War is a terrible infliction on any nation. Real war, not the 'wars' that have been fought for the last couple of decades. But I'll get to that later.
Short answer is yes. The USA will have itself a proper war. But also, the answer is no. The USA won't have itself a proper war.
There are some prerequisites that must be in place for a proper war to come about. I'm not talking about the tit for tat stupidity of diplomacy, but social factors that will enable the war to be supported, fought and won.
Firstly I'll look at the economic factor.
Poverty is the best state a nation can posess before entering a proper war. Not overnight poverty, but a poverty that has existed and has had time to root into the fabric of a culture. Such poverty is the foundation of any great army. Though the first, second, Vietnam and other great wars stripped nations of their brightest and best, those who were able to undertake the brutality of war, were those who were from a background of economic deprivation. In short, soft rich kids may be great at office work, but curl up into small balls and cry for their mothers in battle.
Poverty affords a brutal upbringing, a hardness of heart and soul. A robustness to not having, to lacking, for being cold and hungry. Conditions that are commonplace in real war battle spaces.
Poverty results in poorer educational standards, ignorance, low self esteem and impressionability. In large numbers and over a prolonged period of time, such conditions feed the culture of macho masculinity, which is reinforced and built upon.
Since the 'financial crisis' of 2008 poverty rates I the USA have increased. Thereby ensuring a grounded foundation of potential soldiers bought up in poverty and the benefits it affords armys.
Secondly I shall address forgetting what real war is like.
First and Second World War memories shaped and determined the views of subsequent soldiers. With an increase of ignorance as mentioned above, remembering how brutal real war actually is no longer exists within the social consciousness of those most likely to be required to fight.
Their perception of 'war' is shaped by computer games, films and the exciting snippets of soldiers firing weapons on YouTube videos. War becomes easy, fun, exciting. A place for the male with low self esteem in a macho masculin culture to prove himself.
Real war becomes something that has been happening for the last 20 years, a gorilla war. No conventional enemy, pin point accurate laser weapons, fired from drones.
The USA has been getting ready to fight North Korea for nearly 20 years, strategically manovering around the world. Like a chess game, planning several moves ahead. Always looking to secure the final checkmate.
It would seem that the final moves of the game are coming into place. All sides have their poverty secured, their distant memories and perceptions of war sufficiently altered. All that is required is the tipping point.
Who will make the fatal error and lose/sacrifice their King to unleash the proper war.
The conditions are ripe for the USA to have a proper war, so yes it is distinctly possible that it shall.
However, their plans are known and they are being out manoeuvred. They are losing their financial base upon which they would rely to fund a real war. Their debt is unquestionably high. The petroldollar is loseing its hold and influence. Their manufacturing and industrial base is virtually non existent. Raw materials required to perpetuate a proper war are in areas that are owned by or support potential enemies.
The possibility of proper war is significantly reduced.
Will the USA have a proper war? If it will, it will begin in the spring of a year, 2019 or 2020. It will be in North Korea. It will likely escalate into a global conflict employing the use of nuclear weaponry.