The U.S. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) sits at the forefront of efforts to detect, disrupt, and deter illicit finance – yet growing challenges are testing the limits of existing regulatory frameworks. As Congress weighs updates to the Bank Secrecy Act and the U.S. and Western allies debate new global standards through the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), debates over the Corporate Transparency Act, a steep rise transnational criminal networks, and the surge of ransomware attacks underscore the urgency of modernizing America's anti-money laundering infrastructure.

As illicit financial crime evolves, how can FinCEN rise to meet the challenge? How do cryptocurrency and AI impact financial crime and enforcement? What tools are available to combat sophisticated threats from cartels and Chinese money-laundering organizations?

To discuss the landscape of modern financial crime and the future of FinCEN, FDD’s Center on Economic and Financial Power (CEFP) hosts former FinCEN directors Kenneth A. Blanco, Jennifer Shasky Calvery, and Himamauli Das. This conversation is moderated by Juan C. Zarate, chairman of FDD’s CEFP.

For more, check out: https://www.fdd.org/events/2025/12/18/fincen-modernization-and-the-future-of-financial-crime-enforcement/

Recently, Greece hosted two important energy events: the Partnership for Transatlantic Energy Cooperation (P-TEC) and a historic 3+1 meeting of Greece, Cyprus, Israel, and the United States. As the U.S. seeks to implement its vision for energy dominance, Greece has responded by accelerating its own efforts to reshape the global energy system. From opening new LNG import terminals and signing long-term agreements with American LNG exporters, establishing the Vertical Corridor to supply American gas to Ukraine and other parts of Europe, partnering with Chevron to explore natural gas off Crete, and resuscitating the Great Sea Interconnector to link the grid from Europe to the Middle East, the pipeline to America’s global energy dominance increasingly runs through Athens.

To discuss U.S. energy investment and infrastructure projects, Greece’s unique position at the crossroads of an emerging energy dominance corridor, and more, FDD's Energy and National Security Program is pleased to host a fireside discussion moderated by its director Richard Goldberg featuring Greek Minister of Environment and Energy Stavros Papastavrou.

For more, check out: https://www.fdd.org/events/2025/12/05/advancing-energy-security-with-greek-minister-of-energy-stavros-papastavrou/

Taiwan imports roughly 98 percent of its energy, making it one of the world's most energy-insecure economies. This vulnerability creates an opportunity for Beijing to pursue its campaign to force Taipei’s capitulation through gray-zone tactics, using economic, legal, and cyber-enabled economic warfare to throttle Taiwan's fuel supply without firing a shot. A successful Chinese campaign to disrupt Taiwan's LNG supply would force the island into difficult choices between powering civilian infrastructure or maintaining industrial production – including the semiconductor manufacturing that produces a super-majority of the world’s advanced chips.

This summer, teams from the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) and the Taipei-based Centre for Innovative Democracy and Sustainability (CIDS) at National Chengchi University conducted a tabletop exercise examining how the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) might escalate military, diplomatic and economic pressure towards an unacknowledged quarantine, interrupting and potentially blocking Taiwan’s energy imports. The exercise revealed that while Taiwan must urgently address its energy vulnerabilities, coordinated actions by the United States, Japan, Australia, and European partners can significantly impact Beijing's strategic calculus.

For a discussion on the findings from this tabletop exercise and actionable steps Taiwan and its partners can take to build resilience and strengthen deterrence, FDD hosts a panel of exercise participants including Kenan Arkan, managing director of commodities origination at J.P. Morgan; RADM (Ret.) Mark Montgomery, senior director of FDD’s Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation (CCTI); and Craig Singleton, senior director of FDD's China Program. This conversation is moderated by Politico China Correspondent Phelim Kine. 

For more, check out: https://www.fdd.org/events/2025/11/17/power-under-pressure-the-fight-to-protect-taiwans-energy-lifelines-from-beijings-aggression/

Following the 12-Day War and the United States’ strikes against Iran’s nuclear facilities, the Trump administration has reiterated that U.S. policy remains unequivocal: Tehran will not be permitted to acquire a nuclear weapon. With the regime weakened, but not defeated, Washington appears to be embracing a broad containment strategy anchored in military deterrence, maximum-pressure sanctions, and diplomatic isolation following the UN snapback sanctions to constrain Iran and prevent its network of proxies from rebuilding.

The return to containment raises an important question: What are the lessons to be learned from the last time Washington pursued this policy against an anti-American, oil-rich autocrat in the Middle East who repressed his own people, pursued weapons of mass destruction, and targeted Israel with ballistic missiles?

To examine the parallels between Iran in 2025 and Iraq after the First Persian Gulf War, FDD hosts Reuel Marc Gerecht, FDD resident scholar and former CIA Iranian targets officer; and Kenneth M. Pollack, Middle East Institute vice president for policy and former NSC director for Persian Gulf affairs. Moderated by FDD’s Iran Program Senior Director Behnam Ben Taleblu, the discussion will analyze how Washington’s mix of deterrence, sanctions, and diplomacy aims to recalibrate U.S. policy toward the Islamic Republic while preventing a 2003-style Iraq War outcome with Iran.

For more, check out: https://www.fdd.org/events/2025/11/05/containment-redux-persian-gulf-war-lessons-from-iraq-for-us-strategy-toward-iran/

In the wake of the attacks of October 7 and the successes of its multi-front campaigns against the Islamic Republic of Iran and its proxies, Israeli leaders are assessing how to turn battlefield successes into strategic gains amid rapidly shifting regional and global dynamics. Israel now faces a critical juncture in redefining its national security doctrine to address the emerging challenges and opportunities.

What insights do recent events provide for Israel’s long-term strategy? How can Israel balance its goal to remain a global center of innovation with the demands of confronting a nuclear-ambitious regime in Iran, countering an emerging Turkish-Syrian axis, and pursuing regional normalization?

Benny Gantz, chairman of Israel’s Blue and White – National Unity Party and former Oct. 7 War Cabinet Minister, will outline "Israel’s Security Vision 2040," his roadmap for national resilience, strategic cooperation, and sustained empowerment. The conversation will be moderated by FDD Chief Executive Mark Dubowitz.

For more, check out: https://www.fdd.org/events/2025/11/04/israel-2040-benny-gantzs-vision-for-security-and-cooperation/

America’s ability to achieve and sustain energy dominance is central to both economic growth and national security. The newly established National Energy Dominance Council is charged with ensuring reliable, affordable energy at home while leveraging U.S. resources to project strength abroad. This mission is critical not only to fueling and capitalizing on the artificial intelligence revolution, but also to strengthening America’s capacity to deter – and, if necessary, defeat – the Chinese Communist Party, while countering threats from Russia, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Venezuela, and other adversaries.

Join FDD for a conversation featuring The Honorable Doug Burgum, U.S. Secretary of the Interior, on the Trump administration’s energy policies and his role as chair of the National Energy Dominance Council. The discussion will be moderated by Richard Goldberg, FDD senior advisor and director of FDD’s newly established Energy and National Security Program.

For more, check out: https://www.fdd.org/events/2025/10/24/powering-us-energy-dominance-with-secretary-of-the-interior-doug-burgum/

For five years, the U.S. Cyberspace Solarium Commission’s (CSC) recommendations have served as a benchmark for measuring America’s cybersecurity progress and the commitment of policymakers to sustaining it. Today, China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea are all working to exploit persistent vulnerabilities in U.S. critical infrastructures, defense systems, and institutions and the adversary technology involved is outpacing efforts to ensure national cyber resilience. This year’s CSC 2.0 Annual Assessment reveals a troubling trend: America’s ability to defend itself and its allies from cyber threads is stalling – and in some areas, slipping. For the first time since the CSC 2.0 project began assessing the Commission’s recommendations, there has been a reversal: nearly a quarter of fully implemented recommendations have lost that status. 

Which CSC recommendations remain unfulfilled, and why? What steps are necessary to reverse these trends and protect critical infrastructure? And how can Congress and the White House defend America’s critical infrastructure, advance resilience, and preserve the U.S. competitive advantage in cyberspace? 

FDD and CSC 2.0 host a conversation with Commission Co-Chair Hon. Mike Gallagher; CSC 2.0 Advisor Hon. Jim Langevin; assessment author Jiwon Ma; and former CSC Executive Director RADM (Ret.) Mark Montgomery, who leads CSC 2.0 and serves as senior director of FDD’s Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation (CCTI). Commission Co-Chair Sen. Angus King (I-ME) will provide keynote remarks.

The event coincides with the release of the fifth annual assessment report and is moderated by Politico cybersecurity reporter Maggie Miller.

For more, check out: https://www.fdd.org/events/2025/10/22/americas-cyber-resiliency-in-2025-lessons-from-the-fifth-csc-20-annual-assessment/

The latest twist of fate in Russia’s war on Ukraine, precipitated by President Trump’s comments in New York, underscores the drastically changed nature of this conflict. The Trump Administration is considering improved intelligence and weapons support for Ukraine, including long-range cruise missiles, and is calling for increased tariffs on nations that buy Russian energy. This was preceded by Russian drone violations of NATO airspace – stretching from the Baltics to the Black Sea – which led Ukraine to propose a joint air and missile defense network with European partners.

What kind of support could, or should, Washington provide? What would the integration of Ukraine into European air defense networks look like? And what type of reform is needed to prepare Ukraine for integration into Western security architectures?

To assess recent developments in Ukraine, FDD hosts Admiral Ihor Voronchenko, former inspector general of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, former commander of the Naval Forces of Ukraine, and an Army division commander in the 2014 conflict; Col (Ret.) Andy Bain, executive director of Ukraine Freedom Fund in Kyiv; Maj Gen (Ret.) Charles Corcoran, former assistant deputy chief of staff for U.S. Air Force Operations; and RADM (Ret.) Mark Montgomery, senior director of FDD’s Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation. The conversation will be moderated by Tara Copp, journalist at The Washington Post, with introductory remarks by ADM (Ret.) Lisa Franchetti, former chief of Naval Operations and commander, Sixth Fleet.

For more, check out: https://www.fdd.org/events/2025/10/14/supporting-ukraines-defense-today-tomorrow-and-in-the-future/

The Axis of Aggressors — China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea — are pursuing “unprecedented levels of cooperation,” Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine testified in June, “driven by a desire to challenge U.S. interests and stability around the world.” These adversaries are cooperating not just in the military domain but also in the “cyber, economic, and informational domains.”

What are the threats from each of these adversaries, and what are the implications of their cooperation? How should the United States and our allies respond? As the Trump administration finalizes its new National Security Strategy, National Defense Strategy, and Global Posture Review, how can Washington align ends, ways, and means to ensure Americans and our interests are protected?

To discuss these questions, FDD’s Center on Military and Political Power (CMPP) hosts a conversation with CMPP Chairman and former U.S. National Security Advisor LTG (Ret.) H.R. McMaster, and GEN (Ret.) Laura Richardson, a member of CMPP’s board of advisors who served in the U.S. Army for 38 years and commanded U.S. Southern Command from 2021 to 2024. The panel is moderated by CMPP Senior Director Bradley Bowman.

For more, check out: https://www.fdd.org/events/2025/10/09/countering-the-axis-of-aggressors-with-ltg-ret-hr-mcmaster-and-gen-ret-laura-richardson/

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) conducted a targeted strike against senior Hamas operatives based in Doha, Qatar. Reported targets include longtime leaders Khaled Mashal, Muhammad Ismail Darwish, Khalil al-Hayya, Mousa Abu Marzook, and Zaher Jabarin. These men are directly responsible for the deaths of hundreds of Israelis and Americans and have overseen Hamas’s global operations for decades, including serving as key architects of the October 7 massacre.

The strike highlights Hamas’s dependence on external safe havens — and the challenge Israel faces in confronting a terrorist organization whose leaders operate from luxury in Muslim Brotherhood-sponsoring states like Qatar while directing violence against civilians. Key questions remain: How effective was the strike? How might this bold action shape Israel’s security and war strategy? And what are the implications for U.S.-Israel relations, given Qatar’s status as a Major Non-NATO Ally and host of the largest American military base in the region?

FDD Executive Director Jonathan Schanzer, Senior Advisor Richard Goldberg, and Senior Fellow Jonathan Conricus will assess the implications for Israel’s counterterrorism campaign, regional security, and U.S. policy.

For more, check out: https://www.fdd.org/events/2025/09/09/fdd-sitrep-idf-strikes-senior-hamas-leadership-in-doha/?_thumbnail_id=274720