Saharistan War

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Saharistan war Summary
Date: May 2005
Locations: Saharistan,Sinical
Outcome: SWC victory
Casualties (approx.)
Military: 35,000 to SWC dead
Civilian: 14 million, 8 million in Willink, 6 million in Saharistan dead
Total: 14.25 million dead
Main Participants
Saharistan War Coalition Saharistan Supporters
Leafanistan
Willink
McKagan
Halberdgardia
Tannenmille
Space Union
HailandKill


Saharistan
2nd Holy Empire
P3X1299






The Saharistan War was a conflict between the nations of Leafanistan and Saharistan that seethed for some time, much like the "phony war" period of World War II, before exploding into actual hostilities between nations.


Prelude to War

Guillemont Massacre

The origins of the Saharistan War lie not in the aggression of one nation against another, but rather an internal conflict in the small country of Jerobia.

The Guillemont Massacre was the root cause of the Saharistan War. An underground organization by the name of the People's Front of Jerobia (PFJ), a leftist anti-war group, had whipped up support for an anti-war demonstration in the Jerobian capitol city of Guillemont. Hundreds of demonstrators turned out for a march on the Jerobian Senate building, protesting the Jerobian government's involvement in the affairs of the nation of Hebrides Islandia, which had led to an entire Jerobian naval task force being annihilated by a nuclear weapon. Although the demonstration was initially peaceful, a handful of PFJ members among the crowd apparently drove the crowd to anger, and with more and more riot police being called up to block the protesters from the Senate building, the situation became increasingly precarious. The scene exploded into violence when a PFJ member hurled an improvised incendiary device at a group of police officers, injuring two. The protest quickly devolved into a firefight between Jerobian police forces and PFJ members, with a large number of non-PFJ demonstrators caught in the crossfire. Rioters broke into the Senate building, attacking Senators and government property in their rage. Before long, the Senate building had burned to the ground, and more than thirty Senators were injured, with several in critical condition. Order was finally restored when military police were called in, and forcibly suppressed the rioting mob. Dozens of rioters were killed, and hundreds were injured.

The Senate, frightened that the PFJ might attempt to overthrow the government following that night's brutal riot and suppression, quickly passed a bill giving emergency dictatorial powers to a right-wing Nationalist politician named Ernst Strommer. Strommer immediately outlawed the PFJ, ordered National Guard and military police units to assist in keeping order while the police hunted down cells of the PFJ, and arrested hundreds of supporters, including politicians who had little to do with the militant wing of the movement.

Resistance

A figurehead soon appeared to oppose Strommer. A woman named Juliette Davison, apparent head of the PFJ, soon began to issue global communiques to the nations of the world, informing them that "[Jerobia] has recently succumbed to madness and chaos as right-wing nationalist plotters have wormed their way into supreme power, and begun to ruthlessly oppress any political dissenters, using the excuse that they may be supporters of a terrorist regime." Meanwhile, left-wing Jerobians were being rounded up and shipped off to secret camps in northern Jerobia, possibly as part of a Nazi-like extermination program.

The nation of Theao was the first to answer the call for help from the PFJ, and while their government did not supply any official support, a Theaoan faction known as the No-Relation-To-Theao-Government Liberation Army (NRTTGLA) pledged its support to the PFJ rebels, promising weaponry and financial aid. The NRTTGLA soon shipped off large quantities of assault rifles, sub-machine guns, and rocket launchers, and a handful of sniper rifles to the beleaguered rebels.

The nation of Saharistan was next to assist the PFJ. Unlike the nation of Theao, however, the government pledged its official support for the PFJ rebels, and shipped one thousand, two hundred AK-47s and one hundred eight thousand rounds of ammunition; three hundred fifty Dragunov sniper rifles and three thousand rounds of ammunition; nine hundred hand grenades; one hundred thirty SAM-7 anti-aircraft missile launchers and three hundred ninety SAM-7 missiles; two hundred fifty RPG-7 anti-armor rocket launchers and seven hundred fifty rockets; two months' provisions of supplies in medical aid and food aid; and thirty-five million USD in cash to the PFJ.

The Saharistani support, however, angered the nation of Leafanistan. Leafanistan claimed its intelligence agencies had evidence of possible connections between the PFJ and a radical communist terrorist group, called the Red Brigade, that was responsible for a number of high-profile domestic terrorist attacks in Leafanistan, including the assassination of the son of the High Father, the leader of Leafanistan. Thus, Leafanistan faced a two-fold dilemma: not only was Jerobia an ally of Leafanistan, and thus deserving of support in their fight against the PFJ, but also, if the alleged ties between the Red Brigade and the PFJ were true, then a successful revolution in Jerobia could give rise to an anti-Leafanistan government, backed by elements of the Red Brigade. Therefore, the High Father announced that a naval blockade of Jerobia was to be effected immediately, so as to cut off the flow of supplies to the PFJ, and demanded that the Saharistani vessel en route to Jerobia turn back for home or risk impounding and seizure by the vessels of the Leafanistan blockade. Saharistan's President Musab al Zaraqwi openly defied the Leafanistani edict, claiming that the vessel had already delivered its supplies and was en route back to Saharistan. In Leafanistan, on the Republican Senate Floor, arguments for and against military action against Saharistan were being made. After nearly seven hours of debate, the Senate voted to pass the measure 104-49; the measure stated that a naval blockade was in order, that Leafanistan's alert status was to be elevated to Gamma (equivalent to DEFCON 1), and that two carrier groups and four hundred thousand soldiers of the Republican High Guard were to be called up for active duty. Although short of a declaration of war, it was essentially as good as one.

The commencing hostilities of the conflict-to-come came swiftly and unexpectedly. Taking advantage of the lull in Leafanistani activity following the Saharistani proclamation, PFJ agents launched a number of stolen prototype super-cavitating torpedoes at the vessels of the Leafanistan blockade. The PFJ then loaded their supplies into vans and trucks, and prepared to disperse themselves throughout Jerobia for guerrilla warfare against Strommer's forces. The torpedoes claimed three of the five Leafanistani ships, and damaged the other two. Leafanistani casualties were high, with more than one hundred one men killed. Shortly after the attack, a Leafanistani AC-130 Spectre gunship was launched and retaliated against PFJ forces, destroying a number of PFJ trucks loaded with rockets. Shortly after the attacks, Saharistan issued an official declaration of war against Leafanistan.

The War

The "Phony War"

Saharistani President Musab al Zaraqwi wasted no time in preparing his nation's defenses for the coming battle. He rapidly organized Saharistan's miltary, and, for such a small nation, boasted a formidable force, partly due to a wide-ranging draft that was implemented to conscript a vast swath of men and women from across the country. While Saharistan's total military force paled in comparison to Leafanistan's, al Zaraqwi nevertheless pressed on. In total, Saharistan boasted a standing army of three hundred fifty-five thousand men and women from all services, two thousand, one hundred fifty assorted armor units, five hundred five APCs, four hundred transport trucks, one hundred twenty-two attack helicopters, eighty-five transport helicopters, two hundred ninety attack aircraft, and approximately nine hundred thousand draftees. al Zaraqwi also imposed security crackdowns, ensuring that any beaches that could be used as landing sites for invading forces were secured with landmines and barbed wire, putting a curfew into effect, and imposing martial law across Saharistan. There was no immediate response from Leafanistan.

The situation escalated when the nation of Concador offered the heavily-outmatched Saharistan support, and again when the nation of Overbear offered chemical and biological weapons platforms to the highest bidder in the conflict. Saharistan gratefully accepted Concador's offer of assistance, but did not seem to show interest in Overbear's offer of weapons of mass destruction, likely due to the fact that they had been previously warned to stay away from the use of WMDs by the nation of Space Union, head of the Anti-WMD Club.

Tensions were further heightened when the nation of Willink declared its support for Leafanistan, and that their arsenal of nuclear weapons was on high alert. More and more nations began to enter the fray in a manner that recalled Cold War-style brinkmanship. Two nations, Transnapastain and Halberdgardia, stepped forward to oppose Overbear's offering of WMDs to the highest bidder, but refrained from going so far as to choose sides. Transnapastain, however, unlike Halberdgardia, began to deploy military forces to the region, asking al Zaraqwi's permission to blockade Saharistan in an attempt to interdict any WMD shipments from Overbear to any side. The same offer was also extended to Leafanistan, but again, no immediate response was received.

Leafanistan was, in fact, in the midst of an internal conflict. Three separate task forces had been dispatched to Saharistan. What remained of the 2nd Naval Expeditionary Force was to merge with the 3rd Naval Expeditionary Force, under the command of Captain John Alleluia. However, the 150th Naval Expeditionary Force, consisting of several guided-missile cruisers and destroyers, had been dispatched secretly under Captain Hampton Elmer. His orders were to secretly fire dozens of supersonic cruise missiles at appropriate targets should the conflict escalate. Captain Elmer had been given full autonomy by the highest levels of FleetCom. It must be inquired, then, as to why Elmer did not act sooner. The answer was horrifying. Within a few days after both fleets left port, the “zombie problem” from the nearby (and now non-existent) Kingdom of Radioactive Zombies had spread too far. The nearby town of New Bronxhaven was overrun by zombie forces. The automatic safeguards of the town’s fusion reactor complex activated upon the zombies’ taking of the town, and shut the reactors down. Power throughout Leafanistan, including most major cities, the capital of Concord, and nearly all naval bases, was cut off. Leafanistan was plunged into darkness, and both Captains were cut off from FleetCom. Captain Alleluia, nearing Saharistani waters, sent a message to FleetCom, but found himself unable to establish contact. He feared the worst, but remembered his orders to end the conflict quickly. He gathered his captains and began planning. His captains were a bit nervous and argued constantly, his fleet would be out of action for a while. Meanwhile, Captain Hampton Elmer of the now-renegade 150th Naval Expeditionary Force set all scanners to passive and monitored the radio transmissions, waiting to strike.

In the Saharistan theater, Transnapastain pulled out from the war, but Halberdgardia remained, continuing to remain neutral, but offering increasingly strong rebuttals to Saharistan's propagandistic claims. Also during this time was the entry of the nation of McKagan into the war, not choosing sides, but rather offering mercenary soldiers for anyone with the money to hire them. While neither Halberdgardia or Saharistan showed outright hostility towards each other, they dueled with their messages to one another. However, tensions between the two nations rose after Saharistan claimed it was "growing weary" of the Halberdgardian messages, and claimed that they could "cause instability in Saharistan." Unbeknownst to Saharistan or Halberdgardia, their messages actually sparked new conflict.

The War Goes Hot

One of Saharistan's response letters to Halberdgardia somehow made its way into the hands of President Obie Sunstreak of Overbear, and the message contained inflammatory remarks against homosexuals. Being a homosexual himself, an enraged Sunstreak declared a blockade of Saharistan in a live television press conference. Saharistan responded with a declaration of war and launched thirty F-14 Tomcats, sixty MIG 29s, thirty MIG 21s, and twenty-five MIG 19s in an aerial attack on the blockading fleet. Overbear suffered heavy losses, losing a destroyer and thirty Harrier jets, and had to remove two heavily damaged corvettes and one heavily damaged aircraft carrier from the theater. In retaliation, Sunstreak launched fifty cruise missiles, each equipped with a payload of VX nerve gas, at major Saharistani military installations. al Zaraqwi responded to the attack by activating all his country's anti-missile assets, and rounding up all Overbear citizens in Saharistan for execution. The former action, while successful in taking out thirty-six percent of the missiles, still failed to prevent the deaths of thousands, owing to the fact that some of the missiles were shot down over population centers; an estimated twelve thousand, five hundred seventy-nine civilians and four thousand five hundred thirty-eight military personnel were killed in the attack. The latter action, meanwhile, led to the deaths of two hundred seventy-nine Overbear citizens, and their bodies were ruthlessly defiled by enraged Saharistani civilians.

The international community was shocked and outraged by Overbear's decision to use chemical weapons, and support of Saharistan poured in from a number of large nations. The nations of Concador, Space Union, and the Second Holy Empire all declared war on Overbear for its use of chemical weapons, and it appeared as though Overbear would quickly be crushed.

It was at this point that an alarmed McKagan deployed the destroyer MFS Stryker to the theater to act as a peacekeeping vessel. Also alarmed by the use of chemical weapons against Saharistan and afraid that Saharistan would use WMDs or would convince its allies to use WMDs in retaliation was Halberdgardia, who dispatched the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer D.R.H. Valiant, under the command of Captain Pash Cracken, to international waters just outside Saharistani waters under silent running conditions. It linked up with the Stryker, under the command of Captain Daniel Larson, and was likewise acting as a peacekeeping/observation vessel. Larson dispatched troops to deter any invasion, and docked the Stryker in the main Saharistani port of Jamahariya. However, Saharistani officials apparently began giving McKagan troops difficulties, and Larson dispatched an APC to extract his troops. The Stryker and Valiant then linked up again in international waters.

Meanwhile, the nation of Willink launched a preemptive strike on Saharistani industrial sites, sending 15 fighters to attack. Three hit an ammunition factory, wiping it out, but the rest were destroyed by Saharistani fighters. The Second Holy Empire declared war on all nations hostile to Saharistan in response, and prepared to send two hundred thousand troops to Saharistan, claiming that "defenses [were] being constructed and any invasion force should be prepared for a very costly and bloody urban battleground."

Just then, the Leafanistani combined 2nd Naval Expeditionary Force contacted the McKagan vessel and requested a diplomatic meeting; Captain Alleluia had decided to sue for peace with Saharistan. While waiting for a response, Alleluia found out about the 150th Naval Expeditionary Force's true mission and was disturbed at the secrecy surrounding it. A few hours later, a lone Pelican dropship carrying a retraction of the declaration of war was delivered to Alleluia. Both sides agreed to peace, and Alleluia was preparing to withdraw his forces when tragedy struck. On board the GRLS Yuri, a Skate-class frigate, the commanding officer was awaiting his meal when a missile unexpectedly launched from its pod, apparently without the commander’s authorization. It exploded just outside of the pod, and soon all of the frigate's missiles followed suit, firing into the air without coordinates. Several ships were sunk and dozens of men were killed. The commander of the Yuri found a Red Brigade terrorist was responsible for this act and killed him. However, the Red Brigade infiltrators began jamming the Leafanistani vessels' transmissions, rendering the fleet mute. Alleluia could do nothing but watch as other fleets were fooled into believing that the Leafanistani fleet had come under missile attack. The Leafanistani fleet used signal lights to try and establish communication with the McKagan vessel, warning them of the sabotage. Captain Elmer of the 150th Naval Expeditionary force took advantage of the chaos and fired his supersonic cruise missiles at Overbear; however, the missiles apparently failed to impact their designated targets. Captain Elmer was captured by loyalist forces under Alleluia, and later committed suicide in a brig on a Leafanistani destroyer.

Meanwhile, Saharistan sent an ultimatum to Halberdgardia, claiming that they "grew weary" of the Halberdgardian presence in the theater, and ordering the Valiant out of their waters. Further complicating matters, the nation of Blessed Restraint locked onto the Valiant with Exocet missiles and demanded its surrender. McKagan intervened with a counter-threat, demanding that the Blessed Restraint vessels stand down. Leafanistan also opposed the threat from Blessed Restraint, reminding them that there was little point in threatening a destroyer that was not involved in the current conflict. The Blessed Restraint vessels backed down, and Cracken took advantage of the opportunity to take evasive maneuvers and return to silent running conditions deeper into international waters.

al Zaraqwi sent another message to the Valiant, continuing to demand that Cracken pull his forces out of the theater. The official Halberdgardian response was one of strict neutrality, reminding al Zaraqwi that the Valiant was in international waters, and not Saharistani territory, to observe the conflict, not to invade or take sides. Disbelieving of this, al Zaraqwi issued a final warning, claiming that unless the Valiant was not removed, a state of war would exist between Saharistan and Halberdgardia. Halberdgardian President Kir Kanos responded in a live television press conference, demanding the cessation of all threats against the Valiant, reminding Saharistan again that the Valiant was not in theater to threaten any side, but to observe. In response, al Zaraqwi decided to launch a massive air attack against the Valiant, with sixty-five MIG-19s, fifty MIG-21s, and sixty MIG-29s participating. The Valiant was caught off-guard, and barely survived the attack, thanks to the courageous actions of her helicopter pilots, who fought to the death with Saharistani fighters to cover the Valiant's limping retreat to an uninhabited island occupied by McKagan forces. Daniel Larson of the McKagan fleet quickly deployed CSAR forces to the site of the attack, and helped rescue one hundred fifty crewmen from being machine-gunned in the water. President Kir Kanos declared war on Saharistan shortly after receiving news of the attack, and was joined by the nations of Leafanistan, McKagan, and Willink. These nations, along with Halberdgardia and a few nations that entered the conflict later, came to be the main members of the Saharistan War Coalition.

The Tide Turns

The Halberdgardian response to the Valiant attack was swift. A mere twelve hours after the ambush, Halberdgardian F-117s fired the first shots against Saharistan since the Overbear missile attack. In a swift surprise assault on the Saharistani capitol of Baghdad, the squadron of twelve F-117s dropped a total of one hundred sixty-eight bombs, both guided and unguided, on dozens of targets in the city, including mobile radar stations, power stations, and anti-aircraft installations. They then prepared to cover the true powerhouse behind the mission. Shortly after Baghdad was plunged into chaos by the attack, the Halberdgardian B-2 Stealth bomber Spirit of Halberdgardia arrived in the airspace of Baghdad International Airport, the main air base of the Saharistani Air Force, and the site where the Saharistanis received most of their supplies from allies. The Spirit of Halberdgardia dropped approximately forty thousand pounds of assorted munitions on dozens of targets throughout the airport, annihilating virtually the entire complex. With the element of surprise on their side, the Halberdgardian assault force took no casualties. The Halberdgardian assault was soon followed up by a McKagan bombing run over Baghdad, which further devastated the city.

Shortly thereafter, following a number of propagandistic claims by both Saharistan and the Second Holy Empire, Halberdgardian Secretary of State Kenix Kil sent an scathing rebuttal to both nations, touching on nearly every single one of the comments they had made since hostilities broke out and successfully refuting them. The coalition forces rallied and made a series of air strikes on targets across Saharistan, and it was not long before the coalition dominated the airspace above most of Saharistan. With Saharistan reeling from the strikes, the coalition forces began to demand that Saharistan and her allies stand down. However, following the entry of the nation of HailandKill into the war, Saharistan flatly refused, and vowed that any coalition ground forces that invaded the country would be caught in a bloodbath of terrorist attacks and guerrilla warfare.

However, despite the increased resolve of some of Saharistan's allies, two of their biggest defenders, the nations of Soviet Leaders and Space Union, announced that they were pulling out of the war. With the loss of these countries' massive armed forces from Saharistan's defenses, it seemed that peace talks could not be far off.

The "Nuclear Option"

In a shocking development, Saharistan announced that it had purchased four hundred nuclear ICBMs on the global black market, and demanded that all nations hostile to Saharistan immediately cease hostilities, force their governments to step down, limit the size of their armed forces, and pay reparations to Saharistan, or face the threat of a nuclear attack.

Space Union, shocked that Saharistan had broken its promise to cease seeking WMDs until it reached a population of one hundred million, demanded Saharistan's immediate surrender. HailandKill also threatened to withdraw support for Saharistan if it used nuclear weapons.

Saharistan then made its costliest mistake of the war: the firing of seventy-seven nuclear missiles at every major military and civilian target in Willink, killing eight million people. Willink responded accordingly and fired a substantial portion of its nuclear arsenal at every major city and military target in Saharistan. HailandKill officially withdrew its support for Saharistan following the attack, and, as a result, was devastated by fifty-seven Saharistani ICBMs. Countless millions perished in the ensuing nuclear holocausts, the likes of which have hardly been seen in any other conflict in the world.

Space Union, utterly outraged at the unbelievable slaughter Saharistan had unleashed, declared war on Saharistan and activated its nuclear defense system, which was never put to any major use, as Saharistan never again used nuclear weapons. The nation of P3X1299, which had been previously providing Saharistan with weapons shipments, withdrew all support and declared that any attempt to turn Saharistan into an irradiated, crater-pocked wasteland was fine with them. The Second Holy Empire, though still remaining an ally of Saharistan, acknowledged that it could not possibly enter a one-sided nuclear war with only conventional weapons, withdrew all its troops from Saharistan.

Despite the millions dead on both sides and two of the coalition nations reeling from nuclear devastation, the coalition powers' resolve to see the al Zaraqwi regime brought down only increased. In retaliation for the WMD attacks, Halberdgardia struck back at the already-devastated Saharistan. The same F-117s and B-2 Stealth aircraft that were involved in the first air raid, as well as thirty-six F-16 Fighting Falcons, were launched in a three-pronged strike; the F-117s, and then the B-2, hit the massive al-Mahmoud oil refinery complex north of Baghdad with napalm and conventional explosives, respectively, and the F-16s hit the already-devastated capitol again.

The Invasion of Saharistan

With Saharistan devastated by nuclear missiles, and the majority of their strength stripped from them, the coalition nations moved to finish the job. Willink spearheaded the invasion of Saharistan, landing their forces in Jamahariya, where they met with little resistance from the heavily demoralized Saharistani Revolutionary Militia. The other coalition nations soon followed suit, and there was little resistance to the ground forces. al Zaraqwi, meanwhile, was transferring billions in Saharistani government funds to his private bank account, and making plans for his "Final Solution." The coalition forces were unaware of these developments, however, and were mainly focused on securing the country. Following the success of the invasion, foreign humanitarian aid poured in from a wide range of powers, including the nations of Colorado and Texas, Whittier, Arytian, Madnestan, Bellania, and Space Union.

The nation of Whittier issued an international warrant for al Zaraqwi's arrest, and deployed their 3rd Marine Battalion to the region to search for him. The nation of Ackerenia also joined the search, deploying their 3rd Infantry Battalion to the region. These two battalions joined the Halberdgardian Special Forces A-Detachments already scouring the country in the hunt for al Zaraqwi.

Meanwhile, al Zaraqwi had finalized his plans for escaping Saharistan. He would be linking up with international terrorist figure Nina Myers, who had acted as al Zaraqwi's liaison in finding the nation that sold Saharistan the ICBMs they had used against Willink and HailandKill. Together, the two escaped the country disguised, using the relative lack of border security (or security of any kind for that matter), due mainly chaos resulting from the invasion of coalition troops, to effect their escape. From there, al Zaraqwi hoped that Myers would assist him in making his objective of a "global Islamic jihad" a reality.

The HCIA, however, picked up on the escape quickly, and although they did not know where the two were headed, they could at least alert the nations neighboring Saharistan of al Zaraqwi's escape. Halberdgardia proceeded to issue its own international arrest warrant for al Zaraqwi, on the charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity, and for Nina Myers as well, on the charges of conspiracy to commit acts of terrorism and war crimes, and aiding and abetting a fugitive.

Shortly after this notice, however, tragedy struck.

The "Final Solution"

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The "Final Solution" consisted of the detonation of sixty-eight nuclear weapons that totally annihilated the nation of Saharistan.
</div>

al Zarqawi executed his "Final Solution" when safely out of the country. The "Final Solution," as it turned out, consisted of sixty-eight nuclear weapons scattered strategically throughout the country. al Zaraqwi remotely detonated the weapons via an e-mailed activation code. The bombs exploded with devastating force, annihilating entire cities and all their inhabitants, and further irradiating the already-polluted Saharistan. There was very little life left in Saharistan following this final attack, and thousands of foreigners and Saharistanis alike perished.

Though reeling from the assault, the coalition forces vowed to bring al Zaraqwi to justice, and redoubled their efforts.

Manhunt

The coalition nations stepped up their Special Forces operations to hunt down al Zaraqwi and Myers. The operations, though professionally executed, were not turning up results. As it turned out, a chance discovery would assist the coalition powers. The nation of Sinical, which had previously been opposed to the search and threatened the coalition powers with war, revealed that it was harboring al Zaraqwi and Nina Myers. Upon hearing this news, Leafanistani Captain John Alleluia reportedly exclaimed, “Holy Jesus H. Christ on a stick covered with caramel and served with french fries, get him!” Sinical demanded payment of half a billion dollars from the coalition in exchange for handing al Zaraqwi and Myers over, and Leafanistan moved quickly to wire the money.

al Zaraqwi and Myers, caught completely off-guard by the double-cross, moved frantically to escape the country. Meanwhile, coalition forces swarmed into Sinical to trap the pair before they could escape. The nation of Tannenmille had deployed spacecraft to Earth orbit, and dropped forces into Sinical to secure all the borders, Leafanistan scrambled Blackhawk helicopters, Special Forces, and SkyHawk jumpjets to capture the duo, and McKagan forces began bombing border areas and systematically eliminating every bridge leading out of Sinical.

Sinical then made the stunning announcement that that their Special Forces had captured the two, and that they were in the process of delivering them to coalition forces. Leafanistan was first to arrive at the designated location, and took everyone at the scene, including the soldiers who arrested al Zaraqwi and Myers, into custody. The “fugitives”, in fact, turned out to be decoys, and the hunt was on again. A second Leafanistani Special Forces team moved in to intercept a suspicious convoy leaving Sinical. SkyHawk jumpjets intercepted the convoy approximately nine kilometers from the Sinical border, and fired a broadside at the convoy, disabling or destroying most of the vehicles. The survivors of the attack surrendered, and this time, the real al Zaraqwi and Myers were among them. The pair, seeing that their luck had finally run out, surrendered to the Leafanistani Special Forces. They were taken into Leafanistani custody and quickly evacuated from the site. En route to the Leafanistani aircraft carrier GRLS October, al Zaraqwi requested a telephone conversation with the remaining people of Saharistan, presumably to exhort his last followers to continue their terrorist works in his name. Perhaps anticipating this, al Zaraqwi’s Leafanistani captors denied the request.

Seeing little need to put al Zaraqwi and Myers to trial for the crimes they had committed, as the evidence of it was clearly visible to all, the pair was swiftly frozen in a Leafanistani cryo-sleep chamber. The Saharistan War was declared to be officially ended the next day.

Aftermath

Rebuilding Broken Nations

No less than three countries had suffered nuclear devastation during the Saharistan War, and the coalition forces now had the responsibility to rebuild those nations. Willink and HailandKill were better off than Saharistan, as they had not suffered the same number of nuclear weapons as Saharistan, and so they were able to rebuild and recover remarkably well.

Saharistan, on the other hand, lacking both an organized government and the necessary materiel required to undo the ecological damage, was a disaster. Only a few hundred thousand Saharistanis were able to flee their country before the nuclear blasts killed of the remainder of their countrymen, and now it seemed they would never be able to return to their homeland. However, Leafanistan came forward with a bold plan: using genetically-engineered radiation-absorbing bacteria, it would be possible to undo the radiation damage and begin to restore the land to habitable conditions. The other Saharistan War Coalition powers agreed to this plan, and also agreed to assist in the reconstruction effort after decontamination was complete. Tannenmille agreed to use their advanced spacecraft to remove the irradiated bacteria from Saharistan and incinerate it in the Sun. Leafanistani bombers dropped their biological payloads across the country, and the coalition powers waited, drawing up plans for the new Saharistani government, the rebuilding of basic services and infrastructure, and the relocation of Saharistani refugees.

The coalition powers decided that until Saharistan was repopulated and stable enough for self-rule, they would divide the country up into territories, each controlled by a major coalition power. Baghdad, though falling squarely within the realm of Halberdgardian territory, was similarly divided between the coalition powers.

Finally, after some ten years of decontamination efforts, the country was deemed safe for habitation, and flora and fauna began to be reintroduced into the barren country. The coalition powers moved swiftly to begin rebuilding their territories, making security and access to basic services top priorities. The rebuilding process was complicated somewhat by an insurgency movement that sprung up months after the rebuilding began, the cause of which was, and remains to this day, unknown. Security soon became an issue, and many coalition powers re-deployed parts of the forces they had sent to fight in the war back to Saharistan to maintain order. The insurgency was quickly crushed in the face of overwhelmingly superior military force. Many of the territories also began to recruit Saharistanis for security agencies and police forces, hoping that they would gain the confidence and experience to take full control of the problems.

Soon thereafter, the nations of Halberdgardia and McKagan unveiled a stunning plan for the country: the construction of a Saharistani autobahn. It would be a massive highway system linking nearly every part of the country together, and would greatly help both coalition military traffic and, in the future, Saharistani civilian traffic. Though the actual construction was spearheaded by Halberdgardia and McKagan, nearly all the coalition powers assisted them in some way or another, even if it was simply to allow their crews permission to construct sections of the autobahn in their territory. After approximately seven years of construction, the autobahn was declared complete, and soon became the veritable lifeblood of Saharistan. It crisscrossed the country and linked all the major cities and installations together, providing the Saharistanis with their first reliable nationwide transportation system.

Following the completion of the construction of the autobahn, however, a new movement ran through the leaders of the coalition powers. Saharistan was being slowly re-populated, but it appeared that there would be little possibility of the Saharistani people being able to take self-rule any time soon. Therefore, the major coalition powers agreed to make their claims in Saharistan permanent, essentially making them part of the home nation. This remains the situation in Saharistan today, with no possibility of reuniting the country visible in the short-term. With most of the coalition nations having passed legislation consolidating their control over their respective territory, it appears to be highly unlikely that Saharistan will ever be one country again.

Remembrance

The Saharistan War was a devastating war, and one that, like World War I, seemed to explode into conflict out of nothing. It is said that the flap of a butterfly’s wings can cause a hurricane on the other side of the world, and that would be an apt metaphor for the origins of the Saharistan War. Out of a riot in the small country of Jerobia came a massive international conflict that devastated three countries and caused the deaths of an estimated twenty-five million people from all sides. The coalition’s victory was not won without terrible cost, and none of the nations involved would ever forget the horrible devastation wrought by the actions of one. The only things that could be done at the time were to repair the damage done, and hope for a brighter future.

New Threats

The Liberation of Saharistan

Some thirty-five years after the reconstruction process was complete, Saharistan was a thriving nation. Though not sovereign, the people had become accustomed to their status as citizens of provincial territories, and they were granted the same rights as citizens of the respective controlling nation. The economy was thriving, the standard of living since the al Zaraqwi regime had improved by orders of magnitude, the people enjoyed substantial civil and political freedoms, and they enjoyed low crime and peace.

This peace was shattered when terrorist attacks began anew in Saharistan.

The terrorist organization Global Jihad, now led by the younger brother of former Saharistani dictator Musab al Zaraqwi, Omar al Zaraqwi, officially declared that it "promise[d] liberation for the Islamic lands of Saharistan and for the people of Saharistan to throw off the yoke of infidel Jewish-Western imperialism."

Terrorism Strikes Saharistan Once Again

The first attack came by Global Jihad fighters on a guard tower at a Tannenmillian checkpoint. These fighters had broken off from a larger group that was earlier ambushed by Tannenmillian soldiers, who killed thirteen of the insurgents. One of the ten remaining fighters, a suicide bomber, blew himself up at the tower's foundation, toppling it. Coalition forces went on high alert following news of the attack.

This attack was soon followed up by seventeen Global Jihad fighters, who struck at a Halberdgardian checkpoint with assault rifle fire and RPGs. Halberdgardian casualties were relatively low, thanks to their being well-equipped and well-trained. Still, four Halberdgardian soldiers were killed, and seven others were wounded. Fourteen of the Global Jihad fighters were killed, and three were wounded and captured. Of the three, one committed suicide in captivity, and the other two were questioned, but had little useful information.

Following the terrorist attacks, security and military preparations skyrocketed. Bases prepared themselves for the onslaught of thousands of new men, and the millions of tons of the supplies required for them. Provisional Saharistani and Halberdgardian security teams, who would be replaced by the incoming troops as soon as they arrived, tightened border security even more, making it nearly impossible for any terrorist to get into the country without an ironclad alibi, some very good disguises, and very good forged passports. Some small detachments of troops with Special Forces Civil Affairs units also went to a number of border villages and small towns, urging the citizens to report any suspicious activities to the police or military security forces. They also encouraged them to deny any terrorist or suspected terrorists supplies of any kind and/or room and board in their village. It was a start on the long road towards beating the insurgents. McKagan troops began working with Halberdgardian soldiers in cross-border counter-terror operations, and the leaders of the Tannenmillian and Leafanistani provinces likewise tightened security and boosted troop deployments. However, despite the increased manpower in the country, the attacks continued, and most of the Coalition nations were forced to declare martial law and curfews in their provinces.

That was when the bombshell was dropped.

Revelations and War

In a stunning move by the government of the nation of Mesazoic, transcripts of Rovonian telegrams, detailing requests for nuclear weapons and their plans to give them to Global Jihad cells for use against the capitol of Halberdgardia, Washington, D.C., were released into the public domain. Within hours, the Senates of Halberdgardia, Leafanistan and McKagan had all voted unanimously to declare war on Rovonia, and massive expeditionary forces of all three nations were prepared to invade.

President Voltan Dior of Rovonia decided that his own military had no chance against the coalition forces now headed his way. In the interest of saving his country, he attempted to betray Omar al Zarqawi, making preparations to freeze all Global Jihad financial assets in Rovonia and turning the Global Jihad leadership over to the coalition for prosecution, ending support for all Global Jihad activities in Saharistan, and transmitting data on Global Jihad cells in Halberdgardia and Leafanistan. However, Omar al Zarqawi had apparently anticipated the possibility of Dior betraying him, and moved quickly to assassinate Dior and his Cabinet, effectively leaving the Rovonian government headless. Dior was only able to transmit the data on Global Jihad cells in Halberdgardia and Leafanistan before his death. As a final stroke, al Zaraqwi instructed his fellow cell members in Rovonia to strike the Rovonian capitol with chemical weapons donated to Global Jihad by the late Dior regime. The resulting holocaust killed a staggering 18 million civilians.

Aftermath

By the time the coalition fleets reached Rovonia, it was all over. al Zaraqwi and his subordinates had fled Rovonia, the Rovonian capitol was reeling from the devastating chemical attacks, and the remainder of the populace were simply relieved that the Dior regime and Global Jihad terrorists were finally gone. Halberdgardian troops landed in the northern province of Frieden to annex it, under the guise of reconstructing it. Leafanistani troops annexed the province of Wasser, and McKagan forces claimed the province of Mir as their own. The remaining three central provinces of Humana, Hoffnung, and Angelegenheit remained under the control of the new Free Democratic Movement, the new acting government of Rovonia. Omar al Zaraqwi was later captured by McKagan Special Forces troops while attempting to flee to the country of El Caudillo. Lacking their leadership and Rovonian support, the insurgency in Saharistan quickly abated as well, with Halberdgardian troops alone killing or capturing over one hundred Global Jihad insurgents in a series of raids across Saharistan.

While the situation overseas under control, the coalition forces moved quickly to wrap up the loose ends of the domestic front. Acting on intelligence transmitted by Dior before his death, as well as intercepts from the fiber-optic cable tap the Halberdgardian spy submarine D.R.H. Intruder had conducted before the coalition fleets' arrival, HFBI agents conducted a nationwide crackdown on Global Jihad cells. More than a dozen such cells were cracked, and some ninety known and suspected terrorist operatives were arrested across Halberdgardia. Among those arrested was Abu Ishmael Al-Sudayeen, the third-highest-ranking Global Jihad member, who had close ties to Omar al Zaraqwi. His subsequent cooperation with HFBI agents led them to more cells and further arrests, effectively purging the terrorist presence from Halberdgardia. A variety of damning evidence was found in the apartments of the terrorists, including hidden stashes of automatic weapons, shotguns, and pistols, with large amounts of ammunition; bomb-making supplies; forged passports; terrorist "instruction manuals" providing advice to operatives on infiltrating a country, blending in, and carrying out attacks; and various papers. Among the documents was a paper on plans to carry out a nuclear strike against Washington, D.C., detailing Rovonian attempts to acquire a nuclear weapon for use against the capitol. Similar anti-terror operations in Leafanistan led to more arrests, and the end to the threat of a terrorist attack at home.

Conclusion

With the situation at home and abroad over, the war on terror's newest chapter came to a close. Coalition forces have returned to a peaceful existence, but are ever wary for the day when Global Jihad might choose to return under new leadership to threaten them once again.