In the 70's, on the heels of the Viet Nam war--oops, I forget, was it a police action or a conflict?---anyhoo, as a civilian working as Choir director for Army chapels, I saw the training begin for desert war down at Ft. Sill, OK, the field artillery training facility for the for the Army at the time. I saw some strange looking vehicles, & one motorpool feller was telling me all about the new vehicles being made for desert warfare. Very exciting stuff. (?)
I eventually asked the Col. at the chapel what he thought about it all. (this was about '77 or 78 ish. When this fellow made general someone told me he was the youngest man so far in the US Army to do so. A good, moral family man who did not relish war, having seen a few tours in Nam.) He said that the next big war would be probably start in Afghanistan & Iraq, move into surrounding areas out to North Korea & it would lead to WWIII, unless the world leaders at the (future) time got serious about reigning in the religious extremists around the world.
Let me emphasize that I am paraphrasing what he said, & these are not my judgements for or against any particular peoples.
   Several months before Geo. the 1st attacked Kuwait, I was in Oklahoma & I saw alot of those same strange looking vehicles plus wierd things I'd never seen, in really wierd color camo, being transported south via train. The words of that Col. flashed in my mind. Then, months later, when I saw the war live on the news, I knew that the (then) Col. had some idea of the truth.
   Now I wonder if those world leaders exhist who can reign in the religious extremists of the planet-be they East or the West.