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October 5, 2022 The World Cup Won’t Clean Up Qatar’s Image Doha’s $220 billion public relations stunt is crashing and burning. By halftime of its inaugural game on September 9, the 2022 World Cup’s flagship stadium ran out of water. Panicked fans got a taste... October 5, 2022 How Biden Can Stand With the Iranian People “These men have not slept for nights.” That’s what Gholam Hossein Mohseni-Ejei, the chief of the Islamic Republic’s judiciary, said about Iran’s security forces in a recently leaked video.... October 5, 2022 The problem with despots We’re inclined to believe that those who rule nations, however despotic they may be, are not so different from us. Surely they weigh costs and benefits, are open to compromise, and prefer peace to war.... October 4, 2022 Biden’s Anti-Corruption Agenda Finds Its Test Case: Paraguay Excerpt U.S. President Joe Biden has defined the fight against global corruption as a “core United States national security interest” and made it an official priority for his administration. Now,... October 4, 2022 Death Toll in Iran Protests Rises to 154 as Khamenei Blames U.S. for Uprising Iran’s security forces have killed at least 154 protesters since nation-wide demonstrations began in mid-September. On Monday, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, expressed full support for the security forces and blamed the United States and Israel for the unrest: “I say frankly that these incidents were designed by America, the fake Zionist regime, those who are on their payroll and some traitorous Iranians abroad who helped them.” President Joe Biden also issued a statement on Monday, warning, “the United States will be imposing further costs on the perpetrators of violence against peaceful protesters.” However, his administration remains publicly committed to the potential lifting of sanctions on those perpetrators via a new nuclear agreement — a policy contradiction the White House must address. October 4, 2022 Release of Hostages in Iran May Be Linked to U.S. Sanctions Relief Iranian state media reports have linked Tehran’s one-week furlough of an American hostage on Saturday to a potentially forthcoming U.S. sanctions waiver authorizing the transfer to Iran of $7 billion. These funds are currently frozen in South Korea. While the National Security Council was quick to deny such a linkage, the Biden administration did not confirm or deny whether it would authorize the release of the $7 billion — a step previously reported as part of the sequencing of a new nuclear deal. In addition to its release of the hostage, Iranian-American Siamak Namazi, Tehran allowed his ailing father, Iranian-American Baquer Namazi, to leave the country. Iran imprisoned the elder Namazi from 2016 to 2018 and has since barred him from exiting Iran. October 3, 2022 Shabaab conducts triple suicide bombing in central Somalia As military operations continue against the group across much of central Somalia, Shabaab, al Qaeda’s branch in East Africa, retaliated today with a triple suicide car bombing in the city of Beledweyne. According... October 3, 2022 AUKUS Special Operations Forces in Strategic Competition, Integrated Deterrence, and Campaigning: Resistance to Malign Activities On September 15, 2021, Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States formed AUKUS(Open Link in new window), which is described as a trilateral security partnership designed to make it easier to... October 3, 2022 Biden Administration Foreign Policy Tracker: October October 3, 2022 Islamist cleric who called for fighting America, suicide bombings, dies in Qatar An Egyptian cleric who, only five days after 9/11, called on Muslims to “fight the American military” and “fight the U.S. economically and politically,” has died at age 96. Yusuf al-Qaradawi had... October 3, 2022 U.S. military kills wanted Shabaab leader in airstrike in Somalia The U.S. military killed a senior Shabaab leader in an airstrike in a terrorist haven in southern Somalia on Oct. 1. Abdullahi Yare, the Shabaab commander who was killed, had a $3 million reward out for... October 2, 2022 US moves on Pacific islands, but barely Alexandria, Va.: Bear with me. This is a bit complicated. But it’s important. And, it’s not going away. Over the past twenty years or so, the Chinese Communist Party has aggressively extended its... October 2, 2022 Biden’s Chance to Restore American Dignity in Iran Excerpt The Islamic Republic’s impasse has once more exploded in the streets. The triggering event was the killing of Mahsa Amini by Iran’s morality police last month. But the tension—the rot in... September 30, 2022 The North Korean Crypto Threat Excerpt North Korea (the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea “DPRK”) presents a fundamental and growing international security challenge – and now represents the most serious nation-state risk... September 30, 2022 U.S., Israeli Navies Conduct Exercise as Iran Steps up Maritime Aggression The naval forces of the United States and Israel conducted a four-day bilateral training exercise, dubbed Digital Shield, this month in the Red Sea’s Gulf of Aqaba. The joint exercise comes in the wake of Iran’s attempts to seize American unmanned surface vessels, or USVs, in both the Red Sea and Persian Gulf over the past 30 days. The exercise focused on “enhancing maritime awareness using unmanned systems and artificial intelligence in support of vessel boarding operations,” according to U.S. Naval Forces Central Command. The USVs used in the exercise improve the ability to monitor the malign maritime activities of Tehran and its terror proxies. September 29, 2022 Iranian People’s Demand for Freedom Threatens Regime’s Identity and Survival Tehran’s security forces have killed at least 76 protesters and wounded hundreds more in some 140 cities across Iran over the past two weeks. The demonstrations, triggered by the arrest and murder of... September 29, 2022 The Wagner Group: Paramilitary Terrorism President Biden recently stated he would deny congressional resolutions to designate Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism. The president’s response comes amid a broader discussion of how to counter... September 29, 2022 Turkish Banks Suspend Use of Russia’s Mir Payment System Three Turkish state-owned banks suspended their use of the Russian payment system “Mir” — Moscow’s alternative to the Brussels-based SWIFT messaging service — on Tuesday. This move comes amid... September 29, 2022 As Winter Approaches, Europe Is Walking Off a Cliff Facing the worst energy crisis since World War II as the cold-weather heating season starts, Europe continues to dither. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has presented a series of new... September 29, 2022 U.S. Must Show Russia There Is No Impunity for Chemical Weapons Use A meeting next week of the Executive Council (EC) of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) presents an opportunity for the United States and its allies to demand Russian compliance... September 29, 2022 The Women Burning Their Hijabs Want the Iranian Regime to Fall. Does Joe Biden? By now you have seen the indelible images from the streets of dozens of cities and towns across the Islamic Republic of Iran. They have found a way out, despite the fact that the regime has been routinely... September 29, 2022 Israeli Operations in West Bank Reflect Shrinking PA Control The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) engaged in a firefight on Wednesday with members of Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), resulting in four fatalities, three from PIJ and one from the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades. Israeli forces launched the operation in the West Bank town of Jenin to arrest two PIJ men responsible for carrying out a series of shooting attacks against Israelis in recent months. Israeli officials said the pair had planned “more significant attacks in the near future.” The incident points to the troubling trend of increased violence in the West Bank by terrorist groups, which are positioning themselves to assume control of the increasingly lawless Palestinian Authority (PA) when its current president, Mahmoud Abbas, dies or leaves office. September 28, 2022 Trusting Iran Compromises Our National Security Last month, the Department of Justice unsealed a case against an Iranian agent charged with plotting the assassination of former U.S. national security adviser John Bolton. In the alleged murder-for-hire... September 28, 2022 Moscow Cozies Up With Hamas to Pressure Israel A delegation from the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, led by Politburo chief Ismail Haniyeh, made a multi-day visit to Moscow this month for meetings with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as... September 28, 2022 A Different Kind of Russian Threat – Seeking to Install Its Candidate Atop Telecommunications Standards Body For the billions of digital devices that people the world over use each day, technical standards provide rules that ensure a device produced in one country can run software developed in a second country,... September 28, 2022 American Semiconductor Leadership Suffers from Bad Defense, No Offense “America invented the semiconductor,” declared President Joe Biden upon signing the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, a $280 billion bill intended to strengthen the U.S. semiconductor industry,... September 28, 2022 3001 Arabian nights RIYADH – The last time I visited Saudi Arabia was February of 2017. Changes were occurring. “Baby steps,” as one savvy young Saudi woman told me, adding: “There is at least an acknowledgement that... September 27, 2022 Shabaab continues to lose ground in central Somalia Over the last few weeks, troops from the Somali National Army (SNA), backed by clan-based militias, African Union forces, and U.S. air support, have steadily made progress against Shabaab, al Qaeda’s... September 26, 2022 American Innovation Can Counter China’s BRI China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) was launched in 2013 as a trillion-dollar mega strategy to build infrastructure and influence across Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and Latin America. The... September 26, 2022 Time to Expose Putin as an Unreliable Ally Fresh hostilities broke out between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh region last week. As a result, nearly 100 people have been killed in the busiest week of violence in the region since 2020.... September 26, 2022 Hezbollah and Iran Are Destabilizing the West Bank The Iranian proxy Hezbollah has quietly been sending arms to the West Bank in a bid to strengthen Palestinian terrorist organizations. Tehran’s goal is to undermine the authority of the Palestinian Authority (PA) and to provide terrorist groups with the means to attack Israel. This tactic is proving successful. Since the May 2021 Gaza-Israel conflict, the West Bank has experienced a major uptick in militant activity from Tehran-directed groups, while PA security forces have either joined this violence or looked the other way. September 25, 2022 North Korea’s Missile Tests Are Part Of A Political Warfare And Blackmail Strategy North Korea has done it again, which is no surprise. While the ROK/U.S. alliance and the international community has been waiting for a seventh nuclear test or a possible test of a submarine-launched... September 23, 2022 Hamas Operatives in Gaza Continue to Direct Attacks in the West Bank The Israeli Security Agency (ISA) and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) stated on Friday that they arrested a terrorist cell in the West Bank operating under the guidance of Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The... September 23, 2022 U.S. May Allow Payment to Iran for Hostages The Biden administration may be preparing to issue a national security waiver authorizing the transfer of $7 billion to Iran from South Korean-based accounts subject to U.S. terrorism sanctions. The transfer... September 23, 2022 The US should help Russian mothers get the truth out about Putin’s war Russians are taking to the streets in protest at President Vladimir Putin’s partial mobilization of military reservists. While demonstrators from all backgrounds have participated, it is Russian women... September 23, 2022 Israel, Lebanon Near Agreement on Mediterranean Gas Field Two years of U.S.-mediated negotiations on demarcating a maritime border between Israel and Lebanon appear to be reaching a conclusion, with senior envoys meeting on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York this week. In 2020, the Hezbollah-dominated Lebanese government claimed rights to Karish, an Israeli gas field located in the Mediterranean Sea. This insistence constituted a negotiating tactic aimed at compelling Jerusalem to make territorial concessions on the entirety of the disputed maritime area, including Qana, a prospective gas field that lies within both Lebanese and Israeli waters. September 23, 2022 Biden’s Iran Policy After the Protests Few world leaders gathered this week for the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) appeared as isolated as Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi. As he delivered predictable anti-American attacks from the... September 22, 2022 In an About-Face, Russia Announces Mobilization and ‘Referendums’ in Occupied Ukrainian Territories In a televised address on Wednesday morning, President Vladimir Putin promised to ensure the security of upcoming “referendums” in occupied Ukrainian territories and declared Russia would conduct... September 22, 2022 Lifting the arms embargo on Cyprus is a major opportunity to aid Ukraine The Biden administration announced on Friday a decision to lift the decades-old arms embargo on Cyprus for the coming fiscal year. This laudable step recognizes Nicosia’s progress related to financial... September 22, 2022 Raisi Addresses UN Despite Grim Human Rights Record Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi described the West as “the real violators of human rights” at the UN General Assembly on Wednesday. At the same time, protests continued to sweep across Iran in response to his own government’s human rights abuses — specifically, the Sept. 16 death of a 22-year-old woman, Mahsa Amini, in police custody for violating headscarf laws. These protests challenge the legitimacy of Raisi himself, who won a fraudulent election for president last year and bears a decades-long record of human rights abuses against the Iranian people. September 22, 2022 Hezbollah Emerging as Winner from Israel-Lebanon Maritime Talks Israel and Lebanon are apparently close to a final agreement delineating their maritime border after a Lebanese government delegation met with the Biden administration’s energy envoy, Amos Hochstein,... September 21, 2022 Washington Punishes Iranian Cyber Actors While Preparing to Enrich Regime The U.S. Treasury Department issued two sets of sanctions against Iran in mid-September for its malicious cyber operations. While the sanctions and other corresponding U.S. government actions raise awareness... September 21, 2022 U.S. airstrike kills 27 Shabaab fighters in central Somalia The U.S. military killed 27 members of Shabaab, Al Qaeda’s branch in East Africa, in an airstrike in support of a Somali military and African Union offensive in central Somalia. Since June 3, the US has... September 21, 2022 2022 Annual Report on Implementation September 21, 2022 Cyberspace Solarium Commission Recommendations Tracker ... September 20, 2022 A New Iran Deal Would Empower the Houthis Iran would receive approximately $275 billion in sanctions relief during the first year of a new nuclear deal and more than $1 trillion by 2030, according to an FDD assessment. If past is prologue, a significant portion of these funds would flow to Iran’s network of terror proxy groups, including the Houthis in Yemen. September 20, 2022 Hezbollah smuggling weapons to the West Bank amid surge in militant activity Amid a major uptick in militant activity in the West Bank, FDD’s Long War Journal has confirmed with a senior Israeli military official that Hezbollah has been smuggling weapons into the West Bank. The... September 19, 2022 Arrest of Militants Signals Hamas’ Involvement in Uptick of West Bank Violence The Israel Security Agency (ISA) announced Monday the arrest of seven Hamas operatives suspected of planning attacks against Israeli citizens in the West Bank. During the ISA’s investigation, it was... September 19, 2022 U.S. frees Taliban narcotics kingpin in exchange for Navy veteran The Taliban released Mark Frerichs, an American veteran who had been held hostage since early 2020, in exchange for Haji Bashir Noorzai, a convicted Taliban drug kingpin who was serving a life sentence... September 19, 2022 Iranian-backed attacks on Albania highlights need for Cyber Capacity Building Albania, a NATO member state, cut diplomatic ties with Iran earlier this month after blaming Tehran for a cyberattack against Albanian government networks. It is an unprecedented response to a cyberattack...

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