Beginning Of World War 3? Russian War Jet Downed On Turkey-Syria Border Sparks Talk


Several media outlets, such as Business Insider and CNN, are discussing the downing of a Russian war jet by a Turkish F-16 near the Turkey-Syria border as a possible beginning to World War 3. Earlier today, the Inquisitr reported on videos that have surfaced showing the Russian jet bursting into flames in the sky and falling to the ground.

One of the two Russian pilots has been confirmed dead. A video purporting to depict one of the pilots was captured and circulated by a Syrian militant group, Jaysh al-Islam, in the wake of the crash, reports Heavy. The veracity of the video has reportedly been called into question. Russia has apparently disputed that the fighter jet was shot down by a Turkish plane and suggested that it was instead shot down with ground-based weapon.

Has World War 3 begun with downed Russian war jet?
The Regiment of the London Scottish circa World War I. [Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images]
Turkey claims that the Russian plane violated its airspace, and that it warned the pilots 10 times, reports NBC. Russia is said to deny these allegations.

Russian President Vladimir Putin described the downed fighter jet as an “atrocity” and asked, “Do they want to have NATO serve ISIS?” Adding, “I understand that every state has regional interests, and we respect that, but we would never tolerate crime like today’s.”

“World War 3” was reported to trend on Twitter today, with several users making satirical comments.

Frida Ghitis, a columnist with the Miami Herald and World Politics Review, had a more serious take on the World War 3 implications of today’s events on the Turkey-Syria border, asking, “How is this not World War III?” in a CNN opinion piece.

Ghitis states that if this incident had occurred during the Cold War, everyone would be readying for possibility of a nuclear volley. In today’s global climate, the action has caused Putin to call for an emergency session of the United Nations Security Council, while NATO, of which Turkey is a member, has convened an emergency meeting of its own.

The columnist points to comments Pope Francis made in the aftermath of the Paris attacks comparing terrorism to a “piecemeal World War 3,” as reported by the Spectator.

Some fear a Russian jet downed by Turkey has sparked World War 3.
A soldier patrols the street in Brussels, Belgium. [Photo by Ben Pruchnie/Getty Images]
“It rages with the sectarian fury of Shiites against Sunnis, Arabs against Iranians. Lebanon’s Hezbollah, backed by Iran, fights against militias backed by Gulf Arabs. Al Qaeda’s al Nusra Front competes with ISIS, the Kurds fight against ISIS and against the Syrian military and Turkey fights against the Kurds, while feebly taking on ISIS and viscerally pushing for Assad’s ouster,” Ghitis writes.

The writer then factors in Russia, the United States, the “anti-ISIS coalition,” and a bloc put together by France, each intent on fighting Daesh. She writes about President Obama’s claims that ISIS was being contained, being upstaged by Vladimir Putin’s Russian assault on ISIS positions in Syria in the wake of the Paris attacks. Ghitis concludes that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad will likely stay in power now that Daesh has struck in western Europe.

“This is what a world war looks like.”

Ghitis refers to the “Syrian World War” and states that “scores” of countries are already involved, citing a 60-nation coalition featuring countries from around the globe, including South Korea and Australia.

The United States has 150 war planes bombing Syria, France has 38, Russia has 34, Australia has 6, and Canada has 6, though recently elected Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had pledged to end Canadian bombing in the country.

While Daesh is centered in Syria, and directly operates in Iraq, Nigeria, Egypt, and Libya, other organizations have claimed allegiance with the terror group in Afghanistan, Algeria, Indonesia, Pakistan, and the Philippines.

Ghitis then lists the countries from which people have died in Daesh attacks, including all the countries in the above paragraph, plus the United States, Canada, France, Australia, Denmark, Lebanon, Turkey, and others.

“Does it sound like a world war?” Ghitis asks. The journalist states that previous world wars only ended when the United States “found it impossible to pretend” that it wasn’t being affected by a conflict that was raging on the other side of the world.

[Feature Photo by Ben Pruchnie/Getty Images]

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