Securing America with Frank Gaffney Podcast

Dr. Barry Rubin, Mark Gembicki, Rep. Sue Myrick, Gordon Chang

Is President Obama so weak that he is willing to give more aid to Egypt even though they are holding Americans in jail on trumped up charges? The Muslim Brotherhood sees the president as weak and therefore knows they can act with impunity towards America. The Muslim Brotherhood though faces an important decision that will affect their future in Egypt; will they risk the support of the populous in order to promote Sharia? The people of Egypt revolted against Mubarak and supported the Muslim Brotherhood because they wanted a freer society with more opportunities. Dr. Barry Rubin explains how our enemies are saving us because their mistakes are negating our own.

Chief Information Officer for the Newt Gingrich campaign sheds light on the misguided notion that Obama is invulnerable on the national security front. The process to capture or kill Usama bin Laden began years before Obama took office therefore he cannot solely take credit for the takedown. People need to realize that he has and is continuing to fail to protect American defense and American business from cyberattacks. Then again, are we allowing China to penetrate our defenses and businesses in order to feed them false information? Mark Gembicki explains that very notion as well as Newt’s ability to speak the truth on America’s threats while the president tries to downplay them.

Fred Grandy goes inside the Cloakroom with Representative Sue Myrick in order to drill down on the failure of both the DOD and DOJ in adequately providing clarity to Congress as to their training practices. The president has made it clear he does not want the US government to use any terminology that might offend the Muslim community, but how can we train our agents to combat a threat if we cannot openly and truthfully talk about the threat? Are our agents getting the proper training and if so how come Attorney General Holder and Secretary Panetta wont come clean as to how their agents are being trained? Congress controls the purse strings, not the president, therefore his ideas for future aid to Egypt even in light of the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood, can only be allocated by Congress who is less willing to give taxpayer money to promoters of Sharia law.

China is blatantly engaged in cyber warfare with the United States, yet our government seems to lack a clear understanding of this threat. Even though China might be going after American intellectual property, there is a strong power struggle within the Communist party. Military officials are trying to defect to the United States only to be denies asylum. Does the US want to keep these dissenters in China so they can continue to add to the instability of the regime? Gordon Chang explains that very notion.

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.

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?

Paula Broadwell, Gordon Chang

Author of “All In: The Education of David Petraeus” Paula Broadwell takes three segments to explain her new book and what the former Army general did to help advance Afghan security. The book is a case study in transformational leadership and explains how the COIN strategy has helped to increase security while decreasing insurgency attacks. Are we giving our enemies a better option in life than to fight Americans? They need money and they want a sense of belonging, but there must be a better way to make money and feel accepted than fighting us. A difficult aspect to gaining security in Afghanistan is trying to explain western law to a society ruled by Sharia. How do we get people to wrap their minds around the idea of a free and fair legal system?

General Petraeus worked hard to build relationships in the Middle East as well as working with current allies in order to build a stronger coalition against jihad and those that wage it. Our allies do not want us to dumb down our efforts in the region, nor will we, but will our gains be reversed if we leave the country too quickly? As of right now, Afghan security forces are leading 50% of the operations in country, while participating in 100% of them with US forces. Are they ready to take control of their own country?

Why is China buying up gold? The past five months have seen record purchases of gold by China, is it because the government fears the slow down and even reversal of the Chinese economy? Money is leaving the country very quickly and the government is slow in a response, will this cause tougher economic restrictions and if so will the populous turn on the government as a result? This might even cause China to devalue their currency even more, which could prevent a collapse of their economy in the short term but in the longer run will make the demise of the Chinese economy more devastating. China is now taking a hard-line stance against the Philippines growing military relationship with America, what are the implications of an unhappy Beijing? Gordon Chang answers these questions and more in his analysis of the region.

Ralph Peters, Ehud Yaari, Diana West, Gordon Chang

Lt. Col. (Ret.) Ralph Peters gives an in-depth analysis of the growing threat from Iran. The prospect of some country attacking Iran’s nuclear program is real and almost inevitable. If Israel were to attack Iran unilaterally, Iran would turn to Hezbollah in a counterattack against Israel and then could close the Strait of Hormuz eliciting global pressure against Israel. Israel has the military capability to start a war, but not finish it whereas American has the ability to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities cleanly and can win any conflict against Iran. A war would last a minimum 3-6 months, but with America achieving victory although Iran will inflict some damage to US forces.

Israel relinquished the Gaza Strip in 2005 allowing Hamas to gain control of this region by 2007. Hamas has been able to extend their terrorist activities into the Sinai Peninsula to a point where “Toyota pick-up trucks with machine guns in the back have replaced the camel in the region as the means of transportation for the Bedouin militias.” The radicalization of the populous within the Sinai has rapidly increased since the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. What impact will this have on Israeli security? Ehud Yaari gives his take on this growing threat and its implications beyond the Sinai.

Green-on-blue is a term used to describe Afghan security forces turning on and killing their Western trainers, mostly Americans. Diana West has uncovered over 50 cases of this horrific instance in the last 2 years. As a result of the most recent attack on French trainers, France has suspended their training operations in Afghanistan. It is the policy of both NATO and ISAF not to discuss this issue and essentially “cook the figures” in regard to this matter because they want the public to think the threat in Afghanistan has been mitigated. There are some politicians that do not want to admit there are serious security issues in Afghanistan because they want to push their own political agendas. Hear what else Diana West has to say about this grievous lapse in security.

Who is truly calling the shots in the Chinese government? There is a partial disintegration of China’s central government, giving rise to military officials making policy. China’s thoughts on the nature of warfare against the US are clear, they believe America is vulnerable to financial attacks. Yet on the other hand, China is becoming more dependent on US trade in light of the economic crisis in Europe therefore their economy is surviving on exporting products to America. There are plenty of countries that are willing to give money to the US, making China’s holding of American debt irrelevant. The question is, will China try to engage in economic warfare if given the opportunity? Listen to Gordon Chang’s analysis of the growing Chinese threat and how America can combat the “Red Dragon.”

Roger Noriega, Marc Thiessen, Rep. Buck McKeon, Gordon Chang

Ambassador Roger Noriega joins Frank to analyze the role of Iran in Venezuela and the rest of the Latin American region, and how this relationship could affect the United States. Will Latin America wake up and realize that Iran is the real aggressor? Also, Ambassador Noriega talks about the threat to the United States from the relationship between China and Panama. What will happen if the United States loses its allies in Latin America? Can we afford to ignore this threat in our own backyard?

Marc Thiessen sheds light on the incident of Al-Qaeda’s training manual magazine ‘Inspire’ being found at Guantanamo Bay, with one of the Al-Qaeda detainees. How did this anti-U.S. magazine get into a secure facility? Who is responsible for smuggling it to the detainees? Are the detainees at Gitmo getting more privileges than they should? If yes, is it justified? He concludes with his thoughts on the military tribunals under the new guidelines by the administration.

Congressman Buck McKeon, Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, spends time with Frank to give his analysis on the president’s recent hollowing out of the military. You can’t just take money from the military because you don’t like what they do or because you want to give people more benefits. America has global responsibilities and our military needs to meet them. The president took the money out of the defense budget, and then built a strategy around what was left instead of making a strategy and building a budget around that. Obama is not saving money; he is just putting it into other programs so how is that really helping our deficit? What is the cost to American security as a result of the president cutting into the bone of the defense budget?

Gordon Chang, expert on Asian affairs, weighs in on the recent rumors of coup attempts in China and provides a brief ‘behind the scenes’ analysis. Is the Chinese military gaining more power over the civilians and diplomats? What does this mean for the U.S.? Gordon then goes on to talk about the implications of the recent nuclear cooperation deal between China and Saudi Arabia; as well as the Obama Administration’s Keystone pipeline decision.  With the current government increasing its dependability on the Middle East for oil, will China be the ultimate winner in this situation? Would sanctions imposed by the U.S. on Iran have serious repercussions on Chinese financial institutions?

Mark Krikorian, Chris Kyle, Gordon Chang

Mark Krikorian explains how the Obama Administration is rubbing stamping immigrant waiver applications to any illegal immigrant married to a U.S. citizen thereby bypassing Congress and the immigration law. Mark then goes into how Homeland Security’s General Council produced an internal memo that listed ways to circumvent aspects of the immigration law in order to approve immigrant applications and provide Amnesty to illegals. The president is ruling by decree and feels American laws and Congress are just impediments to his own desires. The Department of Justice is suing states for their own immigration law if it somehow differs from Obama’s priorities. Obama feels the states must follow his rule and what he wants done. The president is supposed to work for the people, not rule over them like a monarch. What road is this king-like president taking America down? What type of people is he allowing to stay in the United States? What is the point of laws if the president does not follow them and where is Congress in all of this?

Retired Navy SEAL Team 3 operator Chris Kyle spends time with Frank to talk about his new book “American Sniper: Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History.” Kyle has been dubbed “Legend” by his comrades and “The Devil of Rhamadi” by his enemies. Kyle has a confirmed 160 kills, the most ever in the U.S. military and explains how that was only possible do to the skill and excellence of the American fighting force in which he served. Kyle also explains how America won the war in Iraq and it is time that Iraq take control of its own country, but the withdrawal did not have to be so expedited.  The cuts to America’s armed forces will leave some in uniform under quipped, making their job harder to do. The Obama Administration is planning on doubling the amount of Special Operators like Kyle, but with fewer resources and less support from conventional forces. SpecOps cannot take the lead in going after America’s enemies, conventional forces are what makes SpecOps successful and therefore are needed in order for men like Chris Kyle to do their jobs.

Gordon Chang closes today’s show with his analysis of the Asian economic slump with is causing most countries in the region to slow down to even contract. This slump can be traced back to the European crisis and Asia sees that crisis as having a long term impact. Export factors in China are closing and any growth the country sees may be just around 1 or 2%. The Communist Party has staked their future on economic growth and without that growth the people will question the government beyond the current unrest which has already gripped the nation. The Chinese government tore down a mosque angering the local Muslim population and thereby creating enemies and conflicts. This is just another example of the Communist party trying to control religion. China is worried America may be paying more attention to their activities. What will this mean for security in the region? What will be the future of North Korea after 6 or 12 months under Kin Jung Un and with the military vying for more power?

Michael Rubin, Gordon Chang, Andy McCarthy

Michael Rubin joins Frank in segment one  to explain how Iran could only really close the Strait of Hormuz for no more than a day because it needs to import gas as well as export oil for its own economy.  Iran is trying to psychologically increase oil prices in order to reap the benefits. Michael Rubin then touches on the relationship between the Egyptian military and the Muslim Brotherhood. Egypt’s military leaders are more like businessman than soldiers and therefore are willing to make a deal with the Muslim Brotherhood if it is beneficially.  What will this mean to Egypt and the region? Will the Muslim Brotherhood destroy the military in order to gain sole control over Egypt? What are the implications of the Prime Minister of Hamas visiting Turkey at the behest of the Turkish government?

Gordon Chang joins Frank to speak on how the North Korean regime is trying to show solidarity for Kim Jung Un while China is determined to maintain stability within the Korean peninsula by propping up the new North Korean leader. China is doing its best to put money and resources into Kim Jung Un which would make North Korea essentially the fourth Chinese province. China will end up absorbing North Korea and therefore everything North Korea does will be an extension of Chinese foreign policy.   China’s support to rogue regimes does not end with North Korea, but is also extended to Iran. Will China become more hostile in 2012 and how will China use the Law of the Sea Treaty to restrict international waterways?

Andy McCarthy spends twice the amount of time with Frank in order to educate us on the cost of American security. Is America really to blame for the world’s problems? Is the root of Islamic extremism and Islamic terrorism ideology or some outside factor? Paul Stockton, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Security, refused to acknowledge the threat to America posed by Islamic extremism and Islamic terrorism. He refused to even utter those words in a Congressional testimony as part of the Obama Administration’s appeasement platform. In fact, the Obama Administration is turning to an Islamic extremist that has advocated the death of U.S. soldiers in order to broker a deal with the Taliban.  Also, the president is welcoming the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, who wants to abandon the peace treaty with Israel. Was does this mean for Israeli security and who will the Israelis turn to for help, America?

David Satter, Ryan Mauro, Reza Khalili, Gordon Chang

What is the meaning of Putin’s  Russia United party’s unapologetic and blatant rigging of parliamentary elections?  Who are the groups responding to the perhaps over ambitious power play?  David Satter of the Hudson institute weighs in. Ryan Mauro of www.worldthreats.com reports on the state of play in Syria and Iraq.  Then Reza Khalili explains Iran’s relationship with Al Qaeda.  Finally Gordon Chang stakes out the parameters needed for North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un,  to consolidate power.  If he doesn’t, would a desintegrating North Korea invite Chinese military intervention.

Gordon Chang

Asian analyst Gordon Chang spends an entire hour with Frank for a review of 2011 as well as a look ahead to 2012. In light of Kim Jun Il’s demise, what will become of North Korea? It seems that many in the North Korean government oppose the successor, Kim Jun Un and therefore destabilizing the country. China will most likely support the military in taking over the government which would allow the Chinese to establish military bases in country. What will become of American aid to North Korea in terms of food and medicine? Aid to North Korea will most likely be held until it is clear what direction the country will go in. The Chinese economy is suffering which is leading to insurrection throughout the country. Providences throughout China are revolting against the local governments and these revolts were once peaceful, are now turning violent. What will become of the Chinese economy? Will it collapse? How will the Chinese government respond to these protests? China is now cracking down on social networking in order to curb protests. China is working hard to control speech within the country, but the citizens are finding new ways to connect and speak out against this repressive regime. China could potential have 3,000 nuclear warheads hidden in underground tunnels and with their military growing in influence, what does this mean for American security? Obama has signed an arms treaty with the Russians limiting American warheads to 1,550 and if the Chinese and Russians get together then America will be at a significant disadvantage. Will the military take over the government in China? What influence does the Chinese military have in the use of space and how could their push into space impact American security? Did China help Iran bring down the American drone?