Foundation for Defense of Democracies

Foundation for Defense of Democracies focuses on the worsening humanitarian situation in Somalia, and al-Shabaab, the radical Islamist group that governs large swaths of the south of the country and associates with al-Qaeda.

Somalia and the entire Horn of Africa face their worst drought in 60 years, a perfect storm of inadequate rainfall, rising global food prices, a surging population, and declining natural resources placing around 10 million people in dire need of humanitarian assistance.

Foundation for Defense of Democracies focuses on the worsening humanitarian situation in Somalia, and al-Shabaab, the radical Islamist group that governs large swaths of the south of the country and associates with al-Qaeda.

Somalia and the entire Horn of Africa face their worst drought in 60 years, a perfect storm of inadequate rainfall, rising global food prices, a surging population, and declining natural resources placing around 10 million people in dire need of humanitarian assistance.

Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, director of the Center for the Study of Terrorist Radicalization, has intimate knowledge of al-Shabaab.

FDD Event:

Ungoverned Spaces: The Struggle for Somalia

Watch

In addition, FDD Chairman R. James Woolsey served as U.S. Director of Central Intelligence from 1993 to 1995, in which capacity he followed al-Qaeda through its first attack on the World Trade Center, leading up to the period in which Osama bin Laden was based in nearby Sudan.

FDD senior fellow and Long War Journal editor Bill Roggio follows al-Qaeda’s various affiliates, and speaks regularly to military and intelligence officials who address it.

FDD also employs senior fellow Reuel Marc Gerecht, a former CIA senior operative specializing in Middle East affairs, who has traveled widely in the region, and writes regularly for the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post.