Prediction :: Did Nostradamus Predict World War III?

Nostradamus isn't known for his cheery prophecies. Most interpreters of the 16th century physician, astrologer and prophet say he accurately predicted two world wars, the rise of two antichrists (Napoleon and Hitler), and even the assassination of John F. Kennedy.

While skeptics are quick to point out that Nostradamus's quatrains (the four-line verses in which he wrote his prophecies) are so cryptic that they can be interpreted in any number of ways, scholars who have meticulously studied his work conclude that Nostradamus has been uncanny in his predictions of some of the most dramatic events of the 20th and previous centuries.

But what of the 21st century? What, if anything, does Nostradamus have to say about the events of this new century, this new millennium? Many fear that his prophecies point to the event that most of the world has been dreading since the end of World War II and the introduction of nuclear weapons: World War III... doomsday... Armageddon. 

Some say it's right around the corner, and with the events of Sept. 11 still haunting our psyche and the continuing tensions in the Middle East, a new war with global involvement isn't hard to imagine.


The Start of WW III
Several years ago, author David S. Montaigne predicted the next world war would start in 2002 in his unambiguously tilted book, Nostradamus: World War III 2002. Although Nostradamus never specifically names the year in which World War III would begin, Montaigne cites this quatrain:

From brick to marble, the walls will be converted,
Seven and fifty peaceful years:
Joy to mankind, the aqueduct renewed,
Health, abundant fruits, joy and honey-making times.
- Quatrain 10:89

Although it can be debated that the 57 years previous to 2002 were peaceful and a joy to mankind, Montaigne interpreted this quatrain as meaning "progress for fifty-seven years between World War II and World War III." And since the Second World War ended in 1945, 57 years brought us to 2002.
Who would start the war and how? Montaigne pointed the finger at Osama bin Laden who, he says, would continue to stir up anti-American feelings within Islamic nations and will mastermind his attacks on the West from Istanbul, Turkey (Byzantium):

Of beyond the Black Sea and of the great Tartary,
A king comes who will see Gaul,
Piercing across Alania and Armenia,
And within Byzantium hw will leave his bloody rod.

Was Montaigne wrong? Some would argue that the September 11 attacks and our subsequest "War on Terrorism" could represent the opening battles in a conflict that could eventually escalate to World War III.