One hundred years ago Europe was on the eve of World War I, called the Great War. It was the war that was supposed to end all wars forever. As far as we can tell World War II did just that. It’s hard to see how countries could launch a massive conventional war around the globe without blowing themselves up with atomic bombs. Besides, with the internet, cell phone cameras, and wi-fi, it’s hard to see how military secrecy could be obtained to launch such conventional attacks. They would be reported before they could occur. The enemy would know all about them.

Instead we could be on the eve of a massive cyber war in the financial markets. That could be the World War I of the Twenty-First Century. When you read articles such as the one in the Wall Street Journal this morning, Tuesday, July 11, 2011, “Debt Worries Roil Markets”, you get that idea. The first sentence makes you think of the end of the world as we know it: “Worries about government debt rocked capital markets on both sides of the Atlantic on Monday as fears that the Greek crisis will spread combined with concerns over standoff with the US debt ceiling.”

There won’t be any bombs. There won’t be nuclear fallout. Instead we will have a series of panics in the markets, followed by deep recessions and maybe even a Depression or two. People will be shaken, though still very much alive.

The first volley this week seems to be a planned meeting on Thursday of Europe’s heads of state. They must head off the Greek crisis which is already showing signs of contagion, spreading to Italy. There has already been a sell off of Italian bonds. The phrase on everyone’s lips is “Sell the PIIGS!” or PIGS for short.

Where will the next attack occur? Stay tuned. The financial news is now the war news.