Foreign Podicy

Americans and our allies confront an extraordinary array of threats from an emerging “axis of aggressors,” consisting of China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea. That’s the bad news.The good news? Americans have an unmatched network of allies and partners with whom we can work to defend our common interests and counter growing threats.Among our partners in that network are three beleaguered democracies: Ukraine, Taiwan, and Israel. The primary way we can help is by sending weapons. But is the U.S. defense industrial base up to the task? Can America once again serve as the “Arsenal of Democracy?” Can we arm ourselves while simultaneously providing Ukraine, Taiwan, and Israel with the means of self-defense? And what's up with the Biden administration and the provision of weapons to Israel?

Senior director of FDD's Center on Military and Political Power and guest host Bradley Bowman asks Mira Resnick, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Regional Security in the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs. She oversees the Bureau’s Office of Regional Security and Arms Transfers, managing over $40 billion annually in government-to-government defense equipment transfers. She's also responsible for the Bureau’s Office of Security Assistance.

Host Cliff May recently wrote a column for the Washington Times guessing what Vladimir Putin might do next if he should succeed in Ukraine.

He suggested Putin would take over Moldova, formalize his control over Belarus, and then turn his hungry eyes toward the Baltic states — with the primary goal of establishing a land bridge to Kaliningrad, a Russian territory 400 miles west of the Russian mainland.

Parenthetically: Kaliningrad was called Königsberg before the Soviet army captured it from the Germans in 1945. It’s where the Russian Navy’s Baltic Fleet is now headquartered.

In response, Cliff received a note from a brilliant scholar, S. Frederick Starr, among whose many books is Lost Enlightenment: Central Asia’s Golden Age from the Arab Conquest to Tamerlane. It’s a fascinating book that Cliff says changed his understanding of Central Asia and the Islamic world.

In his note to Cliff, Fred asked why he didn’t think about Putin sending his tanks in another direction: Central Asia and the Caucuses.

That seemed like a good question. So, Fred — the founding chairman of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute and Silk Road Studies Program — sat down with Cliff to answer it.

The Islamic Republic of Iran makes no effort to conceal its desire to wipe Israel off the map. Just this week, leaders called for the elimination of two major Israeli cities: Tel Aviv and Haifa. The regime in Tehran deploys a wide range of tools and proxies to achieve this end. The result was a series of low-level conflagrations over the course of the last several weeks, with Iranian proxies routinely attacking Israel both inside and just beyond its borders:

• In Lebanon, Iran-backed Hezbollah fired more than forty rockets at Israel.
• In Syria, the Iranian regime has deployed Shiite militias and military installations that Israel strikes with regularity.
• In the West Bank, longstanding terror groups (and, now, some new ones) continue to attack Israel. The Palestinian Authority has essentially lost control, making the West Bank even more lawless and dangerous. Iran seeks to exploit this chaos.
• In Gaza, the Hamas terrorist group routinely fires salvos of rockets into Israel — including about three dozen very recently.
• All of this has been happening during the holy month of Ramadan, a period in which every year Iran has worked to stoke tensions and incite violence. This year has been no exception, with rioters at the Temple Mount throwing rocks and shooting fireworks at police.

Little fires everywhere. That’s what the Israeli Defense Forces saw this month. And from all appearances, the IDF has snuffed all of them out.

But there are no permanent victories in the Middle East — only permanent battles.

To discuss, FDD Senior Vice President for Research Jonathan Schanzer (filling in for host Cliff May) is joined by Brigadier General Jacob Nagel. He’s the former acting Israeli National Security Advisor under Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu. He’s also a Senior Fellow at FDD.

Vladimir Putin expected to conquer Ukraine in three days. But the brutal and bloody war he launched against his neighbor has dragged on for one year.

The factors that gave rise to this war are still widely misunderstood. How or when it will end remains unclear, too. To unpack everything, Foreign Podicy host Cliff May — FDD's Founder and President and Chairman of its Russia Program — is joined by three FDD experts.

Mark Montgomery serves as senior director of FDD’s Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation, countering cyber threats that seek to diminish America’s national security. Mark also directs CSC 2.0, an FDD initiative that works to implement the recommendations of the congressionally mandated Cyberspace Solarium Commission, where he was executive director.

Mark previously served as policy director for the Senate Armed Services Committee under the leadership of Senator John McCain, coordinating policy efforts on national security strategy, capabilities and requirements, and cyber policy.

Before that, Mark served for 32 years in the U.S. Navy, retiring as a rear admiral in 2017.

Bradley Bowman is senior director of FDD’s Center on Military and Political Power, focusing on U.S. defense strategy and policy.

Brad spent nearly nine years as a national security and defense advisor in the U.S. Senate. Prior to that, he served more than 15 years on active duty in the U.S. Army, including as a company commander, helicopter pilot, congressional affairs officer in the Pentagon, and staff officer in Afghanistan. He also was an assistant professor at West Point, teaching foreign policy and grand strategy.

John Hardie serves as deputy director of FDD’s Russia Program, focusing on Russian foreign and security policy, U.S. policy toward Russia and the post-Soviet space, and transatlantic relations. John holds an M.A. in security studies from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service.

Yahya Sinwar is dead.

He was the leader of Hamas, the architect of the October 7 attack on Israel — the largest massacre of Jewish people since the Holocaust.

He has the blood of many Americans on his hands, too, and was designated as a terrorist by the U.S.

For Israel, this is a significant battle won in a long and multi-front war.

What’s next? Host Cliff May discusses with his FDD colleagues Mark Dubowitz, Jonathan Schanzer, and Hussain Abdul-Hussain.