Everyone is talking about World War III right now, and I hate to be the one to say this, but…all I can wonder is whether we're being manipulated into a fight we can't win. This is probably going to make some folks mad, but there are some facts, statistics, and unanswered questions that support my premise.

Picture this.

A clean-cut athlete from a wealthy family sees a skinny, underprivileged kid. The athlete wants to blow off some steam and look cool to his prep school friends, so he punches the skinny kid right in the face.

Later, when the athlete is questioned by the school, he says that the skinny kid did something horrible, and thus, deserved the punch in the face.  Because the athlete is rich, well-connected, and the star of the football team, the administration and the cops opt to believe him because it makes it a whole lot more acceptable that he punched the skinny kid.

But when the skinny kid gets home, he talks to his big brother. His brother may not be from an elite background like the athlete, but he is just as big and just as athletic. He has grown up hard, so he is way, way more aggressive. And he has friends. Big, aggressive friends who are willing to fight viciously and who have the skills to back it up.

The big brother contacts the athlete and his prep school friends. He warns them that his skinny little brother has had enough. He is angry that they lied about his brother and that everyone pretended to believe them. He tells them that if they ever pick on his brother again, they'll be answering to him and his badass friends.

If the athlete has any common sense, he's going to see that he and his friends are outnumbered, outgunned, and outmatched. No matter how "special" they think they are, how can they possibly win a fight against more numerous opponents that have the same skills and the same weapons, but more – many more – people to wield them?

If you were the athlete, what would you do in this situation? 

If you've been following the Syria situation, you probably understand who is represented in the cast of characters above.

I don't have a background in military strategies. I'm not a politician with special clearance. This may make me seem like the wrong person to assess the looming World War III we're about to get ourselves into. But humor me while I share some of my research and tell me your thoughts in the comments below.

This goes all the way back to President Obama.

Back in 2016, I wrote an article titled, "Why Is Obama Doing Uncomfortably War-Like Things to Syria and Russia?" In that article, I wrote:

You CANNOT just show up in another country and start calling the shots because you don't like the way they do things.

I have questions.

Is this just saber-rattling or does Obama really think he has the right to invade a foreign country, shoot down the aircraft of that country, and also shoot down the aircraft of an invited guest in that country?

Does he really think he would get away with it?