Intergalactic Summit

I would say Caldari State stance should be opposite to Gallente stance.

But if Tibermel can capture those Nelks, he can eat some, and turn the others to gold!

It occurs to me that expecting the Caldari State to have a unified stance on... well, anything, really, rather misses the point of the Caldari State.

My understanding from my contacts in the Caldari Navy is that the State is more concerned about the possibility of Gallente incursions.

The State's top military strategists feel that the Minmatar Republic will attack a weakened Amarr Empire forcing them to fight a war on two fronts. Calls will come for the State's assistance.

Should the State decide to provide support, it will weaken the defenses of the Caldari core. Troops / Fleets will have to be pulled from the border systems to protect the megacorporations' core locations.

With the weakened position, the cowardly Gallente will look to annex border systems anticipating little resistance. As such, the Caldari State is considering it's options and responses.

That's the high-level that I got from my contacts.

Actually, as I seem to remember it, the last time one of us showed weakness and the other exploited it, it wasn't us doing the exploiting.

Respected Mr. Kobara, CEO

You surely have recognized the latest official news regarding your initial question. It's a few days old now, but it might be worth citing anyway:


The Caldari Navy and corporate security forces alike reacted to the attack on Her Majesty Empress Jamyl Sarum I with mobilization, which seems totally reasonable and appropriate at this point.

I find it rather hard to properly assess the Caldari State's stance towards the Drifters. Until now, the Drifters are challenging stellar sovereignty and free movement of capsuleers only. They don't seem to direct their forces against non-capsuleer Caldari citizens, with their crew members and, lately, Amarr naval forces being the exception. So, I feel that we capsuleers are essentially in the focus of the Drifters. And the State’s public expects us to react. Thus, any declared State position toward the Drifters would at the same time be a stance toward us.

Because the Drifters are basically confronting capsuleers and stellar naval forces I agree with honored Mr. Tuulinen, the Drifters are not an existential threat. I would dare going a step further and say, none of the great nations as a whole are facing an existential threat right now. But this depends on the scope and extent of your definition of 'existential,’ of course. The militia warfare and CONCORD presence are aimed at keeping the violent conflicts between rival nations at bay in order to prevent existential threats between the four empires. Again, I think we are called upon to find a unified capsuleer stance in the first place. The public interest might even rely on us, not the other way around.

I would like to remind of the Pakshi Peace Conference's Commission Nine at this point, which concluded that there are basically two elemental steps to be taken in order to confront the external threats posed by Sansha and Drifters: firstly the establishment of full transparency in regard to relevant intelligence and research; secondly the outreach to the Jove as a critical missing link in this whole chain of events.

Mr. Vikarion pointed out with some charm, that rivalry or cooperation is a question of context. I agree that the Caldari State is first and foremost interested in protecting its business; the business of the common man, the business of the Caldari corporation, and the business of the top governmental bodies. It is my understanding that we capsuleers are expected to make sure that cooperation is possible and realized on stellar level should the Drifters turn their attention beyond Amarr and beyond the show of force against single individuals or institutions. The latest border conflicts in Khanid space seem to suggest that this might happen in the near future.

The views expressed are my personal opinion and do not necessarily represent the position of Itsukame-Zainou Hyperspatial Inquiries at this point.

Yours in service,

Haria Haritimado
Itsukame-Zainou Hyperspatial Inquiries Ltd.

Does anyone else find Hariatamado-haani's method of expression to be particularly comforting?

Both sides were to blame? Hardly. They were the fools that let Tibus Heth seize control of their country and start an illegal war.

Of course I believe it was illegal. Why the hell should I pretend otherwise? Why, in fact, should I deny myself any artifice I can use as either sword or shield against those who would do harm to my nation?

Diplomacy is clearly lost on this cluster. I've tried - I've really, really tried. And I'm ******* sick of it. I've tried to be understanding, tried to see things from the point of view of others. But ultimately, it's an exercise in futility. No amount of good things the Federation could ever do will ever be enough to elevate us in the eyes of our enemies, yet every single bad thing we do is endlessly dissected to "prove" that we're tyrannical, monstrous creatures worse than Sansha.

Hell, you know who I've come to respect most in the last year or so? The Empire. Because despite how morally reprehensible those arrogant, psychopathic zealots are, they at least have the spine to be open and honest about one thing - they think their nation is inherently better than all the rest and thusly has more of a right to exist than any other. That, my friend, is how every loyalist thinks, and if they say otherwise they're lying, to others and to themselves. Why would you be loyal to a nation you didn't think was the best?

That's the Federation's problem. We've deluded ourselves, become weak and complacent, because we try too hard to please others when we should realise others are never going to be pleased. Crielere, Kassigainen and Colelie should have taught us that much, if nothing else. Why should we care what other nations think of us, as long as they're too afraid to meddle in our affairs? Every concession we've ever made to a foreign power has simply invited greater demands further down the line. Do you know what the most successful foreign relations action the Federation ever took was?

Ratillouse.

Every single Kador warship that dared encroach on our territory was rendered into scrap metal without pause or remorse. We deployed vastly more to that engagement than could ever possibly have been needed to repel Kador's invasion, just to demonstrate what happens when the Federation is truly moved to anger. And what was the result?

Well, I have my suspicions that Kador's invasion, had it been successful, would have been awarded ex post facto legitimacy by Empress Jamyl. But as it was, the invasion was a miserable, disastrous failure, and the Empire was forced to issue a formal apology to us. Kador was severely reprimanded and publicly humiliated, while the remnants of his fleet - what precious little there were - were hastily confiscated. Better yet, when we discovered that Kador was sheltering the traitorous Admiral Eturer, responsible for the millions of deaths the Caldari inflicted during their invasion of sovereign Federal space, the Empire simply stood aside and let us take them. The Amarr Empire, despite its considerably larger military, has not, to this day, provoked us again. Even Tibus Heth was forced to take note of our renewed strength.

This was not a feat we accomplished with negotiation or flattery. This was not the act of a hesitant, obsequious diplomat eager to reach consensus at any cost. This was a clear and ruthless statement of the will to survive - "threaten our nation and pay the ultimate price." It did more to prevent further violations of our sovereignty than four thousand Empyrean warriors have managed in seven years. If the Federation should model itself on any animal, it shouldn't be an eagle, but a cobra - perfectly harmless if left well enough alone, lethal if provoked.

I'm through thinking that we should bend over backwards to please or placate other nations. War should be avoided, but mostly on the principle that it inspires cycles of retribution that cause future threats to security. The Federation has no friends, and needs none.

Remember that time the State r*ped the Intaki homeworld? That was a lotta fun, wasn't it? And only about six years ago.

No one here is an innocent.