Are We on the Eve of the Next World War?

April 1, 2008 | Aleksandra Rebic

[Straight Vermonter]

China’s dumping of the dollar for euros and calling in those IOUs

What IOUs? They own Treasury bonds the same as I do. They can't call them in until the date they are due.

[r9etb]

The opposing sides? West vs. East.

Huh? Which "East," and which "West?" I presume you mean the Russians and Europe/NATO ... but what vital stake has either side got in Kosovo, and why would anybody go to war with over Kosovo's independence?

Answer: there is no vital stake for either side, and thus there's no casus belli in Kosovo.

[Cringing Negativism Network]

“It “feels” like a world war is coming. “

-

Yes indeed it does.

And we’re sending our factories as fast as we can, to China.

[rmlew]

Please. Serbia was no victim of War War 2. A bunch of thugs, the Black Hand, assinated their way into a getting a pliant Serb King and then tried to destroy the Austro-Hungarian Empire through additional murder.
Serbia could have prevented war by turning over those involved.
Russia, France and Serbia chose war.

[rmlew]

Sorry, Great War, WW1.

[LjubivojeRadosavljevic]

I think the author misses a key point in terms of where "the game" is really being played between Washington, Brussels, Moscow, and Beijing.

More specifically, the the game that's being played out between these competing forces is the control of Central Asia.

That is, look at Uzbekistan (or Turkmenistan) and the natural resources that are associates with those countries (unlike Kosovo). Obviously, both China and Russia are chief stakeholders in this game as well as the US and the EU. - think about it.

[Solitar]

Answer to title question: Yes.
South America — Chavez
Africa — several Islamic countries
Europe — Balkans, Russia and Muslim immigants
Southwest Asia — Pakistan to Syria
South Asia — India building a major Navy
China — building an even more major military
Korea — again.
And remember than Indonesia is Muslim.
North America — if SCOTUS rules against Heller...

[montyspython]

Incorrect, Serbia capitulated to Austria’s demands but they still chose war. The assassination was a dog and pony show.

[LjubivojeRadosavljevic]

"Serbia was no victim of War War 2."

Have you ever heard of Jasenovac?

[montyspython]

I believe his context was purely WWI.

[VanShuyten]

I agree. What we're seeing is a “dead cat bounce” after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the triumph of (admittedly fascistic) capitalism in China. There will be bumps in the road caused by countries that no longer are important to the Cold War and that have some extra cash (Venezuela, Iran, et al), but most of the world, especially the larger countries, see that capitalism and democracy are the way to go, even those that seem resistant now. Most everyone here seems very worried about the Muslims in Europe or the leftists in South America or that little mutant in North Korea. Those are comparable to Cubans in Angola or Communists in Greece. We no longer have 20,000 nuclear warheads on the ready to launch in our direction, and those countries that seem to be a threat now would fold in a two-day real war if they ever started anything. The world is getting richer and richer, fewer people are starving or going to gulags, and everyone is online. The end of the world is a long ways away. Not saying that there might not be a couple of hits here and there, but our future's so bright, we've got to wear shades.

[montyspython]

Two oil pipelines are not vital?

[LjubivojeRadosavljevic]

Yes, you're correct (i.e. WW 1 instead of WW 2) after review. I jumped the gun after the second sentence.

[montyspython]

His conclusions are still incorrect however.

[Centurion2000]

bump for later.

[Centurion2000]

You don't make a convincing case for this. The conditions that caused WWI no longer exist. Kosovo may be of personal importance to you, but it is not the sort of stuff on which world wars are built.

Disagree. We, the United States must treat any attack on the following nations as an attack on our own.

Belgium
Bulgaria
Canada
Czech Rep
Denmark
Estonia
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Italy
Latvia
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Turkey
United Kingdom
United States

Do you think any war that breaks out in Serbia or Kosovo is not going to drag the USA into direct conflict with another world power?

[r9etb]

Do you think any war that breaks out in Serbia or Kosovo is not going to drag the USA into direct conflict with another world power?

No.

[r9etb]

Two oil pipelines are not vital?

Not "vital" enough to fight a world war over, no.... Russia has no need for that oil. Europe can get the oil via different routes -- even from Russia.

Certainly they wouldn't be "vital" in the event of a war: they'd be destroyed!

[F-117A]

Bump for later reading.

[Bokababe]

"We need really stable, smart, and ethical people at the helm. We also need people willing to be strong and to do the right thing regardless of whatever the agendas may be"

And we have NONE of those to chose from this election!