Two former CIA officers argue over which threats America should fear most — a debate that's alarming on terrorism but reassuring that experts still clash on the basics.

• Both agree China is the top danger — the country they say could end democracy worldwide and wants the US as a junior partner, not an equal.
• They split hard on Islam: one calls it a minor threat easily stopped by US security, the other warns of thousands of suspected terrorists who crossed the border and a Muslim Brotherhood running quiet influence campaigns.
• One claims Bin Laden's sons are planning an attack three times deadlier than 9/11 — bombing a dozen airliners plus a Mumbai-style siege on Washington — while the other dismisses it as unproven.
• They also clash on Israel: one sees it as a bigger risk than Russia, able to drag the US into wars through false-flag operations; the other says Israel is too small to matter and blames terrorists for pulling America in.
• The Israel fight ties to real costs — higher oil prices and global distrust of US leadership after the Iran conflict and October 7th.

Outlook: No agreement in sight — the terror-attack warning is unverified, but the deep split shows US security thinking is fractured on where the real dangers lie.