[alanh]

This is just a fun hypothetical question so no need to flame.

Everyone knows the US has the strongest military. But if WW3 started and it was the US vs. the world, do u think the US could win?

I think maybe they actually could. If you look at germany in ww2 they essentially held their own for 5 years against the 3 superpowers at the time (US, RUSSIA, UK). and germany had nowhere near the military strength the US has today.

[jullian]

What a funny thread..

It really depends on one thing. nukes. if the US decided to use nuclear warheads then I think they could win. As far as I know, the US has the most amount of nuclear warheads in the world. Even more than Russia I think.

However if nuclear weapons were not used I think the US would probably lose. Oil is the most important thing in war. The US pretty much gets most of its oil from foreign countries. But obviously if it was US vs. the world the US's oil supply would dry up. In a non nuclear war I think the US could probably go on for 6-8 years before being defeated.

although I should add the US could easily defeat our military and take over our oil reserves of course I would just set myself on fire and jump onto one of our oil fields not allowing the US to take them hahahahahahahaha

[Streaker]

The sheer size of the US war machine might give it an initial advantage, but over time the world would catch up and then surpass it. In short, the US would eventually be outgunned in both resources and manpower. Thus, the US would lose this war for the same reasons that Germany lost WWII.

[ziggy]

Thats why their securing a huge oil reserve right now?
Too bad you couldn't post an interactive "risk" game on here that all could play.
They couldn't go it alone IMO
Those thousands of stripped down fighters and other military aircraft in the Arizona aircraft graveyard can be up and flying within a month or less.
It would have to be nuclear for a win and then everyone loses.

[RoyalHighlander]

If that was the case they would come after Canada first off to get the oil they would need to fight a world war,,, western canada woul be the first target to "fall' BUT i AGGREE WITYH THE ABOVE POSTERS THAT IN A CONVENTIONAL WAR THE us WOULD not WIN IF THEY WERE PITTED AGAINST THE REST OF THE WORLD...cHINA 3 BILLION TROOPS (lol) AND THE LIST GOES ON FROM THERE...

[ziggy]

Their spread pretty thin as it is right now.

[Dan74]

The U.S. Could defend itself against the world but to actually attack it and take over I don't believe so.
The Atlantic and Pacific make great Tank barriers and the U.S Navy is so much more powerful than anything else out there.For a massive Army to get past that then the U.S Airforce than the U.S. Ground forces it would be a chore.
The only way is either too come down Canada or up threw South America.Trying to supply that Army would be a nightmare.
Yes oil would be a problem for both but the attackers always use more than the defenders.
This is all assuming that nukes are not used.

[Streaker]

$1:

If that was the case they would come after Canada first off to get the oil they would need to fight a world war,,, western canada woul be the first target to "fall' BUT i AGGREE WITYH THE ABOVE POSTERS THAT IN A CONVENTIONAL WAR THE us WOULD not WIN IF THEY WERE PITTED AGAINST THE REST OF THE WORLD...cHINA 3 BILLION TROOPS (lol) AND THE LIST GOES ON FROM THERE...

Good thing this is just a hypothetical scenario because if this war ever did really occur Canada would become one of the main battlefields...

[Uboat]

Don't think it will happen, but I'll play just for fun.Ok are we saying that the US has to go it alone just to pursue that course of action, or are we saying that because you believe the whole entire world is just looking for an excuse to jump the US? The reason I ask is because if the US decided to make a global land grab, we would have to make alliances. Back room deals with the likes of Russia or maybe even China. While the US secures North America, we convince the Russians we dont mind if they decide to make a move on the rest of Asia. The North Koreans and Chinese don't have intercontinental capability yet so a few strategic nuke strikes may be necessary, to negate their nuke capability, and also get rid of the "billion screaming Chinamen" factor. As Dan pointed out the US would try to secure everything from Canada down to the Panama canal and turn our continent into "Fortress America" Hmmm now for Europe. The US may be able to convince many of the former Soviet satellite countries to join our cause, but they may not hold up militarily to the rest of Europe. To help with that we'll send a few carrier groups around western and northern Europe not sure if we'd have any land forces to spare for Europe at this point. Not too far fetched to think that Isreal might side with us if they can unleash on their Middle Eastern neighbors. Anyway I think it would have to go down something like that. Ultimately it would fail, because those global domination wars don't seem to go so well. Pretty far fetched I think, but I guess it's fun to think about the possibilities.

[-Mario-]

I don't think so. The EU would crush them.. Hands down. China is getting a really powerful military too. They are the one we need to watch closely. They supply us with lot essentials goods.

IMAO, the next War will come from China. They will retake Taiwan, the rest of the world will protest. The US will invade Taiwan, China will cut its exports and the whole thing will snow ball from there.

To answer your original answer... No.

[usababe]

I don't think the US could win...not with only the force of our military...there would also have to be a lot of seedy deal-making to even stand a chance in the long-run.

[dgthe3]

Oil wouldn't be a problem because once the US gets Canada's and Mexico's oil, and severly restrict oil use for civilian uses, they will have plenty.

With nukes, bio weapons, or chemical weapons, nobody wins. end of that element of the discussion.

As far as the US vs the World, they will run out of bombs and bullets before they run out of targets. That poses a problem for the Americans. The only way they could possibly win is if they allied with either Russia or China. That would never happen, even in theory, for a long time.

[PJB]

Interesting discussion. I would hope that it would never come to a US vs The World situation. If it came to that I think it would eventually go nuclear and then it would be the end for everyone. The United States does not have the resources to maintain a conventional war of this kind of scope. Alliances would have to be formed in a hurry.

I cannot envision any kind of scenerio that would cause the United States to be pitted against the rest of the world.

[Canadaka]

heeh oh boy this one again, only about the 3rd or 4th time this topic has come up

If the world stood up to the US, there is no way they could win.

unless nuclear warfare was sued, in which case everyone would loose.

[jullian]

dan74 u make an interesting point about the US defending itself only. to alter the original question if the entire world attacked the US and the US only had to repel the armed forces of the world, I think the US could actually win. The atlantic and the pacific are pretty good shields.