Vandenberg Flash Focus

Emboldened by its patron, Iran, Houthi drone and missile attacks have disrupted international shipping in the Red Sea since November 2023. In response, the Trump administration has launched a series of “decisive and powerful” airstrikes against the Houthis, with President Trump declaring that any future Houthi attack will be treated as an attack by Iran itself. Real Admiral Mark Montgomery, Senior Director of the Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation, Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, and one of the newest members of The Vandenberg Coalition’s Advisory Board, joins Flash Focus to discuss the current situation, the path that led to this point, and the importance of addressing the Houthi threat. 

You can find The Vandenberg Coalition’s report on the Middle East, which offers policy recommendations on the Houthis, here. 

In early February, The Vandenberg Coalition worked with award-winning polling company J.L. Partners to survey a representative sample of registered voters to measure TikTok’s usage amongst Americans and respondents’ familiarity with the app, TikTok’s ownership, and how Americans perceive TikTok’s impact on national security and American politics. The American public’s views are clear: on every metric, from effect on our children, to surveillance, to misinformation, election interference, and political polarization, the American public say “no” to CCP control of TikTok. James Johnson, Co-Founder of J.L. Partners, joins Flash Focus to discuss the poll results, current polling trends on tariffs, Ukraine, and Israel, and J.L. Partners’ polling approach. 

You can read the toplines from the poll here and find coverage of the poll’s findings in the New York Post here.

You can also find Jonathan Haidt’s recent report, “TikTok Is Harming Children at an Industrial Scale,” here.

In this special episode, we mark the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale, unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in 2022 by revisiting the Vandenberg Coalition and the McCain Institute’s November 2024 report, “A Conservative Strategy for Countering Russia.” The report features insights from top conservative thought leaders on how the United States should confront the Russian threat. The authors importantly remind us that Russia remains one of the U.S. and its democratic allies’ most destructive adversaries, and assert that U.S. leadership and robust involvement — not isolationism and withdrawal — are essential to countering Russia and protecting American interests.

You can read the Vandenberg Coalition and McCain Institute’s report here.

(0:00) Introduction

(2:12) Threat to Democratic Values by Peter Berkowitz 

(7:34) Threats to the U.S. Homeland by Brian Cavanaugh

(14:20) The China-Russia Relationship by Dean Cheng

(24:07) Strengthen U.S. Geo-Economic Strategy by Matthew Zweig 

(35:50) Bolster U.S. Military by Mark Montgomery 

(43:32) Secure Ukraine by Rebeccah Heinrichs

(49:14) Continue the Freedom Agenda by Daniel Runde

(55:50) The Path Forward by Stephen Biegun

The policies of the Biden administration not only failed to extinguish the foreign policy fires consuming the Middle East; they actively accelerated them. Recognizing the urgent need for a revamped Middle East strategy, the Vandenberg Coalition convened a working group of experts to proposed policy solutions to more effectively advance U.S. interests and regional stability. One of group’s experts, Gabe Scheinmann—Executive Director of the Alexander Hamilton Society and a member of the Vandenberg Governance Board— joins Flash Focus to discuss the threat landscape and share some of the report’s conclusions. 

You can read the Vandenberg Coalition report here.

Despite the high-minded and noble ideas upon which they were founded, multilateral institutions like the United Nations have been hijacked by actors adversarial to the United States, such as China, Russia, Iran, and terrorist organizations. No better example of this concerning trend exists than in the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). As documented in a new UN Watch report, UNRWA leadership has met with, and in some cases pledged loyalty and cooperation to, U.S.- and UN-designated terrorist groups including Hamas. In this episode of Flash Focus, Vandenberg Executive Director Carrie Filipetti speaks with Hillel Neuer, Executive Director of UN Watch, about UN Watch’s work, the report’s findings, and ways to ensure accountability for corrupted international organizations. 

You can read UN Watch’s comprehensive report here, and watch Hillel Neuer’s “Where Are Your Jews” speech here. 

You can also read Carrie Filipetti’s November 2024 article about UNRWA here. 

In a stunning turn of events, a collection of rebel forces led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), an entity designated by the United States and numerous countries as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, toppled the government of Bashar al-Assad, marking the end of the 50-year brutal rule of the Assad family over Syria. The astonishing speed at which Assad’s regime fell leaves many questions to be answered about what happened. How did Assad fall so quickly? Who are the rebel groups responsible for Assad’s demise, and what is their future in Syria? How are regional actors responding to these developments? And what should America’s role be in this conflict? Rich Outzen, Vandenberg Advisory Board Member and nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, and David Adesnik, vice president of research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), join Vandenberg Executive Director Carrie Filipetti to offer their own distinct insights on what to make of the current situation.

For decades, the repressive Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has weaponized its position in the global economy to build geoeconomic leverage, fund its military modernization, fuel its global illicit activities, and wage economic warfare on the United States. Americans can no longer afford the costs of an unfettered CCP. What actions can the incoming administration and Congress take to counter the CCP economic threat? The China Economic & Strategy Initiative’s (CESI) recent report, “Defeating the CCP: A Running Start,” details a robust economic strategy to address this critical issue. In this episode of Flash Focus, Vandenberg Coalition Executive Director Carrie Filipetti is joined by Dan Blumenthal, Vice Chairman of CESI and senior fellow and the director of Asian Studies at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), to discuss some of the report’s recommendations.

In November, the Vandenberg Coalition partnered with the China Economic & Strategy Initiative (CESI) for the public launch of their remarkable new report, “Defeating the CCP: A Running Start.” You can watch the event and read the report.

Russia remains one of America’s most destructive adversaries, as displayed by its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and ongoing efforts to wage non-kinetic warfare against the world’s democracies. With President Trump set to take office in two months, the Vandenberg Coalition and the McCain Institute have assembled a report featuring proposals from national security leaders with prior government experience on how his administration can confront the Russian threat. In this episode of Flash Focus, Vandenberg Executive Director Carrie Filipetti speaks with Matt Zweig, Senior Director of Policy at FDD Action, about his recommendations for a new approach for revitalizing sanctions policy toward Russia. 

You can read the Vandenberg Coalition and McCain Institute’s report here.

Republican control of the White House and majorities in both branches have set the stage to implement President Trump’s foreign policy agenda. What can we expect from the confirmations process and national security committees, and which of President Trump’s foreign policy priorities are likely to garner bipartisan support? In this episode of Flash Focus, join Vandenberg Senior Director for Policy Ana Quintana as she speaks with Michael Allen, Vandenberg Advisory Board Member and Managing Director and Partner of Beacon Global Strategies, and Lester Munson, Co-Head of the International Practice at BGR Group, on what to expect from this new Congress.

Brian Cavanaugh, former Senior Director for Resilience Policy on the National Security Council (NSC), current Senior Vice President at American Global Strategies, and Vandenberg Coalition Advisory Board member joins Flash Focus. In the aftermath of Hurricanes Helene and Milton, Brian and Vandenberg Executive Director Carrie Filipetti discuss the protocol guiding hurricane emergency response efforts. Helene and Milton have rocked the southeastern U.S., decimating communities, leaving millions without power, and resulting in the death of over 200 Americans and reportedly over a 1,000 remain missing. For many Americans, these storms have evoked imagery from other recent catastrophic hurricanes in U.S. history, such as Hurricane Katrina In this episode, Brian highlights what resilience policy is, how disaster response is coordinated at the local, state, and federal levels, the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) disaster relief fund, ways that Americans can support impacted communities, and more. 

If you would like to support those impacted by Hurricanes Helene and Milton, we suggest donating to one of these efforts, among others:

• American Red Cross - You can make a financial donation or schedule a blood donation by visiting redcross.org. You can also text the word HURRICANES to 90999 to make a donation.
• United Way - You can donate directly through the United Way's website at www.unitedway.org/hurricane-helene to support various disaster relief efforts. United Way has several state-specific funds available. 
• North Carolina Disaster Relief Fund - Governor Roy Cooper is encouraging donations to this relief fund that will support nonprofits providing essential items like food, water, and cleaning supplies. Learn more at nc.gov/donate. 
• Florida Disaster Fund - Governor Ron DeSantis has activated the fund to support response and recovery efforts in Florida. Contributions can be made at volunteerflorida.org.