FDD Morning Brief

FDD Senior Vice President Jon Schanzer delivers timely situational updates and analysis, followed by a conversation with Democratic Congressman Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey's 5th District.

FDD Senior Vice President Jon Schanzer delivers timely situational updates and analysis on the headlines FDD is watching closely, followed by a conversation with Barak Ravid, Axios foreign policy reporter.

FDD Senior Vice President Jon Schanzer delivers timely situational updates and analysis, followed by a conversation with Major General (Ret.) Amir Eshel, former Director General of Israel's Ministry of Defense and former Commander of the Israeli Air Force.

FDD Senior Vice President Jon Schanzer delivers timely situational updates and analysis, followed by a conversation with former Israeli National Security Advisor Eyal Hulata.

FDD Senior Vice President Jon Schanzer delivers timely situational updates and analysis, followed by a conversation with IDF International Spokesperson, Lt. Col. (res.) Jonathan Conricus.

Modern critical infrastructure – including access to safe water, energy, communications, and transportation systems – is vital to American security and prosperity. And yet the existing private-public partnership governing framework – Presidential Policy Directive 21 (PPD-21) – is a decade old. To address the rapidly emerging technological changes and increased threats to critical infrastructure, the Biden administration has indicated it is reviewing and revising PPD-21. What are the shortcomings of PPD-21? How can improved public-private collaboration better protect U.S. national security, economic prosperity, and public health? What should the Biden administration be considering as it undergoes its important policy review?

To discuss these questions, FDD and CSC 2.0 will host a panel with Kiersten E. Todt, former chief of staff of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and current senior advisor to CISA Director Jen Easterly; RADM (Ret.) Mark Montgomery, senior director of FDD’s Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation and CSC 2.0 executive director; and Mary Brooks, policy fellow at the Wilson Center. The panel will be moderated by Martin Matishak, senior cybersecurity reporter for The Record.

Protecting our government and private sector networks from state-backed hackers and cybercriminals is more important than ever and starts with having robust cybersecurity teams. However, as the demand for cybersecurity professionals rapidly grows, the supply has not matched pace, leading to hundreds of thousands of unfilled cybersecurity positions across the U.S. federal government and private sector. To address this gap, the Biden Administration released the National Cyber Workforce and Education Strategy, a document with the ambitious goals on educating and training students and professionals to expand the cybersecurity workforce.

To discuss the implementation of the strategy and strengthening the federal cyber workforce, FDD and CSC 2.0 are hosting an event with Camille Stewart Gloster, deputy national cyber director for technology and ecosystem security; Seeyew Mo, assistant national cyber director for workforce, education, and awareness; Jason Barke deputy associate director for strategic workforce planning at the Office of Personnel Management; Kristy Daphnis, senior executive in the Office of Performance and Personnel Management at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB); and RADM (Ret.) Mark Montgomery, senior director of FDD’s Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation and CSC 2.0 executive director. The panel will be moderated by Natalie Alms, staff reporter at Nextgov/FCW.

The Republic of Turkey as designed 100 years ago by Kemal Ataturk was intended to be a stalwart member of the Western alliance. A founding member of the United Nations, an early member of NATO, and a candidate for European Union membership, Turkey was a trusted and reliable U.S. ally committed to secular governance and rule of law. Unfortunately, it will mark its centennial under a radically different guise. The two-decade rule of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has transformed Turkey to be defined by authoritarian nationalism, distanced from the West both as a people and a government. Following Hamas’s recent terrorist attacks on Israel, for example, policymakers in Washington are looking with increased scrutiny at Turkey’s deep dies with the terrorist organization.

One hundred years on, what is the trajectory of Turkey as a geopolitical and security partner for the West? What are the core security concerns held by the United States and its allies vis-à-vis Turkey and what steps could Erdogan take to change course? How could policymakers support a more prosperous century ahead for the U.S.-Turkey relationship? To what extent can Ankara claim to be a member of the Western alliance, while providing material support to terrorist entities?

Join FDD’s Turkey Program for a panel discussion featuring Henri Barkey, Cohen International Relations professor at Lehigh University and adjunct senior fellow at CFR; Sinan Ciddi, non-resident senior fellow at FDD; and Sibel Oktay, non-resident senior fellow at Chicago Council on Global Affairs. The conversation will be moderated by Amb. Eric Edelman, senior advisor at FDD, with introductory remarks by FDD Senior Vice President Jonathan Schanzer.

To counter a well-funded, Iran-backed “axis of resistance” seeking its destruction, Israel has spent more than a decade waging a “campaign between wars” — an unconventional multi-front campaign against Iran and its proxies that entails air, naval, cyber, sabotage, and psychological operations. Sometimes in cooperation with the United States, Israel has struck a wide array of targets inside Iran, penetrating Tehran’s defenses almost at will. These achievements have left a deep impression on governments in the region with some Arab countries having elected to de-prioritize historical animosities with Israel and normalize relations as mutual concerns about Iran loom large. In the wake of the recent attacks by Tehran-sponsored terrorists, leading to over 1,400 Israeli deaths, Israel’s intelligence apparatus is under study and scrutiny now more than ever. How did Hamas plan and execute an attack at such large scale under the nose of Israeli intelligence, and what lessons can be learned when thwarting Iranian nuclear ambitions?

Jerusalem Post senior military correspondent, Yonah Jeremy Bob recently co-authored a new book, Target Tehran, which surveys, exposes, and analyzes Israel’s 20-year clandestine war against Iran’s nuclear program. Yonah has recently been on the ground in Israel on both the southern and northern fronts meeting with top political and military decisionmakers. To discuss the new book and the trajectory of Israel’s military and intelligence campaign to counter Iran, FDD hosts a conversation with Eyal Hulata, FDD senior international fellow and former Israeli National Security Advisor and NSC head, and Jonathan Schanzer, FDD senior vice president for research. The discussion will be moderated by Senior Director of FDD’s Israel Program and National Security Network Enia Krivine. FDD Senior Fellow and Director of Research David Adesnik will provide opening remarks.

China’s assertive moves in foreign policy, defense, economics, and human rights over the past year have reshaped geopolitics and international dialogue. With U.S.-China relations delicately at a crossroads, the upcoming meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the Asia Pacific Economic Forum in San Francisco promises to be more than just a bilateral meeting and could be a defining moment for international diplomacy.

FDD hosts a discussion to dissect China’s aggressive moves, offer a rigorous assessment of the current state of U.S.-China relations, and deliberate on the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead for the Biden administration. The conversation features Matt Pottinger, Chairman of FDD’s China Program and former Deputy National Security Advisor, who has been instrumental in shaping U.S. policy towards the Indo-Pacific; Craig Singleton, FDD senior fellow with over a decade of experience in national security roles focusing on East Asia; Human rights advocate Rayhan Asat, who brings a spotlight on international rights norms, particularly concerning Xinjiang; and the Honorable Nazak Nikakhtar, who served in key roles in international trade and national security at the Department of Commerce. The conversation will be moderated by Bloomberg’s White House Correspondent Michelle Jamrisko.