World War IV or Spanish Civil War?

Are we really in the midst of World War IV? I think it depends largely on one's perspective. The case for our current situation being World War III or World War IV has been well documented over the past week. Given that no major power is fully mobilized for war, even the U.S., I'm leaning towards not placing the World War title on current events quite yet. Instead, I'm viewing things as a regionalized version of the Spanish Civil War. With the U.S. excepted, the world powers are up to their elbows trying to maneuver current events and bend situations in their favor without actually getting militarily involved. That smacks of the hand that some of the then major powers played in the Spanish Civil War. My fear is that the current Middle East unrest is just the precursor to a much uglier conflagration that we could face down the road a little ways.