Welcome back. Im the chairman of ftds center on sanctions and elicit finance. If you were here this morning, ways privilege tobd able to sit down with director pompeo for what i thought was a really interesting conversation. I hope did you as well. Bear in mind that we are not just the people in this room. Great good looking crowd, by the way. But were being live streamed. So we need to be on our best behavior. I hlt honor and privilege of introducing this afternoons session. Kudos to fdd and cliff may and the whole team for asem am blg this discussion with two of the most important if not the most important figures in National Security. Certainly with now the National Security adviser hr mcmaster with us this afternoon. So a real honor and privilege i think for all of us to have general mcmaster with us today. Ive been asked toinlt deuce general mcmaster as well as Mark Dubowitz who will conduct the interview. Mark is the ceo of the foundation for defensive democracies. One of the great minds in the world of National Security. Let me introduce general mcmaster for those that dont know him. Hes the 26th assistant to the president for National Security affairs. He is the president s National Security adviser. General mcmaster has led a life of service to this country in the army and in the military. Graduating from west point in 1984, taking command of units in iraq, afghanistan, in the United States on behalf of the army and the u. S. Military. General mcmaster is one of the great warrior scholars of our day. I think its a great privilege that he sits where he does next to the oval office and at the side of the president. As you know, hes the author of the dereliction of duty which is one of the great studies on military political relations during the johnson period. He holds a phd in military history and is again one of great scholars of National Security. Finally, just a point of privilege, i noted my relationship with director pompeo earlier today. I have a personal relationship with general mcmaster. Very privileged to know him his entire career. And this is not just a great public serve anlt, not just a great patriot, not an incredible warrior scholar, but hes a great man. Hes a great father. Great husband. And ive been privileged to call him a great friend. And so i think all of us as americans regardless of where you are politically, regardless wruf stand on National Security issues, should be incredibly proud that we have somebody of h. R. s caliber and character in the position of National Security adviser, especially at a time of so many challenges. So with that, allow me to introduce Lieutenant General h. R. Mcmaster, our National Security adviser and Mark Dubowitz for the afternoon discussion. Thank you. Thank you. Im a huge admirer of the work did you on terrorist financing. And hes been a friend, mentor, example for me for as he mentioned across my entire professional life and its just a real privilege to be here alongside him. I heard he said he loves mike pompeo, maybe a little jealous. I love juan more. I love Mark Dubowitz and fdd. And its a real privilege to be with all of you. I want to thank the foundation for defensive democracies for hosting this event and giving me an opportunity to be to be part of this discussion and say a few words up front about one of the president s most recent decisions which is to approve a comprehensive strategy for the problems set associated with iran. I want to thank fdd for the work theyve done over the years on so many Critical Issues including the early work on the threat posed by radical islamist ideology and more recently the threat from adversaries who use the internet to wage Economic Warfare against the United States. We have drawn heavily on the scholarship and analysis of fdd and other thinktanks and academic institutions as well as we develop intergrated strategi strategies over the past months. I look forward to the discussion with mark on a broad range of topics. But i thought an outline a few of them in general terms and then talk about the iran strategy. First, we face a chaflg revisionist powers would are subverting the postworld war ii cold war post cold war Political Economic and Security Order that the United States helped to create and lead. An order that has prevented great power conflict for over 70 years. And expanded a free and Prosperous Community of democratic states. Second, we face a challenge from rogue regimes. Rogue regime thats pursue weapons of mass destruction and export terror to expend their influence and extort concessions from responsible nations. Third, we face barbaric nonstate actors who perpetuate ignorance and hatred and use that hatred as justification for mass murder and unspeakable brutality against innocence and they do this under a cloak of an irreligious wicked ideology. They appear on the same battle grounds. They often operate in parallel but at times they cooperate when their interests align. For example, russia and iran, aid, abet, and sustain the murderous assad regime in syria. That axis perpetuates a sectarian civil war that strengthens islamist sharists who tore tray themselves as patrons and protectors of parties in that conflict. Iran, in turn, use thats same conflict and conflicts in iraq and yemen to pursue games and threaten israel and saudi arabia and others with their terrorist and militia proxies. Yet as urgent threats like these to u. S. And interNational Security have increased, our strategic competency has actually diminished. I think weve been prone in recent years to what we might describe as an almost narcissistic approach to National Security. Strategies are frequently based on what we would prefer rather than what the situation demands. In recent years, we have allowed incomplete plans, disconnected from the problems they were meant to address to masquerade as strategies. So what complex challenges like the three i just highlighted briefly to National Security and challenges like those that are manifest in syria demand are real intergrated strategies to direct the purposeful employment of all instruments of power. So as we establish first order principles for president trumps National Security strategy, the importance of using every element of power, diplomatic, informational, military, economic, Law Enforcement, intelligence, in an intergrated way is at the top of that list. The president s new strategy toward iran is a good example. Instead of focusing almost exclusively on j. C. P. O. A. , the new strategy considers the full range of irans destabilizing behavior and malign activities including its material and Financial Support for terrorism and extremism. Its complicity in the assad regimes atrocities against the syrian people. The unrelenting hostility to israel. It repeated threats to freedom of navigation especially strategically in the persian gulf. Its Cyber Attacks against the u. S. , israel, and americas allies and partners in the gulf. Its grievous human rights abuses and its arbitrary detention of foreigners including u. S. Citizens on falls grounds. As the president made clear, n. His speech on october 13th, our strategy intergrats all elements of National Power and is oriented on neutralizing the government of irans destabilizing influence and constraining the aggression, particularly the support for terrorism and militants. Second, revitalizing our traditional alliances and regional partnerships as bull works against iranian subversion and to restore a more stable balance of power in the region. This is an area where the president s leadership has paid off tremendously as you have seen with the growing together, of mutual understanding, much closer relationships and common understanding of problems and common action with our traditional allies and partners in the region. Theyre denying the iran yan regime and the guards corps funding for its malign activities. This is where juans work is extremely important. And opposing irgs activities that extort the wealth of the iranian people and encountering threats from Ballistic Missiles and other weapons. What we must do is we must ral yish rally the International Community to condemn the human rights and unjess detention of american citizens and other foreigners. Last, we must deny iran all paths to a nuclear weapon. So this is the Strategic Direction that the president is given us. Our next challenge is to execute. And as i mentioned, rally all of our friends to the cause. As a secretary of state said the cis yesterday, states that used terror as an instrument of policy will only see their International Reputation and standing diminish. It is the obligation not choice of every civilized nation to combat, discourage of terrorism. We began work wherever we could with our partners and allies. Now were mobilizing the every element of National Power and efforts of our key partners to achieve our objectives. New resources or authorities are required, well seek them. Where organizations must be reconfigured and retooled, well change them. Well proceed to work hard nand hand with our allies and partners and with members of congress to defend america and advance our vital interests. But we need your help. And we need our media, our press, vekti investigative reporters to look hard at countries like iran and north korea and help inform the world about how these rogue regimes skirt sanctions, flout international norms, brutalize our own people and menace their neighbors. With the knowledge that you and others help bring to light about these threats, america can act with confidence. That confidence comes not only from knowledge of threats but as we all know, it comes from knowledge of who we are as a nation. What we stand for, what we value. That confidence is essential to xwen rating the will and the commitment to prevail in the competiti competitions we face and is part of regaining that strategic plan. Thank you for the conversation. Thank you. Thank you for being here. Your time is precious. Thank you for your service to our nation. And thank you for bringing a an understanding of the nature and gravity of the iranian threat. I want to start with just a more broader topic of how you develop integrated National Strategies and what they mean to you. I think youve given us insight in why you speech. When you came in as National Security adviser with a mandate to develop the strategies, tell us a little bit about your vision of intergrated strategies and in particular with respect to. So we began with the president s guidance who said this white house and by extension the National Security council has become very tactical. And we are very much involved in areas of responsibility and actions and programs and initiatives that ought to be within the per view of the departments and agencies. So he asked us, decentralize where we can. And support the departments and executing our policies. Think about the opportunities we face as a nation. It was also based in i think all of our understanding that the balance shifted against the United States in recent years. We have to understand how to compete more effectively. Compete more infectively to advance and protect u. S. Interests and shift the balance back in favor of the United States in some of these critical competitions. Were in an effort to develop intergrated strategies for National Security challenges. First order challenges that are relevant to pro tektecting and advancing american interests as we define as for funneled. Al interests first is to protect the American People and protect the American Home land. Second is to advance american prosperity. Third is to achieve peace through strength. And the fourth is to advance american influence. And i would say the president s made great progress on all four of these. But thn we use these vital interests as the lens through which we view the National Security challenges. And then we craft and overarching goals and objectives based on how the challenges relate to the American People. And what we do then is involve the president s National Security cabinet. In the framing of thee problems. In describing the situation, understanding how it is vital to our interests and laying out jefr arching goals and objectives and giving guidance at the hefdz the departments and agencies about how, how we can begin to get after this challenge in a way that advances and protects our interests, overcomes obstacles to progress and seizes on opportunities. And that guidance then goes to the departments that refine this guidance into an integrated strategy. So youve seen this on north korea, on south asia, on the iran strategy, on the cuba, the president s cuba strategy. We can go on. These are well developed. Many of them are implementing now, have been in implementation for a while. And others are still in development. Theyre up front. It allows the departments and agencies to coordinate their efforts. Great. So lets Start Talking about one of those, the major first order challenges you describe which is iran. Obviously a big announcement on friday. The president s speech laying out a new comprehensive strategy. And its fair to say a lot of the discussion has been telescoped down on exactly which condition of a nara is the president refusing to certify on. So i want to take the conversation up to a broader level. You talk about using all instruments of National Power. I want to go through various theaters of operation where iran represents a significant threat to the United States and allies. What are you trying to achieve to begin with in iraq . So in iraq, its easy to say and maybe hard to do. What we would like to do is continue to assist the iraqis to do what the president told us to work with allies and partners to do which is to destroy isis and to not permit another group like isis, another Jihadist Group to come back by doing three fundamental things, deny them safe haven and cut off funding and defeat the ideology and eliminate this draw of vulnerable populations into these kind of organizations. And so the fight in iraq is relevant to that. But its also relevant to ensuring that iraq emerges from this horrible period of conflict strong. Were attempting to keep iraq perpetually weak and apply hezbollah model where you have a weak government, a government that is deliberately weakened and a government that is relinlt on iran for support. While iran grows malicious and illegal arm groups that lie outside that governments control. Militias and terrorists groups that can be turned against that government if they take action against the iranian interests. This is a model you see in the beautiful kun tr beautiful country of lebanon. Its a model you see in sear yachlt syria. 80 of those fighting are riding proxies. It is a model you see attempted to be applied in iraq and something you can see maybe trying to play out in yemen as well. Theyre trying to apply it there. So its easy to say as i mentioned, hard to do. It takes a sophisticated sustained effort but its a stable iraq that merges strong and not aligned with, of course it will have a relationship with its neighbor but not aligned with iran. What do you say to the allegation that the president gives a speech on friday and hes rolling out a comprehensive policy using all instruments of National Power to undercut iranian influence to neutralize at gre the aggression on monday, and then on monday the force shows up in kirkuk . So what you have is a greater level of complexity now associated with the kurdish referendum and then the actions that follow the kurdish referendum. And so what we want to see in iraq, as i mentioned, is a strong iraq emerge. And, of course, part of a strong iraq is a strong kurdish region where we have very long Time Partners whose partnership we value tremendously, who, you know, who bore the brunlt of saddam husseins brutality over many years. And who we intervened on their bee half as everyone knows after 1991 and they used the safety and security we helped provide that region to build a Phenomenal Community and in irbil and in tahuk. These are southern european thriving cities when you go to the kurdish region. But what we need to do though is we have to work to mediate this conflict in a way that allows our kurdish friends to enjoy the safety, security and prosperity they built over so many years and not regress from that. But also keeps iraq on a path to strengthening. And so this is tloed a level of complexity. We did recommend to mr. Barzani, we have great relationships with and Great Respect noor thfor th is not the time. Theyre recovering from this horrible trauma against isis and the fight against isis and the subversion in iraq that complicates the heck out of things and turkeys difficult relationship with turkish populations and how that is playing out in northeas