FDD publishes research on foreign policy and security issues, focusing on subjects such as nuclear-non proliferation, cyber threats, sanctions, illicit finance, and policy surroundingIsrael,North Korea,Iran,Russia, and thewar in Afghanistan.[10][11]
FDD was founded in 2001 as "Emet"—Hebrew for "Truth".[14][15] In the initial documents filed for tax-exempt status with theInternal Revenue Service, FDD's stated mission was to "provide education to enhance Israel's image in North America and the public's understanding of issues affecting Israeli-Arab relations".[15] Its mission broadened after theSeptember 11 attacks in 2001.[15] Later documents described its mission as "to conduct research and provide education on international terrorism and related issues".[16]
On its website, FDD describes itself as "a nonpartisan 501(c)(3) research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy" that "conducts in-depth research, produces accurate and timely analyses, identifies illicit activities, and provides policy options – all with the aim of strengthening U.S. national security and reducing or eliminating threats posed by adversaries and enemies of the United States and other free nations."[17]
FDD opposed thenuclear agreement with Iran during theBarack Obama administration.[15][22] It advised thefirst Donald Trump administration on ways to subvert Iran.[23] Iran announced sanctions against FDD and its CEO in 2019.[22] According to a 2019 article inThe Atlantic, "no place else has made an institutional specialty of recommending hard-line Iran policies and offering detailed proposals for how to implement them the way the FDD has done".[22]
The Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation (CCTI) conducts research and analysis to addresscybersecurity threats to U.S. government, private sector, and allied nations while supporting technology innovation. The center analyzes adversaries' strategies and develops technological, governance, and policy responses.[24][25][26] CCTI housesCSC 2.0, the successor organization to theCyberspace Solarium Commission.[27]
The FDD's China Program is a research initiative focused on analyzing and responding to the economic, technological, and security-related activities of theChinese Communist Party and the potential threat they pose to US national security. The program draws on expertise across economic, military, technological, cyber, and political domains.[28][29] The China Program is chaired byMatt Pottinger, who served as theDeputy National Security Advisor from 2019 to 2021.[30]
In June 2023, a delegation from FDD joined by Israeli experts visitedTaiwan and met with PresidentTsai Ing-wen.[31] The delegation discussed mutual threats and asymmetric warfare strategies.[32] In 2024, members of the China Program held a tabletop exercise in Taipei to examine China's economic and cyber-coercion against Taiwan.[33]
FDD'sIran Program is led by CEOMark Dubowitz.[34][35][36] Dubowitz and the FDD have been sanctioned by Iran for advocating sanctions against Iran and working to end the Iranian nuclear deal.[37][38][39]
For years,Syria has been a focus of FDD's research because of its alignment with Iran and support for organizations such asHezbollah.[42] In 2012, as theArab Spring spread to Syria, FDD launched "The Syria Project" to support "secular, liberal elements within the Syrian opposition and dissident communities" and "to analyze the changing situation and operational environment, and to identify the optimum policy options."[43][independent source needed] In that effort, FDD facilitated a Skype call between dissidents and U.S. journalists in 2012.[44]
TheLong War Journal is an FDD project dedicated to reporting the "War on Terrorism" launched by the United States and its allies following theSeptember 11 terrorist attacks in 2001. Under the direction of FDD senior fellowsBill Roggio and Thomas Joscelyn, this website covers stories about countries such asAfghanistan,Pakistan,Somalia,Syria, andIraq and follows the actions ofal Qaeda and its affiliates.[45][independent source needed] According to theColumbia Journalism Review, "Roggio's greatest service, then, may be the way he picks up where the mainstream press leaves off, giving readers a simultaneously more specific and holistic understanding of the battlefield", but "...there have been times when Roggio has done himself a disservice by aligning with bloggers who are more about pushing a conservative agenda."[46]
When it was announced in October 2021 that President Joe Biden's top diplomat for Afghanistan,Zalmay Khalilzad, was stepping down, Bill Roggio of the FDD said, "It is about time he stopped stealing money from the US government. He shoulders a large amount of the blame for shilling for the Taliban."[47]
Money contributed to the FDD during first decade of its activity, based on calculations made by Christopher Bail, expanded by 442%.[48]
In 2011, news websiteThinkProgress published FDD'sForm 990 documents[49] that revealed the source of FDD's funds between 2001 and 2004. Top donors included:
FDD'sSchedule A documents filed by the end of the 2011 tax year, indicates that the organization from 2008 to 2011 received more than $20,000,000 in contributions[51] and the top three donors were:
In 2018, theAssociated Press reported that theUnited Arab Emirates had wired $2.5 million to the FDD throughElliott Broidy andGeorge Nader to host a conference amidstQatar diplomatic crisis about the country's role as a state-sponsor of terrorism.[52] FDD stated that it does not accept money from foreign governments, adding that "[a]s is our funding policy, we asked if his funding was connected to any foreign governments or if he had business contracts in the Gulf. He assured us that he did not".[52]
Adam Hanieh states that the FDD high-profile conference of May 23, 2017, was in line with UAE's policy at the time, which officially alleged that Qatar finances Islamist groups, adding that emails leaked shortly after show that UAE's AmbassadorYousef Al Otaiba had a "cosy relationship" with the FDD, and had reviewed the remarks made byRobert Gates at the convention.[53] The leaked emails revealed a extent of a backchannel cooperation built between FDD and the UAE.[54] Qatar appeared to be in compliance with the terms of the agreement for countering terrorism and not supporting extremists from its territory according to the report published byThe Washington Post in February 2021. According to documents obtained byAl Arabiya published on July 10, 2017, Qatar had agreed to stop providing support to theMuslim Brotherhood, expelled non-citizen Brothers from Qatar, and would not shelter any persons from GCC countries to avoid undermining relations with the Persian Gulf.[55]
In 2017, journalistBari Weiss ofThe New York Times reported on dissent within the organization over the pro-Trump orientation it adopted following the 2016 elections, which included at least two employees leaving.[64]
The International Relations Center features a report on the foundation on its "Right Web" website, a program of the think tankInstitute for Policy Studies[69] which, according to its mission statement, seeks to "check themilitaristic drift of the country". The report states that "although the FDD is an ardent critic of terrorism, it has not criticized actions taken by Israel against Palestinians that arguably fall into this category".[70]
In 2023,The Intercept andLA Weekly alleged that FDD, along with other US-based think tanks, were coordinating a pressure campaign against the regional rivals of the UAE, including Iran, Qatar, and Turkey.[71][72]
Christopher A. Bail, professor of sociology, public policy and data science atDuke University, describes FDD as an "anti-Muslim fringe organization" that has tried to establish itself as a legitimate authority on Islam and terrorism by tactically using "ethnic experts" —i.e. pundits with Middle Eastern background who were not Muslim— because they advocate views contrary to the mainstream perspective of the Muslim community in the United States, but look like and talk like Muslims.[73] Sarah Marusek, research fellow atUniversity of Johannesburg, argues that FDD is one of the "key organizations peddlingIslamophobia" in a "transatlantic network".[74]Farid Hafez, researcher atUniversität Salzburg, says the same.[75]
^Ahmad, Muhammad Idrees. (2014).The Road to Iraq : the Making of a Neoconservative War. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.ISBN978-0-7486-9304-7.OCLC888747321.
^Mearsheimer, John J. (September 4, 2007).The Israel lobby and U.S. foreign policy. Walt, Stephen M., 1955-. New York.ISBN978-0-374-17772-0.OCLC144227359.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^Seliktar, Ofira (2018).Iran, Israel, and the United States : the politics of counter-proliferation intelligence. Rezaei, Farhad. Lanham, Maryland.ISBN978-1-4985-6975-0.OCLC1030485498.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^"Iran - Energy". Foundation for Defense of Democracies.Archived from the original on January 21, 2013. RetrievedJanuary 29, 2013.
^Editorial (March 25, 2009)."Pain Iran Can Believe In".The Wall Street Journal.Archived from the original on October 10, 2017. RetrievedAugust 3, 2017.
^Badran, Tony."A Syria in minor key". NOW Lebanon.Archived from the original on January 18, 2013. RetrievedJanuary 31, 2013.
^"The Syria Project". Foundation for Defense of Democracies.Archived from the original on November 24, 2014. RetrievedJanuary 31, 2013.
^Bail, Christopher (2015),Terrified: How Anti-Muslim Fringe Organizations Became Mainstream, Princeton University Press, pp. 73–75,ISBN978-0-691-15942-3
^"Form 990"(PDF). ThinkProgress.Archived(PDF) from the original on December 5, 2014. RetrievedNovember 6, 2014.
^Hanieh, Adam (2018),Money, Markets, and Monarchies: The Gulf Cooperation Council and the Political Economy of the Contemporary Middle East, Cambridge University Press, p. 247,ISBN9781108429146
^Kundnani, Arun (2014), "Radicalisation: The Journey of a Concept", in Baker-Beall, Christopher; Heath-Kelly, Charlotte; Jarvis, Lee (eds.),Counter-Radicalisation: Critical Perspectives, Routledge, p. 23,ISBN978-1-317-68039-0
^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,ISBN978-3-319-95237-6,S2CID158797596
^Bail, Christopher (2015),Terrified: How Anti-Muslim Fringe Organizations Became Mainstream, Princeton University Press, pp. 70–71,ISBN978-0-691-15942-3
^Marusek, Sarah (2017), "The Transatlantic Network: Funding Islamophobia and Israeli Settlements", in Massoumi, Narzanin; Mills, Tom; Miller, David (eds.),What is Islamophobia?, Pluto Press, pp. 189–206,ISBN978-1-7868-0068-8
^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,ISBN978-3-319-95237-6,S2CID158797596
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