Despite conflicts such as the Vietnam War, the Iran-Iraq war, and the second US invasion of Iraq,
the world has enjoyed relative peace and quiet for almost eighty years. While these and other
conflicts may seem like anything but peaceful, the truth is that the long and almost unbroken
chain of major wars between large powers was at last broken by the end of World War II.
Yet as we swing into the new year, the likelihood of another world war only grows by the day.
Here are the places that World War III could actually break out in the new year.
Turkey
Turkey has been a steadfast ally of NATO for decades,
and yet in recent years that commitment to the alliance has wavered significantly.
Ongoing tensions between Greece and Turkey, both NATO members, have put severe strain
on the alliance, with Turkey claiming islands in the Mediterranean which belong to Greece.
While violence has so far been avoided, numerous airborne interceptions of Turkish fighters by the
Greek air force have taken place, and just this last summer the situation reached a boiling point.
In defiance of Greek maritime claims, Turkey dispatched a small force of warships
along with a survey vessel exploring for oil and gas reserves. As the survey ship
was followed by both Greek and Turkish vessels, a collision between a Greek and Turkish ship
nearly led to shots being fired. As the two nations continue to clash politically over
massive oil and gas reserves of the island of Cyprus, a confrontation only grows more likely.
For its part, the US, long the bulwark of the NATO alliance, has decided to
remain silent on the issue as President Trump decided the issue was best handled by the EU.
So what could happen in the future to spark a world war?
Turkey and the US's own relationship is already severely strained after Trump gave Turkey's
Erdogan the green light to attack US-backed Kurds in one of the greatest betrayals in history.
After massive backlash from the American public and the US senate, Trump pulled an about face
and threaten to level massive sanctions against Turkey. This in turn drew threats
from President Erdogan who has publicly stated ambitions to possibly seize large stockpiles
of American nuclear weapons currently stored at Incirlik Air Force Base inside of Turkey.
Should Turkey make a move on the American weapons stored at Incirlik Air Force Base,
it would completely overwhelm local American forces and get its hands on a sizable nuclear
stockpile. The US would have no option but to respond with full military force.
This could potentially lead to a splintering of NATO, and possibly the end of the alliance itself.
With President Trump giving a cold shoulder to Turkey, the nation has drawn much closer
to Russia, and if Putin believes that the US may not have the backing of other European powers,
could potentially join the conflict and kick the US out of Europe for good.
Iran-Israel
Over the last several months several Arab nations have formally announced diplomatic ties with
Israel, a massive step forward for middle east peace. Perhaps the most significant step forward
however may have been the United Arab Emirate's normalization of ties with Israel. However, not
every neighbor is growing chummy with Israel, and Iran has pushed back hard on recent developments.
Currently, Iran continues to finance, train, and sometimes even directly lead anti-Israel
militias and terrorist groups across the region, while Israel has been openly striking at Iranian
military targets outside of Iran itself. While Israel slowly builds an anti-Iran coalition
across the Middle East, Iran has responded by engaging with various terror groups and
militias. Iran's increasing isolation only makes the country more dangerous.
Should Iran decide it is in danger of being encircled by pro-Israel states,
it may decide to strike preemptively either directly at Israel or at a neighbor such
as Saudi Arabia. This would likely come as an unconventional attack using terrorist forces,
and serve as a warning that nations should continue to distance themselves
from Israel or else. Israel may feel it has no choice but to respond
or see its diplomatic efforts evaporate, leading to strikes inside Iran itself.
With President Trump's ill-advised cancellation of the Iran nuclear deal,
the nation may once more pursue nuclear weapons. While the Iran nuclear deal made it
nearly impossible for Iran to build nuclear weapons covertly, now the nation has much
more breathing room to do so, and should Israel feel that Iran is nearing the bomb,
it may be forced to attack first. This would doubtlessly lead to a catastrophic war which would
threaten major parts of the world's oil supply, inevitably drawing in both the US and Russia.
Kashmir
Ever since the creation of the Indian and Pakistani states,
the two have butted heads over the region known as Kashmir. Things only took a turn for
the worse when China seized part of Kashmir during the Indo-Chinese border war of 1962.
To date, India and Pakistan have waged three wars over Kashmir- along with a variety of other issues
that still sees the two countries holding on to very long-running grudges. In recent years,
China has grown much closer to Pakistan, much to the chagrin of India who for its part, has chosen
to develop closer ties to the United States. The situation has become a tinderbox that's ready to
go up at any moment, and with both India and Pakistan having ties to the two most powerful
nations in the world, a war between the two would indubitably pull in both China and the US.
In 2020 it seemed war between China and India was all but inevitable. Starting in early summer 2020,
China began a series of incremental 'crawls', pushing troops forward slowly to inevitably seize
control of large swathes of territory. This led to fist fights between Indian and Chinese troops,
with one at Pangong Tso causing 72 injuries on the Indian side and an
unknown amount of the Chinese side. China then began to build helipads,
pillboxes, and fortified bunkers while reinforcing their troops already present.
In a bid to prevent an all-out escalation to war, both sides have agreed to only use
firearms if fired on first. However, this has led to a bizarre throwback to medieval
times as both sides now carry all manner of improvised weapons such as clubs, rods,
batons, and other melee weapons. On June 15th, a massive 600 man skirmish between both sides led
to the deaths of 20 Indian soldiers and an unknown number of Chinese soldiers, though US intelligence
states that 35 Chinese soldiers were killed or seriously injured. The incident directly led to
the removal of restrictions on the Indian side on the usage of firearms, and another such skirmish
may now be met with lethal force, hopelessly escalating the fighting into all out war.
If India were to find itself in a fight with China, Pakistan would almost certainly
see this as an opportunity to attack an India forced to fight a two-front war. Even without
the intervention of the United States, which would surely back India, this would already be
a conflict between three nuclear powers, with the outcome not looking good for the world.
Korean Peninsula
Despite an optimistic two meetings between President Trump and Kim Jong Un, the historic
talks between the two countries inevitably broke down over the issue of nuclear disarmament. For
North Korea, disarmament is a non-starter, as the Kim regime believes nuclear weapons is the
only way to guarantee the United States does not oust it from power as it's done in other nations
such as Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya. North Korea sees nuclear weapons as the only guarantor of its
continued independence against the United States and an international coalition of its allies.
On a personal level, Kim Jong Un is himself dependent on nuclear weapons
for his own political survival. After failing to deliver for years on a working nuclear weapon,
the Kim family hold on power was seriously threatened during the transition from Kim
Jong Il to Kim Jong Un. What might have been a moment of temporary weakness
however was turned to strength as Kim Jong Un immediately initiated a ruthless purging of
senior military and political leadership that he saw as a threat to his power.
Yet despite his success in developing nuclear weapons, Kim Jong Un still faces a dicey political
environment. As North Korea slowly grows and expands, many of the North Korean elite grow tired
of the extreme financial burden international sanctions have placed on them. Incredibly,
President Trump may have himself inadvertantly helped Kim Jong Un remain in power though. Despite
the objection of every single adviser, the entire Department of Defense, and most senior Democratic
and Republican leadership, President Trump agreed to meet face-to-face with Kim Jong Un. What he
may have seen as a potential diplomatic victory however only helped to cement Kim Jong Un's hold
on power, as his ministers spun the event into state propaganda showing that at long last, Kim
Jong Un had forced the world's only superpower to bend the knee and meet to discuss terms of peace.
Now that the Kim family is sure to remain in power, and yet refuses to dismantle its nuclear
program, a confrontation between the US and North Korea grows ever more likely. Japan, who
has for a long time been forced to suffer North Korean missile tests flying directly overhead,
may force the US's hand if it decides North Korea presents an imminent threat
and launches preemptive strikes against nuclear facilities and missile silos.
A conflict between the US and North Korea would inevitably see China dragged into the mix to
defend its longtime ally, as the one thing that China fears most is a unified Korean peninsula
that is led by South Korea and very pro-US. This would be a strategic disaster for China,
and one that it cannot abide, leaving it no choice but to join a war against the US.
Taiwan
Finally we reach the most likely flash point for World War III. The issue of Taiwan has
plagued Chinese-American relations for decades, but in recent years has escalated to a level
reminiscent of the 1999 Taiwan Strait crisis. Shortly before taking office, President Trump
received a call from Taiwan's President, Tsai Ing-wen, congratulating him on his election.
This greatly angered China, which has threatened war should any nation formally recognize Taiwan
as independent, and was seen as a major snub to the Chinese Communist Party. Historically,
American Presidents have not taken such congratulatory calls in order
to not anger Beijing and potentially destabilize cross-Strait relations between China and Taiwan.
Things quickly escalated as Taiwan and the US negotiated a multi-billion dollar arms sales deal
that would see the Taiwanese military receive weapon systems and upgrades that would pose a
significant threat to a Chinese invasion of the island. Tensions were heightened when despite
massive Chinese interference in its elections, Taiwan re-elected President Tsai Ing-Wen who
holds a staunch anti-reunification agenda. Taiwan's support for pro-democracy protesters
in Hong Kong during the months-long riots only further embarrassed the Chinese mainland
as President Xi Jinping remained unable to enforce control over the region.
Today, the US is contemplating stationing American Marines in Taiwan on a rotational basis,
along with port visits by the US Navy. The US has also ok'ed the construction of a massive computer
chip manufacturing plant in Arizona owned and operated by a Taiwanese firm, while simultaneously
blocking Chinese company Huawei global access to critical chip-manufacturing equipment. These
actions have been seen as incredibly provocative by China, who even now is rushing to bolster its
long-range attack capabilities with the goal of throwing the US Navy out of the South Pacific.
For President Xi Jinping, the Taiwan issue is one of personal and party survival.
The Chinese Communist Party has for decades promised to reunify the breakaway island nation,
and yet it has still failed to do so. This signals to the world an inherent weakness in the Chinese
nation, and China does not believe it can be taken seriously as a global power if it can't even bring
a next-door neighbor into the fold again. For growing voices of dissent within Chinese politics,
Taiwan's continued independence is a sign of the weakness within the CCP,
and with his future hold on the nation on the line,
President Xi Jinping may be forced to at last turn to the military option to reunify Taiwan.
Inevitably this would drag the US and its allies into all-out conflict with China.
Now check out Why You Wouldn't Survive World War
III, or click this other video instead- while you still can!