FDD publishes research on foreign policy and security issues, focusing on subjects such as nuclear-non proliferation, cyber threats, sanctions, illicit finance, and policy surrounding North Korea, Iran, Russia, the war in Afghanistan, and other areas of study.[4][5]
History and mission
FDD was founded shortly after the September 11 attacks in 2001.[6] 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".[7][verify] Later documents described its mission as "to conduct research and provide education on international terrorism and related issues".[8]
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."[6]
Money contributed to the FDD during first decade of its activity, based on calculations made by Christopher Bail, expanded by 442%.[14]
In 2011, news website ThinkProgress published FDD's Form 990 documents[15] that revealed the source of FDD's funds between 2001 and 2004. Top donors included:
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,[17] and the top three donors were:
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.[18] 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".[18]
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.[19] The leaked emails revealed a extent of a backchannel cooperation built between FDD and the UAE.[20] 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.[21]
Others
Additionally, it is known that as of 2016, FDD has received donations from the following institutions:
FDD and its CEO, Mark Dubowitz, have been sanctioned by Iran for advocating sanctions against Iran and working to end the Iranian nuclear deal.[26][27][28]
For years, Syria has been a focus of FDD's research because of its alignment with Iran and support for organizations such as Hezbollah.[33] 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.”[34][third-party source needed] In that effort, FDD facilitated a Skype call between dissidents and U.S. journalists in 2012.[35]
Long War Journal
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.[36][third-party source needed] 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."[37]
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."[38]
Arun Kundnani, adjunct professor at New York University, in a review of FDD publication Homegrown Terrorists in the US and UK argues that as a work "typical of many in its approach and conclusions", it does not provide empirical evidence for assumptions it makes and neglects contradicting data as a result of an influence by politics of the publisher and funders, and bias in favor of knowledge claims.[41]
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[43] 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".[44]
In 2017 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.[45]
In 2023, FDD, along with other US-based think tanks, was alleged of running a defamation campaign against the regional rivals of the UAE, including Iran, Qatar and Turkey. The organization was alleged of exploiting the Middle Eastern conflict through the media tactics and pushing the West against these countries. Along with FDD, its CEO Mark Dubowitz’s long-existing relations with the Emirates were also in question.[48][49]
Islamophobia accusations
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.[50]
^Ahmad, Muhammad Idrees. (2014). The Road to Iraq : the Making of a Neoconservative War. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. ISBN978-0-7486-9304-7. OCLC888747321.
^Mearsheimer, John J. (4 September 2007). The Israel lobby and U.S. foreign policy. Walt, Stephen M., 1955-. New York. ISBN978-0-374-17772-0. OCLC144227359.((cite book)): CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^Seliktar, Ofira (2018). Iran, Israel, and the United States : the politics of counter-proliferation intelligence. Rezaei, Farhad. Lanham, Maryland. ISBN978-1-4985-6975-0. OCLC1030485498.((cite book)): CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^Bail, Christopher (2015), Terrified: How Anti-Muslim Fringe Organizations Became Mainstream, Princeton University Press, pp. 73–75, ISBN978-0-691-15942-3
^"Form 990"(PDF). ThinkProgress. Archived(PDF) from the original on 2014-12-05. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
^Hanieh, Adam (2018), Money, Markets, and Monarchies: The Gulf Cooperation Council and the Political Economy of the Contemporary Middle East, Cambridge University Press, p. 247, ISBN9781108429146
^Kundnani, Arun (2014), "Radicalisation: The Journey of a Concept", in Baker-Beall, Christopher; Heath-Kelly, Charlotte; Jarvis, Lee (eds.), Counter-Radicalisation: Critical Perspectives, Routledge, p. 23, ISBN978-1-317-68039-0
^Kundnani, Arun (2014), "Radicalisation: The Journey of a Concept", in Baker-Beall, Christopher; Heath-Kelly, Charlotte; Jarvis, Lee (eds.), Counter-Radicalisation: Critical Perspectives, Routledge, pp. 21–23, ISBN9781317680390
^Bail, Christopher (2015), Terrified: How Anti-Muslim Fringe Organizations Became Mainstream, Princeton University Press, pp. 70–71, ISBN978-0-691-15942-3
^Marusek, Sarah (2017), "The Transatlantic Network: Funding Islamophobia and Israeli Settlements", in Massoumi, Narzanin; Mills, Tom; Miller, David (eds.), What is Islamophobia?, Pluto Press, pp. 189–206, ISBN978-1-7868-0068-8
^Hafez, Farid (2019), "Muslim Civil Society Under Attack: The European Foundation for Democracy's Role in Defaming and Delegitimizing Muslim Civil Society", in Esposito, John L.; Iner, Derya (eds.), Islamophobia and Radicalization: Breeding Intolerance and Violence, Springer, pp. 119–120, doi:10.1007/978-3-319-95237-6_7, ISBN978-3-319-95237-6, S2CID158797596
