FDD's Foreign Podicy

LTG (Ret.) H.R. McMaster wears many hats. Most important for us at FDD: He’s Chairman of the Board of Advisors for our Center on Military and Political Power (CMPP) . He served as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army for 34 years, he holds a doctorate in military history, and he was the 26th assistant to the president of the United States for National Security Affairs. Ways to keep up with him:...

One of the most important missions of the United States military is defending our homeland against a range of threats. But that mission is only becoming more difficult as China, Russia, and North Korea strengthen their means to threaten Americans here at home. What is the current military threat to the American homeland? How is that threat evolving? What does the Department of Defense need now and...

On May 28, 2023, after 21 years in power, Recep Tayyip Erdogan won another five-year-term as president of Turkey — or Türkiye — as he prefers. To discuss what this means for Türkiye, the U.S., the Middle East, Europe, and NATO, host Cliff May is joined by Sinan Ciddi, non-resident senior fellow at FDD and associate professor of national security studies at Marine Corps University, and Jonathan Sch...

American political scientist Joseph Nye popularized the concept of soft power decades ago. As he wrote in his 2004 book by that name, “soft power – getting others to want the outcomes that you want – co-opts people rather than coerces them.” Such soft power cooption can be less costly than hard power coercion. But we see daily reminders that soft power is insufficient and hard power often remains...

Israelis are now celebrating 75 years of independence – 75 years of self-determination for the Jewish people in part of their ancient homeland which for centuries was ruled by foreign empires. There are not many nations that, as the late Charles Krauthammer used to point out, are “living in the same land, worshipping the same God, and speaking the same language as did their ancestors 3,000 years a...

Africa is the second largest continent in the world, both in land area and population. It has more than 1.2 billion people — most of them young and poor — living in 54 countries. If current demographic trends continue, Africa will account for a quarter of humanity by the middle of this century. In Africa, conflicts are more often within countries rather than between them. Sudan and Ethiopia are cu...

Ukrainians are defending their homeland from the unprovoked, blatantly illegal, and imperialist war being waged by invading Russian troops under Vladimir Putin’s command. They are also on the front line of a global struggle, fighting in defense of the free world. To discuss, host Cliff May is joined by Ambassador Oksana Markarova, who has served as Ukraine’s envoy to the United States since April...

For decades, American policymakers have come to view the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan as an indispensable ally in the Middle East, committing billions of taxpayer dollars to support Jordan's budget, economy, and military. Indeed, Jordan's Peace Treaty with Israel; its strategic position between Israel, Iraq, Syria, and Saudi Arabia; and its pro-American military and intelligence services remain cri...

The Islamic Republic of Iran makes no effort to conceal its desire to wipe Israel off the map. Just this week, leaders called for the elimination of two major Israeli cities: Tel Aviv and Haifa. The regime in Tehran deploys a wide range of tools and proxies to achieve this end. The result was a series of low-level conflagrations over the course of the last several weeks, with Iranian proxies routi...

Many in Washington speculate on the nature and urgency of the military threat from China and the readiness of U.S. forces in the Indo-Pacific to deter and defeat aggression by Beijing. But rather than speculating from afar, it's important to hear candid, informed insights of the American military leaders and warfighters closest to the threat. They know best what’s actually going on. U.S. Air Force...

When you hear or read about the American-led rules-based liberal international order do you think: “Yes! That’s important to me and my grandchildren and it needs to be sustained at all costs!” Or do you agree with a recent front-page article in the Wall Street Journal that reported, with no hint of disapproval, that “China and its allies are no longer obliged to conform to a U.S.-led global order”...

For more than six months now, the Iranian people have protested against the state by taking to the street, chanting "Woman! Life! Liberty!" and other anti-regime slogans. Iranians continue to show the world that they seek a government that represents their interests and values. The Iranian people are demanding freedom. To discuss, FDD Senior Fellow Behnam Ben Taleblu is joined by Darya Safai. Dary...

With the implosion of FTX and the arrest of its founder, Washington finally woke up to the need for more effective regulation of cryptocurrency. Yet as government agencies and legislators take up the challenge of crypto regulation, the associated national security challenges need to be front and center, too. Relative anonymity or pseudonymity make crypto currency naturally attractive to those seek...

General James C. McConville is the 40th Chief of Staff of the United States Army, filling a critical position for our nation once occupied by individuals such as General John J. Pershing, Douglas MacArthur, George Marshall, Dwight Eisenhower, and Omar Bradley. A West Point graduate, soldier, leader, and aviator, General McConville has commanded the famous 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) and...

Vladimir Putin expected to conquer Ukraine in three days. But the brutal and bloody war he launched against his neighbor has dragged on for one year. The factors that gave rise to this war are still widely misunderstood. How or when it will end remains unclear, too. To unpack everything, Foreign Podicy host Cliff May — FDD's Founder and President and Chairman of its Russia Program — is joined by t...

The Islamic Republic of Iran possesses the largest ballistic missile arsenal in the Middle East, and Tehran is working hard to increase its size and quality by pursuing improvements in precision, range, mobility, warhead design, and survivability. That’s one of the conclusions drawn by FDD Senior Fellow and Iran expert Behnam Ben Taleblu in his major new FDD Monograph, " Arsenal: Assessing the Isl...

Mike Waltz is a warrior and a diplomat. In 2014, he wrote a fascinating book called “Warrior Diplomat: A Green Beret’s Battles from Washington to Afghanistan.” In 2015, he was a non-resident senior fellow at FDD. In 2018, he became the first Green Beret elected to Congress, taking the seat that had belonged to the now-Governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis. In the current session of Congress, Rep. Walt...

The United States and Israel  conducted  the Juniper Oak 23 multi-domain military exercise in late January. The Pentagon calls it the “largest” and “most significant” bilateral U.S.-Israel exercise in history. This exercise comes as the Islamic Republic of Iran deepens its relationship with China and Russia, continues to export terrorism, inches toward a nuclear weapon, and expands the missile mea...

China, Russia, Iran, North Korea — not to mention the persistent threat from terrorist organizations. The United States confronts an extraordinary array of threats, with many of our adversaries working together more closely than ever. So, how should we respond? What kind of military do we need? And how can we ensure the United States continues to possess the most formidable air force in the world?...

During the Cold War, one of the few issues on which the United States and the Soviet Union agreed, was that other states should not have nuclear weapons. The likelihood that one of them would use those weapons – or transfer them to a regime or group that would was too great. This was called the principle of non-proliferation. It was regarded as an established norm of international behavior, expres...

Jonathan Conricus was born in Jerusalem but grew up in Sweden. His family returned to Israel when he was 13 years old. A few years later he joined the Israeli Defense Forces, eventually rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel and serving as the IDF’s international spokesman. He joins  Foreign Podicy host and FDD founder and president Cliff May to discuss his life, career, what it was like dealing...

Not that long ago, Venezuela was among the freest and richest nations in Latin America. But in 1999, Hugo Chavez became president and introduced his brand of socialism known as Chavism. Venezuela’s liberties and prosperity were quickly eroded. Chavez died in 2013. Under his successor, Nicolas Maduro, who had been his right-hand man, Venezuela has continued to decline. In 2019, the U.S. supported a...

The Muslim Brotherhood has been around for close to a century but most people – certainly most Americans and Europeans – know very little about it. Is it reformist and non-violent as its spokesmen and defenders claim? Or is it – as Cynthia Farahat argues in a new book – the world’s most dangerous terrorist organization? The book is titled: The Secret Apparatus: The Muslim Brotherhood’s Industry of...

The Uyghurs are a Turkic Muslim people who live in a Central Asian land usually called Xinjiang. They have been – and are being – brutally oppressed by China’s Communist rulers. There can be no debate about that. Nury Turkel was born in a detention center in Xinjiang. As a young adult, he made his way to America, where he became the first Uyghur to earn a law degree at an American university. Toda...

Many Americans recognize the threat emanating from the People’s Republic of China. But some may assume that Beijing’s malign activities are relegated to the Indo-Pacific. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, Beijing is increasingly active in Latin America — right here in our own hemisphere.  What are Beijing and other adversaries up to in this region? Why do these activities matter? H...