FDD's Foreign Podicy

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."