What would happen if the U.S. pulled out of everything.?

Question

No troops leave our soil. No products or money leaves our soil unless bought and paid for. No free aid or assistance of any kind to any one. No involvement with the U.N. just stepped out of the whole mess and said here you want us gone so badly....we're gone.

to clarify:
i do not suggest cutting economic ties
if goods and services are either bought or paid for they are to be maintained.
no more foriegn aid. no more free military aid. no more U.S. Government involvement unless we are first invited, entreated, and properly given recompense.

Answer 1

I think we should do that just to smite the world. Never know what you'll miss til' it's gone.

Answer 2

A splendid idea. Just a few catches.

There is the small matter of a multi-trillion dollar foreign debt to be paid. I expect that China, Japan and South Korea will want to collect before the US withdraws completely. Perhaps the US could tell its creditors that they can collect if they can get past 12 carriers in the Pacific, but that could get quite nasty. (China's policy is to maintain enough nukes and delivery systems to kill 50 million Americans.) It is fair to presume that at minumum further credit would not be granted, interest rates would rise, the real estate market would collapse, and Americans would have to live on what they produce rather than what they can borrow. Hopefully the savings on military expenses would be sufficient to address the fiscal and trade deficits.

Then there is the small matter of oil imports. The US has reserves equal to 3 years of consumption, but could maintain current energy usage patterns for 15-20 years by invading and controlling countries with larger reserves (and making more enemies in the process).

The US is now a net importer of food, so a national diet would be required. On the plus side, the obesity epidemic would end and Americans would be healthier. With some adjustment in diet, the US could be self-sufficient in food production again.

After some adjustment, the US would become a better and stronger country, but the adjustment would be rough.

Answer 3

Removing all outside influences would force China to collect the trillions in government bonds they have been buying for the last decade, and involve the systematic loss of mass produced goods for an indefinite time.
Oil would not really be that much of a problem because we only rely on the rest of the world for 20% of our oil production.
The real problem would be sudden role reversal of the American man. No longer would 35%-45% of the populace attend college. We would be forced back into an massive industrial revolution. Then we in more cases than not we would have an increase in Navy and Airforce size. Without our bases in other countries we would rely much more on sea borne forces to protect the open expanses of the sea (now the largest border the US has) against direct threats to our nation (Like nuclear ICBM's and conventional military assaults).
Then we would watch as the world collapsed. Now without footfolds in Thailand, Singapore, the Philipines and Indonesia, China would probably absorb most of Southeast Asia. With China busy conquering or buying up islands in the Pacific, India might actually try to cash in on the massive flow of resources that pass throw the former satellite countries. Maybe they could focus enough of their energy to have a properly equiped enough army that might be able to take Kashmir and claim some of the royalities for Russian Pipelines. Russia would bleed the European Union by simply diming their resources. Sooner or later the EU might have to simply give Russia control after many of the former block countries run out of money and become annexed back into mother Russia. Then what will poor England do? They no longer have the Navy to contain the Russian and Chinnese Fleets. How long would they last on their island?
South American countries would domino on each other leading to a new rise of leaders. Any general that could hold the leadership of an army, any freedom fighter who could rouse farmers, any cartel kingpin who could continue to ferry drugs could claim power and war after war would ensue for the better of a hundred years (provided they were not conquered by outside influence).
Africa long dependent on US influx of supplies would fall into a difficult situation. Countries once protected now would be divided by their neighbors. The diamond mines of Africa might possibly flood the market bringing the value of diamonds to "rock" bottom.
The space station in orbit, the international space station, would be devided by Russia, China and their Allies. A new space race to the moon to colonize would effectly sap plenty of resources.
Many people would lose their lives. Many more would have to change their very lives to cope with the huge change in would supremancy.
It would be a dark day but there would be a great chance to make the US a much stronger nation.

Answer 4

We would be a lot better off for the 1st time in a very Long Time this country would actuality start taking care of its own problems instead of worrying about every other countries problems. We have the worlds largest weapon and I do not mean bobs guns etc. We produce more of the one thing every country needs FOOD Maybe instead of sending over troops and fighting wars we should just stop exporting food I bet that you would see a big change in the attitudes of countries that talk against us mighty fast

Answer 5

We do more for the world than most people realize, and in turn we recieve a ton.

Our policing actions (except for the botched ones) keep major trade routes in the world open, and prevent many small countries from becoming warlord-run radical nations.

As consumers, we are one of the largest markets in the world for goods of all sorts. As such, we couldn't possibly keep up with the demand on our own. Though we rely on other countries to produce those goods for us, they produce them at incredibly low cost to remain competitive, and we reap the benefit. In turn, we supply them with our own goods, and a fairly stable currency.

If we really tried to do it your way, we'll end up exactly like the old Soviet Union, and end up stuck in the Dark Ages; poor due to enormously inflated currency, with substandard healthcare from not being able to comunicate with doctors and researchers from other countries, our economy and government will end up collapsing under the weight of our own stupidity.

Answer 6

If we pulled out of Iraq, the extremists would topple the weak government and take over the 2nd largest oil deposits in the world. Then use the oil money to get better training and weapons and eventually come at us even harder then they are now! Either way we'll be fighting them now while they are weaker or 5-10 years from now when they are stronger! But I guess the Liberals don't like to hear the truth, they can't afford a victory in Iraq. They are what you call in poker "Pot committed" to us losing over there!

Answer 7

I'd rather see W and all his appointees pulled out of our Bureaucratic institutions along with a recinding of all his signing statements and Executive orders. Going full bore with withdrawal around the world is entertaining thought, but highly unlikely.

Answer 8

The terrorists would finally rule the world! The murders would be 1000 times what they were in 9/11, and the Liberals would be on their knees begging the Republicans and military to save them. Period.

Answer 9

one would think that would serve as a global biatch slap.,,but in reality what would happen is thug ruled nations would then move into regions that relied on the US for financial assistance and medicine, and drag them down into the cut throat existance of places like somalia. as more and more impoverished nations fall, they would all see the US as the source of their suffering.

Answer 10

we'd be like Australia. Self productive. I think it would help our economy, take the over seas jobs from the 6 yr old chinese kids and give them to an homeless american. Protect our land instead of invade others (the original purpose of our military). I like it. I think things would improve.

Morpheus is very, very wrong. The US Currency is not the most valuable. more like the euro buddy. we're 50 cents on the euro.

Answer 11

Sounds North Korea-ish

The world depends on the US economy, because the dollar is the strongest currency in the world. If the USA became isolationist, I would start taking up Chinese!