Securing America with Frank Gaffney Podcast

Rep. Louie Gohmert, Andy McCarthy, Jim Hanson

United States House of Representatives Louie Gohmert from Texas just came back from leading important discussions overseas in defense our interests in Afghanistan. He starts by explaining the situation in Afghanistan and the incredible work the United States military has done by defeating the Taliban, and how the Obama Administration seems to discount all the hard work of our troops by releasing high ranking Taliban leaders. Representative Gohmert clearly states what will happen if the US releases the Taliban leaders, and the danger it will bring, not only to the United States, but to Afghanistan as well. Will the president follow through with this horrific lack of judgment and release these dangerous terrorists?

Andy McCarthy explains the critical healthcare and foreign policy factor in the current GOP presidential race. Being a former federal prosecutor, McCarthy provides a legal perspective and a sanity check on the recent Marine video and war crimes. Is this truly a war crime or just an immoral act? Is this any worse than how our enemies treat our soldiers?

Jim Hanson shares his opinion about the recent Marine video showing Marines desecrating dead Taliban fighters and what this could mean for the U.S. cause and effort in the region. Hanson gives his analysis on the “Stop Online Privacy Act” and explores alternatives other legislation to provide content security. Could this legislation provide an effective and profitable business model? He concludes the interview with remarks on why men in uniform support Ron Paul’s candidacy over the other GOP presidential nominees.

Andy McCarthy, Jeff Kueter, James Carafano, Jim Hanson

Andy McCarthy starts off today’s show explaining how the Obama Administration seems to be circumventing the Constitution at their leisure. What path is the president leading America down and what will be the consequences his actions in regards to American security?

Jim Carafano from The Heritage Foundation discusses the recent defense strategy unveiled by President Obama and what it means for the United States’ defense capabilities. He then explains the concept of Rotational Forces as a part of the defense budget cuts and its implications on active duty servicemen. Will the U.S. be able to carry out its global responsibilities? Will the U.S. become a second class military power in the world as a result of the cuts in its defense budget? Will these factors lead to WWIII?

Jeff Kueter, President of the George C. Marshall Foundation starts with his assessment of America’s position and standing in regards to the Space. He then points out that there are no vigorous exploration programs and the lack of persistence and tolerance for failures of technology used in such programs. If the administration maintained consistency and provided resources could there be a possibility of developing capabilities to strike targets on land from space?

Jim Hanson a former special operations command officer discusses his views about Guantanamo Bay (Gitmo) on its 10^th anniversary. The concept of Gitmo has been a brilliant idea as a means of extracting information from hardened radical terrorists, and how appalling it would be close the detention center and send back these terrorists to their home countries to be rehabilitated. The general consensus and feedback from the armed forces has been negative on closing this center and sending these terrorists back so they could rejoin their organizations and fight against the United States. Jim then concludes by expressing his thoughts on Iran’s nuclear program and what the consequences would be if Iran became a nuclear power.

Christian Adams, Jose Cardenas, Jim Hanson

Christian Adams joins Frank to explain how the Holder Justice Department and the Obama Administration as a whole is working to undermine voter’s rights in the United States and the territory of Guam.

Jose Cardenas spends time with Frank to enlighten us on the ever evolving relationship between Iran and Latin America and although the Obama Administration has taken notice of this connection, what are they doing about it?

Finally, Jim Hanson gives his boots on the ground perspective on the growing turmoil with Iran. What does this mean for American security?

Yoram Ettinger, John Bolton, Peter Pham, Jim Hanson

Will Russia and China become increasingly influential players in the Middle East? As the U.S. defers the strong horse role, how many bad actors will make their move? Ambassador Yoram Ettinger outlines the threat matrix of the Middle East where the Muslim Brotherhood  and others benefit from U.S. policy decisions from Egypt to Iraq. It seems the Law of the Seat Treaty will be brought to a vote in the Senate by John Kerry in the coming weeks.  Ambassador John Bolton charts the implications for U.S. sovereignty.  (See the transcript below.)  Ambassador Bolton also weighs in on the Iraq withdrawal.  Then, Peter Pham of the Atlantic Council forecasts U.S. interest in Africa for 2012.  From Nigeria to Somalia and the hunt for Joseph Kony after the dust settles on the Congolese elections and the Sudan regime acts up again, Africa will become evermore important in U.S. foreign policy.  Finally Jim Hanson covers America's wars in a way that only he can.  You don't want to miss today's Secure Freedom Radio.

Lt. Gen. Nicholas Kehoe, Claudia Rosett, Gal Luft, Jim Hanson

Retired Lieutenant General and President of the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation, Nicholas Kehoe joins Frank to commemorate the 150^th Anniversary of the Congressional Medal of Honor.  Kehoe discusses what exactly this award represents as well as the type of people who receive it.  The best description of the award, which comes from the book Medal of Honor: Portraits of Valor Beyond the Call of Duty, is that soldiers “earn it at the intersection of happenstance and hell”.  It embodies characteristics that apply to people in their everyday lives and the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation works to spread these ideals through their development programs.

 

Claudia Rosett, journalist-in-residence at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, and former writer for The Wall Street Journal, joins Frank to discuss the topic of Kim Jung Il.  His only legacy is that of a missile proliferator who ran a repressive regime and engaged in drug-trafficking and the counterfeiting of American currency.   It would be a mistake for Obama to perpetuate his regime by striking deals with his successor.  In addition, it appears that Hillary Clinton is mimicking such behavior by allowing the advancement of the agenda of the Organization for Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in the United States, after the recent State Department-OIC conference in Washington. 

 

Frank’s next guest today is Gal Luft, Executive Director of the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security and senior advisor to the US Energy Security Council.  Mr. Luft addresses what he calls the “energy security paradox” in which we have significantly reduced our dependency on foreign oil over the past seven years, yet we are becoming poorer and deeper in debt.  This is because even with self-sufficiency, we do not have control over the price of oil.  Luft suggests that we can only regain control by introducing new competition to offset the oil monopoly. 

 

Today’s show concludes with former U.S. Special Forces operator Jim Hanson speaking with Frank about the 150^th Anniversary of the Congressional Medal of Honor, Joe Biden’s ineptness as Vice President, and Bradley Manning. In the wake of the anniversary of this award for service to our nation, some recent events are unsettling.  Joe Biden recently commented that the Taliban are not our enemy.  This comment reflects our poor national security policy regarding Afghanistan.  Similarly, the release of classified military information by US Army soldier Bradley Manning highlights the issue of how this administration turns a blind eye to certain security issues.

David Rivkin, David Wise, Jim Hanson

David Rivkin joins Frank to talk about Ali Musa Daqduq, a Hezbollah fighter that was dispatched to Iraq on behalf of the Iranian government and in 2007 he kidnapped, brutality tortured and killed five American soldiers. U.S. forces have since apprehended him and the Obama Administration is ready to hand him over to the Iraqi government who will undoubtedly give him to the Iranians where he will be hailed a hero.  At first, Obama wanted to bring him to America and try him in a civilian court and when Congress denied that request, the president wanted to try him in a military court in South Carolina, but for obvious security reasons that was quickly dismissed. Obama will not send him to Guantanamo Bay and therefore is willing to release him instead of upsetting his liberal base. Where is the logic in releasing an enemy combatant instead of sending him to a military detention center? Obama is so against Guantanamo Bay that he is willing to release a man who tortured and killed five American servicemen, what are Obama’s priorities?

Author David Wise spends time with Frank to explain a recent article of his pertaining to Chinese spies. China has been scarily successful in their intelligence operations against the United States. China has been able to gather the blue prints to the most advanced U.S. nuclear warhead, the W88 which is deployed on the U.S. Trident submarine. China has also obtained information on the Neutron bomb which they obtained from a scientist inside the very laboratory that was used to design the weapon. What else does China know about America’s arsenal? When will the American government wake up to the Chinese threat and start taking proper precautions? The American government has already discovered high level Chinese agents, some in the CIA and some in the FBI but how many assets do the Chinese have in America? The Chinese government has now shifted their intelligence operations into the cyber world, although they claim to not be hacking into American government servers. The government has such a tight grip among the populous how could they not have direct knowledge of such activities? What will China do with access to the recent U.S. drone that has landed in Iran?

Former U.S. Special Forces operator Jim Hanson speaks with Frank on Obama’s recent victory lap in reference to Iraq. Since his campaign or Congress, Obama has been calling Iraq the ‘Wrong War” and really has been working to end the war in Iraq as quickly as possible, but now he is claiming success in Iraq and is taking credit for the American victory. Obama has lost the future of Iraq to the Iranians because he has not adequately secured a place for American troops in country and therefore security will not be established and foreign influence will be imminent.  Why hasn’t the American government adequately acknowledged the fact that Iran has been involved in killing American soldiers in Iraq either directly through the IRGC (Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps) or their proxy Hezbollah? How can having an American drone in their possession, increase Iran’s own security?

 

Clare Lopez, Special Agent Jeffrey Scott, Jim Hanson

Clare Lopez spends time with Frank to explain what is happening inside the Islamic Republic of Iran, a thorn in America’s side. Nuclear scientists turning up dead, the destruction of a missile facility and the most recent accident at an alleged weapons research facility; is Iran having a string of bad luck or is there more to these accidents? There seems to be a campaign to destroy Iran’s nuclear weapons program, but is the campaign coming from inside Iran or are there outside forces at work? The shockwave from the explosion at the ballistic missile facility was felt over 30kms away. This facility developed the delivery system needed for Iran’s ballistic missiles that would carry weapons of mass destruction; nuclear, biological or chemical. The buildings within this facility were completely flattened and the Iranian regime has quickly closed ranks around the incident, but there is something brewing within the regime. The regime knows it’s in trouble, the world knows that the people do not support this regime anymore and they must be fearful of being the target from factions inside and outside the country. The friction between the supreme leader and the president has grown showing dissent from within the regime itself. Putting the IRGC on alert shows the insecurity that the regime has against its own people and other nations. Could this insecurity lead to a preemptive strike against American interests? What would a nuclear weapon mean to a regime that is insecure of its own survival? DEA Agent Jeffrey Scott joins Frank to explain the discovery of one of the most elaborate underground tunnels from Tijuana to San Diego. The San Diego Tunnel Task Force was created to combat this growing tactic used by the drug cartels. In the last four years, DEA has discovered around 75 underground tunnels from Mexico into the United States. There are “rudimentary tunnels that are nothing more than gopher holes,” interconnected tunnels that use existing construction such as sewer tunnels and then there are the sophisticated tunnels which are large scale and employ elevators, running water, electricity and other means to support large amounts of narcotics and traffickers. These sophisticated tunnels do pose a problem to investigators do to their complexity and the almost unlimited resources available to the cartels. When agents do discover these tunnels, the seizure is significant and hits the cartels hard. This particular tunnel which was 612 yards long with lights, steel doors and electric cars to carry drugs yielded 32 tons of marijuana with a street value of $50-$60 million which will be difficult for the cartels to replace. With cartels becoming more ingenious, what will this mean for American security? Jim Hanson provides a boots-on the-ground analysis of the situation in Afghanistan. The president has failed to not only provide the troops with the proper resources to ensure total victory, but he failed to create a clear objective for the military to achieve. The Taliban have achieved their objective by waiting the Americans out just like the mujahedeen did against the Soviets. For Secretary of State Clinton to announce that America will play a role in Afghanistan even after the 2014 pull out is just ridiculous because everyone knows that once the Americans leave the Taliban will come back to power and regain all the territory they lost. The Afghan security forces do not have the capabilities to maintain the level of security that America has provided and without completely removing all Taliban opposition, there is no way to ensure future Afghan security. Will American forces return to Afghanistan if the Taliban comes back to power? Why does the president have no interest in securing Afghanistan? And what does the recent developments in the U.S./Pakistan relationship mean for Afghan operations? Jim also explains Leon Panetta’s about-face on the defense cuts and what that means to the troops themselves. How can our troops effectively protect our nation without the proper resources which cost money?

Rep. Doug Lamborn, Christian Whiton, Roger Noriega, Jim Hanson

Rep. Doug Lamborn from Colorado joins Frank to give his take on the hollowing out of America’s national security. President Obama is no friend of the military and has already cut half a trillion dollars of cuts in the first two years of administration. The president is throwing money at entitlement programs, while national defense is being squeezed dry. At this point the president is cutting into bone and muscle of the DOD. Is there anything that can be done to mitigate this catastrophe? The president has already claimed that he will veto any bill that tries to circumvent these defense cuts. According to Rep. Lamborn, the only solution is to get Obama out of office and elect a new president next November. There is a year before these cuts go into effect; can anything be done in that time?

Christian Whiton spends time with Frank to speak on the elections coming out of the Arab Spring. “People using democracy to kill democracy” is how Christian describes these elections that seem to be bringing the Islamists to power. How will these turn of events impact regional security and ultimately global security? The Muslim Brotherhood is better organized than any of the other parties in the Middle East and therefore they are better structured to influence an increasingly chaotic region. The Obama Administration seems to be turning a blind eye to these developments and even supporting them under the guise of supporting democracy. The Obama Administration feels that if there are any bad seeds they can be won over through understanding, acceptance and negotiations. Other than submission, how do you win over an enemy that wants to see you dead?

Roger Noriega, expert on Western Hemispheric affairs, explains the stolen election in Nicaragua by Daniel Ortega. Members of the U.S. Senate are speaking out against this fraud which Nicaraguan citizens will be taking to the streets in the coming days to protest. Where is the Obama Administrations outrage over this fraud? Obama spoke out about fraud in Honduras, but is silent when it comes to Nicaragua. Roger explains the hypocrisy coming from the White House, especially in matters pertaining to our own backyard.  How can we speak credibly about democracy when this type of action is occurring in our own hemisphere and we remain silent? What does Latin America think of President Obama and American strength?

Jim Hanson brings his boots on the ground perspective to the international affairs. NATO forces killed Pakistani border agents, but who fired first?  It seems that the relationship between Pakistan and the United States will not be strengthening, but in fact will keep deteriorating as long as Pakistan continues it double game. How will this strained relationship impact U.S. supply routes into Afghanistan? Vice President Biden is currently in Iraq trying to negotiate an 11^th hour deal to extend a significant U.S. force in Iraq beyond the end of the year. Has the Obama Administration finally realized that Iraq is not capable of securing itself just yet and leaving them to their own devices would open the door for nefarious groups, such as Iran, to take control of what could be a strong American ally in the region? America cannot abandon a field of battle that has been won, especially one that could become an ally in a dangerous region. Is Biden really the best person to be negotiating such a deal? Obama has turned his back on Iraq, but is he trying to cover his tail knowing he has made a big mistake? How serious is the president when it comes to securing Iraq?

Jim Hanson, Jon Adler, Andy McCarthy

With Jim Hanson, Jon Adler, and Andy McCarthy Happy Thanksgiving!  Today's show starts with Frank's take on the debate.  You've just got to listen.  You won't find a better analysis on the GOP CNN national security debate that cuts to the heart of matters like Frank does. Jim Hanson of Blackfive.net brings his own brand of boots on the ground GOP national security debate analysis as well.  He also lays out the economics of good intelligence collection weighed against the costs of war especially in the Middle East. Jon Adler of the he Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association raises the sadly ignored issue of what the budget cuts mean for those protecting us on American Soil.  He also has some choice words for politically correct counter terrorism training policies.

Avi Jorisch, Daniel Goure, Jeff Kueter, Jim Hanson

Are financial sanctions putting a check on Iran’s ambitions to obtain nuclear weapons? Additionally, are these sanctions successfully putting a stop to Iran’s underhanded banking methods? Founder of the Red Cell Intelligence Group, Avi Jorisch examines the issues surrounding the way in which the Iranian regime is moving money around in the financial sector. This includes establishing a banking regime and exporting commodities such as gas. Although the United States has gone after the Iranian banking sector by blacklisting them and cubing their movement of money, they still have yet to put the pressure on charities and other such organizations that help funnel money into Iran. By exerting more pressure over these organizations, will Iran finally feel the pinch and stop moving money into the international financial sector?

How will cutting $460 billion in the defense budget over the next ten years impact the modernization of the US military? Daniel Goure of the Lexington Institute touches on how US military equipment and even the morale of the all-volunteer force would be gravely damaged by these cuts. Additionally, will we be forced to go to adversaries such as China for modern military technology in the future when our military capabilities have been completely depleted?

Is today a red-letter day for China’s space program? President of the Marshall Institute, Jeff Kueter joins Frank to discuss the Chinese’s first attempt at the robotic docking of a rocket launcher. This docking is the first step by the Chinese in building a solely Chinese space station. Does this docking also mark the continued exploitation of space by the Chinese for military purposes? What will it mean for the United States if the Chinese gain operational abilities in space? There is no question that the growing Chinese space program would contribute to the Chinese ambition of expanding its national power. Will their advantages in space allow the Chinese to continue to engage in informationalization warfare?

Finally, weekly regular here at Secure Freedom Radio and our go to guy for the “boots on the ground” perspective, Jim Hanson discusses the visual and non-visual injuries sustained by our men and women in uniform. Many of these heroes are suffering from non-visual injuries such as PTDS and TBI and are misunderstood by those who find it difficult to understand their injuries. However, many therapies such as musical therapy are being offered at Walter Reed Hospital to treat these men and women of their pain.