World War III
- This article is about a hypothetical global nuclear war. World War III is sometimes used to describe the Cold War. Some also use the term World War III to refer to the War on Terrorism.
World War III is the name given to a hypothetical
world war, initially supposed to be fought between
superpowers with
weapons of mass destruction, including
nuclear weapons. Superpower confrontation was deemed to be the major threat in the latter half of the
20th century. This conflict was presumed to result in the
extermination or technological impoverishment of
humanity.
Such a globally destructive war with such pervasive weapons ranks with
asteroid impact, a hostile
technological singularity, and catastrophic
climate change as an "
extinction-level event".
There are some who believe that
"Three World Wars" have been planned for centuries.
Historical scenarios
When asked what kind of weapons World War III would be fought with, Albert Einstein, lamented that "I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones." Effectively civilization would be ended.
However, not all scenarios for World War III have begun with the use of nuclear weapons. Operation DROPSHOT, a since-declassified U.S. plan, written in 1947, assumed a long period of conventional war between NATO and the Soviet Union before any nuclear weapons would be employed by both sides. The standard NATO war planning scenario assumed a Soviet attack on West Germany, in which tactical nuclear weapons would be used only if NATO forces were losing. In most war games, NATO forces faced extreme difficulty defending West Germany and used nuclear weapons first.
Before the collapse of the Soviet Union and end of the Cold War, an apocalyptic war between the United States and USSR was considered likely. The Cuban missile crisis is generally thought to be the historical point at which the risk of World War III was closest. Other potential starts have included January 25, 1995 when Russia almost launched a nuclear attack after a Norwegian missile launch for scientific research was detected and thought to be an attack on Russia. Norway had notified the world that it would be making the launch, but the Russian Defense Ministry had neglected to notify those monitoring Russia's nuclear defense systems. (A similar incident had happened at NORAD while Jimmy Carter was president.)
OPLAN (Operations Plan) 1000 was the standard U.S. military plan for the first hours or days of a national emergency such as World War III. Unclassified annexes included grounding all civil aircraft in the United States and controlling all navigation beacons. In the 1950s and 1960s, this included CONELRAD (Control of Electronic Radiation), in which all radio stations broadcasting in the U.S. would operate on low power on two frequencies - to prevent Russian bombers from using them for navigation. Certain features of OPLAN 1000 were instituted during the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001.
Urban legend also states that the Eisenhower Interstate Highway System was specificaly designed to contain several sections which were flat and straight, to be used as emergency runways for nuclear bombers. The United States Department of Transportation strongly denies that such a purpose exists in the Interstate highway system.
Runaway technology
The term Gigadeath War, first used by Hugo De Garis, described a confrontation not between nations or religions but between Terrans and Cosmists, determined respectively to resist or advance artilect ("artificial intelligence" on a godlike scale) evolution beyond humans - a "technological singularity" out of human control.
This is not an isolated concept - apocalypse literature throughout the late 20th century emphasized lack of human control over war machines, e.g. Doctor Strangelove.
The United Nations University Millennium Project participants, in 2001, ranked technological runaways (gene, prion, virus, robot, software, or new molecules acting like any or all) as greater risks to human survival than intentional acts by humans.
Artistic treatments
A vast post-apocalyptic science fiction literature exists describing the likely aftermath of either, describing the impact of weapons of mass destruction. None of it describes a very happy world.
The genre of post-apocalyptic science fiction often uses post-World War III scenarios. However, these stories were found only in Western science fiction publications; Soviet writers were discouraged from writing them.
Several notable movies have been made based on World War III, including the following:\n* Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964), a black comedy by Stanley Kubrick in which an American general Jack D. Ripper, concerned about fluoridation of drinking water, orders an attack on the Soviet Union. Peter Sellers plays several roles in this film, including the title character, a parody of Wernher von Braun.\n* Fail-Safe (1964 and 2000, based on the novel by Burdick and Wheeler, in which an American bomber group mistakenly receives orders to bomb Moscow. \n* The War Game (1965), produced by Peter Watkins and dealing with a fictional nuclear attack on Britain. This film won the Oscar for Best Documentary, but was withheld from broadcast by the BBC for several decades.\n* The Bed Sitting Room (1969), a surrealist post-nuclear comedy, adapted from the stage play by Spike Milligan and John Antrobus.\n* A Boy and His Dog (1975) based on a short story by Harlan Ellison takes place after World War III.\n* The Day After (1983), a mini-series directed by Nicholas Meyer, shown on the ABC television network, portraying a nuclear strike on Lawrence, Kansas.\n* WarGames (1983), in which a teenage computer cracker almost causes a nuclear war by accident.\n* Red Dawn (1984), with Charlie Sheen. Although it is considered a rather bad movie, it became a symbol of the upcoming World War III in late Cold War with its scene of the Soviet Paratroopers being dropped throughout the USA. Depicts a group of students who organize themselves in a guerilla after a Soviet invasion to the USA.\n* Threads (1984), a movie shown on the BBC, dealing with the short-term and long-term consequences of a nuclear attack on the city of Sheffield, England.\n* The Terminator series (1984, 1991 and 2003), starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as a Terminator in all movies so far, in which robots destroy a military headquarters complex, thus starting World War III. After the war, the surviving humans engage in a protracted war with robots. \n* By Dawn's Early Light (1990), which depicts a post-Cold War explosion instigated by Soviet rebels, which causes a nuclear war to start between the United States and the Soviet Union (in its dying days). The film follows the crew of a B-52 bomber, the US President and AWACS as events unfold.\n* Blast from the Past (1999) relates to a World War III that didn't happen, and to the fears of the Cold War.
Notable novels dealing with World War III include:\n* Fail-Safe, as above\n* On the Beach (1957), by Nevil Shute, was also made into a movie\n* Alas, Babylon, by Pat Frank, dealt with the survival of the fictional town of Fort Repose, Florida after a Soviet missile strike obliterates most of the United States.\n* The Third World War, by Sir John Hackett, set in a 1980s war based on the NATO scenario. This same scenario was also used in Harold Coyle's novel, Team Yankee.\n* Red Storm Rising, by Tom Clancy\n* The World Aflame, written in 1947 and set amidst a protracted nuclear war from 1950-1955.
\nMore literature and movies:\n*Colossus: The Forbin Project - two (US and USSR) military AIs ally to blackmail humans into assembling more AIs like themselves\n*World War III (miniseries) - aired on U.S. network television during the early 1980s. A Soviet invasion of Alaska in order to seize U.S. oilfields escalates to a nuclear exchange.\n*Star Trek: First Contact - The USS Enterprise NCC-1701-E and the Borg return to a period of Earth, 10 years after World War III. The Borg planned to attack Earth while it was still crippled after the war.
Computer games:\n*Wasteland - computer role-playing game set in a post-nuclear world after World War III in 1997.\n*Fallout - computer role-playing game set in a post-nuclear world with retro-50s style, after World War III in 2077.\n*Superhero League of Hoboken, a tongue-in-cheek lampooning of the genre
Music:\n*The post-rock band Godspeed You! Black Emperor's work largely deals with apocalyptic destruction, and its consequences. Read the lyrics to one of their songs, "The Dead Flag Blues"
See also
\nDoomsday clock, Nuclear war, Nuclear disarmament, World War I, World War II, War to end all wars, science fiction, John Titor
Category:Fictional events
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