I’ve been thinking. I’ve had a lot of time to do that the last few days as I’m recovering from surgery. Not much to do but watch documentaries and endlessly scroll Twitter/X. And what I’m seeing is just, depressing. It makes me sad. It makes me question what in the hell is happening to the world at the moment?

I’ve been reading quite a bit, mostly about subjects I never explored before. In addition, I’ve been searching out talks and interviews from scholars who are more well read in history than I am (not hard to do). And then I stumbled upon an interview with an ex-CIA officer who went into great detail about our governments handling of the Middle East generally, and specifically Afghanistan and Libya/Benghazi. What shocked me the most was learning about the sheer size and complexity of Al-Qaeda. In a simplistic nutshell, Al-Qaeda is still the controlling entity for terror across all of the Islamic world.

Like many Americans, I had a picture of them being some group in Afghanistan who were formed by OBL, that we spent twenty years fighting, then something something ISIS, Taliban, and we then left and so I don’t pay attention any more. Uh, no. They are a massive corporate-like entity with hundreds of sub-terrorist cells underneath them. And they are embedded in virtually every country, including the US.

And here was the parting words from the CIA targeting officer – Al-Qaeda is back, bigger than ever, and Afghanistan is now the terror training hub for the world.

“Well, isn’t that special” to quote the church lady on SNL (for those of you old enough to remember).

Watching the unrest unfold across the world following the horrors of Oct 7, I wonder… was this simply the first step in a larger plan? Was the purpose all along to provoke Israel into doing exactly what they knew the response would be? Hezbollah, Yemen, Iraq, Syria, Iran – all are now saber rattling or outright conducting operations against Israel and the US. Did Al-Qaeda send Hamas into Israel as a first strike in a much larger movement? Were they intentionally baiting Israel, and ultimately the US, into action that can be used as a rallying cry across the Muslim World?

Is this Al-Qaeda’s official re-establishment of the Caliphate? The new Islamic State? After all, OBL’s mentor Ayman al-Zawahiri once wrote that once the Caliphate is re-established, “Egypt would become a rallying point for the rest of the Islamic world, leading the jihad against the West. Then history would make a new turn, God willing, in the opposite direction against the empire of the United States and the world’s Jewish government”. Maybe the only thing he got wrong was which country would become the centerpiece of jihad.

The US is already in the process of tearing itself apart. The division in this country is like I’ve never seen before. With previous BLM and Antifa riots and protests, the idiocracy of the woke left, and now Hamas supporters marching and ripping down posters of Israeli hostages… it’s clear we’re no longer a united country.

One of the historians I recently listened to, Stephen Kotkin, made an interesting point. The country has been divided in the past. There was tremendous disagreement and unrest just prior to WWII for example. But when events dictated, and a strong leader inspired… the country came together. Could we do that today? Do we have a leader who could rally the country to come together for the common good?

At the moment, I’m in a pessimistic mood so my answer is – no. We have weak, uninspiring leaders who care only about personal power and that sweet lobbyist money. Years of unchecked migration have fundamentally changed the demographics in the country. Demographics that do not assimilate. Unlike previous generations, people are coming here do not want to be “Americans”. They simply want what America provides. The woke movement has further created a generation that is weak, spoiled, and entitled.

In short, I think we’re screwed. Every major empire lasted roughly about 250 years before they fell. I’m guessing it’s our time to start that slow decline. But who knows? A few 9/11 type attacks on the homeland and we might once again see a rise of nationalism that sparks a return to the values that made this country. But even with that, could we resist falling into another twenty year GWOT? Can we prevent WWIII?

Sigh, I don’t know. Maybe it’s not as bad as I think. Maybe it’s just the pain meds talking?

Regardless, it’s probably time to step away from Twitter/X for a while. I think I’ll go find a comedy or a baseball movie to watch. I don’t think it’s supposed to rain tomorrow… the dog hasn’t had a hike in a bit.

A slow walk in the woods with the hound sounds like a good day.