Foundation for Defense of Democracies

FDD was founded in 2001 as "Emet" – Hebrew for "Truth".{{Cite news |last=Harris |first=Gardiner |date=2018-05-13 |title=He Was a Tireless Critic of the Iran Deal. Now He Insists He Wanted to Save It. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/13/us/politics/mark-dubowitz-iran-deal.html |access-date=2024-06-19 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}} In the initial documents filed for tax-exempt status with the Internal Revenue Service, FDD's stated mission was to "provide education to enhance Israel's image in North America and the public's understanding of issues affecting Israeli-Arab relations".{{citation|first=John B.|last=Judis|url=http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/foreigners/2015/08/foundation_for_the_defense_of_democracies_inside_the_small_pro_israel_think.html|title=The Little Think Tank That Could: Inside the small, pro-Israel outfit leading the attack on Obama's Iran deal|work=Slate|date=18 August 2015|access-date=15 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150818220822/http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/foreigners/2015/08/foundation_for_the_defense_of_democracies_inside_the_small_pro_israel_think.single.html|archive-date=18 August 2015}} Its mission broadened after the September 11 attacks in 2001. Later documents described its mission as "to conduct research and provide education on international terrorism and related issues".{{citation|first=Sarah|last=Marusek|title=Inventing terrorists: the nexus of intelligence and Islamophobia|journal=Critical Studies on Terrorism|year=2017|volume=11|number=1|pages=65–87|doi=10.1080/17539153.2017.1351597|s2cid=148693782|url=http://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/146149/8/The%20nexus%20of%20intelligence%20and%20Islamophobia.pdf}}

On its website, FDD describes itself as "a nonpartisan 501(c)(3) research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy" that "conducts in-depth research, produces accurate and timely analyses, identifies illicit activities, and provides policy options – all with the aim of strengthening U.S. national security and reducing or eliminating threats posed by adversaries and enemies of the United States and other free nations."{{Cite web |title=About FDD |url=https://www.fdd.org/about-fdd/ |access-date=2023-05-22 |website=FDD |language=en}}

John Mearsheimer in 2007, Muhammad Idrees Ahmad in 2014, and Ofira Sekiktar in 2018 have described FDD as part of the Israel lobby in the United States.{{Cite book|last=Ahmad, Muhammad Idrees.|title=The Road to Iraq : the Making of a Neoconservative War.|date=2014|publisher=Edinburgh University Press|isbn=978-0-7486-9304-7|location=Edinburgh|oclc=888747321}}{{Cite book|last=Mearsheimer, John J.|title=The Israel lobby and U.S. foreign policy|others=Walt, Stephen M., 1955-|date=4 September 2007|isbn=978-0-374-17772-0|location=New York|oclc=144227359}}{{Cite book|last=Seliktar, Ofira|title=Iran, Israel, and the United States : the politics of counter-proliferation intelligence|others=Rezaei, Farhad|year=2018 |isbn=978-1-4985-6975-0|location=Lanham, Maryland|oclc=1030485498}} Sima Vaknin-Gil, director general of Israel's Ministry of Strategic Affairs, had stated that the FDD works in conjunction with the Israeli government including the ministry.{{Cite web|date=2018-11-02|title=Un documentaire interdit sur le lobby pro-israélien aux États-Unis|url=https://orientxxi.info/magazine/un-documentaire-interdit-sur-le-lobby-pro-israelien-aux-etats-unis,2715|access-date=2020-07-07|website=Orient XXI|language=fr}}

FDD opposed the nuclear agreement with Iran during the Barack Obama administration. It advised the first Donald Trump administration on ways to subvert Iran.{{Cite news |last=Crowley |first=Michael |date=June 15, 2017 |title=Trump allies push White House to consider regime change in Tehran |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2017/06/25/trump-iran-foreign-policy-regime-change-239930 |work=Politico}} Iran announced sanctions against FDD and its CEO in 2019.{{Cite web |last=Gilsinan |first=Kathy |date=2019-08-29 |title=Iran's Enemy du Jour: A Guy Who Runs a Think Tank |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2019/08/mark-dubowitz-fdd-iran/597043/ |access-date=2024-06-01 |website=The Atlantic |language=en}} According to a 2019 article in The Atlantic, "no place else has made an institutional specialty of recommending hard-line Iran policies and offering detailed proposals for how to implement them the way the FDD has done".

File:Contributions to Foundation for Defense of Democracies, 2001–11.png

In 2011, news website ThinkProgress published FDD's Form 990 documents{{cite web|url=http://d35brb9zkkbdsd.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/FDDdonors.pdf|title=Form 990|publisher=ThinkProgress|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141205160813/http://d35brb9zkkbdsd.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/FDDdonors.pdf|archive-date=2014-12-05|access-date=6 November 2014}} that revealed the source of FDD's funds between 2001 and 2004. Top donors included:

• Roland Arnall: $1,802,000
• Edgar M. and Charles Bronfman: $1,050,000
• Michael Steinhardt: $850,000
• Abramson Family Foundation (of Leonard Abramson): $822,523
• Bernard Marcus: $600,000
• Lewis Ranieri: $350,000

Other notable donors:

• Haim Saban
• Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi
• Douglas J. Feith

FDD's Schedule A documents filed by the end of the 2011 tax year, indicates that the organization from 2008 to 2011 was funded more than $20,000,000,{{cite news|url=https://www.salon.com/2013/08/05/home_depot_founder’s_quiet_10_million_right_wing_investment/|title=Home Depot founder's quiet $10 million right-wing investment|author=Eli Clifton|date=2013-06-08|access-date=2019-02-07|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190126101741/https://www.salon.com/2013/08/05/home_depot_founder%E2%80%99s_quiet_10_million_right_wing_investment/|archive-date=2019-01-26|work=Salon}} and the top three donors were:

• Bernard Marcus: $10,745,000
• Paul Singer: $3,600,000
• Sheldon Adelson: $1,510,059

In 2018, AP reported that the United Arab Emirates has wired $2,500,000 to the FDD through Elliott Broidy and George Nader, to host a conference amidst Qatar diplomatic crisis about the country's role as a state-sponsor of terrorism. FDD stated that it does not accept money from foreign governments, adding that "[a]s is our funding policy, we asked if his funding was connected to any foreign governments or if he had business contracts in the Gulf. He assured us that he did not".{{citation|first1=Desmond|last1=Butler|first2=Tom|last2=LoBianco|first3=Bradley|last3=Klapper|first4=Chad|last4=Day|first5=Richard|last5=Lardner|url=https://apnews.com/2e2f7f54c93e4427ad40f3b6cb95d6b1|title=Witness in Mueller probe aided UAE agenda in Congress|work=The Associated Press|access-date=10 January 2020|date=26 March 2018}}

Adam Hanieh states that the FDD high-profile conference of 23 May 2017 was in line with UAE's policy at the time, which officially alleged that Qatar finances Islamist groups, adding that emails leaked shortly after show that UAE's Ambassador Yousef Al Otaiba had a "cosy relationship" with the FDD, and had reviewed the remarks made by Robert Gates at the convention.{{citation|first=Adam|last=Hanieh|title=Money, Markets, and Monarchies: The Gulf Cooperation Council and the Political Economy of the Contemporary Middle East|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2018|isbn=9781108429146|page=247}} The leaked emails revealed a extent of a backchannel cooperation built between FDD and the UAE.{{cite news |last1=Jilani |first1=Zaid |last2=Grim |first2=Ryan |title=Hacked Emails Show Top UAE Diplomat Coordinating With Pro-Israel Think Tank Against Iran |url=https://theintercept.com/2017/06/03/hacked-emails-show-top-uae-diplomat-coordinating-with-pro-israel-neocon-think-tank-against-iran/ |access-date=7 October 2023 |work=The Intercept |date=3 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231030115711/https://theintercept.com/2017/06/03/hacked-emails-show-top-uae-diplomat-coordinating-with-pro-israel-neocon-think-tank-against-iran/ |archive-date=30 October 2023}} Qatar appeared to be in compliance with the terms of the agreement for countering terrorism and not supporting extremists from its territory according to the report published by The Washington Post in February 2021. According to documents obtained by Al Arabiya published on July 10, 2017, Qatar had agreed to stop providing support to the Muslim Brotherhood, expelled non-citizen Brothers from Qatar, and would not shelter any persons from GCC countries to avoid undermining relations with the Persian Gulf.{{Cite web |title=Will Qatar's Relationship with the Muslim Brotherhood Change after Gulf Reconciliation? |url=https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/will-qatars-relationship-muslim-brotherhood-change-after-gulf-reconciliation |access-date=2023-03-18 |website=The Washington Institute |language=en}}

Additionally, as of 2016, FDD had received donations from the following institutions:

{{Col-begin}}{{Col-break}}

• Abstraction Fund{{citation|first1=David|last1=Cronin|first2=Sarah|last2=Marusek|first3=David|last3=Miller|title=The Israel Lobby and the European Union|url=https://purehost.bath.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/167838098/PII_IsraelLobbyEUreport2016_Cronin_Marusek_Miller.pdf|year=2016|location=Glasgow|publisher=Public Interest Investigations|isbn=978-0-9570274-7-3|via=University of Bath}}{{rp|24}}
• Hertog Foundation{{rp|24}}
• Jacobson Family Foundation{{rp|30}}
• Klarman Family Foundation{{rp|30}}
• Koret Foundation{{rp|30}}
• Milstein Family Foundation{{rp|30}}
• Nathan Seter Foundation{{rp|30}}
• Newton and Rochelle Becker Charitable Trust{{rp|31}}
• Snider Foundation{{rp|31}}

{{Col-break}}

• Hochberg Family Foundation{{rp|39}}
• Marcus Foundation{{rp|39}}
• Bodman Foundation{{rp|39}}
• Emerson Family Foundation{{rp|41}}
• Eris & Larry Field Family Foundation{{rp|41}}
• Rita & Irwin Hochberg Family Foundation{{rp|42}}
• Anchorage Charitable Fund{{citation|first1=Wajahat|last1=Ali|first2=Eli|last2=Clifton|first3=Matthew|last3=Duss|first4=Lee|last4=Fang|first5=Scott|last5=Keyes|first6=Faiz |last6=Shakir|title=Fear, Inc.: The Roots of the Islamophobia Network in America|url=https://cdn.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/issues/2011/08/pdf/islamophobia.pdf|date=August 2011|work=Center for American Progress|page=21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200408055028/https://cdn.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/issues/2011/08/pdf/islamophobia.pdf|archive-date=8 April 2020}}
• William Rosenwald Family Fund{{citation|title=Factsheet: European Foundation for Democracy|url=https://bridge.georgetown.edu/research/factsheet-european-foundation-for-democracy/|work=The Bridge Initiative|publisher=Georgetown University|date=5 December 2019|access-date=1 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200413174607/https://bridge.georgetown.edu/research/factsheet-european-foundation-for-democracy/|archive-date=13 April 2020}}
• Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation{{citation|first1=Arun|last1=Kundnani|editor-first1=Christopher|editor-last1=Baker-Beall|editor-first2=Charlotte|editor-last2=Heath-Kelly|editor-first3=Lee|editor-last3=Jarvis|title=Counter-Radicalisation: Critical Perspectives|chapter=Radicalisation: The Journey of a Concept|publisher=Routledge|year=2014|isbn=978-1-317-68039-0|page=23}}

{{Col-end}}

The Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation (CCTI) conducts research and analysis to address cybersecurity threats to U.S. government, private sector, and allied nations while supporting technology innovation. The center analyzes adversaries' strategies and develops technological, governance, and policy responses.{{Cite web |title=Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation |url=https://www.fdd.org/projects/center-on-cyber-and-technology-innovation/ |access-date=2025-02-03 |website=FDD |language=en}}{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2022-04-19 |title=It’s time to talk about the shortcomings of cybersecurity in the water industry |url=https://smartwatermagazine.com/news/foundation-defense-democracies-fdd/its-time-talk-about-shortcomings-cybersecurity-water |access-date=2025-02-03 |website=Smart Water Magazine |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Ravich |first=Samantha |last2=Montgomery |first2=Mark |date=2022-10-26 |title=Harden the cybersecurity of US nuclear complex now |url=https://www.federaltimes.com/thought-leadership/2022/10/26/harden-the-cybersecurity-of-us-nuclear-complex-now/ |access-date=2025-02-03 |website=Federal Times |language=en}} CCTI houses CSC 2.0, the successor organization to the Cyberspace Solarium Commission.{{Cite web |title=Mission and History |url=https://cybersolarium.org/mission-and-history/ |access-date=2025-02-03 |website=CSC 2.0 |language=en}}

FDD and its CEO, Mark Dubowitz, have been sanctioned by Iran for advocating sanctions against Iran and working to end the Iranian nuclear deal.{{cite news|accessdate=2021-06-15|title=Iran Sanctions Former U.S. National Security Aide: Report|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-08-02/iran-sanctions-former-u-s-national-security-aide-irna-says|newspaper=Bloomberg.com|date=2 August 2020 }}{{Cite web|url=https://en.mehrnews.com/news/149247/Iran-sanctions-Washington-based-FDD-for-role-in-intensifying|title=Iran sanctions Washington-based FDD for role in intensifying 'US economic terrorism'|date=2019-08-24|website=Mehr News Agency|language=en|access-date=2020-04-15}}{{cite news| url=https://en.mfa.ir/portal/newsview/50334| title=Foreign Ministry Blacklists 'Foundation for Defence of Democracies'| date=August 24, 2019| publisher=Islamic Republic of Iran: Ministry of Foreign Affairs}}

FDD's Iran Program is led by CEO Mark Dubowitz.{{Cite web|url=https://www.fdd.org/team/mark-dubowitz/|title=FDD {{!}} Mark Dubowitz|website=FDD|language=en|access-date=2019-01-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190130110307/https://www.fdd.org/team/mark-dubowitz/|archive-date=2019-01-30|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.fdd.org/projects/iran-program/|title=FDD {{!}} Iran Program|website=FDD|language=en|access-date=2019-01-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190130110532/https://www.fdd.org/projects/iran-program/|archive-date=2019-01-30|url-status=live}}{{Cite web |title=Mark Dubowitz |url=https://www.congress.gov/115/meeting/house/105839/witnesses/HHRG-115-GO06-Bio-DubowitzM-20170405.pdf |access-date=2024-10-30}}

In 2008, FDD founded the Iran Energy Project which "conducts extensive research on ways to deny the Iranian regime the profits of its energy sector".{{cite web|title=Iran - Energy|url=http://www.defenddemocracy.org/issues/iran-sanctions/|publisher=Foundation for Defense of Democracies|access-date=29 January 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130121185544/http://www.defenddemocracy.org/issues/iran-sanctions/|archive-date=2013-01-21|url-status=live}}{{third-party inline|date=April 2020}} The Wall Street Journal credited FDD with bringing "the idea of gasoline sanctions to political attention."{{cite news|last=Editorial|title=Pain Iran Can Believe In|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB123793752240531921|newspaper=The Wall Street Journal|date=2009-03-25|access-date=2017-08-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010125257/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB123793752240531921|archive-date=2017-10-10|url-status=live}} The organization pushed for sanctions against the Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran and its use of Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) to perform transactions.{{fact|date=June 2021}}

For years, Syria has been a focus of FDD's research because of its alignment with Iran and support for organizations such as Hezbollah.{{cite web|last=Badran|first=Tony|title=A Syria in minor key|url=https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/commentaryanalysis/a_syria_in_minor_key|publisher=NOW Lebanon|access-date=31 January 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130118200359/https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/commentaryanalysis/a_syria_in_minor_key|archive-date=2013-01-18|url-status=live}} In 2012, as the Arab Spring spread to Syria, FDD launched "The Syria Project" to support “secular, liberal elements within the Syrian opposition and dissident communities” and “to analyze the changing situation and operational environment, and to identify the optimum policy options.”{{cite web|title=The Syria Project|url=http://www.defenddemocracy.org/project/the-syria-project/|publisher=Foundation for Defense of Democracies|access-date=31 January 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141124172024/http://www.defenddemocracy.org/project/the-syria-project/|archive-date=2014-11-24|url-status=live}}{{third-party inline|date=April 2020}} In that effort, FDD facilitated a Skype call between dissidents and U.S. journalists in 2012.{{cite news|last=Zuka|first=Muhammad|title=A Syrian resistance leader's plea to the world|url=http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/16/opinion/zuka-syria-resistance-leader/index.html|newspaper=CNN|date=February 12, 2012|access-date=2013-01-31|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120827094442/http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/16/opinion/zuka-syria-resistance-leader/index.html|archive-date=2012-08-27|url-status=live}}

The Long War Journal is an FDD project dedicated to reporting the "War on Terrorism" launched by the United States and its allies following the September 11 terrorist attacks in 2001. Under the direction of FDD senior fellows Bill Roggio and Thomas Joscelyn, this website covers stories about countries such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria, and Iraq and follows the actions of al Qaeda and its affiliates.{{cite web|title=About|url=http://www.longwarjournal.org/about.php|publisher=The Long War Journal|access-date=30 January 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130201031735/http://www.longwarjournal.org/about.php|archive-date=2013-02-01|url-status=live}}{{third-party inline|date=April 2020}} According to the Columbia Journalism Review, "Roggio's greatest service, then, may be the way he picks up where the mainstream press leaves off, giving readers a simultaneously more specific and holistic understanding of the battlefield", but "...there have been times when Roggio has done himself a disservice by aligning with bloggers who are more about pushing a conservative agenda."{{cite news|last=Mcleary|first=Paul|title=Blogging the long war: Bill Roggio wants to be your source for conflict coverage|url=https://www.cjr.org/profile/blogging_the_long_war_1.php|newspaper=Columbia Journalism Review|date=March–April 2008}}

When it was announced in October 2021 that President Joe Biden's top diplomat for Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, was stepping down, Bill Roggio of the FDD said, "It is about time he stopped stealing money from the US government. He shoulders a large amount of the blame for shilling for the Taliban."{{Cite web|last=Seligman|first=Lara|date=2021-10-18|title=U.S. envoy for Afghanistan to step down|url=https://www.politico.com/news/2021/10/18/us-envoy-for-afghanistan-to-step-down-516211|access-date=2021-10-19|website=POLITICO|language=en}}

=== European Foundation for Democracy ===

{{main|European Foundation for Democracy#Ties to the Foundation for Defense of Democracies}}

In 2024, the FFD opened up regime change in Iran to the general public, as CEO Mark Dubowitz, posting on X, solicited "actionable ideas on how to topple the regime in Iran", promising that "as many of the good ones as possible will be put into action."https://x.com/mdubowitz/status/1830794019007340796

File:Clifford May by Elekes Andor.jpg, FDD's founder and current president]]

• Clifford May, President
• Mark Dubowitz, CEO
• Toby Dershowitz, Senior Vice President for Government Relations and Strategy
• Tyler Stapleton, Deputy for Congressional Relations
• John Hannah, Senior Counselor
• Bill McCarthy, COO
• Lawrence Muscant, Senior Vice President
• Jonathan Schanzer, Vice President for Research{{Cite web |date=2024-03-20 |title=Who's behind the pro-Palestinian protests that are disrupting Biden's campaign events and blocking city streets? |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/s-palestinian-protests-us-rcna143666 |access-date=2024-10-30 |website=NBC News |language=en}}
• Juan Zarate, chairman of the Center on Economic and Financial Power

Former staff include:

• Nir Boms (President)

File:Steve Forbes (53863467262) (cropped).jpg]]

As of 2005, members of FDD's board of directors were:

• Steve Forbes
• Jack Kemp
• Jeane Kirkpatrick{{citation|first=Haifa|last=Zangana|url=http://www.alraidajournal.com/index.php/ALRJ/article/download/299/297/0|title=Colonial Feminists from Washington to Baghdad: Women for a Free Iraq as a case study|volume=XXII|number=109–110|year=2005|pages=30–40|doi=10.32380/alrj.v0i0.299|journal=Al-Raida Journal|issn=0259-9953|location=Beirut|publisher=Institute for Women's Studies in the Arab World, Lebanese American University|doi-access=free|access-date=2024-02-13|archive-date=2021-02-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225075123/http://www.alraidajournal.com/index.php/ALRJ/article/download/299/297/0|url-status=usurped}} – Open access material licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

The following people served as advisors to FDD as of 2005:

• Newt Gingrich
• James Woolsey
• Bill Kristol
• Richard Perle

File:Jonathan Conricus, IDF spokesperson, Israeli-Swedish, in New York City in 2023.jpg]]

• Jonathan Conricus
• Amir Eshel
• Bonnie Glick
• Olli Heinonen
• Orde Kittrie
• Michael Ledeen
• Emanuele Ottolenghi{{Cite web |title=Iran: Geheimes Tunnelsystem im Visier des Westens - WELT |url=https://www.welt.de/politik/ausland/article117962517/Geheimes-Tunnelsystem-im-Visier-des-Westens.html |access-date=2024-10-28 |website=DIE WELT |language=de}}
• Cleo Paskal{{Cite web |title=How the Compacts of Free Association Support U.S. Interests and Counter the PRC's Influence {{!}} Indo-Pacific Task Force {{!}} House Committee on Natural Resources |url=https://naturalresources.house.gov/calendar/eventsingle.aspx?EventID=413428 |access-date=2023-06-14 |website=naturalresources.house.gov |language=en}}
• Walid Phares

The American political blog ThinkProgress criticized FDD for what it called "alarmist rhetoric and fear mongering",{{cite news|last1=Clifton|first1=Eli|title=EXCLUSIVE: Documents Shed Light On Those Underwriting The Foundation For Defense Of Democracies|url=http://thinkprogress.org/security/2011/07/19/271431/fdd-donors/|work=ThinkProgress|date=19 July 2011|access-date=2014-11-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141106221421/http://thinkprogress.org/security/2011/07/19/271431/fdd-donors/|archive-date=2014-11-06|url-status=live}} for example in April 2002 when they aired a 30-second television ad campaign called "Suicide Strategy" that was described by some critics as "conflating" Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) leader Yasser Arafat with the likes of Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein. As FDD explained it: "a militant Islamic terrorist who 'martyrs' himself by hijacking a plane and flying it into the World Trade Center"—referring to the September 11 attacks—"is no different from a militant Islamic terrorist who 'martyrs' himself by strapping explosives to his body and walking into a hotel"—i.e., Palestinian suicide attacks.

In 2017, journalist Bari Weiss of The New York Times reported on dissent within the organization over the pro-Trump orientation it adopted following the 2016 elections, which included at least two employees leaving.{{cite news |last1=Weiss |first1=Bari |title=The Trump Debate Inside Conservative Citadels |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/02/opinion/conservative-think-tanks-bannon.html |access-date=November 2, 2020 |work=The New York Times |date=November 2, 2017}}

In 2018, Lawrence Wilkerson, a retired US Army colonel who has been highly critical of Israel and accused by detractors of holding antisemitic views,{{citation|first=James|last=Kirchick|title= "The Latest Delusions Of Lawrence Wilkerson"|url=https://newrepublic.com/article/49691/the-latest-delusions-lawrence-wilkerson|date=25 November 2022|access-date=18 October 2024|work=The New Republic|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230519142518/https://newrepublic.com/article/49691/the-latest-delusions-lawrence-wilkerson|archive-date=19 May 2023}} criticized FDD saying it was "pushing falsehood" in support of waging wars.{{citation|first=Lawrence|last=Wilkerson|title=I Helped Sell the False Choice of War Once. It's Happening Again|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/05/opinion/trump-iran-war.html|date=5 February 2018|access-date=15 April 2020|work=The New York Times|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180205131158/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/05/opinion/trump-iran-war.html|archive-date=5 February 2018}} In 2019, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran designated the Foundation for Defense of Democracies a terrorist organization.{{cite web |last1=IFP Editorial Staff |title=Iran Blacklists Foundation for Defence of Democracies |url=https://ifpnews.com/iran-blacklists-foundation-for-defence-of-democracies/ |website=Iran Front Page |date=24 August 2019 |publisher=IFP News |access-date=20 July 2022}}{{cite web |title=Foreign Ministry Blacklists 'Foundation for Defence of Democracies' |url=https://en.mfa.ir/portal/newsview/50334/Foreign-Ministry-Blacklists-%E2%80%98Foundation-for-Defence-of-Democracies%E2%80%99 |website=Ministry of Foreign Affairs |publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Iran) |access-date=20 July 2022}} Farid Hafez, researcher at Universität Salzburg, asserted in 2019 that FDD was one of the key organizations peddling Islamophobia in a transatlantic network.{{citation|first=Farid|last=Hafez|chapter=Muslim Civil Society Under Attack: The European Foundation for Democracy's Role in Defaming and Delegitimizing Muslim Civil Society |date=2019 |editor-first1=John L.|editor-last1=Esposito|editor-first2=Derya|editor-last2=Iner|title=Islamophobia and Radicalization: Breeding Intolerance and Violence|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-3-319-95237-6|doi=10.1007/978-3-319-95237-6_7|pages=119–120|s2cid=158797596 }}

The International Relations Center features a report on the foundation on its "Right Web" website, a program of the think tank Institute for Policy Studies{{cite web|title=About Right Web|url=http://rightweb.irc-online.org/about/|publisher=RightWeb|access-date=2013-01-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130121194542/http://rightweb.irc-online.org/about/|archive-date=2013-01-21|url-status=live}} which, according to its mission statement, seeks to "check the militaristic drift of the country". The report states that "although the FDD is an ardent critic of terrorism, it has not criticized actions taken by Israel against Palestinians that arguably fall into this category".{{cite web|url=http://www.rightweb.irc-online.org/profile/Foundation_for_Defense_of_Democracies |title=Foundation for Defense of Democracies - Profile - Right Web - Institute for Policy Studies |publisher=Rightweb.irc-online.org |access-date=2011-08-21 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121105015114/http://www.rightweb.irc-online.org/profile/Foundation_for_Defense_of_Democracies |archive-date=2012-11-05 }}

In 2023, FDD, along with other US-based think tanks, was alleged to be coordinating a pressure campaign against the regional rivals of the UAE, including Iran, Qatar, and Turkey.{{cite news |title=US Institutes Achieve Abu Dhabi Motives |url=https://www.laweekly.com/us-institutes-achieve-abu-dhabi-motives/ |access-date=10 December 2023 |work=La Weekly |date=4 December 2023}}{{cite news |last1=Jilani |first1=Zaid |last2=Grim |first2=Ryan |title=Hacked Emails Show Top UAE Diplomat Coordinating With Pro-Israel Think Tank Against Iran |url=https://theintercept.com/2017/06/03/hacked-emails-show-top-uae-diplomat-coordinating-with-pro-israel-neocon-think-tank-against-iran/ |access-date=10 December 2023 |work=The Intercept |date=3 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231122095735/https://theintercept.com/2017/06/03/hacked-emails-show-top-uae-diplomat-coordinating-with-pro-israel-neocon-think-tank-against-iran/ |archive-date=22 November 2023}}

Christopher A. Bail, professor of sociology, public policy and data science at Duke University, describes FDD as an "anti-Muslim fringe organization" that has tried to establish itself as a legitimate authority on Islam and terrorism by tactically using "ethnic experts" —i.e. pundits with Middle Eastern background who were not Muslim— because they advocate views contrary to the mainstream perspective of the Muslim community in the United States, but look like and talk like Muslims.{{citation|first=Christopher|last=Bail|title=Terrified: How Anti-Muslim Fringe Organizations Became Mainstream|publisher=Princeton University Press|year=2015|isbn=978-0-691-15942-3|pages=70–71}} Sarah Marusek, research fellow at University of Johannesburg, argues that FDD is one of the "key organizations peddling Islamophobia" in a "transatlantic network".{{citation|first1=Sarah|last1=Marusek|editor-first1=Narzanin|editor-last1=Massoumi|editor-first2=Tom|editor-last2=Mills|editor-first3=David|editor-last3=Miller|chapter=The Transatlantic Network: Funding Islamophobia and Israeli Settlements|title=What is Islamophobia?|publisher=Pluto Press|year=2017|isbn=978-1-7868-0068-8|pages=189–206}} Farid Hafez, researcher at Universität Salzburg, asserts the same.{{citation|first=Farid|last=Hafez|chapter=Muslim Civil Society Under Attack: The European Foundation for Democracy's Role in Defaming and Delegitimizing Muslim Civil Society |date=2019 |editor-first1=John L.|editor-last1=Esposito|editor-first2=Derya|editor-last2=Iner|title=Islamophobia and Radicalization: Breeding Intolerance and Violence|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-3-319-95237-6|doi=10.1007/978-3-319-95237-6_7|pages=119–120|s2cid=158797596 }}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Foundation For Defense Of Democracies}}

Category:Think tanks established in 2001

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