Still Fighting America's direct participation in foreign wars largely ends when troops are withdrawn from Afghanistan in 2021. But America remains the principal backer of Ukraine, in its fight to stave off Russian invasion. Despite US aid totaling $200 billion, however, Ukraine is gradually stripped of its infrastructure by Russian missile and drone attacks. If Russia succeeds, it will mark the first time in 80 years that borders have been moved through naked aggression. Note that, except for the Ukraine War, most conflict is occurring in Muslim-majority countries.

	Simmering Conflict The ORANGE dots indicate conflicts tracked by the US State Department as of 2020. These include all the small incidents that don't usually appear on other maps, and are almost invisible in the mainstream news. The GREEN ovals indicate large regions of dense conflict which go largely unnoticed. There is occasional news coverage of drug wars in Mexico, for instance, but few Americans are aware of the intensity of the activity, which makes the map of this area one huge blaze of violence. This helps explain the flood of refugees toward the southern US border, attempting to escape the violence. Muslim-Hindu conflict in India sometimes makes the news, but look at the map. The conflict in Russia, China and all over South America is scarcely ever mentioned.
	Raw Deal This map helps explain why Muslim countries are beset with more than their share of conflict, and seem to be the world's primary breeding ground of terrorism. They occupy land which is astonishingly starved of natural bounty. The BROWN areas indicate Muslim-majority zones, which are also among the world's least productive food-producing regions. The areas with GREEN highlights are the prime zones. It's as if Africa was somehow overlooked by a distracted God when all the farming land was distributed.
	Arab Oil This map shows both oil production AND oil consumption on the same map. Most maps show only one or the other, but by showing BOTH we get a picture of NET oil exports or imports, which is the critical factor.  All the circles have GRAY centers, indicating oil that is neither exported nor imported. This is the oil consumed in the home country from its own internal sources. The GREEN rings indicate surplus oil, in excess of the GRAY amount consumed internally. This can be exported to produce income. RED rings show oil that must be imported, because not enough is produced at home. Countries that have GRAY circles, without any GREEN or RED, are balanced. They burn as much as they produce. Note where most of the GREEN is located.
	Economic Rival China is now America's most robust competitor, pursuing economic (rather than military) confrontation. China continues to supply most of the inexpensive items sold by America's biggest retailers, like Walmart. The resulting trade imbalance is a continuing drain on American wealth. But China has no interest in accumulating additional American currency, which gradually loses value, so it converts dollar payments into US Treasury bills, which generate substantial interest payments. China benefits by gaining leverage against America, while pocketing the interest. But China has its own problems, most glaringly evident in its array of empty 'ghost cities,' financed (somewhat suspiciously) by the government. This signals trouble ahead.
	Tough Guys Another deeply disturbing trend, for liberals at least, is the growing prominence of 'strong-man' authoritarian regimes. Often mirroring the tactics of Hitler and Stalin, these modern dictators first originated in communist regimes in Asia, but have also appeared in Hungary and Turkey. America is now joining most of Europe in swinging towards right-wing leadership. With the re-election of President Trump, despite glaring evidence of non-democratic tendencies, America is heading down a dangerous path.