World War Worries

Civil Defense Poster

Vinnie at Vince aut Morire blogs the chatter on the internets reflecting concern in some parts that World War III is imminent. The concern is that the current ass whupping the Israelis are giving their nasty, terrorist loving neighbors will escalate into a world consuming war. Vinnie thinks it won't, and I tend to agree. But, what if it did?

I don't think that large scale wars, ones in which many issues get settled at once, are necessarily bad. Especially if you take the long view, admittedly difficult when your town is getting bombed. Consider, for example, what shape the World would be in today if the powerful nations of 1939 hadn't ultimately had it out by fighting WWII. What kind of government would you have today? How much liberty would you enjoy? How wealthy would you be? What god would you worship? Would you even be alive today if it weren't for the outcome of WWII?

Some have said that war on a grand scale is cathartic. I say it is more laxative. The world takes a difficult, unpleasant and long-overdue dump, after which the system works again for a while.
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Update: Here is something new for decent folks to worry about: remote controlled airplanes full of explosives. Seems the Hezbollah terrorists have badly damaged an Israeli warship with one. It was the first time the Mohammedan baddies used a drone to hit a ship, but they have evidently tried them before. These things give me the willies worse than submarines.
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Hep Cat Update: Ferdy has a very thoughtful analysis.

So, the question is not how to stop the violence. This is not violence, it's a war, and if history is any indication, it will stop when Israel wins. The real question is what to do when it's over: what is the safest way for Israel to prevent another terrorist group from setting up shop on its northern border?

Not bad for a feline.
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Technical Update: The worst damage done to the Israeli warship mentioned in the first update to this post is now thought not to have been done by a crude drone aircraft. Reports now implicate the C-802 guided missile. This nasty device is a shore to ship turbojet powered weapon somewhat like the cruise missiles in the US arsenal. Iran originally bought these devices from China after the first Gulf War in '91. Recently it is thought that Iran and North Korea are working on improvements to the original design and building more of them. NorKor know-how and Iranian money are behind these newer, more lethal missiles. Do I sense an AXIS being identified?