The "Ides of March" Edition

<p>This week, Alan, Quinta, Scott and guest <em>Lawfare</em> executive editor Natalie Orpett sat down to discuss several of the week's big national security news stories, including:</p><ul><li>“The Dragon-Bear Reliance.” Russia is <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/14/world/asia/china-russia-ukraine.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">turning to China</a> for help in mitigating some of the more harmful consequences of the measures that the United States and its allies are imposing in response to its invasion of Ukraine. Will China play along? And what will its decision mean for the future of the relationship between the two major powers?</li><li>“The Secret Life of Feds.” In a pair of <a href="https://www.scotusblog.com/2022/03/fractured-majority-allows-government-to-withhold-information-on-torture-at-cia-black-sites/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">recent</a> <a href="https://www.scotusblog.com/2022/03/government-can-invoke-state-secrets-privilege-in-lawsuit-alleging-unlawful-surveillance/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">cases</a>, the Supreme Court largely upheld the state secrets doctrine that allows the federal government to quash civil litigation that might compromise sensitive government information, even as it hinted at some potential ways it may come under pressure in the future. What does this mean for the doctrine moving forward?</li><li>“Garland’s Laurels.” Attorney General Merrick Garland just celebrated <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/03/14/merrick-garland-justice-trump/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">one year in office</a>. How should we grade his efforts to restore and reinforce the Justice Department’s traditional norms of political independence and impartiality thus far? And what impact is it having on other parts of his legacy, like his investigation of the Jan. 6 insurrection?</li></ul><p>For object lessons, Alan expressed his deep sympathy for the clinginess of the male Santa Maria harlequin toad, who often&nbsp