[Goose]

I also don’t like the prospect of the current set of wars growing larger.

I would guess that virtually all of the Cardboard membership shares this opinion (perhaps that is a first :-). The unfortunate fact is that every one of the existing "wars" can easily turn into something much bigger. Eventually somebody will miscalculate and elicit a response that they did not expect. Most of us undoubtedly worry about Ukraine and Israel/Gaza, with Iran, the Houthis and Hezbollah as close seconds. However, all the "wars" going on in Africa might be equally dangerous (if not as public). There are many opportunities there for the Russian Federation and NATO members to find themselves in direct military conflict. What grows from that could be as dangerous as the cases we are most worried about, at least partially because these conflicts don't get the "quality" attention that prevents miscalculation/overreaction. Türkiye, the Kurds, Syria and Iraq are also in conflict, with Iran watching closely (they also have a Kurdish minority, although a very small one). Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan are also in a bit of a "mini-conflict" that seems to be getting worse as time goes on. China is using this as an excuse to form an alliance with  Afghanistan. ISIS is blowing random people up just to make it more "interesting". Plenty of places available for things to go pear-shaped.

Edit: I forgot about the Russian Federation and Georgia. Putin may be too busy in Ukraine to do anything there and Georgia might decide to take advantage of that and get their "lost provinces" back. Not a "war" at present, but certainly a place where one could start.

[Goose]

I also don’t like the prospect of the current set of wars growing larger.

I would guess that virtually all of the Cardboard membership shares this opinion (perhaps that is a first :-). The unfortunate fact is that every one of the existing "wars" can easily turn into something much bigger. Eventually somebody will miscalculate and elicit a response that they did not expect. Most of us undoubtedly worry about Ukraine and Israel/Gaza, with Iran, the Houthis and Hezbollah as close seconds. However, all the "wars" going on in Africa might be equally dangerous (if not as public). There are many opportunities there for the Russian Federation and NATO members to find themselves in direct military conflict. What grows from that could be as dangerous as the cases we are most worried about, at least partially because these conflicts don't get the "quality" attention that prevents miscalculation/overreaction. Türkiye, the Kurds, Syria and Iraq are also in conflict, with Iran watching closely (they also have a Kurdish minority, although a very small one). Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan are also in a bit of a "mini-conflict" that seems to be getting worse as time goes on. China is using this as an excuse to form an alliance with  Afghanistan. ISIS is blowing random people up just to make it more "interesting". Plenty of places available for things to go pear-shaped.

Edit: I forgot about the Russian Federation and Georgia. Putin may be too busy in Ukraine to do anything there and Georgia might decide to take advantage of that and get their "lost provinces" back. Not a "war" at present, but certainly a place where one could start.