America No More

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There's more than likely been a thread on something like this but I wouldn't know how to find it, so screw it. Is America over? The military's almost dead, there's two more years left of the most amazingly/scarily bad presidency pretty much EVER left, is it time to call curtains? And who's next in the hot seat?

― President Evil, Friday, 13 April 2007 03:06 (nineteen years ago)

I can only hear this post in a broad Proclaimer's accent.

― aimurchie, Friday, 13 April 2007 03:13 (nineteen years ago)

Roll on the overlordship of Malawi.

― Ned Raggett, Friday, 13 April 2007 03:14 (nineteen years ago)

In the long run, maybe, but it's a bit premature to call what remains by far the richest and most powerful nation in the world "over" because its all-volunteer military is a bit overstretched and it has a really shitty president for two more years.

― Hurting 2, Friday, 13 April 2007 03:18 (nineteen years ago)

The Proclaimers really aren't all that bad, in retrospect. xpost- would reinstalling the draft improve matters? I can't see how. Something about it's over. Its riches and power're running out, aren't they? Based on outmodedy things. I'd rather be Russia, if this was Stratego.

― President Evil, Friday, 13 April 2007 03:20 (nineteen years ago)

I mean I prob am being premature but I don't see it lasting more than five years or so at this point, does that count as "the long run"?

― President Evil, Friday, 13 April 2007 03:22 (nineteen years ago)

would reinstalling the draft improve matters? I can't see how

It would "help things" (in a pure military power sense) in that our whole active duty military right now is around 1.4 million and there are probably tens of millions of Americans of service age.

― Hurting 2, Friday, 13 April 2007 03:25 (nineteen years ago)

I mean I prob am being premature but I don't see it lasting more than five years

Its GDP is roughly equal to that of the entire European Union, 25% larger than China's (a country of a billion people, mind you), and dwarfs everyone else's. It is pretty much universally acknowledged as having the most powerful military in the world. A period of decline seems highly possible, but 5 years is A BIT steep.

― Hurting 2, Friday, 13 April 2007 03:29 (nineteen years ago)

Barring some major catastrophe, at least, and I'm not even sure what kind of catastrophe that would be.

― Hurting 2, Friday, 13 April 2007 03:30 (nineteen years ago)

Iraq? Reinstalling the draft'd be a complete killer perceptionwise. Like I said I'm pretty sure their finances're based on things that aren't gonna last. I want to be wrong, mostly...

― President Evil, Friday, 13 April 2007 03:33 (nineteen years ago)

Russia's GDP is about the size of Brazil's and slightly smaller than those of France, Italy and United Kingdom. India and Japan completely trounce it.

― Hurting 2, Friday, 13 April 2007 03:33 (nineteen years ago)

For now. Dunno about Japan but India's running into diseconomies of scale/lack of training/groundwork problems. Russia has a resource reserve I rather like.

― President Evil, Friday, 13 April 2007 03:35 (nineteen years ago)

Like I said I'm pretty sure their finances're based on things that aren't gonna last.

Like what? Oil? I doubt it peaks in the next five years, and if it does that's going to hit everyone pretty hard, not just the U.S. Service jobs are at risk from outsourcing for sure, but I think it's going to be a longer and less severe atrophy of jobs than the most panic-stricken are predicting, not to mention that the new wealth in India and elsewhere will in turn create more demand for service jobs.

― Hurting 2, Friday, 13 April 2007 03:37 (nineteen years ago)

V good point about India, but I think oil's already peaked.

― President Evil, Friday, 13 April 2007 03:38 (nineteen years ago)

Russia has a resource reserve I rather like.

Gymnasts don't make a world power.

― Hurting 2, Friday, 13 April 2007 03:39 (nineteen years ago)

Lots of tiny peaks and troughs forming part of ever larger peaks and troughs = societies, civilisations, and even life itself.

― Huey in Melbourne, Friday, 13 April 2007 03:41 (nineteen years ago)

Iraq? Reinstalling the draft'd be a complete killer perceptionwise.

I'm not talking about Iraq. Iraq is still a minor war historically speaking. We either stay there and it continues to be sucky or we pull out. And if we pull out, and the worst case scenario happens and creates a wider war that pulls us back in, then we have the draft option. So I don't really see how Iraq is going to finish off the U.S. military.

― Hurting 2, Friday, 13 April 2007 03:42 (nineteen years ago)

This isn't tiny./Dude, many would say the military's already finished. How finished does it have to get? Do they have to like close it?

― President Evil, Friday, 13 April 2007 03:45 (nineteen years ago)

Elaborate please???

― Hurting 2, Friday, 13 April 2007 03:46 (nineteen years ago)

They have no weapons, they're all in use in Iraq. They get no training (oh actually they get like a WEEK'S WORTH). If they could enforce the draft I imagine they would. Yeah?

― President Evil, Friday, 13 April 2007 03:48 (nineteen years ago)

Have you heard of, perhaps, Vietnam?

― Hurting 2, Friday, 13 April 2007 03:52 (nineteen years ago)

They have no weapons, they're all in use in Iraq

Where are you getting your information from?

― Hurting 2, Friday, 13 April 2007 03:54 (nineteen years ago)

Yeah I have, and America was in a MUCH better position at that point don't you think? Do you think post this it'll be like post Vietnam? I don't see much worldwide faith in the country anymore. xpost where're you? Maybe I'm listening to the liberal media too much.

― President Evil, Friday, 13 April 2007 03:56 (nineteen years ago)

"The United States military budget is larger than the military budgets of the next twenty largest spenders combined, and six times larger than China's, which places second. The United States and its closest allies are responsible for approximately two-thirds of global military spending (of which, in turn, the U.S. is responsible for the vast majority)."
(Wikipedia)

― Hurting 2, Friday, 13 April 2007 03:56 (nineteen years ago)

Yeah I know actually

― President Evil, Friday, 13 April 2007 03:59 (nineteen years ago)

World faith in the United States is almost guaranteed to improve somewhat after the next election because anyone elected would be more well-liked than Bush. The idea that the U.S.'s weapons are "all in use in Iraq" is laughable. It is unable to enstate a draft because everyone realizes that this war is stupid and hopeless. But the country can survive losing a war, and if there is a larger war that actually threatens the U.S. in any real or perceived way, believe me it will be able to reinstate the draft. I'm not making a moral or political judgment on any of this, I just think your analysis is a bit lacking.

― Hurting 2, Friday, 13 April 2007 04:00 (nineteen years ago)

I do think it's possible that in a matter of decades the U.S. could be seriously weakened by failure to adapt to resource shortages and to a changing world job market/economy, but that's far from certain. In any case, Russia would hardly be my first pick for next hegemon of the free world.

― Hurting 2, Friday, 13 April 2007 04:03 (nineteen years ago)

Well I agree with you, mostly. I meant handweapons, if that wasn't clear. I have this feeling/suspicion tho that the days of LARGER WARS're over, and thus so is America, (as a concept etc), as evidenced by y'know RIGHT NOW./xpost yeah Russia was a bit of a longshot

― President Evil, Friday, 13 April 2007 04:06 (nineteen years ago)

my guess is we'll go through a decade of "isolationism" before the next "great president" comes along and annexes australia or whatever, and it'll be back to business as usual.

― J.D., Friday, 13 April 2007 07:17 (nineteen years ago)

naked....vulcan?

― Frogman Henry, Friday, 13 April 2007 07:19 (nineteen years ago)

wow, this thread brings new levels of stupid.

― Ms Misery, Friday, 13 April 2007 13:17 (nineteen years ago)

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