Could This Be the Start of World War III?

The U.S.-Israeli onslaught on Iran may look to future historians like a staging post to a global conflagration. Originally published in The Free Press on March 5.

Four years ago, when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, people wondered if it was the beginning of World War III. Today, seven days into the latest war with Iran, the same concern has reemerged. It is not a foolish question.

Unlike World War I, which began in 1914 when all the European empires more or less simultaneously activated their …