The Daily Show: Ears Edition - ICYMI - "War on Peace" and the Decline of American Diplomacy

Episode Date: April 8, 2019

"War on Peace" author Ronan Farrow describes the intimidation he faced after reporting on Harvey Weinstein's alleged sexual assault and discusses the state of U.S. diplomacy. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Please welcome, Ronan Farrow. Hello. Welcome to the show. A pleasure to be here. You are an overachiever in the journalistic world. So many people talk about all the stories that you are breaking. I mean, the Me Too movement was broken by your story. Like, I mean, it's what sparked a movement. Well, there were very brave women who were sources. There were great activists who preceded that, but I'm honored to have been a conduit for some of those stories. They the the the the the their their their their their their their their their their, their, to, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, toe, toe, toe, to be toe, toe, to, to, to, toe, toe, to be, to be, to be, to be, to be, to be, to be, to be, to be, to be, to be, to be, to be, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, toe. Plea, toe. Plea, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, tooome. Plea. Plea. Plea. Plea. Plea, to women who were sources, there were great activists who preceded that, but I'm honored to have been a conduit for some of those stories. They were tough to tell for the women involved. They were also toubts to tell as a journalist. Like we read all these stories about Harvey Weinstein and these people that he was hiring and I mean, I'll do that too.

Catlisticles are the future, guys. Right. But it is true. You know, look, there was intimidation. There was a system designed to shut down these stories. And that affected not just me, but a whole range of brave journalists. Sure, like the moment when you find yourself deciding, do I go home tonight because I'm getting staked out and like if I do go home I go in with my keys and I'm like looking under the bed and put back the shower curtain, it's like, okay, either I'm crazy or actually

the story is stranger than fiction and as it turns out what we were able to break is he he was hiring, you know, former Mossad Agents, combat ready operatives that were in fact, their......a, the their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, th. th. thi, their, their, thi, thi, thi, thi, thirty, thirty, thirty, thr-in, thirty, thirty, thirty, thi, th. th. th. thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, thi. Right, thi. Right, thr-a, thrown. thrown. thrown, thrown, thrown, thrown, toe. thrown, thrown, thrown, thrown, thrown, thrown, thrown, false identities. The news that you just broke today, for instance, or that just broke today is a story of how the Trump administration was secretly hiring an Israeli team of spies to dig up dirt on people who worked on the Iran deal. Is that correct? In fact, the same Israeli spies from a firm called Black Cube. The same as Harvey Weinstein hired. And in some cases using the same false identities and front companies that I heard from

when I was getting stalked by these guys. Wait, so explain to me just a little bit of the detail. So they were hiring these people not to undermine the deal itself, but to undermine the people who put the deal together. Why? So that's the surprising part of this. These are policy wonks, you know, these are Obama advisors. And, you know, we don't have all the answers yet, but sources close to this and documents

that we obtained at the New Yorker show very clearly there was a seemingly political and focus operation designed to smear them, seemingly all connected to their work on the 2015 Iran deal. It's interesting because this sounds less like a story you would hear in a first world country or a country that claims to be pro-democracy than you would in a country that's totalitarian. You talk about this in the book, War on Peace, the end of diplomacy and the decline of American influence. It really speaks to, in a way, what's happening with the Iran deal. It seems like Trump and these people do not care about the diplomacy that America conducts

in the world. It's now just become war or no war, talking or no talking. Why do you think that's happened? Yeah, these stories all connect. Look, these are individuals fighting desperately to save a deal because they believe if we unilaterally as a nation back out of the Iran deal. thir,, it's worked in its narrow goal of containing them for a time. And if we back out, their fear is it drives a wedge between us and our allies, and it potentially sends a message to North Korea and other rogue states that we don't want to be sending, that they shouldn't come to the table. And as you suggest, this is all connected. They are getting smeared. they. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. their. their. their. their. their. thi. their. their. their their thi. And their their thi. thi. And thi. And their their their their is their is their is their is their their their their their their their. And their. And their. And their. And their. And their. And their. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And their. And their their their their their thr. thr-a. thr-a. thea. their their their their their their their their their their their their their the on Peace, where their profession is endangered,

where people who make our deals and negotiate and hopefully secure options for addressing conflicts around the world that don't involve going in guns blazing, they are under attack. They are getting fired on mass, people don't understand what they do anymore. And more and more that work is being outsourced to the military, to our spies, to the intelligence community. That's interesting because you spoke to every living Secretary of State, and you spoke about how America's diplomacy has been on the decline. This isn't something that started with Trump, but it may be accelerating now. Is this a sustainable way to conduct oneself in the world, where it is military first, diplomacy second?

Well, what I chronicle in war on peace is, place after place,, when, when, when, when, when, when, when, when, when, when, when, when, when, when, when, when, when, when, when, when, when, when, when, when, when, when, when, when, when, when, when, when tha, when the thiase, thia, thia, thia, thia, the thia, thi, and thi, and thi, and thi, and thi, and thi, and thi, and thi, and thi, and thi, and the the the the their their their their their their their, and their their, and their, and their, and their, and their is their is their is their is their is their is their their is their thi, is thi. thi. thiaugh, is thi, is thia, is thiaugh, is thi, is thia, thia, th chronicle in war on peace is, in place after place, when we sabotage opportunities for political settlements and peaceful ways out, and we go in shooting first, it really comes back to haunt us, Trevor. Again and again, we see situations where we end up lying down with warlords and strong men and unsavory characters, and then we have no no leverage over them because we have fired all of the diplomats who could negotiate and play hardball in that way. Right and if you if you look at the current situation there are countries where America doesn't have a diplomat right now, there are countries where there is no one handling that high-level negotiation. What happens has unceremoniously fired basically, you know, ambassadors across the world, assistant secretaries

that run some of the most sensitive regions in the world. So we have an understaffed, unmanned diplomatic operation. There is precedent for this before. We've seen other administrations, the democratic and republican sort of sideline diplomats and see how disaster it is. But this is new in but this is new in terms of what an extreme it is. And when you look at the consequences, we see situations where there are active opportunities to make peace and we just give them up. We see situations where you could bring people to the table potentially and spare brave servicemen and women going into the line of fire and we give those up. It's a real problem. And I'd also point out for people who kind of don't want to think about those high-level talks, these are also the people that screen dangerous interlopers from coming into the

United States. That stamp your passports that save you if you're kidnapped abroad. This is unglaumbroes, but it's life-saving. It's life-saving, it's integral, and it's currently crumbling. It's a fascinating book. You're a fascinating man. Thank you so much for being on the show. I think it. A pleasure to be. Go on Peace is available now. Go on, Farns. the Daily Show, and The Daly Show.

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