Debt of Nations

Internationally, the American inflation was the transmitter and the rest of the world the receiver.  The United States was the actor, and the rest of the world the audience.  Other nations were forced to participate only because the action spilled out of the stage and into the orchestra.  The United States was the author and the cast, and it held the power of control of the worldwide problem for better or worse.
Inflation's courier to the rest of the world from the United States was money.  Just as inflation is a disease of money, the bearer of contagion outward from it's source is an outflow of money.  The constant outflow of dollars from the United States implicated the rest of the world in the American inflation, as an outflow of Reichsmarks had implicated the rest of the world in the German inflation.   (Dying of Money, By Jens O. Parsson)

In all reality, Europe, the United States, Japan, China, and effectively the entire world is interconnected.  Inflationary pressure is being pumped by the Federal Reserve and is spewing out at the weak points.  It's just a matter of velocity (in literal and figurative terms).  China and other economies are experiencing terribly high levels of inflation.  Once begun, it is very hard to stop.  Even in the USA, monetary velocity is picking up despite an economy that appears to be in the beginning stages of a slowdown. 

The point is, It doesn't matter the trigger point.  The world is connected, and Bernanke knows it, Greenspan knows it.  Greece cannot be allowed to fail, neither Japan, Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Spain, etc.  If one does, it will bring everyone down with them.  I expect QE3 will happen, and it may take the form of bond purchases between all the above parties.  It is the logical thing to do, and it might be sneaky enough to keep people from noticing for a while, unless Ben's figured out a sneakier way...