FDD's Foreign Podicy

Mark Montgomery, a retired Rear Admiral from the FDD and recent frontline observer in Ukraine, shares firsthand insights on the evolving military strategies in the conflict. He emphasizes the need for coordinated military support for Ukraine. John Hardie, co-author of an FDD Memo, discusses tactical sanctions that could pressure Russia diplomatically. Both guests explore the inadequacy of current peace negotiations and the significant resilience of the Russian economy while underscoring the importance of Western military aid in shifting battlefield dynamics.

Yardena Schwartz, an eminent journalist and author known for her insightful work on the Arab-Israeli conflict, delves into the dark history of the 1929 Hebron massacre. She highlights the previously peaceful coexistence between Jews and Muslims and discusses how misinformation fueled violence. Schwartz also explores her journey from print to freelance journalism and shares compelling personal narratives about historical discoveries in Hebron. The conversation navigates the complexities of Gaza's governance, leadership choices, and enduring tensions that echo through time.

Melanie Phillips is a British journalist, broadcaster, and author.Her weekly column currently appears in The Times of London. She’s a regular panelist on BBC Radio’s The Moral Maze and speaks on public platforms throughout the English-speaking world.Her best-selling book, “Londonistan,” about the British establishment’s capitulation to Islamist aggression, was published in 2006. She followed this in 2010 with “The World Turned Upside Down: the Global Battle over God, Truth and Power.” She has a new book: “The Builder’s Stone: How Jews and Christians Built the West – and Why Only They Can Save it.”She joins host Cliff May to discuss her work's pertinence in the context of Israel's defensive war in Gaza and rising global anti-Semitism.

Join Thomas Bussiere, Commander of U.S. Air Force Global Strike Command, and Lydia LeFevre, research fellow at FDD's CMPP, as they discuss the breathtaking nuclear modernization of China and Russia. They uncover how China's expanding nuclear arsenal could target the U.S. by 2030 and detail the urgent need for the U.S. to bolster its deterrent strategies. The conversation also highlights the role of advanced bombers like the B-21 Raider and the importance of strengthening alliances in the face of rising ballistic threats from adversaries like North Korea and Iran.

Last week, Abbas Araghchi, the foreign minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran, said that talks with the Trump administration appear to be going well.This tells host Cliff May that from an American perspective, the talks are going badly.President Trump has said that America’s goal is the “full dismantlement” of the regime’s nuclear weapons program, including its capacity to produce missiles that could deliver nuclear warheads to targets anywhere in the world.Mr. Araghchi’s goal is to prevent President Trump from achieving his goal. Who are you betting on?Cliff asks Reuel Marc Gerecht and Ray Takeyh, who just wrote a piece together in Politico arguing that sanctions and maximum pressure have never made the clerical regime abandon its nuclear ambitions.Which raises the question: What will?

According to host Cliff May, "Mark Montgomery is an admirable admiral. Another adjective I’d use to describe him: peripatetic. Which is a fancy way of saying he’s on the road more than Willie Nelson—whom he does not otherwise resemble."Most recently the retired flag officer has been in Lithuania, which on the east shares a border with the Russian vassal state of Belarus, and on the southwest has a border with the Russian oblast of Kaliningrad, which was called Königsberg until Russia took it from Germany following World War II.You start a war and lose that war, you may lose territory. Which is a good segue to Israel, another country Mark has recently visited. Also on the list is Taiwan.And, perhaps most mysteriously, he very recently spent time in an elaborate private wine cellar in California. Which is odd because he’s not much of a drinker. It had something to do with a cyber security conference and... The Godfather?So many mysteries, so little time. 

Sinan Ciddi, a non-resident senior fellow at FDD and an associate professor at the Marine Corps University, sheds light on Turkey's complex identity and political landscape. He discusses Erdogan's shift from promising democratic reforms to embracing authoritarianism, highlighting public dissatisfaction and rising opposition. Ciddi delves into Turkey's historical tensions, particularly the Armenian genocide, and examines contemporary geopolitical dilemmas, including its ties with Hamas and military relations with NATO, offering a captivating insight into Turkey's evolving role on the world stage.

Filling in for host Cliff May is FDD CEO and host of The Iran Breakdown, Mark Dubowitz, joined by former Israeli national security advisor Jacob Nagel, now a senior fellow at FDD.Following President Trump’s recent signaling that he's open to nuclear negotiations with the Islamic Republic, Mark and Jacob revisit the flaws of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and the  general complexities of Iran's nuclear program. They discuss Iran's current nuclear capabilities and the implications of the program for regional security—and explain why addressing weaponization and delivery systems in any potential deal is of utmost importance.

Lord Andrew Roberts has written or edited 20 books which have been translated into 28 languages and have redefined our understanding of leaders and leadership, of empires and nations, of the forces that have shaped—and in some cases misshaped—the modern world.He’s won many awards, including the Bradley Prize for which he was nominated by host Cliff May.In 2022, he was elevated to the House of Lords as Baron Roberts of Belgravia.His most recent work: Chairing the 7 October Parliamentary Commission report, the first publication aimed at establishing and preserving an accurate record of the barbaric pogrom carried out by Hamas and Hamas-adjacent Gazans against Israelis.He joins Cliff to discuss.

The Indo-Pacific is one of the most consequential regions in the world. It’s home to economies, trade routes, and allies vital to American prosperity and security.It is also a region where the Chinese Communist Party, building on decades of defense sector cooperation with Russia, has expanded its military capabilities at a breathtaking pace. The more capable the Chinese military has become, the more aggressively Beijing has acted to coerce its neighbors and undermine American interests.Someone who grapples daily with this reality is General Ronald Clark, the Commander of U.S. Army Pacific, or USARPAC.For those who are not denizens of the Department of Defense, USARPAC is the Army service component command within U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. In other words, you can think of him as the top American soldier in the Pacific. A combat leader with decades of experience, General Clark has led American soldiers in Europe, the Middle East, and the Pacific. He’s a veteran of Operations Desert Shield, Desert Storm, Iraqi Freedom, and Enduring Freedom. But now he focuses full time on the Pacific.He joins guest host Bradley Bowman, Senior Director of FDD’s Center on Military and Political Power, to discuss why the Indo-Pacific matters to Americans, the role of land power there, and what the Army is doing to deter and defeat adversaries—including forward-positioning forces, conducting rigorous training, and deepening cooperation with key allies such as the Philippines.