Comments:At least 150 militants and 50 Pakistani troops killed in clashes

Powder keg
If you guys think that the middle east is volatile, you haven't seen anything yet! It is a powder keg, and it hasn't gone off yet.

Lets count the things that are going on:

1. Afghanistan is pretty much under control, it looks like the smallest problem in the middle east.

2. Guerrilla warfare and forming of a government in Iraq, with risks of it being Pro-Iran, Pro-Terrorist or just like Saddam's government.

3. Kurds, they have been engaged in terrorist attacks against the Turks for some time.

4. Iran is a big can of worms, at the worst, it has been supplying terrorists, and is working on nuclear weapons that would end up in the hands of terrorists and is throbbing at the western world.

5. Israel has feuds with most of the middle east, and has on and off conflicts with the Hamas and others.

6. Pakistan, they have been fighting insurgents, which has now escalated to a real conflict, in which the west may need to send troops to help protect them.

7. Saudi Arabia, it has most of it's power to it's princes and stuff and gets equipped by the west, it is reported at least 40% of the population oppose the government, and it is already A recruiting ground for terrorists.

Lets look at what big disasters may happen:

1. The turks could invade northern Iraq if the Kurds continue to escalate attacks and/or somehow form a De Facto state in northern Iraq, and that would crush the chances of a stable Iraq and if things go wrong enough, sour U.S.-Turkish relations even more.

2. There could be a bombing campaign against Iran. They would step up their support for terrorist and the chances of the Iraqi government of rejecting Iranian influence when the west leaves would be low.

3. There could be a war with Iran, the U.S. is already in Debt, running out of rested troops and recruitment, and has high dissent from the Iraq war. Iran, unlike Iraq or Afghanistan when they were invaded, has a real military, and though it is not as technologically advanced as modern western militaries, they have literally more than 50 million troops. The costs in money, time, lives, and dissent would be catastrophic.

4. I have a feeling that there might be a civil war in Saudi Arabia.

5. Israel could end up at open war with most of it's neighbors, and the rest of the middle east (including Iran) that would turn the middle east into a battleground rivaling how Europe was in WWII. The cost in lives and money would be great, and it could lead to WW3, if non-middle east nations get involved enough.

5. Through some combination of previous events (if they happen before January 2009), the U.S. government's presidential and senate approval ratings would be so low, and so much of the population would be against the government, that some kind of Coup or impeachment or something would drastically change the government and chaos would ensue. This would be the first time a revolution of this magnitude would of ever happened in the united states, and would ruin it' status as the most stable and long standing government of the world.

6. Through some of these events, the U.S. military could be (or perceived to be) weakened or stretched too thin, and since they already have small numbers compared to the rest of the world, that some combination of Russia, China, Serbia, Libya, Cuba, Venezuela, Bolivia etc could get involved in the middle east stuff. They are less technologically advance, but have enough raw numbers of soldiers. This is my personal opinion of how WW3 will come to pass.

After reading all of that, you know just how stable the middle east is compared to how it could be. Lets all hope things only get better in the middle east. Contralya 12:19, 9 October 2007 (UTC)