2012-04

Space Shuttle's Final Flight

This is Frank Gaffney with the Secure Freedom Minute.
Today’s final flight of the Space Shuttle Discovery over Washington, DC enroute to its retirement at the Smithsonian is an occasion to reflect on the future of U.S. space activity, not just its storied past.
Currently, America must rely on Russia to get people into space. Our private sector may ultimately provide an alternative, but for now, our astronauts are grounded unless Vladimir Putin gives us a lift.
Deep space exploration is supposedly the new objective. Yet, the Obama administration has combined that distant goal with funding cuts and massive layoffs, making its achievement problematic. Worse, the President told the NASA Administrator that his foremost mission is “to help Muslim nations feel good about their historic contribution to science.” He should, instead, be ensuring that ours goes forward robustly in space.
This is Frank Gaffney with the Secure Freedom Minute. Learn more at SecureFreedomRadio.com.

Iran Talks

This is Frank Gaffney with the Secure Freedom Minute.
The latest negotiations concerning Iran’s nuclear weapons program is to be followed by yet another round in late May. Not surprisingly, the Iranian regime is calling these talks “a success.”
That’s a clue that all this diplomacy will wind up precisely where it has to date: With the mullahs buying time to complete their longstanding bid to get the Bomb.
Israel is reportedly about to strike Iran. If true, it’s deeply regrettable that such early warning is being given to the Iranians. But the prospect that the Obama administration has every intention of allowing the Iranians to run the clock out leaves the Israelis with no choice but to attack if they are to stave off an existential threat to their people. We should be helping them do that, not helping the mullahs.
This is Frank Gaffney with the Secure Freedom Minute. Learn more at SecureFreedomRadio.com.

North Korea Missile Test

This is Frank Gaffney with the Secure Freedom Minute.
The North Korean missile that failed today was a blow to that country’s newly installed dictator, Kim Jong-Un.  This debacle could, with our help, contribute to the downfall of his regime.
The Obama administration has taken, at least for the moment, a first step. It couldn’t very well go forward with the gift of a quarter-million tons of food aid that had been predicated on the North Koreans suspending such tests.  Left to its own devices, though, Team Obama will surely try to resume that initiative once the dust settles.
It’s time to end this charade.  Perpetuating the Kim dynasty will only ensure that the threat continues to grow.  Let’s make it our goal to free the North Korean people from the government that enslaves, tortures and starves them and endangers us.
This is Frank Gaffney with the Secure Freedom Minute.  Learn more at SecureFreedomRadio.com.

Summit of the Americas

This is Frank Gaffney with the Secure Freedom Minute.
The Summit of the Americas in Colombia this week will showcase the extraordinary turn-around of that nation from one afflicted with narco-trafficking revolutionaries and a depressed economy to a rising star in the Western hemisphere.
That transformation is due largely to the visionary leadership of former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe. It’s also a testament to what can be done when the United States plays an engaged and generous role, as was done under Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.
We are not playing such a role in countering another threat to the region: the impending death to cancer of Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez and his likely succession by still-worse narco-generals. The Colombian summit would be a good place for President Obama to demonstrate anew America’s commitment to freedom in our front-yard.
This is Frank Gaffney with the Secure Freedom Minute. Learn more at SecureFreedomRadio.com.

Chinese Drama

This is Frank Gaffney with the Secure Freedom Minute.
Chinese politics are undergoing an extraordinary public turmoil amidst a transition to a new generation of leaders. It appears to reflect struggles between those who have been in charge for decades and a faction currying support among the countless millions in China yet to benefit from the country’s economic miracle.
Their champion, a regional party chief whose populism was a throwback to the hardline policies of modern China’s founder, Mao Tse Tung, has recently been purged. That may not end the ferment, though.
The big question is: What role will the Chinese military play in sorting out the future leadership and what price will it extract? Might it be more money for weapons and more latitude to act aggressively – at our expense and that of our allies in Asia and perhaps elsewhere?
This is Frank Gaffney with the Secure Freedom Minute. Learn more at SecureFreedomRadio.com.

Denying The Right To Freedom Of The Press

This is Frank Gaffney with the Secure Freedom Minute.
Some scientists object to an Obama administration decision that would bar publication of scientific papers detailing how the so-called bird flu virus could be genetically altered in ways that could make it even more contagious among humans – and, therefore, far more deadly.
Critics say the effect will be to deny the international community knowledge that, in the right hands, could save lives. There is, however, no way to ensure such knowledge would be confined to the right hands – let alone stay there.
And if states interested in biological warfare or terrorists were able to acquire this sort of information, a catastrophic pandemic could be unleashed. This case is a reminder of why the U.S. needs effective export controls and should exercise great care when it comes to relaxing, let alone eliminating, them.
This is Frank Gaffney with the Secure Freedom Minute. Learn more at SecureFreedomRadio.com.