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‘Enemy of the State’: Co-author Talks New Mitch Rapp Thriller Novel

September 07, 2017
Staff

WRITER

Vince Flynn was a best-selling author who gave the character Mitch Rapp to the world in a series of CIA thrillers. Today, co-author Kyle Mills is carrying on the torch by continuing the hit series. His latest novel is “Enemy of the State,” which centers on Rapp’s dangerous journey into Saudi Arabia to investigate the oil-rich country’s connections to terrorism.

“I just think Mitch Rapp is one of the best characters in fiction,” Glenn said on radio Thursday when Mills joined the show to talk about his new book as well as to analyze how the U.S. will react to world events.

In “Enemy of the State,” Rapp is working on his own in Saudi Arabia because the U.S. government can’t be seen plotting against an ally.

“Those redacted pages have a lot of information in them that’s been kept from the American people, and they’re not living up to their agreement to back off of the financing and supporting of terrorism,” Mills, who has been writing Rapp novels since 2014, explained the plot of the new book.

Glenn thought the plot was almost too on point.

“Well, that sounds like total fiction,” he joked.

This article provided courtesy of TheBlaze.

GLENN: I saw a movie -- I saw a movie, what? Yesterday -- night before last. It's -- it's Vince Flynn's first Mitch Rapp movie. American Assassin. And I -- I just think Mitch Rapp is one of the best characters in fiction now. In case you don't know, Vince is -- was the Tom Clancy, I think, of our day. He was a fantastic writer and a very good friend. And I remember sitting in -- just outside of my apartment in New York City. He and his wife and his daughter came to have dinner with me.

And we sat there. And the whole dinner, he talked about how worried he was about me with George Soros. And this was at the beginning of George Soros putting up a million dollars to destroy me and my career and everything else. And he was -- he just kept focused on that.

Then he said, I want -- I want to go up to your apartment, Glenn. Because we were -- we were going to go and have dessert. And he said, "I want to come up to your apartment. I'd really like to see -- because you really have to secure yourself."

And I said, "Okay." So we go up. And he's -- we're looking out the windows. And he's like, "Possible surveillance point." And I'm like, "Vince, for the love of Pete, I'm not living in one of your books." He said, "I'm just telling you, you're messing with George Soros." We sit down, and we're having some dessert. And he says to me, "I just found out I have cancer."

"Vince, isn't this probably a more important thing to talk about than what we've been talking about for the last 100 minutes?"

I really -- I didn't know what to say to him, other than, "If anybody is going to beat it, you are." Because he was convinced he was going to beat it, every time I spoke to him.

And then he died. He left behind a wife and daughter, just fantastic people. But he also left behind a lot of friends and amazing work.

Now, when he died, a lot of us who were fans thought, "Oh, this character cannot stop." They just made the first Vince Flynn movie: American Assassin. And it opens this weekend. I saw it, and it's absolutely fantastic.

But the series has continued with the guy named Kyle Mills who was selected -- imagine, you know, you're -- you're the replacement in the Beatles for Paul McCartney or John Lennon. And Kyle Mills stepped to the plate. And there's a new Vince Flynn novel out: Enemy of the State.

Welcome to the program, Kyle, how are you?

KYLE: I'm good. Thank you.

GLENN: Some big shoes. And we've talked about this before. Some big shoes that you have to fill. And you've done a fantastic job on it. Tell me about the new book, Enemy of the State.

KYLE: Well, this one is about Saudi Arabia and kind of puts forth whether or not maybe they had more to do with 9/11 than the governments let on.

GLENN: No.

KYLE: And those redacted pages have a lot of information in them that's been kept from the American people.

And they're not living up to their agreements to back off of the financing and supporting of terrorism.

GLENN: Well, that sounds like total fiction.

KYLE: Yeah.

GLENN: We know none of that is true.

What are you basing this on, Kyle, other than those redacted pages? Because, I mean, I love -- I love fiction writers because they -- they have to be accurate. You just have to have more information than -- than you ever let on.

What do you have, or what have you seen that led you down this path?

KYLE: Well, those pages have always kind of fascinated me, and all the other things swirling around about it that it's never been clear. No one has ever said, "Well, this is exactly what happened through the investigations." And we've completely cleared these people.

And I think there's a lot of incentive for the United States, because of its strategic interests. And this has always been the case with Saudi Arabia. We -- it seems like we'll sort of turn a blind eye to just about anything they do.

And so that was kind of what I wanted to play with. And also, because if you read Vince's book, and obviously you've talked to him quite a bit, he and I sort of share a distaste for the Saudis. So I thought it would be fun to explore that a little bit.

GLENN: Yeah. Yeah. Your dad -- if I'm not mistaken, wasn't your dad one of the investigators on the Lockerbie bombing?

KYLE: On Pan Am 103? Yeah. That happened actually when I was graduating from college. And we found out about it at my college graduation dinner, that he disappeared to Lockerbie. And I didn't see him for a few months after that.

GLENN: How much did that affect your life, having your dad -- being surrounded by military guys and having your dad do that? How much of your life do you think is a continuation of your dad's? Have we lost -- it we lose him? I'm not -- we lost him.

STU: Sounds like we did.

You want to ask me that question, or you want to ask me something? Because I can answer some interesting stuff too. I'm a pretty interesting guy.

GLENN: No. Uh-uh. Have you ever thought about that though, how much of your life is a re-run of your dad's?

STU: I know you have. This is something you've dealt with for a long time. I don't think I have.

GLENN: Is it just me that does that? I mean, I know I overanalyze everything. But I've been thinking about it a lot lately. I've been thinking about it a lot lately, on how much -- how much am I like my dad? What is -- how much is a rerun of my dad's life and a continuation of his goals?

STU: That's an interesting question. I don't know how, in the middle of a really cool action thriller movie release interview, you got there. Exactly.

GLENN: Well, because I think it's interesting that he's writing this stuff now, and his dad was -- you know, his dad was on the investigation of the Lockerbie bombing.

So, Kyle, I didn't mean to offend you if I offended you with that question. But have you thought about that of how much of your life is a continuation of -- in some ways, your dad's work?

KYLE: A lot of it. I think that incident really affected me, hearing about the reality of what was going on on the ground there. You know, it's funny because Mitch Rapp, the character starts down his path in the CIA because his -- his girlfriend died on that --

GLENN: Right.

KYLE: And, I mean, hearing the stories of that, it was such a horrific event. You know, people would call my father and say, "There are two kids sitting in their seats in my backyard. They're sitting there holding hands. I really need you to come and get them now." And he had no manpower at that point. They were just flying people in. And he would have to say, "You know, you're going to have to wait. Just close your drapes, we're going to be there as soon as we can."

And in a way, it has kind of a similar effect on me as it did the character, understanding what that thread is and how great it is.

GLENN: Except Mitch went on to kill a whole bunch of people and you started writing books.

KYLE: You know, and that's a lot easier.

GLENN: You do that Saturday morning in your underpants, in your kitchen, where Mitch isn't -- isn't doing that.

When we talk about 9/11, which this book is based on, and Saudi Arabia and everything that's going on. It's the new Vince Flynn book, Enemy of the State. Kyle Mills is the author, and he's with us now.

When we look at that, do you think we will ever find out -- in our lifetime, will we find out what the real involvement was with Saudi Arabia?

KYLE: I don't think so. I think there's such a strong strategic interest and financial interest between us and Saudi Arabia that everything like that gets buried. But, I mean, it's clear -- it's obvious they're huge financiers of terrorism and really creating the schools that put forward that philosophy.

GLENN: The American Assassin talks about a nuclear weapon being used. And I just saw it, what? Two days ago. Great movie. Great story.

But you see nuclear weapons in play and in action. That's something that, really, we haven't really dealt with since I was a kid. Do you think this is something -- as you're playing this out with Kim Jong-un, is this something that we're going to have to start really dealing with? Do you think we'll see this play out?

KYLE: You know, it's such a terrifying situation because it's almost less about Korea than it is about China. They created this problem. They refused to do anything about the problem. And then they prevent other people from doing something about that problem.

And so it just gets worse. And it's on that trajectory. And, yes, I think at some point it will happen.

GLENN: So, Kyle, what -- so what happens? What should we be doing right now in North Korea?

KYLE: I think you have to convince China to rein them in. I just -- I don't see how there's any path to us acting unilaterally or with a Western coalition, like in Korea.

GLENN: Do you believe we go to war with North Korea? Do you believe that's in the cards?

KYLE: No. No. I just don't think it's possible. I think China would come down on us, and we've been there before.

GLENN: I am thrilled to hear that. The name of the book is Enemy of the State, by Kyle Mills. The new Vince Flynn book is out and the new Vince Flynn movie, American Assassin comes out. Have you seen it yet, Kyle?

KYLE: I have.

GLENN: What did you think?

KYLE: I thought it was terrific. I absolutely loved it. I thought Dylan and Michael Keaton did an amazing job. You know, those characters are in my head eight hours a day, and it's exactly what I pictured.

GLENN: I agree with you. And I think it's a new kind of character. I mean, it makes Jason Bourne seem like -- and it was written in the Cold War. This is a whole new kind of approach to a character, and I love it.

Thank you so much, Kyle.

KYLE: Thanks.

GLENN: It's Kyle Mills. Vince Flynn's new book, Enemy of the State. A Mitch Rapp novel. And the new Mitch Rapp movie opens this weekend everywhere.

A Sharia enclave is quietly taking root in America. It's time to wake up.

NOVA SAFO / Staff | Getty Images

Sharia-based projects like the Meadow in Texas show how political Islam grows quietly, counting on Americans to stay silent while an incompatible legal system takes root.

Apolitical system completely incompatible with the Constitution is gaining ground in the United States, and we are pretending it is not happening.

Sharia — the legal and political framework of Islam — is being woven into developments, institutions, and neighborhoods, including a massive project in Texas. And the consequences will be enormous if we continue to look the other way.

This is the contradiction at the heart of political Islam: It claims universal authority while insisting its harshest rules will never be enforced here. That promise does not stand up to scrutiny. It never has.

Before we can have an honest debate, we’d better understand what Sharia represents. Sharia is not simply a set of religious rules about prayer or diet. It is a comprehensive legal and political structure that governs marriage, finance, criminal penalties, and civic life. It is a parallel system that claims supremacy wherever it takes hold.

This is where the distinction matters. Many Muslims in America want nothing to do with Sharia governance. They came here precisely because they lived under it. But political Islam — the movement that seeks to implement Sharia as law — is not the same as personal religious belief.

It is a political ideology with global ambitions, much like communism. Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently warned that Islamist movements do not seek peaceful coexistence with the West. They seek dominance. History backs him up.

How Sharia arrives

Political Islam does not begin with dramatic declarations. It starts quietly, through enclaves that operate by their own rules. That is why the development once called EPIC City — now rebranded as the Meadow — is so concerning. Early plans framed it as a Muslim-only community built around a mega-mosque and governed by Sharia-compliant financing. After state investigations were conducted, the branding changed, but the underlying intent remained the same.

Developers have openly described practices designed to keep non-Muslims out, using fees and ownership structures to create de facto religious exclusivity. This is not assimilation. It is the construction of a parallel society within a constitutional republic.

The warning from those who have lived under it

Years ago, local imams in Texas told me, without hesitation, that certain Sharia punishments “just work.” They spoke about cutting off hands for theft, stoning adulterers, and maintaining separate standards of testimony for men and women. They insisted it was logical and effective while insisting they would never attempt to implement it in Texas.

But when pressed, they could not explain why a system they consider divinely mandated would suddenly stop applying once someone crossed a border.

This is the contradiction at the heart of political Islam: It claims universal authority while insisting its harshest rules will never be enforced here. That promise does not stand up to scrutiny. It never has.

AASHISH KIPHAYET / Contributor | Getty Images

America is vulnerable

Europe is already showing us where this road leads. No-go zones, parallel courts, political intimidation, and clerics preaching supremacy have taken root across major cities.

America’s strength has always come from its melting pot, but assimilation requires boundaries. It requires insisting that the Constitution, not religious law, is the supreme authority on this soil.

Yet we are becoming complacent, even fearful, about saying so. We mistake silence for tolerance. We mistake avoidance for fairness. Meanwhile, political Islam views this hesitation as weakness.

Religious freedom is one of America’s greatest gifts. Muslims may worship freely here, as they should. But political Islam must not be permitted to plant a flag on American soil. The Constitution cannot coexist with a system that denies equal rights, restricts speech, subordinates women, and places clerical authority above civil law.

Wake up before it is too late

Projects like the Meadow are not isolated. They are test runs, footholds, proofs of concept. Political Islam operates with patience. It advances through demographic growth, legal ambiguity, and cultural hesitation — and it counts on Americans being too polite, too distracted, or too afraid to confront it.

We cannot afford that luxury. If we fail to defend the principles that make this country free, we will one day find ourselves asking how a parallel system gained power right in front of us. The answer will be simple: We looked away.

The time to draw boundaries and to speak honestly is now. The time to defend the Constitution as the supreme law of the land is now. Act while there is still time.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

The Crisis of Meaning: Searching for truth and purpose

Mario Tama / Staff | Getty Images

Anxiety, anger, and chronic dissatisfaction signal a country searching for meaning. Without truth and purpose, politics becomes a dangerous substitute for identity.

We have built a world overflowing with noise, convenience, and endless choice, yet something essential has slipped out of reach. You can sense it in the restless mood of the country, the anxiety among young people who cannot explain why they feel empty, in the angry confusion that dominates our politics.

We have more wealth than any nation in history, but the heart of the culture feels strangely malnourished. Before we can debate debt or elections, we must confront the reality that we created a world of things, but not a world of purpose.

You cannot survive a crisis you refuse to name, and you cannot rebuild a world whose foundations you no longer understand.

What we are living through is not just economic or political dysfunction. It is the vacuum that appears when a civilization mistakes abundance for meaning.

Modern life is stuffed with everything except what the human soul actually needs. We built systems to make life faster, easier, and more efficient — and then wondered why those systems cannot teach our children who they are, why they matter, or what is worth living for.

We tell the next generation to chase success, influence, and wealth, turning childhood into branding. We ask kids what they want to do, not who they want to be. We build a world wired for dopamine rather than dignity, and then we wonder why so many people feel unmoored.

When everything is curated, optimized, and delivered at the push of a button, the question “what is my life for?” gets lost in the static.

The crisis beneath the headlines

It is not just the young who feel this crisis. Every part of our society is straining under the weight of meaninglessness.

Look at the debt cycle — the mathematical fate no civilization has ever escaped once it crosses a threshold that we seem to have already blown by. While ordinary families feel the pressure, our leaders respond with distraction, with denial, or by rewriting the very history that could have warned us.

You cannot survive a crisis you refuse to name, and you cannot rebuild a world whose foundations you no longer understand.

We have entered a cultural moment where the noise is so loud that it drowns out the simplest truths. We are living in a country that no longer knows how to hear itself think.

So people go searching. Some drift toward the false promise of socialism, some toward the empty thrill of rebellion. Some simply check out. When a culture forgets what gives life meaning, it becomes vulnerable to every ideology that offers a quick answer.

The quiet return of meaning

And yet, quietly, something else is happening. Beneath the frustration and cynicism, many Americans are recognizing that meaning does not come from what we own, but from what we honor. It does not rise from success, but from virtue. It does not emerge from noise, but from the small, sacred things that modern life has pushed to the margins — the home, the table, the duty you fulfill, the person you help when no one is watching.

The danger is assuming that this rediscovery happens on its own. It does not.

Reorientation requires intention. It requires rebuilding the habits and virtues that once held us together. It requires telling the truth about our history instead of rewriting it to fit today’s narratives. And it requires acknowledging what has been erased: that meaning is inseparable from God’s presence in a nation’s life.

Harold M. Lambert / Contributor | Getty Images

Where renewal begins

We have built a world without stillness, and then we wondered why no one can hear the questions that matter. Those questions remain, whether we acknowledge them or not. They do not disappear just because we drown them in entertainment or noise. They wait for us, and the longer we ignore them, the more disoriented we become.

Meaning is still available. It is found in rebuilding the smallest, most human spaces — the places that cannot be digitized, globalized, or automated. The home. The family. The community.

These are the daily virtues that do not trend on social media, but that hold a civilization upright. If we want to repair this country, we begin there, exactly where every durable civilization has always begun: one virtue at a time, one tradition at a time, one generation at a time.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

The Bubba Effect erupts as America’s power brokers go rogue

Gary Hershorn / Contributor | Getty Images

When institutions betray the public’s trust, the country splits, and the spiral is hard to stop.

Something drastic is happening in American life. Headlines that should leave us stunned barely register anymore. Stories that once would have united the country instead dissolve into silence or shrugs.

It is not apathy exactly. It is something deeper — a growing belief that the people in charge either cannot or will not fix what is broken.

When people feel ignored or betrayed, they will align with anyone who appears willing to fight on their behalf.

I call this response the Bubba effect. It describes what happens when institutions lose so much public trust that “Bubba,” the average American minding his own business, finally throws his hands up and says, “Fine. I will handle it myself.” Not because he wants to, but because the system that was supposed to protect him now feels indifferent, corrupt, or openly hostile.

The Bubba effect is not a political movement. It is a survival instinct.

What triggers the Bubba effect

We are watching the triggers unfold in real time. When members of Congress publicly encourage active duty troops to disregard orders from the commander in chief, that is not a political squabble. When a federal judge quietly rewrites the rules so one branch of government can secretly surveil another, that is not normal. That is how republics fall. Yet these stories glided across the news cycle without urgency, without consequence, without explanation.

When the American people see the leadership class shrug, they conclude — correctly — that no one is steering the ship.

This is how the Bubba effect spreads. It is not just individuals resisting authority. It is sheriffs refusing to enforce new policies, school boards ignoring state mandates, entire communities saying, “We do not believe you anymore.” It becomes institutional, cultural, national.

A country cracking from the inside

This effect can be seen in Dearborn, Michigan. In the rise of fringe voices like Nick Fuentes. In the Epstein scandal, where powerful people could not seem to locate a single accountable adult. These stories are different in content but identical in message: The system protects itself, not you.

When people feel ignored or betrayed, they will align with anyone who appears willing to fight on their behalf. That does not mean they suddenly agree with everything that person says. It means they feel abandoned by the institutions that were supposed to be trustworthy.

The Bubba effect is what fills that vacuum.

The dangers of a faithless system

A republic cannot survive without credibility. Congress cannot oversee intelligence agencies if it refuses to discipline its own members. The military cannot remain apolitical if its chain of command becomes optional. The judiciary cannot defend the Constitution while inventing loopholes that erase the separation of powers.

History shows that once a nation militarizes politics, normalizes constitutional shortcuts, or allows government agencies to operate without scrutiny, it does not return to equilibrium peacefully. Something will give.

The question is what — and when.

The responsibility now belongs to us

In a healthy country, this is where the media steps in. This is where universities, pastors, journalists, and cultural leaders pause the outrage machine and explain what is at stake. But today, too many see themselves not as guardians of the republic, but of ideology. Their first loyalty is to narrative, not truth.

The founders never trusted the press more than the public. They trusted citizens who understood their rights, lived their responsibilities, and demanded accountability. That is the antidote to the Bubba effect — not rage, but citizenship.

How to respond without breaking ourselves

Do not riot. Do not withdraw. Do not cheer on destruction just because you dislike the target. That is how nations lose themselves. Instead, demand transparency. Call your representatives. Insist on consequences. Refuse to normalize constitutional violations simply because “everyone does it.” If you expect nothing, you will get nothing.

Do not hand your voice to the loudest warrior simply because he is swinging a bat at the establishment. You do not beat corruption by joining a different version of it. You beat it by modeling the country you want to preserve: principled, accountable, rooted in truth.

Adam Gray / Stringer | Getty Images

Every republic reaches a moment when historians will later say, “That was the warning.” We are living in ours. But warnings are gifts if they are recognized. Institutions bend. People fail. The Constitution can recover — if enough Americans still know and cherish it.

It does not take a majority. Twenty percent of the country — awake, educated, and courageous — can reset the system. It has happened before. It can happen again.

Wake up. Stand up. Demand integrity — from leaders, from institutions, and from yourself. Because the Bubba effect will not end until Americans reclaim the duty that has always belonged to them: preserving the republic for the next generation.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Grim warning: Bad-faith Israel critics duck REAL questions

Spencer Platt / Staff | Getty Images

Bad-faith attacks on Israel and AIPAC warp every debate. Real answers emerge only when people set aside scripts and ask what serves America’s long-term interests.

The search for truth has always required something very much in short supply these days: honesty. Not performative questions, not scripted outrage, not whatever happens to be trending on TikTok, but real curiosity.

Some issues, often focused on foreign aid, AIPAC, or Israel, have become hotbeds of debate and disagreement. Before we jump into those debates, however, we must return to a simpler, more important issue: honest questioning. Without it, nothing in these debates matters.

Ask questions because you want the truth, not because you want a target.

The phrase “just asking questions” has re-entered the zeitgeist, and that’s fine. We should always question power. But too many of those questions feel preloaded with someone else’s answer. If the goal is truth, then the questions should come from a sincere desire to understand, not from a hunt for a villain.

Honest desire for truth is the only foundation that can support a real conversation about these issues.

Truth-seeking is real work

Right now, plenty of people are not seeking the truth at all. They are repeating something they heard from a politician on cable news or from a stranger on TikTok who has never opened a history book. That is not a search for answers. That is simply outsourcing your own thought.

If you want the truth, you need to work for it. You cannot treat the world like a Marvel movie where the good guy appears in a cape and the villain hisses on command. Real life does not give you a neat script with the moral wrapped up in two hours.

But that is how people are approaching politics now. They want the oppressed and the oppressor, the heroic underdog and the cartoon villain. They embrace this fantastical framing because it is easier than wrestling with reality.

This framing took root in the 1960s when the left rebuilt its worldview around colonizers and the colonized. Overnight, Zionism was recast as imperialism. Suddenly, every conflict had to fit the same script. Today’s young activists are just recycling the same narrative with updated graphics. Everything becomes a morality play. No nuance, no context, just the comforting clarity of heroes and villains.

Bad-faith questions

This same mindset is fueling the sudden obsession with Israel, and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in particular. You hear it from members of Congress and activists alike: AIPAC pulls the strings, AIPAC controls the government, AIPAC should register as a foreign agent under the Foreign Agents Registration Act. The questions are dramatic, but are they being asked in good faith?

FARA is clear. The standard is whether an individual or group acts under the direction or control of a foreign government. AIPAC simply does not qualify.

Here is a detail conveniently left out of these arguments: Dozens of domestic organizations — Armenian, Cuban, Irish, Turkish — lobby Congress on behalf of other countries. None of them registers under FARA because — like AIPAC — they are independent, domestic organizations.

If someone has a sincere problem with the structure of foreign lobbying, fair enough. Let us have that conversation. But singling out AIPAC alone is not a search for truth. It is bias dressed up as bravery.

Anadolu / Contributor | Getty Images

If someone wants to question foreign aid to Israel, fine. Let’s have that debate. But let’s ask the right questions. The issue is not the size of the package but whether the aid advances our interests. What does the United States gain? Does the investment strengthen our position in the region? How does it compare to what we give other nations? And do we examine those countries with the same intensity?

The real target

These questions reflect good-faith scrutiny. But narrowing the entire argument to one country or one dollar amount misses the larger problem. If someone objects to the way America handles foreign aid, the target is not Israel. The target is the system itself — an entrenched bureaucracy, poor transparency, and decades-old commitments that have never been re-examined. Those problems run through programs around the world.

If you want answers, you need to broaden the lens. You have to be willing to put aside the movie script and confront reality. You have to hold yourself to a simple rule: Ask questions because you want the truth, not because you want a target.

That is the only way this country ever gets clarity on foreign aid, influence, alliances, and our place in the world. Questioning is not just allowed. It is essential. But only if it is honest.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.