Barkai, Judean Republic
"For fuck sakes, they basically attacked a priest and a bunch of college tree-huggers. I think its obvious we have to do something, this Captain...what was his name?"
"Lahad sir"
"Yes, Captain Lahad. We cannot sit idly by while this piss ant nation starts acting Belmontien. We are going to have to do something once this deadline is up" said President Rahm Levy.
The room under the Presidential Residence was dimply lit but the light was adequate for what was happening. Sitting in Toledo chairs*, Levy and his senior political and military staff sat in a circle. The table had been removed leaving the 11 men with the concrete floor and concrete walls padded with deep brown leather cushions. Some men took notes but it wasn't a meeting or a planning session, it was a steering committee.
Admiral David Halutz was Judea's only full admiral. Beneath him were two Vice Admirals, each fairly well skilled. But Judea's navy was not prepared for any serious blue water conflict. It was mainly aimed at coastal protection and naval defense. So Halutz knew any pissing match with Judea alone could be ugly. There were other options. Halutz slowly stood as others in the room had their vision magnetized to him. He slowly cleared his throat. "Listen, we all know we cant and dont want to start a shooting war over some washed up sea captain; but these are college kids we are talking about....and a priest. These are major no-nos. So we have a few options. First, we can use what is probably our most effective military weapon, our special forces. They go in, grab the guy, get out. But that means shooting and....."
"That is a big but Admiral, I think we should focus on other options first" said Levy with a tone of contempt for the idea.
Halutz swallowed hard and looked round the circle of dimly lit faces. "Well, we take the legal and political road" said the Admiral much to the shock of the men in the room. Many were wondering what this old sailor had to propose that would be of the legal and political road. "Its a bit out there; a bit far-fetchedl; but we can try it" said the Admiral.
*think Barcelona chairs
Two Hours later
Security tag- 44DLP099
To: State Ministry of Foreign Affairs
From: The Office of the President, Judean Republic
As our stipulations remain unmet, it is our duty to inform you of actions to be taken once the deadline has been reached. At Deadline +15, our government will no longer recognize the sovereignty of Padania and will consider her to be in a state of piracy. The refusal to acknowledge freedom of the seas, illegal abduction of a Judean citizen, and our belief he is being used as leverage in the Lunden Conference have led us to classify this action as an action of piracy as leverage may be obtained at the Lunden Conference regarding his release. We equate this to a form of ransom and thus label his abduction as pirate kidnapping. As the Padanian navy has performed acts of piracy and has been embraced by the government, we will recognize Padania as a PIRATE STATE.
At Deadline +15, all military vessels under Padanian flag will be considered an imminent threat to Judean and international maritime trade and will be attended to as such. All civilian vessels under the flag of Padania will be considered support pirate vessels and can and will be legally seized by Judea or any other nation. Furthermore, Padanian visas, citizenship, and the rights of those citizens in Judea will be void. These non-citizens will be detained, not arrested but detained, until they can be deported to a legal and sovereign state. Padanian assets in Judea have already been frozen and will be seized at Deadline +15 as it is property of piracy.
In accordance with international custom, we will remind you that harboring pirates is forbidden. No nation can receive pirates into their territory willingly and any aid rendered as such can be viewed as a further violation of international law.
*intentionally made to be intercepted and easily decoded by other nations
"For fuck sakes, they basically attacked a priest and a bunch of college tree-huggers. I think its obvious we have to do something, this Captain...what was his name?"
"Lahad sir"
"Yes, Captain Lahad. We cannot sit idly by while this piss ant nation starts acting Belmontien. We are going to have to do something once this deadline is up" said President Rahm Levy.
The room under the Presidential Residence was dimply lit but the light was adequate for what was happening. Sitting in Toledo chairs*, Levy and his senior political and military staff sat in a circle. The table had been removed leaving the 11 men with the concrete floor and concrete walls padded with deep brown leather cushions. Some men took notes but it wasn't a meeting or a planning session, it was a steering committee.
Admiral David Halutz was Judea's only full admiral. Beneath him were two Vice Admirals, each fairly well skilled. But Judea's navy was not prepared for any serious blue water conflict. It was mainly aimed at coastal protection and naval defense. So Halutz knew any pissing match with Judea alone could be ugly. There were other options. Halutz slowly stood as others in the room had their vision magnetized to him. He slowly cleared his throat. "Listen, we all know we cant and dont want to start a shooting war over some washed up sea captain; but these are college kids we are talking about....and a priest. These are major no-nos. So we have a few options. First, we can use what is probably our most effective military weapon, our special forces. They go in, grab the guy, get out. But that means shooting and....."
"That is a big but Admiral, I think we should focus on other options first" said Levy with a tone of contempt for the idea.
Halutz swallowed hard and looked round the circle of dimly lit faces. "Well, we take the legal and political road" said the Admiral much to the shock of the men in the room. Many were wondering what this old sailor had to propose that would be of the legal and political road. "Its a bit out there; a bit far-fetchedl; but we can try it" said the Admiral.
*think Barcelona chairs
Two Hours later
Official Communique
Encoded- LR432-300-32464992-Apricot*Security tag- 44DLP099
To: State Ministry of Foreign Affairs
From: The Office of the President, Judean Republic
As our stipulations remain unmet, it is our duty to inform you of actions to be taken once the deadline has been reached. At Deadline +15, our government will no longer recognize the sovereignty of Padania and will consider her to be in a state of piracy. The refusal to acknowledge freedom of the seas, illegal abduction of a Judean citizen, and our belief he is being used as leverage in the Lunden Conference have led us to classify this action as an action of piracy as leverage may be obtained at the Lunden Conference regarding his release. We equate this to a form of ransom and thus label his abduction as pirate kidnapping. As the Padanian navy has performed acts of piracy and has been embraced by the government, we will recognize Padania as a PIRATE STATE.
At Deadline +15, all military vessels under Padanian flag will be considered an imminent threat to Judean and international maritime trade and will be attended to as such. All civilian vessels under the flag of Padania will be considered support pirate vessels and can and will be legally seized by Judea or any other nation. Furthermore, Padanian visas, citizenship, and the rights of those citizens in Judea will be void. These non-citizens will be detained, not arrested but detained, until they can be deported to a legal and sovereign state. Padanian assets in Judea have already been frozen and will be seized at Deadline +15 as it is property of piracy.
In accordance with international custom, we will remind you that harboring pirates is forbidden. No nation can receive pirates into their territory willingly and any aid rendered as such can be viewed as a further violation of international law.
*intentionally made to be intercepted and easily decoded by other nations