Mark Dubowitz - Interview on Fox News - December 17, 2016.

Foundation for Defense of Democracies Executive Director Mark Dubowitz discusses Russia hacks and Rex Tillerson's appointment as Secretary of State - America's News HQ (Fox News) - December 17, 2016. 

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Julie Banderas:	Well, for more on this, let's bring in Mark Dubowitz, the Executive Director of the Foundation for Defensive Democracies. Thank you so much, Mark, for talking to us. So the FBI has joined the CIA today in the assessment that the Russian President was directly involved in the hack attack, based on information, new information coming out that authorities say come from in directly inside the Kremlin. So the question is what do we do with this information?
Mark Dubowitz:	Julie, I know what we haven't done for eight years and that's President Obama has really not responded at all to Russian aggression. I mean, he has married this soaring, tough rhetoric with really inaction, and so for eight years Vladimir Putin has had the President's number. And the President has done nothing to push back against Putin, so it's no surprise that Putin feels that he actually has complete impunity to do what he wants, when he wants.
Julie Banderas:	John Carlin, the former Head of the Justice Department's National Security Division tells ABC News and I want to quote it. "If you mess with the United States, we will mess with you back." He added, it's important the U.S. starts, "Taking actions to show others that it's not open season on the United States' symptoms, systems, whether they are private or government." How much of this could have been prevented by the Obama Administration over the past eight years?
Mark Dubowitz:	Well, I think John is exactly right. John's a great man and a great American, and I think he has a great insight into what has and has not been done, and I think those words suggest that eight years of Russian aggression, Russian cyber attacks, and really, cyberattacks by the North Koreans, by the Chinese, by the Iranians. I mean, all our adversaries were gunning for us and I think there's every indication that there was very little that we did in order to create a strong message of deterrents that we are the United States and don't mess with us.
Julie Banderas:	The question now is whether incoming President-Elect Donald Trump is prepared to make an example of those who have attacked America in cyberspace, considering he once said on a Fox News Sunday Interview, "I think it's ridiculous. I think it's just another excuse. I don't believe it. No, I don't believe it at all." And then shortly, and I know you know about this, at 6 a.m., on Friday, he continued to defend Russia and Putin and he Tweeted the following. Let's put that up on the screen. "Are we talking about the same cyberattack where it was revealed that head of the DNC illegally gave Hillary the questions to the debate?"
	And at a Thank You Event Thursday night with some of our top campaign donors and fundraisers, Clinton said that she too believed Russian-backed hackers went after her campaign because of a person grudge Putin had against her. So the question is when is Trump going to believe this information? And what is he going to do about it?
Mark Dubowitz:	Look, I think Donald Trump, when he is President Trump, is going to have a much greater strategic objective. I mean, I think what he is signaling is that he doesn't believe Russia is America's number one enemy. He believes radical Islam is the number one enemy. I think he believes that China is a rising power and he's challenging us in East Asia. I think he's looking to forge some kind of relationship with Vladimir Putin to see if he can solve some of these other problems. I think, because of that, he's not, he doesn't want to pick a fight with Vladimir Putin before he actually occupies the Oval Office.
	And I think that's part of the reason why he is not out on the attack right now. It is entirely possible for three things to be true. Number one, that Donald Trump won the Presidency decisively. Number two, that Democrats ran a lousy campaign. And then number three, Vladimir Putin and Russian intelligence have been launching cyberattacks against the United States. All of those things can be true.
Julie Banderas:	Okay. Let's talk about Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State, because right now, there's a lot of pressure on behalf of Republicans on President-Elect Donald Trump that he needs to believe this, but most importantly, how does this affect the vote for Rex Tillerson, the CEO of Exxon, and an unabashed admirer of Putin? His pick to be Secretary of State does fall in a time now that could prove to be extremely controversial. Does anything change here and do we need to hear from Trump on this?
Mark Dubowitz:	Look, Rex Tillerson's got decades of experience doing major international deals in Russia, dealing with Putin. I'm not sure he's an unabashed admirer of Vladimir Putin. He's certainly has a relationship with Putin, and if you're Donald Trump, and your strategic objective is to take on Iran, take on radical Islam, and try to neutralize rising Chinese power, then maybe Rex Tillerson is the man you need as Secretary of State to deal with Vladimir Putin. Clear-eyed, tough-minded, and with leverage and negotiating skill, but I think you're right. It will be controversial through the Confirmation process and we'll have to see how many Republicans actually back the President on this.
Julie Banderas:	What do you think about the President? President Obama has come out and slammed Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin, and the sources now that are confirming what most pretty much believed. It's not a huge shock. We all kind of saw this coming, but what do you say to President Obama, who's now dealing with this? And how, if at all, will this affect the Electoral College that's getting ready to vote on Monday, the 19th?
Mark Dubowitz:	Look, I think it should have no impact on the Electoral College. I mean, President Trump won decisively. He didn't win decisively because of Russian cyberhacks. He won decisively because of eight years of President Obama, of failed policies, of frustration amongst the American people, in the heartland on jobs and economic issues, and also, a feeling that America really was not winning anymore. I mean, I think that was a very powerful phrase that Donald Trump used repeatedly, and I think a lot of Americans believe that. That they were losing to Putin, they were losing to the Ayatollahs in Iran, to the North Koreans who were ramping up their nuclear weapons program, to ISIS that was on the rampage.
	I mean, there was a real sense that we were losing internationally, and I think this President, President Obama, that will be his legacy. Of foreign policy failure and he's handing the next President, President Trump, a number of major problems that are going to be very difficult to solve, but I think they're going to have to be solved by somebody who's decisive, that shows American power, and uses American leverage on the negotiating table.
Julie Banderas:	All right. Mark Dubowitz. Thank you.

Mark Dubowitz Interview on Fox News - November 26, 2016

The following is a transcript from an interview with Arthel Neville on Fox News with Mark Dubowitz, the executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), a Washington, D.C.-based nonpartisan policy institute.  Mark Dubowitz comments on the death of Fidel Castro and its implications on US foreign policy (November 26, 2016).

Arthel Neville:	From the Cold War to the War on Terror, the shadow of Fidel Castro felt over US foreign policy for nearly 60 years. He frustrated presidents of all stripes: Democrats, Republicans, conservatives, and liberals, but relations started softening during George W. Bush's administration and gained steam under President Obama. Here to talk about Castro's influence on American foreign policy, past and future, is Mark Dubowitz. He's the executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Good to see you.
Mark Dubowitz:	Thanks, Arthel.
Arthel Neville:	All right, let's start here. In what ways has US foreign policy been dictated by Fidel Castro over the past 55 years? Will there be any real changes between now and 2016, when Raul Castro steps down? 2018?
Mark Dubowitz:	Well, Fidel Castro has been in power for over 50 years. He's bedeviled 10 US presidents from Eisenhower to George W. Bush, and in fact, he even snubbed Barack Obama when Obama restored diplomatic relations with Cuba and visited the island. He's been a thorn in the side of these presidents. He's ruled over Cuba, 90 miles from Florida. He's responsible for almost bringing the US and the Soviet Union to nuclear war in the early 1960s and he has inspired and supported revolutionary movements and terrorist organizations the world over, all united with one central organizing principle, and that is anti-Americanism.
Arthel Neville:	Yeah. As you mentioned, President Obama normalized US relations with Cuba last July, 2015. A year and some change later, critics say that has proven to be more symbolic. So, Mark, I ask you, do you think that once he gets in office, President Trump, can he bring about system changes that would better benefit the people of Cuba, and how might he do it?
Mark Dubowitz:	I think he could. The deal that Obama struck with Raul Castro unfortunately was a deal where most of the concessions were given to the Castro regime; very little concessions provided to the United States, and more importantly, the long-suffering Cuban dissidents who've been languishing in the prisons of Castro.
	Trump could come into office and he could keep the embargo lifted, or he could restore the embargo, or alternatively, he could use targeted sanctions, including human rights sanctions, to go after the Cuban military and the Cuban dictatorship that continues its oppressive ways.
Arthel Neville:	Right. Well, you would wonder if other presidents hadn't tried the same thing, but let's talk about the business part of this. How would those systemic changes in Cuba between the US in terms of the economy, but also not just that, Mark, the impression of this country as it is held by other leaders, how would that reflect?
Mark Dubowitz:	The problem with the deal that we struck with the Castro regime is that the Castro regime and the Cuban military are going to be the prime beneficiaries of any economic opening with the United States and with the rest of the world. You could restructure that kind of arrangement so that the economic benefits actually go to the Cuban people and you could combine that with tough financial and human rights sanctions against those who continue to oppress the Cuban people.
	I think that would be a fundamental shift in the Obama strategy and I think it would also be a signal to the rest of the world that we can't just believe because Castro is gone that Raul Castro and the Cuban military are going to usher in fundamental changes in the Cuban political structure and their relationship with the world. It is still a regime that continues to support terrorist organizations and revolutionary movements the world over.
Arthel Neville:	With that in mind, after Raul Castro steps down in 2018, can you foresee a democratic election to choose the president of Cuba?
Mark Dubowitz:	Well, I can't foresee it unless the United States and our allies does something to actually advance that. The problem is the Cuban regime is as dictatorial as it was under Fidel and the Cuban military continues to be as oppressive as it had ever been. It also continues to support revolutionary movements and dictatorial regimes all through Latin America, and so I think unless the United States under President-elect Trump, and then President Trump, actually begins to speak forcefully for civil liberties, for gay rights, for freedom in Cuba, my fear is that the lifting of the embargo is just going to fortify the regime under Castro, under Raul Castro, and his successors.
Arthel Neville:	But Donald Trump on the campaign trail did say that he wants to have religious freedoms for the people of Cuba, so he does seem to have a pretty strong stance on that, and, of course, he has so many of the expats living in Miami in President-elect Trump's ear as well.
Mark Dubowitz:	That's exactly right. To reinforce the importance of religious freedom, of sexual freedom, of human rights, and also the Cuban Americans who were forced out of that country. Their property was taken away; billions of dollars expropriated. Again, none of that was addressed in the deal that was struck between President Obama and Raul Castro. That's a deeply flawed deal that will need to be rectified, need to be renegotiated under President Trump.
Arthel Neville:	Do you think Trump can rectify that? Do you think he can do it?
Mark Dubowitz:	I think President Trump has said that he's a deal maker. He's going to re-examine a number of different agreements and treaties the United States has entered into and he's going to negotiate them on better terms, and I think this would be a good place to start.
Arthel Neville:	Okay. Mark Dubowitz. Thank you very much, Mark.
Mark Dubowitz:	Thanks, Arthel.