One of the first initial acts of the GC was a decision to stop selling food products to the IR. It was a known problem that the IR continued to sponsor terrorist organizations globally and was persistently behind efforts to undermine Western governments. They were also continuing to try and expand their empire into Malaysia, the Philippines and Sub-Saharan and East Africa. To that end, the GC made it known that they would not sell food products to the IR until this behavior stopped.
Canada had experienced a demographic change, just as Europe had. Decades of taking in asylum seekers and refugees had changed the religious and social dynamics of the country. The Islamic population made up close to 30 % of the country. In several cities where the Islamic population was closer to 50 %, there were movements to insist that these cities be governed by Sharia Law. There was also a growing crusade nationwide to move the country to Sharia Law and away from the control of the Canadian Constitution.
The Government had, of course, balked at this and civil unrest began to take place all across the various Islamic communities in Canada. Tens of thousands of Canadian citizens had immigrated to the IR, and were likewise encouraging others to as well. Despite the migration of Muslims from Canada to the IR, the ones remaining were doing their best to turn Canada into an Islamic country.
The Canadian administration was clearly overwhelmed by the violence, which had spread from Toronto to the rest of the country. Government workers and police officers were routinely being targeted and killed, and several buildings had been bombed. It was during the height of this violence that Troy Peck had called Henry Stein directly to ask if the US Government would be able to assist Canada in putting down this uprising by these extremist Muslim communities.
At first, President Stein was reluctant to get involved; his main focus was on rebuilding America, and thus he wanted to avoid external conflicts. However, once the US Intelligence Community determined a lot of support for these uprisings was originating from Dearborn, MI, and the Detroit area, the President decided he needed to act in order to keep the same thing from happening within the US.
The President, in agreement with the Canadian government, authorized the use of US Military Forces in Canada. This included the deployment of 5,600 Military Police, 120 Judge Advocate Generals (JAGs) and three Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs). There were also six Special Forces A-Teams assigned to support the BCTs. The results of the military engagement were almost immediately successful. Minor disturbances cropped up here and there, but the large-scale riots were gone and violence was on a definite decline.
It was during this tense period that PM Beck and President Stein began to secretly explore the possibility of the US and Canada holding a national referendum to merge their two countries. It was too early to announce anything publicly yet, but there were a lot of back room conversations happening behind the scenes.
“Troy, if Canada needs any additional help, please let me know. I’d be more than happy to deploy additional military police to Canada to help augment your government. We have been fortunate in that we have not experienced the same level of violence or uprising by our own Muslim communities. Of course, the problem really isn’t with Muslims directly, it has more to do with the 1 % to 3 % of radicals within these communities that stir up the problems. As we identify these individuals, we prosecute them under the law or move to deport them,” said Stein as he tried to reassure PM Peck that things would get better.
The President was eager to get the next portion of the meeting started; his arrival had been delayed by nearly thirty minutes, so he felt behind schedule. The leaders filed back in and sat down, and Henry wasted no time. “Switching gears, I wanted to speak with you all about the growing problem with Russia and with the Islamic Republic.” Stein linked his tablet to the holographic device on the table and brought up a floating global map. Next to the map, several intelligence reports, photos and analysis were available for the rest of the group to read through while he spoke. “I feel at this point; conflict is all but inevitable with the Islamic Republic. It is incumbent upon us to make preparations for this battle and ensure that we win.”
As naïve as the leaders of the EU appeared, they also recognized that the massive change in demographics these last 25 years had caused some serious problems between their Muslim immigrants and their European counterparts. The provocative activities of the IR within Western countries and the rest of the world were pushing everyone towards a clash of civilizations.
“Do you really feel that diplomacy will not work?” asked PM Blair, hoping that his own assessment was wrong.
Stein responded, “At this point I do not; we’ve shared our intelligence with you in regards to the Russian build up and the massive troop movement and modernization of the Islamic Republic’s military. They are gearing up with assistance from China and Russia. The questions we have to ask are, ‘How much time do we have?’ and, ‘Who will attack who first?’”
Chancellor Lowden cut in, “—Europe is still recovering from the Depression. We are only now able to adequately provide for our people; we cannot afford to spend additional resources on a military buildup.” He looked concerned while he was speaking, genuinely torn.
“Chancellor Lowden, I understand your economic situation. The US has been in the same situation. You and I both know the EU cannot possibly hope to protect itself with a military force of 130,000 soldiers…. The US cannot protect Europe alone; we need Europe to do their part,” said Stein, nodding towards the photos and intelligence reports floating on the holographic screen.
“With all due respect, Henry, the US does not need to lecture Europe on protecting itself. With the combined forces of Europe and the US, we can more than hold our own against the Russians. The Russians use quantity over quality, which is our advantage over them. Our weapon systems are more precise and we can do more with less,” said Chancellor Lowden.
“That may have been true 20 years ago; however, neither of our countries have invested in new defense technologies, while Russia and China are now leading the world in that arena. A lot has changed. Look at this report here; the Chinese are already integrating robotic exoskeleton suits into some of their combat units. Neither of our countries are even close to incorporating this technology to the same scale they are.” The President brought a new set of documents up, showing the initial preparations the US was starting to make.
“Because of these new developments, I have directed our military to begin a slow buildup; we are adding almost 300,000 additional troops to each of our military services. I highly encourage the UK and EU to begin a rapid buildup of forces as well,” said Stein.
“Henry, I do not know that I can gain the needed support from Parliament to increase the military. I understand the threat; I am just not sure I can gain the political support to do what you are asking,” said Lowden.
Blair concurred. “I fear I will have the same problem. England is struggling, and we still have an unemployment rate of nearly 18 %. Paying for an increase in the military budget will be a tough proposition.”
The President knew this was going to be a hard sell from the beginning. Knowing this, he had come to the table with several options. “Gentlemen, I understand the concerns and the problems that you all will face. However, if we do nothing, it may be too late to act. We need to take action now while we still have time, not wait until after we have been attacked.”