Tag Archives: Bill Gertz

What the U.S. Is Missing Out On By Trying Abu Ghayth in New York

With Emily Dyer, Fred Grandy, Jose Cardenas, and Bill Gertz.

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.”

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Sequestration Has Just Arrived, But Our Soldiers’ Lives Are Already in Danger

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.

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No, Obama, Israel is Not the Cause of All Conflict in the Middle East

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, Former Israeli ambassador YORAM ETTINGER 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.

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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.

Why Obama’s Cybersecurity Executive Order Won’t Work

With Fred Grandy, Rep. Mike Turner, James Woolsey, Bill Gertz.

FRED GRANDY of the Center for Security Policy reflects on yesterday’s Senate filibuster of Chuck Hagel, and gives his reasoning for why Hagel is likely to be confirmed in the end–even despite the video from Rutgers that has just come to light.

Congressman MIKE TURNER of Ohio discusses the ever-looming threat of sequestration, as well as the State of the Union Address, which Turner says would have included talk of a scaling-back of our nuclear force, if not for the North Korean nuclear test that had just occurred.

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Former CIA Director JAMES WOOLSEY points out that one of the major problems with the Obama administration’s approach to foreign policy and national security is refusing to accept the idea that religion can promote violence.

Washington Times reporter BILL GERTZ discusses President Obama’s new cybersecurity executive order, and expresses his relief that the administration has finally realized that the United States is basically fighting a low level, covert war, even though the order itself is unlikely to prove much of a help.

Defense Cuts Hit Home: Strategic, Economic, and Personal Consequences

With Dan Goure, Fred Grandy, Douglas Murray, Bill Gertz.

In the current meme, the devastating effects of defense cuts on both the economy and the ability of the U.S. military to create stability abroad are attributed to looming sequestration.  In the political battle space, the administration generally succeeds in directing attention toward Congress.  However, the under-reported impact on global stability, the U.S. economy, and in the lives of our service men and women and their industrial support base began in the beginning of the Obama administration when then Secretary Bill Gates was ordered to find $100 billion in savings from DoD.  Those first self-inflicted cuts combined with the uncertainty of a President whose rhetoric assumes that U.S. power is a cause of instability have been hurting American families for some time.  The effects on budgets and planning by the looming sequestration for the military is more like a knock-out punch than an opening salvo.

On today’s Secure Freedom Radio, Vice President of the Lexington Institute DAN GOURE gives an in-depth explanation of how sequestration cuts will hurt the United States’ military and create a cycle in which our inability to replenish our forces will embolden our enemies, whom we will then be unprepared to confront.

DOUGLAS MURRAY, Associate Director of the Henry Jackson Center, talks with Frank about the assassination attempt against Lars Hedegaard, which he considers an “appalling attempt” to stop our freedom of expression. Yet, as Murray points out, the usual defenders of free speech are not speaking out about the incident–rather, some feel that perhaps Hedegaard simply shouldn’t have said anything in the first place.

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Former Congressman FRED GRANDY offers up his opinions on the spurious excuses made in yesterday’s hearing on the Benghazi attack. Why, for instance, couldn’t F-16s been used to disperse the crowd simply by flying overhead?

Washington Times national security editor BILL GERTZ explains his theory that CIA personnel were in Benghazi to begin with because of a proposed plan to arm Syrian rebels, which President Obama ended up rejecting. Gertz also expresses his frustration that so much of the John Brennan hearing was focused on drones, when the bigger issue is Brennan’s refusal to identify Islamist extremists as the enemy.

Inside Source: Israel and its allies may have destroyed Iran’s Fordow nuclear facility

With Fred Grandy, Adam Kredo, Reza Kahlili, and Bill Gertz.

FRED GRANDY of the Center for Security Policy, deconstructs the recent Benghazi hearing and criticizes the Senate Republicans for coming ill-prepared. Fred and Frank agree that Clinton’s “what difference does it make” comment was almost certainly planned, and Republicans should have expected such an outburst.

The Washington Free Beacon’s ADAM KREDO questions how anyone could believe the claims Secretary of Defense nominee Chuck Hagel is making now about his supposed beliefs. After all, Kredo points out, Hagel suddenly “apparently holds none of the positions he’s held for the past twenty-plus years”. Kredo and Frank also discuss Obama’s continued insistence in sending arms to the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, even though the agreement was made with a government that no longer exists.

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REZA KAHLILI, a former CIA agent within the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, describes to Frank an inside source’s account of a recent covert operation directed against Iran–an attack on its nuclear facility in Fordow. According to Kahlili, certain Western countries and Israel are most likely behind the mission, since there have been strong rumors as of late that they were preparing for such an operation. Kahlili predicts that Iran, having gathered the same information itself, is likely to strike back at Israel through Hezbollah. The fact that Iran has mastered multiple chemical agents, including smallpox and anthrax, makes its likely attempt at retaliation all the more concerning.

BILL GERTZ, columnist at The Washington Times, takes a look at the decision made Wednesday to allow women into positions of direct combat within the military. This attempt at social engineering is problematic, he insists, because the United States military’s purpose is not one of job creation or equal opportunity workplaces–it is about fighting wars, and winning. Gertz also discusses newly uncovered evidence that points to China creating a rail system for the ICBM’s, with which it will be able to both transport and launch it’s missiles.

Terrorists on Twitter

With Fred Grandy, Fred Fleitz, David Brog, and Bill Gertz.

FRED GRANDY of the Center for Security Policy talks about House Speaker Boehner’s failed “Plan B” idea to prevent the fiscal cliff, and the way in which many conservatives spoke out against it and its supporters–including Grover Norquist. Fred also discusses the need for a Watergate-style committee to conduct a thorough and reliable investigation into the 9/11 attack in Benghazi.

Lignet.com’s managing editor FRED FLEITZ talks about the problems of the “accountability” review, as well as the influence that Cuba had on whom Hugo Chavez chose as a successor.

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DAVID BROG, executive director of Christians United for Israel, asks the questions that need asking: Why is terrorist organization Hamas allowed to have a Twitter account? Why can the Ayatollah Ali Khomeini, a terrorist affiliate,  have a Facebook? Why is the U.S. continuing to send military aid to Egypt when no one is threatening it?

BILL GERTZ of the Washington Free Beacon points out the Obama administration’s rule-breaking in encouraging companies to not abide by the WARN Act in the face of sequestration, and the legacy of retiring Senator Jon Kyl.

Balancing National Defense Interests and Press Freedom

National Security reporting saw a long lull during the Clinton ‘peace dividend’ and relatively stable period of international affairs during the 1990s.  Since the demand for foreign reporters dropped, so did the availability of education for these journalists. After the attacks of September 11th, national security reporting was once again pushed to the forefront of media attention, and a new generation of editors, reporters and producers found themselves struggling with these issues.

With constant dangers to American security and instability in the world such as the war on terror, nuclear arms proliferation and arms control, the growing threat posed by the People’s Republic of China, and Russia’s gradual reversion into an anti-democratic state the need is as acute as ever for solid reporting on these issues.

In response, the Center for Security Policy has established the National Security and New Media Journalism Project.  Few reporters today have the background, expertise and understanding of critical national security issues required to report effectively on the subject. Worse, the Center noticed signs of increasing bias among journalists who often promote value-neutral and politically-correct news that is undermining the American system of government while ill-serving both American and foreign publics.

The goal of the Project is to focus the debate on these trends in news reporting, and work towards new standards for accuracy and integrity in national security journalism.

One of the main ways the Project confronts these trends is to hold periodic conferences and seminars.  The first conference was held after the Mightier Pen Award Ceremony this past December and included Sara Carter, David Feith, Roger Simon, and Andrew Breitbart among others.

“Balancing National Defense Interests and Press Freedom” was a panel discussion co-sponsored by the Center for Security Policy’s new National Security and New Media Journalism Project and the Kirby Center for Constitutional Studies and Citizenship of Hillsdale College in Washington, D.C.

Participants include: George Little, Director of public affairs, CIA; Brian J. Kelley, retired career CIA counterintelligence officer; R. James Woolsey, Chairman, Foundation for Defense of Democracies, former Director of Central Intelligence; Bill Gertz, national security editor, columnist, The Washington Times; Stephen Hayes, senior writer, The Weekly Standard; Catherine Herridge, Fox national correspondent and author, The Next Wave; Jamie McIntyre, host, Line of Departure military blog, former CNN Pentagon correspondent. Moderator: Frank J Gaffney, Jr. Introduction by: David Bobb, Director of the Allan P. Kirby, Jr. Center for Constitutional Studies and Citizenship

 

2010 Mightier Pen Award: Dick Morris

Today the Center for Security Policy released video of its recent event in New York, the Mightier Pen and National Security and New Media Conference, on its Youtube channel, youtube.com/securefreedom.

Authors Dick Morris and Eileen McGann received the Center for Security Policy’s Mightier Pen Award in New York, for their strong and passionate voice in supporting “peace through strength.”

Morris, who accepted the award on behalf of his collaborator, spoke at length in a freewheeling and casual appraisal of today’s political landscape. He began by pronouncing a simple verdict:”This administration is pathetic.”

Though primarily known for his outspoken views on domestic policy and electoral politics, each of Dick Morris’ many best-sellers deal with America’s national security concerns and threats to the homeland. In his comments– and the informal Q&A that followed– Morris spoke about Obama’s weakness on the world stage, Shariah law in the US, the 2012 GOP Presidential contenders, gave a tour of the tide of domestic politics, did a Winston Churchill impression, and more.

At the same event, the Center’s first National Security and New Media Conference addressed several problems in mainstream media reporting on national security topics, including: the sheer neglect of national security journalism; lack of education on national security and military topics in journalism training; inaccurate reporting on military issues and anti-western bias; reduced budgets that have eliminated foreign and Washington correspondents; and the acceptance of foreign propaganda as news.

 

Blaming America: Political Correctness and Anti-Military Bias in National Security Reporting

The first panel, “Blaming America: Political Correctness and Anti-Military Bias in National Security Reporting,” featured veteran Washington Times Geopolitics Editor Bill Gertz, the Washington Examiner‘s Sara Carter, and David Feith of the Wall Street Journal‘s editorial page. The focus was on the effect of the mainstream media’s narrative when it comes to putting America’s national security in context, it’s common biases, and how that narrative plays out, story after story.

National Security Reporting Reinvented: Tomorrow’s New Reporters, Media & Audiences

The next panel dealt with emerging issues in New Media in the context of improved national security reporting, including the embed “rules of engagement” for New Media journalists and military bloggers, professional standards for reporting national security, protection of journalists from “Lawfare” and international libel suits, the risks and benefits of non-professional citizen journalists, and the New Media roles for editors and publishers.

For that panel, two new media giants–Pajamas Media CEO Roger L. Simon and Andrew Breitbart–joined the Center for Security Policy’s Frank Gaffney for a panel to discuss, “National Security Reporting Reinvented: Tomorrow’s New Reporters, Media & Audiences.” Here, the participants shared their experiences in creating a new kind of reporting, both more egalitarian and openly patriotic.