"It was the best of times. It was the worst of times."
This quote from Dickens' "Tale of Two Cities" pretty much sums up human history and all its drama, conflicts, and wars.
History has one big rule; ALL empires must fall no matter whether it be by the pen or by the sword. That is no different today than it was in the time of the Greeks, the Romans, et.al. Right now, we are seeing that transition just as it was seen in 1918 and again in 1946 and again in 1991.
Right now, there is a power vaccuum. This vaccuum has ultimately lead to and caused the issues we are currently facing. The rise of these terror/narco states and their ability to obtain modern weapons and training is a major part of this. One thing ANY empire cannot show to the rest of the world is weakness. This encourages these terror/narco states to become emboldened and more powerful and causes the allies of that empire to lose faith in its ability. This leads to disaster in all cases.
Examples: two small nations few had ever heard of back in 1914...an Archduke of a dying empire...and a terrorist with a .32 caliber FN. Everyone chose up sides with the results we all know. Move that same group of nations up a quarter century, only in this case add weakness and cowardace and the same old story all over again. Mankind has had far more near misses than will ever be generally known. One day, the luck will run out. It doesn't matter, who, what where, when, or why.
Sometimes, you just must let the river run its course. There is nothing any of us here can do about any of the situations in the world. All we can do is try to make our little part of it better than when we left it. We can prepare, strategize, and think all we want. But in the end it isn't up to us. That is why I lose no sleep on these matters.
Not being political in the least...just merely what human history shows us. The sad part is we as a people seem to ignore it.
In closing and in regards to the media, I would direct you again to history as I have written on here in the past involving Joseph Pulitzer, William Randolph Hearst, and the warship USS Maine and you will see just where the media has ALWAYS stood.