Loading summary
Transcript95 lines
- [00:00]
Spinquest Social Casino Announcer
This is an iHeart podcast guaranteed human.
- [00:05]
Rabbi Pesach Wolicki
Spinquest social casino the presents are open and you're over the in laws.
- [00:10]
Spinquest Social Casino Announcer
It's a perfect time to grab your phone and play spinquest.com with live dealer.
- [00:16]
Rabbi Pesach Wolicki
Blackjack, craps and a ton of slots. And here's a great deal for the holiday. A $30 coin pack for $10. And if you're hearing this ad you.
- [00:26]
Spinquest Social Casino Announcer
You can play right now on spinquest.com.
- [00:29]
America's Christian Credit Union Announcer
Spinquest is a free to play social casino. Visit spinquest.com for more details.
- [00:34]
Rabbi Pesach Wolicki
Hey Ryan Reynolds here wishing you a.
- [00:36]
Frank Afney
Very happy half off holiday because right.
- [00:39]
America's Christian Credit Union Announcer
Now Mint Mobile is offering you the.
- [00:41]
Frank Afney
Gift of 50% off unlimited.
- [00:43]
Rabbi Pesach Wolicki
To be clear, that's half price, not half the service. Mint is still premium unlimited wireless for a great price.
- [00:51]
Spinquest Social Casino Announcer
So that means a half day.
- [00:54]
America's Christian Credit Union Announcer
Yeah, give it a try@mintmobile.com Switch payment.
- [00:58]
Spinquest Social Casino Announcer
Of $45 for three month plan equivalent.
- [00:59]
Captain James Fennell
To $15 per month required New customer.
- [01:01]
Spinquest Social Casino Announcer
Offer for first three months only. Speed slow 135 gigabytes of network busy taxes and fees Extra CMN AI agents.
- [01:06]
America's Christian Credit Union Announcer
Are everywhere, automating tasks and making decisions at machine speed. But agents make mistakes. Just one rogue agent can do big damage before you even notice. Rubrik Agent Cloud is the only platform that helps you monitor agents, set guardrails and rewind mistakes so you can unleash agents, not risk. Accelerate your AI transformation@rubrik.com that's R U B R-I K.com America's Christian Credit Union Stands firm in faith, serves the community and delivers top financial services with Elite Checking. Earn up to 4% APY on balances under $15,000. Get paid early, enjoy loan discounts and more because at Accu your money should reflect your mission. Visit americaschristiancu.com elite to learn more. Early pay depends on when your employer sends your paycheck. We can't guarantee early direct deposit APY equals annual percentage yield. America's Christian Credit Union is federally insured by the ncua.
- [02:06]
If your appliances can't handle the holiday hosting heat, December deal drops at Lowe's makes upgrading easy. Get up to 35% off select major appliances and rewards members save an additional $40 on the whirlpool Electric range and the over the range microwave. Plus get up to 60% off select ladders so you can deck all the halls. Lowes we help you save valid through 1210 while supplies last Selection varies by location Loyalty program subject to terms and conditions. Seelows.com terms for details.
- [02:54]
Kerrygold Butter Announcer
Foreign.
- [03:00]
Frank Afney
Welcome to Securing America with me, Frank Afney, the program that's a kind of owner's manual for protecting the country we love against all enemies, foreign and domestic, to the glory of God and his kingdom. We're going to talk about an important part of the kingdom that would be the Holy Land, what is happening there and what it means in terms of the vital interests of the United States, not just of Israel. Before we do, I want to give you a little bit of context about the problem as I see it for both Israel and the United States, and for that matter, the free world more generally. It's not every day that the American people can have a direct input into the making of decisions that can critically affect the national and homeland security of the United States. Today is such a day. During a VictoryCo.org briefing at 1pm Eastern Time, we'll launch a new Align act campaign that enables the public to communicate to President Trump the necessity of stripping out and removing the support networks of radical Islam in this country. Donald Trump promised to do just that on August 15, 2016, when, as the Republican nominee for president, he pledged to take numerous steps to counter radical Islam's ideology, known as Sharia, in America. The prime mover behind such sharia supremacism here is the Muslim Brotherhood, a group he's considering designating as a terrorist organization. Join us in supporting President Trump in doing so@ban the brotherhood.org well, those are my thoughts. For more of them, follow me at xrankafney and@usfuture.org the homepage of our Institute for the American Future that makes possible any number of important programs, including this one. I encourage you to support us there and thereby make this program possible.
- [05:05]
Our guest for the next three segments, I'm very pleased to say, is a dear friend as well as an esteemed colleague. I consider him to be quite possibly the best information warfare operative in the free world today. He runs an outfit called Israel365Action. You can find there some terrific videos and other content that our friend Rabbi Pesek Wolicki generates seemingly daily. We are proud to partner with him and Israel365 action on many of the programs of our Victory Coalition, which is helping to make possible that ban the brotherhood.org project. We look forward always to conversations with him and especially when he's able to give us an extended time for that conversation. It's a special banner day here at Securing America, that's for sure. Rabbi, welcome back. It's so good to have you with us.
- [06:08]
Rabbi Pesach Wolicki
Great to be with you, Frank.
- [06:11]
Frank Afney
You, among other things, make These videos. You are a podcaster at Shoulder to Shoulder. You are a columnist with the Jerusalem Post. You are a man of many parts, in short. And I wanted to visit with you about this business of the Muslim Brotherhood. You know well in Israel what the Brotherhood is about. You confront it within your own boundaries and in the adjacent areas. Of course, Hamas is the Palestinian franchise of the Muslim Brotherhood.
- [06:44]
Turkey, Qatar and others, Egypt, have various degrees of relations with these guys. All of them share the Sharia supremacist agenda of not simply destroying Israel, or for that matter, Israel and the United States, but destroying Western civilization writ large. Is that right?
- [07:12]
Rabbi Pesach Wolicki
Oh, it's absolutely right. And, you know, but the geopolitical implications of the Muslim Brotherhood's activities also have everything to do with destabilizing.
- [07:26]
Arab regimes in the Middle east, meaning what we might call moderate. I don't want to get into the ideology or the pragmatism of various Arab regimes, but just in terms of in the short term.
- [07:41]
The Muslim Brotherhood believes that any secular regime, any government, even when we look at an Arab government, a Muslim government, any government that is not part of an Islamic caliphate, is illegitimate. And that is why in Egypt, in Saudi Arabia, in Jordan, in the United Arab Emirates, and the list goes on, the Muslim Brotherhood are designated as a terrorist organization. And the absurdity that we're looking at right now is that the president of the United States issues this directive, but isn't really, as you said in your opening, the president has not banned the Muslim Brotherhood. That was the way they put it out in the media. And I saw like, you know, some sort of victory lap by some of the people in the administration saying they banned the Muslim Brotherhood. And, you know, that that hasn't happened yet. They're considering it. And that's why the work that you're doing with the ban the Brotherhood initiative is so critical, because we don't know what direction this is going to go in. But the absurdity that we're saying is that on the one hand, President Trump is deeply in bed with the Qataris especially, but also with Erdogan and the Turks, who really are the home base, the funding apparatus and the political clout behind the Muslim Brotherhood. And yet at the same time, he's talking about possibly banning them when in the Middle east countries that in their current policy approach are seeking peaceful engagement and economic engagement in a peaceful way with the west and want to rid the Middle east of this type of terrorism. Countries like Saudi Arabia, the Emirates and some others are being marginalized. And, you know, the whole Thing is such a mess. And when we talk about Muslim Brotherhood countries at this point, we have to include Syria. The current terrorist turned statesman, Ahmed Ashara or Muhammad Al Julani, whichever name you prefer, is the former head of hts, which is a terrorist organization. He, he's an alumnus of both ISIS and Al Qaeda and he is a proxy of Erdogan in Turkey. He really is. This really was a Muslim Brotherhood takeover of Syria. So as you said, in Israel, we're dealing with it on all fronts. Hamas, Hamas original name was simply the Muslim Brotherhood Gaza branch back in the, you know, in the late 70s when they were first initially founded, that's what they were founded as.
- [10:10]
Frank Afney
And there are some who say.
- [10:15]
And again, you've seen up close and personally how the Brotherhood adapts to certain environments.
- [10:27]
That they're not really terrorists, that they, that they eschew violence, in fact, and that they seek, yes, to bring about Sharia. But, you know, they, they want to do it peacefully. They want, for example, to win elections and thereby bring into countries where Sharia is not the law of the land, it as the governing structure. You know, the, the doctrine, including in this country. By the way, how do you respond to that claim that.
- [11:03]
Well, notwithstanding what you just said about who has been all about violence throughout his life, I mean, Al Qaeda and ISIS are places that he actually was a leader. But what are, what are your thoughts on this proposition that.
- [11:21]
We shouldn't treat them as terrorists because they're, they're actually a shoe violence, as I say.
- [11:28]
Rabbi Pesach Wolicki
Well, I would say that you just have to educate yourself about Islam. They are faithful followers of Muhammad and Muhammad did the exact same thing. The doctrine of Islam, and it's right there in the Quran, the stories and in the Hadith is based on the life of Muhammad, is that until you have the power to take over, you, you, you use relationships, diplomatic relationships, to act peacefully with, with the, with the nation or the state or the city that you're trying to take over. And once you have the power to take over and implement Sharia law, you do. So the violence is not the goal. Violence is just a means in the jihadist takeover. So Israel is fighting the Muslim Brotherhood kinetically. That's what the war with Hamas and other enemies of Israel is. But in the Western world, they're simply taking over without firing a shot. Why should they get violent? If they can take over England and they can take over France and they can take over New York City, if they can take it over without firing a shot, why should they bother getting violent? But Islam is a political movement that seeks to impose Sharia law on the world. That's the Muslim Brotherhood's goal. And that's why they see. They see, you know, anything short of that as a capitulation to secular values. So, you know, that's why. And that is why, as I said previously, that's why they're also trying to topple Arab regimes that we think of as Islamic regimes, like, let's say, you know, the Egyptian government or the Saudi government. They view them as illegitimate because they're not sufficiently committed to one Islamic caliphate ruling the world.
- [13:17]
Frank Afney
I wanted to ask you about one other aspect of this in addition to using stealthy jihadist techniques to accomplish the same end. And I think it's. I think it's fair to say, and I don't know if you agree, that the preferred means of accomplishing the triumph of Islam is violence. I mean, that's Muhammad's, you know, teaching, and it's enshrined in Sharia. And, you know, jihad is about, you know, violence wherever practicable. But as you say, where it's not or where it might even be counterproductive, you. You do the other, whether it's through elections or subversion or what have you. But there's also this issue of material support for terrorism that is also a criminal activity. And we've had people tied to the Muslim Brotherhood, tied to Hamas and fundraising for it. For example, the Holy Land foundation, who have gone to jail for a hard time because they were, in fact providing financial underwriting to enable Hamas to operate. We have to take a short break, Rabbi. When we come back, I want to just add that into the mix again as to why we need to have the Muslim Brotherhood designated, why BanTheBrotherhood.org is the place to go to help do that. Be right back.
- [14:51]
Rabbi Pesach Wolicki
Spinquest Social Casino. The presents are open and you're over the in laws.
- [14:57]
Spinquest Social Casino Announcer
It's a perfect time to grab your phone and play spinquest.com with live dealer.
- [15:03]
Rabbi Pesach Wolicki
Blackjack, crafts and a ton of slots. And here's a great deal for the holiday. A $30 coin pack for $10. And if you're hearing this ad, you.
- [15:13]
Spinquest Social Casino Announcer
Can play right now on spinquest.com Spinquest.
- [15:16]
Rabbi Pesach Wolicki
Is a free to play social casino.
- [15:19]
America's Christian Credit Union Announcer
Visit spinquest.com for more details. Do you feel like your values are being challenged right now? It seems like our beliefs are constantly under fire. That's why it's important to partner with organizations that share your beliefs. America's Christian Credit Union is committed to standing firm in our faith, serving the community and bringing you the best financial services. Now, with their Elite Checking program, you can take your banking to a whole new level. With up to 4% APY on checking balances under $15,000, early pay, exclusive loan discounts, built in, cell phone protection, ID theft monitoring, everyday shopping discounts and more, ACCU works alongside Christians nationwide to advance God's work because your money should reflect your mission. Are you ready to bank with purpose? Visit americaschristiancu.com elite to learn more and make the switch. Early pay depends on when your employer sends your paycheck. We can't guarantee early direct deposit. APY equals annual percentage yield. America's Christian Credit Union is federally insured by the NCUA.
- [16:19]
Kerrygold Butter Announcer
As the holidays approach, it's time to return to the classics. Flaky pie crusts, perfectly browned butter and cookies with just the right texture and one ingredient you cannot compromise on is Kerrygold butter. Kerrygold butter is crafted with milk from grass fed cows that graze on lush green pastures across family farms in Ireland. The result? A rich, creamy butter with a high butter fat content that elevates every recipe. Whether you're making signature shortbread or browning butter for a nutty depth in your pecan pie, Kerrygold makes all the difference. The flavor is unmatched and the texture it brings to baked goods is simply divine. So this holiday season, if you're baking for loved ones or just for yourself, reach for Kerrygold. It's the butter of choice. And your pies, your cookies and your cakes will thank you.
- [17:18]
Spinquest Social Casino Announcer
Run a business and not thinking about radio, Think again. Cause more people are listening to the radio and iHeart today than they were 20 years ago. And only iHeart broadcast radio connects with more Americans than TV, TV, digital, social, any other media, even twice as many teens than TikTok. And that reach means everything. Just think about the universal marketing formula. The number of consumers who hear your message times the response rate equals the results. Now let's get those results growing for your business. Radio's here now more than ever. And iheart's leading the way. Think radio can help your business. Think iheart streaming, podcasting and radio where the reach is real. Let us show you@iheartadvertising.com that's iheartadvertising.com or call 844-844-Iheart one more time. Just call 844-844-iheart and get radio.
- [18:24]
Kerrygold Butter Announcer
Foreign.
- [18:27]
Frank Afney
We're back. So is Rabbi Pesach Wolicki, the executive director of Israel 365 Action. A man of considerable accomplishment in multimedia and a very, very serious student of the affairs of the Middle east that are currently characterized by an awful lot of jihadism aimed at destroying not just the state of Israel or for that matter, us, but Western civilization more generally. Rabbi, I wanted to talk about one aspect of this question of designating the Muslim Brotherhood. As I mentioned in the last block, there are some who cavil about, well, they don't really favor violence. They do when it serves their purposes and they will use other means when it doesn't. But throughout, one thing that I believe it is accurate to say is the Muslim Brotherhood is in the business of providing material support for terrorism, which in our country is also a felonious activity. Is that correct in your experience, not only in the Middle east where you live, but also here in the United States, sir?
- [19:44]
Rabbi Pesach Wolicki
Almost certainly. I mean, you have organizations, prominent organizations in America like, like cair, the Council for American Islamic Relations, who, who funnel money through the Muslim Brotherhood networks that go to terrorist organizations. There's no, you know, there's no doubt about that. And that's why they were an unindicted co conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation's investigations. No one, you know, few people know more about that than you do, Frank. The, you know, the funding for Americans need to realize this. The funding for these terrorist groups in the Middle east in, and, and the, and, and in North Africa, the ones who are slaughtering Christians, a lot of their funding is coming from 501C3s from nonprofit organizations in the United States of America. And, you know, so shutting down the Muslim, you know, designated the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization is going to have to include designating a whole boatload of nonprofit organizations, 501C3s, as funders of terrorism. And that means that this is, this is going to have to involve the irs. And you know, that's, that's a critical component of what's going to have to happen going forward. Frank, I cannot say enough about how important it is to have a specific initiative ban the Brotherhood. Because in the days and weeks ahead as this, you know, as the Trump administration starts to decide how they're actually going to implement this, we have to know that the other side, the Qataris, the Turks, whoever else is whoever, and these organizations like the Council on Islamic American Islamic Relations and others, are working very hard on the administration to make sure that this, that these actions have the, are as weak as possible, that they have no teeth. And if we're not organized on our side, we're going to end up, you know, with something purely performative. And that's not actually going to prevent American dollars from going overseas and funding actual Islamic terrorism that seeks to destroy the West. And, you know, I think it's going to be interesting to see how far they go with this. You have a network, Al Jazeera, that is on every, on every cable provider in the United States, which is a mouthpiece for the Muslim Brotherhood. It's being broadcast into people's homes. And you know, and that's really the, you know, the, the pessimistic side of this whole thing is that no matter what the Trump administration does, the chances that they will actually ban the most dangerous parts of the Muslim Brotherhood to American security are very slim because the most dangerous components of the Muslim Brotherhood to America are the Qatari and Turkish arms. And the Qataris pour billions of dollars into American universities. They pour billions of dollars into influence operations, into purchasing people of very high status in the US Administration.
- [22:45]
And of.
- [22:45]
Frank Afney
Course, and in the conservative movement for sure.
- [22:49]
Rabbi Pesach Wolicki
So the chances that those get sanctioned as well and those get designated as terrorist organizations or that their obvious connection to the Muslim Brotherhood is, is, is, is made a part of this conversation are very slim. And, and that means that this problem will persist no matter what we end up with. So I would say it's a start, it's something at least it's putting it in the public consciousness that the Muslim Brotherhood is a problem. And that's a step forward, I guess. But Frank, let's be clear eyed about this at the same time as, as, as President Trump is pressuring Israel, openly pressuring Israel to accept Turkish troops on the ground in Gaza as an, ostensibly as a peacekeeping or stabilization force. At the same time as he's doing that, he's talking about banning the Muslim Brotherhood. This, there is a, either willful blindness or a startling naivete going on regarding who the Muslim Brotherhood is in the world today. And you know, so, and that's, that's something we should also talk about. Frank, we should talk about this upcoming Netanyahu visit to Washington. What precipitated it and what to expect to come from that, because it's all.
- [24:08]
Frank Afney
That'S going to be the next topic.
- [24:10]
America's Christian Credit Union Announcer
Great.
- [24:10]
Frank Afney
On the other side of the break. But let me, let me just respond to what you've just said, Rabbi, because I think it's really vital that people understand just how high the stakes are in this debate. And we need to stimulate a debate that's the purpose of ban the brotherhood.org is to give you an opportunity to weigh in with the president and with your elected officials.
- [24:35]
In opposition to this, well, jihadist terrorist, criminal enterprise, doing business as the Muslim Brotherhood and various front groups, as you've mentioned, the Council on American Islamic Relations, notably so notorious that Governor Greg Abbott actually designated them as a terrorist organization and a transnational criminal one as well.
- [25:05]
My point to our audience is this. Win, lose or draw, we have to have a real national reckoning about whether we're going to tolerate, whether it's under the guise of the Turks or the Qataris or the Brotherhood or others, the further Islamification of our country, the inexorable insertion here of Sharia, the subversion of our constitutional republic, which is absolutely in the crosshairs of all of these Sharia supremacists, or whether we're going to take the sorts of steps that, starting with banning the Muslim Brotherhood, will spare our country the fate that Europe seems now more and more likely to be consigned to and to the great detriment of its people, obviously, but also the free world. We'll pick up on this point on the other side of the short break. Please stay tuned with us.
- [26:19]
America's Christian Credit Union Announcer
America's Christian Credit Union stands firm in faith, serves the community and delivers top financial services with elite Checking. Earn up to 4% APY on balances under $15,000. Get paid early, enjoy loan discounts and more because at Accu, your money should reflect your mission. Visit AmericasChristianCu.com Elite to learn more. Early pay depends on when your employer sends your paycheck. We can't guarantee early direct deposit APY equals annual percentage yield. America's Christian Credit Union is federally insured by the ncua.
- [26:49]
Kerrygold Butter Announcer
As the holidays approach, it's time to return to the classics. Flaky pie crusts, perfectly browned butter and cookies with just the right texture. And one ingredient you cannot compromise on is Kerrygold butter. Kerrygold butter is crafted with milk from grass fed cows that graze on lush green pastures across family farms in Ireland. The result? A rich, creamy butter with a high butter fat content that elevates every recipe. Whether you're making signature shortbread or browning butter for a nutty depth in your pecan pie, Kerrygold makes all the difference. The flavor is unmatched and the texture it brings to baked goods is simply divine. So this holiday season, if you're baking for loved ones or just for yourself, reach for Kerrygold. It's the butter of choice. And your pies, your cookies and your cakes will thank you.
- [27:47]
Spinquest Social Casino Announcer
Run a business and not thinking about podcasting, Think again. More Americans listen to podcasts than ad supported streaming music from Spotify and Pandora. And as the number one podcaster, iHeart's twice as large as the next two combined. So whatever your customers are into true crime, sports, comedy, culture, they'll hear your message. Plus, only iHeart can extend your message to audiences across broadcast radio. And all this reach means everything. Just think about the universal marketing formula. The number of consumers who hear your message times the response rate equals the results. Now let's get those results growing for you. Think podcasting can help your business? Think iHeart streaming radio and podcasting. Let us show you@iheartadvertising.com that's iheartadvertising.com or call 844-844 iHeart. One more time, call 844-844-IHEART and get podcasting working.
- [28:57]
Frank Afney
Welcome back to our third and final installment of our interview with Rabbi Pesek Wallicki, the executive director of marvelous organization based in Israel, Israel365Action. You can find it there at I believe, israel365action.org and excuse me.com and you can check out an incredible library now of videos, including a brand new one that addresses what is going wrong with American policy towards Israel and how it might be righted. A topic that is absolutely of surpassing importance given the imminent return for the fifth time of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Washington to meet with the President and others since Donald Trump returned to the White House. And Rabbi, I wanted you to say a few words about both the upcoming meeting which has been hastily arranged as I understand it, as well as your insights captured in this short video.
- [30:11]
Rabbi Pesach Wolicki
Yeah, so this, this meeting came about in the wake of airstrikes that Israel carried out over week ago against some terrorist strongholds in the south of Syria, pretty close to the Israeli border, because ever since the Assad regime fell and Israel moved into a buffer zone in southern Syria in order to protect the Druze villages there who were being massacred by jihadist terrorists who are aligned with the new regime and also to protect Israel from attack. Because if a country is being taken over by isis, Al Qaeda, Muslim Brotherhood aligned terrorists, Israel wants to make sure that it's secure. So Israel took a buffer zone and there's this town near there where terrorists were rebuilding their infrastructure and Israel went in there to arrest a few terrorists who were planning attacks on Israel. It turned into a gunfight and eventually airstrikes. And President Trump then put out a truth social post, a tweet criticizing Israel urging Israel to restrain itself and once again re emphasizing his support and his satisfaction with the behavior of Ahmed Ashara, this jihadist turned statesman who's now the head of, who's now the president of Syria. And then he called Prime Minister Netanyahu and summoned him to Washington. So the way it played in media, media was that this has everything to do with Syria. But just the other day, it was reported here in Israel on Channel 14 by Tamir Morag, who's one of the most well informed, one of the most connected diplomatic correspondents in Israel. He reported more details about the conversation between President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu, which I don't believe has made it to Western media yet, that apparently in that conversation, President Trump further pressured Prime Minister Netanyahu to accept Turkish troops as part of the international stabilization force in the Gaza Strip. Because Prime Minister Netanyahu has been adamant, and he was adamant again on that phone call saying that he we will not allow any Turkish troops on the ground. Now, what's fascinating about this is that all the other countries that were, that had pledged to be part of the international stabilization force, whether it was the Pakistanis or the Indonesians and the other countries that were talking about being involved in the reconstruction effort in Gaza, like the Saudis and the Emiratis and the Jordanians, have all been getting cold feet and messaging that they might not want to be a part of this, while at the same time, the Turks are all eager beavers. They want to get involved and be part of the international stabilization force. There's been reports in the media that they've actually, actually been, been.
- [32:57]
You know, urging President Trump to pressure the Israelis to allow them in. And, and that's really what they're going to be talking about in the Visit in Washington, D.C. but this is not a separate topic from the issue of Syria and the criticisms from the Trump administration against Israel for carrying out those airstrikes. Because as I mentioned earlier in an earlier segment here with you, we have to remember always that Ahmed Ashara, the new president of Syria, this jihadist, is a, is a Turkish proxy, his organization, his terrorist organization, hts, which toppled the Assad regime. It, it was funded and armed by the Turks. Ever since he took over, the Turks have been trying to rebuild Syrian military. They, they've been trying to rebuild Syrian air defenses that Israel took out just last month. Israel carried out airstrikes on a surface to air missile installation that the Turks were in the process of installing in Syria and Israel took it out. So what's happening now is that Prime Minister Netanyahu is going to go to Washington and President Trump is going to further pressure him to work with the Turks. Now, the reason the Turks want to get into Gaza is not because they want to be the ones to disarm Hamas, it's just the opposite. They want to get in there so they have a foothold on Israel's border. And if you think back to prior to October 7, where Israel had a threat on the northern border from Hezbollah and a southern border from Hamas, both of which were proxies of the Iranian regime, Erdogan wants to replace Iran and he wants to have his militias on the northern border because he controls Syria and he wants to be in the Gaza Strip. And if he could get Turkish troops on the ground in the Gaza Strip, ostensibly to stabilize the situation, he could also protect Hamas and have a foothold there. Now, of course, no one would go ahead and start attacking Israel while Trump is in office, because that could derail all their plans. We always have to remember that these dictators in the Middle east, they don't have to worry about elections every four years. They play a long game. And what Erdogan is trying to do is entrench his militias and his proxies on Israel's borders, build them up under peaceful circumstances, so to speak, until Trump is out of office, and then he's the new Iran threatening Israel on all sides. He's the new Islamic hegemon in the Middle East. That is what we are seeing here. And if the Trump administration does not wake up to the fact that the Turks and the Qataris, who are a partnership, are not part of the same camp, they're not part of the same group of nations states as the Emiratis, the Saudis, the Jordanians and the Egyptians, etc. If he doesn't wake up to what everyone in the region here knows, this will only end in disaster. You see, these Arab countries, even though they're adversaries, will always talk the talk of getting along with each other. And that's something that the Westerners don't get. The Trump administration is really going down a path that is going to lead to failure if they continue this love affair with the Turks and the Qatars.
- [36:06]
Frank Afney
Disastrous failure at that. And I think, Rabbi, just to put a fine point on what you said, what they are interested in doing is having their own troops on the ground. This isn't Iran and its proxies adjacent to Israel. They want Turkish forces. Those forces can be used against Israel if they are in Gaza. Make no mistake about it. Thank you for your time today, my friend, and your great expertise on all these matters. Thank you for israel365action.com keep up the great work. Come back to us again soon. Hope the rest of you do the same next time. Until then, go forth and multiply.
- [36:51]
America's Christian Credit Union Announcer
Do you feel like your values are being challenged right now? It seems like our beliefs are constantly under fire. That's why it's important to partner with organizations that share your beliefs. America's Christian Credit Union is committed to standing firm in our faith, serving the community and bringing you the best financial services. Now, with their elite checking program, you can take your banking to a whole new level with up to 4% AP APY on checking balances under $15,000, early pay, exclusive loan discounts, built in cell phone protection, ID theft monitoring, everyday shopping discounts and more. ACCU works alongside Christians nationwide to advance God's work because your money should reflect your mission. Are you ready to bank with purpose? Visit americaschristiancu.com elite to learn more and make the switch. Early pay depends on when your employer sends your paycheck. We can't guarantee early direct deposit APY equals annual percentage yield. America's Christian Credit Union is federally insured by the NCUA.
- [37:50]
Kerrygold Butter Announcer
As the holidays approach, it's time to return to the classics. Flaky pie crusts, perfectly browned butter and cookies with just the right texture and one ingredient you cannot compromise on is Kerrygold butter. Kerrygold butter is crafted with milk from grass fed cows that graze on lush green pastures across family farms in Ireland. The result? A rich, creamy butter with a high butterfat content that elevates every recipe. Whether you're making signature shortbread or browning butter for a nutty depth in your pecan pie, Kerrygold makes all the difference. The flavor is unmatched and the texture it brings to baked goods is simply divine. So this holiday season, if you're baking for loved ones or just for yourself, reach for Kerrygold. It's the butter of choice. And your pies, your cookies and your cakes will thank you.
- [38:48]
Spinquest Social Casino Announcer
Run a business and not thinking about podcasting? Think again. More Americans listen to podcasts than Ed supported streaming music from Spotify and Pandora. And as the number one podcaster, iHeart's twice as large as the next two combined. So whatever your customers are into true crime, sports, comedy, culture, they'll hear your message. Plus, only Iheart can extend your message to audiences across broadcast radio. And all this reach means everything. Just think about the universal marketing formula, the number of consumers who hear your message times the response rate equals the results. Now let's get those results growing for you. Think podcasting can help your business? Think iHeart streaming radio and podcasting. Let us show you at iheartadvertising.com that's iheartadvertising.com or call 844-844-iheart one more time, call 844-844-IHEART and get podcasting.
- [39:58]
Frank Afney
Welcome to Securing America with me, Frank Afney. The program that's a kind of owner's manual for protecting the country we love against all enemies, foreign and domestic, to the glory of God and His kingdom. We're going to talk about the main thing, as we often do on this program, and it is a distinct privilege whenever we get to do it with a man who has branded it as such. His name is Captain James Finnell. He is a distinguished veteran of the United States Navy, notably in its intelligence service. He finished up his distinguished career in uniform as the chief of information, excuse me, intelligence and Information Operations for the US Pacific Fleet. He is these days a senior Fellow of the Geneva center for Security Policy and the author of, along with Dr. Bradley Thayer, of an absolutely indispensable book, Embracing Communist America's Greatest Strategic Failure. You can also find his columns with regularity at American Greatness. Terrific online resource. Captain Pinell, welcome aboard. Good to have you as always, sir.
- [41:08]
Captain James Fennell
Hey Frank, good to be with you.
- [41:11]
Frank Afney
So I want to pick up on the theme of embracing Communist China to ask you to make a contribution, as we often do here, to a webinar that we will be sponsoring with the Committee on the Present Danger China on Friday at 1pm Eastern time.
- [41:30]
We have the benefit of pre recording with you frequently and using these things for what I call a twofer. So I'm hoping that our audience will tune in for that purpose as well. At presentdangerchina.org you can subscribe to all of those webinars. Incredible resource, often featuring captain Pinnell. But I want specifically, sir, if I can, to draw you out on the idea which we talk about with regularity, talk about America's greatest strategic failure, not only embracing the Chinese Communist Party, but actually underwriting it with money from the pension funds and mutual funds and exchange traded funds and other investment vehicles that most Americans, I think, unwittingly, are turning over to fund managers on Wall Street. Lo and behold, a significant portion of those funds is going into China. I'm asking you this in the context of the subject of the webinar, which is that the chairman of the securities And Exchange Commission, a man by the name of Paul Atkins has recently finally seemingly acknowledged that maybe there's a problem with all of these investments in China in his exchanges and seemingly is intent on trying to square that away a little bit, to use the nautical term. Could you give us just a sort of level setting assessment of why we better be doing that and what the stakes are for America?
- [43:17]
Captain James Fennell
Well, Frank, just as an American taxpayer myself, it irks me to, to hear the SEC chairman say that there's evidence that the Chinese are violating our rules. Essentially they've been allowed to cheat and steal from Americans in our stock exchange that many of us invest in for our retirements and for our personal security. So that irks me 1, 2. We know companies like Temu and these other Chinese companies that bend the rules and get in under the regulation up until now, where if you sold something for less than 8 or $900, you didn't have to pay taxes. Well, everybody else is paying taxes. It's just another example of the cheating. So all this cheating is going on.
- [44:09]
It's stealing from Americans in that sense. And then on the other side, the side that you're asking me about, in the side that I study, which is, so what happens with all that American money, that foreign direct investment that goes back to China, goes back to the Chinese Communist Party? Well, it goes into in part, the People's Liberation Army. And I have witnessed, and you've witnessed the largest military modernization program over the last quarter century by the pla. And not just their PLA, but their Chinese coast guard, which is an arm of the People's Liberation army, and their campaign to essentially take back or not take back, but take territory that they claim is theirs, be it the islands in the South China Sea, be it the Taiwan, which is the big gem for them, or now what we've seen in the last month is their focus on Japan and the Senkaku and now even up into the Ryukyu Islands and even the Kuril Islands, supporting Russia and their claims up there. So what we're seeing is a.
- [45:15]
A Communist Party that has an ideology that stands 180 degrees against the American system, the American philosophy, the American belief in life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. They are against that in the sense that they believe in the power of the state and the power of the individual is subservient to the state in all cases. And, and they are now able to export their worldview because they've received money mostly from America, but from Europe and other places as well. That allows them to arm themselves and to be able to coerce other nations and threaten them with military force. And that's why we see the Chinese Navy as the largest navy on the planet. It has the largest number of anti ship cruise missiles, hypersonic cruise missiles. It's got, you know, a growing number of submarines, aircraft carriers. Their fourth or the third aircraft carrier was just commissioned here last month. A fourth one is on the way. There's reports today that a Chinese expeditionary strike group led by a type 075amphibious assault or landing helicopter dock LHD is gone into the Philippine Sea. This will be the first time ever that an expeditionary strike group, it's a four ship group, has gone into the Philippine Sea out of the South China Sea. They've already done that with their carriers over the last several years. They're operating on a daily basis. There's a report out today from Reuters that says there's 190 to 100 Chinese ships and Coast Guard vessels that are operating at sea right now today in the first and second island chains of the Western Pacific. When I retired 10 years ago in 2015 after 29 years in the Navy, the US 7th Fleet was always the dominant naval force in the Western Pacific. And when you add in our allies like the Maritime Self Defense Force from Japan and our allies from Australia or the Philippines, we were always the dominant the west, the United States and our allies were always the dominant naval force in the Western Pacific. But because of the thievery that's gone on from the People's Republic of China, whether it's violating our SEC rules or stealing intellectual property or being just fed money from companies that are backed by the likes of Jamie Dimon and others that think that it's okay to give the Chinese Communist Party money, they are now in the position where they're the dominant naval force and they're able to coerce nations and threaten them to follow what they say. And they're going to do that to us. They're already doing it in the terms of what they've procured with the DF26 anti ballistic missile or ballistic missile that's designed to sink carriers, but it can also be used against Guam. They've got a whole plethora of air launched from aircraft, missiles that can hit Guam, from bombers. They've got submarines contact Guam, they're putting their carriers out around Guam. So we have a risk now of US Military forces that are in Guam. Our military forces in Okinawa are certainly at risk. Our naval forces in Yakuza and Tokyo Bay are at risk. Our carriers and the Seven Fleets Destroyer Squadron 15 are at risk. So we have a lot of risk just in the Western Pacific. But I'm asking people to consider we 25 years ago, all the experts in D.C. said, oh, that'll never be a problem. Don't worry about it. And it's now clearly a real problem for us in the Western Pacific. So ask yourself where it's going to be in 25 years. And I'm here to tell you, if you live in Honolulu, you're going to have a problem. And it may be it won't be much longer to the West Coast. So we have fed them, giving them money and it's got to stop. And Americans can do it themselves by not buying their stuff.
- [49:19]
Frank Afney
Not buying their stuff and not investing in their companies, including the PLA ones. Captain, we have to take a short break. We'll be right back.
- [49:37]
America's Christian Credit Union Announcer
America's Christian Credit Union stands firm in faith, serves the community and delivers top financial services with elite Checking. Earn up to 4% APY on balances under $15,000. Get paid early, enjoy loan discounts and more. Because at Accu, your money should reflect your mission. Visit AmericasChristiancu.com Elite to learn more. Early pay depends on when your employer sends your paycheck. We can't guarantee early direct deposit. APY equals annual percentage yield. America's Christian Credit Union is federally insured by the ncua.
- [50:07]
Kerrygold Butter Announcer
As the holidays approach, it's time to return to the classics. Flaky pie crusts, perfectly browned butter and cookies with just the right texture. And one ingredient you cannot compromise on is Kerrygold butter. Kerrygold butter is crafted with milk from grass fed cows that graze on lush green pastures across family farms in Ireland. The result? A rich, creamy butter with a high butter fat content that elevates every recipe. Whether you're making signature shortbread or browning butter for a nutty depth in your pecan pie, Kerrygold makes all the difference. The flavor is unmatched and the texture it brings to baked goods is simply divine. So this holiday season, if you're baking for loved ones or just for yourself, reach for Kerrygold. It's the butter of choice. And your pies, your cookies and your cakes. Well, thank you.
- [51:05]
Spinquest Social Casino Announcer
Run a business and not thinking about radio, think again. Because more people are listening to the radio and iHeart today than they were 20 years ago. And only iHeart broadcast radio connects with more Americans than TV, digital, social, any other media, even twice as many teens than TikTok. And that reach means everything. Just think about the universal marketing formula, the number of consumers who hear your message times the response rate equals the results. Now let's get those results growing for your business. Radio's here now more than ever. And iheart's leading the way. Think radio can help your business. Think iheart. Streaming, podcasting, and radio where the reach is real. Let us show you@iheartadvertising.com that's iheartadvertising.com or call 844-844. Iheart one more time. Just call 844-844-Iheart and get radio working for you.
- [52:15]
Frank Afney
We're back. And so, praise God, is our friend and much admired colleagues. Captain James Fennell, United States Navy, retired. One of truly our country's most distinguished naval intelligence officers and quite possibly intelligence officers, period. He has been continuing to serve our country long after taking his uniform off by being very much in the fight, helping the rest of us understand what the Japanese, excuse me, what the Chinese are doing, among others, to the Japanese the moment. We'll talk about that here in a second. But more broadly, what they intend to do to us. And I so appreciate your leadership in all of these areas, including that as a very, very important member of our committee on the present Danger China. Captain, and I wanted to pick up on this bit about Japan because one of the things that you've been helping raise the alarm about is that we are confronting an increasingly aggressive threat to Japan from Communist China in a whole host of ways, but not least, you know, some of these military capabilities you were talking about, the first block, are being brought to bear in various islands of the Japanese.
- [53:37]
Homeland.
- [53:39]
This is a question that I want to put in a broader context with you as well, which is, is what we're being told that the United States government has said to the Japanese in the person of President Trump, to their prime minister, you know, just sort of lower your rhetoric against the Chinese. Is that actually something that has happened? And more to the point, Jim, is what's going on with American policy at the moment and consistent with that narrative that we are subordinating a lot of things, a lot of concerns, a lot of potential responses to problems emerging from China to the idea that we don't want to rock the boat on trade and the sort of truce that has been negotiated to allow rare earth minerals to continue to flow here, for example. Your thoughts on all of that, sir?
- [54:37]
Captain James Fennell
Yeah, Frank, there's been a lot said that the Trump administration is subordinating its, its dealings with the PRC in order to, to get a trade deal and so that the president doesn't want to upset that deal. And I understand that. And as my friend Grant Newsham said to me today, he goes, you know, the president's the man in the arena right now and we wish him well. And I agree with that. And I also would suggest that two things, not everything has to be said loudly and in their face to get across that we're actually continuing to go after the prc. And in my piece that I wrote for American greatness that was published here on Sunday morning, it's been up all week entitled the Two Calls.
- [55:29]
Prime Minister Takechi was asked a question in the Diet, their parliament, on the 7th of November, what would happen or what would it mean if China were to invade Taiwan? And she said, wow, that would be a survival threatening event for Japan. And there's some baggage there in terms of what that means in terms of US Japan alliance and working together. But she was answering an honest question or an honest answer to a question. I think it was a manipulative question. And since that time, the Chinese government and even before when they had their big military parade on the 3rd of September that was all about threatening Japan, they have come out and just unprecedented level of rhetoric against the Japanese. And then on the 24th of November, President Trump called Xi Jinping and the Wall Street Journal falsely reported that night that Xi had initiated the call. And that all seemed strange to many of us who watch this. And knowing that the Chinese leaders never initiate calls to the US and then lo and behold, the next morning, the Chinese press came out and said, hey, we didn't initiate that call. And then Secretary Treasury Bessant also confirmed that with CNBC and said, no, we called them because we said we would when we met in Busan to discuss the trade deal. So that was a lie. Then the same reporters from the Wall Street Journal on Thursday said that, oh, by the way, we know what President Trump said to President Takechi because we have unnamed sources. And they said allegedly that President Trump called Prime Minister Takechi and warned her not to be provocative to the Chinese. I do not believe that is true. But unfortunately, the way the press works today, that got amplified by Reuters and the New York Times and the Washington Post and Bloomberg and you name it, all the Western press came out and repeated it without any new evidence. What we do know is, is that after that phone call from President Trump to President Takechi, which they denied publicly and formally, the government of Japan said no, they didn't say President Trump did not say that to us. The next few days Afterwards, Prime Minister Takechi dispensed her defense Minister to Yonaguni, which is one of the southern Japanese islands, to inspect for a surface to air missile battery to be in place there. Hardly the action of somebody has been kowtowed. And then there's been other activities. The Chinese started sending ships within 12 nautical miles of the Senkaku Islands and the Japanese sent down their Coast Guard vessels to drive them out. So the Chinese claim counter, but the fact of the matter is the Japanese didn't back down and they're not bending a knee and they have demanded that the Prime Minister recant her statement. And she hasn't done that. I don't expect that she will. So I don't think President Trump did anything except elevate the status of Japan as a co equal with China when it comes to discussing regional security and regional issues in the Far East. That had never happened before where a president of the United States had called the president of China and then in the same day, hours later would call the Prime Minister of Japan. That would net that's never happened. So what I took away from it was as President Trump was quietly telling Xi Jinping, hey, guess what? When I talk to you, then I'm going to talk to my ally Japan. And then this week we just saw when it relates to Taiwan specifically, President Trump signed the Taiwan Assurance Implementation act, which now will make the State Department review our interactions with Taiwan. And the expectation is that this self regulation that we've been putting on ourselves not to engage with Taiwan and military to military and deeper engagement, those constraints that we've self imposed, are going to be lifted. So I think quietly, President Trump is doing the things that need to be done while he still wants to get this trade deal because he knows that it will bring economic benefit to Americans in the short term while we can still then recover from this rare earth element and other critical shortfalls that we have for our own national defense. So he's the man in the arena. He's playing the game. You know, it's not a game, but he's playing it very well in my opinion. And you can see where he is not giving an inch to China, but he's not doing it in a braggadocious way or an in your face way. And I think, you know, my inclinations and my personality would be to do it differently. But I'm now learning from watching and I'm coming around accepting that this may be successful and we have to what is the alternative? Walk into Xi and tell him you hate him and then watch him stop selling his rare earth elements or something like that, which would put us in a crisis. So it's a delicate balance that he has to walk right now. But there are signals and elements that he's doing that are reshaping the security environment. And oh, by the way, the left always criticized President Trump as not caring about our alliances. Well, calling Prime Minister Takeichi after President Xi is a huge boon to our alliance with Japan. And this new Taiwan Assurance Implementation act signals to the people of Taiwan that the United States under this administration want to work closely with them to help them defend themselves. And it's causing the Taiwans to do more than they've had in the past to demonstrate that they're really serious about their defenses.
- [61:08]
Frank Afney
Well, this is a good report, Jim, I think on balance and optimistic to be sure. But I think.
- [61:17]
It'S got to be in the mix as well as some things that are concerning, one of which is, and we'll have to take this up on another occasion with you, this defense, national defense strategy, it's called, that has been a warning now for months and months and months. And we're very anxious to see the tone that it strikes and the policy direction that it gives on China. But that will be for another day's call. Thank you, Jim Fennell, for your extraordinary leadership and continuing service to our country. I know you'll keep it up and I look forward to talking to you next week. God bless you, my friend. Stay tuned, folks. We'll be right back with much more right after.
- [62:08]
Spinquest Social Casino Announcer
I use Shipt Same Day delivery to stay connected with my sister during the holidays. She lives across the country. Shipt has tons of stores to order from. Groceries from Albertsons, crafts from Michaels, even pet supplies from petsmart. The list goes on. So when we have long distance movie nights, I turn to Shipt to get face masks, snacks and everything else we need delivered to her and to me same day. Download the app or visit shipt.com that's.
- [62:35]
America's Christian Credit Union Announcer
S h ipt.com America's Christian Credit Union stands firm in faith, serves the community and delivers top financial services with Elite checking. Earn up to 4% APY on balances under $15,000. Get paid early, enjoy loan discounts and more because at Accu, your money should reflect your mission. Visit AmericasChristianCu.com Elite to learn more. Early pay depends on when your employer sends your paycheck. We can't guarantee early direct deposit. APY equals annual percentage yield. America's Christian Credit Union is federally insured by the NCUA this holiday season, reach.
- [63:09]
Kerrygold Butter Announcer
For the one butter that never disappoints Kerrygold. Made with milk from grass fed cows on Irish family farms, it's rich, creamy and perfect for baking. Whether browning butter for cookies or crafting the flakiest pie crust, Kerrygold's high butterfat content makes all the difference in flavor and texture. Holiday treats will taste extraordinary if you're.
- [63:35]
Frank Afney
An H Vac technician and a call comes in.
- [63:38]
Spinquest Social Casino Announcer
Grainger knows that you need a partner.
- [63:40]
Captain James Fennell
That helps you find the right product fast and hassle free.
- [63:44]
Spinquest Social Casino Announcer
And you know that when the first problem of the day is a clanking.
- [63:46]
Captain James Fennell
Blower motor, there's no need to break a sweat.
- [63:50]
Spinquest Social Casino Announcer
With Grainger's easy to use website and.
- [63:52]
Rabbi Pesach Wolicki
Product details, you're confident you'll soon have.
- [63:54]
Captain James Fennell
Everything humming right along.
- [63:56]
Spinquest Social Casino Announcer
Call 1-800-granger clickgranger.com or just stop by.
- [64:00]
Captain James Fennell
Granger for the ones who get it done.
- [64:04]
Spinquest Social Casino Announcer
This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.