Abridged Timeline Part 2 (PJW)

Part of the Abridged Timeline of President John Wayne covers the presidency of Harry F. Byrd.

Part 21
January 1961 - February 1961

On a bright, relatively warm, January 20, Harry F. Byrd is inaugurated as America's 36th president. The night before, Wayne had given a few remarks, simply stating he hoped he had served America the best he could, and hoped that peace will come back this great nation. Sure he did beat up the communists around the globe, but the streak of violence, the domestic police, the rampant McCarthyism - most cannot forgive this. Wayne goes down as one of America's weaker presidents, but maybe he did the best he could, what being an actor and all.

At Byrd's inauguration speech, he promises to put "America First". No longer will our good old boys die in the sands of Iraq or the hills of Cuba. No longer will America send troops to fight violence abroad when there are problems to be solved at home. Peace at home, peace abroad, Byrd declares to thunderous applause.

Byrd fills out his cabinet. State goes to Arkansas Senator James William Fulbright, an outspoken non-interventionist. Defense goes to Alaska Senator Ernest Gruening, who had spent his Senate term decrying American involvement in Cuba and Iraq. In a surprising twist, Chief of Staff goes to Representative Eugene McCarthy, who is put in charge of a special task force dealing with immigration. McCarthy doesn't see eye to eye with Byrd on civil rights issues, but they unite on immigration, and preventing more minorities from entering America while it continues to burn.

The most interesting decision is, of course, the newly founded Department of Racial Affairs, which handles any violent issue involving. And who better for the job than the man that ended two Watts riots and came up with the idea for walls and security zones in the first place? William H. Parker is named the department's first secretary.

Byrd immediately meets with his generals and plots a withdrawal from Cuba, Iraq, and the little amount of troops in Vietnam. The military grumbles - they had gotten use to getting their way with Wayne - but agree and plan to withdraw all troops by the end of the summer. Cuba, of course, is nearly pacified - Raul Castro had been killed in a mortar strike, Che Guevara escaped with a few veteran rebels to parts unknown, and Fidel was cornered in the mountains - but Iraq was a different story. The insurgency led by Abdul Salam Arif is still a major force, but Byrd doesn't really care about some tinpot Middle Eastern nation, America can supply its own oil, thank you very much. And there wasn't many troops in Vietnam anyway.

When questioned about who will shoulder the burden of these conflicts, Byrd merely shrugs and says the British and French will have to make do. Which immediately causes alarm in London and Paris. The growing rate of conscription in Britain is growing unpopular, while Charles de Gaulle is coming under fire for the wars in Algeria, Congo, and now Mali. De Gaulle announces a referendum on the future of these colonies, and a few high ranking generals, including Edmond Jouhaud, decides that the referendum must not be won by the independence vote.

Part 22
March 1961 - April 1961

The referendum in France is incredibly close - too close, in fact. The recounts take weeks, giving just enough time for any sinister force to work its way into the ballot box. When the results are finally released in April, 49.9% of France is appalled. The war against its former colonies will continue. Pro-decolonization protests are held across France, which Jouhaud and other generals offer to put down. De Gaulle says no, and the generals decide that they'll have to do it themselves. The Organisation Armee Secrete is founded, and throughout the summer subtly beats up rioters and shoots the odd political opponent or too. It seems that the right is rising in France.

The opposite is occurring in in Britain, which soon gets it own set of protesters. Upon receiving a somber letter from Baghdad informing them that their dear friend Corporal John Lennon was killed by a land mine, the Quarrymen go very anti-war, and the summer of 1961 in Britain marks the birth of British counter-culture. Young men and women burn flags, smoke reefer, and do all sorts of delinquent actions to protest the war, while Kubrick releases a smashing hit of anti-war film and Buddy Holly and his Quarrymen sing songs of peace and friendship. Damn them, thinks Prime Minister Anthony Eden, damn those bloody yanks and their rock and roll!

Byrd makes good on his promises. With the capture of Fidel Castro, the communist threat in Cuba has come to an end. American troops begin to withdraw, leaving dictator Fulgencio Batista and his secret police to keep the peace there. Iraq and Vietnam are a much slower process - the British and French seem awfully slow at refilling the ranks there.

With the wars and occupation coming to an end, Byrd cuts the fat off of the military budget. A few nervous rocket directors ask that if these cut funds could be used for rocketry, but Byrd only shakes his head. Byrd plans on doing cuts everywhere; Byrd wants the budget balanced, and he has a lot of work to do to make up for the excess spending during Wayne's term.

The Soviet Union, of course, seeks to increase the technological gap that is growing more and more each. More Lunas are shot to the moon, and in April, Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human in space. That's not all though; sure, missiles are good and all, but what about space weaponry? Better to weaponize it now while they have a monopoly on space travel. Spaceplanes are next on the list of things Soviet science are developing.

Part 23
The wave of anticolonialism reaches Portugal, which remains underneath the thumb of Antonio Salazar. The African colonies are in a state of unrest, but no colony will be leaving Portugal. Salazar fires up conscription, and soon thousands of fresh recruits are sent to Angola and Mozambique. Thousands more, though, are fleeing, with the majority of students ending up in the Soviet Union. But First Secretary Khrushchev doesn't plan on letting them sit idly; no, he has them training to retake their homeland.

The summer of 1961 in America is a hot one; the National Revolutionary Movement and Nation of Islam have been busy with a fresh wave of bombings in June and July. The Civil Protection Act is repealed by the new Congress, with it being replaced by an official Federal Bureau of Racial Affairs. The FBRA are Parker's paramilitary, and more importantly, takes power away from FBI Director Hoover; Byrd doesn't trust the man nor the power he gained during Wayne's presidency. The CIA are left alone; Project MK-ULTRA remains quiet, with Director Dulles quietly stating his agency is working on peacekeeping tactics.