Dear Friends of Saratoga!
Wow! What an incredible start we have had since our launch on October 8, 2024. As we wrap up the year, we are thrilled to reflect on all we have accomplished in just ten short weeks since we announced our birth on October 8, the anniversary of the American victory at the Battle of Saratoga in 1777, a key turning point in the American Revolutionary War. Today, we stand at another pivotal moment in history on the battlefields of Ukraine, as a fierce struggle is being waged to dominate Eurasia that shapes the course of Euro-Atlantic security.
The past two months have been filled with activity as we begin our journey to raise greater public awareness about Russia’s war in Ukraine and the growing importance of Eurasia. Recent developments have ranged from the launch of the Oreshnik IRBM missile to the upheaval in Syria, which led to the toppling of the fifty-year-old Assad regime, as well as our efforts to partner with the Heritage Foundation to elevate discussions on the strategic importance of the Caspian Sea region.
Since the launch of our website, we have seen significant growth month over month as we host an increasing number of online events and foster diverse discussions on the future of Eurasia. Visitors to our website now come from around the globe, and we are thrilled to see our visibility grow—from Moscow to Japan.
Exciting opportunities await The Saratoga Foundation in 2025 as we plan more online events and prepare for our first in-person gathering in Washington, D.C.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Key 2024 Highlights
On September 17th, The Saratoga Foundation President Glen Howard spoke at the fourth annual Danube Institute Geopolitical Summit in Budapest, Hungary, a collaborative effort organized by the Danube Institute and the Heritage Foundation. The event brought together leading conservative thinkers to discuss current developments in world geopolitics and the important role played by Hungary in Eastern Europe.
On September 30th, The Saratoga Foundation President Glen Howard met with Czechia’s Special Envoy for Ukraine Tomáš Kopečný at the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs to discuss Prague’s efforts within NATO to locate and supply Ukraine with critically needed munitions for its war effort.
On October 28th, Saratoga President Glen Howard met with visiting Rumsfeld Fellows from the American Foreign Policy Council’s Central Asia-Caucasus Institute to discuss geopolitical developments in Central Asia and the Caucasus and U.S. national security interests.
On October 30th, The Saratoga Foundation President Glen Howard moderated a panel on the Ukraine war for the Center for the US-Ukraine Relations as part of Ukraine’s Quest for Mature Nation Statehood Conference XXV. The panel featured American Foreign Policy Council President Herman Pirchner, noted Russian economist Anders Åslund, and Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI) Senior Fellow Steven Blank.
On November 29th, The Saratoga Foundation President Glen Howard discussed the current political situation inside Georgia & the US reaction as a guest of AZNEWs@Anewz_tv program Inside Politics hosted by Anastasiya Lavrina.
On December 5th, The Saratoga Foundation hosted an online event: Putin’s Nuclear Messaging and the Oreshnik Missile Test: Bluff or Coercion? The discussion focused on the recent launch of the Oreshnik IRBM missile and featured insights from former Supreme Allied Commander Europe Philip Breedlove, former Putin advisor Andrei Illarionov, and Saratoga Senior Fellow Pavel Luzin.
On December 10th, Saratoga hosted an online event, Winners and Losers in Post-Assad Syria, featuring Islamic Affairs expert Murad Batal Shishani, and Turkey’s impact on post-Assad Syrian including former Deputy Secretary of State Matthew Bryza, and the strategic impact of the loss of the Russian naval base at Tartus featuring former Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Defense Ihor Kabanenko.
On December 13th, The Saratoga Foundation co-hosted an online event : Forum on Security and Prosperity - Prospects for the Caspian Sea with the Heritage Foundation as part of its efforts to elevate public awareness about the strategic importance of the Caspian Sea region. The event was moderated by Saratoga Foundation President Glen Howard and James Carafano, Senior Counselor to the President and E.W. Richardson Fellow at The Heritage Foundation.
Saratoga Creates Youtube Channel
Videos from this event and all our events can be found on The Saratoga Foundation’s Youtube channel
Please visit the Saratoga Foundation Youtube channel:
New Experts @ The Saratoga Foundation
The Saratoga Foundation continues to field a growing array of experts on Eurasia. We have recently added an expert on militant Islamic groups, Murad Batal Shishani, who is a former correspondent for BBC World and has traveled widely in the Middle East. Also recently joining us is Janis Berzins, a noted Latvian expert on the Russian military, information operations, and Baltic defense and security.
Murad Batal Shishani
Murad Batal Shishani is a leading international expert on militancy and Islamic groups that operate in the Middle East and the North Caucasus. He worked for the BBC World Service (Arabic and English) for more than 16 years as a roving correspondent. In this role, he covered significant events around the globe. He worked in conflict zones such as Iraq, Ukraine, the Syrian border, the West Bank, Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip. Murad was BBC’s in-house expert on militant groups.
Dr. Jānis Bērziņš
Dr. Berzins is a Senior Non-Resident Fellow at The Saratoga Foundation and former director of the Center for Security and Strategic Research (CSSR) at the National Defense Academy of Latvia. He is also Latvia’s principal member of the NATO STO SAS panel. His work focuses on the juxtaposition between the theoretical developments of Russian Military Thought and the operational reality on the ground, and cognitive warfare.
Thank you for your support! Please remember that The Saratoga Foundation is a non profit 501(c)(3) organization. Your donations are fully tax-deductible. If you seek to support The Saratoga Foundation you can make a one-time donation by clicking on the PayPal link below!
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