

FDD's Foreign Podicy
FDD, Cliff May
A national security and foreign policy podcast from the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD).
Episodes
Mentioned books

Mar 29, 2024 • 1h 7min
Ronald Meets the Donald
Exploring the new Cold War landscape with multiple nuclear adversaries, including Russia, China, and Iran. Delving into Reagan's strategic vision of 'we win, they lose' and the importance of defense systems. Discussing China's dominance in energy, climate change, and the need for the US to recognize China as a powerful adversary. Criticizing the current administration's handling of national security, border security, and immigration policy. Urging for increased military contributions and crisis awareness to address escalating tensions in Europe.

Mar 22, 2024 • 42min
John Bolton’s New World Order
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.

Mar 15, 2024 • 57min
Ali Khamenei’s Nuclear Ambitions and Weapons of Mass Distraction
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.

Mar 8, 2024 • 59min
On Safari with Admiral Montgomery
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.

Mar 1, 2024 • 1h 4min
View of the World from Boston
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.

Feb 23, 2024 • 56min
The UN’s Support for Hamas’ War On Israel
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.Bonnie GlickBonnie Glick is an adjunct senior fellow at FDD. She served as the deputy administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) from January 2019 to November 2020. She was nominated for the post by President Trump and confirmed by the U.S. Senate by unanimous consent. Her prior experience also includes 12 years as a U.S. foreign service officer in the Department of State with overseas tours in Ethiopia and Nicaragua and domestic tours at the State Department, National Security Council, and U.S. Mission to the United Nations. Read Bonnie's full bio here.Richard GoldbergRichard Goldberg is a senior advisor at FDD. From 2019-2020, he served as the Director for Countering Iranian Weapons of Mass Destruction for the White House National Security Council. He previously served as chief of staff for Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner and deputy chief of staff and senior foreign policy adviser to former U.S. Senator Mark Kirk of Illinois in both the U.S. House and Senate. Read Rich's full bio here.

Feb 16, 2024 • 56min
The Battle in Rafah, the War with Tehran
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.

Feb 9, 2024 • 47min
A moment of decision for Americans
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.

Feb 2, 2024 • 50min
Three Faces of Jew-Hatred
Jeffrey Herf discusses his book on the different manifestations of Jew-hatred, including Islamic anti-Semitism and its connection to Nazi ideology. The chapter also explores the rise of anti-Semitism after recent atrocities and the role of think tanks in shaping policies and addressing the cultural acceptance of anti-Semitism in universities.

Jan 26, 2024 • 46min
Colonel Richard Kemp on Israel's Long War
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.