A Strategy of Consolidation: Playing for Time?

About this episode

The episode features a debate on Wess Mitchell's proposed U.S. strategy of consolidation and its implications for American foreign policy.

Chris, Melanie, and Zack debate Wess Mitchell's proposed U.S. strategy of consolidation. They discuss whether this strategy would finally realign America's objectives with its resources. They also question the Trump administration's ability or willingness to execute such an approach. Chris commends Tom Stevenson's essay on the war in Afghanistan, Melanie questions the lack of American ambassadors worldwide, and Zack expresses frustration with the meager results of the Trump-Xi meeting. Show Links: Robbie Gramer, Trump Still Hasn't Appointed More Than 100 Ambassadors, Some to Key Allies , Wall Street Journal, May 14, 2026. Chao Deng, This Arkansas Town is Humming with the Sound of Missile Making , Wall Street Journal, May 17, 2026. Zachary Federico, Utah Breaks Down Occupational Licensing Barriers for Veterans , ALEC, May 14, 2026. Sean Hannity interview with Donald Trump , May 14, 2026. Wolfgang Munchau, Boots on the Ground is Trump's Best Option , UnHerd, May 11, 2026 Tom Stevenson, We Were Doing Well When I Left , London Review of Books, May 2026. Gil Barndollar and Jason Dempsey, Don't Believe the Generals , The Atlantic, September 2, 2022. A. Wess Mitchell, " A Grand Strategy…

People in this episode

Host: Chris

Guests: Melanie, Zack

Topics covered

• U.S. strategy
• politics
• foreign relations
• Trump administration
• ambassadors
• Afghanistan
• China

Keywords

• consolidation
• foreign policy
• Trump administration
• ambassadors
• Afghanistan
• China
• politics

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Trump administration, Wall Street Journal, ALEC, UnHerd, London Review of Books, The Atlantic, What's Going on With Shipping channel

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