecutor Cox.
President Gavin is too busy to be bothered by Agnew's criticisms or Nixon's trial, traveling to Rabat, Morocco for the first major overseas trip of his Presidency to hold direct talks with President Sadat of Egypt. The talks are successful in restoring diplomatic relations between the two nations, but the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamists groups in countries across the region are infuriated by Sadat's perceived capitulation to the west. Though the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, the oldest existing chapter of the organization, calls for calm and even condemns the Syrian branch for declaring the creation of a caliphate, their pleas fall on deaf ears as their own movement collectively begins to go rogue. In Lebanon and Syria, the rise of the Islamist Caliphate's forces spread to Palestinian refugee camps, where a new generation of radicalized Palestinian youth find themselves in conflict with Yasser Arafat's secularist and nationalist Palestinian Liberation Organization. In Lebanon, attackers ambush and kill the nation's Prime Minister in a brazen attack on his convoy on the streets of Beirut. This attack was perceived as a display of the Islamist movements growing reach and power, and the sudden rise of radical groups is the cause of alarm in western capitals and in Arab regimes alike.
Meanwhile, both chambers of Congress swiftly passes the Overseas Representation Act of 1974 which had been introduced to the House in November, officially creating the role of "Ambassador at Large." The post allows for the President to appoint an Ambassador to serve as a universal, roving emissary to foreign capitals who would largely take on the diplomatic functions and advisory role of the National Security Adviser (who from then on would focus squarely on defense/military questions). Henry Kissinger is nominated to the position, and is later confirmed by the Senate in a 57-43 vote after an expediated nomination process. Kissinger, who had been acting unofficially on behalf of the President, makes a triumphant return to the White House after having been so unceremoniously ousted by Agnew and immediately sets out to restore the nation's foreign policy and undo the damage done to America's prestige and power.
Secretary of Defense Nitze also resigns, reportedly at the President's request. Deemed too associated with Agnew to continue in the role, Nitze joins Al Haig, Rumsfeld, Cheney, and Bork in political exile. To replace the outgoing Secretary, President Gavin nominates Senator Stuart Symington (D-MO) to the position. Symington falls under attack from Republican Senators who believe he is too weak on national security matters, but the President stands behind his nominee and praises his independent streak as well as expertise on military issues. The Senator, who had once served as Secretary of the Air Force, is respected at the Pentagon and is widely known to be one of the leading defense policy experts in the Senate and was, alongside Hubert Humphrey, and the late Lyndon Johnson and Adlai Stevenson, was a challenger to President Kennedy in the 1960 Democratic primaries.
Senator Stuart Symington (D-MO)
The third major confirmation battle underway involves former Governor Scranton, who clears the House Judiciary Committee after several hearings for his nomination to fill the Vice Presidency. The former Pennsylvania Governor is widely popular among Democrats and Republicans alike, though conservative and liberal members on the extreme ends of Congress are less thrilled with his nomination. His hearings went smoothly, with Scranton providing extensive information as part of a thorough vetting process. After an extensive debate within the House of Representatives, an overwhelming vote of 389-46 in his favor results in his nomination being sent to the United States Senate. This puts Scranton one step closer to taking on the role of Vice President, a position he makes clear he will not seek again in 1976 regardless of what President Gavin decides to do in regards to reelection. Scranton, who clearly states his intention to take office only as a transitionary figure, is expected to be received by a friendly Senate eager to settle the vacancies within the presidential line of succession.
The month ends with a number of announcements related to the upcoming elections; in Georgia, Governor Jimmy Carter primaries Senator Herman Talmadge (D-GA) from the left, while in California, Congressman Barry Goldwater Jr. (R-CA) announces he will run to succeed Ronald Reagan as Governor. Other rising stars include Gary Hart, the McGovern campaign manager and anti-Agnew lawyer, who announces a Senate run in Colorado. Another rising star challenging incumbent Congressman John Paul Hammerschmidt is former McKeithen aide and lawyer Bill Clinton, who is one of many young Democrats running for the United States House. The new year brings with it the first round of polling for the upcoming November elections, which show cratering support for the Republican Party across the board.
So.... basically a Secretary of State without a State Department to back him up?
Nazi Space Spy
Banned
This isn't entirely dead, but I've been busy with another project, so I won't be updating it regularly. That being said, re-reading this has put a bit of a spark back in me, and I might revisit this. We still haven't gotten to the actual major POD, though several smaller ones have been sown. Thanks for reading!
Chapter XXV: February, 1974
Nazi Space Spy
Banned
February, 1974.
Speaker Albert and Senate Majority Mansfield pictured with Senator Weicker.
There was another confirmation battle underway in the Gavin administration which quietly and smoothly played out in the shadow of the Scranton confirmation process; after a series of friendly hearings before the Senate Armed Services Committee, the Committee voted unanimously to advance his nomination to the full Senate for a vote. But during these nomination hearings, there was one issue which overshadowed both the wars in Syria and Vietnam, one issue which so dominated the discussion that the words "Soviet Union" and "China" barely arose. The source of the controversy was the Vietnam Oversight Act of 1974, introduced to the House of Representatives by Congressman Ron Dellums (D-CA) and Pete McCloskey (R-CA), which would dramatically restrict the President's ability to personally conduct the course of the war in Vietnam. The act, which prohibited the military from conducting any operations outside of South Vietnam's borders and curtailed the army's ability to conduct several different types of operations, was rocketing through the House of Representatives as members of both parties threw their weight behind it. The Senate was more divided over the legislation, with many supporting it's aims while also voicing concern over the precedent that could be set. Secretary of Defense-designee Stuart Symington argued forcefully in favor of the President's position during his confirmation hearings, claiming that the legislation was unconstitutional. "This 'ain't parliament" cracked Symington, "this isn't the proper role of Congress under our constitution." The House of Representatives voted 291-144 on the 19th to pass the bill, sending it to the Senate, where the leadership hoped to kill it in committee. But this effort failed when Senator John Tunney (D-CA) introduced the bill directly to the Senate, having it co-sponsored by Senators Birch Bayh (D-IN), Joe Biden (D-DE), Edward Kennedy (D-MA), Walter Mondale (D-MN), and Bob Proxmire (D-WI). After four days of heated debate, and with immense pressure to vote in favor of the legislation, the Senate voted 68-32 to adopt the Vietnam Oversight Act. President Gavin immediately vetoed the bill in the face of a public uproar, and his popularity cratered as peace activists turned up the dial on their efforts to press Congress into overriding the veto.
Just six months after then President Agnew was indicted on tax evasion charges, his former boss was facing troubles of his own. Former President Richard Nixon was indicted in the District of Columbia on numerous charges, including obstruction of justice, conspiracy to obstruct justice, interstate activity meant to further an on-going conspiracy, violations of the Federal Elections Act, conspiracy to violate provisions of the Federal Telecommunications Act, tax evasion, perjury and abuse of official authority to obstruct the investigation of federal crimes. The former President vehemently protested innocence and predicting eventual acquittal, but the prospect of a former President being charged and possibly convicted on crimes committed while in office dominated the headlines, and his pleas of innocence did little to sway public opinion. President Gavin found himself under pressure from Senate Republicans who urged Gavin to pardon his disgraced predecessor, but the scab of Watergate had been pulled back already, and an already polarized nation debated Nixon's innocence or guilt as furiously as they did Agnew's impeachment and the extraordinary circumstances that propelled Gavin to power. Employing Edward Bennett Williams as his lawyer, Nixon's legal team worked strenuously to tie up the trial, and early court proceedings resulted in a series of delays. Many observers and legal analysts in the press predicted that it could be a year or perhaps even longer before the former President receives a verdict in what many called "the trial of the century."
Many saw the trial of former President Nixon and the controversial rise of Gavin and Scranton to high office as a sign that the system was no longer working, and turned to the loudest, most radical voices as a result. The near assassination of Richard Nixon by the American Indian Movement's Leonard Peltier, the Black Liberation Army's attempt to kidnap Pamela Agnew, and the continued violence in Northern Ireland were the latest manifestations of this. But the most notable act of terrorism to transpire in February was the failed kidnapping of Patsy Hearst; the famed socialite and heiress was accidentally shot and killed during a botched kidnapping attempt by members of a previously unknown militant group calling itself the Symbionese Liberation Army. While several suspects were ultimately arrested, tried, and convicted for their role in the failed abduction and murder, the activities of the SLA and other clandestine leftist guerilla cells in the United States continued despite unprecedented domestic surveillance by the FBI and other law enforcement agencies. One disgruntled young Air Force private by the name of Robert Preston made a splash of his own when he stole a helicopter from the air force base in which he was stationed and flew it towards Washington, where he buzzed the White House and forced the President and his family to flee to the safety of a secure bunker. Preston eventually landed his helicopter near the National Mall and was taken into custody for the stunt.
Iraqi Vice President Saddam Hussein.
In the Middle East, a new conflict is brewing. Having occupied large portions of Syria, Iraq's Baathist regime sees more opportunity to expand their borders. Under the command of Vice President Saddam Hussein, the Iraqi army masses near the Iranian border with an ultimatum to the Shah: come to the table and negotiate over the disputed Khuzestan province, which had a substantial Arab population which desired union Iraq, or face a military invasion. Despite the Iraqi army being stretched from the outskirts of Damascus all the way to the Iranian border regions, Saddam was confident that he could quickly seize the disputed province and collapse the regime of the Shah, thus removing the country's most significant regional rival from scene. When American intelligence became aware of Iraqi troop movements, the State Department attempted to inform the Shah, but he dismissed the warnings as Iraqi blustering and did not order any precautions to be made. The next day, a column of Iraqi tanks smashed through the minimal defenses along the border as the First Iran-Iraq War began.
The newest conflict in the Middle East could not come at a worse time for British Prime Minister Edward Heath, whose Conservative Party government trailed the Labour Party in the polls as the general election loomed. Concerns that the war could spark yet another oil shortage, or worse, involve the United Kingdom participating in yet another NATO led intervention were a boon for Harold Wilson, the former Labour Prime Minister itching to return to Downing Street. But Heath countered, highlighting his record of economic recovery and his strong response to the increasingly powerful trade union's attempt to cripple the national economy through strikes. In the end, despite the unpopularity of the international mission in Syria, the British voters narrowly returned Heath's government on a reduced majority of 330 seats. Wilson was forced to resign as leader of the Labour Party in the aftermath of their defeat, and the Gavin administration breathed a sigh of relief as the friendly, centrist government of Edward Heath survived to see another day.
The "Ten Year Duel" between Heath and Wilson ended after the 1974 General Election.
PNWKing
Banned
I wonder what the following people are up to at this time?:
Bill Gates
Pat Robertson
Leonard Cohen
John Kasich
Ben Carson
Bernie Sanders
Lee Iacocca
H. Ross Perot
Rush Limbaugh
Barbra Streisand
Nick Cannon
Keith Olbermann
Ann Curry
Joseph Albertson
Orrin Hatch
John McCain
John Kerry
Colin Powell
Stan Lee
Ric Flair
Jim Cornette
Madeline Albright
Lamar Alexander
Bill Gates
Pat Robertson
Leonard Cohen
John Kasich
Ben Carson
Bernie Sanders
Lee Iacocca
H. Ross Perot
Rush Limbaugh
Barbra Streisand
Nick Cannon
Keith Olbermann
Ann Curry
Joseph Albertson
Orrin Hatch
John McCain
John Kerry
Colin Powell
Stan Lee
Ric Flair
Jim Cornette
Madeline Albright
Lamar Alexander
Chapter XXVI: March, 1974
Nazi Space Spy
Banned
March, 1974.
Bill Scranton is sworn in as Vice President of the United States.
At the United Nations in New York, there is much activity. With the People's Republic of China having removed itself from the organization, America's UN Ambassador Phillip Habib argues that the Republic of China should be allowed to resume their seat on the UN Security Council. However, the Soviet Union threatens to veto this, and instead offers up India as a substitute. Long term negotiations begin over this, which Pakistan vocally opposed. Having lost their long time regional ally when China withdrew from the western world, the government of Pakistan turned to the United States to stop India's attempt to join the Security Council. As a result, a stalemate between the USSR and USA over the empty seat on the UN Security Council continued.
UN Ambassador Philip Habib.
The Syrian crisis, though not as directly impactful on the minds of everyday Americans as Vietnam was, was becoming the greater concern in the White House. The same was true behind the walls of the Kremlin, where the Politburo debated the delicate situation in a series of tense meetings. What followed, after a series of secret preliminary talks between Gromyko and Kissinger, was an agreement for Gavin and Brezhnev to meet personally in the coming weeks in Geneva. In the interim, an agreement is reached in which both the United States and Soviet Union will support a resolution before the United Nations formalizing an intervention by the two superpowers in Syria, with support from Britain, France, and Turkey as well.
News of the agreement sends the Arab world into a fury, with the oil embargo being extended in length as well as expanded to cover Turkey. As the American and Soviet armies prepared for their respective intervention in the region, the economic situation in America remained grim. With inflation at 17% as a result of Agnew's fiscal policies, oil priced at nearly $20 dollars per dollar, and unemployment hovering somewhere between 18-20% depending on the source of the research. Already, the words "Second Great Depression" had entered the parlance of American vernacular, and there was little appetite for a second war in the Middle East. Though the Chief of Staff Caspar Weinberger was opposed to the intervention, Secretary of State Bush and National Security Adviser Brent Scowcroft expressed their concern that Turkey could drift into the Soviet Union's orbit should the USSR accommodate rather than oppose such a mission. Bush and Scowcroft's fears intensified when Ambassador-at-Large Kissinger reported that Moscow was more interested in subduing the Muslim Brotherhood than their rhetoric let on.
The President receives a scare when a disgruntled Air Force helicopter pilot buzzes the White House in protest of the planned intervention in Syria, one of the latest but also most drastic protest actions taken in opposition. The British royal family also receives a similar scare when a mentally ill young man by the name of Ian Ball attempts to kidnap Princess Anne in a brazen attack on her car, shooting and injuring a police officer and driver before being taken down by bystanders. The incident shakes the Queen and her family, but the Princess's bravery during the kidnapping attempt is widely praised in the press.
Princess Anne's bravery during a kidnap attempt endeared her to millions around the globe.
I have decided to bring this back. All credit goes to Drew as usual, with some early PODs being sown here. For example, I changed the assassination of Princess Anne, because I figured the rise of global terrorism would result in an increase of security.
Last edited:
Chapter XXVII: April, 1974
Nazi Space Spy
Banned
April, 1974.
Allied tanks penetrate Syrian borders as the invasion commences.
At the Pentagon, the top brass of the military were hurriedly preparing for the campaign against the Caliphate in Syria, with a three-pronged attack out of Israel, Lebanon, and Turkey being planned. In conjunction with the Soviets, who began airlifting troops into Aleppo and the main port city of Latakia, the American army would deploy thousands of soldiers to Israel and Lebanon. The opening phase of the campaign began on April 1st, with a series of American airstrikes against Islamists targets across the country, followed by the first penetration of the country by Turkish armored units. Iraqi forces stayed put, waging a counter-insurgency in their already occupied portion of Syria while simultaneously waging a war against Iran on the eastern border of the country.
As was the case with Operation Bold Eagle, the planning for the intervention in Syria was rushed yet also delicately planned in order to maximize the impact and shorten the length of the post-invasion occupation. Despite Chief of Staff Weinberger's opposition to "nation building," both Bush and Scowcroft continued to insist to President Gavin that the war was a conflict worth fighting. Having seen how Kissinger eclipsed William P. Rodgers, Nixon's Secretary of State, Secretary Bush was keen to keep the German born Ambassador-at-Large busy in Europe while National Security Adviser Scowcroft was courted as an ally, albeit a largely neutered one. Bush's strong leadership at the State Department was welcomed by other figures in America's foreign policy establishment, many of whom had grown weary with Kissinger's unilateral approach to decision making.
Though the War Powers Act was opposed by Gavin and subsequently vetoed, the President was worried that the Congress would enact (by a veto proof margin) legislation similar to the Vietnam Oversight Act. As a result, the President sought and would successfully receive the support of the House and Senate by requesting a resolution that gave him broad powers to oversee the war effort in the country. The Syria Resolution was ultimately passed by a margin of 219-216 in the House and 52-48 in the Senate, though the act included a sunset provision against the President's wishes. With the narrow endorsement of the Congress, the President set the American intervention in Syria into motion. The Syrian Resolution's passage was mostly due to the fact that it confined the war to Syria's borders, forbidding American operations outside of the country. The resolution also clearly laid out the terms for continued American cooperation with the Soviets in the country, and established a clear goal: a return of a democratic, non-aligned government in the former Baathist state.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics confirms that unemployment in America is at 19% in early April, sparking further discontent among the public. With nearly a fifth of all Americans out of work, the Gavin administration comes under fierce attack from the left. Congressman Ron Dellums (D-CA) leads a large protest outside the White House in opposition to the potential conflict, while many conservative Republicans are more divided over the intervention into Syria, with Governor Reagan of California supporting the President while former Nixon and Agnew aide Patrick Buchanan becomes a vocal figure on the airwaves in opposition. Even at the Pentagon, there is some discontent, with many American military leaders questioning whether the army, navy, and air force can handle another conflict. Other economic developments are more promising, with inflation dropping to 9% whereas the rate of foreclosures began to stall.
In Vietnam, America continues to cling onto Dong Hoi while halting their advance northward. Attempts by the Viet Cong and the NVA to disrupt American supply lines into the occupied southern reaches of the North result in Operation Vicksburg, a small and swift operation to disrupt enemy activity along the Ho Chi Minh trail in Cambodia. Though the President had been limited by the Vietnam Oversight Act, the mission is none the less successful in achieving it's objective and is later credited for likely warding off a fourth North Vietnamese attempt to dislodge the American and South Vietnamese occupation of Dong Hoi and it's surrounding regions. Supporters of the war and the President point to the mission as being a sign of Gavin's leadership ability and Secretary Symington's expertise in managing the Pentagon.
The nation is captivated by the failed kidnapping of Patsy Hearst, a wealthy heiress who was nearly taken hostage by a left-wing guerilla group calling itself the Symbionese Liberation Army. Hearst avoided capture by barricading herself in a bathroom, and the sensational story highlights the growing radical current in American politics. With the war in Vietnam raging and another in Syria brewing, combined with the growing joblessness and economic angst, the FBI found itself constantly investigating radical organizations ranging from the Ku Klux Klan to American Indian Movement and the Black Liberation Army. Yet concerns over terrorism largely did not materialize, with militant groups often being busted before they could launch any direct action. This was mostly due to increased FBI surveillance and more proactive Secret Service intervention in the wake of the Nixon assassination attempt and the failed kidnapping of Pamela Agnew. Hostage taking as a terroristic strategy is dropped by many militant groups in the aftermath of the failed Hearst abduction, with radicals turning towards other means of war to send their message home to the American people.
Though the détente between the USSR and the United States had reached a point in which the two opposing Cold War camps could coordinate a joint military operation together, it did not necessarily mean the Cold War itself was over. It was most apparent in Iberia, where a military coup on April 24th brought down the long-standing fascist regime in the country which had dated back to the 1930s. The coup, called "the Carnation Revolution," results in a left-leaning cabal of officers seizing power, vowing political reform and decolonization. The events are alarming to President Gavin, who is warned by National Security Adviser Scowcroft and Ambassador Kissinger that the country could foster close ties to the Soviet Union.
Citizens in Lisbon celebrate the coup.
Chapter XXVIII: May, 1974
Nazi Space Spy
Banned
May, 1974.
UN Forces active on the ground in occupied Syria.
Most of the casualties are Iraqi soldiers in the western reaches of the country, though over a hundred American men are killed in the first two weeks of the campaign. The Soviets lose a further three hundred men, and there is consternation in the Kremlin over the disparity between American and Soviet losses, with some in the Politburo quietly wondering if Gavin had lured Brezhnev into a quagmire. While Brezhnev was skeptical of the intervention and was more than happy to witness American troops bear the brunt of the Muslim Brotherhood's rage, Mikhail Suslov, Yuri Andropov, Andrei Gromyko, and Alexei Kosygin (all members of the Politburo) among others were adamant that the mission was necessary to sustain the Baathist government in Syria before the Islamist movement could potentially spread into oil rich Iraq or Saudi Arabia.
Mikhail Suslov, who eclipsed Breznhev during this period.
The wars in Syria and Vietnam had a widespread and profound impact on other guerilla groups. Inspired by the tactics they had witnessed, the Irish Republican Army became increasingly active in Northern Ireland. Using weapons supplied by Libya's dictator Muammar Qadaffi (who had supplied and bankrolled a variety of terrorist groups and liberation armies across the globe), the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) - the most feared and active Irish republican militant group - launched a daring attack against a British military base in Northern Ireland. The attack left only one British soldier dead, but was a sign that the organization had grown from a smattering of terrorist cells to a large scale paramilitary force.
The State Department announced towards the end of May that President Gavin had accepted an official invitation from the Soviet government to visit the country, which would make him the first American President to travel there since Franklin Roosevelt attended the Yalta Conference nearly thirty years earlier. There is a slew of other major foreign policy events; in France, President Georges Pompidou dies in office, being succeeded in office by Alain Pohrer as interim President. A special election would be won by socialist candidate Francois Mitterrand weeks later, who rode a wave of popular discontent with the center-right government's response to the recession. Willy Brandt resigns as West Germany's Chancellor after it is revealed that a key staffer of his had been an agent of the East German Stasi, resulting in Helmut Schmidt taking office instead. In a demonstration of their military might and global reach, India tests their first atomic bomb, resulting in Pakistan declaring their intention to form their own atomic program.
Good to see this back with a fair few updates. Looks like the economic situation is doing really badly, even if there is light at the end of the tunnel and this is already having effects elsewhere. The back and forth over the spare UN seat is probably going to be a stalemate for some time and the war might at least help with détente, if nothing else. A good series of updates, here.
Nazi Space Spy
Banned
Thanks! Drew has been an invaluable help in writing this, and really wrote a great timeline! I'm excited to getting closer to the actual POD, in which things will start diverging from the original timeline at a stronger pace. The first major butterflies will start in November '74.
Chapter XXIX: June, 1974
Nazi Space Spy
Banned
June, 1974.
President Gavin at Camp David.
Talks between Gavin, Bush, Kissinger and their Soviet counterparts are successful at defining the occupation zones in Syria. While the eastern bloc and NATO nations involved in the mission would occupy the northern reaches of the country (aside from a Turkish controlled buffer-zone near the border), the United States and their various NATO allies would largely control the south, with Iraqi forces holding the western portion of the country. Though the Soviets secured the bulk of the region controlled, at least lightly, by the officially recognized government in Aleppo, they also faced higher casualties. This was mostly the result of Muslim Brotherhood forces and other aligned militias using the terrain and geographical features to their advantage, though the American and NATO forces in major cities such as Damascus faced opposition as well.
The high level negotiations in Moscow were less successful in establishing a firm end date to the conflict; while both Brezhnev and Gavin hoped that the objective of the intervention could be achieved within two years, the ailing Soviet leader was less optimistic and pressed his counterparts in the Politburo to ensure that the withdrawal date could be achieved. Suslov, who was widely regarded as the chief ideologue of the Communist Party, used the Soviet propaganda organs effectively throughout his career to constantly harass the United States as an imperialist power who sought to roll back the global crawl towards socialism. However, by supporting the USSR's alignment with the United States in Syria, he had burned bridges both at home and abroad. His efforts to define the Soviet presence in Syria as a defensive action against reactionary radical Islamism fell on deaf ears, and as Soviet soldiers continued to return to Syria in coffins, his public profile - already low (Suslov was a behind the scenes operator who did not seek the role of General Secretary) - was damaged as a result.
Having returned from a mostly successful mission to Moscow, Gavin faced similar issues at home. Though he had made his opposition to Operation Bold Eagle, which expanded the Vietnam War, a key selling point, the Syria mission was trickier. The enemy, radical Islamist jihadists, were largely unknown to an American public which had long been focused on the threat of communism. Similarly, the cooperation with the Soviet Union created a great degree of whiplash among conservatives who were skeptical that such a coalition could produce results. While the war in Vietnam was mostly quiet as the North Vietnamese and their Viet Cong allies licked their wounds following their latest failed attack in Dong Hoi, the war in Syria was anything but.
Another conflict in the Middle East was the ongoing border war between Iran and Iraq. With the American army tied down in Syria and Vietnam, the Gavin administration was both unable and unwilling to provide the same degree of support to the Shah of Iran that the Agnew administration had given Israel during the 1973 war. Iraq took advantage of this, pushing inward towards Khuzestan province in Iran near the border. The regime of the Baathist Party, which was increasingly influenced by Vice President Saddam Hussein, enlisted an unlikely ally in the form of Ayatollah Khoemeni. The exiled Shia cleric, who was living in Basra, began recording an increasing volume of sermons in which he denounced the Shah and called for Shia radicals to rise up and seize control of the country. Though his tapes were widely disseminated throughout the country, his message failed to catch on as the Iranian secret police cracked down hard on dissent. Though Iraq was able to overrun Khuzestan province, the Iraqi army sustained high casualties. Despite their superior numbers and equipment, Iraqi forces were poorly trained and were easy targets for their Iranian enemies. The Iran-Iraq War was a source of concern within the Gavin White House and at the State Department, and the administration continued to pressure the Shah of Iran to end the hostilities as early as possible, much to the chagrin of the Shah.
The Iran-Iraq War would become a trench war style stalemate.
Nazi Space Spy
Banned
If Reagan even still wins the nomination, of course. Or we could see President Bayh. Or the General. Or perhaps someone else. Stay tuned!I hope Reagan wins in 76! Of course then John Hinkley could make his move.
Chapter XXX: July, 1974
Nazi Space Spy
Banned
July, 1974.
Robert Stanfield - Canada's new Prime Minister.
In Canada, Pierre Trudeau's six years in office as Prime Minister come to an abrupt end when the Progressive Conservative Party led by Robert Stanfield win a minority in parliament, gaining the support of the Social Credit Party in order to form a new government. Despite his defeat, outgoing Prime Minister Trudeau remains leader of the Liberal Party, and hopes that the Progressive Conservative and Social Credit supply and confidence agreement will collapse in due time. The campaign was hotly contested by the Tories and Grits, with energy and foreign policy matters dominating the discourse through the duration of the electoral campaign. Canada, unlike their southern neighbor, was not as hard hit by the oil shortage caused by the OPEC embargo. Yet public dissatisfaction with Trudeau rose faster than the price of gas did in any event, and many voters were ready for a change after a decade or so of Liberal Party led governments. This continuing crisis had by mid-1974 caused considerable damage to the west, but inside the OPEC nations, there was growing debate over how to handle the ongoing embargo. The moderate nations within OPEC (Iran, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela) argued that the embargo was hurting both domestic production and destabilization, while the more radical states (primarily Iraq and Libya) continue to demand the embargo be expanded and extended in order to ward off future western support for Israel.
The war in Syria sees better progress for the NATO forces in the south of the country, who at last manage to stabilize Damascus enough for the al-Atassi regime to establish itself back in the capital. Channeling Herbert Hoover, President Gavin selects Procter & Gamble CEO Howard Morgens to lead an effort to create a "Marshall Plan" style program to rebuild Syria in the hopes of bringing the country into the west's orbit similar to Egypt, but both Treasury Secretary George Schultz and the Soviet Union are weary of such a plan. Privately, Gavin jokes with his Chief of Staff about the irony of Schultz, an arch-free marketer, supporting Soviet policy, and begins weighing whether to replace him with a more moderate figure who is more willing to press for stimulus programs at home and abroad.
In the Mediterranean, yet another crisis was brewing. On the island of Cyprus, long-standing tensions between the Greek and Turkish communities in the country have been closer to boiling over than ever before. The long standing ruler of the country, Archbishop (and President) Makarios III was overthrown in a military coup sponsored by the Greek military regime, which desired to bring Cyprus into union with the government in Athens (the long desired enosis). In the wake of the coup that had propelled nationalist newspaperman Nikos Sampson into power, Turkey immediately began threatening to intervene in the conflict. This created another crisis for Gavin to deal with, the latest in a whack-a-mole game of regional wars that he was forced to find a way to pacify. As both Turkey and Greece were NATO powers, the result of such a conflict would surely create a rift in the alliance. Should one side be chosen over the other, it would be clear that the Soviets would be able to cultivate support from or within the other.
Before the UN, Archbishop Makarios III warned that the coup was in reality a "Greek invasion" of Cyprus, as President Sampson would surely bring the question of "enosis" before the people in a referendum within a matter of years. His speech to the United Nations was all the excuse Turkey needed; though the initial invasion plan called for 45,000 troops and a 150+ tanks, the Turkish force operating in northern Syria ensured that Turkey could only spare ~20,000 soldiers instead. As a result, a smaller invasion force landed on Cypriot shores on July 20th, where they were met with fierce resistance from Greek Cypriot forces.
Turkish forces celebrate after successfully landing on Cyprus.
Greek soldiers began arriving in Cyprus to boost the pro-enosis regime of Nikos Sampson, who earned international ire for his support of ethnic Greek death squads that began killing Turks in and around the northern suburbs of Nicosia. Though the intervention in Cyprus was opposed by leftists who were already locked in a campaign against the military regime, the looming campaign to thwart the Turks was popular with the broader middle class in Greece, which (at least briefly) solidified the weakening position of the government. Turkey responded by moving troops towards the Greek border, and the military junta used the threat of conflict and the groundswell of Hellenic nationalism to capitalize on the crisis.
In Turkey, the failure to occupy much of Cyprus and overthrow Nikos Sampson was met with internal discontent. Fearing mass protests and riots, the Prime Minister was dismissed and the military backed head of state, President Koruturk, declares martial law. With Turkey tied down in Syria, the failure to resolve the Cyprus crisis remains a key thorn in the side of the Turkish government going into August, with far-left and far-right groups such as the Communist Party of Turkey and the hard-right nationalist Grey Wolves both exploiting the government's response to grow their support.
I'm going to get this timeline caught up to the version on the other forum, which is written through October, 1975. The pace of updates will slow slightly as I begin working on the next portions of the timeline after that, but I have written out all of 1977 and most of 1978 as well (besides the blank months of November '75 - August '76), so once we get there, the pace of updates will dramatically pick up again for a while.
Huzzah for Alberta oil, I guess. I imagine that there will be an election in 1976 and though my memory of FLG has faded, I have a sneaking suspicion that Trudeau my not regain power.
Chapter XXXI: August, 1974
Nazi Space Spy
Banned
August, 1974.
A world away from Cyprus in Washington is an increasingly worried former President Nixon, whose legal woes are mounting. His trial, which has been delayed with expert precision by his legal team, is thrown into chaos when leaked transcriptions of his Oval Office tapes are published by the Manchester Guardian. The fact that Nixon declined to sue the paper despite Britain's notoriously strict libel laws only further weakens the legally endangered former President's credibility with the American public. The leak of the transcripts does give his lawyers the chance to argue that it would be impossible for Nixon to receive a fair trial, and these arguments are used as part of his general strategy of delaying. Efforts to reach out to President Gavin in the hopes of a pardon were rebuffed by the new White House staff, and the President himself was opposed to pardoning Nixon on the grounds that it would weaken public faith in the practice in the aftermath of Agnew's self-pardons. As a result, the former President would await nervously for the start of his impending trial.
The war in Cyprus was having ripple effects across the world; Islamists used the failure of the Turkish government to protect Muslims on the island as a weapon against the secular government in Ankara, while also demanding that the oil embargo be extended and even expanded against the western nations. The failed Turkish mission had dire consequences in Syria, where Turkish forces were pulled back towards the border, forcing Soviet troops to fill the void in portions of the collapsed country. Sustaining high casualties in the process, the Red Army would fail to secure this region immediately, and would even find themselves facing friendly fire from nearby Iraqi artillery positions in more than a few incidents over the coming days.
In Europe, ethnic Turks across the Balkans were incensed at western support for the Cypriot government. The Greek Ambassador to Italy is shot and killed by a Turkish student on the streets of Rome, while another Turkish student in Britain is arrested after attempting to climb the fence of Buckingham Palace armed with a knife. In some cities, including Athens and Vienna, there are small incidents of rioting and ethnic clashes, and organizations like the National Front in the United Kingdom use the incidents to whip up anti-immigrant sentiments.
The war in the Mediterranean threatens to expand into another Greek-Turkish conflict after Turkish militants on Cyprus bomb a Greek Orthodox Church, killing dozens of civilians in a devastating attack. As a result, Cypriot irregular units, militias, death squads, and even some Greek soldiers in civilian clothing, begin rounding up - and in some cases massacring - groups of Turkish youth in order to pacify violence on the island. Using the killings of Muslims in Cyprus as the latest example of "the western crusade," Jihadists across the region saw a second swell of support, a revival after the fall of the Syrian caliphate had previously halted their momentum.
In the west, the political effects of the Second Great Depression and the wars in the Middle East were increasingly felt. The British Labour Party, following their defeat in the 1974 general election, found themselves fighting a civil war of their own between their left and centrist wings. Ultimately, it is Dennis Healey who prevails. A pro-European social democrat from the party's right wing, his defeat of the more socialist leaning Jim Callaghan created a fissure in the party that would grow in the coming months which would dramatically alter the political landscape of the United Kingdom.
Margaret Thatcher rose to prominence as Heath's Northern Ireland Secretary.
Sectarian violence in North Ireland continued to intensify on par with the intercommunal violence in Cyprus or Syria. Sensing an opportunity to "make or break" one of his most influential and rebellious ministers, Margaret Thatcher was appointed Secretary of State for Northern Ireland by Prime Minister Heath. Known for her hardline views, Thatcher immediately set herself at the head of an effort to effect the most draconian responses possible to the unrest. Healey attempted to match Heath by appointing Barbara Castle, one of the most left-leaning MPs in his party, as Shadow Secretary. Their heated, pointed rhetoric would serve to inflame political and paramilitary tensions in both Britain and Ireland alike. This would climax with the Prevention of Terrorism Act of 1974, which would empower the government to declare martial law in Northern Ireland and implement a nationwide curfew, among other measures. Though the Labour Party's left wing was enraged by the legislation, the Conservative majority in the House of Commons was likely to pass bill, which would greatly expand the abilities of the Heath government to curtail terrorism and violent unrest in Northern Ireland.
Chapter XXXII: September, 1974
Nazi Space Spy
Banned
September, 1974.
The wreckage of TWA Flight 841.
In The Hague, the French embassy is seized by members of the Japanese Red Army. The left-wing terror group targeted the French embassy to demand the release of their member Satsuka Furuya, who was jailed in France for passing counterfeit notes. Seizing the Ambassador and ten staffers, the Japanese hostage takers were able to hold off police for five days before negotiations reached a conclusion. In exchange for the release of the hostages, the attackers were flown to South Yemen, and later on to Libya, where they were sheltered by the regime of Colonel Qaddafi.
But the worst attack was on Wall Street in New York City, where eleven gunmen calling themselves members of "the People's Armed Resistance" seized the floor of the New York Stock Exchange and took scores of hostages. The New York City Police Department responded with full force, surrounding the building and entering into a standoff with the heavily armed hostage takers. An attempt by police to storm the building led to an exchange of gunfire, with 33 hostages being killed in the process. The attackers, most of whom were previously known to be members of the Black Liberation Army, were all injured in the storming of the building, with seven of them dying of their wounds while or shortly after being taken into custody. The attack on the Stock Exchange in New York was an alarming event that had consequences politically; law and order issues rose to the forefront, while voters expressed an increased concern about militant leftist terrorist groups and other organizations becoming active in the United States. The radical left, meanwhile, was rapidly losing faith in the American democratic system, with many who once advocated political change now becoming outright revolutionaries as the years progressed.
Yet most Americans, were not interested in pushing the country in a left-wing direction; even though Agnewnomics had been decisively discarded after the Agnew administration ended, the cultural conservatism fostered by the former Nixon and Agnew administrations remained a potent political force that dominated the zeitgeist. The midterm elections were unique in the sense that the incumbent President had no real interest in the partisan makeup of the Congress, which left Republicans and Democrats in a free for all. Gavin, who was still a nominally independent President (albeit with slight Republican leanings), remained politically neutral in order to maintain friendly relations with Congress.
Another issue presented by the recent terror attacks was the deepening political mistrust between the right and left in the national discourse, particularly in relation to national security and counter-terrorism matters. There was some evidence that the attack weakened incumbent Governor Nelson Rockefeller's reelection campaign against Hugh Carey, his Democratic challenger. But at the same time, on the west coast, it also bolstered the candidacy of Congressman Barry Goldwater Jr. against Jerry Brown as the nation reacted in varying degrees of horror to the attacks. But the Democratic Party's economically populist policy plans packed a strong punch in the poor economic climate, which kept the party ahead for much of the duration of the Agnew impeachment trial and the subsequent constitutional crisis and economic depression. In the south, Alabama Governor George Wallace is well on his way to a landslide reelection victory, with increasing chatter focusing around the Governor's ambitions for 1976.