Former “Diplomat” on Iraq, Gaza, and Espionage | Chris Merritt

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