The company they keep says a lot.

[madfloridian]

I don't know much about this organization, except that is seems to be a little like PNAC...maybe a lite form. I know I don't see too many Democrats listed. Thus I find myself thinking about the ones who are there, and the ones they are associating themselves with.

I wonder.

On the front page is an article saying we must win.
It is called The Only Option is to Win. It is written by one Newt Gingrich.

Here is the front page of the Foundation for Defense of the Democracies.
http://www.defenddemocracy.org/

Here is Newt's article in which he argues against diplomacy basically and stresses terror and fear:
http://www.defenddemocracy.org/in_the_media/in_the_media_show.htm?doc_id=390288&attrib_id=7378

"This failure to understand the nature of the threat is captured in Holbrooke's assertion that diplomacy can lead to "finding a stable and secure solution that protects Israel." If Iran gets nuclear weapons, there will be no diplomacy capable of protecting Israel. If Iran continues to fund and equip Hezbollah, there will be no stability or security for Israel. Diplomacy cannot substitute for victory against an opponent who openly states that he wants to eliminate you from the face of the earth.

Our enemies are quite public and repetitive in saying what they want. Not since Adolf Hitler has any group been as bloodthirsty and as open. If Holbrooke really wants a "stable and secure" Israel he will not find it by trying to appease Iran, Syria, Hezbollah and Hamas.

This issue of national security goals will be at the heart of the American dialogue for some time. If our enemies are truly our enemies (and their words and deeds are certainly those of enemies) then victory should be our goal. If nuclear and biological threats are real, then aggressive strategies to disarm them if possible and defeat them if necessary will be required"

Here is the page which lists the bios of the members. The two most striking to me are Joe Lieberman and Donna Brazile.

http://www.defenddemocracy.org/biographies/biographies.htm

Here is what it is about:
What We Stand For

"Those affiliated with FDD come from many backgrounds and political perspectives, but all believe:

• Terrorism—intentional violence directed against non-combatants to achieve a political objective—is always wrong and should never be condoned.
• Democratic societies have a right to defend themselves against terrorism and an obligation to defend one another.
• No one should be denied basic human rights—including minority rights, women's rights and the freedom to worship.

The Foundation for the Defense of Democracies is dedicated to winning the war of ideas through communicating, influencing, empowering and educating. "

I see many there who are not even supporting basic rights at home in our country, especially those of woman and gays..

How many groups like this are there? What's the real purpose?

[elehhhhna]

1. Joe Lieberman and Donna Brazile tools of Gingrich & PNAC-y nuts?

I've always thought so. They both SUCK.

[cosmicdot]

2. The Apparat

so many belong to so many organizations/boards/advisory councils ... I don't know how they find time to breathe ...

I'm thinking I read that FDD was created virtually the day after 11 Sept. (?)

more "experts" for Cabal Network News, Faux, WashPost articles, and the 'If it's Sunday, it must be conservative' chat shows


... how many think tanks does it take to screw in right-wing, conservative, corporate policies?


from a mediatransparency.org article, "The Apparat"

~snip~

"Further, they went on to blame the Clinton administration for the tragic events of 9/11. At the same time, the Foundation to Defend Democracy (FDD), yet another think tank of the apparat, was defending neoconservative hard-line positions on Iraq and North Korea.

"The FDD had been launched after 9/11 by Clifford May, a former communications director for the Republican National Committee, to promote Bush doctrinal policies. FDD fellows are pushing their messages with regularity and vigor as contributors to the editorial pages of the Wall Street Journal and other influential publications."

~snip~

http://www.mediatransparency.org/story.php?storyID=18


finding Lieberman at FDD doesn't surprise me ... I can't imagine anyone rubbing elbows with the ilk at the Nixon Center http://tinyurl.com/pubbw ... talk about the company one keeps ...

I wouldn't trust Brazile with licking DNC envelopes, much less matters of party strategy.


"The Apparat" article begins...

George W. Bush's back-door political machine

It's anti-democratic, anti-Constitutional, and is working to create a one-party America


and, later mentions ...

In its latest report, called The Axis of Ideology, the NCRP has identified at least 350 tax-exempt, ostensibly non-partisan organizations within the right-wing's activist front, many operating at regional, state, and local levels. They have penetrated the three branches of the federal government, and dominate the political debate. They guide and oversee the agenda that directs White House action (or inaction). Two of these organizations housed the planners who invented the Iraq war.

350 tax-exempt organizations!

501(c)(3)s. Set one up. Call in the donations. Give yourself a title. Rent a nice DC office. Set yourself a nice salary. Deduct donations. Have lunch with the movers and shakers.


I think the Founders would be up in arms about this Power Elite network and its effect on their democratic republic.

This system leaves a lot of folks out of the process.


AFAIC, this is another area needing reform.

[theanarch]

3. not to mention Chuck Schumer and Zell Miller...

...right up there with Jeanne Kirkpatrick, Charles Krauthammer, James Woolsey, Bill Kristol and Frank Gaffney...whoa...PNAC, sho'nuff...and hold the "lite".