Yes I think we could well be on the brink of a World War. The powers driving the initiative against Saddam Hussein see only the opportunity to complete what was left undone from the Gulf war and are using the "War against terror" banner to hide behind after the shock of September 11th. Worryingly, the men with their fingers on the triggers see this only in terms of armed superiority and therefore marching into to Bahgdad is a foregone conclusion. Both the weapons inspection and the demand for a comprehensive statement from Iraq is a bluff designed to give us a reason to attack.
Undoubtedly Saddam Hussein is a murderous tyrant who is a negative force on our planet but as the Gulf war showed, the freindly alliances the West has with Moslem states in the Middle East are fragile and would only support the pushing back of Iraqi troops from Kuwait. I can't imagine that they are comfortable with the idea of an occupying force of non-Moslems on their doorstep.
If you think of it in terms of an Arab nation wanting to remove Castro from Cuba or deciding to invade Italy or Poland because they were supporting anti-Moslem activists and you can well imagine how outraged we would all be.
This could easily become an all-out religious war in which the West becomes a catalyst to unite all Moslem nations against us. It would take one charismatic Moslem leader, Assad of Syria for example, and we might find ourselves dealing with a powerful force of deeply committed men fighting for what they truly believe in.
It's a very real and very frightening prospect.