The Middle East By: Hive Mind ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- There are five main powers in the mid-east in 2056, The Islamic Caliphate, Israel, Egypt, The Damascus League, and The Persian Empire. I'll deal with them all individually, but first an overview. The most prominent of these powers are the League and the Caliphate. These groups have several things in common, the most obvious of which is the faith of Islam. But there are differences, too, the most apparent being the approach to Islam. Both are "fundamentalist" from a twentieth century standpoint, but the League is very fanatic, drawing it's roots from the anti-Israel and anti-West terrorist groups of the latter Twentieth Century. The Caliphate traces it's roots to the pre-colonial era, and even further back to Mohammed. The Caliph claims the title "Defender of the Faith", and takes it seriously. The League is viewed as a mad dog by the international community, and considered as a terrorist state like Amazonia. Yet both nations yearn for the glory of Islam. The League is quite militant, and has a strong Shi'ite component, and the Caliphate has allied itself with Israel and Egypt, amongst others, to offset this threat. While the League preaches Jihad against Israel and the West, the Caliph has pronounced that Christians and Jews are "people of the Book" and not infidels at all. The bulk of the Gulf oil reserves, the largest in the world, are possessed by the Caliphate, giving them great wealth and great economic power. The League, of course, resents this. Their hate for the "Zionists" of Israel binds the two nations together. Egypt has been on good terms with Israel for nearly eighty years, and on bad terms with some of the member states of the League even longer. The alliance is natural, and Israel's pronounced technological lead over most of the rest of the region is legendary. he Empire, on the other hand, is almost isolationist. It has no close ties with any other nation, and seems to want none. The Shah engages in commerce with many nations, but doesn't interfere in regional politics. Central Asia is another story. Now down to specifics. Islamic Caliphate The Islamic Caliphate is lead by a scion of the House of S'aud . It consists of the present-day(1990's) nations of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Yemen, the United Arab Emirates, and parts of Iraq (the Shatt-al-Arab) and Jordan (the Eastern Desert). The Caliphate holds enormous power in the Moslem world because it possesses both Mecca and Medina, the two most holy places to their faith. Mecca, now encompassing the port of Jiddah as well, is the capitol of the Caliphate. The tremendous amounts of money made off of the Arabian and Gulf oil reserves from the last century to the present have translated well into power, as have the occult researches of ancient Islamic scholars. Caliphate spellcasters are almost all hermetic, Islam forbidding totemic magic as idolatry. Cyberware is looked askance at as well (the body is a temple) but tolerated as long as it is unobtrusive and subtle. In fact, subtlety is a byword for the Caliphate, from their diplomacy to their armed forces. The Caliphate inherited the nucleus of a fine army from the former kingdom of Jordan, as well as a tradition of using Western mercenaries (look at the current(90's) Omani armed forces, as well as the Gulf War), and have a competent military, with many specialist "advisors" from Egypt, Israel, and Azania. Their tech is the best that money will buy, from Japan, UCAS, CAS, and Europe. Israel, site of some of the world's best Shadow Clinics, helps train and outfit their Special Services troops. Their only overt enemy is the League, although the Shah seems to want the Shatt-al-Arab and control of the Straits of Hormuz. The legal system is ancient, with savage penalties for crime and judges of a religious nature. Most judges are either Sheiks (of Bedouin clans) or Holy men, educated in the Koran. All citizens are expected to be very well versed in the Koran, although the younger generations don't seem as rigorous, embracing many Western customs and rejecting some old ones, such as Chador (the practice of covering women head-to-toe and not allowing them to be seen in public). The League supports several groups of "Freedom Fighters" in Caliphate territory, including such minorities as Pakistanis and Bangladeshis (imported long ago to work in the oilfields and as menials). The Caliphate accepts metahumans although they hold a slightly lower status. The Caliphate has an extremely low incidence of Elfs and Dwarfs, and an average population of Orks and Trolls. Caliphate mages refer to elementals and other spirits as Djinni, and seem to have a facility for binding free spirits. Israel Israel hasn't changed a whole lot, although it is larger now owning the East as well as West bank or the Jordan river, maintaining a presence in the Golan Heights, and owning the southern portion of Lebanon. The Jews and Palestinians get along better now,with the Palestinians having full franchise and a say in government in proportion to their numbers (they are a large minority, 30-35%). The Israelis have no legal repression of metas, and there is very little social prejudice, too. Israel has a large incidence of Dwarfs, and an average incidence of Orks and Trolls. There are some Minotaurs, and a very few Elfs. Israel has strong ties to the Azanian Confederation, dating back to the Twentieth Century when Israel and Azania (then South Africa) were both outcasts in the international community and under U.N. sanctions. Ties to Egypt go back to the late 1970s when the first peace treaty between the two nations was signed. They have drawn closer together since, due to pressure from the League. Israel still has strong ties to the UCAS, and the CAS to a lesser extent. Relations with the UK, AGS, and France are strong as well. More surprising is the relationship with the Islamic Caliphate, dating from the early days of both that nation and the League. Both Israel and the Caliphate benefit, Israel with money, petroleum, and secure eastern and southern borders, and the Caliphate with military experience (which Israel has an abundance of) and high-tech. Israel is very advanced in military and espionage/counter-espionage hardware, and has Shadow Clinics renowned the world over. Less well-known is the relationship between Israel and Tir Nan Óg, this primarily one of convenience, consisting of an exchange of intelligence and technological information. Israel's Sayaret special forces teams are renowned the world over, and the Mossad is one of the most dangerous, experienced and efficient in the world. Israel also is one of the few nations that sends troops to Desert Wars, valuing both the experience this provides to her troops and the warning it provides to her enemies, which include the League and Aztlan (the latter stemming from conflict with Aztechnology, as well as the relationship between Israel and the CAS). Magically, Israel has the rich tradition of ancient Jewish Cabbalists and Alchemists to draw on, as well as, it is hinted, even more ancient traditions. Israel is in an almost constant state of war with the League, being something of an Anti-Christ to them. This war is very shadowy, rarely breaking out into open conflict, but consisting of skirmishes and shadowruns, by the Israelis to prevent the League from gaining on Israel's tech lead, and the League simply to hurt their foe and destabilize her government. The League is much more prone to outright terrorism, although the Israelis aren't completely innocent in this respect. It is rumored, for example, that the Sayaret teams go on routine training missions into League territory, causing much havoc and not a few civilian deaths. The Israeli government denies this, of course. Egypt Egypt is one of the most ancient nations in the world, and has an ancient magic tradition. Rumors abound about what has been going on here since the Awakening, but no hard facts exist, since they slammed a lid down on this long ago. It is claimed, for example, that Ramses the Great now rules once again, or Tutankhamen, or even Cleopatra. No one knows. What we do know, is that Egypt isn't Moslem anymore. That they are the only mid-eastern nation with an average of the population Elven, much less the above-average numbers that actually exist. They have a very small military, yet they have little trouble repelling League incursions from Libya. It seems that the desert swallows up armies, and they aren't ever seen again. The rumors of mummies and animal-headed men aren't backed up by a single shred of evidence, but they persist nonetheless. The Sphinx's face has reputedly been restored, but no one has pictures. Geographically, Egypt includes much of the modern-day Sudan, extending along the Nile all the way to the Sabat River. Borders in the desert aren't very fixed, but the Ethiopeans aren't trying to expand at the Egyptian's expense anymore. In fact, no one is. The Damascus Leaugue The Damascus League consists of the nations of Syria, Libya, Bulgaria, Tunisia, and parts of Rumania, Yugoslavia, Turkey, Iraq, Algeria, and Lebanon.In addition, many Shi'ite Iranian refugees have arrived since the formation of the Persian Empire. The League has many enemies, including almost all of it's neighbors, most of Europe, the UCAS, the CAS, most of the former Soviet republics, and who knows who else. Their few allies include Aztlan, and several megacorps who believe in destabilizing and weakening national governments. The League is really a rather loose confederation dominated by the Syrians, Libyans, and Iraqis. This doesn't endear them to anyone, and coupled with their avowed policy of Jihad and relentless support of terrorist groups worldwide, makes them at best number four on everyone's shit list. These guys ain't nice. They have many internal problems, like Kurdish and Turkish Separatists (both supported by the Caliphate, Israel, and some of the same corps who support the League). Their external foes include Israel and the Caliphate, the most powerful combination in the region, and the Shah would probably like the rest of Kurdistan and Turkey. But there is a very strong social dynamism here, and contrary to popular belief, the average citizen isn't a fanatic. But the fanatics are in control. They hate Christians, Jews, Druze, Buddhists, Shamanists, metahumans, dragons, and probably Santa fraggin' Claus. And they are good at making martyrs. They have suicide commandos like you wouldn't believe. Terror is big business, and they will do anything for the cause, include further corporate ends. In fact, these guys work for the corps almost as much as for themselves. Need public opinion swayed? Have a nut gun down 20 at a Stuffer Shack, or 120 at an airport. But it'll cost you. Between terror for hire, and the Damascus, Istanbul, Sofia, Bucharest, and Tunis FTZs (Free Trade Zones), and the rental fees for Desert Wars, these guys have got plenty of financing for the Jihad. League merchants in the FTZs will sell anything, and while they aren't on the cutting edge, they have got some damn good Shadow Clinics there , too (alpha but not beta). They have got some good personell, too. Their special forces are called Fedaykin, arabic for "Death Commando" and they are bad. The ones not cybered to the max are mages or physads (all the better to get into the airport, my dear), and they know their stuff, and have no kind of fear. They give the Sayeret and the Mossad a run for their money. Along with just about every other security agency in the world. The League is also involved with organized crime, as a sort of "safe area" to produce contraband, like heroin and BTLs. This is an outlaw nation in truth. The Persian Empire The Persian Empire consists of Iran, parts of Iraq & Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Balichistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzistan. Their primary foe is Kazakhstan, although the Shah, an aquisitive chummer, makes less than the best of neighbors. He's not going to bother the Afghans, and likes the rest of Pakistan as a buffer with India, but he's got his hooks into it. However, he's too clever to bite off more than he can chew at one time, although he has a big mouth. You see, he's a dracoform. A Greater Western Dragon (or sirrush, as they're called in these parts), to be exact. This isn't commonly known, but it has been confirmed. He most often appears in human form in public, but occasionally he'll show up in his full glory. His name is Aden and as far as most people know, he lives on Mt. Arrarat. But in fact, he spends most of his time in Shiraz, the capitol. Everyone calls him "the Shah". He insists. Metahumanity is treated equally, and there are many metas in positions of responsibility in his government. And nobody frags with him. He doesn't seem to get along with either Tir, although he has no problems with anyone else, and trade is strong for the empire. Most of his officers (the Persian military is very efficient, well-trained, -led, -equipped, and -motivated) are humans or Orks. He seems to like Orks, and they are better treated in the Empire than in most places. And considering the large numbers of Orks born on the Central Asian Steppes, this is a good policy. Persian magic is quite effective (not surprising with a wizworm in charge) but their tech is sub-standard. They import some good stuff, but what with Amazonia and all, most corps are reluctant to build large facilities in a Dragon's domain (except Saeder-Krupp you'd think, but S-K has no interests in Persia). Many Persian citizens know that the Shah is a sirrush, but they don't talk about it, although they don't seem to mind very much. The fact is, Persia is quite well administrated, corruption is almost non-existant (think about it). The standard of living, while not up to the standards of Europe or North America, is better than most places in the region, and there are no external enemies that are considered a threat. Overall, not the worst place in the world to live.