Former British Foreign Office official Chris Merritt joins us to discuss his time as a diplomat in Iraq, Gaza, and Jerusalem, including Basra’s deteriorating security situation, Iranian-backed militias, Hamas, the Fatah split, and the realities of doing diplomacy in war zones. He also breaks down how those experiences shaped his later work as a trauma psychologist and spy novelist, including Committed and his new book Octagon. Grab Chris' new book here:⬇️ https://amzn.eu/d/0haKB5uW Chris' other books:⬇️ https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B07B9ZHBF5/allbooks?_encoding=UTF8&ref_=aufs_ap_ahdr_dsk_ab&pd_rd_w=O64uG&content-id=amzn1.sym.7e190e19-9f6f-4df8-807a-5a7608594741&pf_rd_p=7e190e19-9f6f-4df8-807a-5a7608594741&pf_rd_r=144-9783160-8516900&pd_rd_wg=RnoiZ&pd_rd_r=09cfe4a7-daad-4ab8-9dc1-dc378f894a38&ccs_id=6c35d69b-90e0-4701-8fc4-178090b51c0e Today's Sponsors: GhostBed ⬇️ https://www.ghostbed.com/house FOR 10% off! Van Man ⬇️ Go to http://vanman.shop/teamhouse and use code TEAMHOUSE for 15% off your first order. Quince⬇️ go to: https://www.quince.com/house for free shipping and 365 day returns For ad free video and audio and access to live streams and Eyes On Geopolitics...JOIN OUR PATREON! https://www.patreon.com/c/TheTeamHouse To help support the show and for all bonus content including: -live shows and asking guest questions -ad free audio and video -early access to shows -Access to ALL bonus segments with our guests Subscribe to our Patreon! ⬇️ https://www.patreon.com/TheTeamHouse Support the show here:⬇️ https://www.patreon.com/TheTeamHouse ___________________________________________________ PRE ORDER JACK'S NEW BOOK "THE MOST DANGEROUS MAN" ⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️ https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/803651/the-most-dangerous-man-by-jack-murphy/paperback/ Subscribe to the new EYES ON podcast here:⬇️ https://www.youtube.com/@EyesOnGeopoliticsPod/featured __________________________________ Jack Murphy's new book "We Defy: The Lost Chapters of Special Forces History" ⬇️ https://www.amazon.com/We-Defy-Chapters-Special-History-ebook/dp/B0DCGC1N1N/ —————————————————————— Or make a one time donation at: ⬇️ https://ko-fi.com/theteamhouse Social Media: ⬇️ The Team House Instagram: https://instagram.com/the.team.house?utm_medium=copy_link The Team House Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheTeamHousePod Jack’s Instagram: https://instagram.com/jackmcmurph?utm_medium=copy_link Jack’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/jackmurphyrgr?s=21 Team House Discord: ⬇️ https://discord.gg/wHFHYM6 "Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio" 00:00 — Start / Chris Merritt joins The Team House 01:02 — Growing up near London, languages, and the road toward foreign service 05:03 — Learning Arabic and getting drawn into Middle East geopolitics 06:08 — Applying to the British Foreign Office and surviving the assessment process 10:10 — First Foreign Office job and wanting something more active 12:18 — Volunteering for Iraq and deploying to Basra in 2005 17:04 — Britain’s role in southern Iraq and the worsening IED threat 19:03 — Diplomatic work in a war zone: gathering ground truth in Basra 23:47 — Iranian-backed militias, helicopter shootdowns, and the badger conspiracy 27:41 — “Aggressive diplomacy” and working alongside the British military 30:05 — Rockets, mortars, and watching Basra deteriorate 32:53 — SAS contacts, close protection, and hostile-environment training 39:15 — Jerusalem, Gaza, and working the Palestinian side of the conflict 43:53 — Hamas wins elections, the Fatah split, and Gaza’s power struggle 47:26 — Trying to understand Hamas without being allowed to talk to them 50:07 — The Alan Johnston kidnapping and negotiating through Gaza intermediaries 51:40 — Why the Israel-Palestine conflict felt increasingly impossible to solve 57:17 — Israel’s rightward shift, Gaza after October 7, and the future of the region 01:01:37 — Returning to London, Gulf policy, and shifting toward psychology 01:05:25 — Leaving the Foreign Office and retraining as a trauma psychologist 01:17:15 — From diplomacy and trauma work to writing novels 01:22:29 — Octagon: MI6, SAS, terror plots, and writing authentic spy fiction 01:24:21 — Why spy thrillers are having a resurgence 01:27:53 — Committed, Octagon, where to find Chris, and closing thoughts Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-team-house--5960890/support.
