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 with 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 race. 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 is 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 militiamen subtly beat up rioters and shoot the odd political opponent or two. 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 the 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. Cosmoplanes are next on the list of things Soviet science are developing.

Part 23
May 1961 - August 1961

The wave of anti-colonialism 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.

The NRM's campaign is particularly brutal, bombing rail lines and bus depots across Alabama, hoping to disrupt the state's infrastructure. The FBRA begins their investigation, and soon Parker's tactics turn out to be effective; meetings are broken up, supply caches confiscated, and hundreds of suspected terrorists are imprisoned. It's not entirely legal, but Attorney General Robert Young Button was willing to look the other way. And it is effective...but Chairman Robert F. Williams remains at large, Not for long, Parker thinks, as FBRA agents tracking his movements have cornered him to northern Alabama.

Part 24
September 1961 - October 1961

Byrd has plans to stimulate the economy and solve the race issue at the same time - by moving the blacks out of the city. Though its only in its early stages of planning, this bill calls for the employment of blacks to build railroads and other infrastructure that would lead to new towns - black only towns. By forcefully segregating cities - by making entirely new ones - then things should become peaceful again, right? Pushed by southern conservatives and urban Congress members, the National Infrastructure Authority Act is passed in Congress. The FBRA, backed up by local Citizens Councils, is sent by Parker to Montgomery, Alabama, the first target of the NIA. The citizens of the city's black neighborhood are given a choice - work for the Montgomery Infrastructure Authority with the promise of new housing, or languish within the walled off security section. Whether they would like to or not, most accept.

Birmingham is a different story. The citizens there are personally visited by Robert F. Williams, who makes one last great speech, admitting that the FBRA will soon catch him and do terrible things to him unless he flee the country and continue to spread the revolution. The NRM will be left in capable hands - but it will be up to its common foot soldiers to continue the fight. And to make that fight easier, the NRM is bringing weapons to the city to fight back.

On October 1, the FBRA arrives at the black neighborhood, ready to make the same demand. Instead, they are greeted by a hail of gunfire. All of sudden, the wall is dynamited, and the NRM spills out of the neighborhood into the city.

The Birmingham Uprising lasts six days. Commissioner of Public Safety Bull Connor finds himself over run despite giving orders to shoot on sight, and requests aid. Governor Patterson sends in the National Guard, and Byrd reinforces him with a few Army divisions. By now the Army divisions have experience with restoring calm to cities, but this time, the NRM is well-organized and armed as well. The violence attracts men and women of all walks to the city; Ku Klux Klansmen torch homes, the Nation of Islam shoots up white neighborhoods of the city, with a young man named Cassius Ali becoming infamous - or an idol depending on your point of view - for suicide bombing the Birmingham Police Department headquarters, and Sheriff Jim Clark arrives with the cavalry, cattle prodding his way across town. The town is barricaded to prevent the riot from spreading, though police do look the other way when Klansmen or Citizens Councils arrive - and after nearly a week 350 lay dead with thousands wounded and tens of thousands imprisoned. The riots eventually end with the city utterly ruined, though the NRM has been defeated, and the majority of the black population arrested, whether or not they were involved in the riots.

Public reaction is divided. First Secretary Nikita Khrushchev offers safe haven for any minority that feels oppressed in the United States. Europe looks at America in worry - though in France the OAS studies these riot prevention methods. Concerns over the instability in the United States leads to the United Kingdom and Ireland applying for membership in the European Economic Community, and the Scandinavians strengthening their Coal and Steel Pact to an alliance called the Nordic Council. And Canada looks ever more worried at the southern neighbor ... Diefenbaker sighs as scientists explain the project is still a year from fruition.

And in the chaos, nobody notices Robert F. Williams slip across the sea to parts unknown.

Part 25
November 1961 - February 1962

Congress debates the National Infrastructure Authority Act - a lot of their citizens are upset over the violence spewing from it in Birmingham, and the debate is mostly to cover themselves because most of them supported it in the first place. An outspoken critic of it is the new - but technically senior - senator from Massachusetts: Robert F. Kennedy. His brother John, now in the Vice Presidency, has been forced to keep his mouth shut on civil rights issues, and uses Bobby as his speaker. Bobby, despite maybe not being as popular in Congress as he would like, is certainly popular with minorities, which have been subject to a second wave of terror as the FBRA launches sweeps of arrests across the country. Prisons are overflowing, and the CIA can't house them all for the project. A few aides suggest to Byrd to reopen the interment camps from World War II, but Byrd has a better idea - use the National Infrastructure Authority to build their own camps.

Khrushchev, seeing Byrd's withdrawal and the chaos within America as an opportunity, issued an ultimatum during the summer; West Berlin must be ceded to East Germany, or else. Byrd, however, knows that the fall of West Berlin will just be too much for the anti-communists of America, and meets with Britain, France and West Germany to discuss the course of action. Byrd isn't willing to send any more troops to Berlin after promising withdrawals, and Britain and France are running out of willing conscripts. A new, rather radical idea is pushed - prop up the German military. After all, it's their city, right? It's their own fault they got into this mess, maybe they should be the ones to fix it for once. And sure, maybe that means giving more power to former Nazi's like Erich von Manstein and Reinhard Gehlen, but when it comes to defending against communism, fascists and capitalists are united. The German military is expanded, and quietly, Manstein begins combing West Germany's top physicists for a little nuclear program of his own.

Byrd spends a little more time on foreign policy that winter than he would like. Truth be told, it's entirely possible America can't meet its energy needs on its own oil alone, and Byrd is willing to make some deals. Venezuela, king of oil in South America, is facing a guerrilla problem in its jungles. And with the downsizing of America's military, there is quite a bit of surplus weaponry in the states. That winter, a deal is signed between Byrd and Venezuela President Romulo Betancourt, who, by all things considered, is actually a very decent guy. He better hope the extra firepower being given to the military doesn't go to their heads.

Part 26
March 1962 - April 1962

The world's eyes turn to Portugal in March. Portugal was already becoming a pariah in the world, the second nation to withdraw from the United Nations when its treatment of its colonies in Africa was questioned. Conscription was unpopular, and Salazar's dictatorship has been doing its best to stamp out any dissidents, but cracks always slip through, especially when a superpower like the Soviet Union is the one widening those cracks. In March, Salazar decides enough is enough, and closes down several student organizations, which were increasingly adopting a socialist bend thanks to the efforts of Khrushchev. But this is exactly what the First Secretary has been planning for.

Widespread demonstrations are held on March 25, and Salazar orders the police to use force to disperse the dissidents. But the Communist Party, clandestinely trained and supplied by the Soviet Union, fights back. Successfully organizing the students, fighting breaks out in Lisbon and quickly spreads through out the country. Several sympathetic army divisions defect, and in March 28, Atlantic Brigades of Portuguese defectors to Moscow arrive in rebel held ports. Trained and ready, the revolutionaries march on Lisbon. Nobody can prove its Soviet pilots flying the bombers that rake Lisbon during the rebellion, but Salazar can tell his time is up. He attempts to flee Lisbon, only to be caught by servicemen that also know their time is up and turn coats to the rebels. Salazar is handed over to the rebels, and the Estado Novo has come to end, replaced with the Democratic Socialist Republic of Portugal, headed by Communist Party Chairman Alvaro Cunhal.

When asked how Portugal can be allowed to fall to communism, Byrd simply states he was elected to put America first, and the politics of that little European nation is insignificant. Western Europe, of course, collectively fears for their lives. Eden takes this opportunity to resign due to poor health; that little addiction turned out to be quite significant after all. The Prime Ministry fell to the Home Secretary, a man who turned his appearance as an appeaser around with the success of the Suez War, which dramatically let him rise back to the top of the Conservative Party...Richard Austen Butler, simply known as Rab. Rab promises that there will be no appeasement from him this time, those rebellious youths better quiet themselves if they know what's best for them, and Portugal's colonies will not be allowed to fall into the hands of the communists.

France's right is steaming. America turns their back on their allies once again, and Portugal is simply a stone's throw from Paris...well it's pretty close. And to top it all off, de Gaulle plans on meeting with the Algerians to discuss peace talks! France's military had been heavily withdrawn from Iraq and Central Africa to deal with the unrest at home - all of these new troops at home could be useful in Jouhaud's plans. Something must be done about de Gaulle.

Jouhaud isn't the only thinking that way. The war in Central Africa has attracted thousands of willing patriots to join the ranks of fighting for independence. One of them is a former Captain in the French army, a man who has spent years fighting for Free France and ideas of liberty and equality, who can no longer allow his brethren to remain under the boot of the French imperialists that had killed his father.

On April 25, 1962, Charles de Gaulle is shot by Jean-Bedel Bokassa in Paris.

Part 27
May 1962 - July 1962

The reaction in France is swift. As the nation mourns for the loss of their great leader, the interim government is quickly done away with by generals led by Edmond Jouhaud. With large portions of the military already in France, crushing any dissent isn't too hard; declaring that a state of emergency will remain until the killers of the nation's hero are found. Of course, Bokassa is already imprisoned, but that doesn't stop the French military junta of Jouhad, Maurice Chall, and Raoul Salan from arresting and imprisoning thousands of enemies and political opponents of in the name of national security. Bokassa's foreign dissent is revealed, and for a short time discrimination of blacks nearly reaches that of the United States, and is used as another excuse for arrests.

After a "thorough" investigation, French intelligence believes Bokassa had foreign backing from Algeria and Central Africa, necessitating the redeployment of troops to the colonies. Conscription continues, but this time the government can make those who oppose forced servitude disappear into growing prison camps in the mountains.

Portugal immediately denounces the new "fascist" government of France, and many left-wing French citizens fleeing the coup arrive in the DSRP or in the increasingly left-leaning Italy. Francoist Spain makes overtures to France; Prime Minister Rab Butler of Britain promises that free speech and thought will remain the "beautiful democracy" of Britain, though the coup is used as a justification to arrest the extreme of the extreme in Britain. British counterculture only spreads in the Long Hot Summer of 1962, and is joined by an infusion of German artists and musicians, who notice that there seems to be some sort of subtle, rising Nazi influence in the West German government.

America denounces the new fascist government in France as well, but hey, military dictatorships are always in the need for weapons too. And in Moscow, Khrushchev celebrates the fall of another government, even if its to the fascists; increasing the military presence in unpopular colonial wars will only bleed the nation dry, leading to a second fall sooner or later. Europe seems to be undergoing a major change in 1962; the rise of communist movements has led to a rise in the right as well, and each nation will be forced to choose either the left or right, and in an atmosphere of partisanship, moderation is growing politically unpopular.

When traditionally neutral Switzerland is negotiating weapons and mercenary contracts with France, and the Scandinavian countries have begun a joint atomic program, it's apparent Europe has reached another turning point in its history.

The rise of extremism isn't just limited to Europe; in the United States, the far right extremist party made up of dissatisfied Citizens' Councils who believe Byrd is acting too slow to punish the blacks is founded. The Citizens' Party is derided as a party of no good rabblerousers by major newspapers, but the party grows in popularity rather quickly; demagogues across the south and in major cities promise permanent segregation, such as deportation to Africa or even more vile methods of ethnic cleansing. While many may not agree fully with the extreme race message, many are similar dissatisfied with Byrd, especially when letters from Williams in his exile arrive in the United States and a whole new round of agitators join the National Revolutionary Movement, now under the leadership of Eldridge Cleaver and Huey Newton.

Part 28
August 1962

On August 14, Prime Minister Diefenbaker stands on the bow of an observation ship off the coast of Baffin Island. Surrounded by scientists and generals, a countdown begins...23 seconds later, Canada enters the nuclear age.

Diefenbaker is a tad upset; the election was in June, and it would have been nice to cap off the campaign with a nuclear detonation. But still, to cheering crowds, the larger-than-life Dief the Chief can proclaim that even with America and the world in chaos, Canada will remain a bastion of freedom, fully protected by a nuclear arsenal and Avro Arrow interceptors. Diefenbaker has some grand plans for Canada and its newfound nuclear power. Nuclear power plants, satellites, cosmoplanes ... if America won't be exploring the cosmos, there's no reason the rest of the western hemisphere can't.

President Byrd is one part suspicious, one part relieved by the increasingly militaristic Canada to the north. The withdrawal of troops from Iraq and Vietnam is going slower than Byrd would like, despite the promises of the French that Vietnam would be pacified in due time. Secretary Fulbright is sent to Ottawa, to negotiate that perhaps Canadian troops could be inserted into the Middle East or Southeast Asia, but Diefenbaker is an interesting fellow with a disdain for America's racist politicians in charge of the country. Fulbright quickly becomes bored out of his mind while the Prime Minister regales him with stories of Churchill and England. The Prime Minister seems to have a strong love for Britain...which quickly becomes clear when Diefebanker agrees to a proposal to aid the British with withdrawals and occupation. Sure, token support is offered to the Americans, but that meeting has gone nowhere.

Byrd orders that trade, as best as it can be, is directed away from Canada, and that radar and other military installations near the Canadian border be on a higher alert. The once sleepy border is, for the first time in centuries, filled with suspicion.

Part 29
September 1962 - October 1962

Interestingly enough, it is the Nordic Council that comes to the aid in Vietnam. The increasing reliance on trade with the Soviets due to the instability of Western Europe was not particularly liked by the Council, leading to the search for newer markets. There have been traditional ties between the Nordic countries and Southeast Asia, and perhaps the new unified Nordic armies could use some training...

With the declining support of the United States, the military dictatorship of Thailand desperately needed another foreign power for support. Britain and France were stretched too thin for support, the Soviets and Chinese were communist, and Thailand's options were limited. The treaty with the Nordic Council is negotiated quickly.

Seeing Nordic military and civilian advisers arriving in Thailand to modernize the country leads to proposals from Byrd, Rab, and Jouhaud about potential Thai aid in Vietnam. The Nords are reluctant, seeing how the colonial conflicts have bled the British and French dry...but they've also seen how powerful a colonial empire can make a nation become. The deal is finally solidified when in secret, Rab Butler offers a few nuclear secrets that will greatly help the Scandinavian atomic program. Those dealings are left in a filing cabinet and soon become lost in the great expanse of manila folders and shelves.

West Germany's self-armament program has been proceeding nicely, and the increasing influence of Manstein and Gehlen aren't really noticed. Unfortunately, their presense is noticed just enough by the rebellious newspaper Der Spiegel, who publishes an explosive article about the role of former Nazi's in the West German government. Federal Defense Minister Franz Josef Strauss orders the arrest of the magazine's writers and editors, and German police forces occupy the magazine's headquarters, accusing the paper and its staff of treason.

Demonstrations were held against this censorship, but Chancellor Konrad Adenauer only doubled down, fearing that with West Germany being increasingly left out to dry by his western allies, any weakness shown will basically be inviting the East Germans and Soviets to walk across the border. The arrests are no doubt made easier by Gehlen's secret police force, which arrest hundreds during the fall.

The crisis comes to an end with Strauss made the scapegoat, fired from his position, and will not hold office again. Der Spiegel is reopened, though with a new staff; very unfortunate that its original editors were found guilty of treason, and the article's author went missing in Spain. Popular opinion will turn against Adenauer, and the old Chancellor, first of the new Germany, will decline to run for re-election in the following year.

Part 30
November 1962 - December 1962 It's a glorious day for the Soviet Union as Yuri Garagin flies his cosmoplane from an air force facility in Moscow all the way to Baikonaur Cosmodrome. First Secretary Khruschev is riding a wave of popularity like no other; the man has overseen the fall of Portugal and the spread of communism around the globe as America withdraws. This is enough popularity that several would-be coup plotters end their scheming, for the time being at least.

Lack of American involvement has everyone worried. Taiwan is not a particular nice place to live at the time; the military dictatorship keeps the island under tight supervision, and its male population endures required military service. The great dragon of mainland China looms, and with the possibility America might look the other away...Taiwan must be ready. Dissendents are shot, and artillery purchased a decade ago from America's generals are polished and kept clean, in case they must ever be used. If he must go down, Chiang Kai-shek intends to go down fighting.

So do the South Vietnamese, who are recieving the first shipments of weapons from their Scandinavian benefactors. The British in Vietnam still mull about, unable to withdraw from the warzone until those South Vietnamese were trained and ready for combat, or more Scandinavian troops arrive. Canadian aid would be on its way soon as well; Dief the Chief, not to be outdone by the Nordic Council, seemed to find himself looking for new markets as well, to make up for what seemed to be lost trade with the United States.

The North Vietnamese look at their own supply of weaponry as well; though they are holding back on any major offensives for at least another year, they are busy building up the insurgent Viet Cong. Trails through sympathetic and or uncaring Laos and Cambodia are established as weaponry, ammunition, and supplies arrive to the pockets of communist rebels in Vietnam. Khruschev is more than willing to send supplies, seeing how well the Portuguese experiment went; and Mao is definitely not be outdone, and is sending supplies of his own. With both the Soviets and Chinese competing to puppeteer the North Vietnamese, Ho Chi Minh is content with playing the two powers off of one another to gain more.

South Korea is also worried. North Korea was doing quite fine, and the dictatorship to its south was doing not quite fine. A coup in May had placed the military in charge, but to some, Major-General Park Chung-hee was too soft. Syngham Rhee might've been corrupt, but he at least had the right idea of shooting communists. In early December, Major-General Lee Chu-il ousts Chung-hee, his body thrown unceremonious into a river. Chu-il announces the establishment of a new Korea, one that is completely self-reliant and does not need to jump when Washington says so. Byrd and Fulbright shrug; Japan is still tightly within the orbit of the United States, though a few pro-military politicians do get into local government positions there.

But Byrd and Fulbright have bigger fish to fry. As the snow falls across the country, ballots across the country are cast. The Democrats retained their majorities in the Senate and the House, but the Citizens Party has made major gains. Byrd does not like that, not one bit. If the Citizens continued to gain power, it could draw some supporters away from his party, splitting the vote enough to give the Republicans to lead. If this trend continued to the election in 1964...no, it couldn't. Byrd already had enough problems with that, what with Senator Johnson in Texas rallying his state against the "prejudices" of Byrd's government, and both Kennedy's acting increasingly suspicious.

Byrd has a lot of work to do. And that work overload gives the president a major heart attack as 1962 comes to an end.