e 6, 2211 (by Euro-American dating) an open letter was sent to
the President and Congress of the United Commonwealth by Gen. Charles
William Hayes, then acting as its Secretary of State. On June 12 it
was read to a specially convened Joint Session by Defense Secretary
Aaron Brown, himself a distinguished veteran. Copies of the transcript
were then made available to the press. The President did not attend
the reading.

My Fellow Americans:

We have embarked upon a Great Crusade. On May the 30th, under my
direction and leadership, The Third Fleet, in conjunction with the
forces of the Democratic Alliance of Belgium and Switzerland, engaged
and defeated the combined fleets of the Communist Coalition before the
star system commonly known as Tarkus Minor, thus achieving the
liberation of its peoples, who have labored so long under the
oppressive yoke of Marxism.

In the wake of its dictatorial regime we have established democracy: a
provisional government under the auspices of the Belgians and Swiss.
Though this outside hand in the political affairs of another nation is
regrettable, it must be remembered the that inhabitants of these
colonies, though proud and courageous, have been kept in the darkness
of atheistic communist doctrines for many years, and that some will not
at first be willing, over even able, to accept the blessings of true
freedom. The freedom of thought, speech and worship which we enjoy,
will at first seem strange and painful to them, just as dazzling
sunlight is painful to the eyes of one long imprisoned beneath the
ground. But just as the doctor's slap which startles the new-born
child to life, though sudden and unexpected, is wholly necessary and
the catalyst to a new life, so these first steps toward democracy,
however painful, must be taken boldly and resolutely.

And this victory is but the beginning. For the first time in nearly
three centuries, we are given the power to rid the cosmos forever of
the spreading and malignant cancer of communism. Not since 1946 at
Malta, when our predecessors, out of blindness and misguided
compassion, declined to use the birth of nuclear weapons to rid Eastern
Europe of the Soviets---Slavic hordes which would dominate her peoples
to this day---have we been given the necessary tactical advantage to
realize this great dream. Once again we have the capability to strike
and overwhelm in the same motion.

It has been said that those who do not learn fro