Deepstate for Dummies

reading Lee Smith's Disappearing the President

The Deep State may be attractive shorthand to refer to unelected powers that control the affairs of state behind the scenes, it also is a problematic term, in my opinion. Like all concepts lacking a clear definition – I call these noncepts -, they do not invite concrete (counter-)action, for the simple reason that it is unclear against what and whom action could be taken. This betrays an unspoken defeatism, inherent in the inclusion of this mystery factor in our worldview. Lee Smith’s book is dedicated to the identification of the persons, organizations, and mechanisms underlying the noncept, opening up ways for us to deal with the powers-that-seem-to-be, and introduce checks where due.

Lee Smith calls the Deep State the Shadow Network, and traces a number of their activities, mainly from the 2016 through the 2024 election cycle. Part of the story reaches farther back. This is the case for the neo-institution of the internet (including ‘social’ media). That the world wide web, originally the product of the DoF, was a tool for the management of change abroad became glaringly clear during the Arab Spring, starting in 2010. Whether the application of this tool was even a limited success is a fair question if we consider that the phenomenon brought about the takeover of Egypt by the Muslim Brotherhood and led to the Syrian civil war (still ongoing, if we’re honest) which caused half a million civilian deaths in the country. These dubious trophies, however, did not keep Obama from using the same information infrastructure for the control and influencing of the domestic political playing field. With great rhetorical effect, Smith introduces us to the January 5^th Conspiracy (of 2017, mere weeks before Trump’s first inauguration), when Obama laid the groundwork for a systematic sabotage campaign against his successor’s administration.

The propaganda side of this campaign focused on the elaboration of the ‘Russia hoax’, the play-for-pay smear document organized through former British spy, Steele. Whereas the accusation against the Trump campaign may have been utilized more specifically to – successfully - drown out any indignation over the corruption within the DNC that had been revealed, it was given endless new lives, whenever the aspersion of links between Trump and the Kremlin was deemed effective to weaken the President’s position. The damage the hoax has caused to US foreign policy and our interests abroad is unfathomable, in particular where it regards the war in Ukraine. Not only are Trump’s policies automatically seen from this perspective by the opposition (which ideologically includes most of the ruling parties in Europe), a faction has formed on the Right responding to the aspersions with glee, claiming Moscow’s dictator as their natural ally. Contributing factors to this bizarre development have been the Vindman accusations and the ties of the Bidens to Burysma, unmitigated by the fact that the Burysma ownership leads to Russia, not Ukraine. For clarity: the latter observations are mine, not Smith’s, but a point of critique I have for him does touch on the same topic. When describing the 2014 Maidan Revolution, Smith consolidates the idea that has taken shape on the Right that it was the US and the EU that decided for the Ukrainians on a path more aligned with them than with Russia. The problem with these takes (and we see the Left do the same with their favorite ‘anti-colonial’ fan projects) is that we only attribute agency to ourselves. The idea that Ukrainians perhaps have a legitimate interest in detaching themselves from the Russian oligarchosphere is lost and forgotten. And so are the criminal actions of the Russian regime, including not only the shooting of Maidan protestors, but ominous actions such as the poisoning of Ukrainian presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko with dioxin in 2004, the Russian invasion of Moldova (in 1990) and of Georgia (in 2008). But let us return to Smith’s book.

Chapter by chapter, Smith describes the mechanisms, often based on informal networks of (agency) professionals, used to maintain control on public debate and information gathering. The most glaring example of these Kongsi’s was the merging of Big Tech, intelligence staff, and academic outfits, which combined to do what the Constitution decidedly did not permit the government to do: infringe on the citizens’ right to free speech and free association. Possibly the most explosive chapter discusses the ‘rona, and the political use made of purported public health measures. I have written about the topic myself, though more from the perspective of trying to explain the mass psychosis which made the sudden curtailment of our liberties possible. Smith describes the opportunities the atmosphere of fear created for changing the rules of the electoral process.

An intriguing chapter describes the mysterious role played by AG Barr. If Smith’s interpretation is correct, the appointment of Barr may have been Trump’s biggest mistake. Not only did Barr have a CIA past of his own, his father served in the OSS. In addition, Barr was an early adopter of the revolving-door model, linking intelligence services and relevant parts of industry. Whether he was solely serving the money master while doing this, or had fealty to another boss is not for me to determine. The ‘rona, though, should have taught all of us – as it has made the Left forget – that corruption is the greatest threat to the people and the Republic. Either you enter into public office to serve the people, or you stay out and serve whatever other master you may choose. The Romans knew – we have no excuse for failing to uphold this essential rule of a healthy commonwealth.

A pleasant surprise was Smith’s – even if brief – mention of the Parler debacle. This social media platform was deplatformed in the wake of the Hunter Biden laptop debacle. For some reason I have trouble remembering at the moment, I was active on the platform and was one of countless users duped by the type of action that has become the signature mark of the Shadow Network: no formal, governmental action, but a combined effort by (infiltrated?) supposedly independent private companies coordinating to make economic life for the black-sheep entity unviable. For some reason, even supposedly sympathetic journalists have declined to investigate this important and ominous story. I guess I will continue to depend on the mysterious dispatcher leaving episodes on my doorstep, as they did over here. Maybe if y’all subscribe to (im)pertinent fiction, the unknown author will be motivated to post another episode soon. If you do, you will catch a modern fairy tale as well, which I personally conceived these days: Bozo and the Golden Troll. Though I felt the temptation to publish the tale at this address, I decided that it would altogether be more appropriate for my fiction page. Some things are just too hard to believe.

If you’re interested in the actual mechanisms we like to refer to as the Deep State, get yourself a copy of Lee Smith’s Disappearing the President. Knowledge is power. A noncept is defeat.