Well, it’s started. Just as I have feared for a long time, the Axis of Evil has struck back.

As the Middle East and the world start to spin out of control, I find myself reflecting on how we got here and ask myself a dark and disturbing question:

Have we just seen the start of a true World War III?

Let’s reflect on the events of

the past two weeks.

On July 4, North Korea test fired several missiles into the

Sea of Japan, including one said to be able to hit the United

States.

This set off a crisis at the United Nations, with the Japanese demanding that the U.N. Security Council do something about the North Korean

problem.

But while the U.N. was dealing with that crisis, Hezbollah – the radical Islamic militia in Lebanon struck into Israel – killing eight soldiers and capturing

two more.

It was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

Even as I write this, I’m watching the Israeli Defense Forces slowly cut off and strangle the nation of Lebanon on

live TV.

But I can’t help but feel that the IDF is hitting the wrong target.

It’s true that Hezbollah is based in Lebanon, but they get their support from two places: Syria and Iran.

It’s they who should be paying the price for this war, not

the Lebanese people.

Iran in particular is the root cause for many of the world’s

ills, and nothing would give me greater pleasure than seeing

bombs fall on Damascus and Tehran.

But if that happened, it really would start World War III.

The reason Iran and Syria have made their power play now is because they think that the West – fearing rising oil prices – will put pressure on Israel to not wipe Lebanon and Syria off the map, showing that they can control the agenda in the Middle East and hold the world hostage.

But they seem to have made a fateful error because it seems the Israelis have had enough.

The Israeli people have grown tired of all the potshots fired at them from Iran via the

various terrorist groups who want nothing less than the destruction of Israel.

And because of that, it now seems the Middle East is primed for the biggest Arab-Israeli war since 1982; something that could crash the world economy and change

international politics for the next 50 years.

Will it happen? I say it’s a 50-50 chance.

But make no mistake, Iran’s day of reckoning is coming.

It may be 10 years from now or it may be next week, but if the Iranian government keeps on its present course, there will be a catastrophic war in the Middle East during our lifetime.

A war that I hope will settle the score once and for all.

And make no mistake, America will play a big part in that war. I just hope we’ll be

ready for it.

Maybe the Middle East will finally see some well-deserved peace after 60 years of war.