Timeline 2013-2040 (Second Dark Ages)

In 2013, when Iran closes the Strait of Hormuz, it leads to extreme consequences not only for itself, but for the entire world.

10s
It started off peacefully, with plans to withdrawal from Iraq and Afghanistan being made, a slow recovery of the American economy, and progress in making renewable energy the main power source of America. However, after an intense standoff with Iran, the Strait of Hormuz is closes, causing major implications for the world.

2013
Iran closes the Strait of Hormuz. Oil prices jump to 125 US dollars a barrel. Gas prices are around four dollars a gallon. The World's economy grinds to a halt. The UN doesn't take any time to pass a resolution against Iran. It states that Iran has threatened the economies of many nations in the world by closing this Strait, it has defied UN inspections of their nuclear program, and it has oppressed it's people. It gives Iran a choice: re-open the Strait and allow UN inspectors into the nation, or face war. Iran refused, thinking that the US and NATO would run out of oil before they could take over the nation. However, the US used the oil reserves it had for the military. The American Public was outraged at this, and approval of the war, which was already low, dropped to levels not seen since the Vietnam era. Once all the oil was ready to go, it began being transported to the Middle East. However, the time it took to get all the oil out of the reserves and ready to go took longer than expected, and it was already December by the time the miltary got there. They decided to wait until the next year to invade. In Europe, the EU proposes a new debt deal in which all members with a debt-to-economy ratio above 90% have to cut their budgets in half if they want to receive any funding from a new bailout that is taking place. It will give emergency funding to all members that need it if they co-operate with the deal. Everyone but Greece, Spain, and Portugal take place, mainly due to internal pressure not to cut the budget anymore.

2014
The First American troops landed in Iran in January. They faced a large enemy as Shia Muslims everywhere went here to fight against America. However, with the help of the air force, American troops made a beach landing on the Coast of Iran and began moving past the beaches. Many people refer to this as the D-Day of Iran. Once in Iran, American troops began advancing and were soon about to enter Tehran. Iran, worried about this fact issued a Jihad against America. They told all Muslims to rise up against the American invaders and push the Americans out of the homeland. Surprisingly, many Shia Muslims answered the call and rose up against Americans in Iraq, and in Afghanistan, though the uprisings here weren't as big because the Shia here are a minority. American troops everywhere in the Middle East were busy with the constant attacks. When the death tolls reached 10,000 American support for the war was at 16%. People everywhere protested against it bitterly. Many students took part in the protests, and a new generation of Peace-loving Hippies were born. The War is often remembered as the reason for the more liberal generation that came out in the next decade. Democrats become the new majority in congress, and begin to start a movement to withdrawal immediately. In Europe, the Bailout gives funding to all members who were in need of it and cut their budgets. Sadly for the EU, this did little to help the Euro. In fact, it lost value because of the additional debts taken on by its members to pay for it.

2015
The War in Iran is over with an American defeat by the massive amounts of Shia Muslims against them. The US could have easily destroyed all of them, but it lacked the funding to do so. President Rommey's approval ratings are at all time lows, being at 11%. He announces that he is not going to be running for president in 2016. He also announces that he will spend the rest of his term in office working on reducing the deficet. With the war, the DTE reached 115%. He plans to cut Social Security, but the Democrat majority in Congress is preventing him from doing that. Instead, the major cuts go to the military, and while this helps the national budget, national security is hurt extremely by this. However, they do manage to get rid of a large amount of waste in the military, but it is harmed by the shortage of funds that are actually needed. In Europe, the Euro falls and is worth less than the Dollar now. Being weakened some much by the Bailout, people look for an alternative to the Dollar elsewhere. Many look to the Japanese Yen as the next alternative to the Dollar. Others look toward the British Pound as a better choice. It is eventually decided that, should the Euro continue to fall, the Japanese Yen should be the new alternative to the Dollar, mainly because it used more than the Pound. In the Middle East, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, and Syria all unite to form the Shia Islamic Republic. However, it is just a dictatorship, and any gains made in the Arab Spring earlier have been lost. Many Shia Muslims move here after being told that it is Allah's will that the Shia Muslims rule the Middle East. The SIR offers Russia an alliance if it sells it weapons. Russia, seeking to keep a good position with Arabs, agrees. Many are afraid that the SIR is buying weapons, but many people continue to focus on the economy.

2016
The Democrat's candidate for the presidential elections in America is Nancy Pelosi. The Republican's candidate is Rick Santorum. It is a landslide for Democrats, mainly because of the war in Iran. Many people warn about the age of Nancy, but Nancy tells everyone in her inauguration speech that she will be able to lead the nation through these hard times. And with that, she became the first female president of the United States. Her first objective was to help get the US economy going. The economy entered a recession after the cut in government spending left many military manufacturers unemployed. She plans to help the economy by passing the Second Bailout. It is given a total of 689 billion dollars. Many Republicans warn that this is communism and that the National Debt is very high. This doesn't help with the debt or the economy, and Nancy's approval ratings go down. In Europe, the prospect is better, as it has gained ground against the Dollar following the American Bailout. This ends talk about a new alternative, and many people who invested in the Yen lose money. The SIR continues to buy weapons, and violence occurs in Afghanistan when Russian made weapons end up in the hands of Shia rebels. The Taliban is made a deal: they can control Afghanistan if they rule it as a Shia nation. The Taliban agrees, mainly because they need to gain an ally. Many people fear what the SIR is planning.

2017
The US economy stagnates as many people are opposed to the Bailout and demand that it be canceled before anymore money is spent. Republicans Rush Limbaugh and Bill O'Reilly both launch a campaign against the Bailout, with slogans like "No more handouts, No more Bailouts", or "Honk if I am paying for your backyard windmill". ''However, a good amount of people still suport the Bailout mainly because of the Iran War and it's effects on the current generation. In Europe, Communist groups are becoming more popular in Spain, Italy, and Greece following the Government's attempt to cut the budget. A new leader in Spain called Joel Castilo De la Cruz. He promises to restore the nation of Iberia, even if he has to take it by force. This worries other European nations, but they do no try to do anything because of a lack of funding because they are still trying to pay off the debt caused by the Bailout. When Joel announces he is running for First Minister, other European nations panic at this. Many begin to talk about what to do should he get elected. The SIR once again puts everyone's worst fears to test when a SIR launched missile hits Antarctica. The SIR warns that they have large missiles that have long ranges, and will use them if anyone threatens them.

2018
Elections are held this year, and the Republican party wins the elections. The US economy begins to recover, and the Bailout is finally repealed. The total amount spent was 527 billion dollars. This time, when Social Security is reformed, the bill is passed. It outlines the following: all people under the age of 55 will now send their payroll taxes into investing accounts which promise better returns. Soon, the stock market booms with the additional funds flooding into the market, and the Republican party becomes more popular. Many young people have become involved in politics and are fighting to protect the environment. However, with the Republican party in charge, it is unlikely that new laws protecting it will be passed. In Europe, Joel wins elections, and his Communist party becomes more popular with the Slogan "Bread, Fuel and Rent for all", representing the hard times many people have even when it comes to getting basic things. In Italy and Greece, similar Communist parties become popular. The SIR offers these nations an alliance, secretly of course, to which they agree. In Ukraine, the Communist Party there wins the election with funds coming in from "Anonymous sources". It seems this way in Poland and Romania as well. Other news in Europe is that Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia have united to form the Baltics States in response to recent events and that war may soon happen. The SIR has built up a decent sized military, and they begin to draft forces for war. The Taliban is preparing also to attack.

2019
In Spain, after a mysterious burning of the King's home, killing him and his family, Joel takes control. He doesn't wait at all to abolish elections and declare himself dictator. A secret police is formed, and the military begins to be built up. In Italy, Greece, Ukraine, and Poland, several leaders quickly take control as well, and elections everywhere are rigged and the secret police is killing the opposition. Russia is selling large amounts of weapons to these nations, and people everywhere say that this is going to lead to war. The SIR begins buying weapons from China, and China tells them that they will get a discount if they become allies with each other. The SIR quickly accepts, and begins buying more weapons than ever. Many people feel that the SIR must be embargoed, but when taken to the UN, Russia and China both vetoed it. Back in the US, Nancy Pelosi promises the nation that she will stay out of the war. She also promises that the current economic conditions will improve.

20s
The Decade got off to a rocky start with all the increased weapons buying, but things seem to get better for the US when the economy starts to grow again. Many people hope that the peace will last, but sad for them, war would soon ravage Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Divisions between the new Fascist and Islamic nations would soon lead to war between the FU (Fascist Union) and the EU (European Union).

2020
In Turkey and Romania, Fascist revolutions with Russian and Chinese weapons begins. Russia and China declares that they never sold weapons to these rebels, and after investigations, it turns out it was supplied by Ukraine and Greece. Soon, the situation there colapses into civil war, and the EU kicks out Ukraine and Greece. They decide to form the Reformed Warsaw Pact. Later that year, Poland, Spain, and Italy all left the EU and joined the RWP. They officially declared their goal to save Communism from the threat of the EU. The EU's remaining members begin talks of unifying all of the EU's members into one nation in response to the growing threat presented by the RWP. In America, the economy has grown more following large decrease in tax rates after a new law was passed making all tax rates equal. America, while worried about the growing situation in Europe, is too busy with its own debt and economic problems. The SIR continues building up their military, and they talk about a new plan with the RWP about when to strike against the Europeans and Sunni Muslums. Also, Rick Santorum won the Republican primaries and went on to beat Nancy in the elections.

2021
Turkey and Romania finally fall to Communist rebels, and the Third Red Scare happens in America and the EU about similar uprisings happening. The EU, even though it will require going more into debt, starts building up its military, but after years of cutting their defense and military budgets, it will take a long time to rebuild it, up to three years to put it back up at maximum efficiency. The RWP decides that war with the EU is inevitable, and that they should strike first. Turkey and Romania start drafting people, but everyone else has already been drafting and their manpower is high as a result of this. The SIR comes up with a plan: the SIR will invade Saudi Arabia and gain control of the oil there. They will supply the RWP with large amounts of oil to power their tanks and jets to defeat the EU. Some members are skeptical of the plan, stating that it might bring the US into the conflict, but the SIR assures them they can do it. They, along with the Taliban, get ready to attack Saudi Arabia.

2022
The year got off to a rocky start with a SIR and Taliban invasion of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. Kuwait falls easily, and Saudia Arabia looks like it is going to be the same way. When they begged the US to come and help, the military got ready to come and help. However, massive anti-war protests began. Santorum was forced to stop mobilizing the nation. It seems like this time, the US won't intervene. To the amazement of the RWP, it looks like the plan might work. Massive military preparations has begun, and the armies of the FU are well equipped and ready to go off and fight.

2023
Saudi Arabia fell, and the RWP launched invasions of Portugal, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Moldava and Bulgaria. Strong advances are made in all countries, and they all fall except for Portugal. The EU and the world is shocked to see these attacks. The UN demands that the RWP withdrawals from these nations and stop all hostilities. The RWP refuses, and launch more invasions of Belarus, Austria, and Albania. The EU soon learns that the RWP will stop at nothing short of European domination. They quickly launch an invasion of Poland and Spain to try and get them off of Portugal and Belarus.