The Watch Floor with Sarah Adams

Episode: About My Shawn Ryan Show Interview…

Date: February 19, 2026
Host: Sarah Adams

Overview

In this special episode, Sarah Adams reflects on her recent appearance on the Shawn Ryan Show and provides a behind-the-scenes look at the collaboration that inspired "The Watch Floor" podcast. She recaps major discussion points from her interview, including updates on global terrorism threats, homeland security, the Benghazi investigation, failures in US counterterrorism policy, and insights from her independent investigations throughout 2025. The episode is dense with actionable information for both law enforcement and civilians aiming to better understand and prepare for current threats.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Origin of The Watch Floor and Ongoing Collaboration

• Shawn Ryan’s team received persistent audience requests to have Sarah answer questions on air, leading to the launch of The Watch Floor for real-time responses and deeper dives.
• Quote:
  • “Sean just realized it doesn't really make sense to bring on Sarah every quarter. We should just have her addressing these questions in real time and getting the information out a lot quicker.” (01:00)

2. Al Qaeda’s 2025 Homeland Plot & Evolving Bomb Threats

[02:20 – 07:10]

• Discussion of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula’s (AQAP) threats against the US homeland, notably the shoe bomb’s evolution.

• US security responses have driven terrorists to continually adapt their methods.

• The risk resurfaces when officials relax vigilance:

  • Quote:
    • “Unfortunately, because it got announced by the US government that they're going to remove screening... The shoe bomb now is basically in a prototype stage... We will see an attempted shoe bomb again in the future.” (04:35)

• Importance of learning from history and maintaining vigilance.

3. Law Enforcement & The Search for Terrorists on US Soil

[07:10 – 10:10]

• FBI is tasked with identifying terrorists domestically, but no success yet with known suspects passed to them.
• Public identification of suspects (e.g., Saadi, a Somali national) as a new strategy to crowdsource vigilance.
  • Quote:
    • “None of the tariffs that we shared with the government have been found or detained on US soil. So that led us to releasing a couple of their identities publicly so everyone can get involved…” (09:10)

4. Community Preparation and Engagement

[10:10 – 11:30]

• Sarah and team conducted law enforcement briefings nationwide with partners like Dave Boone Benton and Scott Mann.
• Law enforcement and communities are urged to be proactive and aware:
  • Quote:
    • “We really want communities to know there are really great people in your communities being proactive in trying to get ahead of this threat.” (10:50)

5. National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) & Information Bottlenecks

[11:30 – 14:20]

• Joe Kent’s appointment as NCTC director allowed for more public warnings about Al Qaeda threats.
• Some fusion centers and FBI elements refused to distribute the NCTC memo, hampering local law enforcement’s situational awareness.
  • Quote:
    • “We were told in a number of cases, FBI was telling them not to share a government memo from NCTC… that the plot wasn't real, et cetera.” (13:15)

6. Frustrations with Government Response

[14:20 – 16:00]

• FBI Director reportedly dismissed warnings of Al Qaeda plotting as "clickbait."
• Al Qaeda video threats are direct and specific, contradicting downplayed government messaging.
• Objectives and goals of the current plot were discussed, with translations of explicit threats from AQ statements.
• Memorable Moment:
  • “Al Qaeda's saying, hey, we're coming. It's time once again to bring America to its knees. Right? That is their language that they're using.” (15:05)

7. Benghazi Investigation Updates

[16:00 – 18:00]

• Ongoing efforts to track and apprehend Benghazi plotters.
• Recent progress: capture of Zubair Al Bakush, but more senior terrorists remain at large and are involved in homeland plotting.
• Some Benghazi suspects reportedly have operational knowledge of terrorists already in the US.
  • Quote:
    • “There are a number of our Benghazi attackers who can name terrorists on US Soil today. And I think that's a very important thing that we don't want to lose sight of.” (17:35)

8. Failures in Syria Policy & ISIS Resurgence

[18:00 – 19:40]

• US withdrawal led to Kurd abandonment and allowed ISIS resurgence, erasing years of hard-won counterterror gains.
• Significant numbers of ISIS prisoners have been moved or released without government transparency.
  • “We've lost about 15 years of counterterrorism gains in less than a year.” (18:20)

9. Spread of Terrorism in Africa: JNIM & Civilian Impact

[19:40 – 20:30]

• Jama'a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM), Al Qaeda’s local affiliate, has become the deadliest terror group—outpacing ISIS in civilian death tolls, particularly in the Sahel.
  • “I do think last year JNIM did have the most civilian deaths of any terrorist group, which is interesting because for many years ISIS held that role.” (20:10)

10. US Domestic Concerns: Epstein and Systemic Corruption

[20:30 – 21:30]

• Discussion of ongoing frustration over lack of justice for elite-linked child abuse.
• Strong calls for accountability, harsher penalties, and government values alignment with the public.
  • “If we're just gonna give them a pass, then it just shows, you know, we're really never gonna protect children.” (21:15)

11. Major Investigations of 2025

[21:30 – 28:30]

• Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP):

  • Investigation challenges Taliban’s claims, finds half the reported senior ISKP members killed are actually alive.

  • Exposed US government’s payment of bounties for individuals not actually killed.

    • Quote:
      • “The Taliban's lying to the US Government. They even told the US Government they killed the number two of the Islamic State Khorasan Province. And… we located him three times since… and we paid them a bounty for him. So that's crazy.” (23:40)

  • Discovery that US-funded Taliban operations often result in extrajudicial killings (EJK), including of children and allies.

• Abbey Gate (Kabul Airport Attack):

  • New investigation expands the number of named terrorists responsible for the 2021 attack.
  • US Government blamed "lone wolf," but evidence points to joint ISIS-Haqqani Network operation.

• Hamza bin Laden and “Dead” Terrorists:

  • Released new photos of Hamza bin Laden alive despite prior US government claims.
  • Outed other high-profile terrorists believed dead but found to be alive:
    • “I'd say I found out in the last two to three years, 20 terrorists in Afghanistan, that when I was in the US government, we received information that they were dead. Well, this is a really scary thing when you think about it, because that means something's compromised somewhere.” (27:00)

12. Looking Forward: Audience Engagement & Upcoming Topics

• Sarah promises to address additional listener questions, including Al Qaeda’s aviation plot, in future episodes—emphasizing ongoing crowdsourced inquiry and audience value.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “None of the tariffs that we shared with the government have been found or detained on US soil. So that led us to releasing a couple of their identities publicly so everyone can get involved…” (09:10)
• “We will see an attempted shoe bomb again in the future. That's what happens. It's that give and take, when you forget why [security] procedures [are] in place and you forget your history.” (04:50)
• “The Taliban's lying to the US Government… and we paid them a bounty for him. So that’s crazy.” (23:40)
• “If we're just gonna give them a pass, then it just shows, you know, we're really never gonna protect children.” (21:15)
• “I'd say I found out in the last two to three years, 20 terrorists in Afghanistan, that when I was in the US government, we received information that they were dead. Well, this is a really scary thing...” (27:00)

Timestamps by Segment

• 01:00 – Origins of Watch Floor & Collaboration with Shawn Ryan
• 02:20 – Al Qaeda’s evolving homeland plot
• 04:30 – Shoe bomb threat resurfaces
• 07:10 – Law enforcement, FBI, and public hunt for suspects
• 09:10 – Public release of terrorist identities
• 10:50 – Community and law enforcement preparedness
• 11:30 – Joe Kent’s NCTC memo and info-sharing failure
• 13:15 – FBI blocks plot information dissemination
• 15:05 – Al Qaeda’s explicit threats in their own words
• 16:00 – Benghazi investigation updates
• 18:00 – Failures of US Syria policy & ISIS resurgence
• 19:40 – JNIM’s deadly operations in Africa
• 20:30 – Epstein and US corruption frustrations
• 21:30–28:30 – 2025 major investigations: ISKP, Abbey Gate, “dead” terrorists
• 29:00 – Listener Q&A and tease for future episodes

Tone & Style

Sarah Adams’ style is direct, urgent, factual, and often candidly critical of US government processes and failures. She urges proactive citizenship, crowd-sourced vigilance, and a return to foundational values both for safety and accountability.

[End of summary.]