It's really not very easy to find any positives that came out of the last great Depression in the 1930s. Incredible hardship, political extremism and ultimately world conflict is about as bad as it gets.

In fact, the famous economist J K Galbraith said that the best thing about the Depression was the warning it gave us about falling into another one.

It seems clear now that we did not heed that warning.

The world has tumbled from secure homes to insecure loans; from bulls to bears; and from encouraging stability to worrying uncertainty.

Nobody connected with security issues can pretend this is just a financial or economic issues. Even those who try will find that budget, personnel and project restraints respect no borders.

More troubling is the spark that the economic crisis may give to currently dormant, but explosive situations. Will this tip some areas, countries or even regions over the edge?

In this edition of NATO Review, we gather opinions from those who know the key sides of the current situation: the economy, the defence environment and the fragile areas.

Some of their opinions may surprise. For example, who would have expected that this crisis could be seen as a potential positive for Afghanistan?

For those who still need convincing of what is at stake, just click on the first video. It outlines some of the challenges in just three minutes.

And, unlike the last Depression, it manages to find some positives.

Paul King