Beatrice rose to her feet following the King. "History is often said to repeat itself, yet it always seems to catch us by surprise does it not? Nearly six years ago Mundus found itself around the peace table in Ecclesiarreich where the United Soviet Russia wished to impose upon Mundus its version of order, order enforced via the weaponization of GR-3. In a monumental display of unity and perserverence the international community, save the allies of Stalin, opposed and condemned the visions of a madman. In a voice of unison we said no to this world and, in the end, forced the United Soviet Russia to abandon the path it so strongly fought for and ensured that these most dangerous and unpredictable weapons did not become a daily fear for the Peoples of Mundus. Looking back at some of my words on that day I am reminded of an exchange in which I stated:"
If there must be two 'sides', it would be on the issues of biological weapons and international norms; those who have developed them and those who have not, as well as those who have come together to forge such norms and those who have cast them aside, trampling the rights of several nations in the Great Northern Sea. It is, thus, our responsibility to see these weapons consigned to the dustbins of history while not allowing precedents to be set which would damn us all to a future of chaos.
"Woefully, we could not have forseen that the Kingdom of East Moreland, the Holy Empire of Achkaerin and the First Empire of Rokkenjima, Mundus' sole nuclear powers until most recent events, would bring about a historic disarmament, bringing a nuclear-free Mundus just within view, only for it to be torn asunder by a new madman, this time hailing from Slava Lavosk. One must ask 'why', what purpose could President Kravec hold for this move when the nuclear powers had implemented programs to consign their arsenals to the pages of history? Why did he tear the vision of a nuclear-free Mundus apart?"
"Perhaps regime preservation, it's logical and the easiest to assume, although I can only assume that he did not consider that Rokkenjima would design its disarmament with such a contingency in mind. For when all nuclear powers agree to disarm, only the most malicious of intent may give birth to such a pursuit. To allow Slava Lavosk to trample upon the collective security and rights of the international community is quite simply not an option this First Empire is willing to consider. Wheras Mundus once possessed the facilities and will to stand up to a most obvious threat to the entirety of civilization, today we hear calls that the 'concerns' of Kravec must be addressed, all while ignoring the fact that had he not embarked upon this course we'd have seen a complete global disarmament of Mundus' collective nuclear arsenals."
"Have we lost touch with all semblance of sensibility that we find ourselves today faced with the dictator of a nation, who houses tens of thousands of people in a network of detainment camps across his nation for the sole crime of their heritage, who employs as a means of execution for a girl just shy out of secondary school
crucifixion while lobbing her father through the air with a trench bucket before her very eyes? Not to speak of his beheading. This is a man Mundus has called "reasonable" and worthy of trust in good-faith negotiations?"
"Instead we have those amongst us who view blockading such a nation as morally wrong, and would rather rush to the defense of this dictator, in essence appeasing him for whatever reason. I will say this before you today, in crystal clear language: the First Empire does not negotiate with terrorists, and this is the crux of the matter before us. For it can only be called what it is when one nation, against the grain of prevalent winds, proclaims for itself the most destructive weapons known to humanity. To reward him, to appease his desires or concerns, allows him victory by default; it establishes the precedent that the entirety of the community of nations may be held ransom to the whims of one man; I shall not establish that precedent."
"A Mundus free of the most destructive of weapons was within reach, the 'concerns' of those without weapons of mass destruction would have been solved without issue, yet here we are today because of one man, however, who saw an opportunity to extract concessions from the community of nations. He detonated a weapon of his own, and sits back in laughter as nations see those who stand to act against his path of madness as the problem. President Kravec is the problem, his budding nuclear arsenal is the problem, and either he shall disarm of his own accord, or he shall
be disarmed. The free peoples of Mundus shall not be held hostage, nor pay ransom, for a future free of this madness."
"These are the stakes; we either stand united in face of this collective threat, or say to the despots and terrorists that the Peoples of Mundus can be held ransom, and will pay that ransom with a smile on their face. Once, and only once, Slava Lavosk has disarmed may we entertain the idea of negotiations. A man such as Kravec is not worth the benefit of the doubt, his intentions are already laid bare before you, and the precedent which negotiating on the terms of his nuclear bullet will command the steepest of prices in the future. We cannot afford to set the standard that one man may hold the whole of Mundus in the palm of his hand."
