With the war between Israel and Hezbollah escalating in the Middle East, former U.S. Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich said yesterday that he believes we are in the early stages of World War iii.

Speaking with Tim Russert on the July 16Meet the Press, Gingrich shared his thoughts on the scope of the troubles besetting this world and how they signal the beginning of a third world war (emphasis ours).

[T]his is absolutely a question of the survival of Israel, but it’s also a question of what is really a world war. Look what you’ve been covering: North Korea firing missiles. We say there’ll be consequences, there are none. The North Koreans fire seven missiles on our Fourth of July; bombs going off in Mumbai, India; a war in Afghanistan with sanctuaries in Pakistan. … [T]he Iran/Syria/Hamas/Hezbollah alliance. A war in Iraq funded largely from Saudi Arabia and supplied largely from Syria and Iran. The British home secretary saying that there are 20 terrorist groups with 1,200 terrorists in Britain. Seven people in Miami videotaped pledging allegiance to al Qaeda, and 18 people in Canada being picked up with twice the explosives that were used in Oklahoma City, with an explicit threat to bomb the Canadian parliament, and saying they’d like to behead the Canadian prime minister. And finally, in New York City, reports that in three different countries people were plotting to destroy the tunnels of New York. I mean, we … are in the early stages of what I would describe as the third world war ….

A little taken aback by this solemn observation, Russert asked, “This is World War iii?” Mr. Gingrich replied, “I believe if you take all the countries I just listed, that you’ve been covering, put them on a map, look at all the different connectivity, you’d have to say to yourself this is, in fact, World War iii.”

Gingrich is right: Clearly this is not just a regional war. Those willing to see through the present smoke and ashes and recognize the ideological and religious differences fueling this conflict can see that this is only one battle in a much wider war. This war is not about territory or money. It is about religious beliefs and the existence of an entire nation.

This is a real battle between Islam and the West.

The entire world, from Britain to North Korea, Miami to Bagdad, is on the brink of conflict not dissimilar to what is happening in Lebanon. In some areas, the tension is mounting between Islam and the West; in others, it is mounting between anti-Western states and the West. In the end though, it doesn’t matter: The seeds of conflict are germinating in the four corners of the globe.

As extreme as it might sound, this observation by Newt Gingrich is the truth.