How could WWIII get started?

[BigRob]

the spark is, the overthrow of the Sunni ...or attempt of it by the Shia...Its already come close....look at the spark that caused Egypt and Tunisia....one guy in protest setting himself on fire...could be anything like that...why it spins to world war..is pretty simple..oil interests....nations will back sides...and things will spiral off from there as more powerful nations move to take over the many weak nations of the middle east to protect there flow of oil...Iran, Saudis, Egypt, UAE, Russia, USA< Syria, Lebanon, Turkeyand Europe will not just sit back and watch and hope..as the worlds oil reserves get carved up.

I'm not sure I buy into this argument. We are already seeing all these conflicts (Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Yemen, Bahrain etc etc) and I think the idea we (or anyone else really) would invade those nations is quite a long shot.

 

[clarkatticus]

If I had to guess, the greatest threat is the conflict between Pakistan and India, while it seems we are supporting Pakistan right now, we are really just trying for influence, mitigating the future disaster that will come in the future. China and India will always be enemies, culturally, economically, politically and military. I cannot see a resolution to the conflict between India and Pakistan over Kasmir and both are nuclear powers. China will side with Pakistan and the US with India, Russia is a cypher as of now. The only other possible scenario as of now is North Korea, I am not sure China's best interest is in the nutcase that rules there now and has shown restraint in policy toward the west in this.

 

[ProudLefty]

China is the 800 pound gorilla in the room. WWIII will not start without China's permission, and I seriously doubt China will give that permission.

China does not colonize as the West thinks of colonizing. China just absorbs her neighbors over time through immigration and overwhelming the local populations of neighboring countries. A hundred years later everyone wonders... When did Whatsizstan disappear? Fifty years from now people will wonder why the fuss about Tibet being a part of China? A hundred years from now people will wonder why there is only a South Korea? Wasn't there once a North Korea?