FDD's Long War Journal

U.S. right / neoconservative

Background

The Long War Journal began as BillRoggio.com, a personal blog that former Army infantryman and IT professional Bill Roggio launched to report on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq using open-source intelligence and contacts in the U.S. military and intelligence community. Paul Hanusz, a reader and financial backer of the blog, partnered with Roggio in 2007 to formalize the venture as Public Multimedia Incorporated (PMI), a nonprofit structured along the lines of an investigative journalism center dedicated solely to covering terrorism and 'small wars.' The outlet later became formally affiliated with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, where both Roggio and senior editor Thomas Joscelyn hold fellowships, giving it institutional backing and a shared ideological home. FDD was itself founded days after the September 11, 2001 attacks and has been consistently described by analysts across the political spectrum as a neoconservative organization that advocates hawkish policies toward Iran, strong support for Israel, and an expansive U.S. counterterrorism posture. The Long War Journal built a reputation for granular, data-driven tracking of drone strikes, militant group activity, and battlefield developments—work cited by journalists and policymakers—while its editorial framing reflects FDD's broader worldview that Islamist militant networks pose an enduring threat requiring sustained military and intelligence pressure. Critics, including scholars at the Quincy Institute and writers at The Nation and The American Conservative, have characterized FDD and its associated outlets as advocacy organizations that systematically favor military intervention and can overstate threat levels to support their policy preferences. Under the Trump second term, the journal has continued fact-tracking reporting on counterterrorism operations while at times pushing back on administration decisions—such as warming to the Taliban or reducing counterterrorism pressure in Africa—that diverge from the neoconservative interventionist line.

Sources

1. FDD's Long War Journal — Wikipedia
2. About — FDD's Long War Journal (official)
3. Bill Roggio — Wikipedia
4. Foundation for Defense of Democracies — Wikipedia
5. FDD's Long War Journal — Media Bias/Fact Check
6. Foundation for Defense of Democracies — Media Bias/Fact Check
7. Foundation for Defense of Democracies — Militarist Monitor
8. Blogging the Long War — Columbia Journalism Review
9. Foundation for Defense of Democracies — OpenSecrets

Profile compiled 2026-07-21; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

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