Winslow Accord

The Winslow Accord http://venturebeat.com/2015/04/26/activisions-treyarch-takes-the-veil-off-call-of-duty-black-ops-iii/, often referred to as the WA (acronym), is a faction that appears in Call of Duty: Black Ops III. They as a faction were founded by the United States and are a military and economic alliance of various nations around the world, fighting for control over Earth's dwindling resources against its rival organization, the Common Defense Pact. The WA is the spiritual successor to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
==History==
===Europe===
Following the collapse of the European Union in 2025, many European countries found themselves in crippling recession and several of these nations turned towards Russia to provide relief for their crippling national debt as well as much needed energy security. Shifting allegiances would cause NATO to become wracked with internal disputes until it finally collapsed in 2028, taking much of American influence in Western Europe with it. This all occurred just as the US multi-layered Ballistic Missile Defense system was reaching operational status, upsetting the balance of the Cold War era mutually assured destruction missile based stalemate.
===Asia===
By the 2030s, the increasing prevalence of localized 3D printing and increasing shipping costs caused damage to Asian economies, which largely relied on exportation to Western countries; China's manufacturing sector was contracting as early as 2033, while Singapore, a major trading hub for manufactured goods in Asia and the South Pacific, entered into recession in 2034. Against this backdrop, the US saw the opportunity to unify the South Asia-Pacific region through a strategic treaty. The terms of the treaty allowed co-operation between the United States and South Asian countries and this co-operation thwarted an impeding environmental disaster by transferring green technologies, partially caused by continued Chinese reliance on coal power, which was causing crop failure in the region, strengthening ties between the various nations involved.
In 2036, a joint Naval exercise between the US, Japan and China was seen as an act of military aggression by the Russo-European Super Pact, which, fearing the combined power of these allied nations, turned its focus to military defence and formed the Common Defense Pact, a mutual defence treaty between its members.
===Formation of the Accord===
Following several successful acts of international diplomacy coordinated by US Secretary of State George Winslow, the US formed the Winslow Accord, which merged all US mutual defense treaties into one umbrella organization. The Accord was designed to ensure the security of the signatory nations from potential CDP aggression. The formation of the Winslow Accord gave rise to the Third Cold War.
The combined military strength of the two superpowers ensured that direct military conflict never occurred for fear of spiraling into a Third World War. Thus, the symbolic rivalry between the factions manifested itself in the form of worldwide proxy wars in various independent nations. The conflict in Egypt between the native Egyptian government and the invading Nile River Coalition, fought over the ownership of the Nile River's water resources, was an example of one such proxy war, with the WA supporting its Egyptian allies and the CDP covertly backing the NRC.
In 2039, Germany, having left the CDP a few years previously, would join the Winslow Accord. Italy also left the CDP in 2041 to join the Accord, following a pledge by the newly elected government to do so.
==Coalescence scandal==
In the late 2050s, the Central Intelligence Agency collaborated with the controversial Coalescence Corporation on a mind control experiment called SP/CORVUS. The aim of the project was to monitor and control people's thoughts through a microcomputer called a Direct Neural Interface that would connect directly to the host's brain. The initial DNI test trials were carried out in a secret facility underground Coalescence's Singapore facility, using involuntary human test subjects, the majority of whom were Singaporean convicts.
On the 2nd of June, 2060, the AI software tasked with running the SP/CORVUS project malfunctioned, unleashing a stockpile of deadly gas that was illegally being researched in the facility. The gas instantly killed everybody inside the facility and leaked outside, spreading throughout Singapore. Over the proceeding weeks, the death toll rose by hundreds of thousands, prompting the local authorities to set up a quarantine zone that sealed off the area surrounding the now abandoned Coalescence facility. The incident left at least 300,000 people dead.
The CDP identified the mysterious gas as Nova 6, a nerve gas that was developed by the Soviet Union in collaboration with Nazi scientists during the First Cold War. The Winslow Accord, however, pleaded ignorance, denying the CDP's allegations and insisting the gas in Singapore was unidentifiable.
In early June 2064, several Winslow Accord special forces operatives led by Dylan Stone discovered evidence implicating the WA in the Singapore Disaster. Upon this discovery, Stone's team attempted to defect to the CDP and make their discovery public. After being called to a CIA black site in Singapore to be terminated, Stone managed to overpower his would-be killers and steal sensitive documents from the black site, leaking them to the CDP and its allies. The information obtained by these factions gave them full knowledge of the Winslow Accord's strengths and weaknesses, and the leaks gave the NRC a tactical advantage over the Egyptian Army, allowing them to capture the vast majority of Cairo.
Stone, who sought to travel to Zürich and kidnap Coalescence CEO Sebastian Krueger to hold him publicly accountable for his crimes, was shot and killed by Winslow Accord operative Jacob Hendricks who saved John Taylor in Cairo. Without Stone's evidence, the CDP's claims that the Winslow Accord was involved in the Singapore Disaster were brushed off as propaganda, and the WA's reputation was restored, having been threatened with public disgrace.
One year later on November 6, 2065, Stone's killer, Hendricks (controlled by Corvus), would follow in his victim's footsteps and defect from the Winslow Accord, launching a terrorist attack on the Coalescence headquarters in Zürich, where the DNI experiments were still being carried out. After killing Sebastian Krueger, Hendricks was shot dead by his former team commander Taylor (controlled by the Player). The attack devastated Zürich and its effects on the Winslow Accord's standing are unknown.
== Winslow Accord Member Nations ==
Members List
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* Belgium
* Canada
* People's Republic of China
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* Egypt
* France
* Germany (defected from CDP in 2036)
* (constituent country of Denmark)
* India
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* Italy (defected from CDP in 2041)
* Japan
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* Singapore
* South Korea
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* United Kingdom
* United States of America
==Call of Duty: Black Ops 4==
The Winslow Accord was, at some point, planned to make an appearance within Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, as it's logo was present within concept art (specifically for the map Arsenal). Despite this, the Winslow Accord still appears in the Black Ops 4 comics. 
==Gallery==
ListCountries WinslowAccord Official BO3.jpg|List of Winslow Accord Member Nations from the Safehouse Data Vault.
Factions_Map_BO3.png|Map showing all WA members
Bo4 arsenal concept art 2.jpg|The Winslow Accord insignia in concept art for Call of Duty: Black Ops 4.
==References==
Category:Call of Duty: Black Ops III Factions