Only the KGB could sow the seeds of a dysfunctional U.S. government.

It is no exaggeration to conclude that America’s government and political system are in a state of extraordinary dysfunction perhaps not seen since 1861. The evidence is overwhelming.

Two presidential candidates that most Americans would not want are running for the office. One of them declares that Democrats, independents, and even former officials are unfit for any office. The other is considered too old and disabled to be president by the majority of Americans, regardless of party.

When it comes to Congress, Will Rogers’ astute observations offer a more optimistic view of what’s happening today.

“In Congress, every time we make a joke, it’s a law, and every time we enact a law, it becomes a joke,” Rogers said. Today, Congress appears incapable of passing legislation, let alone a coherent bill, to address the nation’s most pressing crises: the border crisis, the war in Ukraine, and aid to Israel and Taiwan.

The Senate passed a border exemption bill to address these issues, but House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) said it was not enough and cast doubt on its passage. What will happen remains to be seen. But as long as Donald Trump controls his party through fear, border issues may not be addressed until after the election.

How the United States came to this government collapse is a mystery. But here’s a thought experiment. Suppose that secret Soviet and Russian documents exposed the true villain of our disease, the KGB. One of the reasons why this discord can only be the result of his KGB and its predecessors is that no country could be foolish enough to allow such discord to arise naturally. is.

Felix Dzerzhinsky is well known to Soviet scholars. Dzerzhinsky, the brilliant son of a Polish aristocracy, became Lenin’s right-hand man in charge of the KGB and the feared Cheka, the forerunner of Russia’s Federal Security Service and Foreign Intelligence Service.

Almost 100 years ago, under Dzerzhinsky, Soviet agents began recruiting people abroad who would unwittingly become “useful fools” in promoting the interests of the Soviet Union and, by extension, Russia. Then, in the post-Cold War world, in addition to exploiting human resources, Russia became adept at manipulation through social media.

One example is that Russia, along with Dominic Cummins and Boris Johnson’s Rasputin, helped persuade more than a million unregistered voters in the UK to support Brexit and vote to leave the European Union.

Now let’s take this thought experiment a step further. If the Mueller Report on Alleged Russian Influence Against Donald Trump had reached its logical conclusion as a basis for indictment, following the recommendations in its third part, the charge of “collusion,” which is not a crime, would be a crime. It would have been a crime of conspiracy.

One reason it wasn’t was probably because Vladimir Putin wanted Trump to be president. If this is true, the hypothetical secret is that Soviet/Russian agents were infiltrating both the Democratic and Republican parties with money, women, and other incentives, and were doing the same to Congress. Was it revealed by the documents?

Beyond the thought experiment, the truth is that only Americans could allow this to happen. But back to reality, the November election could be catastrophic if Biden and Trump become the nominees of their respective parties. The fact that the president is determined by the Electoral College rather than the popular vote means that the winner could once again be determined by a small number of electoral districts in a small number of states. Trump’s claims that the 2020 election was stolen, which have been disproven in dozens of court cases, will continue throughout this election cycle.

The results will be so close that recounts and lawsuits over election fraud may prevent the president from being certified until after January 20th. Who will run the government then? Speaker of the House of Representatives.

What should I do to return to Lenin? This is another, more original thought experiment. Both Biden and Trump must withdraw from the race. To do that, one of the major trials against Trump would require a conviction and a prison sentence before the election. Trump plans to appeal, but a conviction could end his candidacy.

Now that Trump is gone, Biden’s claim that he is the only one who can defeat Trump no longer matters. Who replaces Biden is less important than the future of Vice President Kamala Harris. Given her unpopularity, her compromise would be for her to remain on the ticket as number two.

It is unclear who will replace Trump. And in this thought experiment, who could pull off this double coup?

There’s only one organization that can do that: the KGB. And for better or worse, it doesn’t exist anymore.

Dr. Harlan Ullman He is a senior advisor to the Atlantic Council and the primary author of the “Shock and Awe” military doctrine. His 12th book, The Fifth Horseman and the New MAD: How Massive Attacks of Disruption Became the Pooming Existential Danger to a Divided Nation and the World at General, is available for purchase on Amazon. Twitter/X: @harlankullman.