World War 1V

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Ex-CIA director: U.S. faces 'World War IV'

Thursday, April 3, 2003 Posted: 3:18 AM EST (0818 GMT)

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Former CIA director James Woolsey said Wednesday that the United States is engaged in World War IV, and that it could continue for years.
In the address to a group of college students, Woolsey described the Cold War as the third world war and said "This fourth world war, I think, will last considerably longer than either World Wars I or II did for us. Hopefully not the full four-plus decades of the Cold War."
Woolsey has been named in news reports as possible candidate for a key position in the reconstruction of a post-war Iraq.
He said the new war is actually against three enemies: the religious rulers of Iran, the "fascists" of Iraq and Syria, and Islamic extremists like al Qaeda.
Woolsey told the audience of about 300, most of whom are students at the University of California at Los Angeles, that all three enemies have waged war against the United States for several years but the United States has just "finally noticed."

What do you think of Mr Woolsey's view of the future?

http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/04/03/sprj.irq.woolsey.world.war/index.html

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au<

I would disagree with Woolsey that the Cold War was WWIII. That war was more one of diplomacy than one of bullets and dead bodies.

I do think we will be bogged down in the Middle East for a while. Whether or not these hostilities will lead to a World War is doubtful. For the moment at least, the international backing needed for such an effort is nil.

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I thought World War IV was the war that was going to be fought with sticks and rocks.......

I have a suggestion. Why don't we agree that all wars worldwide will from this point on be fought with only conventional weapons, hand to hand.

Then we reinstitue the draft and conscript military.

The draft age will start at 40, and no one younger than 35 will even be allowed to join.

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Hello, Bi-Polar, haven't read you lately.

Let's hope World War IV will not be an event of our lifetimes.

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If I read the article correctly, it means that after the terrorists, Iraq, Syria and Iran, it will be doomsday for Mubarak and the Saudis.

Did I use the word "doomsday"? Oops!

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Bear

I'll go you one better.

Let's work it out that the leaders have to lead the troops into battle.

That would cut down on wars!

Bush and Rumsfeld are very, very brave now that they have the military might of the United States fighting their battles -- but back when their numbers were called to go to war, they chickened out.

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fbaezer
I am not so worried what he has to say it's Rumsfeld that worries me since I am of the opinion that he is the top gun in this administration. I should add some of his recent statements indicate that Syria and Iran are on his hit list.

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It is Rumsfeld who worries the whole "rest of the world", au.

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As corporations overtake countries, in terms of size, power, capital (and effect on everyday lives), we might consider that new forms of warfare have already been evolving.
... in the growing corporate framework rather than the declining governmental one.

So if it's not always guns and bombs, it may not be economic coercion (think: IMF), outspending (Cold War) or industrial threats (controlling oil) either. WW4 may be fully corporate, and necessarily kept out of the public eye.

Just an idea. I've met industrial spies planted within companies I've worked for.
Once we do the R&D design, they zap them off to Southeast Asia ready to ripoff, clone and mass produce -- within 15 days! Industrial espionage is huge, automated, and highly organized.
Business is ruthless. Business is lawless.
Business is whatever it takes to make money and gain power over others.
Like politics, without the taxes. It's definitely becoming more deadly and catastrophic at times.

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(Thanks for the link, Au!)

Briefly, I think it's another sign of the hubris afflicting the administration and maybe much of America, and believe hubris gets the afflicted into a pot of trouble. Okay, maybe we're due for a comeuppance, but does the rest of the world need to be dragged into it?

Diplomacy, patience, willingness to submit oneself to short-term risk for long-term peace, and much better education in the US about international history and politics -- and serious curbs on those supranational corporations we have spawned -- I'd like to see these remedies applied.

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I agree with the borg that war may need to be redefined, but I also think the cold war prolly shouldn't fall into the new war order.

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Very good point, LittleK! Really very good!

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I agree.

The Cold War was not World War III.

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Categorizations such as this are dangerously silly. One thinks of the Time-Life Books notion of The Medieval Period, as if it had a monday morning October 12, 612 AD, 9:00 AM start date and then tied itself together with crowds waving goodbye as the Rennaissance came proudly around the corner.

As regards Woolsey's prediction of future turmoil...yup...there'll be some. What he is rather dim about is why.

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