WW3- what do you think?

If it happens in our lifetime then surely it's already started - Arab spring, Western aid to Syrian rebels, Russian annexation of Crimea, Russia in Ukraine, Russian support of Assad... What happens when ISIS are broken up and we are left with anti-government rebels vs Russian-backed Assad government?

If Russia decided to advance further into Eastern Europe / Baltics would NATO stop them?
 
MattU said:
If Russia decided to advance further into Eastern Europe / Baltics would NATO stop them?
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I'd say they would but I doubt that would happen. What does Russia have to gain? They already control humungous amounts of natural resources and it's not like they don't have enough land.
I would think the Ukraine and Syria conflicts are also really causing a financial drain on them. Directly and from sanctions. Not sure they could afford a fight on multiple fronts. Not many nations could!
It's almost all bluster from Putin. Russia is big, important and not to be trifled with. Ok, we get it. Now behave and stop bombing civilian populations.
 
Washout said:
I'd say they would but I doubt that would happen. What does Russia have to gain? They already control humungous amounts of natural resources and it's not like they don't have enough land.
I would think the Ukraine and Syria conflicts are also really causing a financial drain on them. Directly and from sanctions. Not sure they could afford a fight on multiple fronts. Not many nations could!
It's almost all bluster from Putin. Russia is big, important and not to be trifled with. Ok, we get it. Now behave and stop bombing civilian populations.
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Yeah indeed - the only way I can see Russia making offensive moves against Eastern Europe would be in some unlikely desperate end game scenario - mostly likely first strike with WMDs as they know they can't keep the logistics up to win a conventional war like that. I wouldn't be surprised to see some more provocative action in the Baltics though - probably something fairly minor to try and make the US over reach in response/dare them to respond.
 
It will happen at some stage, no doubt about it. I don't think we'll see it in our life time however.
 
Washout said:
I'd say they would but I doubt that would happen. What does Russia have to gain? They already control humungous amounts of natural resources and it's not like they don't have enough land.
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Russian economy and growth appetite, ever since 15th century, can only be sustained by enslaving other nations. It's a country that traditionally doesn't produce anything worth trading with anyone, other than products of natural reserves, which are not unique enough or high enough quality to make them rich as a nation (rather than industry). It's also traditionally isolationist country with penchant for corruption, insubordination and lack of discipline which historically can only be controlled by heavy handed rulers. The short surges of their technological growth always come at time of the war and the only time the nation is at peace with itself internally is when they all have common enemy.

They lack the flair of Chinese, who would "invest" in Africa in order to maintain source of cheap labour and resources, so when Russians perform their hostile acts it's usually done with rude "eh, whaddya gonna do about it, don't ef with the bear" heavy handedness we all got used to.

And when you think "no leader would do something something so last century these days", you have to remember we are talking about Putin. A KGB officer from Berlin that rose to power from nobody to leader of the country in less than five years, over a pit of dead bodies. He's a man who considers fall of Soviet Union the "greatest geopolitical catastrophe" of the 20th century. The man who dreams of Eurasian Union.
 
Only way i can see ww3 happening is a preemptive strike to stop one side depolying a fully efdective missile sheild.
 
Im fairly sure all hell will break loose in 2017. Nobody is prepared to trigger an economic collapse until after the presidential election.

An economic collapse would force some sort of war in the middle east to help reset the debt clock. I wouldn't say WW3 but definitely something along the lines of iraq/afghanistan but on a larger scale.
 
Putin will be over thrown. That will be the catalyst for bad times.

Genuinely fear for the world if trump got in power at a delicate time.
 
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mid_gen said:
We're past the stage of World Wars, the weaponry we have available is too potent for it to happen.

Superpowers will just continue fighting proxy wars across the globe as they have been for decades. Nothing to see here.
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Yeah you can no longer really conquer nations militarily, not without looking like Nazi Germany. Besides, giving the people of world democracy and ensuring that your 'assets' get elected is much easier. Or promoting unions like the EU where nations willingly surrender their sovereignty and dictating policy.
 
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Tuppy_Glossop said:
It all depends on whether you see the current Russian leadership as revanchist or not. Their actions in Ukraine suggest they possibly are. They probably want their enlarged sphere of influence back. In this case something like this (scroll down for flowchart) is eminently possible.
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LOL "conventional superiority"... can never take Vox seriously, NATO is actually currently outmatched in terms of current Russian arms on the baltic front and the US cant justify its forces being primarily in the pacific and dealing with the baltics at the same time.
 
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I expect we'll see heavy skirmishing at sea before long but nothing that will progress past conventional fighting over disputed islands. Japan, the US and China.

Hope not.
 
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StriderX said:
LOL "conventional superiority"... can never take Vox seriously, NATO is actually currently outmatched in terms of current Russian arms on the baltic front and the US cant justify its forces being primarily in the pacific and dealing with the baltics at the same time.
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Problem is here (ignoring WMD options) while Russia could launch a surprise all out push and overwhelm NATO's frontline forces currently deployed to the region easily they'd start to slow up as their supply lines stretched out and Western nations expended their cutting edge stuff to buy time to get themselves organised (as most have cut reserve and manufacturing, etc. to the bone).

EDIT: Ultimately I can't see Russia making any serious moves in Europe or the Baltics while they don't have a clear run through the other side - if they start doing stuff to enable the movement of heavy equipment through Romania, etc. then it might be worth worrying about a conventional war :S
 
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If a world war does happen, then god help us all because there will be nothing left

As said in this thread the powers we all hold with super weapons i.e nukes means there will be no victor just sadness and unnecessary death for all

It possibly will happen some clown will push a *nuke* button but i would imagine allies alike etc will squash it down so it wont be a world war more just one country giving it large, possible russia etc
 
"I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones."

Let's hope not Einstein...
 
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