"World War Z" summary of 'The Great Panic' by Seth Comara

"The Great Panic" is a chapter in the novel "World War Z" by Max Brooks. It is a collection of interviews describing the condition around the world during the global zombie outbreak. One of the most interesting passages comes from the former Major Farahnakian of the Iranian Revolution Guards Corp Air Force. Throughout this chapter you come to notice that humanities greatest threat was not actually the zombies but themselves. I feel this passage exemplifies this theory as the political relations between three nations caused a nuclear skirmish in a time where humanity needed to bond together. Iran, unable to defend themselves with the number of incoming refugees, and without the assistance from India or Pakistan on controlling the output of their refugees, was forced to destroy the main route the refugees took to gain access to Iran. Unable to make contact with Pakistan or their political leaders, The military vessel destroying the bridge was taken as an act of war. To which Pakistan and Iran began a undesirable cycle of retaliation.Iran have proposed a solution in which the three nations work together to defend one central safe area but it was the political aspect that prevented the plan from being executed. In a true international great panic the major states that everything became "...such a mess, confusion turning to anger, anger turning on our neighbors. Every hour the conflict escalated. Border clashes, airstrikes. It happened so fast, just three days of conventional warfare, neither side having any clear objective, just panicked rage." I find it very interesting how in this "Great Panic" the humans do the most harm to themselves by isolating themselves, refusing to help others, and even killing each other.