Anyone Else Feel Like We're In The Early Stages Of World War III?

[fujiyama]

59. No.

Maybe a new Cold War is emerging, but this time I don't see it so much a battle over ideology and all the major powers are smart enough to know that nukes won't be used.

Of course there is a potential for greater instability throughout the world, especially in the Middle East.

Israel/Gaza isn't new, but the fighting could destabilize other countries in the region due to populations' anger at inaction by their government. Even that's unlikely. The governments in that region fear political Islam greatly as a threat to their power - much more than they fear Israel. As Syria has shown over 200,000 people can die and the world can barely bat an eye. I suppose there is always the possibility that Israel could target Iran with air strikes due to paranoia. If a republican comes into power in '16, that's a particularly real possibility.

The Russian/Ukraine mess will be mostly settled on the economic battlefield. Putin has boxed himself in. The sanctions will have an effect. Europe is going to have to get away from their dependence on Russian oil and natural gas. They'll likely start fracking or we'll be exporting soon. Russia will find other markets to sell to.

While Ebola is scary, I think Western governments are pretty adept at handling and containing this kind of thing. This underscores why we have a government and why it needs to be funded. I have confidence in the brilliant public health officials, scientists and doctors working at the CDC.

In the Vietnam war, 58,000 Americans were killed. Over 2,000,000 Vietnamese and even more Cambodians, and Laotians. That's a lot of fucking people. That preceded the killing fields of Cambodia. American cities were on fire. Several major public leaders were assassinated. Millions of people were denied even the most basic rights. Then came oil shocks and embargoes and near societal collapse.

None of that sparked WWIII. I don't mean to be sanguine, but it's always good to keep these events in perspective.