World War III (Left Behind)
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World War III is the second rider of the apocalypse and the cause of all the other riders (Death, Famine) in the Left Behind series.
When the United Nations became the Global Community in Tribulation Force, most of the Earth's citizens were happy to finally be on the road toward world peace. However, not everyone was satisfied with GC Supreme Potentate and Antichrist Nicolae Carpathia's military reforms, which called for all nations to destroy 90% of their arsenal and donate the rest to the GC. Some saw this as conspiracy and bands of dissatisfied American citizens (many of them assumed to be survivalists and disgruntled U.S. soldiers) horded as much weaponry as possible, and have them ready to strike Carpathia before it was too late.
This new militia was at first a problem to the US Government. However, President Gerald Fitzhugh soon realized Carpathia was a liar with his own agenda, particularly after global political maneuverings by the Potentate reduced his once-influential position to that of a mere advisor to the sub-potentate assigned to North and Central America (that is, on par with the Prime Minister of Canada and President of Mexico.) Fitzhugh secretly admits to journalist Buck Williams that he has aligned himself with the Militia and had already formed an alliance with the former Egypt and Great Britain.
Fitzhugh planned to have Egypt and Britain fly air strikes on New Babylon while The Militia attacked Nicolae, who was staying in Washington D.C. using an abandoned Nike Base in Chicago. This would have left the Global Community leaderless. This plan, however, would not come to fruition.
The militia began its attack on Washington, but Nicolae was not there, having already fled upon receiving advance intel. At the same time Egypt launched a ground attack and air strike along with Britain, but this was thwarted before any of them got to the GC capital, New Babylon. In retaliation (or so Carpathia said to his advisors aboard Global Community One,) the GC launched massive volleys against all major North American cities, including those in Canada as well as Mexico City, and London causing massive loss of life. The explosions also finished off Pastor Bruce Barnes, who was already hospitalized for poisoning.
Although he claimed to a global audience in later broadcasts that the strikes were merely retaliatory (and necessary) measures, the rest of the war was a massive slaughter by Carpathia's forces and the small remaining ground forces of the rebellion. The war would leave Carpathia unopposed militarily. It would also leave the Potentate with the task of replacing the sub-potentates of the three regions of the world where the rebellion was based. It is assumed that those three were assassinated.
In the 2005 movie, Left Behind: World at War, President Fitzhugh is told by his Vice-President John Mallory, that Nicolae Carpathia is planing to attack America. Mallory is assassinated in a rocket attack. Now convinced about Carpathia, Fitzhugh allies himself with the Militia. As well as Prime Minister Tom Walsh of Britain, and President Abbas Pasha of Egypt. Claiming to need a contingency, Fitzhugh goes to kill Nicolae, only to find the rebellion under preemptive attack. Fitzhugh shoots Nicolae point-blank. Nicolae forces Fitzhugh out a 20-story window. But Fitzhugh survives. Feeling like a failure, Fitzhugh is convinced by Buck Williams to accept Christ. Knowing that Nicolae can't be killed, Fitzhugh goes back to slow him down, by destroying his headquarters in Washington D.C. Fitzhugh arrives to hear that Nicolae will use militia mainframes to launch nuclear weapons to destroy 97 "targets". The movie ends with Nicolae's headquarters destroyed but Nicolae himself comes out without a scratch.
