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CIA Veteran Says World War III Already Underway Through Proxy Nations

Everyday Spy · CIA Spy: Give me 20 minutes and I'll delete your fear of failure · June 29, 2026
CIA Veteran Says World War III Already Underway Through Proxy Nations
Everyday Spy
Everyday Spy
CIA Spy: Give me 20 minutes and I'll delete your fear of failure
"I think World War III is already happening. I think World War III is not what people think it was going to be. It's a war of proxy nations. It's a war where smaller third world countries are competing against each other, and they're being funded by larger countries that are actually in conflict with one another."
The former intelligence officer declared that World War III is currently in progress, manifesting not as direct superpower confrontation but through proxy conflicts in smaller nations funded by larger powers. He cited Ukraine-Russia and the anticipated Taiwan-China conflict as examples of this new form of global warfare between the West and rival powers.

About this episode

In this episode of Diary of a CEO, host Steven Bartlett interviewed a former CIA operative who left the agency in 2014 after serving as an undercover officer. The conversation opened with revelations about CIA recruitment strategy, with the guest claiming the agency actively targets individuals with anxiety disorders because they possess heightened observational skills and natural paranoia that function as operational superpowers. The operative disclosed details about stress inoculation training methods used to reprogram fear responses in agents over months of controlled exercises at the Farm. Moving to geopolitics, the guest made the striking forecast that US-China economic parity—which he considers inevitable—will make both countries the most dangerous places on Earth as they become each other's primary targets, prompting his decision to relocate his family out of America by 2027. He declared that World War III is already underway through proxy conflicts like Ukraine-Russia, funded by larger powers avoiding direct confrontation. The conversation turned philosophical when discussing identity and human nature, with the former spy claiming true equality is impossible because people secretly seek advantage while publicly advocating for equality, and accusing politicians of deliberately perpetuating this lie to maintain control. He and his wife both resigned from the CIA in 2014 due to incompatibility between the 16-hour workdays of middle management and their desire to be present parents to their one-year-old child. Throughout, he emphasized that taking imperfect action beats waiting, arguing that most people remain paralyzed by fear while the few who move forward gain insurmountable advantages.

Key takeaways

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