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Foundation for Defense of Democracies

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The Foundation for Defense of Democracies, abbreviated as FDD in this text, is a non-partisan research institute based in Washington that focuses on issues related to U.S. national security and foreign policy.

Foundation for Defense of Democracies

FDD's key role

FDD played a key role in the international policy landscape during the Trump administration, conducting research and analysis aimed at strengthening the national security of the United States and reducing or eliminating threats posed by opponents and enemies of the U.S. Part of the intensified economic sanctions and the imposition of crippling economic sanctions during Trump's presidency stemmed from the decision-making of this think tank. This institute was established shortly after the September 11, 2001 attacks. Its team includes experts from various backgrounds and fields—including policymakers, elites, military personnel, security officers, academics, and journalists. Since the administrations of George W. Bush, Obama, and Trump, this think tank has shared its reports and research with policymakers, media outlets, and key members of these governments, as well as congressional offices. Over the past 20 years, this institution has managed to establish its position among American officials. For example, consider the following remarks:

  1. Herbert Raymond "H.R." McMaster [1]: "I love FDD…I want to thank FDD for the work they’ve done over the years on many important issues… We have made extensive use of FDD’s research and analysis… We need institutions like FDD to continue their research on the threats we face."
  2. Michael Vincent Hayden [2]: "The intelligence community takes seriously what FDD has done and deeply appreciates it. Your research demonstrates the connections between external actors and opposition groups—disseminators, sanctions—and money laundering. What you can do with open-source intelligence enhances what is happening in the intelligence community."
  3. George W. Bush [3]: "This foundation has brought about changes in the world."

This is part of American politicians' comments regarding this foundation.

The foundation's research activities are conducted across four centers and eight programs or projects.

These centers include:

Center for Cyber Innovation and Technology

The Center for Cyber Innovation and Technology (CCTI)[4] at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies aims to enhance U.S. security through technological innovation in the face of cyber threats and to mitigate them. This center promotes a better understanding among government and private sector stakeholders, as well as U.S. allies, regarding the threats and opportunities related to national security created by a rapidly expanding technological environment. This project provides a series of studies on the strategies and cyber capabilities of Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran, followed by an analysis of America’s most powerful cyber enemies and policy recommendations for defending U.S. national security. The project aims to foster a broader understanding among policymakers, private sector advocates, and friendly nations about the threats and opportunities presented by new technological tools, helping policymakers to advance strategies for U.S. gain in this area.

Center for Economic and Financial Power

This center focuses its research on national economic security, concentrating on how the U.S. can improve its economic and financial power to achieve its national security objectives. Experts at this center track and analyze changes in the global economy and how allies and rivals coordinate with these changes. The Economic and Financial Power Center also seeks to provide a broader understanding of how the U.S. government can leverage economic and financial power to effectively combat its enemies.

The center focuses on how to separate malign regimes and individuals from the global economic (trade) system by strengthening the interconnectedness of this system. Research from this center also develops new defensive strategies to protect the economic power of the U.S. and its allies, as well as proactive strategies for targeting investments and promoting trade. Similarly, the center assesses the impact of technological changes on financial transparency and accountability.

Center for Military and Political Power

The Center for Military and Political Power at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies enhances understanding of the defensive strategies, policies, and necessary capacities for deterrence and defense against threats to the freedom, security, and prosperity of the American people and its allies by providing timely and relevant research and analysis.

To inform and accelerate this urgent effort, the center focuses on defense policy and strategy that complements FDD's expertise in sanctions, illicit financing, cyber warfare, as well as FDD's ongoing work related to regional security and terrorism in the Middle East.

CMPP concentrates on the military and political elements of these threats and challenges, as well as the strategies, policies, budgets, capacities, capabilities, and readiness levels required by the Department of Defense to overcome them. The threats include those posed by China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea. CMPP also pays special attention to political and military affairs, U.S. allies, ballistic missile defense, conventional force modernization, freedom of navigation, hybrid warfare, national security innovation base, nuclear modernization, and the military posture of the United States.

Barish Center for Media Integrity

This center addresses national security threats arising from disinformation campaigns and infiltration operations conducted by foreign adversaries against the United States and its allies. A significant part of the center's activities includes a one-year media grant for well-established journalists, social media content creators, and strategic communications professionals. This grant provides educational planning opportunities and professional development to help media professionals gain a deeper understanding of the intersection between media, strategic communications, public diplomacy, disinformation, and U.S. national security. After completing the program, media fellows join FDD's national security alumni network, consisting of over 500 professionals.

This center supports research on how foreign adversaries, including state and non-state actors, utilize infiltration operations to advance their strategic goals. This focus includes investigative journalism and technical research to identify and analyze campaigns conducted by foreign adversaries. Through this research, the Barish Center provides practical and specific recommendations for defending against these national security threats.

Programs

The foundation also has research programs under these centers, which include:

  1. China Program;
  2. FDD Long War Journal;
  3. International Organizations Program;
  4. Iran Program;
  5. Israel Program;
  6. National Security Alumni Network;
  7. Cyber Transformative Innovations Lab;
  8. Turkey Program.

Criticism

From time to time, FDD has been strongly criticized by prominent figures and organizations for its research approach. For example:

  • In 2018, retired US Army Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson, known for his criticism of Israel and facing accusations of antisemitism, called FDD out for "pushing falsehoods" to justify wars.[5]
  • In 2019, the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs designated the Foundation for Defense of Democracies as a terrorist organization.[6]
  • Farid Hafez, a researcher at Universität Salzburg, claimed that FDD was a leading group promoting Islamophobia in a transatlantic network that year.[7]
  • The International Relations Center has published a report on FDD on its "Right Web" site, which is part of the Institute for Policy Studies. The report notes that while FDD is a strong opponent of terrorism, it has not condemned Israeli actions against Palestinians that could be seen as similar.
  • In 2023, FDD, along with other US-based think tanks, was alleged to be coordinating a pressure campaign against the UAE's regional rivals, including Iran, Qatar, and Turkey.[8]
  • Christopher A. Bail, a sociology, public policy, and data science professor at Duke University, characterizes FDD as an "anti-Muslim fringe organization" that has attempted to portray itself as a credible authority on Islam and terrorism through the strategic use of "ethnic experts"—pundits of Middle Eastern descent who are not Muslim but whose views contradict the mainstream perspectives of the Muslim community in the United States while appearing to resemble and speak like Muslims.[9]
  • Similarly, Sarah Marusek, a research fellow at the University of Johannesburg, argues that FDD plays a significant role in promoting Islamophobia within a "transatlantic network." Farid Hafez supports this assertion.[10]

Conclusion

In summary, all the research produced by this think tank is critical of Iran and Muslim societies, and supports the U.S. government's approach.

References

https://www.fdd.org/

Notes

  1. ↑ Herbert Raymond "H. R." McMaster (born July 24, 1962) is a former Lieutenant General of the United States Army and the 26th National Security Advisor of the United States. Previously, he served as the director of the Army Capability Integration Center and deputy commanding general of the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command. He was formerly the commander of the Maneuver Center of Excellence at Fort Benning, Georgia. McMaster also served as the director of a joint interagency task force focused on transparency in the International Security Assistance Force based in Kabul. He is known for his role in the Persian Gulf, Iraq, and Afghanistan wars.
  2. ↑ Michael Vincent Hayden was born in 1945 in Virginia. He served as the director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from 2006 to 2009.
  3. ↑ George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is a former United States President (2001–2009) and the 43rd president from the Republican Party.
  4. ↑ FDD’s cyber-enabled economic warfare project.
  5. ↑ Wilkerson, Lawrence (February 5, 2018), "I Helped Sell the False Choice of War Once. It's Happening Again", The New York Times, archived from the original on February 5, 2018, retrieved October 20, 2024
  6. ↑ "Foreign Ministry Blacklists 'Foundation for Defence of Democracies'". Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Iran). Retrieved October 20, 2024.
  7. ↑ Hafez, Farid (2019), "Muslim Civil Society Under Attack: The European Foundation for Democracy's Role in Defaming and Delegitimizing Muslim Civil Society", in Esposito, John L.; Iner, Derya (eds.), Islamophobia and Radicalization: Breeding Intolerance and Violence, Springer, pp. 119–120, doi:10.1007/978-3-319-95237-6_7, ISBN 978-3-319-95237-6, S2CID 158797596
  8. ↑ "US Institutes Achieve Abu Dhabi Motives". La Weekly. December 4, 2023. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
  9. ↑ Bail, Christopher (2015), Terrified: How Anti-Muslim Fringe Organizations Became Mainstream, Princeton University Press, pp. 70–71, ISBN 978-0-691-15942-3
  10. ↑ Hafez, Farid (2019), "Muslim Civil Society Under Attack: The European Foundation for Democracy's Role in Defaming and Delegitimizing Muslim Civil Society", in Esposito, John L.; Iner, Derya (eds.), Islamophobia and Radicalization: Breeding Intolerance and Violence, Springer, pp. 119–120, doi:10.1007/978-3-319-95237-6_7, ISBN 978-3-319-95237-6, S2CID 158797596
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