Foreign Podicy

"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

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

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. NahomLt. 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

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; andTehran’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 Pol

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 Bri

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 Specia

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 recent

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 leade

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.