Securing America with Frank Gaffney Podcast

Riki Ellison, Roger Noriega, Eric Schmitt, Andy McCarthy

Riki Ellison explains the recent successful test of an Israeli missile that will help them to defend themselves against Iranian aggression. America needs to make sure there is enough money in the defense budget to ensure defensive and offensive missile capabilities as well as funding for Israel to increase their missile capabilities that are needed to defend their homeland. Are our current and future missile defense systems being adequately funded? Are we providing our greatest ally in the Middle East with the proper funding needed to defend its own territory?

Venezuela’s political opposition overcame years of division on Sunday as 3 million voters turned out in an impressive show of strength to choose a single candidate to take on President Hugo Chávez, in what is shaping up to be a bruising and potentially tight election campaign.

Roger Noriega provides us with his analysis of the Venezuelan primary elections. Even with a unified opposition behind Mr. Capriles, the opposition faces the steepest of uphill climbs running. He still enjoys strong support from important constituencies including the poor and employees of the government and state-owned companies who may feel that their jobs depend on Mr. Chávez remaining president.

Adm. William H. McRaven, who is in charge of Special Operations Command, is pushing for a larger role for his elite units. The plan would give him more autonomy to position his forces and their war-fighting equipment where intelligence and global events indicate they are most needed. It would also allow the Special Operations forces to expand their presence in regions where they have not operated in large numbers for the past decade, especially in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Will the Pentagon grant the authority that Admiral McRaven is requesting? Eric Schmitt joins us today and provides his analysis as a senior writer on terrorism and national security for The New York Times.

Is the international police agency INTERPOL now enforcing Sharia blasphemy laws? Will this lead to countries such as Saudi Arabia using INTERPOL to round up critics of Islam from around the world? Former federal prosecutor Andy McCarthy gives his take on the arrest of Hamza Kashgari in Malaysia and his expedited extradition to Saudi Arabia. Mr. Kashgari’s crime was his “inappropriate” tweets about the Prophet that caused the Saudi government to issue an arrest warrant under their blasphemy law. Could Americans be subjected to these types of warrants even though America does not practice blasphemy laws?

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Expanded Role for Elite Forces

As the United States turns increasingly to Special Operations forces to confront developing threats scattered around the world, the nation’s top Special Operations officer, a member of the Navy Seals who oversaw the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, is seeking new authority to move his forces faster and outside of normal Pentagon deployment channels. Sharia's Police? Over the weekend, a drama with potentially horrific consequences for freedom-loving Americans played out half-a-world away. A Saudi newspaper columnist named Hamza Kashgariwas detained in Malaysia, reportedly on the basis of an alert by Interpol. “This arrest was part of anInterpol operation which the Malaysian policewere a part of,” Reuters quotes a Malaysian police spokesman as saying. The alert apparently was mounted in response to a “red notice” (or request for help apprehending an individual) issued by Saudi Arabia. Mr. Kashgari was then sent back to Saudi Arabia, where he faces almost certain death.

Rowan Scarborough, Lenny Ben-David, Gordon Chang

With the defense cuts be put into place, it will make it more difficult for the military to keep up with its responsibilities to our allies and our nation. The US military will resemble its 1995 standards that many experts claimed, at the time, could not get the job done. The Navy is putting on a brave face to try and do more with less, unfortunately it will be much less than what is needed to combat present and future threats. What will the affect be if women start to serve in frontline roles? It is difficult for men to meet the standards to be in the infantry, what will that mean for women? If we lower the standards to enter into situations that could potentially lead to hand-to-hand combat, how prepared will they be? Rowan Scarborough gives his take on these issues.

Former Israeli senior diplomat, Lenny Ben-David, gives his take on the threats facing his nation and America. Is Iran attempting to assassinate Israeli diplomats around the world? Historically Iran has target Israeli government personnel, but will Iran turn to Hezbollah for attacks within Israel? At this moment Israel is not looking to attack Iranian nuclear facilities, but it is an option that remains on the table for down the road. Syria is disintegrating into its ethnic components and the world is realizing that what comes after Assad cannot be worse. People from Syria are moving in droves into Israel seeking safety and Israel is welcoming these refugees under these emergency conditions. With the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, what will be the future of the peace agreement with Israel?

What will the topic of conversation be when China’s vice-president comes to town? He is communist royalty, but his rise is showing signs of difficulty among communist infighting. Iran and cyberwarfare will certainly be on the agenda as topics to discuss, but does he really have the clout to make significant changes to the regime? Politicians are using the military to help regain or increase their power thus giving the military important political influence. Senator John McCain claimed the Arab Spring is coming to China and this caused a fury of responses from the Chinese government. They understand they have a serious problem with internal insurrection and have used state TV to make claims of stability and strength within the country. Will China see its own Arab Spring? Gordon Chang gives his take on this idea.

Walid Phares, Lt. Gen. Jack Klimp, Gen. Jack Keane, Jim Carafano

Walid Phares weighs in on the situation in Syria. What role does the Muslim Brotherhood, China, and Russia play in this conflict? The administration is adopting the “Istanbul Process” to avoid offending the Muslim Brotherhood here in the U.S. and abroad. What are the implications of coddling the Muslim Brotherhood?

How does the austere economic climate affect our men and women in uniform? The President of the National Association of Uniformed Services, Former Lieutenant General Jack Klimp covers employment, salary, and healthcare issues from the perspective of our Military Services.

Retired General Jack Keane ponders whether we are on the verge of another war in the Middle East. Israel will strike against Iran if it feels threatened. Will the conflict between Israel and Iran pull the United States into another war? Is the United States making a noticeable effort to avoid this catastrophe in the Middle East?

Jim Carafano reviews crucial implications of the administration’s defense cuts. Is the White house revealing the impact of the cuts the Pentagon is obliged to start implementing by law? Jim discusses the Saving American Dream initiative to deal with such challenges along the way.

Paul Kengor, Rep. Louie Gohmert, Ed Godere, Andy McCarthy

What is the legacy of the late President Ronald Reagan? Paul Kengor explains how the life and policies of this great American leader has helped to shape 20^th century and even 21^st century America. This was a man who understood the threats that America faced and he knew what needed to be done to combat those threats. Ronald Regan was always ready to stand against the enemy in order to preserve freedom and democracy.

The president has expressed, on different occasions, his belief that the Constitution is a deficient document.  He has also indicated that a primary goal of his administration is to change the way things are done in the United States in order to balance the principles on which he believes the nation was founded.  Rep. Gohmert joins Frank today to share his opinion about Obama’s effort to change the Constitution and whether or not the president is trying to get the principles of the Founding Fathers back or trying to impose his own principles.

Vice President of Unmanned Systems for Qinetiq, Ed Godere, explains how the Dragon Runner family of unmanned systems is helping to improve survivability of our dismounted troops. This lightweight robot helps to detect IEDs as well as enemy positions which is allows troops to stay in a secure position while this robot enters houses or travels over roads that may hide IEDs.

What is Mitt Romney’s attitude towards Sharia? Does he understand this threat of is this just political rhetoric? Andy McCarthy provides his analysis pertaining to how Romney’s own religion might be affecting his stance towards the stealth jihad and his willingness to combat such a threat.

Barry Rubin, Christian Whiton, Peter Brooks, Gordon Chang

The Egyptian Parliament has started work and will being trying to put the country back together, culminating in a presidential election in either June or July of this year. Egypt needs US financial aid therefore how much influence will the Muslim Brotherhood exact on the country? Is Obama’s weakness to deal with international situations adding to the deterioration of a peace process between Israel and its neighbors? Hamas and the Palestinian Liberation Authority seem to be cultivating a unified government jeopardizing and talks of peace between the PLO and Israel. Listen to Barry Rubin’s analysis of this growing conflict.

Obama has been allowing China to act with increasing recklessness while still getting aid from America therefore how can Obama and Secretary of State Clinton be surprised when China vetoes the UN resolution against Syria? Will the Obama Administration allow the Muslim Brotherhood to come to power in Syria like they did in Egypt? Christian Whiton explains how the administration is trying to take away American's choice to choose over their future.

Is the president trying to ignore global events in order to mask the fact he does not want America to be involved therefore taking away Americans chance to be informed and cultivate their own opinion as to whether or not America needs to be involved in global events? The United States has global responsibilities and must keep an eye on the entire world therefore when the administration says America will pivot towards Asia, what are we pivoting away from? Author of “A Devils Triangle,” Peter Brooks, highlights the fact that the president claims Iran does not have the capability to attack the US yet his intelligence directors claim Iran is looking to and can attack homeland America. Is he misleading Americans or just clueless?

As a result of Obama’s refusal to allow the Keystone pipeline, Canada is trying to reach an agreement with China to export oil. America should b buying oil from secure allies and not the Middle East and especially should not be allowing our allies to sell oil to China and boost their floundering economy. Currently China is one of Iran’s biggest buyers of oil therefore it is no surprise that they support this rogue regime.  Gordon Chang helps to explain how China sees America as weak therefore ignoring US wishes and grow closer to Russia in order to oppose American policies. If China sees America as weak, what will stop them from trying to grab more power and influence on the global stage?

Fred Grandy, Erick Stackelbeck, Bill Gertz

Fred Grandy spends the first half of the hour with Frank on  Iran's ability to a attack  the U.S. from Venezuela.  Is the White House in some way responsible for Iran’s audacity?  Fred moves on to evaluate the decision by the President to pull out of Afghanistan and the negotiation between the administration and the Taliban to release the Talibani leaders from Guantanamo Bay.  Then  to the recent defense cuts by President Obama; what would be the implications of such cuts be; not only at nationally level but at State and community level? Eric Stacklebeck joins Frank to shed light on Council on American Islamic Relations’ (CAIR) influence in America. Has Obama played a vital role in emboldening CAIR to curb our right and freedom of speech? What role does Yusuf al-Qaradawi play, not only in CAIR and Muslim Brotherhood but also in the negotiations between the administration and the Taliban in Afghanistan? An Israeli strike on Iran’s nuclear program, the drawdown in Afghanistan, and U.S. Russian relations all weigh with consequence.  What are the implications of how the U.S. plays it’s hand?  No one knows the context, the players, and the moves better than Washington Times Geopolitical editor and legendary national security journalist, Bill Gertz.  Catch his weekly wrap up of defences issues with Frank.

Gen. Jerry Boykin, Rep. Tim Huelskamp, Yoram Ettinger, Roger Noriega

Retired Army General Jerry Boykin sits down with Frank to weigh in on the repressive fire he is under from the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Muslim Brotherhood front organization that works to promote Sharia and prevent the freedom of speech in the U.S. What is the leadership of America doing to block the influence of organizations such as CAIR? Do the Muslims in this country support the idea of replacing the Constitution with Sharia? Representative Tim Huelskamp from Kansas joins Fred Grandy for another segment of Inside the Cloakroom in order to explain his new piece of legislation called the Military Religion Freedom Protection Act. This piece of vital legislation would ensure that servicemen would be able to act on their own conscience without fear of reprisal from the leadership. These men and women stand up and fight for our freedom, we need to ensure that their religious freedom is protected. Military chaplains should not be forced to perform ceremonies that go against their own beliefs nor should they be penalized for standing up for those beliefs. What is the future of our military if the president gets his way and cuts even more of the defense budget? Yoram Ettinger speaks with Frank to highlight the situation between Israel and Iran, and what the United States’ role and responsibility is in all this. Does the U.S. support Israel’s intention to strike against Iran preemptively? Will the U.S. stand by Israel if it attacks Iran? How does Israel feel about the events taking place in Egypt? What threat does the rise of Muslim Brotherhood pose to Israel and the entire Middle East? Roger Noriega gives his analysis on the recent warnings that senior intelligence officers received that Iran is planning an attack on the United States. How does South America play a role in this threat, especially Venezuela? Does Venezuela’s instability or lack of transitional plan after Chavez work in the favor of Iran? Is the current administration responsible for emboldening Iran? Noriega then moves on to talk about China’s role in South America and how this could affect U.S. national security?