The Calm Before the Storm?

Somehow the tension in the world seems to be easing down. Pretty recently, it all felt like a doomsday scenario; more tension between the US and Iran, state of emergency in Pakistan, more killing in Iraq, the undying conflict in Israel/Palestine, all wrapped up in a cozy blanket of global warming. Yep. It sure felt like we were headed for the end.

All of a sudden, things seem like they are about to improve. President Musharraf of Pakistan has finally decided to bid farewell to his post as army chief, ending a large part of the tension that has built up in Pakistan over the past few years (and most notably in the past month). With the cooking pot about to burst in Pakistan, it was only natural that the instability would reverbarate throughout the region, and considering the fact that India and Pakistan are both hold nuclear powers, as well the Taliban running around just along the border, the outlook wasn't great. Well, finally, the heat seems to have been turned down.

The Israel/Palestine conflict has been a bloody one, with its ups and downs over the past half a century. The past 7 years specifically have left the conflict open with no hope for a solution, and the killing and losses continue in the war-torn region. Finally, however, the Mid-East conference is to be held in Annapolis today with the attendance of more than 40 countries, including the big guns like Saudi and Syria. On the agenda is the discussion of a creating Palestinian state, and it finally seems that the Bush Administration, known for their war-waging initiatives, are actually looking at the possibility of peace instead. Sure, a lot of skepticism surrounds the conference, but there is always the opportunity that something useful may come out of it. Let's hope.

Iraq has been ripped apart over the past 30 years, first by the Saddam Hussein regime, the Iran/Iraq war, the 1990 Gulf War, the sanctions that followed, and the 2003 war and the chaos it brought along with it. President George Bush and the Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki vowed yesterday to set a July 31, 2008 target date to formalize US-Iraq economic, political, and security relations. Under the document signed and made public Monday, the new security pact would trigger the end of UN sanctions imposed after Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990 and return full sovereignty to the government in Baghdad. Is there finally hope for the people of Iraq? After the anarchy they've had to endure for years and years? Well, it seems like there just might be a possibility.

Yes, the tension in the world seems like it just might diminish. But is this just a temporary hesitation before all hell comes loose?

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The Doomsday clock is a symbolic clock that has kept been maintained since 1947; it shows the time as a number of minutes to midnight, where midnight symbolizes catastrophic destruction. The number of minutes to midnight is moved forward or back depending on major world events. In our current situation, the world is at 5 minutes to midnight.