Foundation for Defense of Democracies
The Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) is an American think tank that has existed since 2001 and is headquartered in Washington, DC. The focus of the organization is on national security , Middle East policy and human rights policy .
Organization and fields of activity
According to its own statements, the FDD sees itself as a non-profit and bipartisan foundation for the promotion of pluralism and democratic values as well as the fight against radical ideology and terrorism by providing information, analyzes and research reports for politics, the media and the public.
In addition, the FDD sees the international spread of democracy , equality and human rights as one of its main goals:
" FDD's scholars believe that no one should be denied basic human rights including freedom of religion, speech and assembly; that no one should be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation or national origin; that free and democratic nations have a right to defend themselves and an obligation to defend one another. "
The FDD's analyzes and research reports cover a broad spectrum of fields of activity with a particular focus on the Middle East , Iran policy , the Middle East conflict and the fight against terrorism. In addition, she deals with topics such as cyber attacks and energy security .
The FDD is the publisher of the Long War Journal , a specialist journal for the fight against terrorism .
Ideological orientation
The FDD is said to be close to the Republican Party and conservative circles in US politics. In the media - especially in the political left spectrum - she is mostly assigned to the hawk among the think tanks when it comes to foreign policy issues . Sometimes their orientation is called neoconservative .
Selected political positions
Iran
The FDD sees the current Iranian government as a negative actor in the Middle East whose influence must be limited. It considers the agreement concluded by President Barack Obama and the P5 + 1 nations with Iran to limit the Iranian nuclear program (JCPOA, "Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action") to be flawed and not strict enough. She criticized the Iranian government repeatedly for the support of organizations such as the Hisbollahmiliz and the Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad and the development of ballistic missiles , in the opinion of the FDD against existing resolutions of the UN Security Council for violating. In addition, the human rights situation in the country and the government's dealings with religious and national minorities such as the Kurds and the Sunnis are sharply criticized.
In order to increase the pressure on the Iranian government and bring about a change in behavior, position papers by FDD experts recommend renegotiating the JCPOA and reinstating economic sanctions to "prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons ".
Syria
In the Syrian civil war , the FDD campaigned before the United States Congress to support secular groups in the Syrian opposition and to remove the ruler Bashar al-Assad . Comments from FDD experts criticized what they considered to be the hesitant attitude of the US government and called for greater intervention in the conflict in order not to leave the country to actors with allegedly anti-Western sentiments such as Russia, Iran and the Hezbollah militia.
North Korea
Research reports and comments by the FDD see North Korea as a particular danger due to its highly advanced nuclear program , its cyber activities and the risk of weapons of mass destruction proliferation in “ rogue states ”. The human rights situation in the country is called the "odious" ( "abhorrent" below). In order to increase the pressure on the country with regard to its nuclear program and the human rights situation, the FDD recommends tightening international and bilateral economic sanctions. In addition, the pressure on Russia and especially China should be increased to force North Korea to give up its nuclear program.
Links to politics
Representatives of the FDD are often called on as experts before committees of the US Congress, mostly in relation to debates on foreign and security policy. In addition, the organization offers interested politicians individual presentations and individually created analyzes and research reports on selected topics.
Mark Dubowitz, the chairman of the foundation, is foreign policy advisor to US President Donald Trump .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ A b Foundation for Defense of Democracies: About FDD , accessed November 22, 2017.
- ^ Foundation for Defense of Democracies: Research , accessed November 23, 2017.
- ^ Foundation for Defense of Democracies: Long War Journal , accessed November 22, 2017.
- ^ New York Times November 2, 2017: The Trump Debate Inside Conservative Citadels , accessed November 22, 2017.
- ↑ Huffington Post : Adelson and FDD want to nuke Iran , accessed November 23, 2017.
- ^ Salon May 8, 2003: Home Depot founder's quiet $ 10 million right-wing investment , accessed November 23, 2017.
- ↑ The Nation July 15, 2014: How the Anti-Iran Lobby Machine Dominates Capitol Hill , accessed November 22, 2017.
- ↑ Atlantic Council July 12, 2017: Neocon Comparison of Iran and Soviet Union Profoundly Flawed , accessed November 23, 2017.
- ↑ The Huffington Post July 10, 2017: Could These Foreign Lobbyists Be Working Against Canada's Interests? , accessed November 23, 2017.
- ^ Foundation for Defense of Democracies: Iran , accessed November 23, 2017.
- ^ Foundation for Defense of Democracies: Iran human rights , accessed November 23, 2017.
- ^ Foundation for Defense of Democracies: Iran Sanctions , accessed November 23, 2017.
- ^ Foundation for Defense of Democracies November 23, 2011: Written Congressional Testimony: US Policy in Syria , accessed November 23, 2017.
- ^ Foundation for Defense of Democracies November 13, 2017: Has Donald Trump Lost Syria to Iran? ( Memento of the original from December 1, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed November 23, 2017.
- ^ Foundation for Defense of Democracies November 22, 2017: The battle for the lands of the caliphate , accessed November 23, 2017.
- ^ Foundation for Defense of Democracies: North Korea , accessed November 23, 2017.
- ↑ Foundation for Defense of Democracies: North Korean Human Rights Abuses ( Memento of the original from December 1, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed November 23, 2017.
- ↑ Medium August 10, 2017: How to pressure North Korea , accessed November 23, 2017.
- ^ Foundation for Defense of Democracies: FDD Resources for Congress , accessed November 22, 2017.
- ↑ Foundation for Defense of Democracies: Topics by Expert - In-Person Briefings ( Memento of the original from August 24, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed November 22, 2017.
- ↑ Financial Times September 28, 2017: Trump keeps Europe guessing on Iran nuclear deal , accessed November 22, 2017.
