Yes, we already have some Russian attention. And? Doesn't mean that attention can't get worse with that option, while the other says nothing about changing it.
As I understand it, the option doesn't say the Russian attention is getting
worse, or that we get
further Russian negative attention.
What it seems to say is that we get Russian
and Russian client state attention, instead of Russian attention alone.
Not that avoiding further Russian attention would be worth passing this up, mind.
Am I getting this right,
@PoptartProdigy ?
First, Russia doesn't even know we have the Declaration, so worrying about them destroying it strikes me as excessively paranoid. A hopeful rumor is not worth sending in a crack team of saboteurs to find and burn it.
Second, if Alexander sees us as a serious threat, he will crush us, PR backlash be damned. He's a dictator and he runs the world's only superpower; he can weather the outrage if he must. Notoriety and public opinion are a deterrent, not an actual shield, because the benefit of getting rid of a credible American successor state is probably going to outweigh whatever he has to pay for it in the court of public opinion.
Third, we need the prep time too, and trying for a distraction is an unreliable gambit. We might derail Alexander's plans, or we might draw Alexander's attention to North America at a bad time for the NCR.
Again, none of these benefits are compelling, because they're all a little vague and uncertain. When I compare that against the known danger of increased Russian (and Japanese) attention, I really don't think it's a contest.
-One, the options that suggest getting in contact have an unreasonable chance of intelligence leakage.
FCNY, whose survival relies on a lot of European support, does have incentive to share intel with their Euro allies. Which is not a bad thing per se, except that the Russian intelligence apparatus does attempt to penetrate both FCNY and Europe.
And Cali actually have a Russian presence on the ground.
-Two, this is not true. Alexander is very much the global hegemon, but there are multiple Great Powers in play.
PACS anchors the South Pacific, the EU exists and denies him control of much of the Balkans and Eastern Europe, and Unified China is right there on his eastern border, sitting right next to the base for the Russian Pacific Fleet.
Alexander has great but limited power, and has to prioritize.
He does not control Finland or Poland, much as he tried and invested effort into getting his hands on either nation. He doesnt control Turkey or Egypt either, despite the strategic nature of the waterways(Bosporus and Suez) both nations control. He has major influence on Panama, but no basing as far as we know.
Because Brazil/Chile/Argentina probably don't want him any closer than he already is.
-Our preptime is greatly enhanced by said Legitimacy gain.
We need a path down the Mississipi, remember?
Through the heart of America?