trigg and i actually share -- one of the things i admire about trigg's own work, we share fundamentally a similar portrait of wilson's grand strategy, of wilson's -- often you could call it quite pragmatic adjustments, standing to the situation and -- and so it's a positive portrait of wilson that sadly results in this unbelievably tragic outcome. >> yeah, and that is important. i don't mean to suggest that this is a -- i mean, a takedown of wilson. it is anything but. i'm trying to get at -- so one of the arguments that you make is that wilson lacked the ability, as you say, to do the diplomatic choreography, and i think maybe where we might disagree is you see that lack of ability as a little bit more innate to wilson whereas i see it in some ways imposed by circumstances. he has kind of dissembling and insubordinate top diplomats. he has a very, you know, a british government that in the fall and winter of 1916-'17 continues to insist that germany publicly announce that they are going to evacuate belgium before any conference is called whereas the british government has known for mon