December 21, 2021:
The Biden Administration will soon issue its National Security Strategy. The NSS should guide policies and investments that protect and sustain the American experiment of republican liberty, and a world in which it can flourish, from the despotic, threatening intentions and efforts of adversarial powers, principally the People’s Republic of China. Our special report sets out the priorities and elements necessary to meet the severe and intensifying challenges to U.S. security, prosperity, and liberty.
December 8, 2021:
President Biden's Summit for Democracy creates a strategic opportunity to defend open societies against authoritarian aggression and rally U.S. allies to enlarge the free world. Read our suggestions for actions to reverse authoritarianism.
November 23, 2021:
Russia’s ongoing military buildup near Ukraine is shaping up to be the next big test of President Biden’s foreign policy. Several indicators suggest that Putin may be preparing to attempt an invasion and annexation of Eastern Ukraine. The United States should take these immediate actions to deter Russia, support Ukraine, and reassure frontline NATO allies.
November 12, 2021:
Less than a month before Venezuela's supposed “elections,” none of the essential conditions for free, fair, and transparent elections are in place, and the Maduro regime appears on track to leverage this process to tighten its grip on the Venezuelan people. Here's how the U.S. should respond.
October 29, 2021:
The U.S. continues to have significant national interests in the Middle East & North Africa directly related to great power competition, despite the Biden admin’s desire to pivot elsewhere. Our report outlines four top vital national security interests and several policy priorities that should guide policymakers.
October 21, 2021:
Since the Obama Administration in 2010, it has become a practice for each new Administration to put its own stamp on U.S. missile defense policy. In its Missile Defense Review (MDR), the Biden Administration should be careful to avoid a repeat of its predecessors’ mistakes by issuing a missile defense strategy and policy that can last beyond the next Presidential election and continue policies and programs that will strengthen U.S. national security. Read the report.
October 4, 2021:
A prolonged disruption in energy flows caused by foreign cyberattackers could quickly inflict catastrophic harm to American lives, health, and national security. Congress must work with the Executive Branch to take robust steps to deter and punish cyberattacks on critical energy infrastructure while preparing the country to manage future attacks better than it did in May. Actions to date have fallen far short. Read FAL's report with 8 specific recommendations for Congress.
September 9, 2021:
The Taliban’s victory in its 20-year insurgency against the U.S.-backed Afghan government is a major setback to U.S. counterterrorism efforts. The United States must continue to pursue and identify an opportunity to rebuild an intelligence and counterterrorism partnership in Afghanistan. Full report here.
September 7, 2021:
Congress should pass defense authorization and appropriation bills with a significant and necessary topline increase. A higher topline is not an end in itself, however. Additional resources – both for procurement and modernization - will only be valuable to the extent they are tightly focused on measures that meaningfully enhance the ability to deter and, if necessary, defeat aggression in the most pressing and realistic scenarios. Read our recommendations on how to spend an increased topline.
August 26, 2021: The Forum for American Leadership mourns the U.S. servicemembers who lost their lives defending our nation and seeking to give comfort to the oppressed. Our thoughts and prayers are with the wounded troops who are in still in harm's way, the many innocent Afghans who lost their lives, and with all the victims' families.
August 18, 2021: The U.S. withdrawal of forces from Afghanistan, the subsequent collapse of the Afghan government, and the chaotic, deadly evacuation of friendly forces reflects a major failure of U.S. policy, planning, analysis, and leadership. Full statement here.
August 6, 2021:
President Biden is supporting a new round of talks with Maduro's regime in Venezuela in the coming weeks. Washington should prepare and be ready to launch new rounds of sanctions to use if negotiations stall and should consider a “snapback” strategy to penalize the regime for reversing any potential commitments made during talks. Read more about the negotiations, U.S. interests, leverage, and what our redlines should be.
August 4, 2021:
On July 28th, a U.S. delegation met with Russian counterparts for "strategic stability" talks related to nuclear deterrence and arms control. Congress and the Biden Administration must be careful not to fall into Putin's negotiating traps. FAL's memo reviews Russian tactics and U.S. goals for the talks, and provides Congress and the Executive Branch recommendations for how to make negotiations successful.
August 2, 2021:
Congress is considering a resolution to repeal the 1991 and 2002 Authorizations for the Use of Military Force (“AUMF”) against Iraq. Its repeal will be closely watched by both allies and adversaries. Before repealing the 2002 AUMF, Congress should carefully consider how repeal could inadvertently establish precedent for greater Presidential authority in deploying force, as well as the strategic signaling that could potentially embolden regional adversaries, such as Iran and its proxies. Read FAL's report here.
July 28, 2021:
Myths about the United States' policy towards Cuba abound. The U.S. has always placed human rights at the forefront of Cuba policy. The embargo and subsequent sanctions exist to encourage economic and political reforms that will enable the Cuban people to live in freedom and security. Get the facts here.
July 22, 2021:
President Biden has advertised that he will “rebuild” relations with Europe after what his administration describes as four years of neglect and mistreatment under the Trump administration. Maintaining close ties with Europe is important – but so is ensuring that America’s alliances there perform in ways that benefit the United States and not our geopolitical rivals. Read FAL's 10 principles that should inform U.S. policy in Europe.
July 1, 2021:
Semiconductors are critical for U.S. economic prosperity and national security. Taiwan has a central role in global semiconductor production, and the defense of Taiwan will be vital to maintaining U.S. access to these advanced chips. Read FAL's report on how they interact and what the U.S. should do to guarantee continued access to semiconductors.
June 29, 2021:
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is currently moving towards a Special Drawing Rights (SDR) allocation equivalent to $650 billion U.S. dollars. An SDR allocation would primarily subsidize rich and middle-income countries while providing rogue regimes access to hard currency. The U.S. should oppose an SDR allocation. Read FAL's recommendations on how to make the process better.
June 10, 2021:
Opponents of nuclear modernization have recently seized on analysis from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), falsely suggesting a sudden increase in the project cost of U.S. nuclear forces. Twisting the CBO's analysis is merely the latest attempt to undermine nuclear modernization. Get the facts about the cost and importance of nuclear modernization here.
May 20, 2021:
Economic sanctions have become a powerful and regular tool of U.S. statecraft, applied to address a wide range of national security challenges, from terrorism and weapons proliferation to human rights abuses and corruption. As the Biden Administration undergoes a review of U.S. use of sanctions, they should consider these six core principles to ensure we can continue to use our economic leverage against our adversaries. Read FAL's sanctions report here.
May 13, 2021:
As the Biden Administration and Congress consider new investments in infrastructure, they should be wary of attempts to create a false choice between defense and infrastructure spending. For example, a recent report from the RAND Center for Analysis of U.S. Grand Strategy sounds a false alarm about the consequences of “prioritizing defense spending over infrastructure investment” while ignoring other federal spending and the security consequences of diverting defense funds to other domestic priorities. Read FAL's report here.
April 27, 2021:
As the United States achieves the vaccination of the majority of our population against COVID-19, it is time to implement an aggressive strategy to provide vaccines to Latin America and the Caribbean. There is no other region in the world which more directly impacts U.S. security and prosperity. Read FAL's report here.
April 16, 2021:
As President Biden prepares to submit the FY2022 budget to Congress, myths and misinformation surround the defense budget. The facts are important to remember, and the stakes are higher than ever. FAL has fact-checked the 10 most-common budget myths and provided 10 principles to guide policymakers reviewing this year's defense budget. Read all our defense reports here.
March 29, 2021:
President Biden is due to release his national defense strategy in 2022. This seminal document will guide policy and budgetary decisions throughout the Pentagon and will determine how the nation prepares to fight and win the wars of the future. FAL has prepared key objectives and recommendations that should guide Congress and the Executive Branch. Read the report here.
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