Serious Question: Has WWIII Already Started?

Image created by IVN staff.
Image created by IVN staff.
Published: 17 Jun, 2025
4 min read

For nearly a decade, foreign policy analysts, former generals, and everyday citizens have been asking a once-unthinkable question: Is World War III on the horizon? Now, the question may not be whether it's coming, but whether it has already begun.

The last 5 to 10 years have seen a steady drumbeat of global instability. First, the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, triggered the largest land war in Europe since World War II. The West’s unified response, including billions of dollars in military aid and sanctions, locked NATO into a long-term confrontation with Moscow.

Then came October 7, 2023, the date of Hamas’s deadly surprise attack on Israel. This sparked a war between Hamas and Israel that is still ongoing, and the regional consequences have only widened. 

Today, Israel and Iran are openly at war. Bombings have struck both territories. Retaliatory drone and missile attacks are ongoing. U.S. forces are in harm’s way across the region, raising fears of broader escalation.

Returning early from the G-7 Summit, Trump called on Iran to unconditionally surrender and said on Truth Social that the leader of Iran is an "easy target." 


Trump Truth Social post.

On the afternoon of June 17, the President was said to be meeting with national security officials in the Situation Room and considering a range of options, including "a potential U.S. strike against Iran," according to the Wall Street Journal.

IVP Donate

Meanwhile, China continues to increase military pressure on Taiwan. North Korea has resumed weapons testing. Pakistan, which borders both China and Iran, is navigating internal unrest while maintaining its nuclear arsenal. And cyberattacks on critical infrastructure in the U.S. and Europe have been traced back to state-backed groups in Russia, China, and Iran.

A Global Web of Conflict

This isn’t a single war with clearly defined sides, at least not yet. But the growing number of flashpoints, overlapping alliances, and nuclear-armed nations makes the situation eerily reminiscent of the early 20th century, when a tangled web of treaties turned a regional assassination into a global catastrophe.

Even President Donald Trump has repeatedly warned, “We are heading to World War III,” claiming he could stop it “on Day One” if elected. 

But Democrats and Republicans alike now find themselves navigating an increasingly complex landscape of proxy conflicts, defense commitments, and deepening mistrust between global powers.

A Constitutional Crossroads

One point of agreement across the political spectrum: if the U.S. is drawn further into any of these conflicts, Congress should debate and declare war, as the Constitution requires. 

Both progressive Democrats and libertarian-leaning Republicans have raised concerns about presidents deploying troops without explicit authorization, a practice that has become the norm in the post-9/11 era.

Let Us Vote : Sign Now!

The last formal declaration of war by Congress came in 1942. Since then, military action in Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, and Libya has often proceeded under vague or outdated authorizations, or none at all.

Kaine Seeks to Block Unauthorized War with Iran

On June 16, Senator Tim Kaine (D-Va.) introduced a War Powers Resolution requiring congressional approval before any U.S. military action against Iran. The move comes amid escalating violence and fears the U.S. could be drawn into a broader war.

“It is not in our national security interest to get into a war with Iran unless that war is absolutely necessary to defend the United States,” Kaine said. “The American people have no interest in sending servicemembers to fight another forever war in the Middle East.”

Kaine’s resolution, which is “privileged” and therefore requires debate and a vote under Senate rules, reinforces Congress’s constitutional authority to declare war and bars unauthorized offensive action. However, it allows for self-defense against imminent attacks.

Kaine has long advocated for reining in executive war powers. He serves on both the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees. He is the father of a military member.

In 2018, Kaine wrote a piece in The Atlantic warning that Trump was blundering toward war with Iran. In March 2020, Congress passed Kaine’s bipartisan war powers resolution to prevent further escalation of hostilities with Iran without congressional authorization. In 2023, the Senate passed bipartisan legislation led by Kaine to repeal the 1991 and 2002 Authorizations for Use of Military Force (AUMFs) and formally end the Gulf and Iraq wars.

With American forces stationed in dozens of countries and new threats emerging in Europe, the Middle East, and the Indo-Pacific, independent voters are asking hard questions. What counts as war in the 21st century? Who gets to decide when we’re in one? And if this isn’t the beginning of World War III, what would be?

More Choice for San Diego

In this article

Related articles

Donald Trump standing behind presidential podium and in front of two American flags.
Has Trump Made His Case for the Nobel Peace Prize?
A news item in recent days that was overshadowed in the media by SCOTUS and the One Big Beautiful Budget Bill was a US-brokered peace agreement that was signed between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) – which if it holds will end a conflict between the two countries that has killed thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands of people....
30 Jun, 2025
-
7 min read
Tulsi Gabbard
Is Tulsi Gabbard Being Sidelined by Another Party?
Tulsi Gabbard can’t seem to catch a break, no matter which party or administration she joins. First, she was ostracized by the Democratic Party in 2016 when she spoke out against the party’s unfair treatment against Bernie Sanders. At the time, she was a sitting Democratic congresswoman and DNC vice chair....
26 Jun, 2025
-
4 min read
homelessness in California
Clearing Homeless Encampments Is a Band-Aid, Not A Solution
Last July, Governor Gavin Newsom issued an executive order “to address (homeless) encampments” and allocated funding to local governments to clear encampments and connect “those living in them to housing and supportive services.” ...
20 Jun, 2025
-
3 min read

Latest articles

Elon Musk in front of the US Capitol Building.
7 Things Elon Musk Needs to Do If the America Party Wants to Be More Than a Meme
The World’s Richest Man Will Have to Overcome America’s Toughest Political Obstacles — Here’s What It Will Take to Make His America Party Thrive...
08 Jul, 2025
-
4 min read
Oklahoma State Capitol Building.
Lawsuit Slams Oklahoma Law as ‘Unconstitutional Sabotage’ of Open Primaries
Two Oklahoma veterans – one a pediatrician, the other a U.S. Coast Guard commander – have filed a legal challenge to SB 1027 in Oklahoma, a law they say unconstitutionally targets their statewide citizen initiative to implement open primaries, State Question 836 (SQ 836)....
08 Jul, 2025
-
5 min read
Elon Musk
Musk vs The Duopoly: Will the America Party Succeed Where Others Have Failed?
Elon Musk, the billionaire CEO of Tesla, SpaceX, and X, and former Director of the Department of Government Efficiency, has officially launched the America Party, framing it as a challenge to what he calls a “one-party system” dominated by wasteful government spending....
07 Jul, 2025
-
5 min read