In a week in which former allies in a redividing globe separately commemorated the 80th anniversary of the end of the second world war, the sense of a runaway descent towards a third world war draws ever closer.
The implosion of Pax Americana, the interconnectedness of conflicts, the new willingness to resort to unbridled state-sponsored violence and the irrelevance of the institutions of the rules-based order have all been on brutal display this week. From Kashmir to Khan Younis, Hodeidah, Port Sudan and Kursk, the only sound is of explosions, and the only lesson is that the old rules no longer apply.
Indeed Fiona Hill, the policy analyst and adviser to the UK government on its imminent strategic defence review, argues the third world war has already started, if only we would recognise it.
To talk about the Gaza conflict in the context of a world war is ridiculous.
Yes the human atrocities are enormous, and the moral sickness equals Nazi Germany. But it is not part of a “world war”.
Yes there are many conflicts around the world ATM. But many separate conflicts do not equal a world war.
And no we are not already in a world war.Scenario: Israel strikes Iran with missiles, but this time Iran responds for real, with many dead. Maga shithawks jump on the conflict like they’ve been drooling to. Escalation spreads to Iraq and the arabian peninsula. Russia leans in heavily but in other theatres, chaotically. The E.U. steps in under the guise of defence, and with internal tensions stretched thin due to authoritarian members of the union. Ukraine gets more intense as China assists Russia more openly and the USA pulls out.
While things are peaking elsewhere, the PRC makes a move on Taiwan. Shit gets real everywhere, multiple African nations pulled in. Layers upon layers of conflict reflect the global complexity of it all.
If anything current could be called a prelude to a world war it would be America’s trade war against the rest of the world because virtually nothing else going on involves enough nations to qualify.
I agree, also because USA is alienating allies, and this clearly emboldens China, Russia and Iran.
But this will hurt USA too, and Trump will hopefully declare victory soon and end it.
Yeah literally no one is “warring” over this. They aren’t even making harsh comments. Everyone it seems wants the Muslims dead.
IDK why Israel is getting off so easy, there is clearly moral opposition to it, but nobody is doing anything?
Because they still claim to be victims
It’s a huge part of the Israeli identity to claim that they’re persecuted for their religion
I don’t care about their superstition.
I care that they commit atrocities, do truly foul things for the US so that the Americans can maintain deniability, all while being disgusting hypocrites
Israel only exists so that the West has a permanent presence in an oil-producing region. That’s all it ever was
Sadly yes.
Well, the moral opposition is actually pretty low. On here, yeah, we don’t want genocide. But, think about the average angry uneducated citizen of the world. Muslims are often seen as terrorists because so many of the terrorists follow Islam. They might think: not all Muslims are terrorists, but all terrorists are Muslims. Which is obviously not true because there are plenty of non-Muslim terrorists. But you know how people are.
I agree that there are problems with Islam extremists, just as there are problems with other extremists. But obviously we should not solve the problem by becoming the problem ourselves. In Gaza Israel is the extremist, and it is insane that Israel is allowed to control it like it was some sort of criminal ghetto prison.
As I see it, Israel is a failed experiment, and the countries behind it need to step in and resolve the situation and at a minimum stop further Israeli settlements.
I remember a refrain between my dad and I over Biden’s term, “Could you just imagine what would happen right now if Trump was in office handling this…?” mostly in reference to Ukraine and even Gaza.
No imagination necessary now…
I’m not sure we can imagine how bad it’s going to be.
Is it really true that every eighty years or so humans have to immerse ourselves in this kind of behavior?
It seems so but it is a bit reductive. The uber wealthy have set the conditions for conflict based entirely upon greed. They profit from chaos and genocide and profit again in the rebuilding effort. Inequity has always been at the center of conflict.
Palestine has been in perpetual war for sovreignty since the end of WWII. So called third world countries always fight for scraps for the “developed” countries. Our relative peace has been at the expense of others.
The uber wealthy have set the conditions for conflict based entirely upon greed.
Same as it ever was…
Palestine has been in perpetual war for sovreignty since the end of WWII.
Yup. Even longer, actually: Timeline of intercommunal conflict in Mandatory Palestine
1881
The first wave of Jews arrive in Ottoman Syria in the First Aliyah after Zionism itself began some time in the 1850s
Eventually leading to the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and ongoing conflict
Basically the violence has been constant, with occasional breaks to reload.
The Pax Americana is probably responsible for the relative stability of the '90s and '00s - there was still violence, car bombings and rocket attacks &etc, but not open warfare. That’s obviously ending now.
My guess is that the period without warfare allowed Palestine to develop some economic stability and power of its own, which Israel perceived as a long-term threat. Combine that fear with greed and expansionism and you get the current attempt to erase Palestine.
My guess is that the period without warfare allowed Palestine to develop some economic stability and power of its own, which Israel perceived as a long-term threat.
There was no period without warfare or economic stability in Palestine. Israel went to war in Gaza four times between the second intifada and 2023, in addition to the blockade that meant no serious economic development could happen. As for the West Bank, also since the second intifada it has been under an economic stranglehold by Israel, and settlements are only one step removed from the warfare you’re talking about. So… Yeah. Things were not getting better for Palestinians before October 7th as far as I’m aware.
Smart people make things good, people forget what bad is, bad people take advantage of good people, bad people subjugate good people, good people do something smart, repeat.
This is how I learned to be selfish. I like helping others, but whenever I do, I find I’m not helping, but rather doing everything for everyone else. So now I’m selfish, and feel bad, until I remind myself why.
Well between 1 and 2 was only 24 years but yeah the once in a 100 year war is due soon.
I think WWI and WWII could be considered “World War Part 1” and " World War Part 2."
the armed conflicts overlap since thousands of years. there hasn’t been a single peaceful day in recorded history. so it’s more like an ongoing thing.
It seems so.
Once the last generation involved in the wars has (almost) completely died off, the men in charge of the world decide they must start a new global war to own more real estate.
/s if needed
Sarcasm? Reality.
