Securing America with Frank Gaffney Podcast

Rep. Mike Rogers, Michael Paddock, T. Boone Pickens

In the search for cuts during the budget battle, Congress took the easy way out by looking at defense.  “It’s easy to say there’s a big budget, let’s just take a slice out of it and move on,” says Congressman Mike Rogers, of Michigan’s 8^th district.  However, if we gut the military, he warns, we will suffer the same consequences of the lack of preparedness for North Korea, and both World Wars.  Rep. Rogers, Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, joins Frank to discuss these cuts to national security, as well as his efforts to combat Bioterrorism.  Rogers details Project Bio Shield, a bill he introduced to create funding to stockpile vaccines in the case of a bioterror attack, one we are currently ill prepared for.  He also sounds the alarm against Iran’s nuclear ambitions, one he has been ringing since 2004.  “Imagine a regime that is a state-sponsor of terror… now gets the cover of nuclear weapons,” he says, expressing the need to deter this danger, one the Obama Administration continues to ignore.

Next, Michael Paddock, CEO of Grants Office and columnist for Homeland Security Today, discusses the neglect of focus on Homeland Security Prevention programs for local law enforcement.  Since the death of Osama Bin Laden the public perception is that the War on Terror is over.  However, Paddock explains that all the vulnerabilities facing the nation after 9/11 continue to threaten the United States.  He stresses the importance of providing resources to train localities for potential attacks, as it is local police and fire departments that will necessarily be on the front lines if a terrorist strikes.  Paddock also describes the Department of Homeland Security’s lack of strategy for the various threats percolating above and below the surface, as Janet Napolitano seems to be “throwing all the spaghetti at the wall and seeing what sticks.”

Finally, T. Boone Pickens, oil savant and entrepreneur extraordinaire, joins Frank for two segments to discuss the irrationality of importing oil from the Middle East.  In the late 1940s and 1950s, buying oil from the Middle East was practical given its affordability in the free market system.  However, in modern times, with the introduction of OPEC, it is irrational to import oil from our enemies at much higher prices disconnected from the free market.   That is why there is cause for the “T. Boone Pickens Plan” that aims at making the U.S. energy independent, and the oilman personally explains today on Secure Freedom Radio.

Ariel Cohen, Howard Wasdin, Maj. Gen. James Adkins, Jim Hanson

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is back to one of his favorite pet subjects: bashing America.  So says Dr. Ariel Cohen, Senior Research Fellow at the Heritage Foundation and first up in today's edition of Secure Freedom Radio.  Cohen, an expert on Eurasia, offers his explanation for Putin’s latest comments referring to America as a “Parasite” on the global economy, as well as what he calls the Obama Administration’s “Reset Regret.”  Cohen also discusses the “Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act” in Congress, and why it is making Russia “take its toys and go home.” A former member of the most premiere military force, Howard Wasdin, co-author of Seal Team Six: Memoirs of an Elite Navy Seal Sniper, joins Frank to discuss his new book as well as his expert analysis of the Osama Bin Laden raid.  After a U.S. Navy special-operations officer recently claimed the Bin Laden mission was not to kill or capture, Wasdin explains from personal experience the standard procedure for operations of that kind.  Judgmental Use of Deadly Force Protocol is used by Seal Team Six, says Wasdin, thereby Bin Laden could have been reaching for a Teddy Bear and been shot for not being completely cooperative.  Wasdin also comments on the budget battle, saying, “We have become a nation of entitled people,” and if we’re afraid to cut entitlements we will put our men and women in uniform at risk. Then, Major General James Adkins, Adjutant General of the Maryland National Guard, updates us on their operations at home and abroad.  Maj. Gen. Adkins, who recently returned from visiting guardsmen in Bosnia, Estonia, Iraq and Afghanistan, says, “not since World War II has so much been asked of the guard,” making it ever more crucial for Veterans programs.   Since less than one percent of Americans serve in an all volunteer force, Adkins is adamant about offering support for those few via the Job Exchange Program, which helps Veterans find employment after they serve. Finally, Secure Freedom Radio’s weekly “Boots on the Ground” report comes from former Green Beret Jim Hanson, as he tells what he is hearing from inside the military regarding the defense cuts in the debt ceiling compromise.  He also touches upon the “civility” of Vice President Joe Biden’s comments equating the Tea Party to “Terrorists,” which Hanson says devalues our military by comparing our enemies to the “lame political process” of the debt limit debate.

Dan Goure, Claire Berlinski, Peter Huessy, Andy McCarthy

“If you don’t win the air battle, then don’t get into the war,” remarks Dan Goure of the Lexington Institute. He joins Secure Freedom Radio to discuss the effects that the proposed defense cuts will have on America’s military interests abroad.  He warns that if our military lacks the necessary funds for forward deployment, then we will be at risk for losing our economic and technological advantages over those in the international community who do not have our best interests in mind. It is his belief that additional defense cuts will result in a hollow military and increased threats to American lives.

Next, American novelist and freelance writer, Claire Berlinski joins Frank from her home in Istanbul to talk about the unprecedented resignation of the Chief of the General Staff in Turkey in protest of the coup plotting charges presented against his fellow members in uniform. She gives us her slant on the Western press’s portrayal of the situation happening. The key question is not whether these resignations are good or bad for Turkish democracy, she says, but rather who is now in charge of running the 2^nd largest army in NATO.  Furthermore, she gives us the big picture of the Mafioso-like society that runs through the veins of Turkish leadership.

Peter Huessy, President of GeoStrategic Analysis, presents Frank with his suggestions for fixing the budget crisis, as well as voices his concerns that about the impact that cuts will have for the US over the next ten years. He urges Congress to choose between the Tea Party’s Ryan’s Budget Plan and the increase in taxes suggested by Democrats in order to provide the American economy with a long-term fix . Additionally, he explains how the Law of the Sea Treaty (LOST) will cede important American resources to countries that do not have our best interests in mind.

Finally, Contributing Editor for the National Review Online and weekly guest with Secure Freedom Radio, Andy McCarthy examines what he considers the “sad state of affairs” happening around the budget deal, as well as the federal government’s role in this deal. He also defends prominent voice against Shariah in the United States, David Yerushalmi against the allegations put forth by a recent New York Times article.

Jamie Fly, David Yerushalmi, Roger Noriega, Gordon Chang

Jamie Fly, Executive Director of Foreign Policy Initiative, joins Frank to discuss the latest debt ceiling compromise and to what extent the Defense budget will be cut. Fly notes that in the initial stages the details are few, however, the two phases of the compromise appear to amount close to $1 trillion in cuts, over 10 years. “It hasn’t been defense that has been ballooning over the last few years,” says Fly, rather that the Department has actually been shrinking, in lieu of an expanding domestic agenda. With an Administration that prefers providing food stamps to providing for the common defense, Fly relates the debate with the determination of what role in the world the U.S. will have in the future.

Then, David Yerushalmi gives his response to a scathing article from the New York Time’s, which names him the “Man Behind the Anti-Shariah Movement.” The Times rebukes Yerushalmi’s attempts to uphold the Constitution by introducing the American Laws for American Courts Act that prohibits the use of International law in the U.S. The paper paints Yerushalmi, who provides General Counsel to the Center for Security Policy, as a fear monger, while dismissing the notion that Shariah poses a threat at all. The Anti-Defamation League also accuses Yerushalmi of “anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant and anti-black bigotry,” while the Times fails even a passing reference to the tenets of Islamic law, which calls for the stoning of homosexuals. These accusations are “par for the course,” says Yerushalmi, who defends his efforts amidst a media narrative that seeks to make the voices against radical Islam appear even more extremist than those Yerushalmi is fighting against.

Next, Roger Noriega, our resident Latin America expert, offers insights into Hugo Chavez and his protégés. Although Chavez recently celebrated his 57^th birthday, Noriega, Visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, reports that he may not live to see his country’s 2012 elections. Members of the regime are “not a sentimental bunch,” says Noriega, and the Cuban-backed affiliates are quickly posturing for power in the event of Chavez’s death. Noriega also informs on President Rafael Correa’s assault on Ecuador’s free press and other Chavez loyalists in the region.

Finally, Gordon Chang, of Forbes, reports from Sydney, Australia, as that the nation may move away from the U.S. toward China, with whom its economy is closely tied. Back in Washington, Chang gives his take on the Law of the Sea Treaty, concluding that it is not treaties, but the U.S. Navy that insures the peace of international waters. Chang also offers an explanation as to why China is moving to buy Greek debt, in what he describes as terrible economics.