As a way to wrap up our Cold as ICE series about the creation of an American paramilitary force answering only to Trump, we wanted to find some solid historical examples where secret police forces were dismantled. The idea was to give some reasons to hope that things could be better. The problem was that we couldn’t find any examples at all!

You could say this is an episode about trying to write that episode.

In every case, once a secret police force was created, it remained. Very much like every expansion of state power or infringement on human rights, once they happen, it takes an enormous effort to put things back to something like they once were.

When a secret police force or some brand of Brown Shirts was finally disbanded, it was always due to a constellation of internal and external pressures that ultimately took down the entire regime. The paramilitary arm of it just went down with it. 

No one ever seems to get rid of a secret police force without dismantling the whole government.

Along the way, we also talk about how IKEA helped support Romania's Securitate secret police under Ceaușescu.

Later on this episode, we get into a Vanity Fair profile of a Sloperator VC fund called Harpoon and a little about Pete Hegseth's tailor.

Bathroom reading:

https://www.foxnews.com/media/homan-blasts-dem-hypocrisy-deportations-recalls-past-obama-gave-award-enforcing-border

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/04/ikea-funds-romania-secret-police-communist-era

https://www.vanityfair.com/story/vc-defense-tech-harpoon