[Texaggie79]

The only case where I can see that applicable to is China. Unless you are going to show me a military threat posed by Canada, Mexico, South America, Taiwan, The Philippines or Europe.

As the saying goes, "Money makes the world go round." Hell, we probably won't even see a real threat from China because the depend on our money so much. When you think about it, international trade PRESERVES security. When you have so many interdependent nations, there is a large motivation to stay at peace. Because, I guarantee you that we would be FAR more hated by the world, if we put up those walls that Pat has been calling for. The USA is a necessity to the world economy. That means that we automatically have allies across the globe that will do anything to not see us fall.

[Diverdogz]

Excellent Points. Much of the world depends on the United States being a safe, stable place to invest money. We should NEVER default on debt payments, lest we see money flow out to be invested elsewhere.