Close Menu
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    Monday, December 11
    Trending
    • This Day in History on December 11th
    • History Short: What is the Greatest Video Game?
    • This Day in History on December 10th
    • History Short: The Biggest Heist, Japan Edition
    • This Day in History on December 9th
    • History Short: Midwest Murder Mayhem!
    • This Day in History on December 8th
    • History Short: When Russia Guaranteed Ukraine Territory Integrity
    History and Headlines
    • Arts & Entertainment
      • Cinema & TV
      • Games
      • Literature
      • Music
      • Sports
      • Video Games
    • Bizarre Bulletin
      • Misconceptions
      • The Bizarre
      • The Paranormal
      • The Unexplained
    • Lifestyle
      • Animals/Pets
      • Fashion
      • Food
      • Health/Medicine
      • Home Improvement
      • Horoscopes
      • Travel
    • Science & Tech
      • Inventions
      • Nature
      • Vehicles
    • Society
      • Business and Economics
      • Crime
      • Military
      • Politics
      • Religion
      • Society
    • About
      • Welcome to Our Site!
      • This Day in History (articles)
      • This Day in History (categories)
      • Table of Contents: A History of the World
      • Online History Textbooks
      • A Guide to Some of Our Favorite Scholars and Educators
      • Advance Screenings and Movie Reviews Archive
      • Schedule of Video Adaptations of Our Articles
    • Friends
      • Armchair History TV
      • Fact Fiend
      • RealClearHistory
      • Simply Charly
      • TopTenz
      • ​Unique Interpretations
    History and Headlines
    You are at:Home»April»April 16»April 16, 2018: Has World War III Already Started?
    April 16

    April 16, 2018: Has World War III Already Started?

    Major DanBy Major DanApril 16, 2018Updated:March 10, 2020No Comments4 Mins Read
    Email Facebook LinkedIn Pinterest Reddit Telegram Tumblr Twitter VKontakte WhatsApp
    World War III

    A Brief History

    On April 16, 2018, the World continues to watch events in Syria unfold two days after the United States, the United Kingdom, and France bombed Syrian sites deemed part of their infrastructure required to produce and store chemical weapons in response to Syrian use of chlorine and sarin poison gases against Syrian rebels, killing dozens. The Russians had tersely warned against the Western Allies taking such retaliatory action and hinted at retaliation against the West.

    Digging Deeper

    As the rhetoric continued back and forth between the US, its allies, and Russia, one is forced to wonder whether or not the tinder box of the Middle East may trigger a wider war resulting in massive involvement of US and its allies versus Russia and its allies, perhaps even nuclear war. As History shows, the steps to large scale war are not always easily recognized in real time when they occur (example, World War I) and we wonder whether or not the 2018 conflict in Syria may be such a case.

    British troops blinded by poison gas during the Battle of Estaires, 1918

    Since Iran and North Korea are supporters of the Assad regime in Syria, the possibility of Western strikes killing citizens of those countries or material and equipment owned or provided by those allies of Assad pose the risk of retaliation by Iran or North Korea, overtly or covertly, against the US or its allies, further increasing the risk of an expanding war. Certainly, the Russian warnings that the West better not kill Russians in Syria or destroy Russian equipment must be taken seriously. The Russians have threatened to attack the source (ships, ground units, airplanes) of Western missiles and bombs if any Russians are killed or Russian equipment is destroyed. Would shooting down American planes or sinking an American ship in turn result in massive US retaliation?

    USS Ross firing a Tomahawk missile towards the Shayrat Airbase

    The United States promises to resume attacks against Syrian government installations should the Assad regime continue to use chemical weapons. With each such attack the chance of inadvertently (or on purpose) killing Russians, Iranians, or destroying Russian owned gear becomes more and more likely. Since Vladimir Putin operates as a de facto dictator in Russia, he does not have to worry about achieving a government consensus to act in a military fashion in Syria or elsewhere, creating an even more dangerous situation than one would normally expect. Putin has an enormous ego and operates on a cult of personality (as does President Trump), making him more mercurial than a more republican style government. President Trump operates on the assumption that he can act with military force without consulting Congress, a position disputed by some legislators (mostly Democrats), so his sensitive ego may also be a factor in any scenario concerning military escalation.

    Putin and Trump at the G20 Hamburg summit, July 7, 2017

    Adding to the potential disaster in the making is Israel, a pugnacious neighbor of Syria that does not hesitate to launch retaliatory attacks into Syrian territory any time terrorists launch missiles into Israel, further threatening to draw in other Muslim countries into a possible Arab-Israeli conflict, a conflict likely to draw in American and Russian involvement.

    Question for students (and subscribers): So far the aftermath of the US and Allied attacks against Syrian chemical weapons infrastructure has been relegated to rhetoric and threats on both sides, but will this remain the situation? Have we already started on the slippery slope to war? Please share your opinions and analysis of the situation, and feel free to say whether or not you believe the US should be bombing Syria for gassing their own people, in the comments section below this article.

    If you liked this article and would like to receive notification of new articles, please feel welcome to subscribe to History and Headlines by liking us on Facebook and becoming one of our patrons!

    Your readership is much appreciated!

    Historical Evidence

    For more information, please see…

    Melemed and Aharish. Inside the Middle East: Making Sense of the Most Dangerous and Complicated Region on Earth. Skyhorse Publishing, 2016.

    Mitchell, Chris.  ISIS, Iran and Israel: What You Need to Know about the Current Mideast Crisis and the Coming Mideast War. C & L Publishing LLC, 2016.

    Pearlman, Wendy. We Crossed a Bridge and It Trembled: Voices from Syria. Custom House, 2017.

    The featured image in this article, a photograph by Fathi Nizam of buildings destroyed by allied missile strikes, 14 April 2018, is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.  This image is from the Tasnim News Agency website, which states in its footer, “All Content by Tasnim News Agency is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.”

    Share. Email Facebook LinkedIn Pinterest Reddit Telegram Twitter Tumblr
    Previous Article10 Times Military Needs Were Underestimated
    Next Article April 17, 2018: Today is National Haiku Day
    Major Dan
    Major Dan

      Major Dan is a retired veteran of the United States Marine Corps. He served during the Cold War and has traveled to many countries around the world. Prior to his military service, he graduated from Cleveland State University, having majored in sociology. Following his military service, he worked as a police officer eventually earning the rank of captain prior to his retirement.

      Related Posts

      History Short: Midwest Murder Mayhem!

      December 9, 2023

      History Short: When Russia Guaranteed Ukraine Territory Integrity

      December 8, 2023

      History Short: Chuck Yeager, American Hero

      December 7, 2023

      Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

      This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

      Follow Us!
      • Facebook
      • Twitter
      • YouTube
      • Patreon
      Sign Up For Our Newsletter!
      Most Recent

      This Day in History on December 11th

      December 11, 2023

      History Short: What is the Greatest Video Game?

      December 11, 2023

      This Day in History on December 10th

      December 10, 2023

      History Short: The Biggest Heist, Japan Edition

      December 10, 2023

      This Day in History on December 9th

      December 9, 2023
      This Day in History Video

      Advertisements




      Amazon Affiliate Disclosure Statement

      As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases via links in the “Historical Evidence” sections of articles.

      About HistoryAndHeadlines.com

      Thanks for visiting History and Headlines!  This site exists primarily for educational purposes and is intended as a resource for Dr. Zar’s students.  Articles are mostly written by either Dr. Zar or his dad (Major Dan).  To any guest readers, please keep that in mind when commenting on articles.   Thank you!

      We try to present our students with historical topics that are both diverse and a bit out of the ordinary.  Our motto is “We try until we succeed!”

      Contact us at admin@historyandheadlines.com

      Guidelines and Policies for Images used on This Site, as well as for Guest and Sponsored Articles, and Other Terms of Use

      Privacy Statement

      © 2023 History and Headlines

      All-Time Most Commented

      July 28, 1866: 18 Year Old Girl Wins Commission to Sculpt Statue of Lincoln (A Truly Great American Woman)

      July 28, 2014

      December 24, 1865: Birth of the Ku Klux Klan

      December 24, 2015

      December 25, 1868: President Johnson Pardons all Confederate Veterans

      December 25, 2015

      February 5, 1909: First Plastic Invented was called Bakelite!

      February 5, 2014

      November 23, 1876: “Boss” Tweed Turned Over to Authorities

      November 23, 2013
      Recommended Book
      © 2023 ThemeSphere. Designed by ThemeSphere.

      Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

      We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

      You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in .

      History and Headlines
      Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
      Privacy Overview

      This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

      Strictly Necessary Cookies

      Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

      If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.