The Threat of Terrorism in America Has Returned
Plus: Is This the Man Who Could Topple Viktor Orbán?
Recently in The Bulwark:
BILL KRISTOL & ANDREW EGGER: Why Dictators Want Trump
JVL is off today.
JOE PERTICONE: Trump Could Still Shred NATO if Re-elected 🔐
Overtime is for everyone. If you’re a subscriber: thank you. If you’re not, there’s no better time to subscribe to Bulwark+ than today. If you like today’s issue, you can share this newsletter with someone you think would value it.
WILL SELBER: The Threat of Terrorism in America Has Returned
FROM THE SLUMS OF BAGHDAD to the deserts of Kandahar, I’ve hunted Islamist terrorists my entire adult life. I lived among them, studied their languages, and immersed myself in their cultures.
I’ve also seen the carnage that these jihadists leave in their wake. In Baghdad, a Shia group, Jaysh al-Mahdi, would rape children in front of their parents. In Afghanistan, the Taliban executed my brother-in-arms, Gen. Surab Azimi, after his men surrendered—and filmed the entire thing. That wasn’t new for me. Jubha, the Islamic Army of Iraq’s deadliest sniper, killed my turret gunner, and filmed the kill shot, releasing it along with others in propaganda videos.
As a strategic-level terrorism analyst, I read vast amounts of intelligence from tens of thousands of sources. At United States Central Command, I led teams of analysts who were experts on hundreds of insurgent groups, each with its own ideological nuances, modi operandi, leadership, structures, and style.
With all that experience, my mental warning lights have been blinking red recently: There is increasing reason to believe that there could be a terrorist attack on the United States in the months ahead.
🎥 PODCASTS AND VIDEOS 🎧
Bulwark Podcast with Tim Miller: Adam Kinzinger: Bat**** Crazy
Shield of the Republic: Was Machiavelli the Father of Modern Grand Strategy?
George Conway Explains it All (to Sarah Longwell): Trump Will Act Like an Unhinged Maniac in Debate
Did you know? Bulwark+ members can listen to an ad-free version of these podcasts on the player of their choice.
Learn more at Bulwark+ Podcast FAQ.
📣Bulwark+ members can now listen to ad-free podcasts on Spotify! Learn more here.
H. DAVID BAER: Is This the Man Who Could Topple Viktor Orbán?
“FORTUNE IS A LIBERAL MISTRESS,” Napoleon is reported to have said before his defeat at Borodino. “I have often said so, and now begin to experience it.” Words of wisdom, perhaps, for Viktor Orbán, who some have said suffers from bouts of Bonapartism. Since winning a landslide election in 2022, debilitating the opposition, and securing an intractable hold over the country, he has been wrestling with mounting difficulties that have finally exacted a domestic political cost. For the first time since coming to power in 2010, Orbán confronts a political opponent against whom he can find no kryptonite, a former member of his party’s inner circle who’s turned against him and upended Hungarian politics. That man is a 43-year-old political phenom named Péter Magyar.
BILL LUEDERS: Donald Trump vs. ‘The Apprentice’
THERE WAS NO REASON EVER TO EXPECT that this movie would be met with smooth sailing. But The Apprentice is encountering especially rough waters on its way to trying to explain the inexplicable—how Donald Trump turned out the way he did.
The film, by Danish-Iranian filmmaker Ali Abbasi, is about a young Trump’s relationship in the 1970s and 1980s with political fixer Roy Cohn (played by Jeremy Strong of Succession), who mentored him in the art of brutality. It premiered last month at the Cannes Film Festival, where it received a customarily lengthy standing ovation. The filmmakers are currently in talks with Briarcliff, an independent U.S. distributor interested in the rights, and if the deal goes through, they will be able to release the movie before the election.
🚨OVERTIME🚨
Greetings from Denver! I’ve been here since the early hours, enjoying talking with Denverites from a sunny remote office. I look forward to seeing you all tomorrow! I hope you’ll say hi (I’ll be wearing a Cleveland Guardians hat.)
🎵On the Jukebox🎵… Coldplay - feelslikeimfallinginlove
Wondering what's going on with Ted Cruz's #donorgate? 24Sight has you covered.
Donald Trump’s Get-Out-The-Vote Plan… is Bonkers (Bill Scher, Washington Monthly)
Republicans Say They’re Giving Up On a National Abortion Ban… For Now (Haley Byrd Wilt, NOTUS).
Robert O'Brien's Foreign Policy Amnesia… Donald Trump's last national security advisor remembers Trump's foreign policy very differently from, you know, actual history. (Drezner’s World)
FC Cincinnati's Luca Orellano scores a stunning goal… from the midfield.
Ohio attorney suspended over pooping… in a Pringles can has license reinstated (Columbus Dispatch)
Remember the mysterious monoliths? A new one just appeared near Las Vegas. (WaPo)
U.S. Senate passes bill… to support advanced nuclear energy deployment. But strangely, a lot of Republican Senators were absent!
Tech support questions? Email members@thebulwark.com. Questions for me? Respond to this message.
—30—
Editorial photos provided by Getty Images. For full credits, please consult the article.