Roger Noriega, Avi Jorisch, Patrick Poole

Roger Noriega opens the show with his take on the recent development that Venezuela may have more oil reserves than the Middle East. China and Russia are playing a bigger role in the country while America is sitting on the sidelines. America, along with the international community, needs to become involved in Venezuelan elections and make sure they stay democratic. It seems the military is getting ready to ensure victory for the candidate they support. What will this mean for Venezuelan security and regional security overall?

Avi Jorisch joins frank to explain how the sanctions on Iran are crippling its economy, yet it’s not a death blow.  Inflation is between 17-19% yet they are still able to move funds internationally through the Central Bank of Iran. Citizens are scared to spend money and the government is putting as much money as they can back into society.  America needs to go after Iran’s Central Bank and prevent money from being moved a globally, this would bring Iran’s economy to a grinding halt but as a result oil prices around the world would skyrocket.  Is the reward greater than the risk? Iran has threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz, which they have done many times in the past, but such an act is not feasible from a security standpoint. Jorisch then goes into al-Qaeda in Africa and how this new sect is kidnapping Westerners, trafficking narcotics and receiving financing from Islamists in Europe.  According to Avi, stop the finances going to the group and you stop the group.

Finally, terrorism expert Patrick Poole spends two segments with Frank to go through his 2011 Top Ten list of follies on the part of the American government within the national security arena. Incidences such as giving bin Laden a proper Muslim burial at sea or claiming the Muslim Brotherhood is a secular organization.  Is this based on faulty intelligence, misinformation being provided by the Muslim Brotherhood or the Obama Administration’s efforts to keep Americans in the dark, or is this just sheer stupidity on the part of the Obama Administration?  How secure are we? Are we blinding ourselves to the real threats? Who is the administration appointing to positions within the national security community? These questions and more get answered by Patrick Poole.