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Let’s say that either events in Ukraine or Syria result in the US or Russia greatly increasing tensions, both sides threatening war and badly underestimating the situation, one side accidentally shooting the other side, and rapid escalation because the situation is misread. Nukes start flying...

If the US and USSR fought the Cuban Missile Crisis, how would they be remembered afterwards? Would they be seen as akin to Nazi Germany and their leadership as worse than Hitler? Or would the US see Kennedy as a heroic war time president akin to Roosevelt or Lincoln? At this point, I don’t...

If the US had decided in the early stages of the Cold War that Communism is just a fad that will fade within a few generations and fail to create wealthy societies or a new man, and that even if the number of Communist countries greatly increase many of them will turn on each other over...

What if after the Cold War ended, Bush Sr. (or an alternative President) decided that maintaining a large presence overseas is a waste of money and began to withdraw, withdrawing the Middle East especially fast after deciding it is too unstable to bother with. The US stays out of Iraq here. He...

If Germany has its advance into France stopped at the last moment in 1940 and the result is a war of attrition that effectively destroys both sides, what moves does the Soviet Union make? Do they take all of Finland and Romania? If so, do they advance into the Balkans and Sweden later while the...

Had a part of the old order of Europe, which died in the OTL, narrowly survived to WWII, what would their reaction and policy be if applicable? Certainly, butterflies would probably prevent these things from happening as they did. Some are impossible outright: asking how Imperial Germany would...

This was a big decision for Britain: Is Russia or Germany a greater threat? They originally decided that Germany was more dangerous. Was it a good call, at least in comparison to backing Germany against Russia?

As hard as it is to believe, America had the highest GDP per head in the world in the early 1900s. It was economically dominated by major industrialists and financiers. However, little was done about these captains of industries growing power, resulting in several Presidents who were supposed to...

Let’s say Eisenhower, after Britain and France develop their own nuclear weapons, begins drawing the US down from Europe with a goal of leaving by the end of his second term. He argues that Europe has rebuilt itself to the point that by 1960 they should not need American support as they can nuke...

Let’s say that some eccentric rich guy in 1810 decides he wants to tame Bears. After hearing of Lewis and Clark report all kinds of big game animals out West, he pays to have over a hundred Grizzly Bears brought out by where ever he lives. He is convinced that he can successfully selectively...

With continued British rule I’m guessing Britain would find it difficult to control a population and enforce edicts in say, the Midwest. It would also be harder to be a representative of the people if you are an ocean away. This could arguably lead to Britain being more hands off than the...

Tsarist Russia had a secret police in the original timeline, but it only employed a small number of people and killed a relatively small number compared to standard 20th century dictators. Criminals were often deported to Siberia and treated it as a vacation. I’ve heard that while it was illegal...

If the US had a president in the 1990s with foreign policy views somewhere between Ron Paul, Tulsi Gabbert, Dennis Kucinich, Pat Buchanan, Glenn Greenwald, and Rand Paul, how much of an impact would they be able to have in withdrawing the US from overseas if he aggressively pushes it? Would DoD...

After 19 years, is it time we leave China? The terrain and size of China has made it next to impossible to conquer. So have the sheer number of radicalized Buddhist and Folk religions, who are not ready to accept out gifts of secular Democracy. Zhou, Yuan, Wu Hu, Qing, Britain, Japan, and the...

Let us assume for this thread that Peyton Manning never suffered from his neck issues that required surgery in the 2011 offseason (after his 13th season) and Tom Brady in this timeline meanwhile suffers Manning’s injury and receives surgery for it after the 2013 offseason (after his 13th...

Let’s keep current politics out of this. With a PoD of 1900, how can we have Presidential debates where each of them is given something to the effect of a 15 minute introduction, 15 minute rebuttal, several ten minute rebuttals each, and then some questions from the audience? I have rewatched...

What if Johnson, who suffered manic depression, killed himself in the Summer of 1968? Let’s say that as his approval falls into the 30s briefly during the Summer, Vietnam is chaotic, he has lost control over the country, and everything else, his depression gets very bad suddenly. He gives a...

If the US did not open its immigration system in the 50s and 60s and strictly enforced its borders, how would major US cities look? What would cities like New York, LA, Chicago, Houston, and San Francisco look like? Would major cities have their populations shrinking? Would New York still be...

I don’t think that any historical proposal was ever out fourth, so this is very hypothetical. Let’s say Nicholas realized the extent that Russia was falling apart in late 1916, seeing their exhaustion the breakdown of their society and infrastructure, the sheer economic cost, the probability...

And how would you rank the various opportunities to stand up to Hitler in terms of best odds to stop them?