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Clifford D. May

Clifford D. May is president of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and a columnist for The Washington Times. He can be reached at cliff@fdd.org.

Columns by Clifford D. May

What would happen if Putin were to prevail in Ukraine?

Western leaders have long misunderstood Vladimir Putin.

June 20, 2023

‘Cobalt Red’: The price Africans pay so we can have better batteries

Electric vehicles are marvelous in many ways, but if you think they're "green and clean," you haven't done your homework. Not to worry: Siddharth Kara has done it for you.

June 13, 2023

Stalinist approach to peacemaking is homicidal logic: No Israel, no problem

"Death solves all problems," Josef Stalin is quoted as having said. "No man, no problem." A significant number of influential people are now applying the Soviet dictator's logic to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

June 6, 2023

In fantasy of multipolarity, new world order would be dominated by Chinese Communists

At the conclusion of its summit in Hiroshima, Japan, earlier this month, the Group of Seven issued a communique calling attention to China's "malign practices."

May 30, 2023

Bashar Assad is back, and the Arab League’s got him

Is there, anywhere in the world, a dictator with bloodier hands than Bashar Assad?

May 16, 2023

Israel’s 75th birthday: Despite endless war, Jewish state survives and even thrives

On May 14, 1948, in the Tel Aviv Museum, David Ben-Gurion read from the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel.

May 9, 2023

The new — or perhaps renewed — Cold War

On Christmas Day 1991, the Soviet Union ceased to exist, and the Cold War ended. Or did it?

May 2, 2023

French twist: Emmanuel Macron cozies up to Chinese Communist Party

Is France still an ally of the United States? Based on Emmanuel Macron's three-day state visit to the People's Republic of China earlier this month, the answer to that question is in doubt.

April 25, 2023

Losing Latin America: U.S. retreats while China’s Communist rulers advance

"Asia Firster" is the term applied to those who argue that the threat Beijing poses to Taiwan should be Washington's top national security priority.

April 18, 2023

Lessons of the energy crisis

Energy policy is national security policy. So when political leaders get energy policy wrong, they get national security policy wrong.

April 5, 2023

No alternative to ‘peace through strength’ is preferable to robust deterrence

A policy of "peace through strength" means doing what is necessary to instill fear in our enemies, to convince them that we have both the capability and the will to cause them serious harm.

March 28, 2023

Facing existential threats, Israelis can’t resist fighting one another

How many simultaneous conflicts can a small country handle? Israel may soon find out.

March 21, 2023

China’s global supremacists: Communists in Beijing have grand ambitions

Code Pink, among the looniest groups on the far left, last week attempted to disrupt a hearing of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party.

March 7, 2023

Dear President Biden: War in Ukraine isn’t just about Ukraine

First, kudos to you for going to Kyiv. Not many sitting American presidents have visited active war zones. I'm told that Vladimir Putin was informed you'd be there.

February 28, 2023

China’s red balloon: Best-case scenario is that it’s just for spying

China's rulers have accused the U.S. government of "a clear overreaction" to the flight of its balloon across our country.

February 14, 2023

Iran’s arsenal of tyranny

More than 3,000 assault rifles, 578,000 rounds of ammunition and 23 anti-tank guided missiles.

February 7, 2023

Soldiers of misfortune: Putin’s Wagner Group isn’t playing

The Wagner Group is not, as the name might suggest, a club for lovers of epic German operas. Its members are often called mercenaries, but that's imprecise.

January 31, 2023

What is Putin thinking?

I've begun talking to myself. Not good. But who else can I talk to? I'm surrounded by fools and incompetents.

January 24, 2023

Biden doesn’t intend to defend America’s borders

In Mexico City last week, the president of the United States met with the president of Mexico and the prime minister of Canada for what was dubbed the "Three Amigos Summit."

January 17, 2023