Bloody Kansas

Topeka Toasted, Smallville Smoked

Topeka, KS - For the first time since the War of 1812, a foreign power has launched a direct attack on the mainland of the United States of America.

An unknown party launched a destructive missile from outer space, hitting Topeka, Kansas and destroting everything within a seventy-mile radius. The shockwave from the blast caused damage as far away as Wichita. The death toll is estimated to be between one and two million, and the damage is in the tens of billions of dollars.

President Luthor immediately blamed the attack on Pokolistan (see related story), but recanted as new information became available. Apparently, the missile was one of eight to hit Earth at approximately the same time, one of which, puzzlingly, hit Antarctica. The President has mobilized the Justice League and the Justice Society, including all reserve members, as an army to battle whatever threat launched this attack. He has also tapped the younger hero team, Young Justice, to serve in non-combat roles, beginning with medical duties. According to sources, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Frank Rock, is in charge of a secret project that involves the use of additional meta-human forces, quite likely incarcerated super-villains.

President Luthor has declared a state of emergency for the entire state of Kansas and affected parts of Missouri, Oklahoma and Nebraska. The federal government has requested those states' National Guards to protect FEMA workers who should be arriving at the blast zone.

Superman, strangely absent from earlier engagements in this war, resurfaced on Earth following the Kansas attack. He has been spotted fighting with an extremely powerful being, similar to the beings that other metahumans have been engaging on other continents. The mysterious new Supergirl has also been spotted in that vicinity, but her efforts appear to be restricted to damage control.

Most military analysts have pegged this as an extraterrestrial attack. "There's no power on Earth that would benefit from an attack on all seven land continents and Atlantis," remarked General Norman Schwartzkopf, who coordinated the American victory in the Gulf War. "Especially Antarctica nd Atlantis...what would they gain? Add that matter to that new planet that's appeared in the sky, and it definitely points to another alien invasion of Earth."

Terrorism experts, on the other hand, are not as certain. "Something like this seems right up Kobra's alley, and insiders I have within their organization have indicated that there's new movement amongst their ranks, related to a leadership struggle," said one who wished to remain unidentified. "It wouldn't surprise me to find out that this is not related to that new planet in the sky after all."

Government sources have been extremely secretive about the source of the ongoing war, which until now had been officially blamed on Pokolistan. Reporting on this matter has been further complicated by the disappearance of most of the Planet's best reporters from Metropolis.

We Need a Space-Based Missile Defense

Opinion by Texas Governor George W. Bush

When I ran for president in 2000, one of my campaign promises was to vigorously promote a space-based missile defense system for America. The good people of this country disagreed with me, and so President Luthor was elected instead.

And now, a state that nearly borders on mine has been hit by a space-based missile of some sort. Irony catches up with all of us, doesn't it?

The arguments against my plan were many. First and foremost was the cost argument. What, I now ask, would our country be willing to pay in order to have Topeka, Kansas back? While this specific attack came as a surprise, it was not so long ago that a coalition of alien races attacked our planet and demanded that we turn over our super-heroes to them. Earth has, for better or for worse, become part of the interplanetary community, and space-based threats require space-besed solutions.

Others have mentioned that such a weapons system would require abrogation of our prior missile treaties with Russia, and that this would evoke great opposition amongst our NATO allies. Again, I must take issue. Russia and Europe have suffered attacks similar to the one that has hit Kansas. Development of space-based defenses could only benefit the entire planet. If we worked on it following the Alien Alliance invasion, Montevideo might still be on the map. It shouldn't require a tragedy of this magnitude to make other countries understand that.

The Justice League, by making their home on the moon, have recognized the strategic importance of having a space-based system to warn of threats. But as this latest tragedy has shown us, our government cannot let the super-heroes do all the work for us. We must not allow ourselves to be caught napping again. Who knows which city will be next? Will it be yours?

Pokolistan in Turmoil

Pokolistan - The State Department has recently confirmed that the Asian nation Pokolistan has been taken over recently by an extremely powerful meta-human identified only as General Zod in a shocking coup d'etat.

State Department officials say that the name does not correspond to any known power-broker in that country or in the surrounding region. General Zod has never been seen without full body armor, adding to both the difficulty in determining his identity and the mystery of his nature and motives.

What little is understood about him is that he seems to have Superman-level power and a desire to specifically test it against Superman himself.