Anyone Else Thinking that WWIII is Coming?

[qwlauren35]

We have Russia/Ukraine and Israel/Hamas. I see China/Taiwan on the horizon. Even though it's not in the Western Hemisphere, they are allies. And as we saw from 9/11, we are not unreachable.


I don't think nuclear weapons will be used, but I just don't like where this is going.

[Attilatheblond]

1. Been thinkin for a long time now...

Putin is dying and he doesn't seem to want the world to go on without him. Doing a lot to get wars going.

[Disaffected]

65. The "Putin is dying" thing has been going around

for a couple of years now but he still looks pretty healthy for someone his age IMO.

Has other recent evidence come to light?

[Attilatheblond]

70. We're all dying

He looked really bad for a while. Wondering if he got a liver transplant recently.

[kwolf68]

2. Sadly

Eventually the human race will extinguish itself because of hubris, greed and war. One thing humans have never lacked for is the inclination or ability to kill each other, been going on since climbing down from trees, it's our destiny. As to when that is going to happen? No idea. Toss in religious fervor which seemingly inspires people to "die for their God" and the witches brew of madness gets turned up to 11.

[kimbutgar]

3. This recent event in Israel has made me nervous and think it could be possible.

Russia, Hamada,, Iran and China aligned against the US with people inside our country rooting for them to overthrow our government and destroy the US within.

[Buckeyeblue]

27. Don't forget the Saudis. And probably Turkey.

The issue is that only China has a modern military. And that is largely untested. Also it's unclear how willing the Chinese people would be to go along with such a war. Same with the Russian people.

[womanofthehills]

62. US moves closer to underground testing of nuclear weapons stockpile without any actual explosions

“RENO, Nev. (AP) — Scientists charged with ensuring the aging U.S. stockpile of nuclear weapons are good to go — if needed — say they’ll start shipping key components to Nevada’s desert next year to prepare for underground testing they call “tickling the dragon’s tail.”

Experts at national defense laboratories haven’t been able to physically validate the effectiveness and reliability of nuclear warheads since a 1992 underground test ban. But Energy Department officials announced Thursday they’re on the verge of piecing together the technology needed to do the next best thing.”

https://apnews.com/article/nuclear-warheads-stockpile-testing-nevada-new-mexico-4a6d4faae84518d14373371955e8cb4c

[kimbutgar]

66. Yikes that is scary !

But I’m somewhat relieved it is President Biden rather than the orange maggot in charge.

[Just_Vote_Dem]

4. No n/t

[Silent Type]

5. Coming? We are in it.

[Alexander Of Assyria]

50. For Gaza it's Hiroshima.

[EX500rider]

75. Right, cause Gaza look just like this:

[Beachnutt]

6. And where will this world war take place ?

Does the world war include all the nations across the globe or just a few ?
Mexico, Canada, Australia, Germany, Brazil, Cambodia, Denmark....

[Auggie]

7. Unlikely

[justaprogressive]

8. WWIII has been coming since the end of WWII

doesn't mean that it's any closer to happening now than previously....

[Johnny2X2X]

9. No

Just two wars in small parts of the worlds.

[newdayneeded]

19. plus I'm thinking Israel can clean out a ton

of Hamas terrorists in a week's or months.

[Johnny2X2X]

28. I think it's telling that other countries are not attacking Israel

There have been a few rocket attacks from Lebanon, and some West Bank activity, but the rest of the Middle East is going to let Israel do what they need to do to be safe.

[Ohioboy]

46. I think Israel and Hamas will stay between Israel and Hamas

At least I hope that will be the case. There have been flare ups there before that didn't lead to world war.

[obnoxiousdrunk]

10. No. n/t

[captain queeg]

11. It does feel like the world is a tinderbox just waiting for a spark.

Big wars often start for stupid. Simple reasons. Take WWI. With the. US hamstrung it’s a possibility.

[wnylib]

12. It's already here, IMO, but not officially recognized yet.

The attack on Israel set the wheels in motion because of the interrelationships between Iran, Russia, some Arab states, and the US MAGAs. It is set up to be a 2 front war for the US and our allies who support Ukraine and Israel while MAGAs bring the US government to a halt.

How far it goes from here depends on the ability to keep the Israeli-Hamas war from spreading. Hezbollah is doing its best in the West Bank to take advantage of the situation. Biden is trying to contain the spread.

[brooklynite]

13. No.

[Fiendish Thingy]

14. Nope. Nt

[Xavier Breath]

15. Same as it ever was.

[Sneederbunk]

16. No. Just another day in the Levant.

[Walleye]

17. Personally I've been thinking that since October 1962, when Russia put missiles in Cuba

And here we are pretty much facing the same adversary, with the same kind of threat. And human rights, it seems to me, have gone backwards in some areas.

[GreenWave]

20. They put duds there, not trusting Castro.

[Just_Vote_Dem]

24. Really? I didn't know that

Interesting!

[Boomerproud]

82. So Kennedy got rolled?

nt

[GreenWave]

86. Russia wanted to bankrupt the USA with the arms and space race.

Apparently they don't know capitalism thrives on waste. Ironically the space race really hurt them.

And they do not stop there. Largest plane. (Could barely get off ground)

[maxsolomon]

18. Nope.

Regional conflicts are the norm for human societies. There's always been wars going on; we just got used to thinking that WW2 should put an end to them. It never did.

[GenXer47]

21. yes, and it's climate change

Rich nations, and the richest who inhabit them, have gone mad - they know climate change is real, they know it's civilization-ending, but they have no intention of drastically trimming their lifestyles to the Paris Agreement's target of 2 tons of CO2 per person, per year. (for reference, the average American emits 16 tons per year, the global per capita average is 4, and Cambodia is the lowest - less than 1).
So what, then?
7.5 billion people need to die.

[Calculating]

26. The only way the planet can sustain our first world lifestyle is with a lot less of us

Probably around 500 million through a billion people. Lots of people to be culled so we can continue living like this.

[leftstreet]

37. But they'd have to "cull" first world people

..the people with the heavy carbon footprint, to sustain the lifestyle

Unless of course people are just afraid the billions out there who AREN'T contributing to climate disaster might want a share of the pie

[Duppers]

73. Yes but how many here even acknowledge this fact?

Been criticized here for suggesting that people have less children.

[Xavier Breath]

77. Yep, they need to stop having them

and just occasionally borrow them like Santos does.

[Duppers]

78. Yeah, sarcasm, sure solves the problem doesn't it?

I lost a daughter but have a son who's doing fine.

Put me on ignore, please.

[Duppers]

79. Question

Why pick on me when others above were advocating the same thing, just not giving method or number?

[Xavier Breath]

81. Ok, what did I miss here?

You made a post about people having less children, and I responded to that. You said nothing about having lost a child, so clearly I wasn't remarking on that, yet you now mention it like I was making light of it or something. I mean, I can offer an apology but I don't know what I did wrong here. I'm not trying to be a dick or pick on you, I'm just trying to understand how I so upset you with my post.

[Duppers]

84. How would you propose to reach this goal....

As suggested by another DUer?
"The only way the planet can sustain our first world lifestyle is with a lot less of us"

Kill people? OR have less children? (I have only one living child.)

Or be content with eventual global poverty? It's the laws of supply and demand; supply is a limited and is a reality of earth's resources.

[Xavier Breath]

85. I have always been an advocate of having less children.

Not in some draconian Chinese one child policy way. Culling the population isn't even a serious suggestion, for whichever DUer suggested that.

[Lunabell]

22. No

[LakeArenal]

23. No. I feel like it's fear mongering.

Not to ask. But to say.

[LuckyCharms]

25. yes. n/t

[Kid Berwyn]

29. Yes.

I thank Goodness for President Joseph R. Biden and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken -- and all the good men and women who serve the United States.

[a kennedy]

30. Yes, and I pray daily it doesn't happen. 🙏🏻

[Curtis]

31. Yes

I read somewhere (can't remember where it was) but Kim (North Korea) said something about committing cross border raids similar into South Korea and using the Hamas raids as blueprints. And, keep in mind he and Putin just had a huge meeting in Eastern Russia.

[IronLionZion]

32. Israel/Hamas is a long time coming. That flares up every few years

I was hoping Ukraine war would have ended by now with Russia running out of people and weapons and the will to continue.

The US is likely to get pulled into the China/Taiwan conflict if that gets hot. China would have taken it by now if it weren't for the US supporting Taiwan.

[LudwigPastorius]

33. No

If it's coming at all, it'll come from Putin in Eastern Europe or Xi in Taiwan.

[Initech]

34. I feel like it's becoming an increasing inevitibility.

And there's also the possibility of a second civil war here in the US. These are really scary times in which we live.

[BannonsLiver]

35. If Putin was 30-40 years younger and didn't have a hollowed out military I'd be more worried

[peppertree]

44. Hear, hear.

Small mercies, as they say.

[sarisataka]

36. No, we may have wars world wide

Which is a combustible, if not unusual, situation but not a World War.

[czarjak]

38. From the Evangelical Pentecostal standpoint I was raised on, it's always ongoing.

(Not that I believe it, I just know it.) Which is more than you can say about Trumpbillies.

[calimary]

39. Yep. Guilty as charged.

We are NOT unreachable. Those two oceans really don’t protect us anymore.

[leftstreet]

40. WWIII, no. Geopolitical realignments, yes. n/t

[Aviation Pro]

41. No

…

[usonian]

42. The "doomsday clock" has been moved forward to 90 seconds before midnight

https://thebulletin.org/doomsday-clock/current-time/

Bulletin of the Atonic Scientists

YMMV, but two nuclear powers are at war right now.

My opinion today:
There will continue to be proxy wars fought all over between one Russia client naiton and others (or Russia-sponsored terrorist group and one naiton or another)
Putin’s got his fingers in everything vile going on.

So far, without nuclear weapons.

[LisaM]

43. I don't think WWI ever ended.

We are still fighting that one. But I don't think it was ever really resolved.

[Traildogbob]

45. I do

But I feel safe. Lindsay Graham will be out front leading us with all his bravery. And Tuberville will apply his war time wisdom as well to lead us to victory. Let’s not forget Flynn’s abilities to inspire our troops. And a war will require GQP to elect a speaker to get that cash to the Military Industrial Complex, so our gubment can get to works for us. They need that cash to fund their GQP puppets. And with trump at the helm, ain’t nobody gonna defeat us. Enemies see that mug shot and shiver in fear.
Or, MTG will pose with anti war groups for photo ops to make Biden look bad, and persuade our GQP war hounds to stand down and only stand by. And what enemy is better armed than American citizens? We will be fine. Good days ahead.

[ancianita]

47. As you say, nuclear weapons might not be used, BUT dirty bombs have floated around from Russia

since the last missile disarmament treaty was signed -- nuclear warhead material from hundreds of Russian missiles.

Russia could easily drop dirty bombs in Ukraine,
and has likely already sent dirty bombs to Iran for Hezbollah to drop on Israel.
Down will go Damascus and Iran, but I'm pretty sure the US response in Ukraine will only escalate if the fallout hits nearby NATO nations.

All that might not escalate to WWIII but it will sure come f'n close.

[ShazzieB]

48. Nope.

[PJMcK]

49. Meanwhile the United States is anything but (n/t)

[Roc2020]

51. Yes. That match was sparked 9/11

and it's been a slow burn ever since, blazing larger and larger. How do you get peace when entities like Putin/N. Korea/Iran groups like Hamas/ISIS/Islamic Jihad etc see death and the death of their people more attractive than peace? WW111 is inevitable imo.

[Duncan Grant]

52. No.

You might enjoy the website, Arts & Letters Daily. A great place to start regarding current events.

Personally, I make an effort to “be here, now”. Saves me tons of speculation.

[Ford_Prefect]

53. In all of this the thing to keep in mind is "Who Profits From This?"

That sounds simple but it isn't. For a major war on a global scale of WW II to begin , and continue would require much more than a regional or border issue flaming up.
Something to keep in mind is the people who handle all that money for the ultra-rich tend to be VERY averse to major disruptions like a world war.

As I recall there was a recent study done of what would happen if China succeded at invading Taiwan. They looked at the probable outcomes and decided that taking Taiwan would be enormously damaging to the mainland economy, would deprive China a much needed trade gateway, would leave political scars which could not be healed by time, money, or replacing Taiwan's population, and would lead to nearly all of China's regional trading partners refusing to deal with China on any level at all. It was said that the isolation resulting could plunge China into decades of financial depression, and possibly ignite a domestic Civil War.

Whether China's leaders fully agree with that report is beside the point here. I recount it to point out that the financial side-effects of large scale warfare are substantial, long-term, and global in effect. Whatever sabers are being rattled ATM world wide finances are linked in such a way as to mitigate, however informally, against wider actions of the kind which led to previous world wars.

I offer this not as pablum but as a reason to consider more specifically.

[CaptainTruth]

54. No, not anytime soon, anyway.

[mahina]

55. I do not, but I think about it as a risk. Pax Americana is finshed and Bibi is toast

Multiple proxy wars, yes. How do we get to Peace from here, I don’t know. I wish Glenn Sharp was still around.

Christian Amanpour’s show last night with Rajiv Shah and a really brilliant Israeli journalist was fabulous.

Trillions of tons of ice are melting in an unprecedented volume we learned yesterday. Not expected with all the heat bu holy cats.

We’re going to have to cooperate and the oil and coal and military cartel need to get out of the way especially Putin and Bibi.

[AllaN01Bear]

56. nope. not.

[PortTack]

57. No

China has no ability financially or the number of war ships needed to invade Taiwan. With the country being in such shaky financial grounds on so many fronts, XI knows it could end his regime being so unprepared

[Fla Dem]

58. I been wondering if all these flar-ups are being coordinated to stretch our manpower,

equipment, etc thin. Juggling so many balls hoping we drop one.

[ms liberty]

59. No. n/t

[Moostache]

60. As long as the dominant world economic theory relies on scarcity, war is inevitable and on-going.

Unrestrained, unregulated capitalism and the materialism that feeds its ceaseless appetite for infinite growth as a goal guarantees this. Unless or until humanity moves to an economy based on resource availability and common purpose, millions will die (if not BILLIONS). It is not really a question of "if", but rather "when".

[BComplex]

88. I'd recommend this post if I could!

[KPN]

61. Yes, but I don't actually think so ... not yet anyway. I don't see any one nation trying to

physically take control of all others around them in order to expand their geographic control. Russia is doing that, yes, but not effectively. If China were to start doing what Russia is doing, perhaps a different story.

[RainCaster]

63. NO

The Middle East has been at war for centuries. Look at history in that region. I don't know why anyone would want live in that party of the world, but they do.

As for Putin, he's just a jackass who has been lying to his people. He is trying to spread those lies to the US, and the GOP is helping him.

[MineralMan]

64. No, not really...

Could you share some of the logic that brings you to that conclusion? I mean with details and stuff, rather than broad statements without those details?

You asked the question, so please fill us in on why you think that's where things are going. If it's just a feeling you have, well, then, never mind...

[moniss]

67. In regards to Putin and WW3

I believe, if the stories of his health are true, that on his way out sometime in the future he would not hesitate to launch a nuclear weapon. A psychopath in his last days would probably enjoy the spectacle of carnage and horror more than he might miss another day or so on the planet. The question is whether there exists in Russia an equivalent to General Milley. I'm not so sure. I also don't know about chain of authorization differences between our military and the Russian military. Are the safeguards against rogue action stronger or weaker? My guess would be weaker since Russia is more authoritarian.

I firmly believe that the Orange Ruski and his minions want war badly, not only here for their obvious cultural and destruction of institutions of democracy, and also do not care about what level of destruction occurs, damage to the environment etc. They will of course find that the radiation will come home to roost and sicken them as well. People who believe that "limited" strikes would be OK and survivable are delusional. Survivable until your underground supplies run out maybe. I have recommended in the past that a good read for people is the 1965 book "Commander-1" by Peter George. It was the successor to his more famous book "Dr. Strangelove" and it takes a very serious look at the issues of governments being run by fools thinking these things are survivable and playing cat and mouse with each other. Also the madness of an existence after the fact. It is not in any way the expected post apocalypse portrayal we usually see in fiction. One of the most engrossing books. It blew me away.

[treestar]

68. No, this is said every time things get heated in the ME

Almost a bi-weekly occurrence on DU - happened with Putin's attacks on Ukraine, any time there is a heat-up somewhere, somebody on DU thinks it is WWIII.

[soldierant]

69. I got to thinking this morning

that a House of Representatives with no Speaker, at a time when we have no budget, and have our foreign policy focused on the Middle East shooting war, is pretty damned convenient for Russia. Ukraine is holding strong so far, but there's going to come a point when it will need resources badly. Is anyone investigating, or contemplating Matt Gaetz for being a Russian agent? Yes, I know he's a pedophile and is himself intellectually and emotionally an adolescent (and will probably never grow up. But that doesn't mean he can't be useful to Russia. Au contraire.

[kgray96057]

71. The Third World War

We refer to a first and second world war, and we worry about a third - but I don't know that the war stopped so much as changed phases. Went cool, for the most part; to economics and resource control after the larger scale shooting and bombing stopped, but a case can be made for that not stopping either. Only becoming restrained and local. Episodic TV war, if you will, rather than on the big screen.

The second hot world war ended with us learning that going forward with things at the newly possible scale- nuclear destruction- could end all our fun permanently. So we just switched up our war fighting- into a cold war with occasional outbreaks of fighting.

My worry is that we are on the verge of unlearning that lesson. It's been generations since people wandered the smoking ruins of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Saw images burnt into concrete which represented all that remained of a person, vaporized, memorialized in the little protection their shadow offered that surface during the flash. Saw the burnt and scarred survivors.

Our last president talked about using nuclear weapons for a variety of purposes. And we have had all sorts of weapons technicians talk about smaller scale, tactical, theater use weaponry.

I think people are itching for the big boom. For the grand scale war. I don't think they are as afraid of it as they once were.

This is probably cyclic. Each technological advance in war making leaves the generation that fought it horrified. Determined to avoid making further such dire advances. A few generations later, their descendants think that they can handle it. Use it.

Maybe so. Maybe not. But if we decide to use _these_, we really do risk making the planet uninhabitable for us.

Not destroying it. Earth would recover. Just without us.

[roamer65]

72. Sleepwalking into it.

Eventually, nukes will get used.

[Elessar Zappa]

74. No, I don't think so.

These are just regional wars. A lot would have to happen for all of this to escalate into a world war.

[FakeNoose]

76. Why didn't the 9/11 attack lead to World War III?

For the same reason that this Hamas attack on Israel won't ... because we'll get over it.
Cooler heads will prevail, including our President Joe Biden's. He won't engage.
We will learn from this, and so will the Israelis.

Putin's days are numbered. Hopefully it's a very small number.

Chump will never have power again, and that's just as it should be.

Prayers for the victims in Gaza and Israel.

[ecstatic]

80. If so, good luck enlisting anyone

That's not going to fly... unless someone bombs us or something. Let's hope that does NOT happen.

[Iggo]

83. Since 1965 or so...

[AntiFascist]

87. I'm hearing a lot of far off rumbling like fighter jets practicing...

not that this means there will be WWIII, but it is reminiscent of the preparations before the Iraq invasion.

[druidity33]

89. I got my

potassium iodide tabs in the mail this week.