09 Jan 2017, 11:18 am
09 Jan 2017, 12:37 pm
09 Jan 2017, 1:46 pm
09 Jan 2017, 2:02 pm
09 Jan 2017, 2:12 pm
09 Jan 2017, 4:55 pm
naturalplastic wrote:
Both world wars WERE called that as they were being fought. They called the first World War "the Great War", or the "World War" (obviously they didnt put the number "one" after the name). And they continued to call it the great war, or the world war during the peace time of the Twenties and Thirties. And then they did call it "the Second World War" when that broke out in 1939.
The war on terrorism triggered by 9-11 was staged around the globe, but thats not the same thing as a "world war".
A "world war" has to involve the major powers directly fighting each other. If Russia backed small country A, to fight against small country B being backed by the US thats not a world war. Russia and the US directly fighting each other would be a world war. That plus other powerful allies. And millions would by dying.
So we are not at the moment in any "world war".
However....should a sane person worry that we could be sliding toward a third world war?
I would say "absolutely".
Tensions are rising.
Some of this is simply the world returning to normal. For decades we had the cold war-just two sides. Then the post cold war with just one superpower (one side). Now we have a more normal situation in which many nations are emerging- some economically like India and Brazil, and some both militarily and economially (like Russia and China).
Add to that the Middle east: were you have the two local regional powers confronting each other: Saudia Arabia, and Iran over domination of the region. But the outiside global powers also have their fingers in the pie (Russia, and the US/NATO alliance). The Middle East has the makings of both regional general war (like Europe's Thirty Years War, or the wars of Napoleon)breaking out, AND the potential for adding to the tensions between the global powers like the US and Russia.
The war on terrorism triggered by 9-11 was staged around the globe, but thats not the same thing as a "world war".
A "world war" has to involve the major powers directly fighting each other. If Russia backed small country A, to fight against small country B being backed by the US thats not a world war. Russia and the US directly fighting each other would be a world war. That plus other powerful allies. And millions would by dying.
So we are not at the moment in any "world war".
However....should a sane person worry that we could be sliding toward a third world war?
I would say "absolutely".
Tensions are rising.
Some of this is simply the world returning to normal. For decades we had the cold war-just two sides. Then the post cold war with just one superpower (one side). Now we have a more normal situation in which many nations are emerging- some economically like India and Brazil, and some both militarily and economially (like Russia and China).
Add to that the Middle east: were you have the two local regional powers confronting each other: Saudia Arabia, and Iran over domination of the region. But the outiside global powers also have their fingers in the pie (Russia, and the US/NATO alliance). The Middle East has the makings of both regional general war (like Europe's Thirty Years War, or the wars of Napoleon)breaking out, AND the potential for adding to the tensions between the global powers like the US and Russia.
Quote:
A "world war" has to involve the major powers directly fighting each other.
Quote:
"absolutely"]
Absolutely????
Can you conceive of any situation in which we would put attack forces in Russia?
Or in China?
Or join with either (or NATO) to invade a third major super power?
I can not reach any of these conclusions logically. I can "imagine" a lot of different things, but that's not the same. I believe the threat of nuclear war is so real and certain that no country would risk being on the receiving end.
The delight of the politicians running the show is that they get to do all the fighting in someone else's backyard, which keeps radioactivity (etc.) from spoiling their flower garden at home. They won't risk it.
Quote:
Some of this is simply the world returning to normal.
In a roundabout way I think you're correct, but feel the big changes happening now are because of the introduction of China into the big picture (it used to be just a two superpower ballgame remember). Now smaller countries have a plethora of choices (and each superpower gets played against the other)....even by that idiot over in the Philippines....and this gives these smaller countries more autonomy and increases their opportunity for growth....YAY!
I think we'll just see more of the same.
09 Jan 2017, 6:36 pm
ZenDen wrote:
naturalplastic wrote:
Both world wars WERE called that as they were being fought. They called the first World War "the Great War", or the "World War" (obviously they didnt put the number "one" after the name). And they continued to call it the great war, or the world war during the peace time of the Twenties and Thirties. And then they did call it "the Second World War" when that broke out in 1939.
The war on terrorism triggered by 9-11 was staged around the globe, but thats not the same thing as a "world war".
A "world war" has to involve the major powers directly fighting each other. If Russia backed small country A, to fight against small country B being backed by the US thats not a world war. Russia and the US directly fighting each other would be a world war. That plus other powerful allies. And millions would by dying.
So we are not at the moment in any "world war".
However....should a sane person worry that we could be sliding toward a third world war?
I would say "absolutely".
Tensions are rising.
Some of this is simply the world returning to normal. For decades we had the cold war-just two sides. Then the post cold war with just one superpower (one side). Now we have a more normal situation in which many nations are emerging- some economically like India and Brazil, and some both militarily and economially (like Russia and China).
Add to that the Middle east: were you have the two local regional powers confronting each other: Saudia Arabia, and Iran over domination of the region. But the outiside global powers also have their fingers in the pie (Russia, and the US/NATO alliance). The Middle East has the makings of both regional general war (like Europe's Thirty Years War, or the wars of Napoleon)breaking out, AND the potential for adding to the tensions between the global powers like the US and Russia.
The war on terrorism triggered by 9-11 was staged around the globe, but thats not the same thing as a "world war".
A "world war" has to involve the major powers directly fighting each other. If Russia backed small country A, to fight against small country B being backed by the US thats not a world war. Russia and the US directly fighting each other would be a world war. That plus other powerful allies. And millions would by dying.
So we are not at the moment in any "world war".
However....should a sane person worry that we could be sliding toward a third world war?
I would say "absolutely".
Tensions are rising.
Some of this is simply the world returning to normal. For decades we had the cold war-just two sides. Then the post cold war with just one superpower (one side). Now we have a more normal situation in which many nations are emerging- some economically like India and Brazil, and some both militarily and economially (like Russia and China).
Add to that the Middle east: were you have the two local regional powers confronting each other: Saudia Arabia, and Iran over domination of the region. But the outiside global powers also have their fingers in the pie (Russia, and the US/NATO alliance). The Middle East has the makings of both regional general war (like Europe's Thirty Years War, or the wars of Napoleon)breaking out, AND the potential for adding to the tensions between the global powers like the US and Russia.
Quote:
A "world war" has to involve the major powers directly fighting each other.
Quote:
"absolutely"]
Absolutely????
Can you conceive of any situation in which we would put attack forces in Russia?
Or in China?
Or join with either (or NATO) to invade a third major super power?
I can not reach any of these conclusions logically. I can "imagine" a lot of different things, but that's not the same. I believe the threat of nuclear war is so real and certain that no country would risk being on the receiving end.
The delight of the politicians running the show is that they get to do all the fighting in someone else's backyard, which keeps radioactivity (etc.) from spoiling their flower garden at home. They won't risk it.
Quote:
Some of this is simply the world returning to normal.
In a roundabout way I think you're correct, but feel the big changes happening now are because of the introduction of China into the big picture (it used to be just a two superpower ballgame remember). Now smaller countries have a plethora of choices (and each superpower gets played against the other)....even by that idiot over in the Philippines....and this gives these smaller countries more autonomy and increases their opportunity for growth....YAY!
I think we'll just see more of the same.
Maybe.
Not saying that the danger is certain, but there are flashpoints.
Ukraine is a flashpoint. Putin makes advances. A US president not wanting to look like an appeaser stands up to him, then he doesnt back down, then we dont back down to him backing down. Russia directly fights in the UKraine, and then NATO steps in.
Korea is a flashpoint. The north korean tail could drag the dog of China into a confrontation with the south korean tail, which in turns wags the US dog.Then you have the two big dogs growling at each other even though neither China nor the US wants to fight the other.
One could easily imagine Iraq reverting to direct W.Bush era style US occupation while at the same time Syria falls under Russian occupation to prop up Assad. In effect making the mideast neighbors (Syria and Iraq) also bordering military bases of the two superpowers. Both russia and the US might still be bombing ISIS (thus accidently bombing each other near the Iraq Syria border). Turkey (our NATO ally, but enemy of our Kurdish allies) might play Russia and the US off each other. Sumpin could go wrong.
09 Jan 2017, 6:43 pm
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10 Jan 2017, 1:32 am
10 Jan 2017, 1:36 am
ASPartOfMe
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Joined: 25 Aug 2013
Age: 66
Gender: Male
Posts: 34,799
Location: Long Island, New York
10 Jan 2017, 3:59 am
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