Are we currently fighting World War III?

Question

Will history look back and determine that 9/11 was the spark that ignited a World War?

Answer 1

kind of

Answer 2

We aren't really at World War III yet, but it could easily go that direction.

There are a few things that will determine whether we end up in World War III or in another Cold War (no fighting, just a lot of growling and hair pulling).

1. The outcome of Iraq. If they can pull their army together, and we can continue to decrease troop strength there, we might be able to relocate our forces to other parts of the globe before any fighting begins.

2. North Korea's response involving the UN and testing nuclear weapons

3. Japan's response to North Korea if they continue to test their nukes so close to the Japanese coast.

4. The involvement of both Russia and China in the conflict, and their reactions to the UN

5. The outcome of the next presidential election (which could be the catalyst to bring us into full scale warfare)

6. The U.S. economy

I'm not sure that 9/11 will be the starting point. I think we're looking probably at North Korea's nuclear program as the catalyst. Our terms with Russia have always been on shaky ground, and the Chinese absolutely despise the West. Throw in 3 crazy world leaders, and you've got a problem. Iraq should have been the least of our worries.

Answer 3

Probably not. 9/11 triggered the US invasion of Afghanistan. How will historians compare the US/NATO occupation of Afghanistan with the Soviet Union's? Remember the Soviet occupation took 10 years, and the Taliban is making a comeback now. It also made it politically possible to propose invading Iraq, which could be taken as finishing the war that started in 1990 or starting a new one. If these are all the wars related in some way to 9/11, they will be historically second-rate wars like the Spanish-American war, not WW III.

Fighting with North Korea could begin WW III, Russia & China might come in on North Korea's side. China did in the first Korean War, after nobody vetoed action aganst North Korea. My bet is they will remember that war & veto any resolution that could lead to war, and side with North Korea in any long term fighting if there is a pre-emptive strike on North Korea that gets out of hand.

Answer 4

There are some who say 9/11 ignited World War IV, and the Cold War was World War III.

I think whether the war on terror degenerates into a world war depends on the choices made in the next few years, on both sides.

Answer 5

Perhaps. But only if the Chinese or Russians take up arms along side the Muslims. Right now, that doesn't appear to be the case.

But this could drag on for quite a while, particularly considering how the Supreme Court just told the President to extend the Geneva Convention to terrorists (who incidentally never signed the treaty in the first place).

Answer 6

Not really. World Wars involve many world super powers battling each other. Other than the US, and Britain, the other world powers are only slightly involved.

Maybe if the situation expands, and more theaters of war pop up, but as of now, no.

Answer 7

NO!!!! We are not in World War III because the senate never approve it as a war. This is just Bush and his admistrative plan. Before we can go to another World War III the senate has to approve it and they never did.

Answer 8

we are getting close to possibly having a World War III. 9/11/ did not yet start one but the Koreans and Iranians might be close for us to have to go to war due to nuclear weapons and missles.

Answer 9

Not really; first of all, it's not exactly a full-scale war, even in Iraq and Afghanistan. Secondly, it's not like a bloc of countries have allied themselves against another bloc of countries, but rather a group cooperating against one common enemy, and one without borders, at that. So this is a US/United Nations vs. a couple of organizations spread across several countries, but not in control of any of them. It's not a conflict between governments, so you can't really call it a world war.

Answer 10

Well, there is fighting going on everywhere, although it's pretty low-grade compared to the previous two.

I think it's going to wind down before it escalates too much, so I'm going to say that no we're not in WW III.

Answer 11

Nah, if anything Israel is trying to start WWIII right now and what we are doing in Iraq is just a sidelines fight. If nothing is done to reign in Israel and the Arab nations it is fighting, I have no doubt that Israel will try to drop a nuke on someone, and then it will really be on.