World War III?

We are already involved in the beginning of WWIII.  But, of course, few recognise that, particularly the western liberal elite, who as in WWI and WWII were typically caught napping.  Whereas WWI involved the breakup of Empires (Austro-Hungarian, Turkish, Prussian), and WWII involved the clash of the Nazi-Fascist ideology with the rest of the world, WWIII involves the clash of western values with Islamism. 

Here are some battles in the start of WWIII that are taking place currently:

1. The establishment of the Islamic State in the ruins of Syria and Iraq, and US and allied aerial counter-attacks against them

2. The battle of Israel to resist the forces of Hamas in Gaza

3. The violent attacks being carried out by Muslim extremists in Europe, such as in London, Brussels and Marseille

4. The struggle of the Egyptian Government to suppress the Muslim Brotherhood

5. Conflict in Kenya against the Somali-based Al Shabbab

6. Violent clashes between Malian and French forces with Islamists in Mali

7. Attacks by Boko Haram against Nigerian civilians and the Army in Nigeria

8. On-going conflict between Philippino forces and the Abu Sayyaf Islamist insurgency in Mindanao

9. The opposition party Jamaat-e-Islami in Pakistan, that supports formation of a Caliphate

10. The continuing struggle of the Afghan government against the Taliban

People don't realize that this is a truly world wide phenomenon, which was essentially started when Osama bin Laden declared war on the US, after US troops were stationed in Saudi Arabia in order to fight Iraq and rescue Kuwait in the First Gulf War.  Consequently, the first act in this War was the successful destruction of the Twin Towers in NY in 2001 killing 3,000 people.  From then Pres. Bush declared the War on Global Terrorism, but Pres. Obama, who was elected in opposition to US involvement in the Iraq War, refused to recognise this international campaign of Islamism, and tried to ingratiate himself with the Islamic world by making his speech from Cairo in 2005, which was an abject failure.  Even he, after all his efforts at grovelling to the Muslims, has been forced to declare war on the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) after they made rapid progress in capturing territory with US weaponry from the Iraqi Army, carried out genocide against all minorities (Yazidis, Christians, Kurds) and also very publicly beheaded two American journalists.  If only he had maintained the pressure on the Islamists from the start of his presidency we would not be where we are today, trying to catch up and stop their rapid progress.

Note that Islamism, or the political version of Islam, that contends that Islam must be a political force that overcomes the West, is not of ancient origin.  It was initiated by Hassan al Banna in 1928, when after visiting the US and living there as a student, he organized the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt.  The failure of the Arabs and the Palestinians to defeat Israel, considered a bastion of the West in "their" lands, led to the formation of Hamas, the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, and then to other groups, such as Hizbollah in Lebanon.  Finally the emergence of Al Qaeda resulted in the actual outbreak of hostilities with the US.  It is noteworthy that while the perpetrators of the World Trade Center attack in 2001 were mostly Saudis (17 plus one French-Moroccan) who had met in Hamburg, the perpetrators of the 7/7 attack in London in 2005 that killed 52 were of Pakistani origin.  the shoe bomber who was caught was Nigerian, the murderer of a British soldier in a street in broad daylight in London last year was a Somali and the man who beheaded the American journalists was British. The national origin of the Islamists is irrelevant.

Some people might argue that the true origin of WWIII is in eastern Ukraine, where Pres. Putin in trying to extend Russian power to restore its position as it was under the Communists.  He is trying to conquer Ukrainian territory by supporting the pro-Russian insurgents, as he did in the Crimea, which is now well and truly incorporated into Russia, although this is not accepted by the UN, the US and the EU.  Pres. Poroshenko of Ukraine, who signed a pact with the EU contrary to Russia's wishes, is now firmly supported by NATO.  Applying western sanctions does not apparently inhibit Putin's designs, and consequently this region may become the nucleus of WWIII of the West against Russia.  Or maybe that will be WWIV.  Certainly the US does not want to fight both of these wars, against Islamist and Russian expansionism, both at the same time.