The Beginnings of World War III? (Part 2) (Aug 2006)

The Beginnings of World War III? (Part 2) (Aug 2006)
By Tommy Franks

For years Iran has been calling the world’s bluff by openly sponsoring terrorism, inflaming Islamist radicalism, and defying international pressure to give up its nuclear program. Iran actually started Hezbollah in 1982. They have financed it from the beginning. The world has been completely ineffective in putting a stop to these activities. Iran recently started a war and still, no nation has been willing to stop them!
Iran is rapidly making progress toward its goal of bonding its position as the most dominant nation in the Middle East. We should all wonder about this unchecked rise of Iran’s power. On the contrary, the United States is becoming a peripheral power. We are Israel’s strongest and staunchest ally. However, our resources are tied up heavily in Iraq, Afghanistan, Bosnia, Kosovo, Macedonia, and several other parts of the globe. We are reluctant to invest too heavily in a third conflict. The recent Israel situation is simply the latest in a series of serious threats which also include North Korea. American influence on global issues is on the decline. Why? Because of the rising influence of China, Russia, and Iran.

America has asked Germany and other Western nations to step in and assist with the current situation in the Middle East. Germany has accepted the challenge and talked to Israel and several of its neighboring countries. Even France wants in on the deal.

Some historians believe that that the US will eventually lose its credentials as a mediator in the Middle East. At this juncture, the Jews sort of feel compelled to request more and more assistance from Germany and other European nations. Germany appears anxious to step up to the plate as a peace broker. You will hear more about this in the media as new developments occur in the Middle East. Who can blame Israel for looking elsewhere for help? Though Israel is certainly the strongest military power in the region, the recent and various crises could easily escalate beyond its control. Israel has already acknowledged Washington’s limited helpfulness and of the need to seek other options.For the first time in history, Israel announced it would consider the presence of an international military force in order to shore up its security. NATO members would be welcome. Germany is being considered as a major source of troops for the force. Israel now realizes it can’t do things alone. Germany is primed to play a central role in the continued peace negotiations between Israel and Lebanon.
What about the UN? The UN has proven itself an utter, useless, and absolute failure at solving such crises. Its resolution two years ago demanded that Hezbollah disarm. This turned out to be a joke. If they had enforced Resolution 1559, this crisis would not have happened. There is huge skepticism within Israel and Europe over any possibility of long-term success using UN peacekeeping tactics. The UN has no credibility in the Middle East and most of the free world. Period! Therefore, we can soon expect the “peacekeeping” forces of a German and French-led European army to be called upon to deal with the crises in Iran and its Islamic henchmen. The fact that Germany and the rest of Europe have taken a special interest in the recent war reveals the beginning stages of a trend that will intensify.Is this World War III? The underlying realities that sparked this war will not go away. Iran’s power will not wane. Islamist fervor within the Middle East will not be tamed. The world will not suddenly find the will to crush Iran’s ambitions. The current trends will only intensify and will eventually thrust the world even closer to World War III. WWIII is inevitable, predictable, and is unavoidable…under the present circumstances! When will this occur? How much time do we have before someone pulls the plug? How many countries will this war affect? My answer is: I believe it has already begun.
What we do know is: The Middle East is a “powder keg” with a short fuse! Tragic and catastrophic events will continue on a more frequent and explosive scale. We know that Israel, Iran, Russia, China, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, India, and some of the NATO forces will most likely be involved. The recent Israel-Hezbollah conflict is just one small battle in a much larger, global war. The much broader war is between two massive, loose alliances. On one side are Israel, America, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, and other Western countries. On the other side are Hezbollah, Syria, Iran, Russia, China and other anti-American, anti-Western states. This second group is getting bolder all the time. In the middle is a German-dominated European Union seeking to play mediator…in order to boost its own aspirations for world power status.“For the violence of Lebanon shall cover you, and the spoil of beasts, which made them afraid, because of men’s blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein” (Habakkuk 2:17). Eventually, everyone on Earth will become swept up in the conflagration that will follow.
The more you dig, the more you find that rhetoric about World War III is sneaking into the language at large. More than a year ago, Bush quoted Osama bin Laden as saying, “This Third World War is raging.”

President Bush…Speaking of Flight 93 that crashed in Pennsylvania on 9/11, said, “I believe that it was the first counterattack to WWIII.” The War on Terror is almost five years old now. Bill O’Reilly, Newt Gingrich, Bradley Burston, and Glenn Beck believe that we are already in World War III. Others say, “Yes, this is WWIII…And we are losing.”

In the past, the Cold War was a battle of ideology; however, World War III is a war of religion. While the former is based on political and economic policies, the latter is based on “demented thinking”. Religion speaks to the most fearsome questions that we have the power to ask. Why are we here? What do we believe? What gives value to my life? And more importantly, what is right and what is wrong?

From the beginning of this discussion, if this is indeed World War III, what happens to the radical interpretations of Judaism, Christianity and Islam? Does this mean that WWIII will never end? Considering two immense changes in the US Military in the last five years, there’s no question that the engagement at hand is significant, and more importantly, the enemy is entirely different than any German or Russian foe against which the US has fought before. Our defense spending in 2006 was 41 percent higher than in 2001. When the 2006 budget was announced, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said very simply, “We are a nation at war.” (Final Episode to Follow)