Eric and Eliot discuss VP Vance's trip to Greenland and his appointment by the President to oversee the purging of American history at the Smithsonian and other museums. They also discuss who the biggest loser will be from Signalgate. They consider an excellent diplomatic memoir from the 1960s written by former Ambassador and Under Secretary of State Robert "Bob" Murphy -- Diplomat Among Warriors. Murphy pioneered the role of Political Advisor (POLAD) for military leaders working closely with Generals Dwight Eisenhower and Mark Clark on the invasion and subsequent governance of North Africa, Sicily and Italy and then worked with General Lucius Clay on the military government of Germany. They note Murphy's controversial role in maintaining diplomatic relations with the Vichy government of France and negotiating a deal with French Admiral Darlan to smooth the way for the invasion of North Africa. They also discuss critics like AJP Taylor who complained that the US had no policy during World War II and whether FDR's desire to postpone political decisions until after the war was naive or reflected a higher realism given the likely dominant role the US would have at the end of the war. They conclude that Murphy represents an important tradition of professionalism and subject matter expertise in government that is well worth preserving.
Diplomat Among Warriors: The Unique World Of A Foreign Service Expert:
Shield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast cosponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia.
Great chat by these gents, as usual. I will read this and I also picked up “Midnight in Moscow” after they interviewed John Sullivan. Between these and Navalny’s “Patriot” I will be busy reading about steely folks with vision and courage. Hmmm, I wonder why …
I could not find a copy for $1.85 but did find one for very reasonable $12.91. Thank you, as always, for a wonderful, informative episode.
Thank-you for the great show. I enjoy learning about the interesting parts of history that are not taught or known by the general population. I have learned a lot by listening to historical fiction, such as the Fall of Giants trilogy by Ken Follet, and WEB Griffin series about and around WWII. He has a series leading up to the war and a series about the military occupation of Germany following the war. The things that are not popularly known. so I would enjoy hearing about the Revolution, particularly lesser known but important events.
Eliot: Glenmorangie, Laphroiag, or Glenfiddich?
Eliot: Committed to the Mockery! I applaud your choice!
Trump cares about "deals" yet he is a failed businessman, he failed at running a casino, a license to print money, which is why he appeared on "The Apprentice". He had nothing else to do. So, the illusion that he is a "deal maker" is central to his being.
That said, all he has is his ability to bully people, abuse his authority and illegally and unconstitutionally use our government for his own purposes. He should hang with all GOP congressmen for their treason, their unconstitutional behavior, breaking their oath to defend the constitution.
Great show, but I had to listen in 3 segments. Densely insightful.
Such a good show - every week! Can’t wait for the next one! Thank you for sharing your knowledge and insights!
I don't think Ardent Skabbs was on purpose, but it's freaking great.
What bottles did you buy, Eliot?
Your use of the word ‘capricious’ brought to mind the following: “ He [manifests] but little deference for his fellows, impatient of restraint or advice when it conflicts with his desires, at times pertinaciously obstinate, but yet capricious and vacillating, devising many plans of future operation, which are no sooner arranged than they are abandoned in turn for others appearing more feasible. A child in his intellectual capacity and manifestations, he has the animal passions of a strong man.” This is a description, by his physician, of the celebrated neurological patient Phineas Gage, after an eleven pound iron bar had been blown through the front of his brain on the 13th September 1848.
A thought about the comments about our country devolving into an authoritarian government like Orban's Hungary. Our country has never been under a dictatorship, like the history of the European countries or have really been a dictatorship to another country so the loonies, here, wanting to follow that path don't really have the experience of how to go about it. I am sure some of the minions such as Stephan Miller and Vought have read books about the process but as much as I used to read voraciously on various subjects, reading about Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" does not make me some kind of expert on the art of war. I would posit that the rapid dismantling of our intuitions makes me think that they do not take the lessons of the occupation of Iraq, dismantling of the whole of the army and civilian police forces, to heart. Erdogan and Orban slowly slowly caught the monkey and therefore were able to corrupt their institutions to their benefit. This administration, as has been pointed out more than once on your podcast and The Bulwark in general, has fundamentally changed this country and I hope there is someone or a group of someones thinking about how to modernize our Constitution when we pass through this time of horrors. We will pass through but it will probably take a generation or two to get back to some form of representative government. No guarantee though, as the Assyrians probably couldn't imagine their passing.
Eric, why is Elliot no longer your partner in "strategery"?
Rapidity becoming one of my favorite pods and antidote to brain mush and depression 😊
As a regular part of the “Shield of the Republic” I would enjoy a brief history of an event leading up to the Revolutionary War and the founding of our country. Tying those events, such as the Suffolk Resolves response to the British Intolerable Acts, to present day responses to the Tyranny of Trump could also inspire. Hopefully.
Ambassador, I really prefer "strategery." I genuinely hold my breath to see if you are going to"strategy" or "strategery" because there are fewer of us who recognize the reference.
One of the few bright spots this morning, lol.
If the tariffs are supposed to pay for the uber rich tax cuts, why demolish Social Security?
I suspect DOGE and the cuts are less about the math and more about creating a vague appearance or impression that we can do tax cuts because they’ve trimmed so much (fictitious) waste fraud and abuse. The they’ll lie about what the CBO scores say or say it’s the deep state. It’s always about the show and not the substance with these people
the tariffs won't bring in anywhere near the money they claim. Especially if they work right.....they would decrease revenue. Its all a ploy to pass the Massive Tax cut with a made up "offset" which is required for reconcilliation.
I kept wondering why they were decimating Social Security if the tariffs were going to pay for those extravagant tax cuts to the uber rich. Now it makes better sense if the tariffs are an offset. Thank you for clarifying that.
Social Security is the bank....the real money. They asked Willie Sutton a famous bank robber why he robbed banks and he said....because that's where the money is. Even though its scheduled to go into the red right now there's basically a river of money going in there every week with the "payroll" tax. Trillions and that continues on into the future
Thank you. I get it. I just wish it wasn't so.