Good, Chaotic and Public
A real introduction to Non-State Actress
BLUF: Non-State Actress is a regularly (1-2 times a week) published newsletter diving into national security, defense, and foreign policy in a way that is intentionally culturally relevant and accessible. I’ll focus on the events, topics, and questions that I think are important AND those that are submitted by readers and others. Each post will start with a BLUF (Bottom Line Up Front), end with links on additional resources, and be hyperlinked throughout since we all come with different knowledge. The first series, starting later this week, will be on Afghanistan and the Afghan Adjustment Act.
Good, Public and Chaotic
I’ve been eating a lot of soup and listening to a lot of NPR for the last week - especially Fresh Air.
Soup is my comfort food (specifically this roasted tomato and white bean NYT recipe) and NPR is one of my comfort sounds (I also recommend this Maria Callas performance).
Fresh Air is also somewhat aspirational for me, I admit. While I am fortunate in that I’ve been ‘on’ NPR three times, including last week, Fresh Air remains in the distance as something to strive for.
I cannot imagine a more clear definition of grand success than being interviewed on Fresh Air by Terry Gross. It isn’t about the recognition, it’s about Terry Gross and the Fresh Air team deciding you have something of value to share with other people that may enrich their lives.
That you have a contribution to benefit people you don’t even know that is so important, so vital, it should be made available as a Public Good.
Contributing to the Public Good is the ultimate indication of Mensch-dom1.
As a proud Chaotic Good, I severely prioritize actions I believe to be righteous regardless of their relationship to practicality or social norms. And the last few days have been tough, so like I said I’m eating a lot of soup and listening to a lot of NPR and opera.
The days have been tough because last week, Congress failed to pass the Afghan Adjustment Act, meaning over 70,000 Afghans who fled their homes over the last year are at risk of suddenly being in the United States illegally through no fault of their own. This is the latest in institutionally and morally catastrophic outcomes fueling Non-State Actress’ existence.
National Security but Not Boring
‘National Security but Not Boring.’ The NSA tagline, an homage to one of the brightest strategic leaders of our time, and an acknowledgement of the challenge ahead.
To be honest, national security is far from boring. It also gets inappropriately characterized, I think intentionally, as “too complicated for the average American to understand.” This is so wildly offensive and deeply harmful to the democratic institutions I love that I lose sleep over it – truly.
National security is marketed as a cross between Dr. Strangelove – white men in suits talking to other white men in suits in a tone that underscores how little power, influence, and knowledge the rest of us supposedly have, and Jack Ryan – additional white men in stretchy yet business-like pants jumping through windows to protect secrets and programs we Wouldn’t Understand. As a result, the civilian-military divide and its assorted thematic cousins grow wider, we become more separated from one another, and the distance between us and the institutions that enable society becomes so significant we forget that WE are The People and the government is not run by lizards or human/lizard hybrids2.
All because of branding, and the assumption that people do not care and I am so utterly bored with both.
Time for a Make Over
Branding is an incredible instrument of power. It – alongside communications, is often poo-pooed in national security land in the same way having purple hair is seen as frivolous at best. But my goodness if branding isn’t the difference between Mrs. Bucket and Mrs. Bouquet…or, public affairs and psychological operations (psyops).
Branding means understanding what It is, what It looks like, and what It needs to be in a way that gets you there – wherever there is. Branding is the execution and the How.
How we reach people does not only impact outcomes, but also if they will hear us at all. These days, the national security apparatus isn’t reaching enough people, let alone sticking around to hear what they say back to us. In doing so we’re eating away at our democratic institutions and undermining our values and credibility.
Knowing we have a problem is not enough though, we must do better.
As I mentioned, the Afghan Adjustment Act failed to make it into law last week. The ramifications are earth-shattering for families and puts America’s credibility, values, and interests at additional and avoidable risk. And that is, in part, my fault.
Was it the responsibility of the House and Senate to pass the Afghan Adjustment Act as a standalone piece of legislation, include it in the Fiscal Year 2023 Omnibus Budget, or add it to the Budget via floor amendment , through power and authority granted only to them?
Absolutely.
And their failure to do so, to even bring it to the floor for a vote, is an embarrassment, a tragedy, and a mark of shame on each one of them. Truly. And I have told several of them so.
But just like they had their role to play, I had mine. My failure to embrace that role had real repercussions for people I care about, institutions I adore and the country I am grateful for – which brings us (finally) to the purpose of Non-State Actress!
With great power comes great responsibility, and I am ready to be responsible.
I’ve spent the overwhelming majority of the last 15 months focused on the evacuation and resettlement of a group of families that are quite dear to me. While I was legally responsible for approximately 316 people, I was blessed with the opportunity to help thousands more flee imminent violence. I am acutely aware of the multigenerational cost of what happens when America and its people fail to be the warm beacon of welcoming light it promises to be, there is not a day that goes by that I am not grateful for being able to be the person I wish there were more of in the 1930s and 40s.
I know I am a gifted communicator, that I have a knack for building things and getting people to move forward together. Even in 7th grade, my then-English teacher Mark DiGiacomo (who is probably reading this, lol ) sketched the following, during one of my many existential crises re: what will I do with my life:
(Yes, this is framed and it is in my house ~20 years later.)
I am responsible for the failure of the Afghan Adjustment Act because I was so afraid of making the targeting and harassment I experienced worse, of being told to shut up because I wasn’t a member of the military, that I didn’t speak up in all the ways I know how to.
Despite intellectually and morally knowing better, I let others run the show The ‘Washington’ Way even when I knew something different was required and their version of Washington didn’t even include Go-Go or mumbo sauce. Instead of proactively meeting the all-important American people where they are and using my expertise to offer them a chance to understand, to care, and to act, I kept my mouth shut.
I did not fully embrace what is required of a mensch.
I failed.
Coming to terms with failure is hard, especially when you’ve hurt people you care about. I have an enormous amount of practice at it and it’s still hard! It’s messy, it’s non-linear, and it takes a lot of work. It requires more than an acknowledgement of missing the mark and an apology, it requires a new way forward, too. Non-State Actress is part of my coming to terms.
Strong democratic institutions require checks and balances, and those can only exist in an informed society. Even the people who find me most irritating agree I am a gifted communicator, capable builder, and ‘relentless af,’ in the words of *two* CJCS. With great power comes great responsibility, and I am ready to be responsible.
Welcome to Non-State Actress
We cannot build OR maintain the force and institutions we desperately need without a healthy democracy and that means I need to bring my expertise and skills to the fight. So, hi!
Going forward, Non-State Actress will be a short, regularly (1-2 times a week) published newsletter diving into national security, defense, and foreign policy in a way that is intentionally culturally relevant and accessible. I’ll focus on the events, topics, and questions that I think are important AND those that are submitted by readers and others. Each issue will kick off with a BLUF and close out with suggestions on where to learn more. I’ll also hyperlink throughout to make sure we’re defining terms - and cultural references - as clearly possible.
This first focus area?
Afghanistan.
Specifically, I’ll cover the US’ withdrawal from Afghanistan and return of Taliban control, the evacuation and resettlement of Afghans in America, why the Afghan Adjustment Act failed to pass, the impact that failure has on our national security, and how to fix it.
(Don’t worry, there will be separate posts for each.)
I will help people care and act by allowing them a chance to understand first.
In addition to this Substack, I am working on a book and expanded digital resource. Non-State Actress: The Book will be a cross between ‘Our Bodies, Our Selves’ and Schoolhouse Rock for national security in the digital age for non-experts – primarily millennial and gen-z women. I’ll get more into the details of this later…after my wonderful agent sorts through the masses of pages I’ve sent her and doesn’t fire me from my own project 🙃.
The first in the Non-State Actress series, the Afghanistan Explainer, starts out later this week and I would love for you to help me spread the word. I’ll be firing up the formatting and different sections of the Substack including the topic submission form over the next few weeks.
Here’s to showing up 🦄.
Mensch is a Yiddish word and translates literally to “a good person.” Not in the ‘good, better, best’ sense of the word though, good meaning someone who acts with intentional kindness, honor, and integrity. I could write volumes on what it really means to be a mensch but I’m trying to stay focused…and there’s also the Talmud.
This is a conspiracy theory, and categorically false.