While many will argue that the first seeds of crisis date back to the U.S. Presidential election of 2004, most historians agree that the real beginnings were far earlier than that. Regardless, all agree that it was the total economic collapse of the United States that brought us to where we are now.

Early 2005 - The U.S. President bows to growing Domestic pressures and instigates a program to bring home all troops stationed on foreign soil - this follows growing casualty lists from abroad. "Our continued involvement in the turmoil of the Middle East and Africa is destroying the very fabric of our military traditions. No longer do our youth aspire to serve their country, we have digressed to the days of the Vietnam War where we are seen as an unwanted presence in an unfriendly land."

In response to the growing instability of the United States economy, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela lead a movement within OPEC to change the standard currency with which the nations of the world pay for their oil. For decades, this had been the US dollar, and the resulting demand for the dollar had supported ever-increasing American trade deficits. On May 18th, 2005 OPEC surprises the world with their announcement that they would begin to set their benchmark oil prices exclusively in Euros.

The days to follow were tumultuous - currency brokers rushed to cash in U.S. dollars for gold, Euros and Yen. The world's financial markets were overwhelmed. Spurred by the immediate panic of "Day Traders", the market lost 40% of its value in a single day. Within two weeks, all the major indices in the world had lost at least 65% of their value. The resulting chaos quickly spread beyond US borders driving the world into the worst Depression ever experienced.