UK | Dialogue with the United States

[Jamie]

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The British Ambassador to the United States has requested an audience with a member of the US Government to open dialogue between Her Majesty's Government and the Gore Administration.
On the initial request, it was marked that the United Kingdom is seeking to open discussion in relation to Trade, establishment of Political Interests, Military and Intelligence cooperation.
If accepted, the Ambassador would be willing to travel to the office to meet the most relevant person in the US administration.

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Odinson

 

[Odinson]

An official from the State Department securely informed the British Ambassador that the Secretary of State, Jackson Fitzgerald, was available to meet him at the Harry S Truman building in D.C. The Secretary of State worked at his desk as he waited for the British Ambassador to arrive.
Jamie

 

[Jamie]

The British Ambassador would depart his office and make straight for the Harry S Truman building, following his arrival, Nick Riley, the Ambassador, approached the reception and introduced himself. Noting that he had an appointment with the Secretary of State, he patiently waited to be invited into the Secretaries office.

Odinson

 

[Odinson]

With the funeral of President Clinton having just been announced, and since Fitzgerald was the only surviving member of the late-President's Cabinet, the Secretary of State unfortunately was not able to meet the British ambassador because of last-minute preparations including preparing for the arrival of various delegations from around the world. However, Deputy Secretary of State Charlie Price was available. The Englishman was nearly brought to the John Quincy Adams State Drawing Room, but the Deputy Secretary's secretary noticed how it could be perceived as an insult, so he was escorted to another one nearby.

"Can I get you anything to drink, Mister Ambassador?" the secretary asked. She would get whatever Nick Riley wanted to drink - within reason.

After a few minutes, he walked in.
"Ambassador Riley, sorry to keep you waiting," Price said.
"I'm Charlie Price, the Deputy Secretary of State. Secretary Fitzgerald was called to the White House to help make some last-minute plans and preparations for President Clinton's funeral - I'm sorry about the change," he said as he shook the Ambassador's hand.

They each had their own comfortable chair to sit on, and nearby coffee tables to rest their refreshments on. Charlie poured himself a glass of water and looked up at his British counterpart.

"So, how can I help you, ambassador?" he asked.
Jamie

 

[Jamie]

The British Ambassador smiled and nodded "Oh yes please, a glass of water would be perfect." he paused before Charlie entered, instantly approaching and shaking the Secretary's hand. "It's not a problem" he added, proceeding to sit down. "Thank you for agreeing to meet me, given the circumstances and changes currently taking place within your government. Nonetheless, despite this, I thought it was needed sooner rather than later to open dialogue given the United Kingdom's and United States friendship, it's something we'd like to re-affirm given the changes in office. I hope this is something you too reciprocate?"

Odinson

 

[Odinson]

"President Gore personally told Secretary Fitzgerald and I that he considers the continuation of America and Britain's 'Special Relationship' a top priority. Great Britain has been our country's closest ally since World War Two. I personally think that it is very important for the United States to have at least one ally who we can almost blindly trust, and visa versa. There's a number of steps we can take to strengthen our relationship, some small and some very large, but I assume you're here because there might be one or two that you have in mind?" he asked.
Jamie

 

[Jamie]

"That is of great relief, and of course, we will do what we can at our side to maintain the relationship between the UK and US.
And of course, I would actually like to first begin with the prospect of new trade routes.
Between us, we currently operate around seven routes that are routinely carried out, but I would like to see this expanded with the UK and US having an additional three routes.
If this is something you would be keen on, the UK can offer three new routes consisting of some or all of our main exports.
This includes Machinery, Cars, Precious Metals, Pharmaceuticals and Organic Chemicals."

Odinson

 

[Jamie]

Odinson

 

[Odinson]

"Believe me, I am very interested on the matter of international trade," he said, lying through his teeth, "but if you don't mind, since both of our countries have elected to join the World Trade Forum, I think it may be better to settle these matters there. I will, however, take the courtesy of forwarding this to our Trade Director there so that they know Britain is specifically interested in three extra trade routes with the United States. This is something we are more than happy to agree to. Trade between our countries is a critical nexus in our relationship," the Deputy Secretary of State said.

Jamie

 

[Jamie]

"That's no problem with me." responded the Ambassador, allowing trade to be communicated with the World Trade Forum. It might act as a testament to see if its a worth-while organisation to be a member of. "We will wait to hear back from the World Trade Forum and hopefully go from there. There is another point of interest I would like to raise, Diego Garcia. I understand, from my discussions with the Ministry of Defence, that going back some years before 1995 that the United States had leased Diego Garcia for military logistics in the region. The United Kingdom has intentions to continue to use Diego Garcia but due to the space available, a lot would go unused. Therefore, we will be leasing it out to any interested parties but due to your history of using it as a forward operating base, I would like to know what the US policy is in relation to power projection and whether you would have interest in having a lease to use the base? If not, that is no problem but we ask as a courtesy prior to use opening it for other countries."

Odinson

 

[Odinson]

The Deputy Secretary of State's eyebrows perked up, "I was actually having a conversation with someone about that recently," he said. "Yes, the Department of Defense and certain elements of the government are still very interested in Diego Garcia. What kind of financials was your government thinking of?" he asked.
Jamie

 

[Jamie]

"Ah, perfect" smiled the British Ambassador, "From my discussions with the cabinet, we are looking to lease out Diego Garcia for 1.5 billion each year. This would grant the tenant, it would be used by the British Military and the tenant, for operations and logistics in that side of the world. If this is of interest and you'd like to go ahead with it, it has certainly made my job easier as they were talking about sending me to Russia or Sweden to find another tenant" he laughed.

Odinson

 

[Odinson]

"I think we could swing that," the Deputy Secretary of State said. "While we would be willing to pay that, could we offer Britain a facility anywhere within the domain of the United States? That is of course optional, I just thought I would offer so that we could avoid having to exchange annual lease fees, but if not it's no harm done," he said.
Jamie

 

[Jamie]

"Whilst I appreciate the notion of a facility in the US, aside from training purposes which would be costly for us to deploy troops for, I don't believe there is any operational requirement to have such facility at this time. However,, there is one alternative I'd like to raise the prospect of. The British Government are seeking to retire the Vulcan Bombers. They are already passed their... expiration dates, but the retirement would mean the United Kingdom would either need to end its Bomber Force or design a new one itself. However, there is talk within the Ministry of Defence about attempting to procure them elsewhere which is a proposal I'd like to offer. We would be willing to reduce the cost for Diego Garcia to one billion annually, this would instantly cut your own cost by five-hundred million. In return, we would like to procure fifteen B-52H Stratofortresses. This means you would not only save 500 million, but make a profit from the sale of the aircraft that would replace our Vulcan Bombers." The British Ambassador knew it'd be a long shot, but the financial impact was hopefully enough.

Odinson

 

[Odinson]

"That is a very interesting proposal. While the United Kingdom is technically on the short-list of countries that certain 'high-profile' items, such as the B-52, could theoretically be sold to without breaking federal law, I frankly do not want to insult you with what the price would be for each individual aircraft, as I find it to be rather... inflated. However, I could speak with the Secretary of State and see if he could contact the DoD to find if there is any room in moving the high price. But as of now, I don't think it's a reasonable possibility... But thank you for being willing to make that concession, we do appreciate it..

"In regards to Diego Garcia," he said, "if we are to operate on the island, there are some additional precautions we'd like to take: including that both of our governments deny that the United States uses the island or has forces stationed there. We can also transfer the funds to your government securely, so that it isn't publicly visible - is this acceptable?" he asked.
Jamie

 

[Jamie]

"I shall be honest.. Secretary. The Price for the B-52 bomber is not something we would likely shy away from. Under the circumstances you would be willing to sell such a product, we are sure we could get the finances from somewhere to cover the cost." the ambassador paused, perhaps contemplating how much money ending free school meals could save the government to purchase bombers instead. "But of course, if it's not something you wish to sell, we have no choice but to accept that." he smiled. "We would have no issue denying the stationing of US forces but I must point out that neither would the United Kingdom be held responsible for any operations hosted from there. For example, if you launched an operation from there and it was discovered to have originated from Diego Garcia, the United Kingdom would have no choice but to inform of other deployments from there. I'm sure you could understand this. Aside from that scenario, we would of course keep any US deployments and use of the island to be confidential."

Odinson

 

[Odinson]

"While I cannot dictate what DoD does, I think that doing a deal like that right now may be difficult, however if Britain was willing to pay the high rates, then I suppose there would be nothing that could stop the deal besides a direct order from the President or the Secretary of Defense... May I ask why Britain wants B-52s specifically? Would they primarily be used for deterrence, or to give Britain a strategic bombing capability, or for strictly offensive purposes?" he asked.

Jamie

 

[Jamie]

"Our Vulcan Bombers are ageing and a recent review from the Ministry of Defence made a suggestion to scrap them. Whilst I can understand this personally, certain people in the British Government would prefer not to see our Bomber Force diminished entirely so are fighting to not keep the Vulcan, but to invest in another deal and the B-52 is at the top. Our intention, is the exact same as the Vulcan Bombers role. A deterrence. Any country that has strategic bombers that are proven, is an instant deterrent and especially one such as the B-52. We've never been offensive, and the capability helps but that is more of an additional capability that comes with the territory of having such bombers in service. I would be interested to see if the President or Secretary of Defense would approve such a sale."

Odinson

 

[Odinson]

The Deputy Secretary of State looked at his desk and thought for a moment. "Bare with me, let me see if I can settle this right now," he said. He picked up the phone from his desk, and made a secure call to the Pentagon.
"Yes, this is Charlie Price from State. I'm calling for Secretary Glass, is he available?" he said into the receiver as he sat back in his chair and anxiously moved his wedding ring up and down with his thumb. About ten seconds went by before the Deputy Secretary perked up.

"Mister Secretary.... Yes, how are you?... Good, that's good to hear.. Thanks for taking my call right now, I know you're busy. I'm actually in the room with the British Ambassador right now. He he made it clear to me that their government is very interested in acquiring the B-52 to replace their aging Vulcan bombers... Yes, I warned him about the price.... Well, sir, if they are still willing to pay it, then there isn't much we can.... Well, he brought up that Britain is interested in letting us use Diego Garcia-.... 1.5.... No sir, 1.5-billion.... Yes sir, billion... I imagine that the President... Yes sir, that's right........... He offered to cut the price, if we were willing to sell the B-52s.... 1-billion.... Yes, I agree. Okay, but-... Alright, I'll wait a moment," he said.

"He's just checking something," Charlie said as he smiled at the Englishman.

About a minute later, Charlie perked up again. "Oh, that's actually very good to hear. Would the President need to approve this or is authorization from your office enough?... Ah fantastic, I'll have it sent over to the White House if the British end up wanting to go through with it... Right, I'll make sure to mention that... Thank you Mister Secretary... Yes, you too... Alright, good bye," he said just before he hung up the phone.

"Good news and... somewhat less good news, but I wouldn't call it bad news," he said. "Secretary Glass said we can sell B-52s to Britain with a few conditions, one of which being that it be made publicly known that Britain is being made an operator of the B-52s. We don't have to release how many we are selling to Britain, we don't have to release how much they are being paid for, we don't have to release what you want to do with them - we, or your government, just need to make it publicly known that you operate them. This is of course in case that Britain ever decides to use them in a conflict which we are not involved in, we wouldn't want everyone assuming that they are American bombers.

"Secondly, the price to purchase B-52s would be seven times what their roll-off price is. However, Secretary Glass informed me that the price could be lowered to 2.5-times what their roll-off price is, on the following conditions: your pledge to permanently lower the price of Diego Garcia to $1-billion is followed through, the United States does not have to pay the 1997 payment since six months have already elapsed, and Britain purchases at least 10 B-52s. Is that acceptable?" he asked.

If the ambassador was able to do the math in his head, that would make the price of each aircraft (assuming he wanted the B-52H): $150,500,000.
Jamie

 

[Jamie]

The British Ambassador nodded, retaining his silence as he allowed the Secretary to do what was required. There was an awkward silence from him, just waiting patiently whilst the call took place. A few moments passed and the conversation was back on the pair, tilting his head rather confused. Why wouldn't it be public? he thought before responding. "We fully intend to make it public, the fact we would be acquiring B-52s that is. Having this information public of us procuring such bombers would be the deterrent and serve to act as the precedence to retire the Vulcan Bombers. Regarding Diego Garcia, we are able to begin the annual payments when preferred, based on the current time, it could be done in payments of 1 billion every June. This would show our commitment to honoring our offer of the Diego Garcia costs. We would like to buy 12 B-52s, however. if my own maths is correct then that would be 1,806,000,000." He paused, giving himself to catch his breath. "Do we have an accord?" he smiled. Odinson