1) Yesterday I wrote about a recent dust-up at the @AtlanticCouncil. Give it a read: washingtonpost.com/outlook/2021/0…
2) Today @elianayjohnson has a @FreeBeacon story on the exact same thing. Give it a read as well: freebeacon.com/national-secur…
3) Johnson is a good reporter and probably talked to more think tank folks, but I would suggest that the facts presented in both pieces are pretty much the same. What’s different is the interpretation of those facts.
4) The crux of it is these two paragraphs from Johnson’s story. I agree completely with her first paragraph. Her second is a peculiar interpretation of how the marketplace of ideas is supposed to function. 
5) The response to greater CKI funding of foreign policy think tanks appears to have elicited a, shall we say, neoconservative response that dramatically overstates the influence of such funding.
6) There should be criticism of the restraint argument in foreign policy — I’m not persuaded of it myself! But if you’re going to go after the money, then greater transparency about funding cuts both ways.
7] Last night @mdubowitz went after me for not disclosing that CKI had funded a faculty position and institute at Fletcher that is unrelated to my own research and resources.
https://twitter.com/mdubowitz/status/1371613447465660417
8) You can read the thread to see our exchange. But if Dubowitz is going to engage in this gambit, it sure would be a good idea for his own think tank (@FDD) to be a hell of a lot more transparent about its donors.
9) Because a quick search reveals that @FDD is less transparent than, say, the @AtlanticCouncil. charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=…
10) After two decades of less-than-stellar U.S. foreign policy, we need a vigorous debate about the best strategy going forward. That should run the gamut from @FDD to @QuincyInst. And the folks who demand transparency on funding should practice what they preach. /fin.
P.S.: Here is @mdubowitz’s response/explanation for @FDD’s lack of transparency. It fails to explain:
1) Whether FDD was more transparent about founders prior to 2019; and
2) Why donors get more secrecy than staff (which is available on their website).
1) Whether FDD was more transparent about founders prior to 2019; and
2) Why donors get more secrecy than staff (which is available on their website).
https://twitter.com/mdubowitz/status/1371839962736431116
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