The real roadblock to better relations is Tehran
The Islamic Republic of Iran must take delight in commentators in the West who advance the regime’s public relations agenda free of charge. Here in Canada, one analyst claims that...
World
Beyond Implementation Day: Transparency and Enforcement for the Long Term
FDD Research
Memos
Monumental Fight: Countering the Islamic State’s Antiquities Trafficking
FDD Press
Monographs
Saudi Arabia Honors Its Nastiest Clerical Ideologues
On Friday, September 2, a group of over fifty Saudi clerics joined in a petition condemning “Russian intervention against Syria&r...
Op-eds
The Pope of Montecristo
So Pope Francis, having delivered himself of the usual Jesuit diatribe against capitalism and warned us all about rising global temperatures, has arrived in Cuba. That unhappy island inhabi...
Op-eds
‘Peace for Our Time’
Banner headlines in a prominent national newspaper read “NUKE DEAL PAVES WAY FOR NEW ERA: Sworn Foes U.S., Iran Aim To Bury Hatchet” — without sarcasm. For critics of the Iran n...
Op-eds
The Deal of the Century
On Friday, large crowds in Tehran and other Iranian cities burned American flags and chanted “Death to America!” On Saturday, Iranian media outlets reported that Supreme Leader Ali Kh...
Op-eds
The Gulf Cooperation Council Camp David Summit: Any Results?
Chairman Ros-Lehtinen, Ranking Member Deutch, and distinguished Members of the Subcommittee: thank you on behalf of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies for the opportunity to testify before...
Congressional Testimonies
Analysis: Making Sense of Germany’s Vote Against Israel in the UN Human Rights Council
In a year full of celebrations marking 50 years of German-Israel diplomatic relations, diplomatic niceties were absent at last week’s UNHRC Gaza report vote in Geneva, where the Merkel admi...
Op-eds
When the U.S. Will Intervene in the Gulf, and Other Notes From the Camp David Summit
I've held a number of discussions with people who have direct knowledge of the conversations that took place at this month’s Camp David Summit between President Obama and leaders from...
Op-eds
The Longest Hatred
Robert S. Wistrich, who died suddenly last week, was considered the foremost scholar of anti-Semitism, which he called “the longest hatred,” one that appears to be metastasizing in th...
Op-eds
Egypt’s Religious Freedom Farce
President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi of Egypt presents himself as an Islamic reformer. He has...
Op-eds
A Survey of Global Terrorism and Terrorist Financing
Download full testimony here Cha...
Congressional Testimonies
Al Qaeda Is Beating the Islamic State
Co-authored by Bridget Moreng The Islamic State’s lightning offensive through Iraq and Syria last year has dominated the headlines, but the jihadist group that has won the...
Op-eds
Satrapy Fishing in the Yemen
Three years ago, film-goers were treated to “Salmon Fishing in the Yemen,” which critic Kenneth Turan called a “pleasant fantasy” about the Middle East. Today, of cou...
Op-eds
The Sun Sets on a Good Iran Deal
There’s so much wrong with the emerging Iran nuclear deal that it’s hard to know where to begin. But as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made clear i...
Op-eds
How Iran and North Korea Became Cyber-Terror Buddies
In late November 2014, cyber-warfare burst into the American public consciousness when Sony Pictures Entertainment was the victim of a massive cyber-attack. Hackers leaked Sony’s corporate...
Op-eds
The War on Free Speech
Last Friday, in his end-of-the-year press conference, President Obama scolded Sony Pictures. Cancelling the theatrical release of “The Interview” following cyber-attacks from North Ko...
Op-eds
Historic Day for Washington, Havana…and Pyongyang’s Hackers
On a day when hackers working for North Korea managed to shut down the release of an American movie, on American soil, by threatening terrorist attacks on American theaters, one might have suppos...
Op-eds
Egypt’s Revolution Comes Full Circle
It all looks so familiar. Nearly four years after toppling Hosni Mubarak, crowds returned to Cairo on Saturday to protest the ex-president’s acquittal over causing 239 protesters’ dea...