Vandenberg Flash Focus

Bonnie Glick, Advisory Board Member of the Vandenberg Coalition, Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), and former Deputy Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), joins Vandenberg Executive Director Carrie Filipetti for the final of three special Flash Focus episodes reflecting on the year since the October 7th attack. Bonnie specifically explores the impact on the Jewish community, notably how October 7th has fueled a surge of antisemitism in the United States. The world’s longest hatred, antisemitism has most recently infiltrated college campuses and communities across the nation and has inspired a worrying number of protests and targeted crimes against American Jews, highlighting the urgent need for awareness, education, and proactive measures to combat antisemitism. In this episode, Bonnie identifies the historic, foreign, and domestic roots of this rise in Jew hatred, the inextricable link between anti-Zionism and antisemitism, the importance of resisting a victim mentality, the actions that both the government and communities can take to combat antisemitism, and more.

Gabriel Noronha, Executive Director of POLARIS National Security, Fellow at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA), and former Special Advisor for the Iran Action Group, joins for the second of three Flash Focus episodes dedicated to the aftermath of the October 7th attack one year later. Alongside Vandenberg Coalition Executive Director Carrie Filipetti, he discusses the continued threat posed by the Islamic Republic of Iran to American and Israeli interests. October 7th served as a grave reminder of Iran’s presence as a destabilizing force in the Middle East, notably through funding terrorist groups like Hamas and Hezbollah, brutalizing its own people, taking Americans hostage, and pursuing a nuclear weapons program. In this episode, Gabriel examines recent events in Lebanon and ramifications for Iran’s relationship with proxies in the Middle East, Iran’s October 1st attack and Israel’s response options, Iran’s role in the Axis of Aggression with China and Russia, and more.

Elliott Abrams, Chairman of the Vandenberg Coalition, Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, and former Special Representative for Iran and Venezuela, joins Vandenberg Executive Director Carrie Filipetti for the first of three special Flash Focus episodes marking the one-year anniversary of Hamas' brutal terrorist attack against Israel on October 7th. In this episode, Elliott reflects on lessons that American policymakers should glean from October 7th and following events, the evolving dynamics between Israel and its regional partners and adversaries, how Israel and the U.S. should respond to Iran’s October 1st attack, and the future of the Gaza Strip following the conflict's conclusion.

Michele Perez Exner, Director of Federal Affairs for Parents Defending Education, joins us for another special “China Week” edition of Flash Focus. Michele joined Vandenberg’s Executive Director Carrie Filipetti to discuss how the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has infiltrated the American education system to manipulate Americans’ thinking and spread pro CCP propaganda. In recent years, the CCP has leveraged providing grants in order to access schools to shape curriculum, undermine American values and steal sensitive information. A concerned parent herself, Michele discusses the implications of the CCP’s growing influence in American schools and shares tangible ways parents and policy makers can protect our kids.

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 for a special “China Week” edition of Flash Focus. Brian joined Executive Director Carrie Filipetti to discuss a central aspect of China’s economic warfare against the United States—intellectual property theft. Costing the U.S. economy between $225 and $600 billion each year, Beijing’s intellectual property theft is key to their plans to supplant the United States. Through cyber espionage, insider threats, forced technology transfers, and acquisitions targeting American businesses, China is seeking to develop an unfair trade advantage and jeopardize U.S. national security. In this episode, Brian walks us through how federal and state governments are tackling these challenges and what more can be done. 

Mick Mulroy, former U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, co-founder of the Lobo Institute, and Vandenberg Coalition Advisory Board member joins Flash Focus to discuss Ukraine’s recent surprise offensive into Kursk. Ukraine’s sudden incursion into Russia has injected dynamism into a war previously considered a stalemate, sparking renewed discussions on Ukraine’s potential to achieve a victory as well as America’s role in the conflict. On this episode, Mick provides explains the current state of play Ukraine’s calculus behind launching the surprise offensive into Russia, and what this all means for the future of Putin’s war against Ukraine.

In our latest episode of Vandenberg Flash Focus, we discuss the newly released report from the National Defense Strategy Commission, which was mandated by Congress to assess the Biden administration’s National Defense Strategy. Vandenberg Advisory Board member Roger Zakheim, who currently serves as the Washington Director of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute, has twice served as a member of the National Defense Strategy Commission. In this episode, he lays out the details of its findings, the limitations of American defense, and why American leadership should matter to everyday citizens.

In this episode of Flash Focus Vandenberg Executive Director Carrie Filipetti is joined by the Chairman of the Vandenberg Coalition, Elliott Abrams, who currently serves as a Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and was the U.S.'s former Special Representative for Iran and Venezuela, as well as Miguel Pizarro, Commissioner to the United Nations for the Venezuelan interim government and a member of the Venezuelan National Assembly representing Petare. This past Sunday, millions of Venezuelans came out to vote in presidential elections after years of the Maduro regime's dictatorship. Exit polls indicated opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez won with around 70% of the vote to Maduro's 30%. And yet the Maduro regime quickly declared victory in what has been one of their most flagrant examples of fraud to date. Elliott and Miguel dive into what happened, what the path forward looks like for the Venezuelan opposition, and what the U.S. and likeminded countries should do next.

Zack Cooper, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, lecturer at Princeton University, and a member of the Vandenberg Coalition Advisory Board joins Flash Focus to discuss recent actions by Chinese Coast Guard forces that forcibly intercepted a resupply mission to a Filipino ship grounded at Second Thomas Shoal, which put the South China Sea region back into focus. The Philippines, a treaty ally of the United States, obligates U.S. defense of the island, which raises questions of further escalating tensions between the United States and China. Zack understands this incident amid China’s broader strategy in the South China Sea and its general campaign to supplant American power and joins Flash Focus to break it all down.

Jump to:

00:02:06 Context of the conflict at Second Thomas Shoal

00:05:45 Discrepancy between China's approach to Vietnam & the Philippines

00:10:06 American response to China's breach of international law

00:15:06 China's "dress rehearsal" for Taiwan

00:19:32 American response to China's action at Second Thomas Shoal

00:22:51 Strategic merit in multilateralizing the response to China

Ambassador Paula J. Dobriansky, Vice Chair of the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy & Security, former Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs, and Vandenberg Coalition Governance Board member joins Flash Focus to discuss this week’s NATO summit in Washington, D.C. marking the 75th anniversary of the transatlantic Alliance. Against the backdrop of a protracted war waged by Russia against Ukraine, a looming conflict along the Alliance’s eastern flank, and questions around Ukraine’s future membership, the NATO summit arrived at a critical time in global geopolitics. Ambassador Dobrianksy situates this year’s summit outcomes in the context of the future of the alliance and American leadership within it. 

Jump to:

00:02:16 Developments & shortcomings from the NATO summit

00:08:23 Ukraine’s future in NATO

00:10:57 The case for NATO to skeptical Americans 

00:13:08 Addressing the China threat 

00:16:34 Legacy of NATO Secretary-General Stoltenberg 

00:20:58 The future of NATO & American leadership of the Alliance