American Empire (Ghost in the Shell)
The American Empire is a nation that features in Ghost in the Shell.
Contents |
History
The American Empire (Japanese: 米帝, Hepburn: Beitei?, AE) was a nation that formed from the former United States of America in the 22nd century. After the losses suffered in World War III, the United States found itself fracturing where the conservative party along with the majority of the defense industry took control of the Southern States. They formed Imperial America that was predominantly right wing and carries an antagonistic relationship with the new Russo-American Alliance. The American Empire has been demonstrating its authority as a military state since the last Great War. However, it started to suffer from a collapsed economy recently. Part of this is due to the reduction of nuclear weapons as a deterrent now that almost every nation had them and with the Japanese Miracle fallout was no longer a fear.
Due to war damage to its economy and its weakened political position, the American Empire entered into a security pact with Japan which had escaped World War III largely unscathed. The pact reaffirms Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution, prohibiting Japan both from deploying its military overseas and possessing nuclear weapons. One of the principal reasons the American Empire seeking the treaty was its desire to co-opt the 'Japanese Miracle' namely radiation-scrubber nanomachines which could negate the effects of nuclear fallout.
In 2020, the American Empire called for the deployment of UN troops to South America, under the pretext of removing the corrupt, narco-trafficking government of Mexico and several other Latin American countries. Countries which cooperate in the AE project by contributing troops to the UN force include Britain and Japan, while leftist guerrillas and foreign volunteers are among those who take up arms against the incursion. The ultimate outcome of the war was not given as it was known to have escalated badly and involved heavy urban warfare, the carpet bombing of cities, and the commission of major war crimes. The fighter and revolutionary leader Marcelo Jarti of the Republic of Jenoma was also mentioned to have been the target of several AE and British assassination attempts, possibly in connection with these events or their aftermath.
In 2024, a civil war broke out on the Korean Peninsula, leading to an American Empire calling for another UN intervention to stabilize the situation. In reality, the Empire hoped to take control of Korean natural resources, which they secretly promise to share with Japan in exchange for the latter's deployment of the JSDA in a support role. This war resulted in the apparent destruction of the North Korean regime, though it was not revealed what replaced it, and a massive exodus of refugees.
A Canadian Civil War was mentioned as having taken place in the decade preceding 2030.
The Empire later suffered from economic trouble having dispatched one of its diplomats to Japan to negotiate an economic-aid package.
Later on, the American Empire dispatched two CIA officers to assist Public Security Section 9 in order to retrieve a deranged ex-American Imperial Navy petty officer who had been murdering people in the city. The AE intends to prevent the possibility of their war crimes being leaked by having the murderer killed by Section 9, who instead captured him alive.
The Empire allows Section 9 to access its highly sensitive reconnaissance satellites and Project Echelon, to monitor all Japanese phone conversations in the hope of detecting Dr. Imakurusu. The plan worked as the satellites locate the doctor prior to the Japanese DEA doing so, giving Section 9 an edge in the race to find the Laughing Man.
Afterwards, Kazundo Gouda who was the director of the Japanese Cabinet Intelligence Service came to conspire with the American Empire in a coup attempt against prime minister Kayabuki. The AE's part in the coup consisted of a surreptitious submarine-launched nuclear strike against the Dejima Island refugee ghetto to be disguised as a misfire of the refugees' own crude atomic bomb. This plan failed when Section 9’s Tachikoma think tanks command the AE satellite which houses their AI into a ballistic re-entry, colliding it with the incoming warhead. Following the collapse of the coup, Gouda attempted to defect to the American Empire but was assassinated by Section 9 before leaving Japan with Prime Minister Kayabuki affirming his nation's neutrality.
In 2042, the American Empire embarked on a classified operation involving an artificial intelligence named AI Code 1A84. They had it officially classify war as an industry for the purposes of boosting the global economy. In effect, the G4 nations went to war with each other in a "sustainable" manner managed by AIs: fighting deliberately avoided damaging major cities and essential infrastructure, mercenaries and autonomous war machines were heavily used, and the goal of most battles was to destroy enemy structures, vehicles, and equipment while taking reasonable measures to capture rather than fatally harm human combatants when possible. In other words, the conflict would be sustainable insofar as almost all losses could, in theory, be perpetually replaced by the military-industrial complex. This resulted in a period known as the Sustainable War that culminated in the Synchronized Global Default in 2044.
The American Empire also makes minor appearances in ancillary Ghost in the Shell materials, usually in a background role.
According to a world map published in the Appleseed Databook, the AE is (under the name Imperial Americana) still in existence during the milleu's 22nd-century timeframe, though (like much of the rest of the world at the time) in a heavily degraded state. Its borders seem to remain static between 2030 and 2147.
Overview
Its government seems driven by a desire to restore its diminished power and prestige, towards which end it adopts a policy of militarist aggression and open imperialism, directed primarily against Latin America.
It was noted that the Empire retained the use of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) that was responsible for intelligence gathering and covert operations. For domestic matters, security was handled by the National Security Agency (NSA) that deal with threats to the Empire. Following the rise of the Post-Humans, the NSA came to establish a Post-Human Affairs Bureau.
In terms of military, the naval branch came to be known as the American Imperial Navy. It retained the use of the Navy SEALs where they were fully cyberized and could have their cyberbrains located in their chests to better protect them.
Echelon was a large electronic spy network that could capture telephone calls, faxes and e-mails around the world. Estimates report that it intercepted up to 5 billion communications every day.
Though a powerful nation, America’s status as a superpower had fallen and given way to the economic behemoth of Japan in recent years. Outside of Japan, the Empire appears to have very little influence in East Asia, although they do maintain extensive surveillance capabilities in the region, including satellites capable of monitoring all phone conversations in Japan. The Empire's relationship with other major powers, such as China and the European Union, was largely unknown, though it is able to successfully appeal to Britain for military assistance in Latin America c. 2020.
Members
- John Smith : a male high ranking agent of the NSA who was attached to their Post-Human Affairs Bureau.
- Patrick Huge :
- Standard :
Notes
- Its name has also been translated as Imperial America, and (in Appleseed) Imperial Americana.
Appearances
- Ghost in the Shell:
External Link
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