America Appears in Another World

Chapter 19: Joint Base Andrews

"Mr. president, John is here for you."

"Let him in." John appeared into the Oval office through a door which seamlessly blended with the wall.

"Mr. president, we have been going through the procedures to finalize some things from our side, however there is something which I think you need to read."

John handed some papers to the president to look over. He briefly looked them over and sighed. "Your saying we should delay the treaty signing?"

"Not completely, but I think we should take this slowly." John said firmly.

"And the reason for this caution? Your starting to sound like the secretary of health right now."

John contemplated before speaking again. "Mr. president, right now we have no allies."

"Yes, that is obvious at this point. And?"

"We also have no obligations right now. Our department only realized this recently after numerous meetings and discussions, but our administration has the potential to shape US foreign policy for the next half century. Right now, the US has no formal treaty with any existing nation in the new world. Furthermore, no historical or racial baggage at all. If we play our cards right, we could create a whole network of dependable allies whom we never had any bad relationship before."

"That is good and all, but why are you telling me this now?"

"The diplomatic delegation from the Kingdom of Astra is coming right now to Washington D.C. We need to emphasize on a couple of things. However, ultimately the decision lies with you Mr. president." He nodded. "Go on."

"We have a couple of options Mr. president. The first is to ensure our diplomatic missions to the kingdom remains fully staffed to aid in the process of basic education, democratization, and other reforms necessary. We would need to train hundred, if not thousands of addition staff to do this. All while we ensure the sovereignty of the kingdom."

"What's the second option?"

"We do what we did after WWII and set up military bases around the kingdom to stabilize the region. However, the US will have to deal with the ramifications after our administration. I advise for the first option, however it is up to you Mr. president."

"I will consult the chairman of the joint chief of staff as well. I want to hear his proposal."

"Yes Mr. president."

Soon, the chairman arrived in the office. "Mr. president, I would advise a more proactive method of foreign policy. We do not know what dangers lie ahead of us in the future, so having accessible military bases in the region would certainly be a boon to our military capabilities. From our last conflict with the hostile forces, it took our military nearly a week to mobilize land troops to finally push back the main force at cultivation town.

As we move further away from established military bases in our territories, it will be even more difficult to deploy forces in a sensible time frame. Furthermore, from our intelligence, the world is a much more chaotic and violent place than back on earth. Of course, the threat of nuclear annihilation has been practically reduced to zero."

"You and John spoke together no? Is there no compromise on this?"

"If we severely wanted to limit our presence in the kingdom, we could theoretically just have one base established for security purposes. However, I would personally advise for more bases."

"John."

"I would be alright if it was only one base. Considering how rural the kingdom is, it would not be impossible to establish a limited military presence. My only fear is that the military presence will be permanent."