Tag Archives: Bill Gertz

Son of a Terror Victim Explains Why the Bergdahl-Taliban Trade is So Dangerous

Donate Now
Secure Freedom Radio is made possible by listeners like you.

With Joseph F. Connor, Russ Ramsland, Bill Gertz, Fred Fleitz

Joseph F. Connor, co-author of “The New Founders,” looks at the motives behind the Obama administration’s release of five Taliban leaders in the context of the President’s stated ambition to close the Guantanamo Bay prison. He argues that the release of these top terrorists, and any terrorists released subsequently, creates a public safety situation for Americans within the US and abroad.

On today’s show:

JOSEPH F. CONNOR, co-author of “The New Founders”

  • Does the recent release of five top-level jihadists signal the imminent closing of the Guantanamo Bay prison?
  • The public security crisis associated with the release of 36,000 criminal illegal aliens from incarceration, including some former terrorists
  • Attorney General Eric Holder’s role in the release of FALN terrorists and, more recently, the five Taliban leaders

RUSS RAMSLAND, Texas Tea Party leader:

  • Details of the weak “Texas Solution” to immigration that was shot down at the recent Texas GOP Convention
  • Connection between the immigration debate and Erick Cantor’s loss
  • Public safety risk being posed by a surge of illegal aliens crossing the US’s southern border

BILL GERTZ, of the Washington Free Beacon and the Washington Times:

  • The Justice Department is in talks with representatives of Edward Snowden, who include a lawyer well-known for his history of success in winning spies plea deals
  • Implications of a confirmation that Russia is in material breach of the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty
  • A show of force incident on Monday in which Russian bombers flew within 50 miles of the US coast
  • Chinese officials are claiming that a visit to a U.S. Carrier has provided them with “valuable military insights”–despite a 1999 law forbidding Chinese officers from visiting certain US power projection capabilities

FRED FLEITZ, senior fellow with the Center for Security Policy:

  • Is Chuck Hagel being forced to take the fall for Obama and Susan Rice in the Bergdahl trade controversy?
  • Debating whether a plea deal is acceptable if Edward Snowden can guarantee that leaks of the stolen US documents stop
  • Points of fact on Iraq: ISIS is not “and Syria,” but “and the Sham,” which represents a “greater Syria.” ISIS is a terrorist army, manned by pre-US invasion Iraqi military members

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Al Qaeda’s International Influence Spreads as President Obama Announces Final Troop Withdrawal Plan in Afghanistan

Donate Now

Secure Freedom Radio is made possible by listeners like you.

With Rep. Pete Hoekstra, Diana West, Dr. Noha Bakr, Bill Gertz

Congressman PETE HOEKSTRA, former Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee:

  • Wars of the 21st century: an update on the situation in Afghanistan. What outcome is the US seeking now?
  • New “safe havens” for al Qaeda – its establishment around the world and shrinking dependence on Afghanistan as a home base
  • White House’s accidental exposure of the top CIA official in Afghanistan

DIANA WEST, author of “American Betrayal: The Secret Assault on Our Nation’s Character”:

  • Thoughts on Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee Mike Rogers’ attendance at an upcoming event honoring individuals who were leading the Ground Zero Mosque project
  • President Obama’s recent remarks about the US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, and the reactions of Americas foes
  • Increasing asylum/immigration into the U.S. of Islamic extremists with moderate terrorist ties
NOHA BAKR, Assistant to the Minister of Economic Cooperation with USA in Egypt:
  • Strategic importance of Egypt for the United States
  • The need for stability following the recent Egyptian presidential election, which was extended by a day due to low voter turnout
  • Geopolitical threats facing Egypt

BILL GERTZ, of the Washington Free Beacon:

  • President Obama’s recent announcement on the timeline for the US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan
  • Promises made by the Obama administration to Russia in regards to the build-up of U.S. missile defenses
  • Dangers of the Chinese development of hypersonic missiles

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Weak U.S. Policy Towards Russia is Responsible for Stregthening Putin’s Tsarist Ambitions

Donate Now
Secure Freedom Radio is made possible by listeners like you.

With Thomas Marino, Ilan Berman, Dan Coats, Bill Gertz, Fred Fleitz

Congressman TOM MARINO (PA-10):

  • Steps the US should have taken against Russia and Putin’s tsarist ambitions
  • Importance of protecting the US grid technology
  • The internet’s potential to be used as a weapon, and the national security implications of turning it over to the international community
  • Arguments for why a strong NATO and an international military squad to defend US interests are needed

ILAN BERMAN, Vice President of the American Foreign Policy Council:

  • Russia’s soft power
  • Assessing the probability of a change in Russian strategy to gain back some of the post-Soviet satellites
  • The truth behind Iranian President Rouhani’s moderate background

Senator DAN COATS:

  • US policy towards Russia
  • American over-dependence on Russia for space travel, and what the consequences could be if Russia does restrict American access to the International Space Station
  • NSA’s failure to win the public debate over data collection because of misrepresentations about the program; difficulty in finding a balance between American privacy and intelligence needs
  • Why surrendering the internet to the international community as planned would be a “terrible mistake”
BILL GERTZ, Washington Free Beacon:
  • New Russian hypersonic nuclear missile system
  • Under estimating China’s nuclear arsenal build up
  • Chinese Russian Naval cooperation
  • Chinese cyber warfare capability and U.S. response

FRED FLEITZ, senior fellow at the Center for Security Policy:

  • Interpreting the newly passed USA Freedom Act in the House, which reigns in the NSA phone data collection program: how will phone companies be compelled to store the data and respond to NSA requests?
  • Evolution of the USA Freedom Act, and how it is meant to be a compromise between the polarized views on data collection
  • Update on the Iranian nuclear talks: the likelihood that Iran will be allowed to keep a heavy water reactor capable of producing plutonium
  • Chinese cyber-espionage, and the US’s treatment of such an act of war as a legal matter

 

 

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

U.S. Asian Pivot Lacks Carrier Force Projection

Donate Now
Secure Freedom Radio is made possible by listeners like you.

With Rep. Rob Wittman, Kay Daly, Bill Gertz, Fred Fleitz

Rep. ROB WITTMAN, of Virginia’s 1st District and Chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness:

  • Sequestration’s destructive impact on the US military’s readiness
  • Playing catchup with the 2015 NDAA through increased funding of the military’s equipment and training programs
  • Implications of the upcoming period where no US aircraft carrier will be in the western Pacific because of short supply

KAY DALY, of Daly and Associates:

  • Her brother’s treatment at the VA Hospital
  • The problems with the VA’s culture that have led to multiple cases of medical malpractice
  • The role unions have played in the VA’s culture

BILL Gertz, Senior Editor at the Washington Free Beacon:

  • China’s increased aggression in the South China Sea, and its growing naval assets and force projection capabilities
  • Russia’s recent “massive nuclear forces” military exercise

FRED FLEITZ, senior fellow with the Center for Security Policy:

  • Using the upcoming House select committee on Benghazi to prevent the Obama Administration from playing a “jurisdiction game”
  • Hillary Clinton’s refusal to designate Boko Haram a terrorist organization when Secretary of State, and the Administration’s broader hesitation to use the word “terrorist”
  • Putin’s claims to be pulling troops back from the Ukrainian border
  • Security implications of a new bill limiting the NSA’s metadata collection program

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Putin’s Way of War

Donate Now
Secure Freedom Radio is made possible by listeners like you.

With Sebastian Gorka, Fred Fleitz, Bill Roggio, Bill Gertz

SEBASTIAN GORKA, Associate Dean at the National Defense University and Senior Editor at Breitbart.com:

  • An off the record meeting with the Russian Ambassador
  • Putin’s way of war and strategic movements
  • The disbandment of the NYPD’s special unit  charged with monitoring jihadist activity in New York

FRED FLEITZ, senior fellow at the Center for Security Policy:

  • The discovery of an email outlining how Susan Rice should present the Benghazi talking points
  • Peace talks between Israel and Palestine being undermined by anti-Semitic tactics of U.S. administration

BILL ROGGIO, Long War Journal:

  • Lack of groups in Syria that could be entrusted with American weapons
  • Smaller rebel groups in Syria end up under the umbrella of Al-Qaeda
  • Keeping American forces in Afghanistan and the chances of Taliban becoming the victor of the war

BILL GERTZ, Washington Free Beacon:

  • The rejection of legal restrictions proposed by Russia on missile defense
  • Open Skies Treaty and the controversial Russian desire to upgrade some of the sensors
  • The news that another top official, General Flynn, in the Obama Administration is stepping down

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Putin’s Expansionist Gaze

Donate Now
Secure Freedom Radio is made possible by listeners like you.

Herman Pirchner, Katherine Zimmerman, Qanta Ahmed, Bill Gertz

HERMAN PIRCHNER, founding President of the American Foreign Policy Council

  • Putin claims the right to use force in “New Russia,” even as a deal to remove occupying forces from Eastern Ukraine is being brokered
  • Echoes of World War II—Putin purportedly protecting ethnic Russians in Eastern Ukraine
  • How long would ordinary Ukrainian and Russian troops be willing to fight each other?

KATHERINE ZIMMERMAN, senior analyst at AEI and Al Qaeda Team Lead at AEI’s Critical Threats Project:

  • The significance of the video posted by Al Qaeda depicting a large public gathering of Al Qaeda leaders and fighters in Yemen
  • Did American intelligence know about the gathering? Why were there no drone strikes?
  • Al Qaeda is spreading, despite President Obama’s rhetoric on the terrorist group

QANTA AHMED, author of “In the Land of Invisible Women,” and featured interviewee in the film “Honor Diaries”

  • Debate over religious or cultural justification for female genital mutilation (FGM)
  • Increasing rates of FGM in the Muslim diaspora communities in the West
  • FGM, honor killings, child marriage, and gender inequality among particular Muslim cultures

BILL GERTZ, Senior Editor at the Washington Free Beacon:

  • Multiple low altitude flyovers of a U.S. Navy warship in the Black sea by a Russian fighter jet—referred to by the US only as “unprofessional”
  • Russia’s military build-up along Ukraine’s Eastern border
  • Russia’s denial of the “Open Skies” treaty which allows approved U.S. military over-flights throughout Russian airspace. Gertz has evidence that the US’s reason for the cancellation of a flight was untrue.
  • The Obama Administration’s refusal to provide Ukraine with lethal, non-lethal or force multiplying aid

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

When The Power Hungry Meet the War Weary, Who Wins?

Donate Now
Secure Freedom Radio is made possible by listeners like you.

With Bill Gertz, Tim Wilson, Roger Noriega, Cliff May

BILL GERTZ, Senior Editor at the Washington Free Beacon, scrutinizes the Administration’s Pivot to Asia policy. Gertz details that this policy has been largely reduced to rhetorical measures and exercises with regional allies, while neglecting any real signs of military force projection.

TIM WILSON, visiting fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, explains how Iranian shipping patterns indicate that the easing of sanctions has allowed for a significant boost to its economy. Wilson contends that the level of economic prosperity in post-sanction relief Iran is far greater than what the State Department intended.

ROGER NORIEGA, former Ambassador to the Organization of American States, questions the validity of the talks between Venezuelan dissidents and the Maduro regime. Noriega also expresses support for the “Cuban Twitter” funded by USAID, which recently came under fire at a Congressional hearing.

President of Foundation for Defense of Democracies CLIFF MAY contends that Vladimir Putin is content with being a “19th century man,” as Secretary John Kerry referred to him. May also establishes that Kerry’s declaration that the era of the Monroe Doctrine is over will welcome hostile forces to the Western Hemisphere. Finally, May lays out why PLO chairman Mahmoud Abbas does not necessarily have the authority to make a deal with Israel.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

U.S. Remains Second to China on Hypersonic Missile Technology

Donate Now
Secure Freedom Radio is made possible by listeners like you.

With Tom Popik, Clare Lopez, Bill Gertz, Sylvia Longmire

TOM POPIK, founder of the Foundation for Resilient Societies, explains why the custom nature of US electrical grid technology means it could take up to a year to replace it in the event that a majority of the grid is destroyed by an EMP attack.

CLARE LOPEZ, a senior fellow at the Center for Security Policy, offers her opinion on why Iran has yet to be held accountable for its many connections to terrorism, including the 9/11 attacks and the Lockerbie bombing.

BILL GERTZ, Senior Editor at the Washington Free Beacon, reports on hacking performed by Chinese police at the People’s Security University of Beijing. He also addresses China’s new supersonic missile capability and how the United States Military is aiming to close the technology gap between the two.

Retired Air Force Captain SYLVIA LONGMIRE, author of the upcoming book “Border Insecurity: Why Big Money, Fences and Drones Aren’t Making Us Safer,” discusses the increase in violence and armed conflicts that point to an unstable security situation as the US tries to secure its borders.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Perceived Western Weakness is Strengthening Putin’s Attempts to Regain Supremacy Over Post-Soviet Territories

Donate Now
Secure Freedom Radio is made possible by listeners like you.

With Fred Fleitz, Ilan Berman, John Bolton, Bill Gertz

FRED FLEITZ, a Center for Security Policy senior fellow, dissects the allegations recently made by Senator Feinstein that the CIA has been spying on the Senate Intelligence Committee.

ILAN BERMAN, of the American Foreign Policy Council, examines the Ukraine crisis as Vladmir Putin’s attempt at reinterpreting Russia’s borders, with the ultimate end goal being “to encompass [Ukraine] and erode their sovereignty.”

Former US Ambassador to the UN JOHN BOLTON discusses Vladimir Putin’s attempts to reestablish hegemony over the territory comprising the former Soviet Union, and argues that he is encouraged by perceived American and European weakness.
Washington Times and Washington Free Beacon columnist BILL GERTZ reports on the Chinese apparently having been successful in copying the American F-35 to create their own stealth fighter, the J-20; the Russian use of cyber warfare in Ukraine; and the US hold on sending military equipment to the Egyptian government.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Putin’s New Cold War, “Version 2.0”

Donate Now
Secure Freedom Radio is made possible by listeners like you.

With John Wohlstetter, Peter Pham, Bill Gertz, Diana West

JOHN WOHLSTETTER, of the Discovery Institute, sheds light on the motives behind the government crackdown in Ukraine and points towards what he calls “The Cold War, Version 2.0,” instigated by Russia’s Putin.

J. PETER PHAM, director of the Atlantic Council’s Africa Center, follows the spread of radical jihadists from one conflict to another in Africa. In particular, he looks at fighters returning from Syria to their countries of origin in North Africa, the fighting in South Sudan, and the possibility that Islamists will intervene in the Central African Republic to prevent the ethnic cleansing of Muslims there.

BILL GERTZ, of the Washington Free Beacon, looks at a report by the Center for Naval Analysis that offers predictions on what will happen in Afghanistan and to the Taliban once all the American troops stationed there depart.

DIANA WEST, author of “American Betrayal,” discusses what the “Hillary Papers” say about the politics of the former First Lady and Secretary of State.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS