Since declaring a blockade against Saudi Arabia on July 20, the Houthis have struck vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, fired missiles and drones at Saudi cities and, over recent weeks, seized Yemen's entire Red Sea coast, along with islands in the Bab al-Mandeb, the southern exit from the Red Sea. FDD senior fellow Edmund Fitton-Brown, a former British ambassador to Yemen, and FDD research analyst Bridget Toomey tell host Cliff May everything you've always wanted to know about the Houthis but were afraid to ask. They discuss also how an attempt to hijack and crash a flydubai passenger jet was foiled by an Indian pilot and Israelis passengers, and the complete withdrawal of U.S. forces from their last base in Iraq.

Since declaring a blockade against Saudi Arabia on July 20, the Houthis have struck vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, fired missiles and drones at Saudi cities and, over recent weeks, seized Yemen's entire Red Sea coast, along with islands in the Bab al-Mandeb, the southern exit from the Red Sea.FDD senior fellow Edmund Fitton-Brown, a former British ambassador to Yemen, and FDD research analyst Bridget Toomey tell host Cliff May everything you've always wanted to know about the Houthis but were afraid to ask.They discuss also how an attempt to hijack and crash a flydubai passenger jet was foiled by an Indian pilot and Israelis passengers, and the complete withdrawal of U.S. forces from their last base in Iraq.

Since declaring a blockade against Saudi Arabia on July 20, the Houthis have struck vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, fired missiles and drones at Saudi cities and, over recent weeks, seized Yemen's entire Red Sea coast, along with islands in the Bab al-Mandeb, the southern exit from the Red Sea. FDD senior fellow Edmund Fitton-Brown, a former British ambassador to Yemen, and FDD research analyst Bridget Toomey tell host Cliff May everything you've always wanted to know about the Houthis but were afraid to ask. They discuss also how an attempt to hijack and crash a flydubai passenger jet was foiled by an Indian pilot and Israelis passengers, and the complete withdrawal of U.S. forces from their last base in Iraq.

The Houthis, Tehran, and the Deep Red Sea (Cliff May feat. Edmund Fitton-Brown & Bridget Toomey)

Xi is in Washington, shaking hands and smiling as the People’s Liberation Army prepares for aggression in the Pacific. Putin continues to try to play the victim while continuing his unprovoked and brutal invasion of Ukraine. The regime in Iran is severely weakened but continues to menace commercial traffic in the Strait of Hormuz. And North Korean leader Kim Jong Unis responding to American concessions and South Korean conciliation with more ballistic missile launches. Some Americans are familiar with the threats China, Russia,Iran, and North Korea pose individually. But how are these adversaries helping each other, and how does American action or inaction, strength or weakness in one region or against one adversary impact the others? To explore these questions and more on Foreign Podicy,Lt. Gen. (Ret.) H.R. McMaster and Ryan Brobst join guest host Bradley Bowman, senior director of FDD’s Center on Military and Political Power (CMPP). H.R. McMaster is a former U.S. national security advisor to President Trump and serves as chair of the Advisory Board for CMPP, where Ryan Brobst is deputy director.

Xi is in Washington, shaking hands and smiling as the People’s Liberation Army prepares for aggression in the Pacific. Putin continues to try to play the victim while continuing his unprovoked and brutal invasion of Ukraine. The regime in Iran is severely weakened but continues to menace commercial traffic in the Strait of Hormuz. And North Korean leader Kim Jong Unis responding to American concessions and South Korean conciliation with more ballistic missile launches. Some Americans are familiar with the threats China, Russia,Iran, and North Korea pose individually. But how are these adversaries helping each other, and how does American action or inaction, strength or weakness in one region or against one adversary impact the others? To explore these questions and more on Foreign Podicy,Lt. Gen. (Ret.) H.R. McMaster and Ryan Brobst join guest host Bradley Bowman, senior director of FDD’s Center on Military and Political Power (CMPP). H.R. McMaster is a former U.S. national security advisor to President Trump and serves as chair of the Advisory Board for CMPP, where Ryan Brobst is deputy director.

Strait Lines

Sept. 11, 2001 began as a beautiful late summer day in New York City and Washington, DC. Then, out of what was literally a clear blue sky, two hijacked passenger jets slammed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, another into the Pentagon just outside Washington. A fourth plane, thanks to the courage of the passengers aboard, did not reach its target but insteadcrashed in Pennsylvania. Lewis “Scooter” Libby was in the White House. He tells host Cliff May what took place over the days – and years – that followed.  Relevant Link:  https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/sep/8/cruel-awakening-911/

Sept. 11, 2001 began as a beautiful late summer day in New York City and Washington, DC. Then, out of what was literally a clear blue sky, two hijacked passenger jets slammed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, another into the Pentagon just outside Washington. A fourth plane, thanks to the courage of the passengers aboard, did not reach its target but insteadcrashed in Pennsylvania. Lewis “Scooter” Libby was in the White House. He tells host Cliff May what took place over the days – and years – that followed. Relevant Link: https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/sep/8/cruel-awakening-911/

Sept. 11, 2001 began as a beautiful late summer day in New York City and Washington, DC. Then, out of what was literally a clear blue sky, two hijacked passenger jets slammed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, another into the Pentagon just outside Washington. A fourth plane, thanks to the courage of the passengers aboard, did not reach its target but insteadcrashed in Pennsylvania. Lewis “Scooter” Libby was in the White House. He tells host Cliff May what took place over the days – and years – that followed.&nbsp; Relevant Link:&nbsp; https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/sep/8/cruel-awakening-911/

Inside the White House on 9/11

Russia is turning captured Orthodox parishes into tools of occupation while holding tens of thousands of abducted Ukrainian children as leverage in any ceasefire deal.  China and Iran continue to feed the Houthi militants in Yemen drone and satellite technology to terrorize Red Sea shipping lanes. From election interference to drone incursions along the Baltics and Poland, these authoritarian regimes continue to test the will of fragile democracies and international order.   U.S. Representative Joe Wilson (SC-2), chairman of the U.S. Helsinki Commission, and FDD’s Research Fellow Dr. Ivana Stradner join Foreign Podicy guest host RADM Mark Montgomery to unpack the Axis of Aggressors new generation warfare campaign against NATO and the West.

Russia is turning captured Orthodox parishes into tools of occupation while holding tens of thousands of abducted Ukrainian children as leverage in any ceasefire deal. China and Iran continue to feed the Houthi militants in Yemen drone and satellite technology to terrorize Red Sea shipping lanes. From election interference to drone incursions along the Baltics and Poland, these authoritarian regimes continue to test the will of fragile democracies and international order. U.S. Representative Joe Wilson (SC-2), chairman of the U.S. Helsinki Commission, and FDD’s Research Fellow Dr. Ivana Stradner join Foreign Podicy guest host RADM Mark Montgomery to unpack the Axis of Aggressors new generation warfare campaign against NATO and the West.

Russia is turning captured Orthodox parishes into tools of occupation while holding tens of thousands of abducted Ukrainian children as leverage in any ceasefire deal.&nbsp; China and Iran continue to feed the Houthi militants in Yemen drone and satellite technology to terrorize Red Sea shipping lanes.&nbsp;From election interference to drone incursions along the Baltics and Poland, these authoritarian regimes continue to test the will of fragile democracies and international order.&nbsp; &nbsp;U.S. Representative Joe Wilson (SC-2), chairman of the U.S. Helsinki Commission, and FDD’s Research Fellow Dr. Ivana Stradner join Foreign Podicy guest host RADM Mark Montgomery to unpack the Axis of Aggressors new generation warfare campaign against NATO and the West.

Confronting Authoritarians around the Globe

On August 26, an ISIS-K suicide bomber killed 13 American service members and roughly 170 Afghans at Abbey Gate, one of the entrances to Kabul airport. Four days after that, the last U.S. service member left Afghanistan. Then, on Sept. 7, 2021, the Taliban declared the restoration of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. These anniversaries have not sparked much media interest. One notable exception: A new documentary film from Wall Street Journal Opinion:  “The Path to Zero: The Withdrawal FromAfghanistan,” looks at President Biden's April 14, 2021 order to draw American troop levels down to zero, and traces what followed. The film's producer and director, Michael Pack, talks with host Cliff May about what happened back then and the lessons we should have learned by now. Documentary Links:<a href="https://www.wsj.com/video/series/opinion-docs/wsj-opinion-the-path-to-zero/2EB4BA30-CF99-462F-BB52-222870D4F002" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">https://www.wsj.com/video/series/opinion-docs/wsj-opinion-the-path-to-zero/2EB4BA30-CF99-462F-BB52-222870D4F002</a><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wwzv_B9x-k" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wwzv_B9x-k</a>

On August 26, an ISIS-K suicide bomber killed 13 American service members and roughly 170 Afghans at Abbey Gate, one of the entrances to Kabul airport. Four days after that, the last U.S. service member left Afghanistan. Then, on Sept. 7, 2021, the Taliban declared the restoration of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. These anniversaries have not sparked much media interest. One notable exception: A new documentary film from Wall Street Journal Opinion: “The Path to Zero: The Withdrawal FromAfghanistan,” looks at President Biden's April 14, 2021 order to draw American troop levels down to zero, and traces what followed. The film's producer and director, Michael Pack, talks with host Cliff May about what happened back then and the lessons we should have learned by now. Documentary Links: https://www.wsj.com/video/series/opinion-docs/wsj-opinion-the-path-to-zero/2EB4BA30-CF99-462F-BB52-222870D4F002 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wwzv_B9x-k

On August 26, an ISIS-K suicide bomber killed 13 American service members and roughly 170 Afghans at Abbey Gate, one of the entrances to Kabul airport. Four days after that, the last U.S. service member left Afghanistan.&nbsp;Then, on Sept. 7, 2021, the Taliban declared the restoration of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.&nbsp;These anniversaries have not sparked much media interest. One notable exception: A new documentary film from Wall Street Journal Opinion:&nbsp; “The Path to Zero: The Withdrawal FromAfghanistan,” looks at President Biden's April 14, 2021 order to draw American troop levels down to zero, and traces what followed.&nbsp;The film's producer and director, Michael Pack, talks with host Cliff May about what happened back then and the lessons we should have learned by now.&nbsp;Documentary Links:<a href="https://www.wsj.com/video/series/opinion-docs/wsj-opinion-the-path-to-zero/2EB4BA30-CF99-462F-BB52-222870D4F002" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://www.wsj.com/video/series/opinion-docs/wsj-opinion-the-path-to-zero/2EB4BA30-CF99-462F-BB52-222870D4F002</a><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wwzv_B9x-k" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wwzv_B9x-k</a>

The U.S. Retreat from Afghanistan: 5 Years On

Cliff May is joined by Bill Roggio and Thomas Joscelyn of FDD’s Long War Journal to discuss their exclusive look into the Osama bin Laden documents, and how their findings could impact the future of counterterrorism strategy and policy.

Cliff May is joined by Bill Roggio and Thomas Joscelyn of FDD’s Long War Journal to discuss their exclusive look into the Osama bin Laden documents, and how their findings could impact the future of counterterrorism strategy and policy.

Osama bin Laden‘s Terrorist Treasure Trove

Osama bin Laden’s Terrorist Treasure Trove

Host Cliff May welcomes listeners to FDD's new podcast project, Foreign Podicy. Episode one will air Nov. 21st.

Host Cliff May welcomes listeners to FDD's new podcast project, Foreign Podicy. Episode one will air Nov. 21st.

Host Cliff May welcomes listeners to FDD's new podcast project, Foreign Podicy. Episode one will air Nov. 21st.&nbsp;

Welcome to FDD's Foreign Podicy

Welcome to FDD’s Foreign Podicy

A national security and foreign policy podcast from the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD).

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