January 22, 2019 | Press Release

FDD Launches New Center on Military and Political Power

Names H.R. McMaster as Chairman and Bradley Bowman as Senior Director
January 22, 2019 | Press Release

FDD Launches New Center on Military and Political Power

Names H.R. McMaster as Chairman and Bradley Bowman as Senior Director

(Washington, D.C., January 22, 2019) – The Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) today unveiled its Center on Military and Political Power (CMPP), a new bipartisan program that promotes understanding of the defense strategies, policies, and capabilities necessary to deter and defeat threats to the freedom, security, and prosperity of Americans and U.S. allies. Former U.S. National Security Advisor Lieutenant General (Ret.) H.R. McMaster will serve as Chairman, and Bradley Bowman will serve as Senior Director.

In announcing the new center, General H.R. McMaster said, “The reemergence of great power competition and the need to maintain America’s military superiority in an increasingly competitive world demand the high quality analysis and sound recommendations that CMPP will provide to leaders across the defense community. I look forward to working with FDD and CMPP’s Board of Advisors to help inform the development of defense capabilities critical to securing our nation and protecting our vital interests.”

Areas of particular focus for CMPP will include political-military affairs, state adversaries including China, Iran, North Korea and Russia, America’s alliances, ballistic missile defense, freedom of navigation, conventional force modernization, gray-zone aggression, hybrid warfare, the national security innovation base, nuclear modernization, and U.S. military posture.

“CMPP will provide rigorous, timely, and relevant research and analysis regarding the political-military threats to the United States and the actions necessary to effectively defeat those threats and defend ourselves, our allies, and our interests,” FDD President Clifford D. May said.

FDD’s CEO Mark Dubowitz said, “We are honored to have such a distinguished and bipartisan group of advisors who have dedicated their lives to keeping America safe and the international order more secure. CMPP is dedicated to advancing that mission.”

CMPP’s Board of Advisors also includes former Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta; former Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert Work; former Senator Kelly Ayotte; Amb. Eric Edelman, former undersecretary of defense for policy; David Kilcullen, former Chief Strategist in the State Department’s Counterterrorism Bureau; former Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategy Nadia Schadlow; Samantha Ravich, a former White House senior national security official and current vice-chair of the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board; and former National Security Advisor to Vice President Dick Cheney and FDD Senior Counselor John Hannah.

CMPP will feature one of FDD’s long-standing premier projects: FDD’s Long War Journal, which provides original and accurate reporting and analysis of the Global War on Terror. CMPP will also feature professional development and research opportunities for active duty military personnel, including FDD’s National Security Fellows Program.

FDD also announced that Bradley Bowman will serve as CMPP’s Senior Director. He has served as a National Security Advisor in the U.S. Senate to members of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees, as well as an active duty U.S. Army officer and Assistant Professor at West Point.

Bradley has nearly nine years of experience in the U.S. Senate. This includes working for two years as National Security Advisor to U.S. Senator Todd Young (R-IN), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Bradley served for six years as National Security Advisor (formerly Military Legislative Assistant) to U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), Chair/Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Readiness and Management Support Subcommittee. He also worked as a Council on Foreign Relations International Affairs Fellow on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Prior to working in the Senate, Bradley served as an active duty officer in the U.S. Army for more than fifteen years, including positions as a Company Commander, “Blackhawk” pilot, Assistant Professor in the Department of Social Sciences at West Point, Congressional Affairs Officer on the Army staff in the Pentagon, and staff officer in Afghanistan. At West Point, he taught courses in American politics, American foreign policy, as well as a course entitled “Studies in Grand Strategy: Lessons for U.S. Policy.” Bradley currently teaches a course entitled “Congress and U.S. National Security Policy” as an Adjunct Professor at the Center for Security Studies at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. He earned an M.A. degree in International Relations from Yale University and B.S. degree in American Politics from the United States Military Academy at West Point.

About FDD:

The Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) is a Washington, DC-based non-partisan policy institute focusing on national security and foreign policy. Visit our website at fdd.org and connect with us on TwitterFacebook, and YouTube.

About CMPP:

The Center on Military and Political Power (CMPP) provides rigorous, timely, and relevant research and analysis to deter and defeat the political-military threats to the United States and our allies, and assists in the development of defense strategies, policies, and capabilities to defend our freedom, prosperity and security.

For media inquiries, contact [email protected] or 202.403.2904.