Brad Thor is a bestselling author who writes gripping political thrillers that seem to be ripped right out of the headlines. His latest book, Act of War, considers what would happen if a foreign nation implemented a plan to overthrow the United States. Because of his expertise, Thor has served as a member of the Department of Homeland Security’s Analytic Red Cell Unit, and he spoke to Glenn this morning about the danger of the current turmoil.
Given all that is going on the world today, Glenn was “afraid to ask” the premise of Thor’s latest thriller. Thor did little to ease fears when he described the book as one of the “most chilling” he has ever written.
“[F]or my thriller Act of War, I discuss a scenario where the White House would know about a terrorist attack, but not where or when it was going to happen. They would be forced way out onto a limb and they would have to launch two covert operations that, if discovered, would constitute acts of war by the United States,” Thor explained. “This would all be an effort to head off an attack at home. This is probably one of the most chilling potential scenarios I have ever, ever had anyone in the special operations or intelligence community share with me, and that's what I based my new thriller Act of War on.”
Thor has had an opportunity to consult and work with some of the brightest minds in the intelligence community, and, much like Glenn, he is a student of history. Looking at the current state of the U.S. economy, the situation at the border, and the violence in the Middle East, Thor is quite concerned about what lies ahead.
“Where do you think we go from here,” Glenn asked.
“I'm very fearful that we could see some sort of terrorist attack in the United States. That’s the way I'm wired. I'm wired to look for that stuff. That's what I have done as part of the Red Cell Unit,” Thor said. “I’m concerned. We project a lot of weakness around the world. There's no domestic policy. There's no foreign policy. We are now on the ‘run out the clock phase’ with our President.”
The United States also faces an internal threat. We know that a house divided against itself cannot stand, and until there is a palpable desire to right the wrongs, Thor believes the country is in trouble.
“I also believe, contrary to our President, that we are an exceptional nation… I think we have that power to right the course we are on, and I have a tremendous amount of confidence that 2014 and 2016 is going to be a return to responsible governance,” Thor concluded. “We are going to put people in office who are going to make a difference because guess what: If we don't do it in these next two cycles, we are in for a long, dark age in the United States.”