war - what's this one good for?
This isn't the start of World War III, it's the start of World War I - a very stupid war, started thanks to a tangle of alliances, national pride and personal egos involved. It never had to happen. And - again with the irony - WWI is the war that brought the world to this point, spawning the League of Nations, the failure of which led to World War II and the later creation of the United Nations and the Security Council. It also saw the destruction of the Ottoman Empire and the creation of the Kingdom of Iraq. And let's not forget the use of chemical weapons - allegedly the reason for the great big army in the desert. It was a war that embodied the Law of Unintended Consequences.
I promised I wouldn't make predictions about the start of the war, so perhaps I can make one about the end of it. When it's over and the dust has settled, the United States will stand supreme in the world, powerful but hated, its boot on the throat of Iraq. The international frameworks built over the last 50 years, including the United Nations, will lie in ruins or will be about to collapse. Resentful young men, hearts full of fear, hate and Allah will find refuge and a raison d'etre as explosive martyrs. The world will be less safe - for everyone. And thousands of people - soldiers, civilians, innocent or not - will be dead. And for no good reason at all.
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