Chapter 13

Secretary General Jacques Descroix sat down in the chair under the bright lights. Fortunately the room was cool or else he would have started sweating and ruining the makeup. Just being in a one-on-one interview with Sandy Dancing would be enough to get him sweating. He wasn’t looking forward to this at all, but with recent events it was important that he keep the coalition together and that required him to put up with reporters, even reporters like Sandy Dancing.

Sitting in a chair across from him, Sandy Dancing was busy looking through her notes with questions she intended to ask him. She was wearing a very ornate niqab, the veil that covered her face. He hated that she was always wearing it. It just didn’t seem right to be talking to someone you couldn’t see. To him, wearing a mask meant that you had something to hide. He was sure that she had something to hide.

Sandy looked up at him and asked, “Is the chair comfortable?”

“It’s fine. The lights are a bit warm.”

“I know, but they are necessary. You should feel what it is like under the niqab.”

“You could always remove it.”

“Tsk. Tsk. You’re always trying to get me to undress,” she teased.

“I didn’t mean that way,” he said backpedaling.

She looked over at the little table next to her chair. She asked, “Is that your brand of bottled water?”

“Yes,” he answered.

That little touch had surprised him. Most of the time, the set crew just provided a pitcher of tap water and a glass next to the chair. Her crew had actually asked for his preference and had provided it.

“Now, just let me know if you would like to take a break. We aren’t filming live and can edit things together without losing continuity.”

“Okay,” he said.

She turned and looked towards the crew. “Are the sound levels okay?”

“They’re great.”

Turning back to face him, she asked, “Are you ready to begin?”

“Yes.”

“Good evening. I’m with the Secretary General of the International Federation of Nations Mr. Jacques Descroix. Let me begin by saying that I’m very pleased and honored that you chose to grant this interview.”

“It’s my pleasure,” he replied.

“So many things have happened in the past couple of weeks that it is difficult to know where to start. I guess that starting with the major defeat of General Santini is as good of a place to start as any. What happened there?”

“General Santini walked into a well executed trap which cost him and his forces their lives. It was a catastrophic defeat. Twenty-three nations lost men that day. The official death toll now stands at 43,723 people. There were 1,342 wounded.”

“I understand that the Jade Empire returned all of the injured people. Is that true?”

“Yes, they did. I’ve talked to a few of the men who were returned and they all said that they were treated well by their captors.”

Sandy Dancing said, “It is well known that the Jade Empire does not keep prisoners of war and that they have sent everyone captured to Amra within a week of their capture. It seems to me that is far better treatment than is required under Sviss Treaty Two. What are your feelings about that?”

“Sviss Treaty Two specifies procedures for treating prisoners of war. There are provisions which Jade Force violates just by returning prisoners under parole. Many of the men face charges on their return.”

“I think that is a problem with the nations whose men are returned rather than Jade Force.”

“Under the terms of the Sviss Treaty Two, they are not allowed to force captives to commit crimes. Returning men under terms of parole is forcing them to commit a crime. That’s a violation of the treaty.”

“Why do you think that the Jade Empire returns these men rather than keep them captive?”

“It’s to spare them the cost and effort of maintaining prisoners of war. Under the provisions of Sviss Treaty Two, they are required to provide adequate food, shelter, clothing, and health care. In addition, they are required to allow inspections of the prisoner of war camps by the Humanitarian League.”

Sandy Dancing asked, “How many Jade Empire soldiers are currently held as prisoners of war?”

“A little over two thousand.”

“Why not return them?”

“There are no diplomatic channels open between the IFN and the Jade Empire.”

“That hasn’t stopped them from returning their POWs.”

“They are violating international conventions by their actions. They are dumping POWs on Amra and that country is forced to cover the costs of their care. It is a significant cost for Amra to take care of them until they can be returned to their country of origin. There are reasons why things are done the way they are and the Jade Empire doesn’t see fit to act as it is expected to act.”

“Amra hasn’t lodged any official complaints.”

“Amra wouldn’t. It sees it as a humanitarian obligation.”

Sandy Dancing looked down at her notes. She said, “Recently, the Empress of the Jade Empire paid a state visit to Inra. What were your overall impressions of that visit?”

“I have problems calling it a state visit.”

“Why?”

“First, the Jade Empire is not recognized as a geopolitical entity by the international community. As a result, calling it a state visit is stretching the definition of state visit.”

Referring to her notes, she said, “An empire is an extensive group of states or countries under a supreme single authority. By that definition, the Jade Empire is an empire since it is currently controlling nine countries.”

“It may function as an empire, but it isn’t a recognized state.”

“What would be required to be recognized as a state?”

“A vote within the IFN.”

“Is such a vote possible?”

“No. The Jade Empire is a criminal organization. It routinely violates international law and convention.”

Sandy Dancing shook her head. She said, “Let’s back off from calling it a state visit. What did you think of the visit by Empress Jana to Inra?”

“I think that her attack on the IFN was uncalled for. We are an organization dedicated to bringing about peaceful resolutions to international conflicts. We’ve prevented a lot of wars from occurring.”

“But, you voted to invade Misera. That’s a declaration of war.”

“Misera was harboring a known criminal accused of crimes against humanity.”

“According to Empress Jana, Pen Sada is living in Burad and not in Misera.”

“We investigated that claim and can find no evidence that it is true. As a result of her statement, there have been Pen Sada sightings everywhere. Police have been sent out to investigate waitresses, auto mechanics, and secretaries. It has been a complete waste of local resources. She’s not here.”

“If there is no support for her claim, why do you think that she made it?”

“Several reasons. First, they have always claimed that she wasn’t in Misera, so she couldn’t very well admit that was indeed the case. Second, I think that she was trying undermine the basis on which the resolution was passed and make what we did appear to be unjustified. Third, I think she chose Burad as a way of distracting us here.”

“Is there any chance that you were mistaken about Pen Sada being in Misera?”

“None. The intelligence was solid.”

“Changing the topic a little. What did you think of her comments about General Santini?”

“I was surprised to hear such high praise for him from her. I can’t disagree with a single word she said about him. I found him to be a competent man.”

“Why were you surprised? I would think that having him be described as competent makes the victory a result of their superior skills rather than his incompetence.”

Jacques Descroix said, “It might seem a good argument. No one wants to admit that they won because their opponent was just a really bad player. However, I do think that her praise of him was honest.”

“Why do you think that?”

“Other military leaders have supported her claim that he was deceived. All of them agree that if his jet fighters hadn’t been ambushed, that they would have taken out the tank killers that massacred his troops. Reports have it that they hit his forces twice with five waves of tank killers flying six abreast. All of them described that as overkill.”

“Why?”

“The Amra designed tank killer is one of the most effective low attitude battle air craft ever made. It has a 30 mm Gatling gun that fires at a horrific rate. The entire plane is just one big ammunition carrier. The bullet it fires is capable of penetrating tank armor. Once one of those starts firing over a battlefield, there isn’t much that can survive it.”

“I thought that Amra dropped production of the tank killer.”

“It did. After seeing what it did, they are talking about putting it back in production.”

“General Timmons of the Amra Joint Chief of Staff said that Jade Force has an uncanny ability to place assets in a position that does the greatest damage to the enemy. Is he right?”

With a sour expression on his face, Jacques Descroix answered, “I’m not a military man. On the basis of what they’ve done, I would guess that is an accurate assessment.”

“Some people are stating that General Santini’s defeat is the reason Ulamb surrendered. Do you think that is why they did it?”

“I can’t speak for them.”

“Will General Braun retreat into Hamasada?”

“No. Ulamb is where the Jade Empire forces are and that is where he will fight them.”

“It seems to me that he would be outnumbered and in enemy territory.”

Jacques Descroix replied, “He’s bringing in more troops from Hamasada. He won’t be outnumbered long. The fact that he is in enemy territory just means that he is taking the fight to the enemy rather than retreating.”

“So you approve of his more aggressive approach?”

“I think his strategy is sound.”

Sandy Dancing said, “Empress Jana made quite a big deal out of political leaders being acceptable targets during wartime. What is your opinion about that?”

“I most strongly disagree with her. Leaders of nations have to make difficult choices on behalf of the people. One of those choices is whether to go to war or not. That whole idea of shared risk is nonsense. In most countries of the world, the decision to defend the country is a free choice taken by young men. They have chosen to take the risks and trust their leaders to commit them only when the demands are greater than the risks.”