Could We See World War Three in Our Lifetimes?

Three months ago, in this space, I asked whether, if present trends were to continue, we could find ourselves embroiled in something like a Third World War. Working from that concept and the thoughtful remarks of a number of readers, I decided to delve into the question a little more deeply and, as a result, have produced a new e-book entitled The Blast of War: A Narrative History of the Third World War. The book, a “future history,” lays out how the present situation — if carried over into the future — could lead us into catastrophe.

The world situation today is as unsettled as it has been at any time since the late 1930s. Indeed, I believe that the underlying cause of this is the same as it was in that era: irresolute policies by Western leaders that will, if they are not corrected soon, leave nations with no choices except for abject surrender and all-out war. Time and time again world leaders have chosen to punt dangerous problems down the road rather than take the risks necessary to resolve them today. Some of these problems, such as China’s reckless pursuit of short-term growth as a substitute for political reform, unsustainable global debt loads, Iran’s headlong rush towards nuclear weapons, the illegal movement of ten million Mexicans into the United States, and Europe’s lackadaisical economic integration, can and will have no happy resolution. The question is what shade of terrible the results will be.

http://patriotupdate.com/14092/could-we ... -lifetimes

The USA made a decision in 2001 to marginalize and demonize Iran in the "axis of evil" speech.
(Iran has just as many problems - if not more - with Al Qaeda and the Taliban - they could have been a decent aly)

Everything that has transpired since then - has been steering our ship in the direction of an armed conflict with Iran (encouraged on by Arab sheikhs as well as Israel).

The momentum and direction suggest to me that it is almost inevitable.

But hey - war is good for the economy......... (angry smirk)

Personally, I think we will have a civil war before we see a world war. That's my own personal opinion.

Yeah civil, and then world.
There is something deeper about 12-21-2012 than we are reading into it, or understanding.

I to expect a US revolution to happen. When that takes place it will be interesting to see how the rest of the world reacts. Will there be NATO lending support for one side or another? Will there be opportunistic countries looking for a empire foothold? I can see our countries' issues sucking in various players and that leading to additional confrontations that spill over into WWIII. That will be ugly and harsh. It will be a disturbance that resets our society or perhaps even obliterates it.

I think the US government is headed for a long-term impasse (the rhetoric is too polar).

I suspect there will be a strong temptation to start a war in response -
(a number of countries might also be tempted to strike first, noticing that we appear to be weak).

In general, American depressions are resolved with military action.

While the conflicts existing in the world are certainly not as wide-spread as WWI or WWII, they do encompass much of the world.

Maybe this is a little too Pollyanna-ish...we may appear weak, but when or if any countries strike first, they'll soon realize, as did Afghanistan did after 9/11 that our military certainly is not weak.

I'd be more afraid of North Korea at the moment...though they certainly do not have the money they need to provide the military might it'll take to challenge the U.S.

I think we'll probably implode from within...though I hope it isn't during my lifetime.

Nor the food to fuel the military and citizens of N Korea.

We don't have the money either. We've spent it on two wars over the past 10 years and are heavily in debt to China the way I understand it. I don't think it's as dire as Rocdoc says, but his words are close to my thoughts on the matter. I'm thinking revolution is not far off if we don't crash and burn before then with all this stupid political game-playing and self delusion that seems to be the alternate reality in this country.

I can see an invasion attempt with the idea that we're weak, but I think that would actually galvanize us. We would be a dangerous and difficult country to invade and control if for no other reason than our size and geography.

Yeah, just look at Red Dawn. Wolverines!