Foreign Podicy

Ali Khamenei, Iran’s longtime ruler, saw the possibility of normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia as a threat to his hegemonic ambitions. On Oct. 7, Hamas, one of Tehran’s proxies, invaded Israel and committed multiple acts of barbarism. That sparked a war and froze prospects for a new Saudi-Israeli relationship.   However, The Wall Street Journal reports that Washington is pushing for a “long-shot diplomatic deal” – one in which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would “accept a new commitment to Palestinian statehood” in exchange for diplomatic recognition of Israel by Saudi Arabia.  What else would have to be in such a deal? Can it happen while the war in Gaza is ongoing? Do the Saudis secretly want Israel to enter Rafah and finish off Hamas?  To discuss the current state of diplomatic and kinetic play, host Cliff May is joined by Mark Dubowitz, FDD's Chief Executive; and Bernard Haykel, Professor of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University and a leading expert on Saudi Arabia.

Last weekend, Iran’s rulers launched a massive missile and drone assault on Israel. Though the attack was thwarted, it should be obvious that the Islamic Republic is willing to pursue its goal of “Death to Israel!” — not just by utilizing Arab proxies and pawns, but now also directly from within its own territory. We must assume that Iran’s rulers are also now adjusting their strategies for the jihad they are waging and the genocide they vow to carry out. A reminder: If Iran’s rulers acquire nuclear weapons and missiles capable of delivering them to targets anywhere in the world that would be a game-changer.  Israel’s leaders must now think harder than ever about how to fight this long war.   To explore such questions, host Cliff May is joined by his FDD colleagues Behnam Ben Taleblu, FDD Senior Fellow; Bradley Bowman, Senior Director of FDD's Center on Military and Political Power; and retired Admiral Mark Montgomery, Senior Director of FDD's Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation. Editor's note: We are releasing this episode ahead of schedule. We recorded it late afternoon (ET) on Thursday, April 18. Hours later the same evening, explosions have been reported in Isfahan, Iran, and Iranian airspace has been closed. Although Israel has yet to claim any involvement in or responsibility for these explosions, we are releasing this episode early due to the discussion's timeliness and relevance to these unfolding events.

Six months after Iranian-backed terrorists perpetrated the largest slaughter of Jews since the Holocaust, Israel’s ground war against Hamas in Gaza, its conflict with Lebanon-based Hezbollah in Israel’s north, and Tehran’s multi-front shadow war against the Jewish state continue. For a status update, host Cliff May is joined by his FDD colleagues Bradley Bowman, senior director of FDD’s Center on Military and Political Power, and Brigadier General (Res.) Jacob Nagel, a visiting fellow at FDD and former Israeli national security advisor under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. They discuss Israel’s withdrawal of most troops from Gaza; the necessity of closing the tunnels from Egypt through which Hamas has received huge quantities of arms and ammunition; the difficulties of providing aid to Gazans while Hamas holds hostages and kills Israelis whenever possible; where Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar and Mohammed Deif are likely hiding; and the strategic imperative of defeating the remaining Hamas battalions in Rafah. They also discuss President Biden’s wavering support for Israel; Israel’s April 1 assassination of an IRGC-QF commander in Damascus; and Tehran’s threat to take revenge.

The Israeli airstrike next to Iran’s embassy in Damascus on April 1 targeted several high-ranking members of Iran’s Quds Force — an elite division of its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC, which is designated by the U.S. as a terrorist organization. Among those killed: top IRGC-QF commander in Syria and Lebanon, Mohammad Reza Zahedi.  The regime in Tehran has vowed revenge, and Israel is on high-alert for escalation by Iran’s proxies on seven possible fronts. To discuss the strategic thinking behind Israel’s strike and possible Iranian responses, host Cliff May is joined by FDD experts Behnam Ben Taleblu and Hussain Abdul Hussain.  They explain why diplomatic immunity was not in play in Damascus, and revisit Iran’s history of not respecting such diplomatic niceties and protocols; analyze reactions from the Biden administration and “international community” — including at the United Nations where the Russian Federation protects and defends Tehran, where Security Council resolutions beneficial to Israel are not enforced, and where“international law” seems to only apply to Israel and the U.S.

President Reagan knew a detent with the Soviet Union wouldn’t win the Cold War. If we take off the gloves and force Soviet communism to compete with American democracy, he thought, the U.S. will prevail. In a phrase: “We win, they lose.” He was right. The U.S. won. The Soviet Union collapsed. But in the decades since as America’s role in the world diminished and the rules-based order decayed, Russia relapsed. And as he puts back the pieces of a shattered Soviet Union one illegal land-grab at a time, Putin is hardly the only despot hellbent on resurrecting an imperial renaissance in the shadows of American retrenchment. Also jonesing for a rise from the ash heap of history are the Islamist regime in Tehran and Chinese Communist Party in Beijing. Together with Moscow, they’ve formed a neo-imperialist axis to take on the West in a New Cold War. With the U.S. facing multiple nuclear-powered adversaries in a conflict for the first time ever, the second Cold War is shaping up to be far more dangerous than the first. With such high stakes, CWII’s outcome will no doubt be a decisive chapter in modern history. The task of navigating the free world through this crisis falls on one desk (you know the one). And while he who will sit behind it remains uncertain, the possibilities can be narrowed down to two. Both have sat there before. So far, only one has a tailored roadmap for winning Cold War II, and it’s based entirely on Reagan’s playbook. The experts behind the strategy (AKA their new book: We Win, They Lose: Republican Foreign Policy and the New Cold War) are Matthew Kroenig and Dan Negrea. They join host Cliff May who has some questions for them.

After World War II, the United States attempted to construct something new: a liberal, American-led, rules-based international order that would promote human rights, Enlightenment values, and democracy. Today, the dictatorial rulers of China, Russia, and Iran are attempting to establish something different: a world order that is radically illiberal with rules made in Beijing, Moscow, and Tehran, and hostility regarding human rights, Enlightenment values, and democracy. This is one of the topics on the mind of former National Security Advisor and U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. John Bolton. He joins host Cliff May for an in-depth discussion.

In Gaza, Israelis are fighting a ground war – and an underground war – against Hamas, a proxy of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Israelis also are responding to missile attacks from Hezbollah, Tehran’s Lebanon-based foreign legion. These are serious conflicts. But they are not separate conflicts. And they could be something else – something worse. Mark Dubowitz, FDD’s chief executive, worries that they could be what he calls “weapons of mass distraction” — a way to divert the attention of Israel’s military, intelligence, and political establishments, along with those of the Biden administration, from a more threatening development: the advance of Tehran’s nuclear weapons program. Mark and Eyal Hulata, former Israeli National Security Advisor and now the first foreign visiting fellow at FDD, join host Cliff May to discuss what Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei wants to achieve while he’s alive and the legacy he wants to leave behind.

Next month marks 30 years since the onset of the world’s worst mass slaughter since the Holocaust: the Rwandan genocide. Among the forces that ushered in an end to the conflict was a military officer who would ultimately become Rwanda’s president: Paul Kagame. FDD’s RADM (Ret.) Mark Montgomery recently met with President Kagame and other senior officials in Kigali. In addition to a debrief on his trip, Adm. Montgomery joins host Cliff May to discuss Russian and Chinese neo-imperialism in Africa; the environmental harm being caused by the exploitative extraction of cobalt and other minerals necessary for an “energy transition”; the wars in Sudan, Ethiopia, and Libya, what BRICS is building; the spread of Islamism and jihadist violence in Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, and other African countries.

Joining Cliff for this episode is Boston Globe columnist Jeff Jacoby, whose first column appeared 30 years ago this week. Jeff’s career as a journalist has included interviews with Elie Wiesel and Mikhail Gorbachev, and on-the-ground reporting from such exotic locales as Cuba, the Korean DMZ, and Gaza. Cliff asks Jeff how he came to his world view; what he saw in Gaza during visits from the 1970s to early 2000s; why a “Hitlerian” variant of antisemitism has reemerged; and what lessons might be learned from Israel’s experiments and experiences.

Given the mandate of the United Nations, you might think a genocide perpetrated by a terrorist organization against a democracy in the Middle East would be an opportunity for the UN to exercise its moral authority — perhaps even an obligation, considering the U.S. tax dollars that bankroll it. But you’d be wrong.  The UN doesn’t recognize Hamas as a terrorist organization. Moreover, when the UN uses the word “genocide,” it’s not talking about the aims of Hamas per its charter nor what Hamas did on October 7 and pledges to do again. When the UN uses the word “genocide,” they are referring to Israeli self-defense. Why is the UN not standing up for the principles upon which it was founded? Is reform even possible at this point? Host Cliff May is joined by FDD experts Bonnie Glick and Richard Goldberg to discuss.

As Israel's defensive war in Gaza enters its fifth month, host Cliff May is joined by FDD experts retired Major General Amir Eshel and retired Rear Admiral Mark Montgomery to talk about the current state of the war including how many Hamas terrorists are thought to remain active on the battlefield in Gaza; the whereabouts of Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar and Mohammed Deif; and IDF efforts to reduce civilian casualties during what’s expected to be a major battle in Rafah. They also discuss the threat from Hezbollah across Israel’s northern border in Lebanon; the impact of Ramadan which begins on March 10; whether weapons from Iran’s rulers could still be flowing into Gaza through tunnels under its Egyptian border; what Egypt is and should be doing; what the U.S. stands to learn from Israel’s hard lessons on and after October 7; and President Biden’s changing rhetoric on the Hamas-Israeli war.

The U.S. is in a decisive moment. Harried by turmoil and challenges at home, many Americans look overseas and see a world on fire. Ukrainians are fighting for their lives against Putin, wondering whether the west will abandon them; Beijing is undertaking an unprecedented military expansion in preparation for potential aggression in the Taiwan Strait; Iran-backed terrorists are attacking U.S. troops in Iraq, Syria, and Jordan, while waging the worst campaign against international shipping in decades; and Israel is trying to finish the job against Hamas in Gaza while eyeing Hezbollah, the Iranian nuclear program, and concerning political pronouncements in Washington. Guest host Bradley Bowman is joined by fellow FDD expert RADM (Ret) Mark Montgomery to discuss the essential state of play in Taiwan, Ukraine, and Israel; why the outcome of their struggles matters to Americans; and what role the U.S. should play in helping them.

Jeffrey Herf has a new and timely volume on the current moment. It’s title: “Three Faces of Antisemitism: Right, Left and Islamist.” He joins host Cliff May to discuss the multiple manifestations of Jew-hatred – a growth industry since the terrible pogrom of October 7, 2023.

Colonel Richard Kemp has spent three decades fighting terrorists and insurgents around the world, including as commander of British forces in Afghanistan and Iraq. He has been present during each conflict between Israel and Hamas since 2008 and has been in Israel since the beginning of the current Gaza war. Col. Kemp joins Cliff to discuss why Israel is not guilty of genocide and why Hamas, Hezbollah, and their patrons in Tehran are; the measures taken by Israel to reduce civilian harm — including their unparalleled ratio of civilians to combatants killed — in what the Col. calls the “single most challenging battlefield”; how South Africa and other members of the so-called ‘international community’ reinforce Hamas’ use of human shields; and the Colonel’s thoughts on the recent U.S.- and UK-led defensive strikes targeting Houthi assets in Yemen. Col. Kemp also shares a battlefield assessment from his time spent in Ukraine and explains to Cliff why he fears the war is likely to end in defeat for Kyiv.

Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) and Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS) are the chairman and ranking member, respectively, of the Senate Armed Services Committee. On January 11, they issued a noteworthy joint statement after receiving a briefing from Admiral John Aquilino, the commander of all U.S. military forces in the Indo-Pacific. The briefing’s topic? The threat from China and how we should respond.  The two senators called Admiral Aquilino’s briefing “sobering” and said “Failure to maintain deterrence against China… would be catastrophic for American national and economic security.” They said tackling the challenges must be a top priority for the committee and called for a number of urgent steps. While many of us have been focused on the aftermath of the deplorable October 7 terror attack on Israel and growing instability and war in the Middle East, things have still been happening in the Indo-Pacific. So, what has China been up to? What has the U.S. military been doing to bolster deterrence? What additional steps must be taken? Guest host Bradley Bowman, senior director of FDD's Center on Military and Political Power, asks these and related questions to Admiral Aquilino. Also joining the conversation: retired Rear Admiral Mark Montgomery.  Admiral John Aquilino Admiral Aquilino is the 26th Commander of the United States Indo-Pacific Command. That’s the Pentagon oldest and largest combatant command covering 36 nations, 14 time zones, and more than 50 percent of the world’s population. He oversees 380,000 service members and DOD civilians and is responsible for all U.S. military activities in the Indo-Pacific. That means he spends a lot of time thinking about the People’s Republic of China. Prior to his current assignment, he's commanded a carrier strike group, led all U.S. naval forces in the Middle East, and was the commander of U.S. Pacific Fleet, among many other assignments. In addition to being a leader, he’s also a pilot and warrior. He’s accumulated more than 5,000 flight hours. He’s been an F-14 and F-18 pilot and has 1,500 carrier landings. He’s also a graduate of the famous TOPGUN school. Admiral Aquilino has deployed many times, including in support of Operations Deny Flight, Deliberate Force, Southern Watch, Noble Eagle, Enduring Freedom, and Iraqi Freedom. Rear Admiral (retired) Mark Montgomery RADM Montgomery is the senior director of the Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation at FDD where he is also a senior fellow. Mark spent 32 years in the U.S. Navy, commanded a carrier strike group, and worked as the director of operations at U.S. Pacific Command.

Host Cliff May is joined by FDD experts Jonathan Schanzer and Richard Goldberg to discuss Qatar donning the facade of ‘mediator’ and ‘peacemaker.’ The reality is rather different. They unpack Doha's bad behavior, including how a plethora of bad actors — e.g., Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood, the Taliban, al Qaeda, ISIS, and the Islamic Republic of Iran (or, as Jon calls it, “the cantina scene from Star Wars”) — are aided and abetted by Qatar; the historical context of Qatar’s rise to a “permissive jurisdiction” for jihadis; and the tough reckoning that awaits Washington as a result of President Biden designating Qatar “a major non-NATO ally.” Astonishingly and distressingly, a key U.S. military base in Qatar has been renewed for ten years, and the U.S. ambassador to Qatar has called 2023 “the greatest year ever in U.S.-Qatari relations,” despite the high probability that Doha has the blood of at least 34 Americans on its hands. Correction: It is the Attorney General Alliance (AGA), not the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG), that receives funds from Qatar. More here. Music: Title: Star Wars - Cantina Band; http://www.flv2mp3.org; @nocopyrightelectroswing7954

The October 7 attack against Israel was carried out by Hamas with support from the Islamic Republic of Iran. Other Tehran proxies include Lebanon-based Hezbollah and Yemen-based Ansar Allah, better known as the Houthi rebels. Although President Trump designated them as a foreign terrorist organization, President Biden removed them from that blacklist. Since November, the Houthis have used Tehran-supplied weapons to attack more than 20 commercial vessels traveling through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, gateway to the Red Sea and Suez Canal and therefore one of the most economically and strategically important waterways in the world.  In response to these aggressions, the Pentagon has organized a U.S.-led naval coalition: Operation Prosperity Guardian. Does the U.S. now have this threat to freedom of the seas under control? If not, what should be the plan? Host Cliff May asks FDD experts RADM (Ret.) Mark Montgomery and Bradley Bowman. They discuss coalition’s defense approach, and why it doesn’t appear to be working; why some of the world’s biggest commercial fleets are acquiescing to the Houthi’s stranglehold on the strait; whether the U.S. is more concerned with provoking Iran’s rulers than with enforcing freedom of the seas; why “deterring by denial” rather than “deterring by punishment” encourages escalation; why the Houthis pose a direct threat to core American interests; and why the recent Houthi attacks have little if anything to do with Israel’s war against Hamas and are instead “an attack on the international system.”

Dr. Nadia Schadlow previously served as the U.S. national security advisor for strategy, and she led the drafting and publication of the 2017 National Security Strategy (and in record time). She shares what it was like to formulate such a strategy while in the Trump White House and while her predecessors rejected much of it, she shares one Strategy “core which is very, very important” reiterated by the Biden administration. She expands on her sentiment in the Wall Street Journal that the uptick in global chaos is a direct consequence of U.S. failure to deter Russia, Iran, and China; why advancing some of Biden’s “aggressive domestic agenda” actually harms U.S. interests abroad; how America’s inability to defend its territorial integrity at its southern border has direct international security implications, including emboldening the likes of the Chinese Communist Party and the Houthis; and why it is notinconsistent to care about both the sovereignty of Ukraine and that of the U.S. southern border. Dr. Schadlow explains how Americans have benefitted from the world order they helped build and lead and the vitality of maintaining such order; the harm in continuing to empower fundamentally corrupt international organizations like the Red Cross and UN Human Rights Council; and why a 20-year investigation of an “existential threat” is an oxymoron and we should demand better outcomes for our tax-dollars. She and Cliff also discuss whether there’s value in the “Cold War 2.0” analogy — and why Dr. Schadlow says there’s one major and critical difference when it comes to China; why U.S. posture with the Houthis appears to be only defensive and not offensive; the Obama doctrine of mollifying Iran’s rulers and thinking they’d “share the neighborhood” — a strategic doctrine that Cliff points out is “less Clausewitz and more Mr. Rogers,” and more. DR. NADIA SCHADLOW Nadia Schadlow was the U.S. national security advisor for strategy in the Trump administration. In that capacity, she led the drafting and publication of the 2017 National Security Strategy of the United States. She has also served in the Defense Department and with the Smith Richardson Foundation, identifying strategic issues that warranted further attention from the American policy community. She is currently a senior fellow at Hudson Institute and a co-chair of the Hamilton Commission on Securing America’s National Security Innovation Base, and she conducts research and analysis on a range of issues at the intersection of strategy, national security, and technology. She is the author of War and the Art of Governance: Consolidating Combat Success into Political Victory.

General David Petraeus joins the show to discuss his new book, "Conflict: The Evolution of Warfare from 1945 to Ukraine" (it was co-authored by Andrew Roberts, check out our recent episode with him here: https://www.fdd.org/podcasts/2023/10/27/studying-war-some-more/). Primarily through the lenses of Ukraine and Israel, Cliff and the General examine what has evolved into modern-day warfare. They discuss the status of Ukraine's defensive war against Russia, including criticism that the U.S. provides only enough assistance to prevent Kyiv from losing the war but not enough to win it.  The General shares his concerns related to Israel's defensive war in Gaza, his thoughts on "the day after" — from the role of the UN to preventing Hamas from reconstituting, and his advice for Israel's War Cabinet based on his experience in Iraq. Cliff also asks him how Israel should handle Hezbollah, and — speaking of — does he think the U.S. has adopted a policy of appeasement towards Iran? What was his reaction to the U.S.-led Red Sea coalition announced earlier this week? About General David Petraeus: Gen. Petraeus served in the U.S. Army for 37 years with six consecutive commands as a general officer — five of which were in combat, including command of the “Surge” in Iraq, U.S. Central Command, and the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan. In addition to later serving as director of the CIA, he has held academic appointments at six universities and is a senior fellow and lecturer at Yale. Also worth noting: he was sanctioned by Russia in 2022.

Podcast host and author Dan Senor joins Cliff to discuss his new book, The Genius of Israel: The Surprising Resilience of a Divided Nation in a Turbulent World, and Israel's defensive war in Gaza. Among the complexities they ponder: How does Hamas continue to rain rocket fire across Israel — do they have that many weapons stockpiled, or are they being resupplied? Is Israel achieving its militarily objectives? And how is it performing on the communications battlefield?  Will Palestinians see this war differently than previous wars and attribute their suffering to Hamas? Despite the sea of calls for Israel to cease its defensive fire, why are there no calls for Hamas to stop terrorizing Israelis? And where are calls for neighboring Arab countries like Egypt and Jordan to even temporarily take in and shelter Palestinians? Does the Biden administration understand the role played by the Islamic Republic of Iran? Dan Senor Dan hosts the popular “Call Me Back” podcast. He has been a senior advisor to U.S. presidential campaigns and a Pentagon official based in Baghdad and Qatar. He’s the co-author of Start-Up Nation: The Story of Israel’s Economic Miracle which has been translated into more than 30 languages. And he now has a new book: The Genius of Israel: The Surprising Resilience of a Divided Nation in a Turbulent World.

Congressman Jason Crow (D-CO) represents Colorado’s Sixth Congressional District, encompassing Aurora and adjacent areas. He's a former Army Ranger and Bronze Star recipient who deployed to combat in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Now in Congress, he serves on the important House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and House Foreign Affairs Committee. He's also co-chair of the For Country Caucus, a bipartisan group of veterans in Congress fighting polarization and working together to get things done. Filling in for host Cliff May, CMPP Senior Director Brad Bowman talks Rep. Crow about a range of national security issues, from the American experience in Afghanistan (and its consequences), Ukraine, and Taiwan, to whether Americans are in danger of a "space Pearl Harbor."

During its October 7 invasion, Hamas terrorists slaughtered more than one thousand civilians in Israel. Its horrific acts of terrorism on that day also included mass rape, pillaging, the desecration of corpses, hostage-taking, and other unspeakable atrocities. Hamas has openly stated that it aims to repeat these atrocities and war crimes again and again and again until Israel is annihilated and Israelis exterminated. In a word: genocide. As for a two-state solution, Hamas has consistently rejected such an idea. And if you think that’s just a bargaining ploy, you’re dead wrong. Because Hamas has an ideology or, more accurately, a theology. Edmund Husain is an expert on this as it pertains to Hamas. He joins host Cliff May to discuss what Islamic theology and history tell us about both Hamas and the future of Israel. *Edmund Husain* Ed is a British writer and political advisor who has worked with leaders and governments around the world. He was a senior advisor to former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and he undertook his doctoral studies on Western philosophy and Islam under the direction of the English philosopher Sir Roger Scruton. He has held senior fellowships at think tanks in London and New York. He’s currently an adjunct professor at Georgetown University. Among the books he has authored: The Islamist, The House of Islam: A Global History, and Among the Mosques. A regular contributor to the Spectator magazine, he has appeared on the BBC and CNN and has written for the Telegraph, The Times of London, the New York Times, The Guardian, and other publications.

Though the fighting is paused, Israel’s defensive war against Hamas continues. FDD Chief Executive Mark Dubowitz and former Israeli National Security Advisor Eyal Hulata — now a senior international fellow at FDD — just returned from Israel. Host Cliff May asks them what they saw, heard, and learned about Israel's ongoing war against Hamas, about Hamas’s allies – in particular Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah – and of course about the wizard behind the curtain: Iran’s rulers. They discuss known details of the ceasefire agreement and hostage exchange — including why calling it a "hostage exchange" is inaccurate, given the imbalance between the innocent civilians being held hostage in Gaza and those imprisoned in Israel for acts of terror; how the delivery of fuel into Gaza during the pause in fighting will likely be exploited by and used to the benefit of Hamas; whether other Iran-backed terrorist groups inside Gaza like Islamic Jihad will also put their weapons down; Qatar's role of both arsonist and firefighter; the sturdiness of President Biden's support for Israel amidst increasing pressure from some inside his camp; and why anticipated IDF operations in southern Gaza will be more difficult and complex than what we've seen in the north.

Although six weeks have passed since Iran-backed Hamas terrorists invaded Israel and butchered more than 1,200 innocent civilians while taking hostage another 240, this is just the beginning of Israel’s multi-front defensive war. One key battlefield: the information space. Historically, the odds of winning in this arena have not been in Israel’s favor. They don’t seem to be now, either. To understand why, host Cliff May and Israeli journalist and author Matti Friedman dissect both past and present media coverage of Gaza. They explain how almost all the foreign press’ current work inside Gaza is being conducted by local “fixers” who either support or dare not cross Hamas. In either case, Hamas controls the narrative. Despite an ethical imperative, most news organizations are not transparent about these restrictions that ultimately shape their coverage. And while this helps explain the “almost eagerness” of the press to accept without question and package as news Hamas talking points, Matti tells Cliff that a “deeper psychology” is also in play.

For an update on Israel's ground offensive in Gaza, AKA Israel's War on Terrorism, host Cliff May is joined by FDD experts Jonathan Schanzer — FDD Senior Vice President for Research and author of Gaza Conflict 2021: Hamas, Israel and Eleven Days of War — and FDD Senior Fellow Jacob Nagel, who previously served as Israel's National Security Advisor under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. They unpack IDF findings from inside (and underneath) the Shifa hospital complex in Gaza. They discuss the broader challenge that Israel faces with Hamas' expansive network of underground tunnels lurking beneath even more hospitals and other civilian infrastructure all over Gaza — how deep are they? Can Israel actually destroy every single one of them? Is it where Hamas is hiding hostages? They explain why Qatar has yet to broker a "deal" between Israel and Hamas to free hostages and why relying on Qatar for that in the first place was "ridiculous" — one of our experts even shares what he thinks is Israel's most promising course of action to secure hostages. (...and more.)

The October 7 atrocities committed against Israel and by Hamas terrorists with support from the Islamic Republic of Iran has frozen the rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Israel, as the clerical regime in Tehran doubtless anticipated. Now, the future of Saudi-Israeli relations may well depend on the outcome of Israel's war against Hamas.  Host Cliff May is joined by top experts Bernard Haykel and Mark Dubowitz to discuss the status of Israeli-Saudi relations on October 6 versus now, including just how close the U.S. was to reaching a deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia — and the likelihood of those talks resuming; why these normalization efforts motivated Tehran to unleash Hamas on October 7; and how those who correctly decried the Khashoggi murder remain silent on the October 7 butchering of Americans in Israel.  They consider the future of Israel's war against Hamas, including day-after scenarios for when Israel cripples Hamas — will this war really be over after that? And what future role might the Saudis play in a post-war Gaza and West Bank? They also break down the ways in which Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's Vision 2030 expands beyond economics as a broader vision for the Middle East and Saudi Arabia's role in it; the importance of Vision 2030 building Saudi Arabia as a nation — and why this contradicts the Islamist vision of expansion held by the Islamic Republic of Iran. Bernard Haykel Bernard is a professor of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University. His research focuses on the “political and social tensions that arise from questions about religious identity and authority” with a particular emphasis on Islam, history, and the countries of the Arabian Peninsula. His books include “Saudi Arabia in Transition” and “Revival and Reform in Islam.” Mark Dubowitz Mark is FDD’s chief executive officer. He has conducted extensive research in Saudi Arabia and in Israel and on (not in!) the Islamic Republic of Iran. Indeed, he has been both sanctioned and threatened by Tehran’s rulers. He has also been sanctioned by Russia and blacklisted by Turkey.

Nearly a month ago, Hamas invaded Israel and murdered over 1,400 men, women, and children. It was the deadliest attack on the Jewish people since World War II, which was also a war against the Jews that culminated in the Holocaust. The Israel Defense Forces are now in Gaza aiming to cripple Hamas’s military capabilities, and it’s a challenging mission. To discuss, host Cliff May is joined by three FDD experts: Bradley Bowman, Hussain Abdul-Hussain, and Retired Maj. Gen. Amir Eshel (former commander in chief of the Israeli Air Force). They talk about the status of Israel's ground operation inside Gaza, including why forces are current concentrated in the northern part of the Strip; how the IDF might deal with Hamas' extensive system of underground tunnels; what happened at Al Shifa Hospital and why Hamas is using ambulances; if there's a difference between a ceasefire and 'humanitarian pause' as well as Israel's conditions for agreeing to the former; how Israel's Arab neighbors are reacting to the war; Saudi Arabia's interception of missiles fired by Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen at Israel — and other related issues.

Two of the world's top experts on human rights join host Cliff May to discuss the October 7 massacre in Israel — the atrocity carried out by Hamas and backed by Iran’s jihadi rulers — and about all that has followed since, in the Middle East, the US, Canada, and elsewhere.  They discuss inaction by the United Nations and other international bodies charged with championing human rights not just in the aftermath of 10/7 but throughout recent history, a refresher on why calling Israel an apartheid state is incorrect,  a review of modern genocidal affronts across the international community (made not least of all by the Islamic Republic of Iran and its surrogates), defining the indigeneity of the Jewish people, and more.  Irwin Cotler Irwin is a near-legendary champion of human rights. He’s carried out that mission as an attorney specializing in international law, as Canada’s minister of justice, attorney general, a member of Parliament, a law professor, and International Chair of the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights, an organization he founded. He served as counsel to Soviet dissident Natan Sharansky, anti-apartheid activist and former South African President Africa Nelson Mandela, the Tutsi people of Rwanda, and many others both famous and not so famous. Last week in Washington, he was awarded the Tom Lantos Human Rights Prize. Orde Kittrie Orde is a senior fellow at FDD and a law professor at Arizona State University’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law. He also wrote the book Lawfare: Law as a Weapon of War, published by Oxford University Press.

It is the opinion of your Foreign Podicy host, Cliff May, that Andrew Roberts is the world’s greatest living historian. In recent years, he has written groundbreaking biographies of Churchill, Napoleon, and King George. He’s a Bradley Prize winner, and Cliff is the one who nominated him. However, Cliff was outdone by His Majesty Charles the Third, as Andrew is now Lord Andrew Roberts — the sovereign has conferred upon him the title of Baron Roberts of Belgravia. Lord Andrew Roberts joins Cliff to discuss his most recent book, co-authored with retired General David Petraeus, "Conflict: The Evolution of Warfare from 1945 to Ukraine.” This New York Times best-seller reached bookstores as the war between Hamas and Israel entered its second week.

Hamas' terrorist attack on Israel has led to war. We have to think that’s what Hamas and its patrons in Tehran expected and very likely wanted. Is that because they believe they can win on the Gazan battlefields? Does Hezbollah, Tehran’s Lebanese foreign legion, plan to open a second front? Or do Israel’s many enemies in the Middle East, Europe, and here in America believe they can make Israel back off, agree to a ceasefire, and let Hamas live to kill Jews another day? What are Israel’s options? What are the tradeoffs? To discuss these and other questions — and attempt to penetrate the fog of war a little — host Cliff May is joined by FDD Senior Advisor Richard Goldberg; Bradley Bowman, Senior Director of FDD’s Center on Military and Political Power; and RADM (Ret) Mark Montgomery, Senior Fellow and Senior Director of FDD’s Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation.

Israel is at war with Hamas — a real war, not another “mow the grass” conflict. Hamas is one of the terrorist groups funded, armed, trained and instructed by the Islamic Republic of Iran. This war began on Saturday, October 7 when Israel was invaded by Hamas barbarians who mass-murdered young people attending a peaceful music festival, raped women, slaughtered babies, and took hostages, dragging them back to dungeons in Gaza. The list of Hamas atrocities and war crimes goes on and on. Over the days since, Hezbollah, Tehran’s Lebanon-based foreign legion, has been probing Israel’s northern defenses. Another front could open. To discuss, host Cliff May is joined by FDD Chief Executive Mark Dubowitz, FDD Senior Vice President for Research Jonathan Schanzer, and FDD Senior International Fellow Eyal Hulata, a former Israeli national security advisor and former head of Israel’s National Security Council.

Americans, our elected officials in Congress, and individuals aspiring to be the next U.S. president are debating whether the United States should continue to support Ukraine. Some Republican presidential candidates are arguing against aid for Ukraine, while several others warn that abandoning Ukraine would be a costly mistake. In Congress, Republican leaders of key committees continue to support aid for Ukraine, but a vocal minority faction of the Republican party in the House of Representatives that opposes aid for Ukraine seems to be growing. To complicate matters, Ukraine’s counteroffensive against Russian forces is going more slowly than many hoped, and the battlefield outcome remains uncertain. In short, Ukraine is in the balance and Americans have questions. To get answers, Brad Bowman (Senior Director of FDD’s Center for Military and Political Power, filling in for host Cliff May) is joined by Celeste Wallander. Celeste Wallander Celeste serves as the Biden Administration’s Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs in the Pentagon. Previously, she served in the Obama administration’s National Security Council from 2013 to 2017 as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Russia and Central Asia. She’s a longtime Russia scholar, former professor at Harvard and Georgetown University, and the author of more than 80 publications.

“What’s past is prologue,” Shakespeare informed us. But what if the past is misunderstood? Or misrepresented?  What if policy makers are making policies based on false historical narratives? In 1979, host Cliff May went to Iran to report on the revolution that was then underway. Cliff admits that he didn’t know much about the country. But neither did most of his colleagues, reporters from around the world who had parachuted in to cover this big story.  He was working on a documentary for PBS which had arranged for him to partner with an Iranian producer.  So, at least the producer was knowledgeable, right? Well, yes and no. He was gung-ho for the revolution and an ardent admirer of its leader: the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. In other words, he was not a truth-seeking journalist but an enthusiastic propagandist. So, this turned out to be a challenging assignment for Cliff. All these many years later, Ray Takeyh – the Hasib J. Sabbagh senior fellow for Middle East studies at the Council on Foreign Relations – is trying to understand and reveal the truth about modern Iranian history. He’s well suited to the task: He holds a doctorate in modern history from Oxford University and has served as a senior advisor on Iran at the State Department. He joins Cliff for today's discussion.  Also joining: Reuel Marc Gerecht, a former Iranian-targets officer in the Central Intelligence Agency, currently a resident scholar at FDD.

“Hostage diplomacy” is a term you’ll frequently see in the media, but it's a misleading term. What we’re really talking about: Dictators kidnapping and torturing innocent foreign civilians.  In some cases, the leaders of free countries pay ransom to get them back. In some cases, the dictators also demand the release of convicted criminals who have been or can be of use to them. In some cases, both simultaneously. The Islamic Republic of Iran is the world’s leading sponsor of terrorism; in 1979, in violation of the most fundamental international laws, its agents seized the American embassy in Tehran and held 66 American citizens hostage — 52 of them for 444 days. The regime in Tehran threatens Israelis with genocide and is providing weapons to Vladimir Putin so he can continue slaughtering Ukrainians for refusing to submit to him; for the crime (in his eyes) of wanting to remain free and independent. The Biden administration has now reportedly approved the release to Tehran of several Iranian criminals along with $6 billion in frozen funds. In exchange, five U.S. citizens are to be released. And that’s almost certainly just part of a broader deal being kept secret from the American people and from Congress — in clear violation of American law. Billions of additional dollars appear to be involved in this deal which will not stop Tehran’s nuclear weapons development program or even seriously delay it. And because you get more of what you reward, expect the hostage-taking to continue. Joining host Cliff May to discuss these topics: Gazalle Sharmahd, whose father, Jamshid or (Jimmy) Sharmahd, a German citizen, was taken prisoner by Iranian agents in Dubai in 2020. She has been tirelessly campaigning for his release ever since and urging the US and Europe to take a tougher line with the Iran’s ruling mullahs. Xiyue Wang is a Chinese-born American scholar who was imprisoned in Iran from 2016 to 2019 after being falsely accused of espionage. Xiyue is a member of FDD’s National Security Network. And Behnam Ben Taleblu is a senior fellow at FDD where he focuses on Iranian security and political issues.

Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine is illegal, immoral, brutal, and barbarian. And if you agree that there is no good alternative to American leadership of the world’s free nations and those that aspire to be, then it follows that it would be a terrible mistake — strategically and morally — for Americans to turn their backs on Ukrainians who are fighting for their freedom, independence, homeland, and families.Whatever your think, you should be curious about the perspectives of America’s allies — particularly those closest to the conflict.With that in mind, host Cliff May is joined by the Hon. Radosław "Radek" Sikorski, a member of the European Parliament for Poland, who sits on committees for Foreign Affairs, Security and Defense. Also taking part in the conversation is Reuel Marc Gerecht, a resident scholar at FDD. In a former incarnation he was an officer in the CIA’s Directorate of Operations. The Hon. Radosław "Radek" Sikorski He is currently a member of the European Parliament for Poland, where he sits on committees for Foreign Affairs, Security, and Defense. He’s also a Senior Fellow at the Center for European Studies at Harvard and a Distinguished Statesman at CSIS in Washington. He was Poland’s Minister of Defense from 2005 to 2007, Foreign Minister from 2007 to 2014 and Speaker of the Parliament from 2014 to 2015. Other notable items on his very long resume: He served as a war reporter in Afghanistan and Angola. He was a Resident Scholar at AEI in Washington. Foreign Policy magazine named him one of 100 global policy intellectuals ‘for speaking the truth even when it’s not diplomatic.’

Host Cliff May lived in Mexico in the late 1970s. Back then, there were reasons to believe Mexico was moving in the right direction. That’s no longer the case. Mexico’s narco-cartels are not only growing in power but also making common cause with Chinese Communists. One result: fentanyl-laced drugs are streaming north where they are killing tens of thousands of young Americans annually. Is Beijing’s goal to destabilize Mexico? Does the Biden administration have a Mexico policy? If not, what should that policy be?

Elliott Abrams has been in the foreign policy business for a rather long time. Years ago, he served on the staffs of Democratic Senators Henry “Scoop” Jackson and Daniel Patrick Moynihan. He later served in the administrations of Republican Presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush. During the Trump administration he served as the State Department’s Special Representative for Venezuela and later, in addition, took on the position of Special Representative for Iran. He left the State Department in January 2021.  He’s the author of five books. He’s currently senior fellow for Middle Eastern studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. He has a blog called Pressure Points which focuses on U.S. foreign policy, the Middle East, democracy, and human rights.  He joins host Cliff May to discuss a number of pressing national security and foreign policy issues.

"It's not a sprint, it's a marathon." That was the reported assessment of a Ukrainian battalion commander recently describing Kyiv's counteroffensive against invading Russian forces. To be sure, the progress of the Ukrainian forces has been slow and the human cost incredibly high. Meanwhile, more than 40 countries — not including Russia — met in Riyadh last weekend to discuss the war.  At this point in the war, what are the strategies of the two combatants?  Is time on Kyiv's — or Moscow's — side? What U.S. interests are at stake on the battlefield in Ukraine? What happened at the NATO Summit in Vilnius last month? Guest host Bradley Bowman, senior director of FDD's Center on Military and Political Power, poses these and related questions to two leading experts: Retired U.S. Army Lieutenant General Ben Hodges and Retired U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Mark Montgomery.

In Part II of the Game of War, host Cliff May is again joined by Dr. Ben Jensen and RADM (Ret) Mark Montgomery to continue their discussion on wargaming. They discuss its application in both Taiwan and Ukraine.

China’s rulers gaze across the Taiwan Strait and see an island where people are free, prosperous, and choose their leaders. They don’t like that. They insist that the people of Taiwan must be ruled by the Communist Party of China. They vow that this is the future and that they will make it happen through the use of military force if other approaches fail. But that’s not all Beijing wants in the vast region known as the Indo-Pacific. Not for the first time on this podcast, we suggest that you reference a map because we’re going to travel to some far-off and remote lands. Guiding us will be Cleo Paskal, a non-resident senior fellow at FDD who studies and writes about this region and has been sounding an alarm in Congress and elsewhere about Beijing’s plans to undermine America's alliances in the Indo-Pacific — particularly with the small island nations of the region. Joining us for the tour is Jon Schanzer, FDD’s senior vice president for research, who recently returned from a trip to Taiwan and Palau, one of the island countries in the western Pacific that we’ll discuss.

War games are not entertainments. They are simulations; a way to develop insights into what would happen in an armed conflict – who would prevail and at what cost, should push come to shove. War games test strategies and capabilities. They are a tool for both research and training. Recently, Dr. Ben Jensen and FDD’s RADM (Ret) Mark Montgomery conducted for Congress a war game simulating a conflict between the U.S. and the People’s Republic of China over Taiwan. They join host Cliff May for a special two-part episode to first discuss the concept, utility, and history of war gaming followed by its application in planning for a possible contingency over Taiwan.

Samuel Ramani teaches politics and international relations at Oxford. He’s the author of Russia in Africa and Putin’s War on Ukraine. His articles appear in a range of top-tier publications. He’s often on the BBC and other international broadcast media. His Twitter feed is granular and prolific. He joins host Cliff May to discuss Russia's war in Ukraine and its footprint in Africa.

Host Cliff May recently wrote a column for the Washington Times guessing what Vladimir Putin might do next if he should succeed in Ukraine. He suggested Putin would take over Moldova, formalize his control over Belarus, and then turn his hungry eyes toward the Baltic states — with the primary goal of establishing a land bridge to Kaliningrad, a Russian territory 400 miles west of the Russian mainland. Parenthetically: Kaliningrad was called Königsberg before the Soviet army captured it from the Germans in 1945. It’s where the Russian Navy’s Baltic Fleet is now headquartered. In response, Cliff received a note from a brilliant scholar, S. Frederick Starr, among whose many books is Lost Enlightenment: Central Asia’s Golden Age from the Arab Conquest to Tamerlane. It’s a fascinating book that Cliff says changed his understanding of Central Asia and the Islamic world. In his note to Cliff, Fred asked why he didn’t think about Putin sending his tanks in another direction: Central Asia and the Caucuses. That seemed like a good question. So, Fred — the founding chairman of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute and Silk Road Studies Program — sat down with Cliff to answer it.

Major General Paul J. Rock Jr. commands United States Marine Corps Forces Central Command, or MARCENT. That makes him the top U.S. Marine in the Middle East. MajGen Rock is a Marine aviator with combat deployments to Iraq, and he was the commanding general of the 3d Marine Expeditionary Brigade before his current position. He believes the biggest threat to U.S. interests in the Middle East is Iran and its proxies. Why? What are Tehran and its terror proxies up to in the region? What are China and Russia doing there? How is MARCENT helping to build a regional security architecture? And how can U.S. Congress help? Guest host Bradley Bowman — Senior Director of FDD’s Center on Military and Political Power – asks MajGen Rock these and related questions.

Walter Russell Mead is the Global View Columnist at the Wall Street Journal, the James Clarke Chace Professor of Foreign Affairs and Humanities at Bard College in New York, the Ravenel B. Curry III Distinguished Fellow in Strategy and Statesmanship at the Hudson Institute, and he’s a member of Aspen Institute Italy. He’s the author of five books. His latest: The Arc of A Covenant: The United States, Israel, and the Future of the Jewish People. He has recently returned from Kyiv, capital of a nation that’s fighting for its life. He joins Cliff to discuss his visit, his book, and more.

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: Reading what he writes as well as listening to both his Battlegrounds podcast and the Good Fellows podcast he does along with historian Niall Ferguson and economist John Cochran from their base at the Hoover Institution. But when he’s in Washington — or as Cliff calls it: "Baghdad on the Potomac" — we like to sit him down at FDD and pummel him with questions. Bradley Bowman, senior director of FDD’s CMPP, joins the episode to help do just that.

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 in the future to defend our homeland more effectively? Bradley Bowman — senior director of FDD's Center on Military and Political Power (CMPP), filling in for host Cliff May — asks these and other questions to two U.S. Air Force officers who have served our country in uniform for decades and accumulated thousands of flight hours. Lieutenant General David S. Nahom Lt. Gen. David S. Nahom is the Commander of Alaskan Command within United States Northern Command. He’s also Commander of the Eleventh Air Force within Pacific Air Forces and Commander of the North American Aerospace Defense Command Region. In other words, he’s focused on the current threat. Brigadier General Joseph D. Kunkel Brig. Gen. Joseph D. Kunkel is the Director of Plans, Deputy Chief of Staff, Plans and Programs in the U.S. Air Force headquarters. That means he focuses on the future threat and what we need to be doing now to prepare.

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 Schanzer, FDD’s senior vice president and former terrorism finance analyst at the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

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 decisive, at least initially. Consider: Putin’s unprovoked large-scale invasion of Ukraine; Beijing’s saber rattling in the Taiwan Strait; and Tehran’s continued employment of terrorist proxies and steps toward a nuclear weapon capability. ...These remind us that soft power has its limits. But it would be a mistake to dismiss the role of soft power. It’s a necessary but not sufficient complement to hard power that can help the U.S. secure its interests. America needs both hard and softer power tools and needs to employ and integrate them more effectively. That’s one of the big ideas animating FDD’s Center on Military and Political Power. What are the tools of soft power? How do they relate to hard power? How is China using soft power tools against the United States and its allies? How can we wield our soft power tools such as international development more effectively? To discuss these topics and more, Bradley Bowman — senior director of FDD’s Center on Military and Political Power, filling in for Cliff May as host — is joined by Daniel Runde and Elaine Dezenski. Dan is a senior vice president and director of the Project on Prosperity and Development (PPD) at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, where he holds the William A. Schreyer Chair in Global Analysis. Dan has held leadership roles at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the World Bank Group and has significant experience in the private sector.He has written a new book: The American Imperative, Reclaiming Global Leadership Through Soft Power. Elaine is senior director of FDD’s Center on Economic and Financial Power. Elaine has more than two decades of leadership in public, private, and international organizations and is a recognized expert on geopolitical risk, supply chain security, anti-corruption, and national security.

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 ago.” But not everyone is celebrating. Islamic Jihad — a terrorist organization funded, armed, and instructed by the Islamic Republic of Iran — recently fired hundreds of missiles at Israel from Gaza, a territory from which Israelis withdrew in 2005. Israelis retaliated with precision strikes targeting Islamic Jihad leaders. For the moment, a ceasefire is in effect. On May 15, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas delivered a “Nakba Day” speech at the U.N. General Assembly. Nakba is Arabic for “catastrophe” which is how he and other enemies of Israel regard Israel’s birth. Abbas said that the U.S. and Britain are to be “blamed” for creating Israel in order to get rid of their Jews, and he claimed that despite Israel’s efforts to excavate under the Al-Aqsa Mosque, which is also the site of what Jews call the Temple Mount, no historical or archeological evidence has been found proving that Jews were present in Jerusalem in the past. In Washington, Rep. Rashida Tlaib staged her own “Nakba” event with help from Sen. Bernie Sanders. And Foreign Affairs, a prestigious American journal, published a long article that also made no attempt to suggest how peaceful coexistence between Israelis and Palestinians might be achieved. The four authors suggest instead that the root of the conflict is, as Islamic Jihad, Mr. Abbas, and Ms. Tlaib would have it: Israel’s existence. The solution – implied rather than stated – is to rip out that root. The consequences of such a policy – not least for the more than 9 million Israelis – were not explored. Elliott Abrams read the article and responded in Pressure Points, his blog. He joins host Cliff May to discuss. Elliott has served at high levels in several administrations. He is currently a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, which happens to be the publisher of Foreign Affairs.

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 current examples. Today, al Qaeda and the Islamic State are active across Africa. So is the Wagner Group, a lawless private army loyal to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. And China’s ruling Communist Party has become a neo-imperialist power on the continent, exploiting African peoples and resources. Joining host Cliff May to talk about Africa is Joshua Meservey. He’s currently a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, where he focuses on African geopolitics, counterterrorism, and great power competition in Africa. He was previously a research fellow for Africa at the Heritage Foundation. He’s also worked at the US Army Special Operations Command, for Church World Service based out of Nairobi, Kenya, and he was a Peace Corps volunteer in Zambia. And he’s a member of FDD’s National Security Network.

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 2021. They talk about war and peace, nationhood, independence, freedom, democracy, Ukraine’s enemies, and allies. This special edition episode was recorded in front of a live a studio audience at FDD.

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 critical to U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. And yet, challenges inside this relationship are reaching alarming levels. From harboring one of the FBI's most wanted terrorists and inciting violence against Israel, to a member of its parliament facing charges for trafficking guns and gold into Israel, Jordan's recent behavior has U.S. policymakers considering their options. Filling in for host Cliff May is Rich Goldberg, senior advisor at FDD. To discuss U.S.-Jordan relations, he's joined by FDD Senior Vice President for Research Jonathan Schanzer and Joe Truzman, research analyst at FDD's Long War Journal.

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 routinely attacking Israel both inside and just beyond its borders: In Lebanon, Iran-backed Hezbollah fired more than forty rockets at Israel. In Syria, the Iranian regime has deployed Shiite militias and military installations that Israel strikes with regularity. In the West Bank, longstanding terror groups (and, now, some new ones) continue to attack Israel. The Palestinian Authority has essentially lost control, making the West Bank even more lawless and dangerous. Iran seeks to exploit this chaos. In Gaza, the Hamas terrorist group routinely fires salvos of rockets into Israel — including about three dozen very recently. All of this has been happening during the holy month of Ramadan, a period in which every year Iran has worked to stoke tensions and incite violence. This year has been no exception, with rioters at the Temple Mount throwing rocks and shooting fireworks at police. Little fires everywhere. That’s what the Israeli Defense Forces saw this month. And from all appearances, the IDF has snuffed all of them out. But there are no permanent victories in the Middle East — only permanent battles. To discuss, FDD Senior Vice President for Research Jonathan Schanzer (filling in for host Cliff May) is joined by Brigadier General Jacob Nagel. He’s the former acting Israeli National Security Advisor under Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu. He’s also a Senior Fellow at FDD.

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 General Kenneth S. Wilsbach is the top U.S. Air Force officer in the Indo-Pacific, where he has served as Commander of Pacific Air Forces, Air Component Commander, and Executive Director of Pacific Air Combat Operations Staff since July 2020. That means he spends a good portion of his time focusing on the threat from the People’s Liberation Army and ensuring the more than 46,000 U.S. Airmen serving in the region have what they need to accomplish the missions they are given. In addition to these leadership positions, he’s also accumulated more than 5,000 hours in the cockpit. In other words, he’s someone leaders in Washington might want to listen to as they make important decisions related to China and the U.S. military. Why should Americans care about the Indo-Pacific and the situation in Taiwan — what’s going on there? What lessons might Beijing be learning from the war in Ukraine?  How capable is China’s military? What aircraft, munitions, and capabilities do our forces most need in the Indo-Pacific? How should U.S. forces be arrayed in the region? As the military threat from China grows and Congress considers the Biden Administration’s fiscal year 2024 defense budget proposal, General Wilsbach discusses these and related issues with Bradley Bowman — senior director of FDD’s Center on Military and Political Power (CMPP).

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”? Or do you think: "What global order? I don’t see any global order!" These are just a few of the questions that host Cliff May asks our guest for this episode, Ambassador Kurt Volker. He served as the U.S. ambassador to NATO and is a leading expert in foreign and national security policy with over 35 years of experience in a variety of government, academic, and private sector capacities.  Also joining the conversation is Reuel Marc Gerecht, resident scholar at FDD, whose previous career was in the CIA’s Directorate of Operations.

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. Darya is an Iranian-Belgian author, human rights activist, and politician currently serving as a member of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives.

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 seeking to avoid government oversight and intervention — like criminals, terrorists, and the states that sponsor them. From cybercrime, terror finance, and sanctions busting to domestic extremism and drug and human trafficking, Washington needs a plan to tackle the unique challenges posed by crypto. To unpack everything, guest host and FDD Senior Advisor Rich Goldberg is joined by economic and national security experts Alex Levitov and Elaine Dezenski. Alex Levitov Alex is an associate managing director at K2 Integrity where he works with financial institutions, technology firms, and jurisdictional authorities to identify, assess, and mitigate risks associated with money laundering, terrorist financing, bribery and corruption, sanctions evasion, and other forms of illicit financial activity. He recently co-authored with Rich an FDD report on the risks of digital assets: The Underside of the Coin. Elaine Dezenski Elaine is the senior director and head of FDD’s Center on Economic and Financial Power. She’s a powerhouse and leading thinker on geopolitical risk, supply chain security, anti-corruption, and national security. Richard Goldberg Rich is the former Director for Countering Iranian Weapons of Mass Destruction at the White House National Security Council. Prior to that, he focused on U.S. foreign assistance, including foreign military financing, international security assistance, development, and economic support funds as a staffer on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State-Foreign Operations. He also worked in the U.S. Senate, where he emerged a leading architect of the toughest sanctions on Iran. He was also the lead Republican negotiator for three rounds of sanctions targeting the Central Bank of Iran, the SWIFT financial messaging service, and entire sectors of the Iranian economy.

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 led in combat including in Iraq and Afghanistan. Now, as Army Chief of Staff, his job is to ensure our soldiers have the training and equipment they need to accomplish their missions and return home safely. In this position, he’s also a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, helping to advise some of our nation’s senior civilian leaders on vital national security decisions. General McConville sat down with Bradley Bowman — senior director of FDD’s Center on Military and Political Power (CMPP), filling in for host Cliff May — just days after the one-year anniversary of Putin’s unprovoked large-scale invasion of Ukraine and amidst reports of Beijing considering the provision of lethal aid to Moscow for use against Ukrainians. Bradley and General McConville discuss the war in Ukraine and what's at stake for Americans, how to strengthen the U.S. defense industrial base, the nature of the threat from China, and what the Army is doing to deter aggression in the Indo-Pacific and beyond. Bradley also asks him for an update on the Army’s ongoing modernization efforts — the most significant the service has conducted in four decades and one that will determine whether Americans can prevail on future battlefields.

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 three FDD experts. RADM (ret) Mark Montgomery Mark Montgomery serves as senior director of FDD’s Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation, countering cyber threats that seek to diminish America’s national security. Mark also directs CSC 2.0, an FDD initiative that works to implement the recommendations of the congressionally mandated Cyberspace Solarium Commission, where he was executive director. Mark previously served as policy director for the Senate Armed Services Committee under the leadership of Senator John McCain, coordinating policy efforts on national security strategy, capabilities and requirements, and cyber policy. Before that, Mark served for 32 years in the U.S. Navy, retiring as a rear admiral in 2017. Bradley Bowman Bradley Bowman is senior director of FDD’s Center on Military and Political Power, focusing on U.S. defense strategy and policy. Brad spent nearly nine years as a national security and defense advisor in the U.S. Senate. Prior to that, he served more than 15 years on active duty in the U.S. Army, including as a company commander, helicopter pilot, congressional affairs officer in the Pentagon, and staff officer in Afghanistan. He also was an assistant professor at West Point, teaching foreign policy and grand strategy. John Hardie John Hardie serves as deputy director of FDD’s Russia Program, focusing on Russian foreign and security policy, U.S. policy toward Russia and the post-Soviet space, and transatlantic relations. John holds an M.A. in security studies from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service.

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 Islamic Republic of Iran’s Ballistic Missile Program." Leveraging an impressive array of English and Persian-language sources, Behnam has produced one of the most comprehensive publicly available assessments to date of Iranian ballistic missile program. In it, he warns that we should expect more missile attacks and transfers from Iran in the future. In his foreword for the monograph, Vice Admiral (Ret.) James D. Syring, Former Director of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency, writes that Behnam’s “findings and recommendations will stimulate a productive policy discussion regarding the steps Washington must take to counter the rising Iranian ballistic missile threat.” So, what are the origins of Tehran’s ballistic missile program? How has it evolved? What are its current capabilities? How does the Islamic Republic view and use its missile arsenal? And what should the U.S. and its allies and partners do about it? To discuss these questions and more, Behnam and Lieutenant General (retired) H.R. McMaster — soldier, former White House National Security Advisor, and Chairman of the Board of Advisors at FDD’s Center on Military and Political Power — join CMPP Senior Director and guest host Bradley Bowman.

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. Waltz serves on the House Armed Services Committee, the House Foreign Relations Committee, and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. These assignments suggest that he’s thinking harder than ever about national security and foreign policy at a critical and dangerous moment. He joins host Cliff May along with Bradley Bowman, senior director of FDD’s Center on Military and Political Power, to discuss. MORE: https://www.fdd.org/podcasts/2023/02/10/warrior-diplomat-on-the-hill/

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 means to deliver a weapon of mass destruction to its target. So, what was this military exercise all about? What makes it unique? Why does it matter? What comes next? Filling in for Cliff May, senior director of FDD's Center on Military and Political Power Bradley Bowman asks Lieutenant General Gregory Guillot. Lt. Gen. Gregory Guillot is the Deputy Commander of U.S. Central Command, which is the Pentagon’s regional combatant command responsible for the Middle East. CENTCOM was established a few years after the  revolution in Iran in 1979 and views deterring Iran as its number one command priority. Lieutenant General Gregory Guillot General Guillot received his commission from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1989 and has commanded a flying squadron, operations group, and two flying wings. Most recently, he served as the commander of the Ninth Air Force (Air Forces Central), Combined Force Air Component Commander within CENTCOM. He’s a senior air battle manager with more than 1,380 flying hours.

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? To discuss these questions and more, guest host Bradley Bowman — senior director of FDD’s Center on Military and Political Power (CMPP), filling in for host Cliff May — is joined by U.S. Air Force Lieutenant General Michael A. Loh. He’s the Director of the Air National Guard where he is responsible for formulating, developing, and coordinating all policies, plans and programs affecting over 108,000 Air National Guard Airmen and civilians across 90 wings and 180 installations in 159 communities throughout the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam and the Virgin Islands. He has served our country for decades in uniform, including as an F-16 instructor pilot and group and squadron commander — and he has deployed many times to combat.

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, expressed most explicitly in the 1968 Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons -- better known as the Non-Proliferation Treaty or NPT. Is it still in force or relevant or even meaningful? What is being done to prevent the acquisition of nuclear weapons – as well as chemical and biological weapons – by regimes hostile to the United States and its allies? FDD has a new Nonproliferation and Biodefense Program attempting to answer such questions and provide policy options. Chairing the program is Ambassador Jackie Wolcott, former U.S. representative to the United Nations in Vienna and the U.S. representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency. Charles Kupperman, who served in senior positions in both the Reagan and Trump administrations, is a member of the program’s board of advisors. They join Foreign Podicy host Cliff May to talk about nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons.

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 with the journalistic herd, and – now that he’s retired from the military – opine on some of the Middle East’s many conflicts and controversies. Also joining the conversation is Jonathan Schanzer, FDD’s senior vice president for research at FDD whose most recent book, Gaza Conflict 2021: Hamas, Israel and Eleven Days of War, challenges – and corrects – some of the major media’s inaccurate reporting on that conflict.

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 an alternative “interim government” headed by Juan Guaido. At one point, Guaido was recognized by dozens of countries as Venezuela’s legitimate president. But last month, members of Venezuela’s opposition parties voted to remove Guaido and dissolve the interim government. Elliott Abrams served on the staffs of Senators Scoop Jackson and Daniel Patrick Moynihan. He was an assistant secretary of state in the Reagan administration, senior director of the National Security Council for democracy, human rights, and international organizations in the George W. Bush administration, and – in the Trump administration – served as Special Representative for Venezuela. He’s currently senior fellow for Middle Eastern studies at the Council on Foreign Relations and Chairman of the Vandenberg Coalition. He joins host Cliff May to discuss Venezuela.

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 Death. Cynthia Farahat is an Egyptian-American writer, counterterrorism expert, and fellow at the Middle East Forum, whose president, Daniel Pipes, a distinguished scholar, wrote the forward to her book. She joins host Cliff May as well as FDD’s Reuel Marc Gerecht, formerly a Middle Eastern specialist at the CIA’s Directorate of Operations, to discuss.

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. Today, he is a prominent human rights attorney, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, and he serves as chairman of USCIRF – the U.S. Commission on International Freedom – appointed by Nancy Pelosi. He has also written a memoir and call to action. Its title: No Escape: The True Story of China’s Genocide of the Uyghurs. He joins Cliff to discuss his life, his book, and what remains a dire situation in Xinjiang.

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? How should we respond? U.S. Army General Laura Richardson is a leader, soldier, aviator, and combat veteran. She has commanded an assault helicopter battalion in Iraq, served as military aide to the Vice President, and led the Army component of U.S. Northern Command. Now, she is the Commander of U.S. Southern Command, the first woman to serve in that position. SOUTHCOM is one of the Pentagon’s six geographic commands and is responsible for U.S. contingency planning, operations, and security cooperation in Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. She joins guest host Bradley Bowman, Senior Director of FDD's Center on Military and Political Power, to discuss.

FIFA’s World Cup of Soccer is a version of the World Series, the Super Bowl, and the Stanley Cup – all rolled into one very international extravaganza. This year, the games have been hip-deep in controversies that have nothing to do with athleticism. Declan Hill is an is an associate professor of investigations at the University of New Haven, and the head of its Sports Integrity Center. He is the author of The Fix: Soccer and Organized Crime and The Insider’s Guide to Match-Fixing in Football. Jonathan Schanzer is FDD’s Senior Vice President for Research and an expert in all things Middle Eastern. They’ll be talking about the current World Cup, FIFA, and Qatar: the tiny, fabulously wealthy, and controversial country hosting it.

Israel is the world’s only Jewish-majority state and the only surviving and thriving Jewish community that remains in the Middle East. Despite that — or, maybe, because of that — Israel has many enemies.  You may think you know how this unique nation-state was born, but history, like science, is never settled.  Jeffrey Herf, a Distinguished University Professor of Modern European History at the University of Maryland, has cast a fresh and scholarly eye on Israel’s origins, and turned his research into a new book: “Israel’s Moment: International Support for and Opposition to Establishing the Jewish State, 1945 – 1949.”   Today, he joins host Cliff May in FDD’s studio along with Jonathan Schanzer, FDD’s senior vice president who reviewed Professor Herf’s book for the Jerusalem Post.

Richard Landes is an historian and author who specializes in medieval millennial thinking. His interests include media manipulation intended to defame, demonize, and de-legitimize the Jewish state. He joins host Cliff May to discuss his new book: "Can The Whole World Be Wrong? Lethal Journalism, Antisemitism, and Global Jihad.”

Perhaps you’ve heard of the Wagner Group? They’re Russian mercenaries. They claim they’re not taking orders from Vladimir Putin, but you should be skeptical. At this moment, the Wagner Group is fighting on Putin’s side in Ukraine — but not as effectively as many expected. Less well known is the Mozart Group, which consists mostly of special operations soldiers from 11 countries who are training, advising, assisting, and equipping Ukrainians as they attempt to defend their independence and freedom against an imperialist and colonialist tyrant who also, by the way, regards America as his enemy. The Mozart Group is led by retired United States Marine Corps Colonel Andrew Milburn. In his last assignment, Col. Milburn served as the Deputy Commander of Special Operations Command Central, the headquarters responsible for all U.S. special operations in the Middle East. He and Retired Rear Admiral Mark Montgomery, senior director of FDD’s Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation, join host Cliff May to discuss Russia's war in Ukraine.

Refusing to be silenced, even by brutal crackdowns, the freedom-seeking people of Iran have now surpassed six weeks of nationwide protests following the death of Mahsa Amini, a young woman murdered by the so-called "morality" police. Filling in for host Cliff May, FDD Senior Fellow Reuel Marc Gerecht is joined by Mariam Memarsadeghi — founder of Tavaana and the Cyrus Forum — to discuss why this round of protests is different and how "what we're watching this time around is a revolution."

Americans must be prepared to defend themselves from hostile armies, navies, air forces – and, not least, soldiers in cyberspace. With that in mind, in 2019, Congress created the Cyberspace Solarium Commission, the CSC. Its mission: “to develop a strategic approach to defending the United States in cyberspace against cyber-attacks of significant consequences.” The CSC operated successfully for two and a half years, publishing its flagship report in March 2020. It issued more than 80 recommendations to reform U.S. government structures and organization, promote national resilience, operationalize public-private collaboration, and preserve and employ military instruments of national power. Many of those recommendations have been implemented — but not all. At the CSC’s planned sunset, the commissioners launched "CSC 2.0" to support the implementation of outstanding recommendations, provide annual assessments of progress, and conduct further research and analysis on cybersecurity issues. It’s a critical project because there are still many gaping holes in America’s cyberspace defense capabilities. To better understand what is being done and what still must be done to defeat this evolving threat, host Cliff May is joined by RADM (Ret) Mark Montgomery — former executive director of the Cyberspace Solarium Commission, now senior director of FDD’s Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation, CCTI, which houses “CSC 2.0” — and Jiwon Ma, a program analyst at CCTI, where she focuses on this new project.  They recently co-authored the project’s 2022 Annual Report on Implementation which examines the progress of efforts to harden our national security in cyberspace.

North Korea is again launching missiles, Iran continues inching towards a nuclear weapons capability, Russia is escalating its aggression in Ukraine, and China is sprinting to field a military capable of invading Taiwan and defeating any effort by Washington to intervene. Considering these extraordinary threats, what kind of Air Force does the United States have — and what kind of Air Force does it need? Which aircraft should be retired, and which should be fielded without delay? The Air Force oversees two legs of the U.S. nuclear deterrent triad. So, with Russia and North Korea rattling their nuclear sabers, what about bombers and intercontinental ballistic missiles? Would the Air Force also have a role in sinking ships in a contingency in the Taiwan Strait? What does the war in Ukraine tell us about the importance of Air Force capabilities? To get answers, FDD's Bradley Bowman — filling in for host Cliff May — asks Lieutenant General Richard G. Moore of the U.S. Air Force. Lieutenant General Richard G. Moore Lt. Gen. Richard G. Moore is the Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans and Programs at the United States Air Force, where he focuses on building the Air Force of the future to support the National Defense Strategy.  Bradley Bowman Bradley Bowman is the Senior Director of FDD's Center on Military and Political Power (CMPP).

The Inter-American Development Bank, the IDB, says its mission is to “improve lives in Latin America and the Caribbean,” support countries “working to reduce poverty and inequality,” and “achieve development in a sustainable, climate-friendly way.” For the past two years, for the first time in its 62-year history, the IDB has had an American president: Mauricio Claver-Carone. His goals have included implementing policies beneficial to the United States and countering Beijing’s push for influence and privileges at the bank. He also ended the practice of Latin American governments using the IDB for patronage jobs – a place to park cronies and politically connected but mediocre economists including those from the region’s socialist and anti-American countries. His reward: He’s been fired — by the Biden administration. China’s rulers and the leftist regimes of Latin America are undoubtedly celebrating. Mr. Claver-Carone joins host Cliff May to tell his story and discuss what he thinks is happening at the IDB. More on FDD.org: https://www.fdd.org/podcasts/2022/10/07/bank-shot/

Since 1989, Ali Khamenei has been the supreme leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran. He has outlasted and outplayed everyone else within the first revolutionary generation. His men now control all the critical institutions in the state. He out-negotiated the United States and western Europe in nuclear talks despite severe sanctions. He has pushed Iran's atomic program ever closer to a bomb. He defeated the United States in Iraq. And, as has become even more obvious as the Iranian people repeatedly rise up in nationwide protests against the theocracy, he has also pushed Iranian society to a breaking point. Filling in for host Cliff May is FDD senior fellow Reuel Marc Gerecht, and he's joined by Ray Takeyh of the Council on Foreign Relations to discuss "the most accomplished — and, perhaps, most consequential — dictator in the middle east since World War II, Ali Khamenei."

Washington and Beijing are engaged in an increasingly intense contest spanning nearly all domains of power — and the stakes could not be higher. It’s a competition between the world’s leading constitutional democracy and the world’s leading authoritarian power. While this contest between the U.S. and China is a global one, it’s most acute in Taiwan where the free people there are confronting the very real prospect of military aggression by the Chinese Communist Party. Indeed, if there is to be a war between the United States and China, many expect that it would begin in the Taiwan Strait. To help illustrate why Taiwan matters and exactly what steps the U.S. must take to defend Taipei and counter Beijing, guest host Bradley Bowman — senior director of FDD’s Center on Military and Political Power — is joined by top experts RADM (Ret) Mark Montgomery and Elbridge Colby. RADM (Ret) Mark Montgomery is the senior director of FDD’s Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation. After his 32 years in the U.S. Navy as a nuclear-trained surface warfare officer, Mark served as the policy director for the Senate Armed Services Committee under the leadership of Senator John McCain and later as the executive director of the Cyberspace Solarium Commission. Elbridge Colby is the Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy and Force Development, and he spearheaded the development of the 2018 National Defense Strategy. His recent book “The Strategy of Denial: American Defense in an Age of Great Power Conflict” extensively and expertly details the China threat — and what the U.S. response should be.

Ilan Berman is Senior Vice President of the American Foreign Policy Council in Washington. He’s an expert on regional security in Russia, Central Asia, and the Middle East. He’s consulted for the U.S. Departments of State and Defense, and for the intelligence community. He’s the author of quite a few books, most recently: Wars of Ideas: Theology, Interpretation and Power in the Muslim World. He joins host Cliff May to talk about the death of Mikhael Gorbachev, the status of Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine, and an incisive scholarly article he recently wrote: “The Sources Of Russian Conduct.”

Host Cliff May says Wall Street Journal‘s Michael Gordon is, “without a doubt, one of the best reporters I’ve ever known — and I’ve known many reporters over many years.” Decades ago, they sat in the same bullpen at The New York Times’ Washington bureau, where Cliff says Michael, “covered defense, national security, and international affairs better than anyone else in town.” Michael has reported on numerous conflicts, both from inside Washington where the decisions are made and from the battlegrounds where the blood is spilled. He has served as a Times bureau chief in Moscow, and as a roving correspondent based in London. He’s currently a national security correspondent for the Wall Street Journal. A few years ago, he was Writer-in-Residence at FDD where he worked on his most recent book: Degrade and Destroy: The Inside Story of the War Against the Islamic State, From Barack Obama to Donald Trump.In this episode, Michael joins Cliff for a discussion on America’s fight against the Islamic State.

One year ago, the U.S. military, under orders from the White House, allowed the Taliban to re-take control of Afghanistan. The withdrawal was poorly planned. The evacuation of Americans and American allies was chaotic and, for some — including 13 American service members — fatal. One year later, what’s the status of Afghanistan? What’s the status of the Taliban’s ally, al Qaeda? What lessons have we learned? What lessons have we not learned? Joining host Cliff May to discuss: LTG (Ret.) H.R. McMaster, former White House National Security Advisor who now serves as Chairman of the Board of Advisors at FDD’s Center on Military and Political Power (CMPP); Bradley Bowman, senior director of FDD's CMPP; and Bill Roggio, FDD senior fellow and editor of FDD’s Long War Journal.

Israel’s latest armed conflict was with a group that calls itself Islamic Jihad, or Palestinian Islamic Jihad, or PIJ. It’s supported, armed, and trained by the rulers of the Islamic Republic of Iran. To learn more about this American-designated terrorist organization, how badly it was set back by the missiles of August, and what Iran’s rulers might do to build it back better, host Cliff May is joined by FDD Chief Executive Mark Dubowitz, who was in Israel during the three-day battle, and by FDD Senior Vice President for Research Jonathan Schanzer. Jon, who is also the author of Gaza Conflict 2021: Israel, Hamas, and Eleven Days of War, closely followed reporting on the fighting in English, Hebrew, and Arabic.

The United States has vital economic and national security interests in deterring aggression and maintaining peace and security in Europe. But almost six months ago on February 24, a clearly undeterred Vladimir Putin launched the largest invasion on the European continent since WWII. As the Ukrainian people continue the fight to defend their country, the war grinds on with no end in sight. Meanwhile, Putin's disregard for the sovereignty of Russia's neighbors prompted Finland and Sweden to seek admission into NATO — even as NATO member Turkey fluctuates between cooperation and competition with Russia. How are Russian and Ukrainian forces currently performing on the battlefield? What role has Turkey played in the conflict, and will this impact the future of U.S.-Turkey relations? Are recent changes to NATO's military posture sufficient? How should we view the likely addition of Finland and Sweden to the NATO alliance? Bradley Bowman — senior director of FDD's Center on Military and Political Power (CMPP), filling in for host Cliff May — poses these and related questions to two experts. LTG (Ret.) Ben Hodges previously served as the Commanding General of the U.S. Army in Europe and is now the Pershing Chair in Strategic Studies at the Center for European Policy Analysis. Amb. Eric S. Edelman previously served as U.S. Ambassador to both Turkey and Finland and at the Pentagon as Undersecretary of Defense for Policy. He's now a senior advisor at FDD where he also serves on the Board of Advisors for FDD's CMPP.

Ayman al Zawahiri, emir of Al Qaeda, is no more. He was reportedly on the balcony of what he thought was a “safe house” in one of Kabul’s more upscale neighborhoods when two missiles fired by the CIA from a Hellfire drone ended his life — almost 21 years after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and almost one year after the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and capitulation to the Taliban. To discuss Zawahiri's career and killing and what's next for Al Qaeda, the Taliban, Afghanistan, and the global jihad, Foreign Podicy host Cliff May is joined by FDD senior fellow and editor of FDD’s Long War Journal Bill Roggio and senior director of FDD’s Center on Military and Political Power (CMPP) Bradley Bowman.

A couple of weeks ago, Joe Biden went to Israel and Saudi Arabia. This was not a summer vacation. The president had goals. Did he achieve any? Did he set any back? Foreign Podicy host Clifford D. May poses these and other questions to Michael Singh and Hussain Abdul-Hussain. Michael Singh Michael is the Managing Director and Lane-Swig Senior Fellow at The Washington Institute. From 2005 to 2008, he was senior director for Middle East affairs at the White House National Security Council. He’s also served as special assistant to secretaries of state Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell and at the U.S. embassy in Israel. Hussain Abdul-Hussain Hussain is a research fellow at FDD. Formerly a managing editor of Beirut’s Daily Star, he has reported from war zones in Lebanon and Iraq. He headed the Washington Bureau of the Kuwaiti daily Alrai. He’s been a Visiting Fellow with London’s Chatham House, and he’s published in numerous Arabic and English language publications, including in The New York Times and The Washington Post.

Great Britain is in the midst of a leadership crisis. The decline and fall of the always-entertaining Boris Johnson has led to a stormy contest among Conservative Party politicians to replace him, and the Labour Party now has a chance to replace the Conservatives. It’s complicated as are the consequences of Brexit, the separate Brexit of Harry and Meghan and their transformation into the Duke and Duchess of Hollywood. To help make sense of it all, host Cliff May is joined by Nile Gardiner. Nile Gardiner Nile is director of the Heritage Foundation’s Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom. Earlier in his career, he was Foreign Policy Researcher for former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, advising her on international policy and assisting with her book, Statecraft: Strategies for a Changing World. Nile is extraordinarily well-educated. He received a doctorate in history from Yale University. He also has two master's degrees from Yale, and a master’s degree and bachelor’s degree in modern history from Oxford University. He has lived in Europe, Africa, Asia, and North America.

In addition to following Russia’s brutal war against Ukraine, host Cliff May has also been trying to understand what’s going on in "the lands between" – the lands between Russia and Western Europe; lands that Vladimir Putin would like also to include in his empire or, failing that, in his sphere of influence. And this just in: The Islamic Republic of Iran, just south of what were the borders of the Soviet empire, is assisting Putin in his aggression. Curious, no? To discuss these and related issues, Cliff is joined by Dr. Ivana Stradner, who serves as an advisor to FDD’s Barish Center for Media Integrity, and by Dr. Emanuele Ottolenghi, a senior fellow at FDD and an expert at FDD’s Center on Economic and Financial Power (CEFP).

Professor Waller R. Newell is a political theorist and historian of ideas. He specializes in the history of tyranny from ancient times to the present. He’s written about Rousseau, Marx, Nietzsche, and Heidegger. He’s studied the French Revolution, Communism, National Socialism, and contemporary Russian Eurasianist nationalism. His many books – which have been translated into Italian, Portuguese, Turkish, Korean, and Kurdish – include “Tyranny and Revolution”; “Tyrants: A History of Power”; “Injustice and Terror”; and “Tyranny: A New Interpretation.” He’s a professor of political science, philosophy, and humanities at Carleton University in Ottawa. Recently, he also became an adjunct fellow at FDD. He joins host Cliff May as well as FDD Senior Fellow Reuel Marc Gerecht to discuss related issues.

Decades ago, Richard Bernstein opened Time magazine’s first bureau in Beijing. He was later New York Times bureau chief at the UN, in Paris, and in Berlin. He spent a few years as the Times’ National Cultural Correspondent and as a Times book critic. He’s also the author of a list of incisive books including on China and France. He recently wrote a provocative op-ed for the Wall Street Journal. It’s about what he calls the “Midway Measures Trap.” That’s when the U.S. is caught between two contradictory imperatives: to respond to a threat, but also to limit the response so as to contain costs and limit risks. The result is often mission failure – and that has consequences. He joins host Cliff May to discuss not going the distance, not sticking to our guns, being in for a penny but not a pound, and other related topics.

Not so long ago, Turkey was widely regarded as the bridge between the Occident and the Orient, between Christian Europe and the Muslim Middle East. Turkey separated mosque and state. Turkey was a NATO member. Turkey was economically dynamic despite not having oil. Turkey seemed to be democratizing. That’s not how many of us see Turkey today under the increasingly authoritarian President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Michael Doran is a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and director of its Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East. He’s served as a senior director on the National Security Council, a senior advisor in the State Department, and a deputy assistant secretary of defense in the Pentagon. He has a doctorate from Princeton, and he’s the author of “Ike’s Gamble,” a thoughtful re-examination of the Suez Crisis of 1956. FDD Senior Fellow Reuel Marc Gerecht, a former Middle Eastern specialist at the CIA’s Directorate of Operations, was, for some years, based in Turkey. Reuel and Foreign Podicy host Cliff May agree with Dr. Doran on most issues — but not on Erdogan. They discuss the root of their disagreement in this episode.

Jackie Wolcott previously served as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations in Vienna and as U.S. representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency. Anthony Ruggiero is the former White House National Security Council Senior Director for Counterproliferation and Biodefense. Together, they are behind the wheel of FDD’s newly launched Nonproliferation and Biodefense Program — serving as Chair and Senior Director, respectively — where they’ll lead the Program’s efforts to prevent America’s adversaries from possessing and developing weapons of mass destruction (perhaps chief among the most pressing national security issues that we face). Both join FDD Senior Advisor and former White House National Security Council Director for Countering Iranian Weapons of Mass Destruction Richard Goldberg — filling in for host Cliff May — to discuss the Program’s timely objectives and the very hard work they’re going to tackle.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, better known by its acronym, NATO, was founded in 1949 to contain Soviet expansionism. President Truman told a joint session of Congress: “It must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures.” This was the essence of the Truman Doctrine. Adopted on a bipartisan basis – with Sen. Arthur Vandenberg playing the most significant role on the Republican side – it encapsulated core American values and interests. The collapse of the Soviet Union and the dissolution of its empire raised a question: Was NATO’s mission accomplished? President Trump at one point called the defensive alliance “obsolete.” He later walked back that description – though he was adamant that all members should be pulling the wagon, not riding on it (hard to argue with him on that point). Vladimir Putin, Russia’s ruler, has long wanted to divide and, if possible, destroy NATO. But the brutal, imperialist war he’s launched against neighboring Ukraine has instead revived NATO – at least, so far. This raises lots of questions. Foreign Podicy host Clifford D. May poses these and additional questions to Frederick Kagan, Senior Fellow and Director of the Critical Threats Project at the American Enterprise Institute. Fred was one of the architects of the successful “surge” strategy in Iraq – whose significance FDD understood and energetically supported – and he’s a former professor of military history at West Point. His books include Lessons for a Long War and End of the Old Order: Napoleon and Europe, 1801 – 1805. Also on hand to both ask and answer questions: Bradley Bowman, a West Point graduate who served for more than 15 years on active duty as a U.S. Army officer, helicopter pilot, staff officer in Afghanistan, assistant professor at West Point, and top defense advisor in the U.S. Senate. He’s now Senior Director of FDD’s Center on Military and Political Power (CMPP).

FDD experts have worked for more than a decade on the threat posed by the Islamic Republic of Iran. As part of a multi-pronged strategy, FDD has shared nonpartisan research and analyses with policymakers, lawmakers, and the business community. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is slated to hold its first public hearing on the theocratic regime in more than two years with administration officials and top experts, and they have invited FDD’s Mark Dubowitz – who founded our Iran program – to testify as an expert witness. He joins Foreign Podicy host Cliff May — along with FDD’s Rich Goldberg, who recently served on the National Security Council as the Director for Countering Iranian Weapons of Mass Destruction; and FDD’s Toby Dershowitz who has played a significant role in shaping and messaging policies to counter the threats from Tehran — to discuss the impending Iran nuclear deal.

Russia's war in Ukraine underscores, among other things, the urgency of boosting Taiwan's military readiness. Meanwhile, many Americans remain bitterly divided on what role of the U.S. should be in the world, and, therefore, on how strong America's military power ought to be. To discuss these and other pressing issues facing the U.S. and broader free world, Foreign Podicy host Cliff May is joined by experts from FDD's Center on Military and Political Power (CMPP) — LTG (Ret.) H.R. McMaster and Bradley Bowman. LTG (Ret.) H.R. McMaster formerly served as the U.S. National Security Advisor and was a commissioned officer in the United States Army for 34 years before retiring as a Lieutenant General in June 2018. He's a historian, an author, and a pundit. He now serves as the Fouad and Michelle Ajami Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution — and he also serves as the Chairman of the Board of Advisors at FDD’s Center on Military and Political Power (CMPP). Bradley Bowman is a West Point Graduate, who served as an active-duty U.S. Army officer, Black Hawk pilot, and top advisor to two U.S. Senators. He is also now with FDD's Center on Military and Political Power where he serves as the Center's Senior Director.

Russia ravages Ukraine. China eyes Taiwan. North Korea prepares a nuclear test. And negotiations for a new — and worse — iteration of President Obama’s deeply-flawed Iran nuclear deal remain on life-support.   The rules-based, American-led order is hanging in the balance — and although they weren’t granted a seat at the negotiating table, Israel currently faces a unique threat with a build-up of Iranian weapons at almost each of its borders. Unlike with the Americans at the negotiating table, the theocratic regime in Tehran doesn’t want Israelis to submit — they want Israelis to perish. And also unlike the U.S., Israel takes this existential threat both literally and seriously.   Inside its borders, meanwhile, there’s been new wave of terrorist attacks in recent weeks as tensions in Jerusalem again approach boiling. All this as we reach the one-year mark since the Gaza conflict of 2021. Filling in for host Cliff May, FDD Senior Vice President for Research Jonathan Schanzer (who literally wrote the book on last year’s conflict) is joined by Brigadier General Jacob Nagel — a Senior Fellow at FDD and former acting Israeli National Security Advisor to Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu (and who also contributed to the Hebrew edition of Jon’s book) — to discuss these and related issues.

Can there be anyone not shocked and appalled by Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine – a war intended to extinguish Ukraine as an independent nation; a war in which it appears that war crimes are not just being tolerated by the Kremlin but actively encouraged; a war intended to establish that the only laws that apply in the world today are those of the jungle? The answer: yes. Such people prefer to call themselves ‘realists’, or ‘restrainers’, or ‘re-trenchers’, or ‘anti-interventionists’ or people who just want to prioritize “nation-building at home!” Objectively, one might call them isolationists. And they can be found on both the left and the right of the political spectrum. To discuss, Foreign Podicy host Cliff May is joined by FDD senior fellow Aaron MacLean. Aaron served as a U.S. Marine for seven years with two tours in Afghanistan. He later taught at the U.S. Naval Academy, where in 2013 he received the Apgar Award for Excellence in Teaching. Aaron received a B.A. in philosophy and the history of math and science from St. John’s College, Annapolis, and an M.Phil. in medieval Arabic thought from Oxford. He has been a Boren Scholar and a Marshall Scholar. And he served as senior foreign policy advisor and legislative director to Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas. MORE View the episode page on FDD's website here. More from FDD's Foreign Podicy here. More from Cliff here.

"A well-informed citizenry is the best defense against tyranny." Thomas Jefferson said that or something close to it. But what happens when tyrants misinform us or — worse — disinform us? To help us understand disinformation and its consequences, Foreign Podicy host Cliff May is joined by three FDD scholars: RADM (Ret) Mark Montgomery, Senior Director of FDD's Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation (CCTI); Emanuele Ottolenghi, FDD Senior Fellow; and Ivana Stradner, Advisor to FDD's Barish Center for Media Integrity.