The United States has been at war for much of its history, including the past 17 years straight since the onset of the “War on Terror” that began with Afghanistan—already the country’s longest-ever active conflict. While President Donald Trump pledged an “America First” policy designed to cease Washington’s “endless wars” he’s threatened to start a few ones as well. So far, history recounts two mass conflicts categorized as world wars, both of which involved two major multinational factions battling it out on multiple continents and the latter of which resulted in what was likely the most widespread manmade death and destruction the planet has ever known. Both were sparked by a series of destabilizing events that followed mounting tensions and successive failures in diplomacy. The fallout of World War I and World War II left only two remaining superpowers—the United States and the Soviet Union—and, though Washington outlasted the collapse of Moscow’s communist empire without a third global conflict, mounting tensions between the two countries once again risked driving rival proxy wars in the 21st century. Officials current and former from both sides have even suggested that the situation today was worse as communication channels collapsed. Moreover, China—largely a third…