World War III in Asia?

I surely hope not. But, I fear the seeds of what might eventually be called WWIII might be being planted.

Here is my fear.

The last time the world economy was so depressed, worldwide, was just prior to WWII.

In Europe, we had continent wide depression. Worst in Germany, but still widespread over the rest of the continent. Today, Germany seems secure. But widespread unrest exists in Greece, Spain, Italy and even the UK.

In Asia, we had a potential adversary, Japan, who simply did not understand the US as well as they should have….And launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor that they thought would simply rock us back on our heels and make us draw inward.

We all know that exactly the opposite happened. The US rose up united in revenge for this attack on our sovernty. And, we entered what came to be known as WWII.

So, what exists of a possibly similar nature in Asia today?

Both the China and North Korea rulers are aging. Their successors are already jockeying for position to succeed them.

The Vice President in China. And the son of the aging dictator in North Korea.

Neither of these leaders knows us very well. Neither has ever met with President Obama, or any other US President for that matter.

After a decade of economic growth, China’s economy is slowing, with unemployment growing. North Korea continues to experience starvation among its people, who depend ever increasingly on China for their survival.

China holds a large share of US bonds and is threatening to cash out.

We know little about their potential new leader, and he probably knows little about us.

What if the new leader decided to take back Taiwan and threatened the US with foreclosure on their bonds if we came to the aid of Taiwan?

(This idea has been broached by many pundits already.)

What if they gave North Korea the go ahead to invade South Korea?

Would the US pull in our horns as the Japanese thought we would do in Pearl Harbor (admittedly US territory)?

Or, would we label this blackmail, and defend Taiwan and South Korea as fortresses of Capitalism against Communist domination of Asia.

Surely, Japan and the rest of Asia would watch our reaction very carefully.

If Taiwan and South Korea fell, would the rest of Asia be far beyond? The old “Domino” theory of the post WWII cold war, might rear its ugly head again.

Combine this with the upcoming US election and the fear of a double dip recession. Like existed in the US under Franklyn Roosevelt in the early 1940’s.

Would President Obama try to negotiate his way out of the confrontation as he did with the Republicans in Congress…To the displeasure of many Americans?

Or…would he prefer to run as a wartime President defending the US against Communist aggression?

I know this is entirely out of character for him.

But, so was sending more troops to Afghaistan.

Would he use this an opportunity to pull troops out of the unpopular wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, to send them to Asia? Would he force the Republicans to abandon their opposition to him and rally behind this new war threat? Middle America might think to do otherwise would be treason.

I sure hope he has a clear strategy in mind.

And….has sent Vice President Biden to China to inform the soon to be new President of China, exactly how the US in general and the President, in particular, would respond to Chinese aggression in Asia. EXACTLY…No doubts.

If Vice President Biden can carry this message clearly and directly, but not belligerently, his visit may go down as truly historic. He has the opportunity to leave a lasting legacy to himself and to the Obama administration. I surely hope he does.

For, I feel this is the only path to avoiding WWIII in Asia.