The Mugabia Situation (African Imagi-nation Fuff)

I've rolled some dice, and offer the following as a follow-up to the last battle in the Uwanda-Mugabia War, AAR-37: The Mouse Roars

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A satellite watched a seemingly unimportant event in a place called Mugabia.  For a few American intelligence analysts, it was another boring day of watching nothing happen in a place no one cared about.

Then, via real time satellite imagery, in a room in Washington DC, an intelligence team watched a battle unfold.  Quietly watching as a column of Soviet vehicles exploded one by one, and the men in and around them silently died in the surreal imagery.  

The Soviets had barely pulled out of the compound, when the fighting erupted.  The attack executed by those with whom the Soviets had just met.  The ambush was obvious, but what precipitated it was a mystery. 

After a few minutes, helicopters arrived, with one touching down, while another circled the area. Survivors were picked up and whisked away.

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Word of the attack on the Soviet mission in Mugabia quickly reached Moscow.  The initial reaction was utter surprise.  What outcome could they possibly hope for?  How could this have seemed a good idea?  

The Soviets were compelled to respond. But how? Should they send forces to fight in a place they already control, against an enemy that has nothing, and with nothing to gain, when they win.  Could the inevitable result even be called victory.

And, what to do about Uwanda?  A nation occupying a third of Mugabia's land.  The Mugabian President no doubt will expect Russia to fight his war for him; a conflict that would simply be another drain on the Soviet economy.  And one that Moscow simply had no interest in.

If only the incident could be kept quiet, proper punishment could be applied and much suffering and expense could be avoided.

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The Mugabian President hung up the phone, and wondered if this was a good or bad thing.  He considered that nothing was really inherently good or bad, it was just the manor in which the thing was received, so he decided to receive news of the attack on the Soviets as a good thing.  

He might lose the utility of the ULF, but he might gain an ally in his failing war against Uwanda. Surely the Soviets would now understand the need to help their friend on the ground and in the air. 

He smiled as he realized that recovering the territory lost to Uwanda was already resolved, and began to consider how to get the Soviets to leave once they rebuilt his military to the standard that they should have already met.

He knew that he was getting ahead of himself, but he just couldn't help it.  As always, he just couldn't help but be impressed with himself.  His smile grew.

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Resulting after, A European Getaway:

When the plane carrying the ULF leadership returned from France, it was stopped on the tarmac by forces of the Mugabian army, surrounded, and all of the passengers and crew were arrested and taken away.

The ULF leaders didn't know about the incident with the Soviets, and didn't suspect that they were the reason for this odd event at the airport.  And, they were most unfortunate that they had not planned or even known about the attack on the Soviets.

Everyone was restrained, put on trucks, and taken to prison, where the truth would be extracted, and not believed.

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The US intelligence regarding the attack in Mugabia was quickly shared with the leadership of the United Kingdom, who maintained very close ties with Uwanda.  This event could completely destabilize Uwanda's situation with Mugabia, depending on the Soviet Reaction.

The US considered publicly shaming the Soviet Union with the event, but the British "suggested" that maybe allowing the Soviets to take the initiative in responding might be better.  The British didn't see an upside to the Soviets investing heavily in a response to what was essentially a very small, if unpleasant, event, and suspected that the response may not be too heavy handed.

Afghanistan was not going particularly well for the Soviets, Breznev was obviously in declining health, the Soviets had bigger issues to deal with. Maybe they wouldn't use this as an excuse for another Cold War confrontation.  This would likely benefit both Uwanda and in the longer term, the United States.

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In a small town in Uwanda, a bedraggled soldier, a member of the Preisidential Guard no less, staggered into a cafe.  A reporter from The Times, stared at the battered soldier for a moment, and just knew there was a story standing in front of him.

After a drink and some urging, the soldier explained what had happened to his unit, about the meeting with the ULF, the Soviets, the ambush.  An hour later, the reporter and his photographer buddy, took pictures of the still smoldering personnel carriers, the dead paratroopers, the broken trees, and ruins of the building surrounded by bodies dressed in the uniform of the Mugabian Presidential Guard.

Tomorrow morning, dead Russians in Mugabia would greet the world on the front page.