My mind is spinning around this whole discussion of Wiki-Leaks. I try to think of something else but before I know it, I realize I am right back to Wiki-Leaks. I am doing the whole point-counter point thing mentally. I knew I had to do something to change my mood. I decided that a good, long hot shower would be just the thing. It was starting to work and then I had this vision play out before me. It went something like this.
Even for April Washington seemed especially cold on that day. That chill was the general gloom over much of the nation as America was in the toughest fight of its history. As the president, Franklin D. Roosevelt, looks out the window, it is clear to see that he is deeply troubled by something that will not allow him to rest. He paces the Oval Office, hands clasped behind his back, pacing, looking out the window, pacing. Over and over he repeats the same moves just like the clock on the far wall keeps ticking off the minutes. He sits behind the massive oak desk in his office, the same one that Abraham Lincoln sat behind in his time of trouble, and stares at a single sheet of letter paper. He holds it with one hand, with the envelope behind the letter tucked between two fingers. You cannot make out what the letter says but you can see that its text covers only about half the sheet. You can see that it is hand written in delicate, neat cursive. You imagine that there may be a hint of perfume left over from the writer.
The President rises from behind his desk and once again begins to pace around the oval office with his hands clasped behind his back when all of a sudden he stops behind his desk and takes a long, furtive look at the phone on the corner of the desk. He sits down looks at the phone for a few seconds, then reaches over, and places it directly in front of him. It’s as if he knows that as long as the phone is all the way over on the corner of the desk he will have an excuse for not doing what he knows is coming next.
With one last look out the window, he reaches for the receiver and says, “Get me Hitler.” Seconds go by. You can hear the clicking and popping as circuits are connected. More seconds go by before you hear a voice from the other end of the world.
“Yah, why do you call me at this hour and get me out of a warm bed.” “Do you wish to surrender?”
“No Chancellor, I wish discuss our plans to defeat you.” You can almost feel the stunned silence on the other end of the phone before the President begins to speak again. “Now look here old man, I have received a letter from one of my citizens out in Missouri. That citizen has written so compelling a case against keeping government secrets that I have no other choice but to lay out our plans to invade your forces through France.”
“We will begin preparing our forces in conjunction with our British allies at the coordinates I have sent to you by diplomatic courier. I would ask that you please not bomb us while we train for the invasion. Our plan right now is to conduct an amphibious assault at the beach in Normandy, France. Included in the diplomatic pouch is complete list of our air, naval, and ground forces along with an order of battle. It looks right now like the invasion will begin at approximately 06:30 AM British Double Summer Time (GMT+2).”
“Now look here, as a show of good faith I was wondering if you would reveal some of your secrets with me. I was wondering if you might send me a map of all of your beach fortifications along with a list of all your tank and artillery assets. I was also wondering how your forces were doing with supplying petro to your forces along with an update on the moral of your troops.”
The President begins to realize that there is nothing on the other end of the line except silence. He takes the receiver away from his ear and looks at it for a second before tapping the cradle several times. “Ahoy there, are you still with me Mr. Hitler?” After several more seconds the President realizes the connections is dead, holds the cradler down a couple of seconds, and ask, “What happened, did we lose the connections?” Then the answer comes, “No Mr. President, it appears that Chancellor Hitler hung up.”
Well, unlike the U.S., Germany decide not to play fair and conducted daily air strikes on the British and American troops training for the invasion. Additionally, the rocket forces shifted their attacks away from the cities and began bombing the ports. The results were nothing short of devastating. Our ground forces were decimated from the air. Moral for those left alive and at fighting strength sank to the lowest level of the war. Not only were the majority of ships sunk in the harbor, the port facilities were left as just tangled remnants of they had been. Word of our losses finally made it back to America. Moral sank lower than it would seem possible. People quit collecting metal for the war effort. It just seemed futile now. Support for the war began to wane and then turn out right hostile. There were daily marches in Washington demanding that the President surrender to Germany and bring our troops back. Then law and order ceased to exist. There were riots in the big cities. Businesses were looted; banks were burned to the ground along with any building associated with the Federal government. In the rural areas agriculture came to a sudden halt as all the farm workers descended on the cities to show their protest.
There was complete chaos. The wheels of government came to a grinding halt. It is not surprising, looking back on it now, that the people didn’t notice the changes taking place. The new faces in Washington and at all the strategic locations around the United States. The military forces spreading around the country, then the roadblocks, then the programming on TV. Before long people began to notice that everything was being controlled by this armed force. But, it was too late then. As the last vestiges of what used to be America faded away the announcement came that the President would speak on TV.
“My fellow Americans, I come to you tonight knowing in my heart that I did the right thing by not keeping any secrets from you or the enemy. I am sad to say though that, that is not the case for Germany. They continue to keep secrets from us on exactly what their plans are for us and our nation. I can only say that as of Midnight tonight I will turn control of the government of the United States to Heir Shultz. From now on you will follow his orders. Good night and my prayers will be with you.”
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