Part 5 (Imperial States of America)

Imperial Decay
1983- A tentative ceasefire is held in the Phillippines, with the Islamic insurgents in Mindanao exerting practical independence. David Rockefeller, now president, uses the ceasefire to up the campaign in the Andes Mountains. The Quechan insurgents launch a bombing campaign. In the Battle of Lima, the insurgents, with CDL support, attack I.S bases in the area. They are defeated, and Rockefeller bombs their hideouts in the Andes. Fidel Castro is killed by one of these bombing missions. Despite this, insurgencies continue in the Amazon, and rebels begin a campaign in Nicaragua.

1984- Rockefeller declares a national emergency, giving himself emergency powers. Insurgencies continue throughout Latin America. With Raul Castro taking over the helm of the CDL, it appears the war on terrorism is not going well. Castro declares the insurgencies are the beginning of a fourth world war to destroy the Empire. The economy is also sinking, as the arms industries, who form a huge percent of the GDP, are facing low demand and prices, nearing them to bankruptcy. The reforms have diversified the economy somewhat, but other industries, reliant on imports from the colonies, have been attacked by insurgents.

1985- For the governors to better deal with the rebellions, Rockefeller institutes the Richmond decree, allowing greater autonomy for the territories. In reality, the governors largely continue Federal policies with greater effectivness. After the Mayor of Paris is executed for attempting to create actual autonomy; a young French woman referring to herself as simply " Joan" calls for a revolution against the occupying Americans. The Europeans, encouraged by the apparent American decline, rally around this mysterious woman in rebellion. The rebels bomb the American offices in Paris, Berlin, and Brussels that effectively rule Europe. From Spain to Poland, insurgencies attack Americans and promise eventual liberation. With high unemployment, many are more then willing to join this revolt. This is another unfortunate blow for the Americans, which, coupled with blockading a resurgent China, threatens to tear the Empire apart.

1986- A Shiite insurgency based in Afghanistan lead by dissident clerics Ruhollah Khomeini and Abdullah Al-Sadr has begun gaining traction in their calls for jihad against America. Revolutionaries are killing Westerners and their sympathsizers in the dead of the night. Increasingly, Iran is becoming unstable, with riots and lootings in Tehran and elsewhere. Rockefeller orders air raids in Afghanistan, but does not invade. His troops are kept busy in tropical jungles and dangerous slums fighting rebels wherever they are found. As certain insurgencies in Latin America have declined, Rockefeller appears slightly successful, and is barely reelected to a second term, after which, he nationalizes the nearly bankrupt arms industries.

1987- The insurgency winds down in the Amazon, largely due to the fact that the Americans had burnt down most of the forests where the rebels had been hiding, leading to an ecological crisis. Rockefeller declares parts of the Amazon a national park to keep a steady lumber supply. These efforts are futile, and with limited lumber supplies, the recession becomes the Imperial Depression. However, with insurgencies in South America receding, Rockefeller launches an assualt on Mindanao, overwhelming the Islamic insurgents, and bringing the Phillippines back into the Imperial fold. Joan's Liberation army wrecks heavy violence against Americans in European cities, so except for Patrols, the Americans largely keep to their bases.

1988- After a dirty bomb goes off in the main I.S base in Iran, killing thousands, Rockefeller orders an occupation of Afghanistan to crush Khomeini and his rebels, largely disregarding the Luanda Doctrine. Khomeini, an old man, martyrs himself to hold back the Americans. Although the Americans quickly establish the I.S as the ruler of Afghanistan, insurgents take advantage of the local terrain and launch a guerilla war. Rockefeller continues to pour more troops into Afghanistan, but this simply provides a bigger target for the insurgents. The American military is pushed to the breaking point.

1989- As insurgencies continue, and the federal debt increases, massive riots break out across the world. The Imperial Depression is becoming far worse then the Great Depression, and the war against America becomes universal. Only the formidable might of the American military prevents the Imperial States of America from total collapse. However, certain factions within the military have developed rivalries, and compete for jurisdiction of more valueable nations. In Kenya, an American educated man named Obama begins an African Revolt, which is strongest in East Africa and the Congo. These rebellions also target the weakening White government in South Africa, America's strongest ally. However, most of the rebellions remain underground, and the Military Governors exert even greater terror to maintain their power.

1990- The war in Afghanistan has sucked up resources and troops needed to keep the colonies at peace. As the African insurgency spreads, the American military can do little to stop it. The African Revolt destroys the South African government, replacing the South African president with Nelson Mandela, who joins the war against the Americans by covertly attacking Angola, which falls into the hands of the Revolt. He gets away with it, as in the American heartland, massive riots have broken out protesting the declining economic conditions. A military coup forces Rockefeller out, leaving the Imperialist Richard Cheney as President. Cheney has seen the beginning of the end for his beloved empire, the Imperial Collapse.