Right on the Money: Doug Casey on Economics, Investing, and the Ways of the Real World with Louis James

Chapter 35

Doug Casey: War Is Coming

August 4, 2010

Louis: Doug, last time we conversed, you said: “Let’s talk about what Clausewitz called ‘the extension of politics’ next time—I think the odds are increasing that we may see war rear its ugly head again soon.”

There’s been a lot in the news lately about Israel blockading the Gaza strip and about the potential for the Middle East to boil over. Is that what you had in mind?

Doug: I just got back from a trip to the Middle East—Iraq, actually. There’s a feature article on what I found there in this month’s The Casey Report. Doing country studies has long been a specialty of mine, and I’ve got to say that most of what most people think they know about the place just ain’t so. But yes, I do think there is a very significant chance that we are headed for something that might vaguely resemble World War III.

L: That’s going to be a pretty shocking statement to a lot of people—too much cognitive dissonance for most to let themselves think about it. Many readers might say that folks in the Middle East have been squabbling for years without the world going up in flames. Did you have a guru moment while there? Why now?

D: Well, people, especially Americans, forget that war, far from being an alien experience only read about in books, is actually a commonplace occurrence. Major powers have had major wars periodically, continually throughout history. There’s no reason to imagine mankind has kicked the habit. It may not be the conflagration ...