Just ~publicly filing an obscure/funny note: This NYT story says “The concept of a ‘deep state’…is more often used to describe countries like Egypt, Turkey and Pakistan.” That should be true, but some recent examples I’ve seen on the ~left show, let’s say, a deep ignorance of that history: Khachaturian’s essay in Jacobin? Not a peep. Jeet Heer’s recent “tweetstorm” (ugh, that word)? He “think[s he] first heard the phrase…a couple of years ago in reference to forces in Egypt & Turkey” — from a guy who’s never shy about speaking authoritatively. I’ve seen many more examples. In part it’s a by-product of the left’s a priori condemnation of all things militarist: if it’s Evil, there’s not much point in making shades-of-gray arguments that might imply some actors / factions / strategies might have virtues or at least a valid argument. This problem became clear in that whiplash-inducing moment after the election when huge swaths of the lib/left were suddenly gaga over the CIA; and it’s clear again in how the outrage at the FBI and Comey has evaporated.