Foundation for Defense of Democracies

“The Foundation is helping lead the war of ideas in the battle between freedom and totalitarianism.”
– Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT)

“FDD is respected by the policy community for the soundness of its policy recommendations and its work.”
– Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ)

“The Foundation is making a difference across the world.”
– Former President George W. Bush

“FDD has played a vital role in educating members of Congress and their staff.”
– Former Rep. Robert Wexler (D-FL)

“Thank you for inviting me today to participate in the FDD’s Annual Policy Summit – to discuss the changing  Middle East and what that means in terms of shifts in ideology, power, and alliances and I would add, U.S. policy. I want to thank FDD, including Chairman James Woolsey and the Foundation’s distinguished Executive Team for their advocacy on these important issues.”
– Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ)

“[FDD] is a wonderful organization protecting the country from the bad guys.”
– Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia

“It is the efforts of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies that is dedicated to these issues day in and day out – your work every day makes a real difference in these battles that we wage.”
– Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL)

“Recognition of the scale of the terrorist threat is far better now than it was before FDD appeared.”
– Robert “Bud” McFarlane, former U.S. National Security Advisor to President Ronald Reagan

“FDD does fantastic work, in particular in understanding that you can’t defeat a strategic adversary without addressing its ideology.”
– Frank J. Cilluffo, Associate Vice President, George Washington University; Director of the George Washington University’s Homeland Security Policy Institute

“FDD has been a valued resource to many agencies throughout the U.S. government in helping to address some of the nation’s most critical foreign policy issues in a complicated world.”
– Puneet Talwar, Senior Director for the Gulf States, Iran and Iraq at the National Security Council
 

“FDD has one of the most comprehensive programs for the analysis and comprehension of the rapidly evolving events and issues in the Afghanistan-Pakistan Theater.”
– Oliver “Buck” Revell, former Associate Deputy Director of the FBI

“FDD … understands that democracy is a value that needs to be protected, advanced, defended, and that there are policy formulations that can embrace the defense of democracy.”
– Amb. Husain Haqqani, Pakistan’s Former Ambassador to the United States

“The Foundation for Defense of Democracies … has brought the idea of gasoline sanctions [against Iran] to political attention.”
– From “Pain Iran Can Believe In,” a Wall Street Journal editorial

“Israel owes thanks … to the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. … [FDD] conducted comprehensive research on Iran’s petroleum-based economy, to identify Iran’s vulnerability.”
– Ronen Bergman, Senior Security and Intelligence Analyst, Yediot Ahronot

"In particular, FDD has been one the most committed and creative voices in Washington regarding the Iran nuclear issue and specifically Iran sanctions. Your ideas inspired important components of the sanctions bill I authored and passed last Congress when I was Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and your ideas continue to enrich my thinking about sanctions as we move forward. My recent conversation in my office with Mark Dubowitz was one of the most enlightening I’ve had regarding Iran sanctions and oil markets."
– Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA)

“I commend FDD’s initiative and look forward to working together with the FDD team.”
– Charles Krauthammer, Pulitzer Prize-winning syndicated columnist

“I have long admired the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. I have long felt it’s very important the issues that are raised here, and I have long felt that when we talk about foreign policy, it has to be done on a bipartisan basis and we have to work very closely together across the aisle.”
– Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY)

 

"FDD is the most reliable source of intelligence on who is trading with Iran and who is violating US, EU and international sanctions."
– Brig. General Ephraim Sneh, Former Deputy Defense Minister, Government of Israel

“As Iran continues its pursuit of nuclear weapons, FDD has emerged as one of the most innovative thinks tanks in Washington when it comes to developing effective policies to stop the Islamic Republic before it's too late. The kind of time-sensitive research, analysis and expertise that FDD provides the Congress is simply invaluable.”
– Senator Mark Kirk (R-IL)

“FDD is the special forces of the think tank community”
– Bret Stephens, Deputy Editor, Editorial Page, The Wall Street Journal

“FDD is an excellent source for communicating what’s said in public to the intelligence community and the executive branch, and a great instrument for informing Congress.”
– R. James Woolsey, former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency

On efforts to end Iran's access to SWIFT, the global financial messaging network: “...the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, which has done most of the spadework on the issue."
– From “Swift Sanctions on Iran,” a Wall Street Journal editorial