The threat of war

A Politico opinion poll conducted in the four biggest NATO countries in February revealed almost identical popular expectations about the likelihood of a global war in the next five years. In every one — the U.S., the U.K., France and Germany — they think it is quite likely. Forty-six percent of Americans think that, and so do 43 percent of British and French people. The Germans are the optimists in the group, but even 40 percent of them think World War III is no more than five years away. Canadians agree, but unlike the Europeans, who see the Russians as the biggest threat, Canadians fear an American invasion most. These expectations and fears are not exactly wrong, but they are certainly premature. A world war is a war that involves all the great powers, and almost certainly involves nuclear weapons use. We haven’t had anything like that for 80 years. The probability that it will happen in the next five years is not zero, but it is a very, very small number. Now, if you want to count every conflict where organized groups are using state-of-the-art weapons — let’s say, machin

Original source: Korea Times