The Beast of the Day is in the Kitchen

It should leave

Good Evening:

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Monday on #DogShirtTV, the estimable Holly Berkley Fletcher and I welcomed the estimable Will Saletan for a celebration of the life of Lindsey Graham:

On the topic of obituaries that really do justice to the genre, estimable Greek Chorus member Peter Brownlee directs our attention to Hugh Massingberd, former obituaries editor of the Daily Telegraph. The New York Times obituary for Massingberd includes some examples of his work:

[D]uring Mr. Massingberd’s tenure, observers widely agreed, every obit in the paper bore his droll, distinctive stamp. Naturally, he covered the presidents, kings and captains of industry who are the grist of obit pages everywhere. But Mr. Massingberd also sought out eccentrics; having the good fortune to live in Britain, he found them.

One Daily Telegraph obituary, from 1991, opened this way: “The Third Lord Moynihan, who has died in Manila, aged 55, provided through his character and career ample ammunition for critics of the hereditary principle. His chief occupations were bongo drummer, confidence trickster, brothel-keeper, drug-smuggler and police informer.”

Another, from 1988, memorialized Peter Langan, a London restaurateur: “Often he would pass out amid the cutlery before doing any damage, but occasionally he would cruise menacingly beneath the tables, biting unwary customers’ ankles.”

The very best of Massingberd’s obituaries are apparently collected in this book. I may have to acquire a copy.

Today on #DogShirtTV, the estimable Mike Feinberg and I discussed Hannah Arendt, and the estimable Holly Berkley Fletcher discussed the distinctive political category of white evangelicals:

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Recently On Lawfare

Compiled by the estimable Sarah Willrich

The Purge: How the White House Broke the NSC and How to Fix It

Julia Curlee explains why firings at the National Security Council (NSC) are critical to understanding the foreign policy of the second Trump administration. Curlee describes how the administration’s purge of career staff dismantled the NSC’s ability to coordinate decision-making between different agencies, clearing the way for a foreign policy that moves faster, considers fewer options, and relies on political loyalty rather than expertise.

NSC staff require a specific kind of knowledge and rigor that political loyalty cannot supply. A director managing the Iran portfolio needs to know how the CIA structures a covert action finding, how the Pentagon builds a target package, and how the Treasury Department writes sanctions designations to survive judicial review. That working knowledge exists in no manual or organization chart, takes 12 to 18 months to acquire on the job, and rests on competencies built over careers. This expertise determines whether a president’s policy direction turns into executable options or aspirational statements agencies cannot implement.

These competencies exist in a person—and when the person is walked off the compound, they walk out with them.

The U.S.-Iran MOU and the Future of Maritime Shipping Through the Strait of Hormuz

Liron Libman analyzes the U.S.’s memorandum of understanding with Iran and its implications for the Strait of Hormuz. The memorandum, Libman argues, offers little clarity about what Iran (or the U.S.) can and cannot do, perpetuating an ambiguity that endangers traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and freedom of navigation more broadly.

To be sure, the memorandum appears to impose one limitation: Any future arrangement must be “in line with applicable international law,” but given the well-known disagreement between Iran and most of the world over what international law requires in the Strait of Hormuz, this formulation does little more than kick the can down the road.

U.S. v. Ullah and the Problem With the ‘Lone Wolf’

Peter Beck, Troy Edwards, Alexandra Hughes, and Barry Jonas analyze the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit’s decision in U.S. v. Ullah, which held that Akayed Ullah, who attempted a suicide bombing inspired by ISIS in 2017, could not be charged with providing material support to a terrorist organization. The authors posit that the decision substantially undermines a critical instrument the Justice Department needs to prosecute lone wolf actors, which is particularly concerning as terrorist groups increasingly turn to digital channels to inspire recruits.

The decision has significant implications for future material support investigations and prosecutions. Many terrorists do not directly communicate with FTOs. Far from being “lone wolves,” though, they facilitate or, worse, directly carry out violent acts following instructions FTOs provide, spreading FTO symbols and messages, and doing it all in the FTOs’ names. After Ullah, absent another federal offense, investigators and prosecutors may have their hands tied until these kinds of subjects either attempt to, or succeed in, making direct contact with a terrorist group, commit another violation, or commit the attack itself. This may result in longer, riskier investigations and will require law enforcement to have sufficient investigative tripwires in place to know when subjects’ conduct establishes an arrestable offense. This article discusses the Ullah prosecution, the material support statute designed to stop terrorists earlier, and the potential ramifications of this decision for future counterterrorism cases.

GAO Goes After State (Again) for Treaty Practice

Duncan B. Hollis unpacks the Government Accountability Office’s recent report finding that the State Department significantly delayed reporting U.S. international agreements to Congress and the public. Hollis explains the State Department’s failure to meet its Case Act reporting requirements is due to systemic issues, such as an out-of-date website and high administrative burdens, but emphasizes that despite these problems, such reporting is critical to maintaining transparency in U.S. foreign policy.

I’m not sure the State Department has earned the benefit of the doubt given the decades of difficulties it has had in meeting the Case-Zablocki Act’s requirements. If the need to get agencies to confirm their own compliance is novel, history suggests such novelty is warranted. Short of funding delays, there are insufficient incentives to report treaties. The reality is that careers get made in negotiating and concluding agreements, but reporting them to Congress is a thankless, entirely administrative task.

Podcasts

Lawfare Daily: The Trials of the Trump Administration, Jul 10: I sit down with Eric Columbus, Anna Bower, Molly Roberts, and Roger Parloff to discuss the Justice Department settling a second suit with Michael Flynn, developments in the E. Jean Carroll litigation, the D.C. Circuit denying a stay pending appeal of the order to take Trump’s name off the Kennedy Center, and more.

Lawfare Daily: Taking Stock of the Ukraine-Russia Talks: Mykhailo Soldatenko sits down with Eric Ciaramella and Samuel Charap to take stock of the U.S.-led negotiations between Ukraine and Russia. They discuss the improvements in Ukraine’s position, the structure of the negotiations, territorial questions, and security commitments to Ukraine.

Scaling Laws: New Paths to Social Mobility with Joe Seddon: Joe Seddon joins Kevin Frazier to discuss artificial intelligence (AI), social mobility, higher education, and the future of opportunity. They explore whether AI can scale the kinds of guidance and tutoring that have historically been available only to students with strong networks, the role of universities in preparing students for an AI-transformed labor market, and whether AI will disrupt entry-level white-collar work.

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Today’s #BeastOfTheDay is the mouse, seen here nibbling on the body of Christ in c. 1185:

Image Source

I am not going to tell you how to honor today’s Beast. Today’s Beast deserves no honor. Today’s Beast has taken up residence in my kitchen, and it can honor me by departing before I kill it.