If you didn’t want to discuss war, next time keep the smack talk to yourself. And don’t act so surprised when people respond to it.
Back to the OP, I can’t imagine relations would get much worse than current US-Russia relations, as there’s too much in common and at stake to be divided over something significant. Even the spat with France during the Iraq thing never escalated into much beyond boycotts of expensive cheese. In short, the world where US-UK tensions are just short of war is likely to contain jetpacks and magic food pills that will have bigger effects on the world than the tensions.
Doesn’t it though? I’m amazed at the number of armchair warriors that come out of the woodworks to assure us that the US is indeed mightier than Og itself – never mind poor little England; even with their combined cousins, the EU.
Perhaps this is worthy of a thread of its own, but is is really an exercise in hubris to even think that way.
I mean, sure, the US is the world’s sole hyperpower – though that stature has taken a beating in the past 8 years – but to deny that England is a world power is silly beyond words. Never mind talks about the EU, for grand-standing scenarios of an American invasion of Europe are better left to the video-game set.
Short of going nuclear – and as already pointed out upthread, in that case, nobody “wins” – the US wouldn’t have a shot in hell of accomplishing that.
Why lookie there! At least twenty times as powerful as Iraq and Afghanistan combined, technologically far more advanced and actually larger in size than the Mighty US of A! Even if one gives a number of both tangible and intangible advantages to the US, would that be enough to negate the sheer volume of the EU combined military fighting in their own soil? Doubt it. And even if it did, how in the hell would the US subjugate close to 500 million people?
As for a reverse video-game scenario (EU invading the US), more of the same. Ain’t gonna happen outside of fiction.
Don’t know about China. It’s quite likely that the EU would draw together during the initial phases of an escalating conflict. And especially since it is the most US-friendly country in the conflict. Just now there is a row between the Czech Republic and Canada, where the Czechs want the EU to bully Canada. And Russia would very much not like US troops on their border, so they would give some passive help to the EU. China would probably help both sides.
Since no side could invade and hold the other side, and nukes are off the table, it would degenerate into a long Cold-war scenario. But in the long run, you guys would lose, since Americans are basically a bunch of pussies.