Jim Miller: Hawkeye
07/08/20 • 60 min
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Jim Miller is the former Undersecretary of Defense for Policy. In that vital role – the number three position in DOD – Jim was at the forefront of some of the nation’s most important and most difficult national security issues. As a key adviser to three Secretaries of Defense – Bob Gates, Leon Panetta, and Chuck Hagel – Jim guided reviews of nuclear weapons policy and ballistic missile defense policy, and led the formulation of national defense strategies for space and cyberspace.
Jim’s path to the Pentagon began in the middle. As the only boy in a household of five children, Jim was raised in a middle-class family in the middle of the country – in Waterloo, Iowa. A brilliant student and a superb athlete, Jim made his way to Stanford where a mentor inspired him and guided him into public service.
Recently, and after my interview with Jim was recorded, he resigned his position on the prestigious Defense Science Board. In an open letter to the current Secretary of Defense, Jim noted that peaceful protesters exercising their First Amendment rights outside of the White House were dispersed “using tear gas and rubber bullets — not for the sake of safety, but to clear a path for a presidential photo op.” Jim also wrote that though the Defense Secretary “may not have been able to stop ... this appalling use of force, you could have chosen to oppose it. Instead, you visibly supported it.” You can read Jim’s letter here: Open Letter to the Secretary of Defense, June 2, 2020
Jim is a deeply principled and talented man and he shares with host Chuck Rosenberg reflections on his extraordinary public service career and his work at the highest levels of the Pentagon. If you have thoughtful feedback on this episode or others, please email us at [email protected].
Jim Miller is the former Undersecretary of Defense for Policy. In that vital role – the number three position in DOD – Jim was at the forefront of some of the nation’s most important and most difficult national security issues. As a key adviser to three Secretaries of Defense – Bob Gates, Leon Panetta, and Chuck Hagel – Jim guided reviews of nuclear weapons policy and ballistic missile defense policy, and led the formulation of national defense strategies for space and cyberspace.
Jim’s path to the Pentagon began in the middle. As the only boy in a household of five children, Jim was raised in a middle-class family in the middle of the country – in Waterloo, Iowa. A brilliant student and a superb athlete, Jim made his way to Stanford where a mentor inspired him and guided him into public service.
Recently, and after my interview with Jim was recorded, he resigned his position on the prestigious Defense Science Board. In an open letter to the current Secretary of Defense, Jim noted that peaceful protesters exercising their First Amendment rights outside of the White House were dispersed “using tear gas and rubber bullets — not for the sake of safety, but to clear a path for a presidential photo op.” Jim also wrote that though the Defense Secretary “may not have been able to stop ... this appalling use of force, you could have chosen to oppose it. Instead, you visibly supported it.” You can read Jim’s letter here: Open Letter to the Secretary of Defense, June 2, 2020
Jim is a deeply principled and talented man and he shares with host Chuck Rosenberg reflections on his extraordinary public service career and his work at the highest levels of the Pentagon. If you have thoughtful feedback on this episode or others, please email us at [email protected].
Previous Episode
Carol Lam: Her Honor
Carol Lam grew up in New Jersey, and was educated at Yale and Stanford Law School. Soon after law school, she found a job she loved in the Justice Department – as a federal prosecutor in San Diego – where she handled complex health care fraud cases. Though she enjoyed the work, she accepted an appointment to the California Superior Court bench from Governor Gray Davis. Carol envisioned a long tenure as a judge – a difficult and vital job – but that changed when she became the presidentially appointed United States Attorney for the Southern District of California – the office in which she started as a prosecutor. Today, Carol plays flute with the La Jolla Symphony & Chorus, serves as a member of the Stanford University Board of Trustees, and works as an MSNBC legal analyst.
Carol shares with host Chuck Rosenberg fascinating stories of her work as a judge and a federal prosecutor and reflects on the role of prosecutors in the criminal justice system. If you have thoughtful feedback on this episode or others, please email us at [email protected].
Next Episode
Fiona Hill: Fortitude
Fiona Hill is the former Senior Director for Russia and Eurasia on the National Security Council. A highly respected scholar on Russian history and culture, Fiona was born and raised in the industrial northeast of England. She comes from a long line of coal miners – uncles, cousins – families, like hers, that persistently struggled with poverty. Fiona’s father, Alfred, joined his own brother in the coal mines at the age of 14. Her mother, June, who still lives in Bishop Auckland – was a midwife. And though money was always tight, Fiona grew up in a loving and supportive family that strongly embraced both her desire to go to college and, ultimately, to emigrate to the United States – a place her father loved and admired and always hoped one day might be his own home.
Guided by a series of dedicated mentors and teachers, Fiona graduated from the University of Saint Andrew’s in Scotland, and then earned her Ph.D. at Harvard. Along the way, she studied Russian history and culture and became fluent in its language.
Fiona became a naturalized American citizen in 2002 – a country that gave her opportunities that she would not have enjoyed in the UK, where the fact that she grew up poor and with a distinct working-class accent, she believes, would likely have held her back.
She served at the highest levels within the US government, on both the National Intelligence Council under Presidents Bush and Obama and, ultimately, on the National Security Council under President Trump. Fiona is deeply respected for her expertise on Russia and Eurasia and widely admired for her honesty, courage, intellect, and fortitude.
Fiona testified in the 2019 House impeachment hearings of President Trump, and you can find a link to her written testimony here.
Fiona is also the author or co-author of three books about Russia and Vladimir Putin:
· The Siberian Curse: How Communist Planners Left Russia Out in the Cold, with Clifford Gaddy (2003)
· Energy Empire: Oil, Gas and Russia's Revival (2004)
· Mr. Putin: Operative in the Kremlin, with Clifford Gaddy (2015).
Fiona shares with host Chuck Rosenberg reflections on her extraordinary public service career and her work at the highest levels of the National Security Council. If you have thoughtful feedback on this episode or others, please email us at [email protected].
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