Securing America with Frank Gaffney Podcast

Research Fellow at the Henry Jackson Society EMILY DYER  discusses the findings of her newly released report "Al-Qaeda in the United States." Among the most prominent findings were statistics showing that over half of Al-Qaeda related offenses committed in the US were by citizens, over a third of whom were born in the country. This, and the fact that the majority were also either well educated or employed and not actually on the fringes of society, requires a need to change our perception of terrorists, argues Dyer. The trial of Sulaiman Abu Ghaith in Manhattan comes with a list of factors and serious implications.  Among them is the  inability to gain intelligence from him about his protection and harbouring by the Iranian regime.  That is an opportunity that would be afforded in a military tribunal in Guantanamo Bay.  The Center for Security Policy’s Senior Fellow for National Security Affairs, FRED GRANDY assesses these factors and weighs in on the would-have-been healthy national debate on drone policy. As the drama unfolds for in the wake of the death of Hugo Chavez, JOSE CARDENAS of Vision Americas walks us through the factions of the regime and elements of Cuban influence.  Will U.S. policy makers be able to grasp the state of play in a way that helps them avoid legitimating a legacy of oppression? Is the Asia Pivot cancelled? What has become of our nuclear arsenal and missile defense after the success of Russian diplomacy and the failure of the Reset?  BILL GERTZ of the Washington Times and the Washington Free Beacon covers an array of topics that are crucial "Inside the Ring."

LUKE COFFEY, a Margaret Thatcher Fellow at Heritage, explains the referendum to be voted on in the Falkand Islands this Sunday that will determine whether the islands remain a British overseas territory or not, and wonders why the Obama administration has not fully supported our British allies on this issue.

Director of the Latin America Programs at the Fund for American Studies, JON PERDUE predicts the effect that Hugo Chavez's death will have on Venezuelan relations with Cuba, China, Iran, and the United States, and encourages the United States to adopt a policy that will best support open and free elections in the coming month.

RICK FISHER, from the International Assessment and Strategy Center, interprets North Korea's nuclear threat against the United States and stresses the need for America to learn the real size of China's nuclear arsenal.

From lignet.com, FRED FLEITZ weighs in on the state of Venezuela after Hugo Chavez's death, describes North Korea's nuclear threat as a ploy to get America back to the negotiating table, and explains how recent talks with the Iranian regime in Kazakhstan have once again finished with the Iranians coming out on top.

ROGER NORIEGA, founder of Inter-American Security Watch, analyzes what's happening in Venezuela following the death of Hugo Chavez yesterday, discussing Cuba's involvement in determining whether secession will be constitutional or not, and suggesting ways America can help to fulfill its interests there. From the Partnership for a Secure America, ROBERT McFARLANE reveals the benefits that America could receive if it were to allow market forces to control the oil trade instead of allowing OPEC to set the prices for oil, including oil independence for America and her allies, more jobs for Americans, and cheaper prices at the pump. JOEL ROSENBERG, author of Damascus Countdown, explains the quasi-war game setting of his latest novel which explores what would happen if Israel were to preemptively strike a nuclear Iran against the wishes of an American administration. Syndicated reporter and author of upcoming American Betrayal: The Secret Assault on Our Nation's Character, DIANA WEST criticizes the GOP's non-strategy for dealing with presidential nominations in reference to issues that needed to be raised but weren't in Chuck Hagel's, John Kerry's, and upcoming John Brennan's Senate hearings.

Washington Times writer, ROWAN SCARBOROUGH discusses how the military is being pressured to lower physical testing standards to allow women access to combat positions. He then analyzes the impact that "blue-on-green" Al Qaeda attacks amongst NATO troops is having on both troop morale and Afghan confidence in their state military.

ADAM KREDO, a senior writer with The Washington Free Beacon, explains how John Brennan's ideological interpretation about Islamist jihad doctrine will effect the CIA if he is nominated as CIA director, and discusses the security concerns for Israel and America that will arise from Egypt and Turkey's Arabization.

From the Institute on Religion and Democracy, FAITH McDONNELL reveals the horrible conditions that Christian refugees in the Nuba Mountains and the Blue Nile areas suffer in from continued aggression by the Islamist government. She explains what Americans and people of faith worldwide can do to aid these victims, and invites people to get engaged at the Sudan Emergency Action Summit this weekend. Learn more and register at actforsudan.org.

ANDY McARTHY, an editor with National Review Online and author of Spring Fever: The Illusion of Islamic Democracy, postulates about changes that CIA director nominee John Brennan will make with his mistakenly benign view of jihad, and explains how regimes in the Middle East interpret American submission as weakness.

With Jack Murphy, Michael Davidson, Barry Rubin, and Gordon Chang. What ties does CIA Director nominee, John Brennan, have to what happened in Benghazi on September 11, 2012 that resulted in the death of an U.S. ambassador? JACK MURPHY, former US Army Ranger and author of Benghazi: The Definitive Report, answers this question, and reports on the situation in Benghazi since 9/11. Continuing the Benghazi discussion, former CIA officer and author of newly released novel Incubus, MICHAEL DAVIDSON  explains what the CIA was doing at their annex in Benghazi on 9/11, and how Russia is arming Iran. Director of the GLORIA Center, BARRY RUBIN reports on the Islamization of the Middle East as opposition parties in Egypt promise to boycott upcoming parliament elections, Turkey’s Prime Minister makes anti-Semitic comments, and the rebel groups in Syria are overwhelmed by extremists. GORDON CHANG, from forbes.com, explains how the Chinese government has knowingly been distributing Chinese manpads to hostile state and non-state actors, how China perceives President Obama’s “open hand” policy as weakness, and reports on Japanese Prime Minister Abe’s recent visit to Washington.

With Sebastian Gorka, Fred Grandy, Bill Gertz, and James Carafano. Rich Miniter guest hosts with co-host Jacki. What happens to regional stability when the U.S. acts without, “overarching doctrines and strategies?”  SEBASTIAN GORKA of Foundation for Defense of Democracies and author of Fighting the Ideological War: Winning Strategies from Communism to Islamism, makes the necessary distinctions concerning Syria’s war to understand the absence of strategy in the role of the United States and the consequences there of. Former Iowa congressman FRED GRANDY expresses his fear that the $60 million in aid the U.S. is planning on giving to the Syrian rebels is in fact going to the wrong sorts of people. Namely, Islamists who will eventually turn against the United States. BILL GERTZ of The Washington Times explains that because China is going beyond maritime harassment of Japan to actually moving weapons across the, the likelihood of the US getting involved because of our mutual defense treaty with Japan is greatly increasing. On the day that sequestration is set to go into effect, JAMES CARAFANO of the Heritage Foundation predicts that in the long run the US will actually end up spending more on defense. Already military training, and from their preparedness, has been hurt by the budget cuts already made pre-sequestration.

With Adam Kredo, Clare Lopez, Jim Hanson, and Diana West. From the Washington Free Beacon, ADAM KREDO explains the series of unprecedented events that led to Hagel's nomination yesterday, and predicts what will happen when looming defense cuts descend at the end of the week. CLARE LOPEZ, senior fellow at radicalislam.org, wonders what is happening at Fordow nuclear plant in Iran, the site of a possible underground nuclear explosion,  and criticizes Secretary Kerry for openly talking of arming Syrian rebels of which at least 1/4 are Al Qaeda affilitates. JIM HANSON, from blackfive.net, expresses his fears about what Hagel's nomination will mean for US national security, explains President Karzai's edict expelling US forces from Wardak province in Afghanistan, and reports what sequestration cuts will mean for countless Army units. DIANA WEST, nationally syndicated columnist and author of the upcoming American Betrayal: The Secret Assault on Our Nation's Character, criticizes the House and the Senate for "absolutely surrender[ing] their roles" as a check on the executive power, and explains how President Obama is effectively working off of a new constitution that doesn't recognize as equals the other two branches of government.

CLAUDIA ROSETT, journalist in residence for the Foundation for  Defense of Democracies, exposes the front company that the Iranian ambassador to the UN has been using to skirt US sanctions on 5th Avenue in New York City.

Principal at DC International Advisory LLC, CHRISTIAN WHITON reviews John Kerry's first tour up to this point, wondering why the administration is keeping our allies at arm's length while embracing our enemies, and emphasizes the need for an offensive cyber security campaign to address the growing Chinese threat. JON IADONISI, founder of the White Canvas Group and retired Navy SEAL, analyzes the Mandian report that confirms state-sponsored cyber-attacks from China, and advises both policy makers and citizens on what they can do to defend themselves from the cyber threat. On the twentieth anniversary of the first bombing of the World Trade Center, ANDY MCcCARTHY, the chief prosecutor for the case and author of Spring Fever: The Illusion of Islamic Democracy, discusses the state of America's War on Terror since the 1993 tragedy, observes that new Arab Spring democracies are voting to implement Shariah Law four to one, and wonders at John Brennan's inability to understand the ideology behind the jihadist threat.

President of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy, ZUHDI JASSER, discusses how John Brennan has never acknowledged political Islam as a threat and reports on the situation on the ground in Egypt where some anti-Muslim Brotherhood groups perceive America as abandoning values of democracy. ROBERT MAZUR, author of The Infiltrator: My Secret Life Inside the Dirty Banks Behind Pablo Escobar's Medellin Cartel, reveals his experiences working undercover investigating Mexican drug cartel money laundering that led him to write his book. In The Infiltrator, he exposes the businessmen and bankers that clean and transfer billions of dollars worth of dirty money worldwide according to the will of drug-lords, terrorists, corrupt politicians and tax-cheaters. In this exclusive interview with Frank, Mazur talks about the need to identify the individuals in the banking community responsible for these crimes and prosecute them. Vice President of Research at Foundation for Defense of Democracies, JONATHAN SHANZER explains how US sanctions on Iran have been ineffective because the regime has  been creatively pushing its money through Europe instead. GORDON CHANG, from forbes.com, emphasizes the severity of Chinese cyber-warfare, citing Chinese military attacks on the New York Times, and explains that Obama administration's efforts to cooperate are ineffective because the Chinese perceive them as weakness.

With Fred Grandy, Yoram Ettinger, Fred Fleitz, Bill Gertz. FRED GRANDY, former Congressman from Iowa, predicts that unless a shocking revelation about Hagel's political or personal life comes to light within the next few days, Chuck Hagel will be confirmed as the new Secretary of Defense. Shortly before Obama's trip to Israel, YORAM ETTINGER of the Ariel Center offers his hopes that this time Obama will not mistakenly equate a solution to the Israel-Palestine dispute with a solution for peace throughout the entire region. FRED FLEITZ of lignet.com offers the breaking news that Iran may have enough enriched uranium for up to eight nuclear bombs. BILL GERTZ of the Washington Times talks with Frank about Obama's soon-to-be-announced push for unilateral disarmament of the United States' nuclear force by up to a third--even as Russia and China both increase their own stockpiles.