204 episodes

A national security and foreign policy podcast from the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD).

Foreign Podicy FDD Podcasts

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    • 4.7 • 10 Ratings

A national security and foreign policy podcast from the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD).

    John Bolton’s New World Order

    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.

    • 41 min
    Ali Khamenei’s Nuclear Ambitions and Weapons of Mass Distraction

    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.

    • 56 min
    On Safari with Admiral Montgomery

    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.

    • 58 min
    View of the World from Boston

    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.

    • 1 hr 3 min
    The UN’s Support for Hamas’ War On Israel

    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.

    • 56 min
    The Battle in Rafah, the War with Tehran

    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.

    • 56 min

Customer Reviews

4.7 out of 5
10 Ratings

10 Ratings

wellgaveitatry ,

Always insightful

Thoughtful and insightful. Has great guests with real knowledge.

Peb Pab ,

Jeff Jacoby

A total waste of time and way off base for FDD. William Safire had him marked.

PleaseIn4me ,

Much Appreciated

Insightful, knowledgeable interviewers and guests, clear, cogent with well informed and well state discussions. Thank you.

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