Trump’s National Security To-do List

01/24/25 • 55 min

As President Trump returns to the White House, he has no more important task than defense of the homeland and ensuring “peace through strength,” because U.S. national security is threatened by the Axis of Aggressors in Beijing, Moscow, Tehran, and Pyongyang and their Star Wars cantina of terrorist group friends.

How should Trump prioritize? And what should he do? Host Cliff May discusses with his FDD colleagues RADM (Ret) Mark Montgomery and Bradley Bowman.

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How should Trump prioritize? And what should he do? Host Cliff May discusses with his FDD colleagues RADM (Ret) Mark Montgomery and Bradley Bowman.

Previous Episode

Deal of the Century?

A few facts central to any discussion of a deal between Israel and Hamas:

On Oct. 6, 2023. Gaza was not occupied. No Israelis lived there. No Israeli soldiers patrolled there.
Gaza was not an open-air prison. It had schools, malls, libraries, hospitals, restaurants, sandy beaches.
Hamas initiated a war on Oct. 7, 2023 by staging the worst attack on Jews since the Holocaust.
Hamas could have brought a halt to this war at any time by releasing the hostages and laying down their weapons. They refused to do so.

Hamas deserves the blame for every death, on both sides, over the past 468 days.

Israel and Hamas have reached an agreement for a ceasefire and the return of hostages – over time – in exchange for Israel halting its offensive and releasing hundreds of convicted terrorists from prison.

Host Cliff May asks his FDD colleagues Jonathan Schanzer and Richard Goldberg some of the many questions that arise.

Next Episode

The Shifting Sands of the Middle East

The war that Yahya Sinwar launched on Oct. 7, 2023 was meant to profoundly restructure the Middle East. And that is happening – although not in the way the late Hamas leader envisioned.

It’s not easy to discern the emerging new realities; to understand the rivalries among the many jihadi groups and leaders, Sunni and Shia; the shifting threats to Israelis, Kurds, Druze, Christians, and those Arabs who are not eager to sacrifice their children to the cause of Islamic supremacy.

David Wurmser is attempting to comprehend and explain these realignments and to suggest responses that would further American interests. He joins host Cliff May to discuss these issues as well as his recent essay for The Editors: “Prepare for Disintegration of Syria and Rise of Imperial Turkey.”