The Conflicted Patriot

Charting American Power and Purpose at the Water's Edge

I’ve tried my best to compartmentalize the titanic shifts in global and U.S. politics from my supposedly-serious, expertise-bounded, day-to-day work as an American national security professional.

As someone who was taught that politics stops at the water’s edge, I continue to work across the aisle to make this country more secure and prosperous, and provide for a more just and peaceful world.

I’ve found writing to be a helpful outlet as I wrestle with an increasingly challenging mission: advancing American interests without participating in the struggle to define them.

This Substack will serve as a sort of public journal—a place to comment on the commentariat.

Maybe you’ll find it cathartic or illuminating, too.