The Shawn Ryan Show #280: Sarah Adams

If China Isn’t the #1 Threat… Then Who Is?
Date: February 16, 2026
Host: Shawn Ryan
Guest: Sarah Adams, former CIA targeting officer, co-author of Benghazi: Know Thy Enemy, host of The Watch Floor

Main Theme & Purpose

This episode dives deep into emerging threats to U.S. national security. Sarah Adams, leveraging her frontline CIA experience and counterterrorism expertise, presents a candid assessment of where global dangers truly lie—emphasizing that the most severe threats may not be where mainstream perception expects. The discussion moves through recent bioterror and terrorist threats, confusion and cover-ups within U.S. policy, ongoing Taliban funding, failures in hostage negotiation, and how U.S. adversaries are adapting far faster than Western bureaucracies.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Emerging Biolab Threats in the U.S.

• FBI Biolab Raid in Las Vegas:
  • Chinese national called JB Zu was already on trial for trafficking illegal Covid/HIV kits; found with fridges full of unknown vials, some labeled “Ebola” and “TB.”
  • CDC tested samples, found 20+ pathogens, including HIV and tuberculosis.
  • Concern: “I do believe Al Qaeda has similar type of things on US soil, but I have not seen anything to say this is an Al Qaeda one. But yeah, I’d be very concerned because one of Al Qaeda’s is in Nevada…”
    — Sarah Adams [01:14]
  • Notable: Al Qaeda has Nevada-based labs; “one of their labs is in Nevada.”
  • Lab types: Some for bombs/IEDs, some with chemical detonators. Some bombs are designed so if the explosion doesn’t kill, chemicals will ([03:24]).

2. On the Epstein Files & Elites

• Sarah and Shawn discuss recent mass leaks and public reactions:
  • Most tips in the files are “ramblings” and not highly classified facts. (Context-lacking speculation abused by public) [05:05]
  • “If you read Epstein’s files, the person pulling the strings is Qatar… Qatar is in control of the Middle East. That’s the point.” — Sarah Adams [08:08]
  • Elites’ depravity and corruption are far more systemic than most realize.
  • “You don’t need Jeffrey Epstein to like lure them in to sleep with a 12-year-old. They’re doing it in other locations too.” — Sarah Adams [09:12]
  • On blackmail: “I don’t actually think he was doing it purely to blackmail them. I think he was doing it for influence, money, relationships.” [09:38]
  • Speculation about intelligence ties (Mossad/CIA) not supported by concrete evidence in the documents. [14:04]

3. Systemic U.S. Policy Corruption & Taliban Funding

• Politicians use issues for social media fodder, not action ([22:05]).
• U.S. still sending Taliban $87 million/week via various channels:
  • $40M humanitarian (misappropriated)
  • $47M counterterrorism (Doha Deal, refusal to cancel due to political ego).
  • U.S. government misleads public about payment status ([24:03]), with Sarah personally collecting proof of cash delivery in January ([25:01]).
  • Funding also laundered via the UN, World Bank, World Food Program (provides food to terrorist camps) ([25:55]).
  • Taliban holding multiple U.S. hostages; U.S. fails to apply pressure or use legal executive avenues to retrieve them ([28:45]-[32:34]).
    • “...they have this law on the books and they’re not using it against the Taliban.” — Sarah Adams [29:12]
    • Hostage details: Mahmoud Shah Habibi (tortured), Dennis Cole (untried), Paul Overby (presumed dead).
  • “How can nobody be talking about the fact that Taliban is holding American hostages while we pay them...87 million a week?” — Shawn Ryan [32:34]

4. Fake Media Influence Campaigns by Terror Groups & States

• Taliban and China use Western influencers to “travel-blog” as propaganda, staging false portrayals of normalcy, safety, and progress to court international perception ([34:51]-[36:19]).

5. Homeland Plot – Largest Terror Threat to U.S.

[Starts Deep Dive: 38:41]

• Overview: Homeland Plot is a multiphase, multi-group coordinated terrorist campaign targeting the U.S., blending Al Qaeda’s methodology with innovations from ISIS and affiliated organizations.
• Objectives: ‘Positive’ internal messaging — “honoring” Osama Bin Laden and previous mujahedeen, avenging Muslims imprisoned post-9/11, bringing prior failed plots to fruition ([38:59]).
• Key Plots:
  • Aviation Plot: Revival of 30-year-old “Bojinka,” aiming to down 12 airliners over the United States ([40:54]).
    • Old masterminds and bombmakers being resurrected/redeployed for credibility and technical expertise.
    • Testing and training now conducted at former U.S. bases (e.g., Camp Chapman/Coast—now suicide bomber training centers).
  • Command Structure: Each plot now has multiple “commanders” running their own cells; “every one of them is a boss”—over two dozen commanders on U.S. soil ([46:18]).
  • Cell Structure: Cells now mix members of Al Qaeda, ISIS, Al Shabaab, and others to exploit U.S. agencies’ categorical blind spots ([48:27]).
• Operational Security: Strictly human couriers, aliases, operatives do not know each others’ real identities—virtually impossible to unravel entirely ([50:32]).
• Timeline & Setbacks: Training, bombmaking, deployment have strict deadlines (third week Dec 2025); delays from leadership losses (e.g., strikes in Pakistan, Iraq), but plot remains active ([52:58]).
• Scale: 18,000+ known Islamist terrorists on U.S. soil, per Joe Kent testimony; operational cells are “waves,” not a single mass event ([62:59]).

6. Systemic Failures in U.S. Preparedness

• FBI major hurdle—downplays or dismisses the plot, blocks dissemination of warnings to local law enforcement ([21:02], [74:10]).
• DHS/TSA stopped shoe bomb screening, terrorists immediately update plans to exploit gap ([51:53]).
• Local sheriffs and officers more proactive than federal agencies, relying on their networks and briefings from Adams ([66:53]).
• “These are good people on the ground saying, we need to prepare our communities. Screw the FBI. We’re going to get ahead of this plot.” — Sarah Adams [67:03]
• NCTC/DNI finally creating an unclassified app for direct info-sharing with first responders ([76:25]-[77:13]).

7. Geopolitical Roundup & U.S. Foreign Policy Mistakes

• Iran: Nuclear negotiations continue, ignoring widespread regime abuses and mass arrests/killings of protesters ([115:21] onward).
  • U.S. policy—propping up regime for “predictable” outcomes, not people’s liberation.
• Syria: U.S. backing AQ-linked leadership (Abu Mohammed al-Jolani). Massacres and genocidal actions against Kurds with tacit U.S. approval. Continued release of ISIS/Al Qaeda prisoners ([127:16]-[132:55]).
  • “We’re inviting this guy into our country. He’s cutting people’s heads off.” — Shawn Ryan [129:02]
• China: No longer #1 military threat per National Defense Strategy. Focus shift to economic/cyber competition, less military (“strategic competition”) ([133:28]).
• Africa (JNIM, Al Shabaab):
  • Major gains by Al Qaeda affiliate JNIM in Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger.
  • Senior AQ operatives assumed dead are alive and running operations.
  • Al Shabaab encircling Mogadishu (within 10 miles)—government losing ground, U.S. aid funneled to jihadists ([142:06]-[144:11]).

8. Insider Anecdotes, Whistleblowing, and U.S. Bureaucracy Folly

• Sarah’s personal evidence-collection trips to expose government lies on terror funding.
• Reflection on running afoul of the FBI for sharing actionable intelligence ([150:47]), as they focus on inane priorities (“January 6th expert”).
• Tales of being targeted by Hezbollah and ISKP (personal bounties), being featured in ISIS propaganda videos ([145:17]-[147:38]).

9. Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Political Ego Blocking Counterterror Efforts
  “We’re paying the fucking Taliban, damn near $100 million a week because somebody doesn’t want to hurt their fucking ego and admit that they made a mistake.”
  — Shawn Ryan [23:56]
• On U.S. Agencies’ Inaction
  “I feel the DNI has been somewhat supportive... Customs and Border Protection has been very supportive, and ATF has actually been supportive. Who hasn’t? It’s FBI. FBI is in charge of finding these terrorists on U.S. soil. So FBI is the biggest hurdle to stopping the U.S. Homeland plot.”
  — Sarah Adams [21:02]
• On the Threat Within
  “Al Qaeda put a thousand in the first wave... but there’s future waves... Joe Kent says there’s 18,000 terrorists on U.S. soil.”
  — Sarah Adams [62:59]
• On Corruption of U.S. Elites
  “You stay away from the elites because they’re not good people. They’re in the positions they’re in because they’re corrupt. They commit these crimes. They’re involved in child trafficking…”
  — Sarah Adams [09:12]
• On Real Policy Drivers in the Middle East
  “If you read Epstein’s files, the person pulling the strings is Qatar... Qatar is in control of the Middle East. That’s the point.”
  — Sarah Adams [08:08]
• On the New Threat Matrix
  “Now the cells are mixed. There’s an Al Shabaab guy, an HTS guy... an ISIS guy. They’re never going to find five guys from five different groups collaborating because it’s against their assessment.”
  — Sarah Adams [49:42]

10. Timestamps for Major Segments

• Biolab Threat/FBI Vegas Raid: 00:05 – 04:00
• Epstein Files/Elite Corruption: 06:43 – 15:12
• Taliban Funding/Hostages: 22:00 – 34:51
• Homeland Plot Deep Dive: 38:41 – 68:09
• U.S. Agency Failures (FBI, Info Suppression): 21:02, 74:08, 77:34
• Iran Regime & Policy: 115:21 – 123:03
• Syria, Kurds, U.S. Duplicity: 126:38 – 132:55
• China Policy, JNIM in Africa: 133:28 – 140:21
• Anecdotes/Bureaucratic Absurdity: 145:17 – 154:38

Conclusion

This episode is a sobering, unvarnished look at the true state of terror and geopolitical threats facing the United States—contrasting the evolving adaptability of its adversaries with the self-serving inertia, denial, and internal squabbling among U.S. leadership and agencies. With biting honesty, Sarah Adams warns (and documents) how governmental failures and misplaced priorities create the very vulnerabilities that enemies are poised to exploit. The call to action is clear: recognize who (and what) the real threats are, before it’s too late.

For more on Sarah Adams’ intelligence briefings and deep-dive threat analysis, check out her podcast, The Watch Floor, on the Vigilance Elite Network.