The fear over another global war

WHETHER we realize it or not, accept it or choose to deny it, it is clear that we are facing a World War III. Unlike the two former world wars, what makes this radically different is the fact that the enemy or  the aggressor is not easily discernible. In the World War II, it was clear that Adolf Hitler wanted to conquer the rest of Europe through his country’s military supremacy.  Adolf Hitler became the German Chancellor in 1933, ten years after an unsuccessful attempt to overthrow the German government. He proceeded to abolish democracy and free speech and propounded a radical, racially motivated revision of the world order. The World War II was fought between 1939 and 1945 and is historically regarded as the deadliest and most catastrophic global conflict since the existence of mankind.

There were different facets to the war. There was the holocaust which claimed at least 11 million lives. There were two opposing military alliances namely: allies and axis. Germany formed the Axis alliance with the Empire of Japan and Italy. At the time, Japan was already at war with the Republic of China. On the other hand, there was the Western allies and the Soviet Union. The United Kingdom, United States of America, Soviet Union and France were in the same category.  

In the end, the Allies defeated the Axis even though two members of the Allied forces started a cold war shortly afterwards which largely defined the latter part of the last century. 

There are different estimates of the number of casualties arising from the war since many of the deaths were not recorded. But it is estimated that about 75 million people died in the war, including about 20 million military personnel and 40 million civilians and several million others who were killed by diseases and starvation. In summary, the Soviet Union and China suffered the most casualties, losing about 27 million and 20 million people respectively. This was followed by Germany losing about 7 million people.

Today, the world is daily faced with a different kind of conflict and it is threatening to annihilate human existence. Somehow, it would appear as if this new kind of evil crept in on us. But that may not be totally true because the world chose to bury its head in sand and be oblivious to it. The spate of terrorist attacks has taken a new dimension and somehow, we need to wake up and accept it for what it is: World War III. In 2014 alone, over 32,000 people died from terrorist attacks. In 2015, there have been over 60 reported terrorist attacks in the world.  

It appears that the world is totally mesmerized and overrun by this totally insane and murderous sect and all we can do is occasional knee-jerk reaction and to pray for the families of those affected. We pray, mourn our dead, count our losses and go back to sleep or at best, conduct a few reprisal attacks. But these guys do not sleep because they are obsessed with one mission: total obliteration and destruction. They do not think like the rest of the world because their minds have been completely subverted and overcome by an inordinate desire to inflict harm. They derive pleasure from causing pain and mayhem around the world and seeing people suffer.  

Only last Friday in Paris, there were seven carefully coordinated simultaneous terrorist attacks killing 129 people and leaving about 430 people injured. A day earlier, there were twin suicide bombings killing 42 people in Beirut. Just a couple of days ago, there was a suicide attack by Boko Haram at a market in Yola killing more than 30 people and wounding at least 80 people. 

On October 31, 2015, a St. Petersburg-bound Russian jet was brought down by a bomb killing all 224 people on board. The memory‎ of September 9, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon in the United States killing 2,911 people is still fresh on our minds. Or how can we forget the July 7, 2005 multiple bombings by four suicide bombers on the London Underground killing 53 people and wounding about 700 people? There have been over reported 360 terrorist attacks in the world in the last 30 years causing incalculable damages.  

In Nigeria, Boko Haram, which started out like a group of disgruntled people in the North-East has today metamorphosed into a full blown terrorist organisation. Boko Haram has become a formidable enemy to the Nigerian Armed forces who once prided themselves as the strongest military Force in West Africa. Initially, they had been wrongly dismissed as a rag-tag army but the level of desertion and abandonment by the Nigerian soldiers proved that we could not just wish them away.  

For many years, Al-Qaeda, a global militant Islamist organisation founded by Osama bin Laden in 1988 was responsible for many attacks across the world including the September 9, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Centre and Pentagon in the United States. Al-Qaeda orchestrated and carried out over 54 terrorist attacks starting with their first attack on December 29, 1992 in Yemen.  

Today, the monster known as Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is the new face of the war on terror. ISIS is ruthless and has only one mission: to wipe out anyone and everyone from any religion or belief system. The group equally wants to impose the Shariah law. ISIS has displayed a new form of audacity in executing its dastardly and insidious acts. Imagine how horrific it must have been when ISIS members drove into the office of a satirical newspaper that drew a caricature of Prophet Muhammad and summarily executed 12 people.  

The whole world is living in fear. While normal people are sleeping at night, these murderers literally stay awake planning how to execute their next act and cause havoc. They have no other jobs other than to spread terror across the world. Today, we are afraid to fly because we are not sure if the pilot is an ISIS sympathizer who may just decide to blow up the plane mid-air. We are afraid to go to the restaurants or use underground travelling facilities because of the  risk involved should an explosion go off.  

By Martins Itua