Keeping Time

Chapter 10

So what was leading to the collapse of the European Union and WW3? Major players from the nations of France, Great Britain, Germany, and Russia.

It started back in February of 2014. A major conflict erupted. Russian Nationalists in Crimea calling for Ukraine to rejoin Russia. Ukrainians refusal. The European Union's outcry for Ukraine to join the European Union. Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The annexation of Crimea.

Vladimir Putin was never very supportive of the European Union. There were rumors that if Greece went bankrupt and fell out of the union, they would look to outsiders. Would Russia intervene and then they would be able to further their interests in Ukraine? Putin sought to collaborate the former Soviet States into a single financial market.

In the summer of 2015, Europe Experienced the largest number of refugees since World War 2 from Syria due to the Al-Assad regime enticing civil war. A jihadist group called "ISIS" entered the conflict with goals of creating a totalitarian Islamist caliphate and quickly became one of the most violent terrorist organizations on Earth. The Syrian population became trapped between the regime, rebel groups and religious extremists. There was no choice but to flee. Refugees cross through the Balkans into Europe. They were not received well. The conflict grew severe as the European Union debated how to provide for the refugees without food, water or shelter.

Marine Le Pein - a frontrunner in the 2017 presidential elections in France - spoke in 2015 about her dissatisfaction with the Euro, stating that if she became president that she would initiate France's exit from the European Union. She gained support from her party and won the election posthumously.

Then there was the "British Referendum" - a vote on whether or not to stay in the European Union, initiated by Prime Minister David Cameron in May of 2017. British, Irish and Commonwealth citizens, as well as members of the House of Lords and citizens of Gibraltar, voted in favor of separation.

Greece declared bankruptcy and exited the European Union.

Europe became scared. Russia was posed. Everything was set for disaster.

The Americans aided the rebels in Syria in 2015 by aiding in attempting to defeat ISIS. The Russians warned the United States not to start a proxy war and demanded later in 2016 that American troops needed to step out of the crisis. The British were sent to the aid of the Americans. Russia was furious. It needed to get an ally but where?

By 2017, the political situation was growing tenser. Donald Trump was elected President of the United States of America, and he did not see eye-to-eye with North Korea. North Korea was making threats. In January, the leader Kim Jong-Un stated that North Korea was in the final stages of developing long-range guided missiles, capable of delivering nuclear warheads. The United States warned North Korea of nuclear ballistic missile tests. Trump managed to get China to pull some trade from North Korea as punishment for their testing, but North Korea cozied up to Al-Assad and continued its trade relationship with Russia. The United States also made a THAAD Missile Defense System in South Korea, causing concern that it would further conflict with North Korea. The world was in a tight spot. One wrong move by any of the players and the countries would be forced to defend their allies in the event of a nuclear fallout. Everyone was concerned about a war that would start and end quickly, with lives lost and the environment damaged.