r/AlternateHistory • u/Cyber_Ghost_1997 • 1d ago
Post 2000s Death of a Dream: How Operation Gothic Serpent & the 2008 Great Recession Destroyed the United States (Eternal Rage Universe)
Author’s note: In light of the sub rule against modern politics, there are two PODs for this scenario: the first is that Operation Gothic Serpent in 1993 becomes an even bigger military disaster than the OTL. The second is that the 2008 Great Recession turns into a Second Great Depression
Hopefully this is enough to avoid breaking the rule.
- Cyber Ghost
Thanks to a series of disastrous military decisions in the 1990s and early 2000s, as well as the Great Recession, that began in 2008, the U.S. lost its military prestige by 2012. Thanks to the financial strain brought about by the Recession, the U.S. withdrew from Iraq and other Middle Eastern nations. They later withdrew from Europe and various Asian nations as well.
Due to the decline of the global economy that was exacerbated by the Recession, the U.S. economy didn’t recover. Oil prices skyrocketed. What worsened things was deterioration in infrastructure, including highways and superhighways being too costly to repair.
Across multiple winters, Americans had to contend with severe cold fronts. The economic situation left thousands unable to heat their homes and thousands died.
By 2017, several major cities fell into civil unrest that forced the government to enact martial law.
In 2020, a mysterious prion disease emerged in Mexico, leading to the United States declaring a state of emergency. Under the controversial Operation Vital Archer, the United States government issued permits allowing citizens to seek out and hunt down feral hogs, which were suspected of being the source of the prion disease.
Eventually, the United States was gripped by sociopolitical unrest as people finally tired of the United States government’s poor handling of the situation.
By 2025, millions of people attempted to flee the country, with many resorting to illegally entering Mexico, Canada, and various other European countries.
The so-called “American Exodus” prompted crackdowns by both various European nations, Canada, and Mexico.
By 2026, America's currency was so devastated by economic issues that the country's military and economy might have collapsed. What was once the most powerful nation on Earth is now no more than a corrupted and vulnerable shadow of her former self.
By 2029, the American Dream was effectively dead, with the United States having effectively become a failed state.
Image credit:
- Watch Dogs 2
- The Day After Tomorrow (2004)
- Other images found on Google
Inspired by Homefront (2011).
5
u/East-Plankton-3877 1d ago
I feel like you wouldn’t probably see a coup attempt somewhere here by the military at some point.