text: InFocus: Mainstream media proclaims 2024 civil warLast month, three major outlets took aim at another American Civil War. Three retired U.S. generals claimed in a Washington Post column that the U.S. is headed for another armed insurrection if nothing is done. They further warn that a pair of “competing commanders in chief,” both of whom claim to have been legitimately elected in 2024, might fracture the military along partisan lines. [source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/12/17/eaton-taguba-anderson-generals-military]Newsweek warned that “millions of angry, armed Americans stand ready to seize power if Trump loses in 2024.” The article explains that neither side will be satisfied in a close race, with Democrats claiming voter intimidation for the loss or Republicans blaming voter fraud. With an “asymmetric… capability to inflict violence,” the political Right, explains the article, stands ready to fight a war over the 2024 election. [source: https://www.newsweek.com/2021/12/31/millions-angry-armed-americans-stand-ready-seize-power-if-trump-loses-2024-1660953.html] The UK’s DailyMail quoted a political science professor and CIA advisor who warns that the U.S. is “closer to civil war than any of us would like to believe.” The U.S. is in “dangerous territory” like you’d find in pre-conflict Ukraine or the Ivory Coast. [source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10329219/CIA-advisor-expert-foreign-conflicts-believes-closer-civil-war-thought-possible.html] More recently, Canadian media outlet The Globe and Mail published a special opinion piece warning that the United States may suffer a political collapse in 2025 and become a right-wing dictatorship by 2030. Looking at the United States, the author sees “a political and social landscape flashing with warning signals.” [source: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-the-american-polity-is-cracked-and-might-collapse-canada-must-prepare/]Just this morning, British media outlet The Guardian published an article proclaiming that the next US civil war has already started. “The legal system grows less legitimate by the day. Trust in government at all levels is in freefall, or, like Congress, with approval ratings hovering about 20%, cannot fall any lower. Right now, elected sheriffs openly promote resistance to federal authority. Right now, militias train and arm themselves in preparation for the fall of the Republic. Right now, doctrines of a radical, unachievable, messianic freedom spread across the internet, on talk radio, on cable television, in the malls.” [source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jan/04/next-us-civil-war-already-here-we-refuse-to-see-it]These articles offer a one-sided point of view – that the American right wing would be the instigator of armed conflict. As I’ve documented for years, Far Left groups were at the forefront of attempts to launch a popular revolution in 2020 – some even threatening to sabotage and shut down the economy if Trump had won reelection and remained in office. Some revolutionary Far Left groups are arming and training. While news outlets ignore these facts, the headlines are generally correct: we are headed for another conflict. As we approach the one year anniversary of the Capitol protest on 06 January, we’re probably looking at what’s called “shaping operations.” Shaping is a military term that describes setting conditions on the battlefield for a decisive victory. In Iraq and Afghanistan, this often included psychological operations targeting the populace in an effort to gain their support, or at least deter their opposition, and turn them away from supporting the enemy. There’s a solid case that the coming barrage of articles about the one year anniversary of 06 January, and the continued opinion pieces about the risk of an armed right wing uprising, are likely intended to shape public opinion and justify an aggressive campaign against dissidents heading into 2024 elections.