"TRIUMPH REGAINED: The Vietnam War, 1965–1968" with Mark Moyar, renowned military historian at Hillsdale College

About our guest Mark Moyar

Mark Moyar is the William P. Harris Chair in Military History at Hillsdale College and author of the new book, Triumph Regained: The Vietnam War, 1965–1968.  His past academic appointments include the Kim T. Adamson Chair of Insurgency and Terrorism at the U.S. Marine Corps University and fellowships at the Joint Special Operations University and Texas A&M University.

Moyar is a frequent media guest who has appeared on major radio and television programs nationwide.  During the Trump administration, he served in the U.S. Agency for International Development as the director of the Office of Civilian-Military Cooperation.  The author of six previous books on military history, diplomatic history, grand strategy, leadership, and international development, he has also written articles for the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, and many other publications.  The first volume of his Vietnam War trilogy, Triumph Forsaken: The Vietnam War, 1954–1965, was published in 2006, and it became the subject of an essay collection entitled Triumph Revisited: Historians Battle for the Vietnam War.  He received a BA summa cum laude from Harvard University and a PhD from the University of Cambridge.  buy the book

From the centuries-long prejudices against Catholics in America, to the efforts of Fascism, Communism and modern terrorist organizations to “break the cross and spill the wine,” this book brings to life the Catholic Church’s role in world history, particularly in the realm of diplomacy. Former U.S. ambassador to the Holy See Francis Rooney provides a comprehensive guide to the remarkable path the Vatican has navigated to the present day, and a first-person account of what that path looks and feels like from an American diplomat whose experience lent him the ultimate insider’s perspective. Part memoir, part historical lesson, The Global Vatican captures the braided nature of religious and political power and the complexities, battles, and future prospects for the relationship between the Holy See and the United States as both face challenges old and new. buy the book

Not even Donald Trump can claim that his endorsements produced success. His only “victories” were races where the candidate he endorsed was clearly going to win anyway. The fact is that most of the candidates who were hand-picked by the former president lost the races that determined control of the Senate (Mehmet Oz of Pennsylvania, Herschel Walker of Georgia, Blake Masters of Arizona, Adam Laxalt of Nevada) and led to a smaller House majority than was expected. One of the smallest midterm gains for an out of leadership party in history.

Meanwhile, some Republicans are expanding their base of support — both Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin have attracted Independents and even some Democrats in addition to their Republican base. Both governors gained a greater portion of Black and Hispanic voters than has been the norm and won back suburban voters that moved away from the Republican Party because of Donald Trump. A 2024 presidential election with either of these two leaders could win back the White House — with Trump we lose.

With a small Republican majority in the House of Representatives and a slim Democrat majority in the Senate — is it a recipe for disaster or an opportunity to finally work across party lines? The results of this election should be a wakeup call for our government to focus on things that matter to the vast majority of citizens.

While it may be tempting to launch endless investigations into Hunter Biden’s affairs and other Democrat failures, they won’t reduce inflation, make our communities safe or help our children learn. While there is no doubt that we now have a viscerally partisan and divided government, instead of spending the next two years on useless “messaging bills” that die in the Senate, the House might actually find common ground with the Democrats to solve our country’s most pressing issues. In fact, throughout history, a divided government has worked quite well — Reagan/O’Neill tax reform, Clinton/Gingrich welfare reform, and the Americans with Disabilities Act, as examples. 

Our new Congress should focus on these three areas:
First, get control of inflation, which is largely driven by excess deficit spending — stop spending money and reduce the cost of an out-of-control government. The so-called “Inflation Reduction Act” is a joke — a massive spending spree to be paid for by the taxpayers. Twenty-nine percent of all money in circulation today was created since February 2020. Isn’t that incredibly profligate? Turn off the spigot and reduce cost. Just like every household must do.

Second, Americans deserve to feel safe in their communities. While this is primarily a local law enforcement issue, the billions of dollars in federal grants provided to local governments for policing can be directed to support police rather than social programs. Congress can oppose ending cashless bail, decriminalization of certain offenses, and other polices deemed to be contrary to law and order by tying these to the federal funds. Securing our border is also an issue that effects the safety of our communities. Instituting policies that stop illegal crossings will greatly impact the flow of illegal narcotics and reduce human trafficking.

Finally, Congress should return to the principle that political differences stop at America’s coastline. A united foreign policy that projects strength around the world is critical to deal with aggression from China, Russia, Iran, and others. Better and more targeted use of the appropriated defense money is a must. The American Enterprise Institute recently published a study that documents that over $100 billion, approximately 14 percent of the defense appropriations, does not contribute to combat readiness. What is the job of a military? Combat readiness. China spends roughly half what we do on defense yet is building far more ships and planes. Before long we won’t be able to penetrate them. Lastly, sadly, a full 77 percent of those aged 17-24 would not qualify for the military right now.
Elections have consequences. This election could bring the end of Trump dominance over the Republican Party and show the people that Congress can unite to make a divided government work.

Francis Rooney served in Congress from 2017-2021 and was U.S. ambassador to the Vatican from 2005-2008.

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THE GLOBAL VATICAN

AN INSIDE LOOK AT THE CATHOLIC CHURCH, WORLD POLITICS,
AND THE EXTRAORDINARY RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND THE HOLY SEE
By Ambassador Francis Rooney
Washington, DC—During a period of immense change and challenge for the United States, the Catholic Church, and the world, Francis Rooney served as U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church, under George W. Bush from 2005 to 2008. His new book captures the interwoven nature of religious and political power and the complexities, battles, and future prospects for the relationship between the Holy See and the United States as both face challenges old and new.

In THE GLOBAL VATICAN (Rowman & Littlefield, November 2013), Ambassador Francis Rooney provides an unprecedented inside look at the Catholic Church, its role in world politics and diplomacy, and the extraordinary relationship between the United States and the Holy See. He argues that U.S. foreign policy has much to gain from its relationship with the Holy See, and vice versa. No institution on earth has both the international stature and the global reach of the Holy See—the “soft power” of moral influence and authority to promote religious freedom, human liberties, and related values that Americans and our allies uphold worldwide.

The timing of Francis Rooney’s assignment to the Holy See came at a momentous period for both America and the Catholic Church. America was four years out from 9/11 and locked in difficult wars in two countries, including a conflict in Iraq—of which the Holy See had strongly and vocally disapproved. The Bush Administration was making progress in bringing democracy, freedom, and stability to Iraq and Afghanistan, but it was difficult on both fronts. And the Catholic Church had its own challenges—the first of these facing Pope Benedict XVI was succeeding the beloved Pope John Paul II. A decline of active participation and growing secularization in much of the Western world threatened the Church at the same time that the abuse scandal continued to expand. Still, the Church remained a powerful moral voice in the world, and Rooney worked with the Holy See to achieve as much diplomatic alignment as possible on crucial issues.

As Francis Rooney argues, the United States and the Holy See remain two of the most significant institutions in world history, one a beacon of democracy and progress, the other a sanctum of faith and allegiance to timeless principles. Despite these differences between the first modern democracy and the longest surviving Western monarchy, Rooney maintains that both were founded on the idea that “human persons” possess inalienable natural rights granted by God. This had been a revolutionary concept when the Catholic Church embraced it 2,000 years ago, and was equally revolutionary when the Declaration of Independence stated it 1,800 years later.

Given our mutual respect for human rights, it seems obvious that America and the Catholic Church would be natural friends and collaborators in world affairs. But this wasn’t the case for nearly 200 years of American history. As THE GLOBAL VATICAN demonstrates, both the United States and the Holy See had to overcome deeply held convictions and perceptions—entrenched anti-Catholicism on the part of Americans; antidemocratic, monarchical reflexes on the part of the Holy See. President Reagan established full diplomatic relations with the Holy See in 1984 because, among other reasons, he realized that he could have no better partner than Pope John Paul II in the fight against communism—and he was right. Since the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Holy See has continued to play a crucial role as a diplomatic force while maintaining formal relations with 179 countries—a number surpassed only by the United States.
The Church is one of the leading advocates and providers for the poor in the world, fights against the scourge of human trafficking, and advances the cause of human dignity and rights more than any other organization in the world. The Holy See also plays a significant role in pursuing diplomatic solutions to international predicaments, whether, for example, promoting peace between Israel and Palestine, helping end the civil war in Lebanon, or helping to secure the release of nearly one hundred political prisoners from Cuba in 2010.

Francis Rooney contends in THE GLOBAL VATICAN that American values and foreign policy goals can be advanced in many parts of the world, including the Middle East, China, Latin America, Cuba, and Africa, through closer diplomatic ties with the Holy See. He notes that the past few years have seen cordial but cooling relations as President Obama has visited the Vatican just once since taking office, and the Obama Administration has demonstrated little more than a perfunctory interest in the Holy See’s diplomatic role in the world. This is a regrettable lost opportunity.

The power and influence of the Holy See is often underestimated. A benevolent monarchy tucked into a corner of a modern democracy, the Holy See is at once a universally recognized sovereign—representing more than a billion people (one seventh of the world’s population)—and the civil government of the smallest nation-state on earth. It has no military and only a negligible economy, but it has greater reach and influence than most nations. It’s not simply the number or variety of people that the Holy See represents that gives it relevance; it’s also the moral influence of the Church, which is still considerable despite secularization and scandals.

As THE GLOBAL VATICAN illustrates, the Holy See advocates powerfully for morality in the lives of both Catholics and non-Catholics, and in both individuals and nations. One may disagree with some of the Church’s positions and yet still recognize the value—the real and practical value—of its insistence that “right” should precede “might” in world affairs. At its core, the Catholic Church is a powerful and unique source of noncoercive “soft power” on the world stage—it moves people to do the right thing by appealing to ideals and shared values, rather than to fear and brute force.

There are limits to the Church’s ability to influence the actions of societies and nations, of course, because it cannot force its will with economic or military leverage. But it is precisely in these failings that its greatness lies—the Church appeals above and beyond might, money, or political power to a deeper recognition in human beings of what is good and right. Ultimately, the Church has power through its consistent defense of enduring principles—it stands for the same thing every day, and in every place.

As the author and historian Hilaire Belloc put it, “the Church is a perpetually defeated thing that always outlives her conquerors.” And Francis Rooney proves that there is much good still to come from the Church, especially in areas where the Holy See and the United States find themselves in alignment.