Episodes

Thursday Dec 29, 2011
Roger Noriega, Avi Jorisch, Patrick Poole
Thursday Dec 29, 2011
Thursday Dec 29, 2011
Roger Noriega opens the show with his take on the recent development that Venezuela may have more oil reserves than the Middle East. China and Russia are playing a bigger role in the country while America is sitting on the sidelines. America, along with the international community, needs to become involved in Venezuelan elections and make sure they stay democratic. It seems the military is getting ready to ensure victory for the candidate they support. What will this mean for Venezuelan security and regional security overall?
Avi Jorisch joins frank to explain how the sanctions on Iran are crippling its economy, yet it’s not a death blow. Inflation is between 17-19% yet they are still able to move funds internationally through the Central Bank of Iran. Citizens are scared to spend money and the government is putting as much money as they can back into society. America needs to go after Iran’s Central Bank and prevent money from being moved a globally, this would bring Iran’s economy to a grinding halt but as a result oil prices around the world would skyrocket. Is the reward greater than the risk? Iran has threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz, which they have done many times in the past, but such an act is not feasible from a security standpoint. Jorisch then goes into al-Qaeda in Africa and how this new sect is kidnapping Westerners, trafficking narcotics and receiving financing from Islamists in Europe. According to Avi, stop the finances going to the group and you stop the group.
Finally, terrorism expert Patrick Poole spends two segments with Frank to go through his 2011 Top Ten list of follies on the part of the American government within the national security arena. Incidences such as giving bin Laden a proper Muslim burial at sea or claiming the Muslim Brotherhood is a secular organization. Is this based on faulty intelligence, misinformation being provided by the Muslim Brotherhood or the Obama Administration’s efforts to keep Americans in the dark, or is this just sheer stupidity on the part of the Obama Administration? How secure are we? Are we blinding ourselves to the real threats? Who is the administration appointing to positions within the national security community? These questions and more get answered by Patrick Poole.

Thursday Dec 01, 2011
Rep. Doug Lamborn, Christian Whiton, Roger Noriega, Jim Hanson
Thursday Dec 01, 2011
Thursday Dec 01, 2011
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 11th 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?

Monday Nov 14, 2011
Peter Pham, Roger Noriega, Michael Mandelbaum, Gordon Chang
Monday Nov 14, 2011
Monday Nov 14, 2011
Dr. Peter Pham of the Atlantic Council enlightens listeners on matters developing in Africa. The late Col. Qaddafi was a pack rat that spent most of his time as leader of Libya collecting arms, more than he could ever use. There are at least 20,000 Surface to Air Missiles (SAMs) missing as well as Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPGs), anti-tank and anti-armor piercing weapons and other weapons. Neighboring countries are confiscating some of these weapons from rebels’ forces and mercenaries that are engaging in attacks on civilians and government personnel. Somali rebels fighting African Union peacekeepers are using many of these weapons that have disappeared from Libyan depots. Is this a function of the new Libyan regime or is this a result of the chaos that has engulfed the African nation?
Latin American expert Roger Noriega joins Frank to shed light on recent developments within the region. People are suspicious that a “cracker jack” police force in Venezuela was able to catch the kidnapping ring that abducted National’s catcher Wilson Ramos. Was the police in on the kidnapping in order to project the ability to go after kidnappers which has become a growing business? Hugo Chavez has not been responding well to his cancer treatment and therefore many feel he will be out of the picture within the next six months. What will happen to Venezuela once Chavez is gone? Who will take the reins of the country and how will that impact American security?
Dr. Michael Mandelbaum, professor at Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, speaks on his book “The Frugal Superpower” and if it is possible for a superpower to be frugal. Americans who are getting less from their government and giving more to it will become less receptive to America’s global role. Yet, in times like these it is important for America to project global influence and keep threats away from our shores and the shores of our allies. If America doesn’t take the global leadership role, who will and what implications will that have for American security and democracy overall? America cannot close itself off and forget about its foreign responsibilities because the economy is slow. This type of nearsightedness will result in threats rising throughout the globe, threats to American interests and the security of our allies. America can continue with its global leadership by being smart about where we put our resources as well as the amount and type of resources we provide. Removing troops from Afghanistan and Iraq will enable America to more adequately counter the Iranian threat in the region. America must continue its global leadership.
Weekly Asian specialist Gordon Chang gives his insights on President Obama’s initiatives at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in Honolulu. Countries within the region are turning to the United States and not China for economic partnership because the Chinese trajectory seems to be going in the wrong direction. This cooperation is between nine or ten nations embarking on a free trade agreement, without involving the Chinese. What does this mean for the Chinese economy? The Obama Administration seems to be finally taking notice of Chinese influence and is taking steps to counter that influence through this Free Trade Agreement. Is the Obama Administration’s posture towards China reliable? The Air-Sea Battle Initiative is in response to the Chinese military buildup and the Pentagon now sees what the Chinese are trying to do and the comments they are making about engaging in war with America. The Pentagon is preparing conventional forces for any future conflicts with China, but how will slashing the defense budget affect that preparation? America needs to bulk up its military force in response to China’s claims of taking land they perceive as their own from countries that are allies with the United States. Cutting the Pentagon’s budget at this point is reckless. Australia has allowed the U.S. to establish a base in response to the Chinese threat.

Tuesday Nov 01, 2011
Roger Noriega, Patrick Poole, Rep. Frank Wolf, Andy McCarthy
Tuesday Nov 01, 2011
Tuesday Nov 01, 2011
Have US immigration officials and judges failed to realize that Hugo Chavez has established a dictatorship that drives out his opponents? Visiting Fellow at AEI and resident Latin American expert here at Secure Freedom Radio, Roger Noriega joins guest host, Fred Grandy to discuss the Chavez dilemma. The Chavez regime is suggesting that exiles who flee Venezuela to seek asylum in the United States are criminals. Why doesn’t the Obama administration step up against Chaves to defend those seeking asylum within our borders? According to Noriega, US officials continue to coddle Chavez due to their belief that US policies are responsible for all of the ills in South America. Is it this “liberal guilt” that allows the Chavez regime to act without consequence or is it merely the ignorance of the Obama administration?
Next, author and journalist Patrick Poole shares with Fred his expertise on Middle Eastern affairs. Did member of the Department of Homeland Security Advisory Council and member on the Texas Department of Safety Advisory Council, Mohamed Elibiary use his security clearance to give sensitive documents to a left-leaning publication? Additionally, why did Elibiary use these documents to paint Gov. Rick Perry and the Texas Department of Safety Advisory Council as Islamophobic? Why would Elibiary, a self-proclaimed Muslim deradicalization expert, side with Islamist extremists? The publication to which these documents had been exposed turned them down, as they stated they were not as they appeared. According to Poole, the real question is not why did he do these things, but how did Mohamed Elibiary first get elected to the advisory councils?
Is Rep. Frank Wolf of Virginia’s 10th district a true champion for human rights or did he simply have a bad travel agent? Rep. Wolf shares the microphone for another segment of “The Cloakroom” with Fred Grandy. Not only does he touch upon the human rights issues that he presents in his new book, “Prisoner of Conscience: One Man's Crusade for Global Human and Religious Rights,” but he also gives Fred an inside look into his personal connection to the abuses occurring throughout the international community. Is it true that the words in the Constitution are a covenant to protect freedom throughout the entire world? If so, why are most Americans more disinterested in human rights issues today more than before?
Should the United States have left Qaddafi in power or is the new Libyan leadership a ray of hope? Contributing Editor for National Review Online and weekly guest, Andy McCarthy concludes today’s show expressing his opinions on the overthrow of Qaddafi in Libya. Will the next five to ten years in the Middle East be ruled by a hegemonic power or be dominated by warring factions?

Wednesday Oct 12, 2011
Michael Rubin, Roger Noriega, Mario Loyola, Jim Hanson
Wednesday Oct 12, 2011
Wednesday Oct 12, 2011
Has Iran reverted back to its cocky tricks due to the failure of the Obama administration’s policies in the Middle East? Resident Scholar at AEI, Michael Rubin joins Frank today at Secure Freedom Radio to examine the failed assassination attempt of the Saudi Ambassador to the United States, Adel al-Jubeir and the role that Iranian forces had in the plot. Reports are stating that the unit of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or the Quds Force, whose mission it is to export Iranian ideology is at the forefront of many of these terrorist attacks. Rubin states that this is not the first time that an Iranian hit team has come to the United States to carry out a killing. In 1980, Iran sent a squad to Bethesda, MD and successfully killed an Iranian dissident. Unfortunately, US diplomats have continued to dismiss Iranian rhetoric and ignorantly believed that such attacks are just rouge operations. Instead of upholding such ignorance, the United States should have a frank discussion about an Iran regime change and seriously evaluate whether the current regime has US interests in mind.
Is Iran contracting with the drug cartels in Mexico to kill people in the United States? Weekly commentator at Secure Freedom Radio and Visiting Fellow at AEI, Roger Noriega offers his insight on this topic, among other Latin American issues. What is of paramount concern to Noriega is that there is an expanding network of Hezbollah activities in Venezuela that have been linked to Iranian sponsorship. This network continues to grow throughout Central and South America. As the realistic possibility of Hugo Chavez’s death looms over the nation, sources within the country believe that tension will continue to increase. Chavez’s cronies are trying to hold onto power any way they can. This includes arming themselves with weapons in preparation for a civil war that might break out after the death of Chavez. Additionally, they have partnered with Russian, Chinese, and Iranian arms organizations to supply continued arms to the leadership. A majority of these arms have ended up in the hands of narcotraffickers in South America. The US Department of State seems completely oblivious to these actions.
Mario Loyola of the Texas Policy Institute reflects on his lecture at the semi-weekly Center for Security Policy’s Capitol Hill luncheon in which he discussed the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood in the Middle East and beyond. Over the past half century, there has been a turn towards extremists and Islamists like those in the Muslim Brotherhood who have no interest in modernization. These groups turn to the past and see progressive democratic governance, such as that practiced in the United States as the enemy of Islam. They have divided the world into part of the world conquered by Muslims and the part of the world that has yet to be conquered by Muslims. This division into Muslim and non-Muslim territories can be seen in the events unfolding in Egypt. Egypt is looking for legitimacy for its new government in the streets and mosques.
Concluding today’s show is resident expert on military affairs and the “boots on the ground” perspective, Jim Hanson comments on his involvement at the US Army’s Annual Convention. At this conference, Hanson and his company presented a new product that allow smartphones to be used in military operations abroad. The features of these phones include an application that would allow a solider to conduct fingerprint and retinal investigations on the field. This would help our solider combatants more successfully identify who are a friends and foes.

Friday Sep 30, 2011
Tom Trento, Victor Davis Hanson, Roger Noriega, Bill Gertz
Friday Sep 30, 2011
Friday Sep 30, 2011
Early this morning, news emerged that one of the proponents of the Fort Hood shootings and the 2009 “underwear bomber” Anwar al-Awlaki was killed in a CIA drone bombing in Yemen. Will the death of this US-born cleric bring an end to an era or will other jihadists finally emerge? Tom Trento of the United West discusses with Frank how the United States government is finally going after Americans who have acted against the Constitution. Although his death is a great success for the US, it also revealed that al-Awlaki was merely an actor in a network of jihadists and that we should prepare ourselves for more in the future. Only by attacking the theological system of Sharia can the United States win the War on Terror. It is also vital that the leaders of the US government understand the need for better training for FBI agents and intelligence officers. Instead of crippling them with political correctness, we ought to give them the tools to defend the United States’ Constitution.
What starts and ends wars in the Middle East? The famed historian and the Martin and Illie Anderson Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Victor Davis Hanson continues today’s show answering the question of a possible war between Israel and it neighbors in the region. The situation for Israel is looking more and more hostile than it has in the last thirty years, as former allies to Israel such as Turkey are angling for more confrontation. Although there were major conflicts in 1973, 1982, and 2006 in the Middle East, what stopped them from turning into full-blown wars? Hanson states that a strong stance from the US blocked the region from turning totally volatile. However, all this has changed due to Obama’s weak Middle Eastern policy. Thus, it is only a matter of time before things turn sour for Israel and the United States under Obama’s leadership will be unable to step in to stop it.
Regular guest at Secure Freedom Radio and our resident expert on Latin American affairs, Roger Noriega of AEI shares novel news of Hugo Chavez’s cancer treatments. While the state sponsored press says he is on the upswing, Noriega’s sources continue to confirm that Chavez is not responding well to chemotherapy. Therefore, it is imperative that the United States prepares for a post-Chavez world and the opportunities it will open for possible democracy in Venezuela. Additionally, if Roberta Jacobson officially assumes the head of the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs in the Department of State, then what will her leadership mean for foreign policy in Venezuela and Mexico? As a career foreign service officer, she was in charge of the delivery of US assistance to Mexico. While it is important to continue such trends, Noriega argues that as head of the Bureau she should start treating Venezuela as a priority for intelligence collection.
National Security Writer for the Washington Times, Bill Gertz continues the discussion of the US airstrike that killed al-Awlaki and its implications for US national security. The strike in Yemen was carried out by a joint special operations and CIA effort that had been targeting him since May. Gertz also shares with Frank the story of a senior Pentagon official who criticized retiring chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mullen, for speaking the truth about Pakistan’s involvement in past terrorist attacks. This official stated that the intelligence was not clear on the matter and it was not Adm. Mullen’s place to speak on such a topic. Instead of condemning ISI’s actions, the US Department of State is working towards appeasing Pakistan by decreasing the number of drone attacks.

Friday Sep 23, 2011
Roger Noriega, Claudia Rosett, David Rivkin, Bill Gertz
Friday Sep 23, 2011
Friday Sep 23, 2011
Is the all mighty leader of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, on his final months of life? Visiting Fellow at AEI, Roger Noriega kicks off today’s show sharing his thoughts on Hugo Chavez’s deathwatch. According to sources in the country, Hugo Chavez has just returned from his third round of chemotherapy to treat his colon cancer. This information contradicts official reports by Venezuelan officials who stated that he had just returned from his fourth trip to Cuba. The earlier trip to Cuba for chemotherapy was a fabrication of the Chavismo leadership who wanted to appear open, while also keeping the opposition guessing. This is the perfect example of a classic dictatorship, says Noriega, where the top leaders continually lie. Additionally these sources say that Chavez will not survive his cancer, but might stick around until the October 2012 elections. If he is able to hold on to life, the organized opposition groups will have a slim chance at beating him. The problem is further exacerbated by the fact that the Obama administration holds a “flat-footed” policy in South America, where they would rather ignore Chavez than speak out in support of opposition groups. Was Obama’s speech in front of the UN General Assembly able to successfully put heed to his comments in May acknowledging the possibility of a Palestinian state? Journalist-in-residence at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, Claudia Rosett covers the ominous stirrings in the United Nations. Although this will be the seventh time that the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will come before the UN General Assembly, the more pressing issue is the Palestinian statehood debate. The General Assembly is consumed by the political debates surrounding the issue. Rosett is critical of Obama’s speech, as she sees it as a campaign speech rather than a Presidential one. Palestinians were similarly disappointed in his speech, as it failed to endorse or acknowledge official statehood such he did in a speech last year. On the other hand, Israel was happy with his speech as he did not make mention of the 1967 borders. In Rosett’s view, these debates are merely methods of ganging up on the US and its allies in order to give them a “giant poke in the eye.” American attorney and political writer, David Rivkin presents the legal case against Palestinian statehood. As said by Rivkin, objective criteria must first be met in order for a given entity to be granted statehood in the United Nations. Under these rights and duties, the given entity needs to have a territory, population, government that exercises effective sovereignty, and is able to go into agreements with other nations. According to these standards, Palestine does not meet the basic objective criteria to become a state. Palestine does not control Gaza or even the West Bank. Since Israel controls most of the land that Palestine claims, Israel is the only one that can “midwife” Palestine into a state. Furthermore, the United Nations is not in the business of recognizing the state, but is only able to take an existing state and make it a member of the UN. While some argue that the Vatican is an exception to this rule, Rivkin fires back that the Vatican, as the oldest existing state in history was able to merely ushered into the UN with non-member status. Weekly regular guest here at Secure Freedom Radio and National Security Writer for the Washington Times, Bill Gertz concludes today’s show enlightening Frank on how Adm. Mullen of the NSC directly links the Pakistani ISI with the Haqqani terrorist network, an arm of Al Qaeda. The White House is also working on a secret mini-Nuclear Posture Review that will change military requirements for the U.S. strategic arsenal. This allows them to use the cover of budget cuts to pursue an ideological zero nuke policy. Also, Gertz talks Wikileaks and how one cable reveals that North Korea has had a greater counterfeiting capacity than previously known of U.S. monetary notes.

Tuesday Sep 13, 2011
Christian Whiton, Roger Noriega & Andy McCarthy
Tuesday Sep 13, 2011
Tuesday Sep 13, 2011
Frank kicks off today’s show with his thoughts. Next, Principal at DC International Advisory and former US State Department official, Christian Whiton, joins Frank to discuss the recent travels of the Prime Minister of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Turkey is engaging Egypt in actions that could be used to undermine support for Israel in the region, says Whiton. He believes that the democratically elected leader, Erdogan, is looking to increase his popularity by downgrading relations with Israel. Furthermore, Whiton argues that the US Department of State’s chiding of the Israel-Turkey tensions wrongfully implies a moral equality between the two formerly friendly nations. Turkey is the apparent aggressor in the situation, he reveals. An increased tension between Israel and Syria is not novel news, however, as Syria has for a long time had ill intensions towards Israel. Additionally, Whiton enlightens us on the UN’s engagement in the Palestinian-Israeli statehood disagreement and the problems a unilateral declaration of independence by Pakistan would mean for the international community. Former US Ambassador to the Organization of American States, Visiting Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, and our go to guy on Latin American affairs, Roger Noriega visits with Secure Freedom Radio to give us his insight into the December 2012 presidential elections that will happen in Venezuela. He expresses his fears that the opposition will not have enough time to mobilize a nation-wide election if the elections are moved up to March 2012 due to Chavez’s battle with cancer. Noriega also states how the Chavez regime is “bracing for the impact” that will occur in the wake of Hugo Chavez’s potential death. These initiatives include moving $29 billion of international reserves from banks in Britain and the US to China and Russia, as well as moving $9 billion in gold back to Venezuela. Moreover, Noriega hashes out his concerns of the mining uranium efforts in Ecuador and other countries that could be used to support nuclear efforts by Iran. Andy McCarthy of National Review Online concludes today show examining the 9/11 remembrances that occurred over the weekend. McCarthy believes that the official recognition ceremony was botched and not that big of a deal, whereas the private observances are more meaningful for the American public. In his view, government’s first impulse is to continually overcorrect; such as in the case of Mayor Bloomberg who was so fearful of media backlash that he banned any recognition of faith on the sacred ground of Ground Zero. He also discusses how the mission in Afghanistan has become incoherent, as the Obama administration is ambient about the Taliban. The original aim of the government in Afghanistan, says McCarthy, was not to topple the Taliban, but to have the Taliban surrender to them al Qaeda. When they refused, the US government decided that the Taliban must be toppled.

Wednesday Aug 17, 2011
Rev. Rick Joyner, Roger Noriega, Rowan Scarborough, Jim Hanson
Wednesday Aug 17, 2011
Wednesday Aug 17, 2011
Rev. Rick Joyner kicks off today’s program by introducing his efforts to unite and equip Christians through The Oak Initiative. Two years ago, Joyner hosted a three day seminar to bond the Christian Church together in a time of great crisis morally, spiritually and economically. In these times, “we need to know what we believe,” says Rev. Joyner who as President of the foundation seeks to educate Christians on the crucial issues of the day, including Islamic Extremism. Through the Initiative Christians are uniting across the spectrum, and standing firm against the “Chrislam” movement, that seeks to combine both religions. “We have a responsibility as Christian leaders to defend the truth,” he says as he adamantly rejects the notion that Allah is the same God of the Bible. And he is bold in his defense: “Our Jesus is not coming back to kill all Christians who do not submit to Islam.” Roger Noriega, of the American Enterprise Institute, joins Frank to discuss the latest news from Latin America, including the breaking reports that members of the Venezuelan regime are looking to move $29 billion in reserves out of the country to banks in Russia and China. Noriega breaks down what such a move would do to the Venezuelan economy and what exactly these Chavistas have in mind. The founder of InterAmerican Security Watch also explains how Venezuela has acted as a broker between Argentina and Iran, in which the Islamic Republic is after Argentina’s nuclear market. Although Congress has brought considerable attention to this activity, the State Department shows no sign of curiosity and is “blind and content to be blind about what Iran is up to in this hemisphere.” Then, National Security Journalist Rowan Scarborough, of the Washington Times, dissects the series of mistakes that led to the helicopter crash in Afghanistan, the worst loss of life endured throughout the war. As details continue to emerge, questions remain regarding the justification of the mission and Scarborough insists they need to be asked given the possibility that our forces are ill-equipped in Afghanistan. The best-selling author of Rumsfeld’s War claims this risk “means we cannot afford to take a procurement holiday” in defense, which makes the automatic trigger to its budget even more alarming if no agreement is reached by the Supercommittee. Jim Hanson, however, laments the “armchair quarterbacking” that has followed the Osama Bin Laden raid and the failed helicopter mission, in which large amounts of operationally secure information has leaked to the press. “I don’t think we know and I don’t think we should know,” says Hanson about what led to the helicopter crash. He argues by releasing these details the safety of our special forces and their families will be compromised. Another subject that has left Hanson in a “scathing mood” is the use of the funerals for the Seal Team Six members as a photo op for the President. Against the family’s wishes, a White House photographer captured “a beautifully framed photo of Obama attempting to make a salute” says Hanson, who calls it a disgrace to capitalize on the deaths our combat troops.

Thursday Aug 11, 2011
Peter Berkowitz, Roger Noriega, Erick Stakelbeck, Rep. Duncan Hunter
Thursday Aug 11, 2011
Thursday Aug 11, 2011
On today’s edition of Secure Freedom Radio, Peter Berkowitz, Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, joins Frank to discuss the latest “Progressive bents,” from contempt for the recent debt deal to efforts that will erode our national sovereignty. Berkowitz reminds us of the 2010 elections in which the will of the people rejected further spending and growth of the nation’s debt, and how Progressives are up in arms as Congress moves ever so slightly in that direction. The chair of the Hoover Task Force on National Security and Law also explains how the Left is seeking to submit U.S. sovereignty to International law via the Law of the Sea Treaty. Berkowitz wonders whether the political class will recognize that America is the main guarantor of International order, and not International bureaucrats or trans-nationalists. Roger Noriega, of the American Enterprise Institute, offers insights into the situation in Mexico, where the New York Times reported the implementation of CIA and retired law enforcement officials on the ground. Noriega asserts some positive results have been reached while working with Mexican President Felipe Calderon. However, as Calderon nears the end of his term, Noriega warns the upcoming elections could leave the government in the hands of the radical Leftist Andrés Manuel López Obrador. The Former Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs also explains Hugo Chavez’s reluctance to leave Venezuela for chemotherapy treatments in Cuba because of the infighting in his regime. The dangerous situation amongst Chavez’s crooks and cronies makes Noriega weary given the instincts of the Obama Administration’s foreign policy team, which “are usually wrong when it comes to a choice between democracy and a soft landing for our enemies.” Next, Erick Stakelbeck, of CBN News, illuminates the shocking lawsuit that reveals Iran’s connection to the 9/11 attacks. Although most Americans believe without hesitation Al-Qaeda was the sole perpetrator, it is becoming more apparent that this is not the case. According to three Iranian defectors from within the Islamist regime, the 9/11 hijackers travel to Afghanistan was facilitated by Imad Mugniyeh, a Hezbollah operative who worked with Iran. Now the families of the 9/11 victims have filed suit in light of what Stakelbeck calls “rock solid” evidence, dating back seven years to the 9/11 report. The “Stakelbeck on Terror” host explains the government’s refusal to investigate since the facts would demand action against Iran. Finally, Congressman Duncan Hunter, of California, shares his regrets over the tragic helicopter crash in Afghanistan. A former combat veteran himself, Rep. Hunter explains why we shouldn’t Monday morning quarterback the event and dishonor the lost. A member of the House Armed Services Committee, Hunter also predicts imminent massive defense cuts as both Republicans and Democrats usually “take the path of least resistance” when faced with hard choices in Washington. Hunter finally explains the naivety of those who hold a “Small Wars” philosophy dismissing the notion of a World War in the future, given the many threats we face.