America Is a Heartbeat Away From a War It Could Lose

 via Foreign Policy

The worst-case scenario is an escalating war in at least three far-flung theaters, fought by a thinly stretched U.S. military alongside ill-equipped allies that are mostly unable to defend themselves against large industrial powers with the resolve, resources, and ruthlessness to sustain a long conflict. Waging this fight would require a scale of national unity, resource mobilization, and willingness to sacrifice that Americans and their allies have not seen in generations.

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 Assuming a rate of expansion similar to that of World War II, it’s not unreasonable to expect that the debt could swell to 200 percent of GDP or higher. As the Congressional Budget Office and other sources have noted, debt loads on that scale would risk catastrophic consequences for the U.S. economy and financial system.

A global conflict would bring on other perils. Two U.S. rivals—Russia and Iran—are major oil producers. One recent report found that a prolonged closure of the Hormuz Strait amid a broader Middle Eastern conflict could push oil prices beyond $100 per barrel, substantially increasing inflationary pressures. China is a major holder of U.S. debt, and a sustained sell-off by Beijing could drive up yields in U.S. bonds and place further strains on the economy. It’s reasonable to assume that Americans would face shortages in everything from electronics to home-building materials.

All of that pales alongside the human costs that the United States could suffer in a global conflict. Large numbers of U.S. service members would likely die. Some of the United States’ adversaries have conventional and nuclear capabilities that can reach the U.S. homeland; others have the ability to inspire or direct Hamas-style terrorist attacks on U.S. soil, which may be easier to carry out given the porous state of the U.S. southern border.

Here 

Boys and girls the bad news is easy to see.  To state it plainly?  We're totally defensive, in a hurt locker and need to save the empire.

How do we do that? We get brutally honest.

Deterrence as a concept has been a sad joke.  It's so damn feminine and weak that I'm personally surprised that it was even proposed.  Who cares if someone pumps out their chest.  If the fight is on the fight is on!  You're gonna get punched in the face no matter how much you huff and puff.  That's just life.

We're too spread out with too many commitments.  Time to bring the troops home from every frontier and concentrate on what's actually in our national interest.  

Our allies have to do their part.  If they don't take their own defense seriously then neither should we.  The free ride is over.  Time for our so called allies to step the fuck up.

Take an L in places that aren't worth the struggle.  This is probably the hardest for the globalist, neo-cons and new world order freaks.  If you defend everywhere you defend nowhere. Time to cut bait while we can, otherwise the boat gets pulled under.

The empire can endure but we've got to get smart, honest and accept our limitations.  If not our limitations will be put on full display for everyone to see.