US Department of State

[OYID]

James F. Byrnes, Secretary of State of the United States of America

[Gesar]

Marie-Claude Vaillant-Couturier, Commissioner for Foreign Affairs
Commune of France

First as tragedy, then as farce.

While I do not think the preceding is the exact meaning of the phrase used by Marx, the boot appears to fit this particular analogy. First, a bit of history. The 13 United States were divided in the aftermath of their revolution, between friendship with a new Republic and loyalty to their former colonial masters. In their folly, the Directorate committed grave errors, provoking the United States with letters of marque until a commission was sent to Paris to resolve the issue. In their ignorance of the woeful bourgeois politics of the day, France then gave offense: and, after what you call the XYZ Affair, an undeclared war broke out. Hundreds died, and many more ships captured.

Consider this. France is now geographically divided along battle lines. The United States -the 'Arsenal of Democracy'- has entered into talks with the French people on both sides of this imaginary line. But with the laurel wreath in one hand, they approached us with a knife in the other. American agents, now in our custody, have been found delivering weapons to illegal parties in the Commune of France. We know they are illegal, naturally, because they were not simply delivered to us. Gone, it seems, are the days of not too long ago, although even in bunkers across France bear posters that still read "THIS MAN IS YOUR FRIEND."

This action can be considered 'farce' because one can only laugh at the sudden betrayal of the Arsenal of Democracy into an Arsenal of Warlords. Were we naive, to believe that all the lofty talk of peace brokered by the wise Americans had meaning to it? Perhaps. Empire has its ways, now and forever, but the Commune will endure - with several supposed OSS agents in our custody.

As point of fact, while your people are content with lynching Negroes, watching your musicians befriend peddlers of vice and murder, and executing burglars, Resurgent Paris has outlawed capital punishment in all cases but Fascism and crimes against the French people. Rest assured, therefore, your spies will enjoy a long life in the Coalfields of the North, assuming a court does not refer to their case to the revolutionary tribunals. We do hope, for the sake of the freedom inalienable to all men and women, some other explanation -or form of reparations- might be offered.

[Huojin]

U.S.-China Agreement on Co-Operative Military Training

Given the desirability of greater understanding and cooperation between the militaries of the United States and the Republic of China, in order to facilitate friendly relations, interoperability, ease of communication, and greater ability to cooperate in a wide range of scenarios, as well as to alleviate the risks of potential clashes, misunderstandings, miscommunications, and inadvertent escalations of tension, the follow agreement has been concluded:

1. An exchange programme shall be established for candidates attending the United States Military Academy (also known as "West Point") and the Central Military Academy (also known as "Whampoa").

2. A permanent instructor posting shall be established at each of West Point and Whampoa, with an American instructor teaching in China and a Chinese instructor teaching in the United States.

3. On a rotating annual basis, joint training exercises for alternating desert and winter warfare shall be held in Arizona, Xinjiang, Alaska, and Harbin.

4. Both parties agree to discuss and initiate at a later date a regular program for joint naval military exercises in the Pacific.

Signed

宋子文 (Sòng Zǐwén)

外交部长 (Minister of Foreign Affairs)
中华民国 (Republic of China)

[OYID]

Signed

James F Byrnes,

United States Secretary of State.