The Darkest Timeline

The Russian apartment bombings of 1999 were a critical step in Putin's rise to power. He expediently slaughtered 300 (and injured 1000) of his countrymen to paint the appearance of a "terror attack" that would unite the country around his leadership, ensuring his win in the 2000 presidential election.

The Wikipedia article properly falls short of laying full blame at Putin, because he covered his tracks (e.g. assassinating investigators). But diplomats and intelligence people worldwide unquestioningly assume Putin's culpability.

Which brings us to the present moment.

It is known that Putin has been planning sabotage in Europe for destabilization - to fragment and sideline support for Ukraine. A new story suggests he's also looking to do something a bit more dramatic in America, dipping into his false flag playbook.

Terrorism rallies people around a perceived strong man. The American candidate working the authoritarian side of things has pledged to dissolve NATO and cut off support to Ukraine. And Putin would love to finally swallow Ukraine and move on reassembling the rest of the former Soviet Block. So much glory!

It all makes perfect sense, though I was too slow and dim to recognize the inevitable inflection point. The dots are not fully connected in this Fox News story wherein "Ex-CIA Deputy Director Sounds The Alarm About Terror Threat Posed By Open Border", but apparently patriot Mike Morrell is making damned sure we pay attention to that location because it’s a terrific country and it’d be a crying shame if something happened to it.

To my mind, it completes the circle regarding Putin's plans. I dearly hope our various services avert it, but if it happens it will trace back to the Mexican border, where Trump (who forced Republican congressmen to vote against Biden's border reform so the issue would remain raw and horrible for use in his campaign) is, everybody knows, super tough.

GFSP