Securing America with Frank Gaffney Podcast

Roger Noriega, Dr. Henry Sokolski, Gordon Chang, Richard Fisher

Former Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs ROGER NORIEGA analyzes the presidential election that took place in Venezuela yesterday, expressing doubts that Chavez’s hand-picked successor, who won by a “razor thin” margin, had legitimately claimed victory. Dr. HENRY SOKOLSKI, executive director of the Nonproliferation Policy Education Center, critiques the U.S. government’s response to the North Korean threat, and argues that an effective measure against the corrupt regime would be to go after its ability to get hard currency through illegal means, such as by trafficking drugs, people, and exotic animals. What tools of foreign policy does the U.S. have in the financial category to deal with North Korea?  GORDON CHANG of Forbes.com lays out the strategic landscape in Asia and clarifies where the Chinese really stand in relationship to North Korea. Can Chinese military power be measured accurately? With strategic deception as a pillar of Chinese military doctrine, beliefs of Western policy makers are subject to great confusion.  RICHARD FISHER of the International Assessment and Strategy Center brings expertise to bare on the matter.

Roger Noriega, Michael S. Smith II, Christian Whiton

How well informed is U.S. President on Venezuela, it’s significance, and that of the U.S. role in Latin America?  Former Ambassador to the Organization of American States, ROGER NORIEGA, helps us discover why the unrest and suffering in Venezuela is a symptom of Cuban influence and U.S. indifference to it. MICHAEL S. SMITH II, of Kronos Advisory LLP, examines the historical relationship between Iran and al Qaeda, and why that relationship is souring as al Qaeda desperately tries to stay relevant in a world more preoccupied with the political revolutions of the "Arab Spring." In a special two-part interview, former US State Department senior adviser and principal at DC International Advisory LLC CHRISTIAN WHITON goes into an in-depth analysis of North Korea. Topics discusses include the regime's relationship with China, what is behind the dictatorship's extreme hostility towards religion, and how the U.S. might be able to better relations with the country by changing its rhetoric.

Barry Rubin, Tod Lindberg, Rosemary Jenks, Jack Caravelli

Can any meaningful progress be interpreted from Secretary Kerry’s new efforts in the Middle East peace process?  Dr. BARRY RUBIN cuts through the nuances and measures the U.S. role in the region according to realistic metrics. Hoover Institution Research Fellow TOD LINDBERG discusses the polarizing figure that was Margaret Thatcher, a woman both loved and hated by the citizens of Great Britain. ROSEMARY JENKS of Numbers USA details the fiscal crisis the US will face if millions of illegal immigrants are granted legal status, immediately making them eligible for Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid benefits. Across the board strategy concerning U.S. nuclear posture including arms control, nuclear modernization, and missile defense has great consequence in how the U.S. relates to other great powers in terms of creating global stability.  Former CIA analyst and senior writer for Langley Intelligence Group Network, JACK CARAVELLI, breaks down where the current administration has taken us in our ability to deter aggression for ourselves and our allies, calculating for the ideological faith in a Zero Nuke world guiding their policy.

Rob Montz, Jim Hanson, Joseph Connor

ROB MONTZ, director of the new documentary Juche Strong, explains the role of propaganda in the internal workings of the North Korean state, arguing that it has helped keep the brutal yet isolated regime alive. Montz also goes into what what is behind its military posturing towards the international community, explaining that it is a defensive stance with a racial component involved.  Juche Strong will be screened at the CATO Institute on Thursday, April 11^th. Former Army special forces operator, JIM HANSON of Blackfive.net explains why he signed the a letter to Congress with over 700 other former spec ops troops asking to create a special committee to investigate the events of September 11, 2012 in Bengazi Egypt.  He also brings his experience as a special operator in the Korean theatre to bear on the anticipation of action on the Peninsula. Columbia University's recent hiring of Kathy Boudin, a former terrorist of the Weather Underground and murderer of three innocents, has brought to light again the double standard of Leftists in academia, Hollywood, and the Democrat Party.  Boudin, in her terrorist career was a close colleague of the better known friends of the U.S. President, Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dorn.  When murder in the name of revolution against the United States is a relative issue in the assessment of U.S. political leaders it falls squarely as a national security issue in this age of Total War in several categories including foreign influence, subversion, terrorism, and ideological warfare.  The New Founders Author JOSEPH CONNOR, lays out the details of of Boudin's tactical and logistical connections while in the Weather Underground to a network of Marxist terrorist groups with training from Cuba.

Paul Kengor, Mark Krikorian, Andy McCarthy, Peter Pry

Professor PAUL KENGOR of Grove City College reflects on the life and legacy of Margaret Thatcher, and why her combined foreign and domestic accomplishments arguably made her the greatest Prime Minister of Great Britain in the 20^th century. As the Senate’s “Gang of Eight” reportedly nears a deal on immigration reform, the Center for Immigration Studies’ MARK KRIKORIAN describes how the UK Labour Party used immigration in the 2000s as a means to get payback  against Margaret Thatcher’s scaling back of socialism in Great Britain. Former federal prosecutor ANDY McCARTHY discusses the legal quandaries that will arrive with trying terrorists, such as Osama Bin Laden’s son-in-law, in U.S. criminal courts. Dr. PETER PRY, executive director of the Taskforce on National and Homeland Security, talks about the likelihood of North Korea choosing to—and succeeding in—launching an EMP attack.

Amb. John Bolton, Michael S. Smith II, Col. Dick Brauer, Gordon Chang

Ambassador JOHN BOLTON pays tribute to the great Iron Lady Margaret Thatcher, whose legacy has never been more relevant to today’s U.S. foreign policy.

MICHAEL S. SMITH II, co-founder of Kronos Advisory LLP, explains why trying terrorists such as Osama Bin Laden’s son-in-law in American criminal court hurts counter-terrorism efforts.

Colonel DICK BRAUER joins explains the mission of his group Special Operations Speaks, which recently sent a letter to Congress from 700 former special ops veterans calling for a real inquiry into Benghazigate.

GORDON CHANG breaks down the essentials of the state of play with North Korea and the meaning of diplomatic actions.

Fred Grandy, Roger Noriega, Bill Gertz, Mark Langfan

Provocative weakness - A neglected nuclear deterrent; Hagel’s announcement of more defense cuts; and an administration that ideologically opposes missile defense and favors unilateral arms reduction:  How have the signals coming out of Washington emboldened the resolve of North Korea’s Kim Jong Un?  BILL GERTZ of the Washington Free Beacon reports on intermediate range missile tests by North Korea, U.S. bomber flights, the state of play, and the strategic context.

Former U.S. Senator from Iowa FRED GRANDY explains his belief that Kim Jong Un is crazy in a cunning way, and why the U.S. is right to be worried about North Korea.

Former Assistant Secretary of State for Hemisphere Affairs ROGER NORIEGA gives an update on the upcoming Venezuelan presidential election, particularly how candidate Nicolas Maduro is failing--hilariously--to convince voters that he will be a new Hugo Chavez.

MARK LANGFAN lays out the tactical realities of the threat to Israel of Katusha rockets fired from Gaza and Lebanon. A strategic reality follows that if the West Bank is left to a Palestinian authority to police, the smuggling of Katusha mimicked there would put Israel’s major population centers vulnerable to chemically armed Katusha rockets at a rate which the current Iron Dome system could not sustain a desirable success rate.

Claudia Rosett, Ted Bromund, Fred Fleitz, Steven Hayward

With Claudia Rosett, Ted Bromund, Fred Fleitz, Steven Hayward. CLAUDIA ROSETT, Journalist-in-Residence at Foundation for Defense of Democracies, explains how the U.S.’s recent actions have made any nuclear weapons threat from it far less credible, and has therefore encouraged North Korea to test the limits of American patience. TED BROMUND of the Heritage Foundation unfolds the implications of the passage of the UN conventional arms control treaty. FRED FLEITZ of Lignet.com reasons that despite the soon to be reopened North Korean plant being unable to produce a bomb for at least three to five years, the international community will nonetheless feel pressured to grant the country more concessions. STEVEN HAYWARD of the Claremont Institute sets the criteria for examining the accuracy of climate modeling and determining its suitability as a factor in defense planning.

Dean Cheng, Bing West, Rowan Scarborough, Diana West

DEAN CHENG of the Heritage Foundation breaks down the realities and relationships surrounding calculations of war on the Korean Peninsula. Former assistant secretary of defense and combat Marine BING WEST shows that the Vietnam War is a teachable moment for understanding what is likely to happen if the United States withdraws from Afghanistan without leaving adequate support behind. ROWAN SCARBOROUGH, writer for the Washington Times, talks about the impact the politicization of the Chiefs of Staff had on preparing for sequestration, and why the media is siding against the Pentagon in the budget fights. Author of The Death of the The Grown Up, DIANA WEST finds historical context for the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood across the Middle East dating back to the Bush administration in a policy described as the Sunni Crescent.

Rebeccah Heinrichs, Andy McCarthy, Benjamin Weinthal, Adam Kredo

Richard Miniter guest hosts. REBECCAH HEINRICHS of the Heritage Foundation explains that the different mindset with which nations such as Iran and North Korea view the world, and why a misunderstanding of that difference is leading the United States to willingly hollow out its military. ANDY McCARTHY, former federal prosecutor and author of Spring Fever, talks about the ways in which groups like Hamas use our own civil liberties, such as free speech, against us. He also questions whether Brandenberg v. Ohio (1951) is suitable for dealing with 21^st century international threats. BENJAMIN WEINTHAL, a research fellow at Foundation for Defense of Democracies, discusses the European Union’s reluctance to classify Hezbollah as a terrorist organization ADAM KREDO, Senior Writer for the Washington Free Beacon, reports on the absurd yet oft-repeated claim made recently by the Palestinian nonprofit group Miftah that the matzah bread eaten during Passover is made with the blood of Christians, and urges listeners to demand that Miftah issue an apology in Arabic.