Tribute to an American Patriot
City Journal Audio
Manhattan Institute
4.7 • 657 Ratings
🗓️ 15 August 2018
⏱️ 17 minutes
🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS
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Summary
Judith Miller joins City Journal managing editor Paul Beston to discuss the life of Michael A. Sheehan, who passed away last month at age 63.
A 40-year veteran of the U.S. counterterrorism community, Sheehan served as a top official for the State Department, the Pentagon, and the New York Police Department. As a military officer on the National Security Council staff for Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, he urged officials to place greater priority on the growing threat of militant Islamist groups, especially al-Qaida.
Later in his career, Sheehan focused on non-Islamist challenges to American peace and security. He warned that overreacting to terrorist threats had adverse consequences—including stoking Islamophobia that couldalienate Muslim-American communities, making them less likely to provide tips that had helped thwart and disrupt numerous plots.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to another edition of Ten Blocks, City Journal's podcast. |
| 0:26.6 | I'm Paul Beston, managing editor of City Journal, and I'm joined today by Judy Miller, |
| 0:31.7 | who's a contributing editor of City Journal and a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter |
| 0:35.9 | formerly with the New York Times. |
| 0:38.2 | Her memoir, which was published in 2015, is called The Story, a Reporter's Journey. |
| 0:44.6 | But we're here to talk with Judy today about the life and career of a great American patriot |
| 0:50.1 | and public servant, Michael Sheehan, a longtime counterterrorism official who served in New York |
| 0:55.4 | City and in Washington and whose work put him at the center of many of the battles and debates |
| 1:00.5 | of the last generation. Michael Sheehan died on July 30th after a long battle with cancer. You can find |
| 1:07.3 | Judy's tribute to him, titled Faithfulful Servant on the City Journal website, |
| 1:12.2 | and it's as good a career summary and remembrance as you'll find of him anywhere. |
| 1:16.6 | Judy, thanks for joining us. |
| 1:19.7 | You know, for the general public, Michael Sheehan, he, this is a guy who generally worked behind the scenes. |
| 1:25.2 | He didn't seek the limelight, as you say, in your story. |
| 1:27.7 | He didn't seek the glory. |
| 1:29.4 | But he kind of exemplifies those many people in our national security eyebrows. |
| 1:35.5 | You're just doing incredible, indispensable work, but aren't generally known to the public. |
| 1:39.1 | So for the general public, who was Michael Sheena? |
| 1:42.8 | Why was his career so important to the United States? |
| 1:45.9 | I think for all the reasons, Paul, that you just mentioned, he was that faithful public servant, |
| 1:52.9 | somebody who believed in service and the concept of service, not for himself, but for the nation. |
| 2:00.6 | And he was a soldier. When I asked people, |
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