Episode 60- Eddie Gallagher: A Hog in the War Machine

For a supplement to our discussion this episode, check out this piece: https://medium.com/@samwagstaff/eddie-gallagher-a-hog-in-the-war-machine-400715f0411c As the United States military and our gormless commander-in-chief continue to ratchet up tensions with Iran, the time has come to examine the case of former Navy SEAL Chief Eddie Gallagher, an emblematic case of the right wing’s contemporary valorization of bloodlust. In this episode, we follow the case, beginning with Gallagher’s crimes as platoon leader of SEAL Team 7 in Mosul, Iraq, to his arrest, trial and eventual acquittal, all the way through President Trump’s intervention to allow Gallagher to keep his SEAL trident, and his inevitable rebrand as a conservative influencer in retirement. Our aim is to show how Trump’s novel approach is to embrace, rather than denounce Gallagher’s crimes, evidenced by his publicization of his relationship with Gallagher and decision to bring the retired Chief on the campaign trail with him this election season. Sources: https://www.navytimes.com/news/your-navy/2019/02/02/war-crimes-prosecution-against-navy-seals-takes-a-double-hit/?fbclid=IwAR2FmprhLqBMKNqRUJmUTT0tQLP_86BjxLF3E33aCAQu1xxkKCnHp0lUj_k https://theintercept.com/2017/01/10/the-crimes-of-seal-team-6/ https://theintercept.com/2019/12/05/donald-trump-eddie-gallagher-navy-seals/ https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/military/sd-me-hunter-rules-engagement20190219-story.html https://teamneverquit.com/podcast/eddie-gallagher-highly-decorated-seal-chief-of-8-combat-deployments-battling-charges-of-war-crimes-against-isis-freeeddie/ https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/23/us/navy-seals-crimes-of-war.html https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/08/podcasts/the-daily/navy-seal-edward-gallagher-trial.html https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/03/us/Edward-Gallagher-acquitted.html?smid=pc-thedaily https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/21/us/trump-seals-eddie-gallagher.html https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/11/15/donald-trump-pardons-clint-lorance-mathew-golsteyn-war-crime-cases/1229083001/ https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/05/06/donald-trump-michael-behenna-pardoned-ali-mansur-mohamed-killing/3656410002/ https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1197507542726909952?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1197507542726909952&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2019%2F11%2F21%2Fus%2Ftrump-seals-eddie-gallagher.html https://www.npr.org/2019/11/26/783069692/questions-remain-over-what-will-happen-to-3-navy-seals-implicated-in-war-crimes- https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/27/us/navy-seals-edward-gallagher-video.html https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/31/us/navy-seals-edward-gallagher-trump.html https://www.salon.com/2020/01/02/eddie-gallagher-isnt-a-lifestyle-brand-story-its-a-story-about-the-rights-violent-nihilism/ https://www.instagram.com/eddie_and_andrea/?hl=en https://www.instagram.com/redcon1/ https://www.instagram.com/blackriflecoffee/?hl=en https://www.instagram.com/projectwarpath/ https://www.instagram.com/ninelineapparel/ https://wekbd.com/ https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2019/11/trump-wants-to-take-war-criminal-buddies-on-campaign-trail-eddie-gallagher