"The world is a mess." That was the statement from President Donald Trump earlier this week at the White House, during a joint news conference with the secretary-general of NATO. The President has a point, with the recent chemical attack in Syria and the ensuing U.S. missile strikes on a Syrian air base, sabre rattling from the communist regime in North Korea, hostile statements between Russia and the U.S., and the U.S. dropping of the so-called "Mother of All Bombs" on an ISIS target in Afghanistan this week. All of it adds up to a very uneasy time on the world stage, with the phrase "World War III" even popping up among some foreign policy analysts.
While there is much chaos across the globe, not everyone believes it's time to prepare for World War III. "Some concern is justifiable in terms of some sort of violence happening somewhere, but the notion of a world war or some sort of conflict that would have worldwide repercussions...I think people ought to pump the brakes on that," says Edward Turzanski with the Foreign Policy Research Institute.
Turzanski tells KTRH he is actually encouraged by some recent events on the world stage. "What has come out of (President Trump's) meeting with the Chinese president suggests that China is steering a much more cautious road," he says. Indeed, in recent days China has signaled it may help the U.S. in deterring and preventing hostile action from North Korea.
Ultimately, Turzanski believes the recent military actions by President Trump decrease the likelihood of a major conflict, rather than increase it. "This administration is sending messages, and I would argue that these are the kinds of messages that can prevent wars rather than starting them," he says. "If you show the other side the overwhelming power you have, they're less likely to want to trifle with you."