Well I think the next World War will be a cold war.
The major players will be Russia, China, India and Nato.
Essentially I suspect that all hell will break loose, but the four major players will avoid direct confrontation with one another if at all possible. In other words China will attack US allies trying to take out any threats to its survival, if they do actually fight American forces which will likely happen they will not use Nukes on the US nor will they attempt to invade the US or its Nato allies. Russia will also attack countries who are aligned with Nato and may even attack some smaller Nato member countries, but they will also not resort to nukes or invading say The United States, Canada, Britain or France, Germany.
The war will be fought mainly amongst the smaller countries of the world.The major players will be careful to avoid an all out nuclear conflict.
Some have suggested that Russia could detonate a tactical EMP over the United States wiping out all electronic devices in the country and sending it to the stone age, then invade. Problem is the United States also has tactical EMP's and would retaliate quickly knocking Russia into the stone age. The following rain of EMP's would send the whole world into chaos with China , India and all the other military powers plunging into darkness.
Others have said viral warfare might occur, terrorists might resort to viral warfare. But none of the major Governments will resort to this. Mainly because the US Government has claimed they have a virus capable of wiping out up to 90% of the worlds population in a matter of months, Russia claims to have similar viruses. Both countries have the antedotes to their specific virus. Essentially the US could vaccinate its citizens against the virus they unleash, but Russia would vaccinate its citizens against its virus. But each others viruses would wipe them off the map.
I don't think WW3 could drastically change the worlds outlook. Without the whole planet falling to peices a WW3 could not see Nato, China, India or Russia fall. The whole world would suffer and very little would change except millions possibly a billion could die. In the end other countries like Japan, Taiwan, Australia almost any country in the Middle East would all fall or be captured or defeated during the next global war.
But as I said I don't think Russia, China, Nato or India will do anything that they think might destroy the whole world. I think Nukes, EMP's and viral weapons will prevent any of them from truly being considered the victor or loser. The countries that will lose are all the smaller countries who get caught in the cross fire.
-JC7
"In God We Trust - In Games We Play " - Joel Reimer










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