Bringing on "World War III"

From the Inter Press Service News Agency:

POLITICS-US:
Bringing On "World War III"
Analysis by Bill Berkowitz*

OAKLAND, California, Jul 20 (IPS) - If you thought that a global conflagration on the order of a World War was more the stuff of Biblical prophecy, science fiction and apocalyptic end-times novels, think again.

For years, U.S. neoconservatives have been ratcheting up the rhetoric--mostly in small gatherings and on partisan web sites--claiming that terrorist activities around the world constituted the initial stages of a new world war.

But during the past week or so, with the Israeli/Hezbollah crisis in full swing, Newt Gingrich, the former speaker of the United States House of Representatives, is using any platform available to him to convince the public that the U.S. is engaged in World War III. [continued]

*Bill Berkowitz is a longtime observer of the conservative movement. His WorkingForChange column "Conservative Watch" documents the strategies, players, institutions, victories and defeats of the U.S. Right.