ABOUT FDD

Why We're Here

A global war is being waged against democratic societies. While the military fights with arms, the Foundation for Defense of Democracies fights with ideas.

Unlike think tanks that address a range of policy issues, FDD focuses exclusively on the ideologies and movements driving terrorism.

We identify and develop the best policies and approaches to defend America, Israel, and other democratic societies, both established and emerging, from the militant Islamist threat.

We fight radical Islam and other anti-democratic forces with information, policy research, investigative journalism, strategic communications, and democracy and counterterrorism education.

We educate and inform policymakers, opinion leaders, and the general public on the threats to democratic societies. Our programs and projects help them recognize and overcome the dangers facing the United States and its allies and the importance of defending freedom and human rights for this and future generations.

Within a few short years, FDD has become a clear voice and influential force.

Polling data shows that our strategic media campaigns and efforts are helping to turn the tide against the appeasers and apologists. A Public Opinion Strategies survey reveals that a majority of Americans now understand that al-Qaeda, Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran are the most imminent threats to the security of the United States, both today and over the next 20 years. Indeed, the survey found that more than half of Americans now believe that the threat from Islamic fundamentalism is larger than the dangers once posed by Nazism and Communism.

Driving our messages in the media an average of 10 times a day every day is by no means all we do at FDD. We also shut down terrorist media organizations; break stories on U.N. corruption; empower Muslim reformers; train professors in pro-democracy/counterterrorism studies; file briefs in pivotal terrorism cases; produce books, documentaries, and radio shows on radical Islam; advise key government and law enforcement officials in the United States and Europe; and much more.