Foreign Policy Initiative
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The Foreign Policy Initiative (FPI) was an American
think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmenta ...
that operated from 2009 to 2017. FPI's Board of Directors consisted of former
Undersecretary of Defense for Policy The United States under secretary of defense for policy (USDP) is a high level civilian official in the United States Department of Defense. The under secretary of defense for policy is the principal staff assistant and adviser to both the secr ...
Eric S. Edelman Eric Steven Edelman (born October 27, 1951) is an American diplomat who served as Under Secretary of Defense for Policy (2005–2009), U.S. Ambassador to Turkey (2003–2005), U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Finland (1998–2001), and Princip ...
,
Dan Senor Daniel Samuel Senor (; born November 6, 1971) is an American-Canadian columnist, writer, and political adviser. He was chief spokesman for the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq and senior foreign policy adviser to U.S. presidential candidate ...
, Former editor of the now-defunct
The Weekly Standard ''The Weekly Standard'' was an American neoconservative political magazine of news, analysis and commentary, published 48 times per year. Originally edited by founders Bill Kristol and Fred Barnes, the ''Standard'' had been described as a "red ...
Bill Kristol William Kristol (; born December 23, 1952) is an American neoconservative writer. A frequent commentator on several networks including CNN, he was the founder and editor-at-large of the political magazine ''The Weekly Standard''. Kristol is now ...
and
Brookings Institution The Brookings Institution, often stylized as simply Brookings, is an American research group founded in 1916. Located on Think Tank Row in Washington, D.C., the organization conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in ec ...
Senior Fellow
Robert Kagan Robert Kagan (; born September 26, 1958) is an American neoconservative scholar, critic of U.S. foreign policy, and a leading advocate of liberal interventionism. A co-founder of the neoconservative Project for the New American Century, he is a ...
. The latter two were project directors of the neoconservative
Project for the New American Century The Project for the New American Century (PNAC) was a neoconservativeWeekly Standard ''The Weekly Standard'' was an American neoconservative political magazine of news, analysis and commentary, published 48 times per year. Originally edited by founders Bill Kristol and Fred Barnes, the ''Standard'' had been described as a "red ...
'' editor
Bill Kristol William Kristol (; born December 23, 1952) is an American neoconservative writer. A frequent commentator on several networks including CNN, he was the founder and editor-at-large of the political magazine ''The Weekly Standard''. Kristol is now ...
,
Dan Senor Daniel Samuel Senor (; born November 6, 1971) is an American-Canadian columnist, writer, and political adviser. He was chief spokesman for the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq and senior foreign policy adviser to U.S. presidential candidate ...
, and
Robert Kagan Robert Kagan (; born September 26, 1958) is an American neoconservative scholar, critic of U.S. foreign policy, and a leading advocate of liberal interventionism. A co-founder of the neoconservative Project for the New American Century, he is a ...
. The Foreign Policy Initiative advocated for the troop surge in the
Afghanistan War War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC) *Muslim conquests of Afghanistan (637–709) *Conquest of Afghanistan by the Mongol Empire (13th century), see als ...
. Chris Griffin, a former legislative director of Connecticut Senator
Joe Lieberman Joseph Isadore Lieberman (; born February 24, 1942) is an American politician, lobbyist, and attorney who served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Connecticut from 1989 to 2013. A former member of the Democratic Party (Uni ...
, was hired as executive director in early 2013. He replaced Jamie Fly, who served as director for the organization's first four years and left to become an adviser for Florida Senator
Marco Rubio Marco Antonio Rubio (born May 28, 1971) is an American politician and lawyer serving as the senior United States senator from Florida, a seat he has held since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, he served as Speaker of the Florida Hous ...
.
In 2017, it was announced Foreign Policy Initiative would shut down its operations.


Issues


Foreign affairs

In an interview with ''Foreign Policy In Focus'', Robert Kagan iterated FPI's position toward Iran, saying, "It is time to take military action against the Iranian government elements that support terrorism and its nuclear program. More diplomacy is not an adequate response." On
Fox News The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...
, Griffin described what would be a "good deal" for the U.S., with regards to Iran. Iran would comply with longstanding demands from the United States,
IAEA The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an intergovernmental organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. It was established in 1957 ...
, and UN Security Council, freeze its nuclear program, and ratify the additional protocol to
IAEA safeguards International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Safeguards are a system of inspection and verification of the peaceful uses of nuclear materials as part of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), supervised by the International Atomic Energy Agency. ...
agreement. Griffin also said that Iran has 7,000 kg of 3.5% "low-enriched uranium," which amounts to 70 percent progress toward having a nuclear weapon. He also called out Iran to stop building and disable the heavy water nuclear reactor at Arak, which is a basis for building a plutonium-based nuclear weapon. According to Executive Director Christopher Griffin, Russia's intervention in the Crimean Peninsula was part of a trend that has resulted "in an absence of American leadership" and that "'global pressure' against the American-led international order is intensifying." On NBC Nightly News on April 10, 2013, Griffin noted, "What North Korea teaches us is that once a rogue regime has a nuclear weapon, we have not figured out how to reliably contain it, how to protect Americans, or how to protect our allies." FPI has also called for the U.S. Department of Defense to cancel a $572 million contract with
Rosoboronexport JSC Rosoboronexport (russian: AO Рособоронэкспорт, ''Rosoboroneksport'') is the sole state intermediary agency for Russia's exports/imports of defense-related and dual use products, technologies and services. The Rosoboronexport F ...
, Russia's government-owned arms exporter. FPI proposed an active U.S. role in Syria. In 2012, ''
Slate Magazine ''Slate'' is an online magazine that covers current affairs, politics, and culture in the United States. It was created in 1996 by former '' New Republic'' editor Michael Kinsley, initially under the ownership of Microsoft as part of MSN. In 20 ...
'' wrote, "The most forward-looking part of the FPI's conference came when the French philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy chatted with Sen.
John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms ...
(a PNAC signatory and contributing writer). They quickly agreed that America needed to intervene in Syria, setting up a partial no-fly zone and arming rebels." FPI advocated using Patriot missile-defense batteries, with Executive Director Griffin noting, "The United States and our allies could use the Patriot missile-defence batteries now deployed in southern Turkey to establish a credible threat against Assad's air power over parts of Aleppo and Idlib provinces n northern Syria"


Board of Directors

*
William Kristol William Kristol (; born December 23, 1952) is an American neoconservative writer. A frequent commentator on several networks including CNN, he was the founder and editor-at-large of the political magazine ''The Weekly Standard''. Kristol is now ...
*
Eric Edelman Eric Steven Edelman (born October 27, 1951) is an American diplomat who served as Under Secretary of Defense for Policy (2005–2009), U.S. Ambassador to Turkey (2003–2005), U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Finland (1998–2001), and Princip ...


Bibliography of works on Foreign Policy Initiative (FPI)


References

{{Reflist, 33em


External links


Official website
(archive)
Foreign Policy Initiative
at C-SPAN Video Library Charities based in Washington, D.C. Foreign policy and strategy think tanks in the United States Neoconservatism Think tanks established in 2009 Think tanks disestablished in 2017