Latest / World Ablaze with George Fontes / White House Shooting, Thomas Massie Loses, The Rise of Jihadist Militants in Africa, and U.S.-Cuba Tensions

Transcript

White House Shooting, Thomas Massie Loses, The Rise of Jihadist Militants in Africa, and U.S.-Cuba Tensions · World Ablaze with George Fontes

• 0:00
  Welcome to another world blaze.
• 0:08
  Today's episode, we're going to discuss Thomas Massey's loss,
• 0:11
  the alleged claims that Israel worked to unseat Thomas Massey
• 0:14
  and all the rhetoric coming out of the land of podcast.
• 0:17
  If you're unfamiliar with podcast,
• 0:20
  because you live in the real world and not on the internet,
• 0:23
  podcast has been a label used to group certain individuals
• 0:29
  in the podcast community who seem to overvalue or overestimate their influence and who they
• 0:38
  really are and how they matter to the United States of America.
• 0:42
  And these will be people now, there's some people that I'm going to name are recognizable.
• 0:47
  Even the everyday person doesn't pay attention to this stuff knows Tucker Carlson.
• 0:53
  And of course, there's Candace Owens.
• 0:55
  But then there's others like Dave Smith.
• 0:56
  There's Owen Schroyer.
• 0:59
  there's a long list of people that would be considered part of the land of
• 1:04
  podcast,
• 1:05
  Stan.
• 1:05
  And these are people who seem to believe that Trump has no influence.
• 1:12
  His popularity is near zero in the United States of America.
• 1:15
  And they were going to stand up for making sure Thomas Massey was reelected.
• 1:20
  Why?
• 1:21
  Well,
• 1:21
  because everybody seemed to turn on Donald Trump and with,
• 1:26
  with all of this going on,
• 1:28
  they were going to make sure
• 1:30
  that they got behind
• 1:31
  using their power and influence
• 1:34
  to platform Thomas Massey,
• 1:37
  support Thomas Massey,
• 1:38
  because they believed
• 1:39
  that America believed
• 1:40
  what they were saying,
• 1:42
  especially Tucker Carlson.
• 1:45
  Tucker Carlson actually had Massey
• 1:46
  on his show
• 1:47
  as a way to help his campaign.
• 1:50
  But in the end,
• 1:52
  all the alleged influence
• 1:53
  that they thought they had,
• 1:55
  Tucker included,
• 1:56
  didn't seem to be too influential
• 1:59
  as Thomas Massey still lost his seat
• 2:03
  in Kentucky's fourth district.
• 2:04
  So we're going to discuss that a little bit.
• 2:07
  Then we're going to move on to Cuba.
• 2:08
  We're going to discuss what's going on with Cuba,
• 2:10
  what's happening between the United States of America and Cuba,
• 2:13
  Cuba's importance.
• 2:14
  Why is Cuba being focused on right now
• 2:18
  by the Trump administration?
• 2:20
  Well, let's just say Cuba and the U.S.
• 2:22
  have been at each other for quite some time.
• 2:24
  And Cuba, its proximity to the United States, their ties to Russia, and activity and connections to also Iran, as well as China, definitely is a point of contention for the United States of America.
• 2:43
  It's also been reported that Cuba has harbored terrorist organizations like Hamas and Hezbollah.
• 2:49
  Donald Trump absolutely wants regime change in Cuba, and for good reason.
• 2:56
  They're in our backyard.
• 2:58
  They're right there in the southwestern hemisphere of the United States of America.
• 3:04
  So we're going to discuss that a bit, and we're going to talk about whether or not Trump may or may not take action.
• 3:11
  Again, hopefully you understand that I'm not saying he will, but we're going to discuss the tensions there and what might come next.
• 3:19
  So stick around for that.
• 3:20
  Then we're going to discuss Africa.
• 3:22
  Africa.
• 3:24
  Africa, Africa has not been talked about enough.
• 3:26
  Now, we know that there's activity in Nigeria.
• 3:29
  We know that Christians have been targeted and are being slaughtered there.
• 3:32
  We know that Somalia has been a hot topic.
• 3:36
  We also hear a lot about South Africa.
• 3:41
  But what's not being talked about is the consistent, steady growth and rise of
• 3:48
  and power of fundamental extreme jihadist organizations.
• 3:56
  And we're talking about groups like ISIS and Al-Qaeda, Al-Shabaab.
• 4:01
  There's been a lot of activity, a lot of Islamic extremist groups there
• 4:07
  that have risen to power and are right now struggling between each other
• 4:13
  or fighting each other for power.
• 4:15
  ISIS has been there for quite some time.
• 4:16
  Al-Qaeda, much longer.
• 4:20
  Now, according to reports, about 85%, about 85% of ISIS's activity is controlled and or originates from Africa.
• 4:31
  And it's been considered to now be ISIS's headquarters.
• 4:38
  There are many, many, many different factions of ISIS that control various provinces within Africa.
• 4:46
  So Africa is absolutely something that needs to be talked about, something we need to pay attention to, especially when we consider how long Russia has been working to create relationships with Africa, China as well.
• 4:59
  And geopolitically, they are a major player.
• 5:04
  They're rich in resources.
• 5:05
  and if we're not paying attention to the growth and control of Africa by terrorist organizations,
• 5:13
  we're probably going to be in trouble.
• 5:16
  So let's talk about Africa for sure.
• 5:18
  Now, before we get to all that in the show, there's been developments this weekend.
• 5:22
  It's been busy.
• 5:23
  First, let's talk about the shooting of the White House.
• 5:25
  It has been reported that on Saturday, an individual tried to storm the White House,
• 5:32
  trying to get past a checkpoint and firing 30 shots.
• 5:36
  This individual has done this before,
• 5:39
  although previously in July of 2025 did not use a weapon,
• 5:43
  but did try to storm the White House.
• 5:47
  This individual being Nasir Best was stopped.
• 5:53
  In fact, he's no longer with us as secret service acted quickly and killed him
• 5:59
  as they work to protect the president and all those inside the White House.
• 6:07
  Nasir Best believes he's Jesus.
• 6:12
  And so this person did have what's considered to be mental issues.
• 6:17
  But let's talk about what we know.
• 6:19
  And let's go to a CBS report.
• 6:23
  And according to CBS, according to CBS, go ahead and read this.
• 6:28
  This is what we know.
• 6:29
  Gunman killed after opening fire on Secret Service checkpoint outside White House.
• 6:34
  So, a gunman was killed after opening fire on a U.S. Secret Service checkpoint near the White House Saturday evening.
• 6:42
  Secret Service officers returned fire, hitting the suspect, who later died at a hospital.
• 6:47
  A bystander was also wounded.
• 6:50
  President Trump was at the White House during the incident, but was not impacted.
• 6:53
  the suspect was identified by a person familiar with the investigation as 21 year old Nassir
• 7:02
  Best. According to the source, Best had a previous run-in with Secret Service in July of 2025,
• 7:09
  which he tried to gain entry to the White House and was arrested and sent to a psychiatric ward
• 7:14
  for mental health issues.
• 7:18
  So Nasir Bass has tried to do this previously,
• 7:22
  this time with a weapon in hand,
• 7:25
  this time firing shots,
• 7:27
  this time he himself getting killed.
• 7:30
  What's interesting and of note here,
• 7:32
  this is the fifth time the White House has been shot at
• 7:36
  while President Trump has been at the White House
• 7:40
  during his first term and now in a second term.
• 7:44
  He was fired at in 2016, or at least the White House was fired upon 2016, 2018, 2020, again in 2025 and 2026.
• 8:01
  So very curious as to what's going on here.
• 8:06
  Obviously, the world doesn't want Donald Trump around, apparently.
• 8:11
  It's either that or people are buying up the AI slop and narratives being pushed on social media.
• 8:19
  I think people are just mentally deranged these days and just can't handle the world.
• 8:23
  And of course, they want to point the blame at Donald Trump, which we can definitely blame him for many things, but not all.
• 8:32
  but the fact that
• 8:35
  people are becoming more emboldened
• 8:37
  to carry out these violent
• 8:40
  actions
• 8:40
  is very concerning
• 8:42
  also this Saturday
• 8:45
  what happened apparently
• 8:47
  allegedly there was an assassination
• 8:49
  plot again
• 8:51
  but not necessarily against Trump himself
• 8:53
  against his family members
• 8:54
  and it's been reported
• 8:57
  that Ivanka Trump
• 8:59
  herself was a target
• 9:02
  also developing this weekend or Saturday,
• 9:08
  we might actually have a peace deal on the table
• 9:11
  between Iran and the U.S. and the other Gulf states.
• 9:16
  Both J.D. Vance and Donald Trump were hurried to Washington
• 9:21
  so that they can get on a call with the other Gulf nations.
• 9:27
  We don't know the details of that call.
• 9:29
  We don't even know if that call was directly related
• 9:32
  to the alleged peace deal or negotiations.
• 9:36
  But regardless, this happened because shortly after,
• 9:40
  it has been reported that there was another deal on the table from Iran.
• 9:45
  All reports are saying that we're getting close to actually having something here.
• 9:50
  But I'm going to refrain from saying too much because there is just,
• 9:54
  I mean, truth be told, not enough information.
• 9:56
  We don't know all the details.
• 9:59
  Many people are jumping to be first to report.
• 10:02
  And all I'm going to do is exactly what I just did.
• 10:05
  I'm going to bring it up.
• 10:06
  I'm going to make you aware of it.
• 10:08
  By the time you hear this episode, there might be further developments.
• 10:12
  And so if you know anything before I say anything, please leave comments on the episode in your
• 10:18
  favorite podcast aggregator, whether you're listening to me on Apple or Spotify, or if
• 10:21
  you're just watching me on YouTube, leave the comments, give me some updates.
• 10:25
  But for those who have watched the show for a long time, you already know that I'm going
• 10:28
  to be diving into this.
• 10:29
  So I guarantee probably by the next episode, we're going to have something to say on this.
• 10:36
  That being said, let's go ahead and move on to Thomas Massey.
• 10:45
  Now, Thomas Massey lost his seat in Kentucky, 4th District.
• 10:51
  and many people believe that he was unseated because Israel,
• 10:59
  it was because Israel went ahead and worked to unseat him directly.
• 11:06
  Why?
• 11:07
  Because there was a lot of money involved.
• 11:10
  Apparently, AIPAC donated, I want to say $9 million.
• 11:15
  I'm going to correct myself here in a minute
• 11:16
  because I'm going to show you the report that I did here.
• 11:19
  but it looks like everybody is saying that Massey's loss is a win for Israel.
• 11:30
  I'm not quite sure that is true,
• 11:32
  but what people do say is Massey was probably the only America first principled
• 11:38
  person serving in Congress.
• 11:41
  He voted on protecting the constitution and his votes,
• 11:45
  according to many, were based on the Constitution itself
• 11:49
  and also stood for fiscal responsibility.
• 11:52
  What got Massey here?
• 11:54
  Well, he did have a problem with Donald Trump.
• 11:57
  Actually, even from Donald Trump's first term,
• 11:59
  Massey has been very opposed to much of Donald Trump's policies
• 12:02
  and everything that he wanted to get done in Congress.
• 12:06
  Thomas Massey, while being principled,
• 12:08
  and please hear me out,
• 12:10
  not saying being principled is wrong.
• 12:11
  A principled man is something to admire.
• 12:13
  But when it comes to politics,
• 12:15
  There's a give and take.
• 12:17
  You're playing chess here.
• 12:18
  You got to give a little to get a little.
• 12:20
  And that was the one thing that Thomas Massey didn't seem to realize.
• 12:24
  His principles became so principled that he was literally a brick wall to progress.
• 12:29
  And unfortunately, Thomas Massey didn't see that to affect real change in America,
• 12:35
  especially when you're in the political realm,
• 12:39
  you have to give a little so you can get a little.
• 12:42
  And then once you get that little bit, your fellow congresspeople are going to go, that made sense.
• 12:49
  That made sense for America.
• 12:50
  The results are great.
• 12:52
  And they're more inclined to support you the next time.
• 12:55
  And little by little you get more and more and more But the problem was Thomas was trying to win the sprint and not the marathon
• 13:05
  He was trying to see how fast he can get across the street
• 13:08
  rather than whether or not he was going to win the 24-hour Le Mans.
• 13:12
  Massey took his eye off the ball.
• 13:16
  And that came to bite him in the ass.
• 13:18
  That plus being opposed to a good amount of Republican agendas.
• 13:25
  wasn't working for him.
• 13:27
  And in my mind,
• 13:29
  many people can say it was because of APAC
• 13:31
  and the amount of money donated and spended
• 13:33
  that is the reason Thomas Massey is no longer there.
• 13:37
  But the reality is Thomas Massey
• 13:39
  was one of the most well-known politicians
• 13:43
  in the United States of America.
• 13:44
  He was platformed by many in the land of podcastistan.
• 13:49
  Tucker Carlson had him on his show.
• 13:51
  And in fact, many of these people felt,
• 13:53
  including Tucker and Dave Smith and Owen Schroyer and all these other guys,
• 14:00
  Candace Owens even, hell, even Nick Fuentes was supporting Thomas Massey.
• 14:06
  They all thought that their power and influence that they seem to have
• 14:10
  because of their affirmations from the land of X,
• 14:16
  that their reach and their influence was actually more than it really was.
• 14:22
  Why?
• 14:23
  Well, because you have millions of followers on X
• 14:25
  and they get a lot of likes and clicks.
• 14:27
  But that doesn't always translate to whether or not
• 14:29
  people really take you serious.
• 14:32
  And so with everything that these people tried to do
• 14:36
  to push Massey into the spotlight
• 14:38
  and to convince people that he's the guy
• 14:40
  that you need to back in Kentucky in District 4,
• 14:43
  he's still lost.
• 14:45
  And so the counter-argument was,
• 14:46
  well, Israel spent so much money
• 14:49
  that there's no way Massey could have won.
• 14:51
  It wasn't a fair election.
• 14:52
  Well, Thomas Massey himself raised a good amount of money.
• 14:57
  And his opponent, Ed Galrin,
• 14:59
  he wasn't getting promoted by these notable podcast figures
• 15:04
  who allegedly had this huge reach and influence.
• 15:08
  Ed Galrin wasn't getting any of that.
• 15:10
  Thomas Massey was getting free publicity,
• 15:13
  was getting the exposure from all these big-name podcasters
• 15:18
  and ex-influencers.
• 15:19
  something at his opponent,
• 15:23
  Ed Gowron, wasn't getting.
• 15:24
  So in the end,
• 15:26
  two things happen here.
• 15:29
  Did AIPAC,
• 15:32
  the American-Israeli lobby,
• 15:34
  as people say or call it,
• 15:37
  were they a thing?
• 15:38
  Was it really why Thomas Massey lost?
• 15:42
  Well, they did contribute a lot of money
• 15:44
  towards Thomas Massey's opponent,
• 15:48
  But on the flip side, Thomas Massey had a lot of media exposure and a lot of backing from influential individuals and podcasters, right?
• 16:01
  So I think it's a toss-up.
• 16:03
  And if anything, this proves that these people in the land of podcastistan, such as Tucker Carlson, Dave Smith, Owen Schroyer, Hodge twins, all these people.
• 16:15
  If this proved anything, it proved that your influence isn't very influential, that maybe people are listening to you for entertainment, but not taking it too serious.
• 16:27
  But hey, maybe I'm getting off track here.
• 16:29
  So let's discuss a little bit of what happened here with this race.
• 16:34
  So this race is considered a historic defeat.
• 16:38
  And before I move on, let me just say that Thomas Massey himself has been serving for nearly 14 years.
• 16:47
  So it's not guaranteed he was going to get elected again anyway.
• 16:50
  But still, let's move on.
• 16:52
  So the 2026 primary, what stood out?
• 16:57
  Well, the election results and spending.
• 16:59
  Massey secured approximately 45.2% of the vote, losing to Ed Galleran's 54.8%.
• 17:06
  The financial scale of the primary was unprecedented.
• 17:10
  Total spending was estimated at $35 million,
• 17:13
  which surpassed the 2024 record that was set in New York.
• 17:17
  Massey's fundraising raised $5.5 million on his side from his own committee.
• 17:23
  Outside opposition, though, over $20 million was spent against Massey,
• 17:29
  including $9 million from pro-Israeli groups like AIPAC
• 17:33
  and the United Democracy Project.
• 17:36
  who labeled him the most anti-Israel Republican in the House.
• 17:45
  So the administrative chaos.
• 17:48
  Final days of the campaign were marked by controversy regarding polling locations.
• 17:51
  Approximately one week before the election, early voting sites were moved without notice.
• 17:56
  Supporters argued this invalidated millions of mailed ballots
• 17:59
  and introduced administrative confusion into the race.
• 18:03
  So people are unhappy.
• 18:04
  They're trying to claim election interference.
• 18:06
  shenanigans.
• 18:10
  That's yet to be proven,
• 18:12
  but those are the claims.
• 18:15
  Now, let's talk about the foreign interest
• 18:16
  because everybody wants to say
• 18:17
  or everyone has been saying,
• 18:19
  maybe not you,
• 18:20
  but most people in the land of podcastistan,
• 18:22
  as I said earlier,
• 18:23
  those mega influencers are in the X,
• 18:28
  that it was foreign interest
• 18:29
  that won the seat
• 18:31
  or took the seat rather
• 18:33
  away from Thomas Massey
• 18:34
  and won it for his opponent,
• 18:35
  Ed Galran.
• 18:36
  A lot of people view Massey as so principled and so America first,
• 18:40
  but they don't even realize that Thomas Massey himself
• 18:43
  has had ties either directly or indirectly
• 18:47
  to people who could be considered those of foreign influence.
• 18:51
  A lot of people say Israel unseated Massey,
• 18:54
  but a lot of people don't want to discuss Massey's ties
• 18:56
  to mega-donor Jeff Yass.
• 19:01
  I'm going to read just a few of these foreign influential ties here,
• 19:06
  or foreign influence ties, Jeff Yass.
• 19:10
  He has a minority stake in ByteDance, TikTok owner.
• 19:14
  He contributed $7.5 million to Protect Freedom Pack.
• 19:18
  $1 million of this went to the Pro-Massey Kentucky First Pack.
• 19:23
  The Integrity Pack, or IPAC,
• 19:25
  described as having foreign ties well beyond Kentucky.
• 19:29
  Officially endorsed Massey,
• 19:31
  Chairman Rafad Al-Jabouri,
• 19:34
  chairs a Gaza-focused NGO.
• 19:37
  And I'm sorry, I probably mispronounced that name,
• 19:39
  but you get the point.
• 19:41
  And then there's the Iran lobby,
• 19:44
  and that is the National Iranian American Council.
• 19:47
  They're described as the tip of the spear
• 19:49
  for the Iranian regime.
• 19:52
  Again, no direct PAC funds went to Massey from this,
• 19:57
  but Massey has been consistently aligned
• 20:01
  in his voting
• 20:03
  in a way that benefits
• 20:06
  the Iranian lobby,
• 20:08
  which is very interesting.
• 20:11
  And then we have Sam Marouk
• 20:14
  or Marouk,
• 20:16
  however you pronounce that.
• 20:17
  He is a Palestinian-raised businessman.
• 20:20
  So he himself donated
• 20:22
  the maximum of $7,000.
• 20:24
  And, you know,
• 20:24
  the most any individual can donate.
• 20:26
  But Marouk's family
• 20:29
  also contributed
• 20:30
  to,
• 20:31
  the maximum amounts totaling tens,
• 20:34
  I mean tens of thousands of dollars
• 20:36
  that went to Thomas Massey
• 20:37
  from this Palestinian-raised businessman
• 20:40
  who had Palestine at the top of his mind,
• 20:47
  meaning foreign interests.
• 20:50
  And those are only three examples here.
• 20:53
  But let's go ahead and break down
• 20:54
  the ByteDance connection here
• 20:55
  because this is very important.
• 20:58
  Massey was one of the few House members
• 21:00
  to vote against, listen to this,
• 21:02
  to vote against the Protecting Americans
• 21:04
  from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act.
• 21:12
  This legislative alignment with billionaire Jeff Yaz,
• 21:16
  who holds a stake in TikTok's Beijing-based parent company,
• 21:20
  drew intense scrutiny regarding potential foreign influence.
• 21:25
  Oh, wait a minute.
• 21:26
  Wasn't Massey the most principled America first leader?
• 21:30
  Congressional person.
• 21:33
  Interesting, right?
• 21:34
  There's also the Muslim American support.
• 21:37
  So the Integrity Political Action Committee,
• 21:40
  IPAC, which I spoke about earlier,
• 21:42
  the coalition advocating for immigrant rights
• 21:44
  and challenging ICE endorsed Massey
• 21:47
  as a true America First candidate.
• 21:49
  The group praised his opposition to AIPAC influence.
• 21:53
  Massey also received significant individual contributions
• 21:56
  from prominent activists, notably
• 21:59
  the Marouk family, which I mentioned earlier as well.
• 22:05
  And then, so here's the legislative conflicts
• 22:08
  and policy positions.
• 22:09
  And again, Massey's a principled man, right?
• 22:11
  He stands on his laurels.
• 22:12
  He stands for fiscal responsibility.
• 22:16
  He's very constitutional first.
• 22:20
  But let's go through a few things here.
• 22:21
  So Massey's career was defined by his Mr. No persona,
• 22:25
  A philosophy that viewed legislative compromise as betrayal of long-term constitutional and fiscal goals.
• 22:34
  That right there was a problem because that's not necessarily true, as Massey found out.
• 22:40
  Friction with the Trump administration.
• 22:43
  So despite voting with Trump 91% of the time, several high-profile clashes define their relationship.
• 22:51
  Massey was one of the only two Republicans to oppose the one big,
• 22:56
  beautiful bill act,
• 22:58
  labeling a debt bomb that would increase the national deficit,
• 23:02
  which is kind of funny because I remember Massey actually voted to raise the
• 23:06
  debt ceiling under Biden's administrative years.
• 23:12
  Interesting.
• 23:14
  Jeffrey Epstein files.
• 23:15
  Massey partnered with
• 23:18
  the progressive Ro Khanna
• 23:19
  on the Epstein File Transparency Act.
• 23:21
  Trump's opposition to this effort
• 23:23
  led him to publicly call Massey
• 23:24
  a moron and a lowlife.
• 23:27
  Now, this one I can agree with
• 23:29
  and side with Massey.
• 23:30
  We needed transparency
• 23:31
  for the Epstein victims,
• 23:34
  for whoever was involved,
• 23:36
  but Massey also was kind of
• 23:37
  bluffing himself.
• 23:39
  I think he used this as a tool
• 23:41
  to try to get Trump
• 23:43
  to bend the knee
• 23:44
  to Massey's will,
• 23:47
  which was never going to happen.
• 23:49
  And also,
• 23:51
  Massey alleged that he would read
• 23:53
  all the names of everyone involved
• 23:54
  because he knows all the names.
• 23:56
  But to this day,
• 23:57
  he still has not done so.
• 23:59
  So I think Massey was a bit of,
• 24:00
  well, let's just say he was full of shit.
• 24:02
  But now that he's out,
• 24:04
  I mean, he still has to finish out his term,
• 24:06
  but now that he's out,
• 24:07
  nothing's stopping him
• 24:08
  from going up there next week
• 24:09
  or the week after,
• 24:11
  taking the microphone
• 24:12
  and reading those names off.
• 24:14
  but I think we all know he's not going to do that.
• 24:19
  And then there was this COVID-19 relief in 2020.
• 24:22
  So Massey forced a roll call vote
• 24:24
  on a $2.2 trillion relief package,
• 24:27
  leading Trump to call him a third rate grandstander.
• 24:31
  So during COVID, when everybody was working remote
• 24:33
  and not trying to travel and getting everyone's faces
• 24:36
  and continue to spread COVID,
• 24:39
  Massey was like,
• 24:40
  oh, you guys are coming in the office
• 24:41
  and this is how it's going to be handled.
• 24:43
  And if you don't come in person,
• 24:44
  We're not getting any of this passed.
• 24:47
  I think Massey was just flexing his muscles a bit,
• 24:50
  trying to prove that he was in control.
• 24:52
  He can say he was principled,
• 24:53
  but I think he was grandstanding personally.
• 24:58
  And then let's look at the foreign policy
• 24:59
  and non-interventionism.
• 25:02
  Massey's foreign policy often let him
• 25:04
  or left him as a lone dissenter within the GOP.
• 25:08
  Israel, he cast the sole 2021 Republican vote
• 25:12
  against the Iron Dome funding
• 25:14
  and introduced the AIPAC Act
• 25:16
  to require the group to register
• 25:18
  as a foreign agent.
• 25:21
  Now, on that point,
• 25:22
  these are American Israelis
• 25:26
  or American Jews
• 25:27
  that advocate for rights
• 25:28
  for people from Israel
• 25:33
  who live in America
• 25:34
  for rights of those individuals.
• 25:37
  But the reality is
• 25:39
  it seems like much of what they push for
• 25:42
  or want really is that
• 25:44
  that somehow benefits Israel or the nation of Israel.
• 25:49
  And I understand being of a certain heritage and wanting to stand for your heritage.
• 25:55
  But at some point I think it is fair for AIPAC to register as a foreign agent My opinion by the way Now don take that as me saying I hate Israel or I hate Jews because I don
• 26:08
  But if you're lobbying for things that affect the ability or the relationship or the policies that affect Israel, for example,
• 26:22
  then I would say that you're lobbying for,
• 26:25
  um,
• 26:26
  on the behalf of another nation.
• 26:27
  And we do call that foreign influence.
• 26:30
  So I'm going to side with Massey on this.
• 26:32
  I think AIPAC should register as a foreign agent.
• 26:34
  That's just my opinion.
• 26:35
  I know some people are going to hate that I said that,
• 26:37
  but I believe that to be the truth of the matter.
• 26:41
  Um,
• 26:42
  also let's talk about Russia.
• 26:43
  Uh,
• 26:44
  Thomas Massey was the only Republican to vote against a 2019 act,
• 26:49
  refusing to recognize Russia's annexation of Crimea.
• 26:57
  Read that again.
• 26:58
  He was the only Republican to vote against a 2019 act
• 27:02
  refusing to recognize Russia's annexation of Crimea.
• 27:08
  So Massey was all for recognizing that Crimea
• 27:13
  was annexed to Russia?
• 27:17
  let's look at the Mr. No
• 27:23
  ideology principles
• 27:25
  over compromise I discussed
• 27:27
  that earlier so Massey's
• 27:29
  legislative strategy was rooted in a
• 27:31
  strict interpretation
• 27:33
  of constitutional checks and
• 27:35
  balances in fiscal discipline
• 27:37
  so that fiscal
• 27:39
  discipline he voted against every
• 27:41
  omnibus funding bill
• 27:43
  during his tenure regardless of which party
• 27:45
  held the presidency he argued
• 27:47
  that the spending cuts promised in later years by leadership never come.
• 27:51
  And he's pretty much right.
• 27:54
  Spending cuts never come.
• 27:56
  But at the same time, he did raise the debt ceiling under Biden.
• 28:03
  So let's discuss his constitutional checks.
• 28:06
  Massey defended his no votes as a check on executive power,
• 28:10
  stating if the legislative branch always votes with the president,
• 28:14
  we do have a king.
• 28:17
  Hmm. Sounds like you're pandering with the Democrats there, Massey, the left, the whole no Kings thing agenda, like get out of here. That's a straight slap in the face to Donald Trump. And as much as he says that he's trying to create the checks and balances by voting no, we know what it really was, was Massey trying to stand up heads and shoulders above everybody else.
• 28:42
  grandstanding, look at me, I care.
• 28:47
  Sure, buddy.
• 28:49
  I'm not buying it.
• 28:50
  And then there's the unlikely alliances.
• 28:54
  So to fight government overreach,
• 28:55
  Massey frequently partnered with progressives,
• 28:58
  Democrats like Jim McGovern,
• 29:01
  Ayanna Pressley, Ro Khanna,
• 29:02
  on issues of transparency and war powers.
• 29:08
  Massey has also been supported by other Democrats,
• 29:10
  such as AOC, Rashida Tlaib.
• 29:16
  And it seems like Massey was more,
• 29:19
  I mean, we can argue that he was more bipartisan
• 29:21
  in his approach,
• 29:23
  but it seemed like what he really was
• 29:25
  was opposed to anything to do
• 29:28
  with the Trump administration.
• 29:29
  Again, going back to 2016 to Trump's first term.
• 29:32
  And they can say that he voted 90% of the time with Trump.
• 29:37
  Eh, I guess.
• 29:38
  but at the same time, he was also very vocal in opposing Trump,
• 29:44
  at least on issues where he thought that his voice would matter
• 29:48
  or he would get the attention.
• 29:50
  So I would say that Massey lost because he wasn't a team player.
• 29:56
  That's number one.
• 29:57
  Two, he took his eyes off the ball.
• 29:59
  Look, regardless of how much money was invested in this,
• 30:02
  in this primary, Massey had access to media
• 30:07
  and being platformed by very well-known influencers
• 30:12
  and podcasters that Ed Galran didn't.
• 30:14
  Massey was able to get on any news channel he wanted.
• 30:17
  Massey was extremely popular.
• 30:19
  Just about everybody knew who Thomas Massey was.
• 30:22
  Yet he still lost.
• 30:24
  So the takeaway here is
• 30:26
  Thomas Massey was over-principled for his own good.
• 30:31
  He didn't want to compromise,
• 30:34
  which left him out in the cold and not progressing forward with, well, much.
• 30:40
  And I think the people of Kentucky District 4 just decided it was time to move on.
• 30:46
  Look, Massey had about 14 years, 14 years in the seat.
• 30:52
  And how much has he accomplished outside of gaining the moniker of Mr. No,
• 30:59
  being known for just opposing Trump?
• 31:02
  sure pushing for the Epstein files
• 31:04
  give him credit for that
• 31:05
  but those files were already being released
• 31:10
  the problem was Massey wanted more
• 31:12
  and more and more of it
• 31:13
  which I honestly am not opposed to
• 31:16
  so I guess it's not really a problem
• 31:17
  but it didn't work in his favor
• 31:19
  as he really just annoyed Trump
• 31:23
  more than anything
• 31:23
  I think Trump was tired of being pressured by Massey
• 31:29
  as being someone who was not on the right side of history
• 31:32
  and trying to really find a way for there to be real justice
• 31:39
  when it came to the Jeffrey Epstein files and the investigations.
• 31:44
  But much of what happened in the Epstein case has been fumbled,
• 31:49
  lost, burned, a lot of information not there.
• 31:52
  And then we can talk about the redactions of information,
• 31:55
  but again, a lot of that was there to protect victims and whatnot.
• 31:58
  Me personally, I say anyone involved in the Epstein files,
• 32:02
  Epstein case should burn.
• 32:03
  I really don't care who they are.
• 32:06
  And Massey's claim of knowing who all the people
• 32:08
  who were that were involved in the Epstein files in case,
• 32:12
  again, Massey threatened many, many times.
• 32:15
  And I think this threat was only a way to try to get people to bend to his will.
• 32:19
  He claimed, I will read the names on the floor.
• 32:23
  I will read those names aloud.
• 32:24
  To this day, he has done nothing.
• 32:26
  He has done nothing.
• 32:27
  Why? Because he doesn't have the names.
• 32:30
  I think Thomas Massey was full of shit.
• 32:32
  I think Thomas Massey was grandstanding.
• 32:35
  I think Thomas Massey would have been much more effective
• 32:37
  if he had the ability to actually be a politician
• 32:40
  and work with his fellow congresspeople
• 32:44
  in moving the big picture results forward.
• 32:49
  Sure, you're not going to get everything you want, Thomas,
• 32:51
  but you're going to get enough here and there.
• 32:54
  And by the end, if you're consistent, savvy enough, you would have ended up getting what you wanted.
• 33:01
  But instead, you decided to be a brick wall to progress.
• 33:05
  And that's why you lost.
• 33:07
  So get over it.
• 33:09
  I'm sure you're going to go on a podcast tour.
• 33:12
  I'm sure you're going to make your media appearances, your speaking engagements, whatever you got to do.
• 33:17
  But your time in Congress is over.
• 33:19
  and whether or not
• 33:21
  Ed Galerine was the guy
• 33:23
  whether or not the rest of America
• 33:25
  felt he should have had the seat
• 33:26
  well
• 33:27
  Ed is a decorated veteran and
• 33:31
  a Navy SEAL
• 33:32
  so I don't know how much you can really
• 33:35
  say about him
• 33:35
  we're going to give him a shot
• 33:37
  Kentucky's going to give him a shot
• 33:39
  and they don't have to vote for him
• 33:42
  when it comes time for re-election
• 33:44
  but as of now
• 33:45
  well that seat is not yours
• 33:48
  So good luck to you, Thomas.
• 33:53
  Good luck to you and your principals.
• 33:55
  Now, moving on from Thomas Massey, but kind of staying related,
• 34:01
  the claim has been, again, by the members of Podcastistan,
• 34:06
  that this whole thing with Thomas Massey was due to foreign influence.
• 34:13
  The reason he lost was foreign influence.
• 34:16
  And everybody screams about Israel.
• 34:18
  Israel, Israel, Israel.
• 34:19
  Israel owns America.
• 34:21
  Israel is spending so much money to influence policy.
• 34:24
  Israel's behind the curtain pulling the strings.
• 34:27
  So let's talk about that foreign influence, huh?
• 34:31
  There's a website called Open Secrets.
• 34:33
  Actually, there's a few different websites that will do this.
• 34:35
  But Open Secrets, they keep track of just about everything.
• 34:40
  And let's talk about this foreign influence.
• 34:42
  let's talk about the fact that Israel themselves as a nation isn't even in the top five.
• 34:51
  And throughout the years, they're not even in the top 10 as far as foreign influence is concerned.
• 34:59
  So let's go over to Open Secrets.
• 35:01
  So on this screen, you can see that if we're looking at the top 10 countries between 2016 and 2025,
• 35:08
  The country that has donated the most to effect change and policy in their favor is China.
• 35:18
  China has donated over $500 million so far since 2016.
• 35:26
  In fact, it was $562,676,323.
• 35:33
  And second on that list since 2016 is Japan.
• 35:38
  $504 million.
• 35:41
  Liberia comes in at number three.
• 35:42
  Liberia, that's right.
• 35:44
  Liberia has lobbied the United States of America
• 35:46
  to a tune of $432,968,270.
• 35:54
  And then we have Saudi Arabia.
• 35:57
  Of course, we all knew Saudi Arabia was trying to affect policy.
• 36:01
  We have the Marshall Islands, which I had no idea about.
• 36:05
  And then we have South Korea.
• 36:07
  We have the Bahamas.
• 36:08
  The Bahamas, since 2016, have tried to lobby the United States to the tune of $269,529,107.
• 36:19
  Didn't even know that.
• 36:21
  And then, of course, Qatar.
• 36:22
  We all know Qatar is there.
• 36:23
  In fact, outside of the money they donate, they're also trying to affect and control higher education in the United States.
• 36:31
  Qatar has made some of the biggest donations to major universities in America.
• 36:39
  And then now at number 10, this is since 2016, by the way, we got Israel, $215,168,616.
• 36:51
  Now, keep in mind, this is since 2016.
• 36:55
  So let's break it down a bit.
• 36:57
  Let's see how influential Israel has been throughout the years.
• 37:01
  So on this tab, I go back to 2022.
• 37:04
  So in 2022, it doesn't look like Israel really made the list.
• 37:08
  Looks like number one is still China.
• 37:09
  Then we got South Korea.
• 37:10
  We got the Bahamas still up there.
• 37:12
  We have Japan, Marshall Islands, Liberia, United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, Ireland,
• 37:19
  and again, there's Qatar.
• 37:21
  Okay, so that was 2022.
• 37:24
  2023, I still don't see Israel on the list.
• 37:27
  But at number 10, we got Canada at 22 million.
• 37:30
  number one in 2023 was Liberia,
• 37:34
  then Saudi Arabia, China,
• 37:36
  in the top three there,
• 37:38
  Japan, Hong Kong, Bahamas again,
• 37:40
  Marshall Islands, United Arab Emirates,
• 37:42
  South Korea.
• 37:43
  And then if we go to 2024,
• 37:47
  number one contributor,
• 37:48
  trying to influence policy and change
• 37:51
  in their favor.
• 37:52
  With the United States of America,
• 37:54
  the Marshall Islands,
• 37:54
  number two is Japan,
• 37:56
  Saudi Arabia at number three,
• 37:57
  China on the list at number four.
• 37:59
  We have Liberia again,
• 38:00
  South Korea, United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Ireland, Bermuda, and Israel doesn't make the top 10.
• 38:10
  And then if we go to 2025, number one contributor in 2025, as it relates to foreign influence,
• 38:19
  Saudi Arabia, $91,995,847.
• 38:26
  Number two in 2025 was China.
• 38:28
  Then it was Japan.
• 38:29
  Turkey made the list in 2025.
• 38:31
  Marshall Islands once again.
• 38:33
  Bahamas again.
• 38:34
  Liberia.
• 38:35
  Then Australia.
• 38:37
  United Arab Emirates.
• 38:38
  And again at number 10, Canada.
• 38:43
  So is Israel throwing enough money every year to really affect change?
• 38:54
  Doesn't seem so.
• 38:55
  If we looking at APAC specifically well sure I believe so I believe AIPAC donated a lot of money but they also not the only PAC
• 39:09
  I mean, again, we have the National Iranian American Council.
• 39:14
  We also have AIPAC, the Integrity PAC.
• 39:17
  We have many foreign influencers in America trying to gain votes in the direction that,
• 39:25
  well, will benefit their organization or even the country they are from or stand for.
• 39:34
  And so Israel, yes, they are trying to influence the United States.
• 39:41
  I mean, let's not say they're not.
• 39:44
  Because you know who else does the same thing?
• 39:45
  The United States of America.
• 39:46
  We dump so much money by trying to affect policy changes and gain favor and influence with other countries.
• 39:58
  Do you think we're the only ones that do it?
• 40:01
  Do you think Israel's the only one to do it?
• 40:02
  Because the number one country on paper trying to influence the United States of America is China.
• 40:11
  It's always been about China.
• 40:12
  and so Israel in and of itself
• 40:17
  like this talking point
• 40:19
  I mean to be honest I'm done with it
• 40:21
  the narrative
• 40:23
  isn't proving to be true
• 40:25
  sure AIPAC spends a lot of money
• 40:27
  but we have a lot of PACs
• 40:29
  that spend a lot of money
• 40:30
  we have a lot of members of these PACs that have their own agendas
• 40:33
  it's not all
• 40:35
  about Israel guys
• 40:36
  it's just not
• 40:37
  there isn't any irrefutable proof that it's about Israel
• 40:42
  You guys need to be concerned with China.
• 40:44
  You need to be concerned with why they're buying up the farmland.
• 40:47
  You need to be concerned with why Qatar is donating so much money to our universities.
• 40:52
  Because Qatar, I guess, absolutely understands the way that you affect a nation,
• 40:58
  if you want to really influence a nation, is through indoctrination.
• 41:00
  And how is that done?
• 41:02
  Through our educational institutions.
• 41:06
  Why are we not discussing these things?
• 41:07
  Why are we dismissing them?
• 41:08
  Why are we not talking about the influence of these foreign lobbies,
• 41:12
  whether they are registered as a foreign agent or not?
• 41:17
  The money's there.
• 41:20
  Israel, well, they don't spend that much money directly.
• 41:28
  Actually, in fact, Israel in 2025 as a nation,
• 41:31
  let me go back over here for you.
• 41:33
  As a nation, as a nation,
• 41:35
  As a nation, $2,297,525.
• 41:49
  Total non-government spending in 2025 was $17,552,212, and that was in 2025.
• 42:01
  So again, it looks like who's trying to really, really influence the country, if you're looking at the list here, is the Marshall Islands.
• 42:15
  Again, had no idea.
• 42:17
  Qatar, China, Japan, Turkey.
• 42:23
  Everyone's trying to get the USA to do what they want.
• 42:26
  But China has an agenda.
• 42:28
  China and I'm going to say even Qatar
• 42:30
  even though CENTCOM
• 42:32
  our largest military base in the Middle East
• 42:34
  is based out of Qatar
• 42:36
  we can't dismiss
• 42:38
  Qatar for
• 42:40
  siding with
• 42:41
  some individuals
• 42:43
  that have been known to be terrorists
• 42:45
  Qatar has
• 42:48
  their own agenda
• 42:49
  regardless of how close it may seem
• 42:52
  our relationship is with them
• 42:53
  again, foreign influence
• 42:56
  is a real thing
• 42:58
  And it's not all about Israel.
• 43:01
  It's about all the nations.
• 43:03
  And we've got to pay attention to which nations are trying to influence America.
• 43:07
  And again, I already hear it.
• 43:09
  But Israel, but Israel, but Israel.
• 43:15
  I'm done.
• 43:16
  I'm done.
• 43:17
  Listen.
• 43:19
  Think for yourselves.
• 43:22
  Think critically.
• 43:23
  Do a little research.
• 43:24
  Look at what's really going on.
• 43:26
  The numbers don't lie.
• 43:28
  They're out there.
• 43:28
  There's plenty of places you can look.
• 43:30
  And again, you can look at FARA, FARA's actual site.
• 43:33
  You can look at, again, Open Secrets.
• 43:35
  Go right to opensecrets.org.
• 43:37
  Do some digging around.
• 43:39
  You'll see the truth.
• 43:40
  You'll see what's happening out there.
• 43:41
  But the whole talk about Israel is the reason Thomas Massey lost.
• 43:46
  Israel is the reason that all of Trump's picks are winning.
• 43:50
  Israel is the reason that Trump is at war with Iran.
• 43:53
  Israel is the reason that Israel, like, it's just...
• 43:58
  Let's just stop.
• 43:59
  Let's just stop.
• 44:01
  It's not true.
• 44:03
  It's not true.
• 44:04
  Do they have an agenda?
• 44:06
  Yeah.
• 44:07
  Does China?
• 44:08
  Yeah.
• 44:09
  Oh, why are we not talking about that?
• 44:12
  Because it's not the thing?
• 44:14
  Not the popular thing online?
• 44:17
  Is that why?
• 44:19
  Hmm?
• 44:21
  Not getting you the likes and clicks to talk about China?
• 44:24
  Not getting you the likes and clicks to talk about Qatari influence in higher education?
• 44:28
  It isn't?
• 44:29
  No?
• 44:31
  That's why you're not talking about it.
• 44:33
  It's not popular.
• 44:35
  People don't care.
• 44:37
  Because you worked up and drummed up this anti-Israel rhetoric for so long,
• 44:42
  and you got it spinning, the wheel spinning at a certain speed,
• 44:47
  and this train's rolling, and you don't know how to stop it,
• 44:50
  so you're just going to keep jumping on board,
• 44:52
  and you're continuing to feed the coals into that combustion engine,
• 44:57
  and you're just going to keep moving,
• 45:00
  just rolling over everybody,
• 45:02
  forcing people to see it your way
• 45:04
  when, well, you're wrong.
• 45:07
  You're wrong.
• 45:09
  Maybe it's just my opinion.
• 45:10
  You don't have to believe me.
• 45:12
  You don't have to side with me.
• 45:14
  But to say that Israel
• 45:17
  is the only nation
• 45:19
  trying to affect change,
• 45:22
  to say that they donate
• 45:25
  the most amount of money
• 45:26
  over anyone in the world is false.
• 45:30
  So let's pull our heads out of our ass.
• 45:33
  Let's move forward and focus on what we can control.
• 45:38
  And that is voting for people to represent you as a starter,
• 45:43
  which is exactly what happened in Kentucky's 4th District
• 45:47
  as Thomas Massey is no longer going to be serving in Congress.
• 45:53
  All right, everybody, now let's talk about Cuba.
• 45:55
  let's leave old Tommy Massey behind.
• 45:58
  Let's discuss the importance of Cuba,
• 46:00
  and let's also discuss why Trump wants regime change in Cuba.
• 46:04
  Now, the relationship between Cuba and the U.S.
• 46:08
  has always kind of been in flux.
• 46:11
  It's never been a great relationship.
• 46:14
  There's a lot of tension there, a lot of opposition between the two.
• 46:18
  And this relationship, as far as Cuba is concerned,
• 46:21
  as an independent nation or independent state,
• 46:24
  goes back to, I think, at least 1902.
• 46:28
  So there's a long history there.
• 46:30
  But when Fidel Castro took power
• 46:32
  and decided to take over Marxist-Communist principles
• 46:35
  and become the de facto dictator of the land,
• 46:39
  Fidel Castro opposed the United States of America,
• 46:41
  sided with Russia.
• 46:43
  Russia then worked with Cuba to set up shop
• 46:47
  so that they can spy on the United States of America
• 46:50
  from a very close location.
• 46:52
  Russia even had nuclear weapons in Cuba,
• 46:54
  which were aimed squarely at the United States of America.
• 46:58
  This is what set off the Cuban Missile Crisis.
• 47:02
  Trump wants to make sure that the southwestern hemisphere
• 47:07
  is a safe hemisphere.
• 47:10
  It's literally the United States' backyard.
• 47:13
  We are the superpower in the region.
• 47:16
  And the whole point of Trump going after Maduro in Venezuela
• 47:19
  was to further clamp down on control and security
• 47:23
  as it relates to the United States of America.
• 47:26
  Why?
• 47:26
  Well, a lot of people don't even know
• 47:28
  that the real reason that we went to Venezuela
• 47:30
  wasn't the oil and it wasn't about necessarily drugs,
• 47:33
  although that was a major thing.
• 47:35
  I've gone over that in previous episodes,
• 47:37
  so you're welcome to go to the back catalog
• 47:38
  and listen to those.
• 47:40
  But China was heavily involved in Venezuela.
• 47:43
  So was Iran.
• 47:45
  So was Iran.
• 47:45
  and Iran actually had terrorist proxies set up in Venezuela.
• 47:54
  And so Venezuela was a real issue.
• 47:59
  And the other country, small nation in the area, Cuba,
• 48:04
  well, they were pretty much doing the same thing.
• 48:07
  You see, they were not just aligned with Russia,
• 48:09
  but they were also becoming very close in the line with China and even Iran.
• 48:14
  so there's no way that we can let
• 48:17
  as the United States of America anyway
• 48:19
  let China, Russia and Iran
• 48:21
  set up shop in our own backyard
• 48:23
  so they can spy on the US
• 48:25
  set up strategic close
• 48:27
  geographically close locations
• 48:29
  from which they can
• 48:30
  launch weapons
• 48:32
  as in missiles
• 48:33
  at the United States of America
• 48:35
  set up insurgents
• 48:37
  or military bases
• 48:40
  or operations within the area
• 48:41
  right in our backyard
• 48:43
  Trump wasn't going to have that.
• 48:45
  So Trump went ahead, took care of Maduro, clamped down on the activities in Venezuela,
• 48:50
  and now Trump is turning his sights on Cuba.
• 48:54
  Now, does Trump have Cuba's people, the people of Cuba, their best interests of mind?
• 49:00
  You can argue that making sure that the de facto dictators or authoritarian organizations
• 49:10
  or regimes of Cuba being removed is in fact a move to benefit the people of Cuba.
• 49:18
  But reality is, it's really about strategic command of the area
• 49:23
  and security for the United States of America.
• 49:27
  And that's what this really is about.
• 49:30
  The rhetoric is that Trump is going to attack Cuba and remove its leadership.
• 49:37
  Now, I can't say that's true as of now,
• 49:40
  I personally don't have enough information that points that direction, but we can't ignore that the U.S. military under Trump's direction hasn't been posturing very heavily in the area.
• 49:52
  Through sanctions and embargoes and control of shipments of oil, etc. in the area by the United States of America, Cuba is hurting.
• 50:02
  Cuba is on the brink of collapse just for the very fact that they can't get outside resources into the country.
• 50:11
  So I put together a little executive summary,
• 50:14
  a little bit of analysis on this,
• 50:15
  and we're going to go through it.
• 50:16
  Hopefully you can hang with me.
• 50:17
  I'm going to go over a few of the historical points
• 50:20
  that led to where we are.
• 50:25
  So with that being said, let's go for it, huh?
• 50:28
  Strategic analysis of the U.S.-Cuba relationships
• 50:30
  in the 2026 natural emergency.
• 50:33
  I say natural, national.
• 50:34
  National emergency.
• 50:36
  There you go.
• 50:37
  All right, so here's the executive summary.
• 50:38
  As of mid-2026, the United States has entered a period of maximum pressure regardless of the government of Cuba, or actually regarding the government of Cuba.
• 50:48
  characterized by the declaration of a national emergency and the imposition of severe economic
• 50:54
  sanctions the current administration views cuba as an extraordinary threat to national security
• 50:59
  primarily due to its role as a strategic hub for global adversaries including as i stated earlier
• 51:06
  russia china and iran and its support for transnational terrorist groups i forgot to mention
• 51:12
  like Hamas and Hezbollah.
• 51:14
  So Cuba has harbored,
• 51:17
  literally harbored,
• 51:18
  Hamas and Hezbollah in Cuba.
• 51:22
  So you got the proxy terrorists
• 51:24
  of Iran themselves and Iran,
• 51:29
  or at least Iranian delegates
• 51:32
  or negotiators in Cuba.
• 51:35
  Combine that with China's involvement
• 51:37
  and Russia's longstanding involvement,
• 51:40
  I would say that's a direct threat
• 51:42
  to the United States of America.
• 51:44
  Absolutely.
• 51:46
  So, historically,
• 51:48
  the relationship has evolved
• 51:49
  from a state of conditional independence
• 51:51
  under the Platt Amendment,
• 51:54
  which was between 1902 and 1934,
• 51:57
  to a decades-long embargo
• 51:59
  codified by the Helmsburg
• 52:01
  Act in 1996. While the 2014 through 2016 period saw a diplomatic thaw, to a degree by the way,
• 52:10
  but there was, subsequent years have been marked by a return to hostilities, culminating in the
• 52:15
  2026 indictment of Raul Castro for the 1996 shooting down of civilian aircraft. And that,
• 52:25
  I believe, was two civilian aircraft that were shot down by the government of Cuba.
• 52:29
  Current U.S. policy aims to force a transition to a democratic society by targeting the Cuban military's economic interests, restricting energy supplies via third-party tariffs, and preparing for potential instability or mass migration via U.S. Southern Command or Southcom contingencies.
• 52:50
  So here's a bit of the historic timeline I was talking about.
• 52:55
  I have this on the screen for those who aren't watching.
• 52:57
  we're just going to go through the points here.
• 53:00
  So the historical timeline of conflict intentions,
• 53:03
  which go back to 1902 all the way to 2026 and hopefully not beyond,
• 53:10
  but time will tell.
• 53:12
  So here we go.
• 53:14
  The periods start here.
• 53:16
  1902 to 1934 was a Platte Amendment Act established conditional independence,
• 53:20
  granted the U.S. the right to intervene in Cuban affairs.
• 53:24
  This created a deep Cuban resentment and anti-American nationalism.
• 53:30
  In 1903 to 1934, it was also the Guantanamo Bay lease.
• 53:35
  U.S. acquired complete jurisdiction and control over the naval station.
• 53:40
  The 1934 treaty stipulates the lease can only be ended by mutual agreement or U.S. abandonment.
• 53:48
  So regardless, if Cuba wanted the U.S. out, Cuba technically didn't have to leave because the U.S. would have to go, well, I don't want to.
• 53:59
  I'm not agreeing to this mutually.
• 54:01
  So there's that.
• 54:02
  1959 is when everything really started taking a turn, though.
• 54:05
  The Cuban Revolution.
• 54:07
  So Fidel Castro overthrows Batista, nationalizes U.S. assets, and aligns with the Soviet Union.
• 54:16
  In 61 through 62, we had the Bay of Pigs missile crisis, a failed U.S.-backed invasion, followed by a nuclear standoff over Soviet missiles.
• 54:27
  U.S. imposes a full trade embargo.
• 54:31
  And of course, this was the Cuban Missile Crisis here.
• 54:34
  In 1980, Muriel boatlift.
• 54:37
  So approximately 125,000 Cubans flee to the U.S. after Castro opens Muriel Harbor.
• 54:46
  In 1982, there was a terrorism designation, so the U.S. designated Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism, or SSOT, for supporting militant groups like in Africa and Latin America.
• 55:01
  In 96, the Helms-Burton Act codified the embargo, allows lawsuits for confiscated property triggered by the Cuban military shootdown of the two civilian aircrafts.
• 55:13
  And of course, this is also what they're using to go after Raul Castro, reaching back to this incident in 1996 when he gave the order he shot down these two civilian aircrafts.
• 55:27
  2014 through 2016, there is the thaw.
• 55:30
  Obama and Raul Castro restored diplomatic ties.
• 55:34
  Cuba is removed from the state sponsor of terrorism list and embassies reopen.
• 55:39
  between 2017 and 2021,
• 55:43
  there was a policy reversal.
• 55:44
  So Trump said,
• 55:45
  nah, not doing it.
• 55:47
  He reinstates the travel
• 55:48
  and business restrictions.
• 55:51
  He also led to
• 55:53
  embassy staff withdrawal
• 55:55
  and Cuba is redesignated
• 55:58
  as a state sponsor of terrorism.
• 56:00
  So Trump basically reversed
• 56:02
  everything that Obama
• 56:02
  was trying to do,
• 56:03
  but for good reason
• 56:05
  because Cuba was
• 56:07
  absolutely opposed to the US.
• 56:09
  Cuba was still harboring and supporting terrorists.
• 56:14
  Cuba was fully aligned with the now Russia.
• 56:18
  And they were working with China in the background as well.
• 56:23
  In 2025, late-term Biden actions,
• 56:27
  brief attempts to ease sanctions and remove
• 56:29
  the state sponsor of terrorism status
• 56:31
  as part of a deal to release political prisoners.
• 56:35
  2026, a national emergency.
• 56:37
  President Trump declares a national emergency,
• 56:38
  citing Cuba's alignment with Russia, China, and its role as a regional destabilizer.
• 56:45
  I'm going to go back to that late-term Biden action.
• 56:47
  So it seemed like what Biden was trying to do was reinstate some of what Obama tried to do with Cuba.
• 56:52
  Why Obama and Biden both wanted to ease restrictions on Cuba is really questionable,
• 57:04
  given their position against the United States of America.
• 57:07
  We're going to get into more detail here in a minute.
• 57:10
  And so,
• 57:11
  as of May
• 57:14
  2026, there was
• 57:15
  an indictment of Raul Castro.
• 57:18
  So, the Department of Justice
• 57:19
  indicts,
• 57:20
  by the way, he's 94 years old,
• 57:23
  the 94-year-old former president
• 57:25
  for the 1996 shootdown
• 57:27
  of Brothers to Rescue
• 57:29
  aircraft.
• 57:32
  And that was two planes that were
• 57:33
  shot down.
• 57:36
  So,
• 57:36
  there is definitely,
• 57:39
  and I know that was kind of wordy,
• 57:40
  but there was definitely a long history
• 57:43
  of contention and tension
• 57:47
  between the U.S. and Cuba there.
• 57:51
  So here's the contemporary strategic threats,
• 57:54
  and this is what we need to go over here.
• 57:55
  The U.S. government identifies the Cuban regime
• 57:58
  as an unusual and extraordinary threat
• 58:01
  based on several specific factors outlined in 2026.
• 58:05
  So here we go.
• 58:07
  Hosting foreign adversaries.
• 58:10
  Cuba blatantly hosts military and intelligence capabilities
• 58:15
  for the Russian Federation and the People's Republic of China.
• 58:19
  This includes Russia's largest, again,
• 58:22
  this is Russia's largest overseas signals intelligence facility,
• 58:27
  or signet, used to intercept sensitive U.S. national security information.
• 58:33
  And to that point, or to add to that point, China was also setting up various surveillance equipment, radio towers, etc. that were actually built by Huawei, for example, TP-Link, and other Chinese companies.
• 58:49
  So between Russia and China, they were basically setting up their spy operations in close proximity to the U.S. so they can monitor not just the U.S., but also the Cuban people, by the way.
• 59:01
  but to monitor the U.S., intercept communications, and again, spy on America.
• 59:08
  So there's also support for transnational terrorism.
• 59:14
  How do you say?
• 59:15
  Well, the regime of Cuba provides a safe environment for groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas.
• 59:21
  These organizations reportedly use the island to build economic and security ties
• 59:27
  intended to destabilize the Western Hemisphere.
• 59:31
  Of course they do.
• 59:32
  Intelligence and defense cooperation.
• 59:35
  Cuba continues to deepen its intelligence ties with the PRC,
• 59:39
  or the People's Republic of China,
• 59:41
  and provides security assistance to other U.S. adversaries in the region
• 59:45
  to help them evade international sanctions.
• 59:48
  There is the regional destabilization.
• 59:51
  The regime is accused of spreading communist ideologies and practices
• 59:56
  across the hemisphere,
• 59:58
  specifically supporting the Maduro regime in Venezuela,
• 1:00:01
  until it was captured by the U.S. recently here in 2026.
• 1:00:06
  And then there's the migration as a weapon.
• 1:00:10
  So the U.S. identifies the regime,
• 1:00:13
  their use of migration as a tool for destabilization,
• 1:00:17
  economic mismanagement, and political repression
• 1:00:19
  have driven over 1 million Cubans to flee since 2020.
• 1:00:26
  And so let's talk about the maximum pressure
• 1:00:28
  and regime change objectives of President Donald J. Trump.
• 1:00:33
  The Trump administration's 2026 policy is designed to achieve a transition
• 1:00:36
  to a democratic government through several high-intensity mechanisms.
• 1:00:42
  So there's economic asphyxiation tariffs,
• 1:00:45
  so basically choking off the economy of Cuba.
• 1:00:49
  And then there's the sectorial sanctions.
• 1:00:52
  Executive orders that have blocked all property
• 1:00:54
  and interests of individuals and entities operating in key sectors of the Cuban economy.
• 1:01:02
  So there's targeting the core of state power, restricting resource-based revenue,
• 1:01:08
  isolating the regime from the global banking system.
• 1:01:11
  And then we have a specific focus placed on the military-run conglomerate,
• 1:01:17
  the Grupo de Administración Impressional S.A.,
• 1:01:24
  which controls much of the island's economy.
• 1:01:27
  And then the use of legal accountability.
• 1:01:30
  There was the indictment of Raul Castro
• 1:01:32
  and five co-defendants for the 1996 civilian plane shoot-down,
• 1:01:37
  which serves as a pivot point for the U.S. policy.
• 1:01:41
  This move frames a regime not as a legitimate government,
• 1:01:44
  but as a criminal enterprise.
• 1:01:46
  responsible for the deaths of U.S. citizens.
• 1:01:50
  And then we have the humanitarian and migration contingencies.
• 1:01:54
  So U.S. South Command or South Com, led by General Francis L. Donovan,
• 1:02:00
  prepared contingency plans for potential mass exodus.
• 1:02:04
  These plans involved establishing migrant camps at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay.
• 1:02:10
  There's also supporting the Department of Homeland Security
• 1:02:13
  in managing sea and land arrivals.
• 1:02:15
  and then there's maintaining security
• 1:02:17
  for the U.S. Embassy in Havana
• 1:02:19
  amidst rising local protests
• 1:02:21
  and prolonged blackouts.
• 1:02:25
  And so let's discuss
• 1:02:27
  why the regime is hostile to the U.S.
• 1:02:30
  There is the Platte Amendment legacy,
• 1:02:33
  which people never forgot about.
• 1:02:34
  So the Cubans historically viewed U.S. protection
• 1:02:38
  more as like a chain or a yoke
• 1:02:43
  that granted only semi-sovereignty.
• 1:02:46
  So it wasn't like complete sovereignty
• 1:02:48
  to the Cuban people.
• 1:02:50
  It was kind of like,
• 1:02:52
  was, but not really because the U.S.
• 1:02:55
  was so involved and at any given time
• 1:02:57
  they could reach in and affect change
• 1:02:58
  and affect policy for Cuba.
• 1:03:01
  There's also the economic dependency.
• 1:03:04
  So the early republic's reliance
• 1:03:05
  on the U.S. sugar markets
• 1:03:07
  and loans created by pseudo-republic dynamic
• 1:03:10
  that modern Cuban leaders use to frame U.S.
• 1:03:13
  pressure as an existential threat to the nation.
• 1:03:16
  And then there's a sovereignty arguments.
• 1:03:19
  Cuban government views U.S. sanctions and the pressure at Guantanamo Bay as a criminal
• 1:03:24
  behavior and violation of human rights.
• 1:03:29
  So Cuba has an argument.
• 1:03:31
  Cuba has a right.
• 1:03:32
  It seems to be a little pissed off at the U And so a way to retaliate and give the U the big middle finger Cuba years ago
• 1:03:44
  under Fidel Castro's reign,
• 1:03:46
  decided to become communist,
• 1:03:49
  spread communist ideas,
• 1:03:51
  side with the then USSR,
• 1:03:53
  which is now Russia,
• 1:03:55
  work with China
• 1:03:56
  and other opposing nations to the U.S.
• 1:04:02
  to help them.
• 1:04:04
  circumnavigate sanctions, set up spy operations.
• 1:04:10
  So Cuba is a bit of an issue in our southwestern hemisphere.
• 1:04:15
  They really are.
• 1:04:17
  But from the Cuban perspective,
• 1:04:19
  they never really felt that the U.S. allowed them to be an actual sovereign nation.
• 1:04:25
  That restrictions that were constantly imposed on Cuba through embargoes
• 1:04:29
  and sanctions and tariffs, etc.,
• 1:04:32
  intentionally hurt Cuba's growth and their economy.
• 1:04:36
  And one can argue that the U.S.
• 1:04:39
  maybe intentionally pushed Cuba into the arms of Russia,
• 1:04:43
  pushed them into the arms of adopting the philosophy of Marxism
• 1:04:49
  and taking up communism.
• 1:04:52
  It can be argued that the U.S. created this situation.
• 1:04:57
  But under Obama, they tried to establish ties with Cuba,
• 1:05:02
  tried to hit the reset button.
• 1:05:04
  Trump, when he took over, said, nope, not doing it.
• 1:05:08
  And for various reasons, those reasons being harboring of terrorist organizations,
• 1:05:14
  the continued relationship with Russia, China,
• 1:05:18
  working with other various seedy organizations and criminals to circumvent U.S. sanctions.
• 1:05:27
  Like, there's a give and take here.
• 1:05:30
  It goes both ways.
• 1:05:30
  But the United States of America,
• 1:05:33
  regardless of how we feel about Cuba,
• 1:05:35
  can't allow another nation
• 1:05:37
  to harbor opposing nations
• 1:05:40
  to the United States of America
• 1:05:41
  and even terrorist organizations.
• 1:05:45
  I mean, what is Cuba?
• 1:05:46
  Like 90 miles away from the coast
• 1:05:49
  of the United States of America?
• 1:05:51
  Something like that?
• 1:05:52
  And if that's the case,
• 1:05:55
  why should the U.S. tolerate
• 1:06:00
  Why should they tolerate a large installation by Russia to spy on the United States of America?
• 1:06:06
  Why should they tolerate China's building of radio towers and spy facilities as well in Cuba?
• 1:06:16
  Why should they tolerate, why should the U.S. tolerate Hezbollah and Hamas being helped by Cuba
• 1:06:22
  so that they can circumvent sanctions and whatnot for economic gain
• 1:06:28
  to further build up their power and resources.
• 1:06:33
  None of this makes sense.
• 1:06:35
  I don't think any nation would like or allow this to happen or develop.
• 1:06:40
  So the United States is protecting their sovereignty,
• 1:06:45
  protecting their backyard.
• 1:06:48
  And that is why Trump, he himself, is pushing for regime change.
• 1:06:52
  If we can get rid of the regime, get rid of the communism,
• 1:06:57
  we can get rid of the dictators,
• 1:07:00
  and we can flip Cuba to be a democratic state,
• 1:07:06
  then maybe we can start to see a shift and a turn away from Russia,
• 1:07:12
  from China, from Iran.
• 1:07:15
  Maybe we might see another nation in our southwestern hemisphere
• 1:07:21
  become another strategic ally
• 1:07:24
  for the United States of America.
• 1:07:26
  But I don't know if we're going to be able
• 1:07:27
  to achieve this by force alone.
• 1:07:29
  All the military posturing,
• 1:07:31
  everything isn't going to do any good.
• 1:07:33
  And once a dictator has power,
• 1:07:35
  once they have power,
• 1:07:37
  they're not going to just give it up.
• 1:07:38
  It's hard to flip any dictatorship
• 1:07:41
  into a democracy.
• 1:07:43
  In fact, I don't even recall
• 1:07:45
  when it's been done.
• 1:07:46
  I'm sure it has.
• 1:07:47
  I just don't recall.
• 1:07:48
  But it's not going to be easy.
• 1:07:50
  and so I hope that we don't go to war with Cuba
• 1:07:53
  I hope that we don't have to take any strategic military action
• 1:07:56
  to that effect
• 1:07:56
  but the pressure is on
• 1:07:59
  the pressure is on Cuba and the Cuban government
• 1:08:01
  and right now
• 1:08:03
  Cuba is barely hanging on
• 1:08:06
  as a nation
• 1:08:06
  economically they're devastated
• 1:08:08
  resources that they need
• 1:08:11
  such as oil for energy
• 1:08:12
  not getting it
• 1:08:15
  not getting it like they need it
• 1:08:16
  they've been in a
• 1:08:19
  continuous blackout.
• 1:08:20
  They have an issue with food supplies.
• 1:08:24
  Much of this, honestly, was a result of the communist regime that ruled Cuba for so many
• 1:08:30
  years.
• 1:08:31
  But at the same time, I don't think we can all sit here and just watch another group
• 1:08:37
  of humans suffer because of the disagreements between two nations.
• 1:08:45
  Cuba needs to come to the table.
• 1:08:47
  The United States needs to be amicable.
• 1:08:49
  and they need to be realistic about this situation.
• 1:08:52
  And again, you track more flies with honey, right?
• 1:08:55
  So we're not going to be able to turn the screws to Cuba
• 1:08:59
  like we've been trying to do in the Middle East with Iran.
• 1:09:01
  This is a more delicate situation.
• 1:09:03
  They're closer to home.
• 1:09:04
  They're not very far from our shores.
• 1:09:07
  And so I hope that we can come to an agreement.
• 1:09:09
  I hope that we can show Cuba that we can support them
• 1:09:11
  and that we can negotiate where Cuba can give up certain things,
• 1:09:16
  such as, for one, getting rid of the Russian spy installations.
• 1:09:22
  Same thing with the Chinese-installed spy installations.
• 1:09:28
  And hey, stop working with fucking terrorists.
• 1:09:31
  How about that one?
• 1:09:33
  Maybe that'd be good for everybody.
• 1:09:36
  So that is my assessment and two cents on the issue in Cuba.
• 1:09:41
  Let's hope that we don't have to have any kinetic confrontation with Cuba.
• 1:09:46
  because that may trigger China's response,
• 1:09:52
  might trigger Russia's response,
• 1:09:53
  but I'm not sure how much China's going to be able to take
• 1:09:58
  from their supposed or alleged allies
• 1:10:01
  being constantly attacked
• 1:10:03
  or being forced to bend their will to the United States.
• 1:10:10
  It's going to be very interesting.
• 1:10:12
  It's going to be very interesting,
• 1:10:13
  but let's hope this works out for Cuba,
• 1:10:15
  the Cuban people.
• 1:10:16
  and it works out for the United States as well.
• 1:10:18
  Hopefully we can find a mutual agreement
• 1:10:20
  that is good for both nations.
• 1:10:22
  And if it was up to me,
• 1:10:23
  I would love to see the eradication of communism in Cuba.
• 1:10:29
  Now, before moving on from Cuba,
• 1:10:31
  let's do a quick recap on the strategic threat assessment.
• 1:10:36
  So if you can see my cursor, we're going to go around this.
• 1:10:39
  We're going to try to go around this real quick
• 1:10:40
  so we can move on to Africa here.
• 1:10:43
  So again, here we go.
• 1:10:45
  The Russia strategic military and energy lifeline.
• 1:10:48
  So consistent naval presence, warships, nuclear-powered submarines like Kazan.
• 1:10:54
  Critical oil shipments sustained island during U.S. blockade.
• 1:10:58
  China.
• 1:10:59
  So there's the financial surveillance architecture.
• 1:11:01
  $80 million.
• 1:11:03
  Okay, $80 million of financial aid.
• 1:11:06
  There's the telecom infrastructure, again built by Huawei.
• 1:11:10
  Used for intelligence gathering and monitoring of U.S. activities.
• 1:11:15
  We have the Iran drone and security partnership,
• 1:11:19
  military advisors,
• 1:11:21
  primary source for expanding UAV program,
• 1:11:24
  which mirrors middle Eastern tactics.
• 1:11:28
  And then if we go over to the military capabilities and asymmetric threat,
• 1:11:32
  there were 300 plus military drones that were acquired from Russia and Iran
• 1:11:38
  since 2023.
• 1:11:40
  Okay.
• 1:11:40
  they're modernized air defense systems
• 1:11:44
  with the help of Belarus.
• 1:11:46
  They have a territorial defense
• 1:11:48
  versus power projections,
• 1:11:49
  so strategically positioned for static defense
• 1:11:52
  and urban ambushes to maximize local resistance
• 1:11:55
  cost.
• 1:11:56
  Though technologically inferior,
• 1:11:59
  they still have 900 tanks.
• 1:12:02
  And then we got to look at the intelligence front here.
• 1:12:05
  So there's a persistent signet threat,
• 1:12:09
  which is because they host Russia's largest overseas signet facility
• 1:12:14
  and Chinese-linked sites that intercept U.S. satellite and military communications.
• 1:12:22
  There is proximity to critical U.S. infrastructure.
• 1:12:26
  The proximity of Cuba to the U.S. allows monitoring of sensitive rocket launches
• 1:12:32
  from Florida and tracking U.S. naval operations in the Caribbean.
• 1:12:39
  And then, of course, there's a harboring of malign actors.
• 1:12:44
  Alleged safe environment for transnational groups like Hezbollah and Hamas to build regional ties.
• 1:12:51
  So I'm going to leave this graphic up for a bit so you guys can look at this.
• 1:12:56
  But from the U.S. perspective, again, Cuba has become a threat to the U.S.
• 1:13:03
  But as I said earlier,
• 1:13:04
  I hope that we can come to an amicable agreement
• 1:13:08
  between the U.S. and Cuba.
• 1:13:11
  I hope it's one that works out for the people of Cuba.
• 1:13:14
  I hope that we can see communism go by the wayside in Cuba.
• 1:13:19
  I hope that Cuba can become a strategic ally
• 1:13:22
  to the United States of America,
• 1:13:23
  that we can open up trade, lift the embargoes.
• 1:13:25
  Hell, I want to buy Cuban cigars again.
• 1:13:27
  Come on, make this happen.
• 1:13:29
  But until then, we can't ignore the threat that Cuba has become due to their relationships and their strategic geographical locations in the United States of America.
• 1:13:43
  So let's hope for the best, everyone. Let's hope for the best.
• 1:13:46
  Okay, so let's start with an infographic that better highlights the timeline of the jihadist evolution in Africa here.
• 1:13:53
  So as you can see from the infographic, for those not watching, this activity goes all the way back to 1991.
• 1:13:59
  I'm going to blow this up a bit.
• 1:14:01
  91 through 2007.
• 1:14:03
  So that's when Al-Qaeda really took root.
• 1:14:05
  This is when Osama bin Laden, between 91 and 96,
• 1:14:09
  relocates Al-Qaeda to the Sudan.
• 1:14:12
  In 98, we had the U.S. Embassy bombings.
• 1:14:16
  This marked the first major strike against U.S. interests by Al-Qaeda.
• 1:14:21
  There was also, in 2007, the birth of the AQIM.
• 1:14:24
  This is when the Algerian GSPC formally rebrands as Al-Qaeda.
• 1:14:30
  And then in 2010 through 16, we see a fragmentation between different factions, and we also see a pivot with ISIS.
• 1:14:39
  So Al-Shabaab officially joins Al-Qaeda in 2012 after years of local insurgency and resisting Ethiopian intervention.
• 1:14:48
  The Somali-based Al-Shabaab formally aligns with Al-Qaeda Central.
• 1:14:52
  in 2014 through 15
• 1:14:55
  ISIS established its provinces
• 1:14:57
  so instead of just
• 1:14:58
  being one large group
• 1:15:00
  with a central command
• 1:15:03
  they actually established
• 1:15:05
  provinces
• 1:15:06
  in which different factions of ISIS
• 1:15:08
  would rule over
• 1:15:09
  so this is between 2010 and 2016 and then we move on to 2017 through 23 This is when the JNIM or JNIM was formed
• 1:15:21
  So there was a Sahelian merger.
• 1:15:24
  So there were major Al-Qaeda affiliates and the Sahal merged to form the JNIM,
• 1:15:30
  adopting a community defender strategy to build local legitimacy.
• 1:15:37
  ISIS themselves also did a few things here.
• 1:15:40
  following their territorial losses in Iraq and Syria,
• 1:15:44
  ISIS shifts its media focus to African successes,
• 1:15:48
  declaring the Central Africa province,
• 1:15:50
  or the Islamic State of Central African Province, the ISCAP.
• 1:15:56
  In 2020, ISIS captures a major port in Mozambique.
• 1:16:01
  And then in 24 through now, 2026,
• 1:16:06
  the withdrawal of the U.S. from Niger
• 1:16:10
  because of a following coup,
• 1:16:13
  the U.S. is forced to abandon two,
• 1:16:16
  two strategic drone bases,
• 1:16:19
  a $1 billion investment,
• 1:16:21
  severely degrading regional surveillance capabilities.
• 1:16:27
  86%, I said 85% earlier in the episode, I believe,
• 1:16:30
  but 86% of global ISIS operations by early 2026,
• 1:16:35
  the vast majority of all Islamic State activity worldwide
• 1:16:39
  is concentrated in its African provinces.
• 1:16:43
  And then there was a technological proliferation.
• 1:16:47
  The drone boom.
• 1:16:48
  Jihadist groups like Jainim rapidly adopted UAV technology,
• 1:16:51
  increasing from a single drone attack in 2023
• 1:16:55
  to over 80 drone attacks by 2025.
• 1:16:59
  So there has been a steady increase and rise
• 1:17:05
  in jihadist factions, jihadist groups,
• 1:17:09
  more notably so al-Qaeda and ISIS.
• 1:17:13
  Al-Qaeda had many different groups.
• 1:17:15
  They did combine to become JNM within certain regions.
• 1:17:20
  And then ISIS took the other approach to where they were ruling through provinces.
• 1:17:27
  So they've continued to root themselves in Africa
• 1:17:30
  in order to gain power and control over resources,
• 1:17:35
  wealth, weapons, etc.
• 1:17:39
  But there's also a power struggle between al-Qaeda and ISIS as well.
• 1:17:44
  Now let's dive a little deeper into the jihadist insurgency in Africa.
• 1:17:49
  As of early 2026, the African continent has become the primary theater for global jihadist activity.
• 1:17:55
  The Islamic State, ISIS, now conducts approximately 86% of its global operations within Africa.
• 1:18:02
  Significant increase from 79% in 2025.
• 1:18:05
  This shift reflects a decentralized organizational model where regional affiliates such as ISWAP or the Islamic State of West Africa province in the Lake Chad basin and JNM in the Sahal operate with high degree of autonomy, making them remarkably resilient to leadership losses.
• 1:18:25
  while the United States and its allies view these groups as first-line defense issues for homeland security.
• 1:18:32
  The landscape is increasingly complicated by geopolitical competition.
• 1:18:36
  The withdrawal of Western forces from strategic locations, notably the 2024 exit from Niger,
• 1:18:44
  has created security vacuums being filled by Russian-backed Afrika Korps, formerly the Wagner Group.
• 1:18:50
  simultaneously jihadist groups have established
• 1:18:54
  sophisticated parallel states
• 1:18:56
  funding their insurgencies through
• 1:19:00
  illegal taxation, transnational smuggling
• 1:19:03
  and the plunder of natural resources like
• 1:19:06
  gold and gas
• 1:19:07
  the result is a multifaceted crisis
• 1:19:11
  where local grievances are subsumed
• 1:19:14
  into a global jihadist narrative
• 1:19:15
  fueled by a glocal
• 1:19:19
  strategy that adapts international directives to local economic and ethnic marginalization.
• 1:19:29
  Now I'm going to skip down a bit.
• 1:19:31
  So let's go to the global pivot.
• 1:19:33
  So the rise of ISIS in Africa, the fall of the territorial caliphate in Iraq and Syria
• 1:19:40
  in 2019 triggered a strategic media shift toward Africa to project continued movement
• 1:19:48
  movement strength.
• 1:19:49
  So here's key ISIS provinces and capabilities.
• 1:19:53
  So remember earlier when I spoke about how ISIS had decided to strategically,
• 1:20:00
  not splinter, but create multiple provinces so that they can manage their presence
• 1:20:04
  on the African continent in a more decentralized way,
• 1:20:09
  which gives them the ability to react quicker and take advantage of the regions
• 1:20:14
  without having to rely from necessarily a central leadership.
• 1:20:20
  So there's ISWAP, which is by the Lake Chad Basin,
• 1:20:26
  and that is the Islamic State of West Africa province.
• 1:20:30
  This is the largest province.
• 1:20:31
  Manages a Zakat office,
• 1:20:34
  providing justice and health services to 800,000 to 3 million civilians.
• 1:20:41
  There's also the Islamic State of the Sahel province,
• 1:20:45
  which is located in Mali and Niger.
• 1:20:49
  Doubled its territory in Mali by 2023.
• 1:20:52
  Launched major attacks on Niami's International Airport in 2026.
• 1:20:56
  You have the Islamic State of Central Africa province,
• 1:21:01
  which is the DRC and Uganda.
• 1:21:05
  Deadliest group were civilians in the DRC.
• 1:21:07
  recently adopted suicide bombings and exported terror to Uganda.
• 1:21:13
  Then you also have the Islamic State of Somalia.
• 1:21:17
  So in Somalia, Somal force, 300 members,
• 1:21:21
  but critical as the Al-Qa'ar hub for global command and finance.
• 1:21:28
  And then you have the Islamic State of Mozambique province.
• 1:21:33
  in Mozambique, formerly part of the Islamic State of Central Africa province,
• 1:21:40
  officially designated its own province in May of 2022.
• 1:21:45
  So those are the key provinces as far as the Islamic State is concerned.
• 1:21:52
  Now, Al-Qaeda's regional evolution and hegemony,
• 1:21:55
  despite the rise of ISIS, Al-Qaeda remains a dominant force
• 1:21:59
  through a global strategy,
• 1:22:01
  embedding itself in local disputes
• 1:22:03
  while maintaining a global anti-Western agenda.
• 1:22:07
  Historical context and key affiliates,
• 1:22:10
  the Sudan period, as I discussed previously,
• 1:22:13
  between 91 and 96,
• 1:22:15
  where Osama bin Laden established
• 1:22:16
  a financial and agricultural foundation in Sudan,
• 1:22:21
  leading to the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings
• 1:22:25
  in Kenya and Tanzania.
• 1:22:26
  There's Al-Shabaab, the Horn of Africa, aligned with Al-Qaeda since 2012, commands over 10,000 members and controls large rural swaths of Somalia through sophisticated taxation.
• 1:22:42
  And there's JNM, which is in the Sahel, formed in 2017 via a merger of Sahelian groups.
• 1:22:51
  It portrays itself as a community defender, particularly for Fulani communities to build local legitimacy.
• 1:22:59
  And then there's the strategy of embedness.
• 1:23:03
  Unlike ISIS's hyperviolence, JNM often focuses on isolating provincial capitals and blockading major cities, such as the 2026 blockade of Bamaku, Mali.
• 1:23:16
  So the jihadist economy, blood, gold, natural resources.
• 1:23:22
  The jihadist groups have transitioned from self-financing to establishing parallel states that control the economic livelihoods of millions.
• 1:23:31
  So resource plunder and taxation.
• 1:23:36
  Mineral exploitation in the DRC and also in the Islamic State of Central African province uses abductees for illegal gold mining in the Sahel.
• 1:23:49
  Groups compete to control for artisanal mining sites.
• 1:23:53
  There's the method of parallel taxation.
• 1:23:56
  groups like the Islamic State of West Africa province and Al-Shabaab
• 1:24:00
  enforce zakat on agriculture, fishing, and trade.
• 1:24:06
  These systems are often perceived as less corrupt than state institutions,
• 1:24:10
  facilitating grassroots support, transnational smuggling.
• 1:24:15
  Insurgents are deeply involved in the illicit trade of heroin, ivory,
• 1:24:21
  and charcoal to sustain operations.
• 1:24:24
  And then this discussed the human costs.
• 1:24:27
  So abductions and forced labor.
• 1:24:29
  The allied democratic forces relies on kidnapping as its primary recruitment tool, forcing children into labor and women into sexual slavery.
• 1:24:38
  Destruction of infrastructure.
• 1:24:40
  So groups systematically burn schools and clinics to dismantle secular education and state presence.
• 1:24:48
  And so before I move on, that's a very important point right there.
• 1:24:52
  Um, these groups, these jihadist groups are working to isolate people from outside influence, education, and further removal from the actual state governance to where they could continue to drive a wedge between the people and the state government, subjugating them under the jihadist control.
• 1:25:13
  And of course, educating them in the ways of their extreme Islamic doctrine or religion, whatever you want to call it.
• 1:25:19
  So that's an important point there that I just read.
• 1:25:25
  And very important to remember in how they're able to subjugate and control a people
• 1:25:31
  and also guide them into believing what they want them to believe.
• 1:25:38
  Okay, let's move on to displacement.
• 1:25:40
  So there's terrorism-related deaths in the Sahel increased by 1,000% from 2007 to 2021,
• 1:25:48
  triggering massive humanitarian crisis.
• 1:25:52
  And so what is the strategic interest in geopolitical rivalries?
• 1:25:56
  Like, why should we be paying attention?
• 1:25:58
  What's the importance of Africa to the United States or to the world in general?
• 1:26:06
  Well, United States strategy in Africa is increasingly defined by the intersection of
• 1:26:11
  counterterrorism and competition with Russia and China.
• 1:26:15
  So there's both getting ahead of these jihadist terrorist groups and maintaining control and stopping the spread, but also the geopolitical competition between Russia and China as everyone is jockeying, or at least we are jockeying against Russia and China for continued control and power on the global scale or the global stage.
• 1:26:38
  So let's talk about U.S. counterterrorism strategies.
• 1:26:40
  Homeland Defense
• 1:26:43
  US officials view
• 1:26:44
  African jihadist expansion
• 1:26:46
  as a direct threat
• 1:26:47
  due to the recruitment of foreign fighters and plots like Al foiled 9 style aircraft hijacking Targeted missions So in February 2026 200 U personnel deployed to Nigeria
• 1:27:01
  for intelligence fusion and ISR intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance support.
• 1:27:08
  Somalia Air Campaign.
• 1:27:10
  There was a significant escalation in 2025.
• 1:27:14
  It saw 38 strikes in the first few months.
• 1:27:17
  four times the 2024 total.
• 1:27:21
  And let's talk about strategic setbacks and challenges.
• 1:27:23
  Withdrawal from Niger in 2024,
• 1:27:25
  while that loss of two strategic drone bases,
• 1:27:28
  which was a billion-dollar investment,
• 1:27:29
  that triggered surveillance capabilities in the Sahel.
• 1:27:33
  There was the securitization failure.
• 1:27:37
  Analysts argue that an over-reliance on military tactics
• 1:27:40
  has ignored socioeconomic root causes,
• 1:27:43
  providing recruitment opportunities for militants.
• 1:27:47
  And it's exactly what these guys do.
• 1:27:48
  They play on the struggles.
• 1:27:50
  They play on the sentiment of the people who feel oppressed.
• 1:27:53
  And these jihadist organizations come in, these groups, and they prey on that in order to recruit people to their size, to take up their weapons, take up the mantle, and continue to spread the doctrine of these extreme jihadist groups.
• 1:28:13
  And then we have the Russian intervention.
• 1:28:14
  So the Russian-backed Afrika Korps, which was the Wagner Group, exploits security vacuums to gain resources.
• 1:28:23
  So concessions, which would be gold, diamonds, in exchange for security services, often failing to contain the actual insurgency.
• 1:28:32
  so
• 1:28:34
  Russia taking advantage of the situation
• 1:28:37
  back in this
• 1:28:38
  Africa core but you know
• 1:28:40
  Africa core themselves by
• 1:28:42
  basically going ahead
• 1:28:45
  and holding people ransoms like look we'll
• 1:28:47
  protect you in exchange for
• 1:28:48
  gold diamonds whatever
• 1:28:51
  and you know that a lot of that gets
• 1:28:52
  kicked back up to Russia
• 1:28:54
  and through this strategic relationship
• 1:28:57
  I mean that's why we saw some of the Africa
• 1:28:59
  core out there fighting
• 1:29:01
  in the Ukraine war alongside Russia.
• 1:29:04
  So there's a strategic relationship
• 1:29:06
  between the African Corps and Russia,
• 1:29:08
  and Russia has absolutely taken advantage
• 1:29:10
  of that relationship.
• 1:29:11
  They're training specialized soldiers
• 1:29:14
  and militants in Africa
• 1:29:16
  without having to take full responsibility
• 1:29:19
  of the outcomes.
• 1:29:20
  And in doing so,
• 1:29:22
  they're gaining strategic partner
• 1:29:23
  that they can use
• 1:29:26
  as the tip of the spear
• 1:29:28
  or even possibly,
• 1:29:30
  or even possibly in special operations conditions.
• 1:29:34
  It's hard to say.
• 1:29:35
  But Russia has a vested interest in the area
• 1:29:38
  in order to take advantage
• 1:29:42
  of independent decentralized militants
• 1:29:46
  to be able to use them
• 1:29:48
  for whatever it is Russia needs done.
• 1:29:52
  And this is a training ground for that.
• 1:29:55
  So there's that as well.
• 1:29:57
  Now let's talk about the regional focus
• 1:30:01
  The Cabo Delgado, Mozambique
• 1:30:03
  The insurgency in North Mozambique
• 1:30:05
  illustrates the transition
• 1:30:06
  from local grievances
• 1:30:08
  to global jihadist affiliation
• 1:30:11
  So between 2011 and 2015
• 1:30:14
  there was a discovery
• 1:30:15
  of massive offshore gas fields
• 1:30:17
  followed by the emergence
• 1:30:19
  of Ansar al-Suna
• 1:30:20
  fueled by the perceived marginalization
• 1:30:23
  of the Mawani and Macau
• 1:30:27
  ethnic groups.
• 1:30:29
  2017 through 2020,
• 1:30:31
  the insurgency began
• 1:30:32
  with police station raids
• 1:30:34
  and Mosimboa da Praia.
• 1:30:38
  I think I said that correctly.
• 1:30:40
  Mosimboa da Praia.
• 1:30:42
  Probably mispronounced that.
• 1:30:44
  Anyway, escalating to the capture
• 1:30:45
  of the town in 2020.
• 1:30:47
  2021, a brutal siege in Palma
• 1:30:49
  forced Total Energies
• 1:30:51
  to pause a multi-billion dollar
• 1:30:53
  LNG project.
• 1:30:54
  And then 25 to 26, where we are now following interventions by Rwanda and SADC forces, the Islamic State Mozambique province, has adopted a more political, less violent posture toward local Muslims to build legitimacy.
• 1:31:11
  So what all that means is Africa right now is a testing ground for how these jihadist groups can train their personnel militarily,
• 1:31:37
  how they can practice tactics,
• 1:31:40
  how they control a people, a group,
• 1:31:45
  how they learn to fight governments
• 1:31:46
  both politically and through kinetic force.
• 1:31:50
  And they've been doing this for a while
• 1:31:52
  and they're becoming more and more emboldened,
• 1:31:55
  more powerful, smarter.
• 1:31:58
  And Russia and China are watching this
• 1:32:00
  and they're looking at how they can take advantage
• 1:32:02
  of all of this disarray in Africa
• 1:32:05
  and make side deals with these groups
• 1:32:08
  in order to get natural resources
• 1:32:12
  and or just simple funding and money.
• 1:32:15
  Also tapping some of these groups
• 1:32:17
  to be able to do things for them.
• 1:32:19
  And this is the case when it comes to
• 1:32:21
  the Russian-backed Africa Corps.
• 1:32:24
  So there is a major concern.
• 1:32:27
  It's like the old wild, wild west
• 1:32:30
  is what Africa is right now.
• 1:32:32
  And whoever can get in
• 1:32:34
  and create these relationships
• 1:32:36
  and quell the growth of the jihadist groups
• 1:32:40
  and bring these nations in Africa
• 1:32:43
  back to a point of where the governments
• 1:32:46
  are actually in charge
• 1:32:47
  and the people start to feel safe again
• 1:32:50
  and reinvigorate the economies,
• 1:32:53
  then we could be in a good position
• 1:32:55
  geographically, for one.
• 1:32:59
  And two, there could be an opportunity
• 1:33:02
  to increase our relations between the U.S. and these African nations
• 1:33:07
  and gain strategic allies in the area.
• 1:33:11
  Now, we don't have a great history in Africa,
• 1:33:14
  the United States of America,
• 1:33:15
  but it doesn't mean that we abandon them.
• 1:33:18
  And so in 2026, we have seen a ramping up of activities
• 1:33:22
  from the United States of America.
• 1:33:25
  and remember that Trump in 2025 also bombed Islamic insurgents in Africa as well,
• 1:33:37
  sending a clear message.
• 1:33:39
  And so we can't fight on all fronts.
• 1:33:43
  There's so much going on.
• 1:33:44
  But to ignore the transmigration or let's say ISIS transplanting themselves,
• 1:33:53
  like removing themselves from the Middle East ever so slowly into Africa,
• 1:33:57
  where they're able to create a base of operations and grow,
• 1:33:59
  and grow exponentially and create separate provinces
• 1:34:05
  where they're creating this decentralized way of governing themselves
• 1:34:08
  or this organization and continuing to recruit and radicalize individuals.
• 1:34:13
  They're growing stronger and stronger,
• 1:34:15
  especially when groups like ISIS and Al-Qaeda have a stranglehold
• 1:34:20
  on the resources within much of the region.
• 1:34:23
  they're able to bolster themselves up economically,
• 1:34:27
  which means they're getting the money,
• 1:34:29
  they're getting the weapons,
• 1:34:30
  they're getting the training,
• 1:34:32
  they're creating these strategic relationships,
• 1:34:34
  possibly with China and Russia.
• 1:34:38
  And so,
• 1:34:40
  Africa absolutely should not be ignored.
• 1:34:44
  And the U.S. has to go in
• 1:34:47
  and back whatever allies they have left
• 1:34:50
  to make sure they're still standing at the end of the day.
• 1:34:53
  If this continues, Africa could very well become a complete continent that is literally an Islamic state.
• 1:35:04
  And that would definitely tilt the balance of power globally, no matter who you are.
• 1:35:11
  That'll be a very, very hard thing to contend with.
• 1:35:15
  Giving them a place to increase their wealth, increase their power, their capabilities.
• 1:35:21
  it's a very dangerous thing right now
• 1:35:24
  so ignoring Africa
• 1:35:26
  would be literally
• 1:35:28
  to our detriment
• 1:35:29
  and I think the whole world needs to start looking at Africa
• 1:35:32
  and taking it more serious
• 1:35:34
  well
• 1:35:38
  look everyone that's the show for now
• 1:35:40
  I know it was wordy it was lengthy
• 1:35:44
  I tend to do that
• 1:35:45
  I don't know why but I have to dive deep
• 1:35:48
  and I have to get into things
• 1:35:49
  I'm going to do my best to maybe shorten these up a bit or keep them a little more concise,
• 1:35:57
  maybe not as lengthy in terms of the data or the information I'm trying to present.
• 1:36:02
  But I do hope you guys actually appreciate what I'm trying to do here.
• 1:36:07
  This takes a lot of time to put together, a lot of time to put together.
• 1:36:11
  I enjoy doing it.
• 1:36:12
  And the reason I do these things is because I want to tell you guys what's going on out there.
• 1:36:17
  I want to get down to the bottom of things, give you the opposing view, the truth, what's really happening.
• 1:36:24
  And you don't have to agree with my assessments or my opinions, but at least listen to the information.
• 1:36:30
  And then you'll become a more informed person and you can form your own opinions on the subject.
• 1:36:35
  But regardless, let me know if you enjoy what I'm doing.
• 1:36:39
  Let me know if you like the direction that I have been going as of late.
• 1:36:45
  It's just how my mind works.
• 1:36:46
  I'm one of those guys that just, like I said, I like to dive deep and get down to the bottom
• 1:36:50
  of things. So that being said, leave me a comment. You can go ahead and contact me on social media.
• 1:36:56
  And if you're really, really enjoying this, man, keep spreading the word of World of Blaze.
• 1:37:00
  Let everybody else know that you like World of Blaze. Spread it with others. The YouTube channel
• 1:37:04
  has been growing. Next step for us is get to 500. So for anybody who doesn't know, the YouTube
• 1:37:10
  channel at one time was doing very well. And then YouTube went in and took away a bunch of
• 1:37:16
  subscribers trying to say they weren't real subscribers. I don't even know what's going on.
• 1:37:20
  But my channel was targeted by YouTube. I had to literally squash it, start it up again,
• 1:37:26
  and it's been completely organic. I haven't been advertising anything. It's just,
• 1:37:31
  I'm just letting it play out. So it's been a really slow growth, but I'm almost there to 500
• 1:37:38
  subs. So if you can spread the word on my YouTube channel and bring me up to 500 subscribers as soon
• 1:37:46
  as you can, we're like maybe a little over a hundred away or so. So let's go ahead and let's
• 1:37:52
  make that happen. And with that being said, have a great day.
• 1:38:08
  Bye.