Analysis & Commentary
As Syria Crackdown Intensifies, Debate Rages Over U.S. Options
“What [the Obama administration] wants to see in Syria is a peaceful political solution," said Tony Badran, a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
Enacting Sanctions on Iran Isn’t Enough
Sheryl Saperia, the Canadian policy director of the Washington, D.C.-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies, says Canada should be making a serious effort, now more than ever, to ensure that sanctions work.
Swift Says Ready to Implement Sanctions on Iran Institutions
Iran would be the first country to be cut off by Swift, according to Mark Dubowitz, executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington policy group, who has advised the Obama administration and congressional offices on SWIFT and other sanctions measures.
EU Pays Price for Oil Sanctions on Iran: John Kemp
In an influential report on the "Oil Market Impact of Sanctions Against the Central Bank of Iran", which has circulated widely in Washington and European capitals, sanctions advocates Mark Dubowitz and Reuel Marc Gerecht of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies...
Conservatives Call for Obama to Intervene in Syria
Fifty-six leading conservative foreign-policy experts wrote an open letter Friday to U.S. President Barack Obama calling on him to directly aid the Syrian opposition and protect the lives of Syrian civilians.
Iran Offers ‘Readiness’ for Nuclear Talks as It Faces Financial Isolation
“If strictly implemented, this could deny Iran’s banks the ability to move billions of dollars in financial transactions, and put immense pressure on Iran’s leaders to reconsider their policies,” Mark Dubowitz, executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies
Obama Administration Takes Back Seat on Iran Sanctions
Mark Dubowitz, an energy expert who has been advising Congress on sanctions, said the Obama administration has tried to add sanctions "in a measured way to assure international support and to avoid anything that would spook oil and financial markets."
A Syrian Resistance Leader’s Plea to the World
The Syrian revolution has taken place as a long-delayed response to the misery and helplessness visited upon the Syrian people by a narrow authoritarian clique that treated the country as its own private fiefdom.
International Bank Clearinghouse Ready to Evict Iranian Finance Institutions
“If SWIFT follows through on its public commitment to ban Iranian banks, it could sever the Iranian regime’s financial lifeline,” said Mark Dubowitz, an Iran sanctions expert advising the Obama administration.
Would-be China Defector, Once Bo Xilai’s Right Hand, Oversaw Organ Harvesting
“The so called ‘research scene’ that Wang Lijun refers to is either an outright execution site with medical vans, or possibly a medical ward, where peoples’ organs are surgically removed,” said Ethan Gutmann, who has published extensively on organ harvesting from Chinese prisoners of conscience.
Obama’s Flip-Flop on Nuclear Fuel
I recently wrote about the Obama administration's about-face on allowing Middle East countries to pursue nuclear fuel enrichment. Now, a distinguished group of conservative defense experts...
U.S. Slaps More Sanctions on Iran
Mark Dubowitz, an Iran sanctions expert at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracy, weighed in on the result: "If it happens, the removal of these Iranian banks from the SWIFT system is a political and economic body blow to the Iranian regime,
Sanctions May Be Changing Iran’s Nuke Plans
However, Mark Dubowitz, executive director of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, a hawkish Washington think tank, said: "Designing sanctions to make Khamenei relent in his 30-year quest for a nuclear weapon is a delusion."
How Did We Forget About Mutually Assured Destruction?
In the National Review, Clifford D May writes: "During the Cold War, the United States adopted a strategic doctrine called MAD: Mutually Assured Destruction. The logic behind it was both perverse and compelling...
In Growing Syria Crisis, Obama has Few Options
"As the Obama administration agonizes over arming the opposition, the arming is already happening," said Tony Badran, a research fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies,
US, Europe Look at Fast But Risky Penalty on Iran
Mark Dubowitz, a sanctions expert advising the White House on Iran, said the Obama administration is having detailed discussions on the merits and consequences of forcing SWIFT to block Iranian transactions.
Guerra Subterrânea
No campo virtual, o wormde computador Stuxnet também representou um duro golpe para o programa nuclear iraniano. De acordo com o neoconservador Michael Arthur Ledeen, ex-conselheiro especial do secretário de Estado norte-americano Alexander Haig
Al-Qaeda Leader Publicly Sides with Syrian Opposition
“Al-Qaeda has no sympathizers among the protesters,” said Ammar Abdulhamid, a Syrian activist and fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies in Washington.
EU Sanctions on Iran’s Main Ports Will Slash Trade If Enforced
Emanuele Ottolenghi, a senior fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies in Washington, a research group that supports sanctions on Iran, said the Tidewater ban is an important step in hampering Iran’s weapons proliferation.
CPAC panel debates how the Arab Spring affects the U.S.
Moderator Cliff May, president of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, began by asking the panelists if the Arab Spring was a good thing for America. Even the most optimistic participant about the downfall of authoritarian regimes, former deputy national security advisor Elliott Abrams, was cautious.
