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Foreign.
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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 on the road. We are in Texas at our duty station here, working on a campaign to try to prevent Sharia from taking over the state. We'll be talking more about that in the course of the program. But before we do, I'm delighted to be able to welcome back one of the most remarkable former Naval Intelligence officers I think, of all time, certainly of ours. His name is Captain James Fennell, United States Navy, retired. He served in his last duty station as the chief of intelligence and information operations for the US Pacific Fleet. He kept thereby a very distinguished rendering of service to our country. But it continues, I'm pleased to say, notably through the work that he provides through a very influential Google group called Red Storm Risen, as well as in his writings at Great American Greatness Excuse me, as well as his terrific book entitled Embracing Communist China, America's Greatest Strategic Failure. We're going to talk a little bit about that in a moment, but before we do, I did want to just say, first of all, Captain, welcome back aboard. It's always good to have you with us. Thank you for giving so generously for your time to this program.
B
Thanks, Frank. Good to be with you.
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And also I should say, you are a member of our committee on the present Danger of China. You frequently contribute to its work as well, including our wonderful webinar series. I focused on the, well, the problem of the enemy within the unrestricted warfare that the Chinese have used to great effect with the help of those who embrace Communist China. We'll talk about that again in a moment. But before we do, Jim, I wanted to pick up on something that you've called to my attention. Bill Gertz wrote it up in the Washington Times. A fellow, and I'm not quite sure how to pronounce his last name. It's Y E A W Y yo E Y whatever. Christopher is his first name. He's an Assistant Secretary of State responsible for arms control and non proliferation. And he testified the other day about something that his boss, the Undersecretary of State had lit up that made clear. The Chinese Communist Party has been doing nuclear testing to advance the capabilities of an arsenal designed to destroy our country. And this was both an important confirmation of what has long been suspected. I think they've also indicated that the Russians are doing the same. I want to talk to you about a couple of pieces of this, Jim, but first of all what this Assistant Secretary has said is that this activity on the part of the Chinese, which has not been reciprocated to date by our government, is creating what he called an intolerable disadvantage for the United States. How do you see all this and in particular the parlous state of our nuclear deterrence as a result, among other things, of not having done nuclear testing since 1992?
B
Yeah, Frank, Christopher Yau's statement that he gave out, I think it was around the 19th or so or a little bit before that mirrors what Tom Donano gave in Geneva. And they both referenced that China had conducted a test in June of 2020 which is in violation of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. And the Chinese reacted to the nano speech. And now the Chinese again just yesterday spoke out. Their Foreign Ministry spokesman criticized Christopher Yao's statement, but they didn't say that, they didn't deny flat out that they had done the test. They said they abide by the intents and the spirit of the Comprehensive Test Brown Treaty. Essentially it was pretty clear that they did test something. Christopher Yao's statement said it was a 2.75 megaton or what did he call it? 2.75 magnitude on a seismic scale. So it was something that was registered. But we have difficulty measuring things there because we don't have. They're not part of a any non proliferation agreement where there's ability to put in seismic tests or other kind of testing equipment to verify and ensure things like this aren't happening. And what's important is that Christopher Yo's statement said he believed they're preparing for another one right now, six years later. So we are on the cusp of another Chinese nuclear test. It's in clear violation of this treaty and what it means for us. As you just said, we haven't done anything like that since 1992. Frequently critics here, especially in Europe, I've encountered they'll say, well you did hundreds and hundreds of tests before 1992. And I would say, yeah, we did. We did a lot of testing before 1992. So did China and so did Russia. But in the last, what is that, 26 or 8, 34 years, things change, technology changes. Artificial intelligence, all kinds of new capabilities and ways to improve nuclear weapons and make them more lethal, make them more powerful, are designed. I sometimes think about, I had cancer in 1988. I spent a year in a hospital just about. And if I had been, you know, gotten that cancer 10 years before, I would've likely died because the technology hadn't been developed, the chemo and all of that. And this. And today, people that go through the same kind of cancer that I have have a much easier time because of the new technology. So it's. It's disingenuous for the Chinese, and we know that it's disingenuous for them to say that, well, you tested once, and so that's all you have to ever do. That's ridiculous. And so.
A
Well, Jim. And it was of particular concern to me, and, you know, this was my brief when I was in the Pentagon in the Reagan administration and argued strenuously against a cessation of nuclear testing. By the way, the arsenal that President Reagan modernized, really across the board, is basically the arsenal we still have, which is, you know, decades beyond its design shelf life. And the thing that's very worrying about that is at some point the credibility of your deterrent degrades the confidence that we have in it, for one thing. But even more importantly, arguably the confidence that our adversaries have that it's up to snuff, that it would cause unacceptable, catastrophic damage to them if they try to, God forbid, attack us or engage in other behavior that we couldn't tolerate. That whole, you know, fundamental premise of deterrence is over the side. And it's worrying in the extreme that what they've understood, the Russians and the Chinese, by the way, have understood, is if you have a nuclear enterprise, if you rely on nuclear weapons for deterrence, you have to make sure that they are going to work properly. And, oh, by the way, that as you modernize the force that you're validating, that it will work. You know, this is something, I think, that has been underpinning the enormous number of nuclear weapons and weapons delivery systems that both countries have been, you know, it's brought to bear against us, especially now, increasingly, it appears, jointly against us.
B
Your thoughts are, yeah, I 100% agree. We have to be able to test end to end in with the new modernized Equipment, we have to make sure that it can all work. And there's ways to do that that's safe and secure, so it's not a threat to mankind. And certainly if the Chinese are doing it and the allegedly the Russians are preparing as well, we have serious concerns about that. And it is, it's an old arsenal. It needs to be upgraded and we haven't done that.
A
And Jim, 45 seconds on the fact that they're apparently going to considerable lengths to decouple the seismic signatures. What does that tell us about their purposes here?
B
Right, that's exactly what it tells us, that they're working ahead and doing everything to make their force credible and not just a survivable second strike force, but really to make it a first strike force. And we, you know, 350 new silos in the last five years out in central and western China. That's no accident. That's aggressive. As the former commander of STRATCOM said, a nuclear breakout.
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We're told those missiles could have as many as 10 warheads on them, which would increase substantially their capabilities. Greater than ours, by the way, in this space. Jim, we have to take a short break. We'll be right back with more with Captain James Finnell, United States Navy, retired. Stay tuned.
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Foreign we're back. And so is Captain James Funnell, United States Navy, retired. Praise the Lord. The co author with Dr. Bradley Thayer of a very, very important book entitled Embracing Communist China, America's Greatest Strategic Failure. And Jim, I wanted to talk to you about this phenomenon against the backdrop of something that recently came to light and that is that an instructor pilot with F35s and I'm not sure what service he was with, but he's charged with having compromised secrets involving that platform. And even as I understand it, offering to train the Chinese in its capabilities has, has now been, you know, booked for, you know, treachery, treason, whatever you want to call it. You made the point in one of these communications. I think it's, it's in your American greatness article. If I'm not mistaken that, you know, there are a lot of people who have culpability for trying to, as you put it, embrace Communist China. How do you net this out as to the degree to which that kind of conduct at the highest levels of our government? And I would include, by the way, the former president of the United States, Joe Biden, who we talked about all the time on this program, thanks to Sam Faddis, as a controlled asset of the Chinese Communist Party, very much involved in embracing them during his time in office. What should we know about this practice and the degree to which people down the food chain excuse their behavior? Needless to say, but they've got a lot of company and there ought to be accountability up.
B
Yeah, Frank, this officer was a retired U.S. air Force major and he had served for 24 years. He retired in 1996. So he fought at the very end of the Vietnam War and participated in that conflict, and it served his country honorably apparently until retirement, and then came out and became an instructor pilot, as you noted, with the F35 program. And then he found it in his capacity to say, hey, I want to get involved with the person that's offering up training, aviation training to the PLA Air Force. And there's emails with him communicating, say, hey, this is going to be great. I'm going back to China. I'm going to help instruct fighter pilots again, this time PLA Air Force. It's incredible to think that somebody's 65 years old today. I'm 63. To think that somebody from my generation could do something like that. But and even more astounding is the fact that we just had a big expose in the last couple of years about a Marine captain down in Australia that was an American U.S. marine Corps pilot that moved to Australia and started training as well. And he's been indicted and back in the States and is I don't know his current status, but he's going to go to jail, probably, or may go to jail. That's been very highly training Chinese pilots in China. But he's he immigrated to Australia, Australian White. So that was in the news. So anybody that's involved with aviation, whether you're in the Navy or the Air Force, you knew about this. So that's one thing. There's no excuse for what he did. But on the other hand, we have had, as our book says, you know, embracing communist China, America's greatest strategic failure. Since we recognized China in 1979. We've had Republican and Democrat administrations that pushed for engagement, but some push more than others. And I would say that the Obama and Biden administrations pushed the very, very hard for military to military engagement. And we had a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, you know, was quoted in a book that he wrote saying that he actually communicated with his counterpart in China to say, hey, I want to assuage your fears. If Trump does something crazy, I'll let you know. So you won't be surprised. That was a chairman. Then we had the former commander of the US Indo Pacific Command, an officer I served with, Admiral John Long Aquilino who was the commander of the Pacific Fleet and then the Pacific Command, he went on, I think it was CNN or NPR and did a, or PBS and did a big special and he talked about his greatest frustration as the commander of the US Indo Pacific Command was that he had spent a year and a half trying to get in contact with his counterpart in the PRC so that he could open and establish communications with them. And then we have countless think tanks in Washington D.C. we have the Chinese propaganda. Everybody is pushing for more mill to mill engagement. So is it any wonder that some officers may not follow politics and policies and say, well if my president's doing it, if my chairman's doing it, if my commander, the Indo Pacific Command is doing it, and there's more than just lung, there's other Pacific Command commanders that have talked about this, then we have a problem where we're not being smart as leaders to think about what the words of a leader mean to the whole pyramid. So you may be the chairman, you may be the commander of Indo Pacon, but there's legions of people under you. And when you say things like that, there's results. And now we know that we had somebody going over there training PLA Air Force pilots from an instructor that taught American pilots how to fly the F35, our latest greatest aircraft that we have in our inventory. It's outstanding that we're in this position. It's not outstanding. It's outrageous that we're in this position. It's outstanding that we, it's unacceptable that we allow these kind of leaders to get away with this. And I know that the new National Defense strategy says we should push for engagement. I would, I didn't like to see that in there. It's in there. But we need to make sure that we are not pushing. We need to have some better education for our personnel. Engagement may mean that the chairman or the commander of the indopacom are talking to their counterparts on select events that the President approves of but it doesn't mean that the rest of the chain of command gets to do that. And our policy isn't to give away secrets. And we have lost that razor's edge and that loose lip sync ships mindset of there will be repercussions. What this man did could end up in a more in Americans being killed. It's crazy.
A
And battles being lost as well.
B
Yes.
A
And Jim, on this whole idea of military to military, as you put it, mill mill exchanges. There has been a past track record of inviting Chinese military personnel to observe exercise, major exercise in the Pacific called RIMPAC that was suspended thankfully by President Trump, I think, in his previous term. Talk a little bit about the inadvisability of bringing them truly inside the tent, inside the wire and whether this is going to be resumed again for unknown reasons.
B
Yes, Frank, the Rim of the Pacific exercise is the largest naval exercise in the world. It's in the Pacific, centered in Hawaii. The Chinese were invited by Obama's SecDef in 2012, 2014 and 2016. Thankfully, President Trump disinvited them, did not invite them for 2018 and it didn't reoccur because of COVID and other things. And then Biden, it was. They didn't invite him. But now the Chinese in the Global Times about three weeks ago had an article hinting at wouldn't it be great if the PLA Navy was invited back to rimpac. So I'm very concerned that when President Trump goes to Beijing here on 31st of March that the Chinese will get him in a corner and try to sell him on inviting the PLA Navy inside Pearl harbor, which is where their ships were in 2014. And that is an intelligence disaster of the highest order, not only from the risk to what we lose, but we don't gain anything because they send some hospital ship and things of that nature. But they have thousands of sailors that were scouring all over Pearl Harbor, US naval installation during 2014. I witnessed it. So this should not be allowed to happen. I know that there's been reports that were written out of 2014 that said it wasn't that big of a risk, but I'm telling you, it's a massive intelligence boom for the pla. They haven't been there in many years. And so they'll get all new data sets in terms of cyber and telephones and all of that kind of electronic intelligence. It's a major mistake. We shouldn't do it. They haven't asked yet, but I'm worried that they will. Yeah.
A
And possibly not just with Trump in a corner in Beijing, but preemptively as a concession to lubricate the negotiations. Jim, we have to leave it at that. Thank you so much for visiting. As always, we so appreciate it. Come back to us next week if you would. In the meantime, Godspeed, Keep up the great work you do at the Geneva center for Security Policy. Be right back, folks.
D
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Welcome back.
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We are joined now by Peter McElveen, one of our great, well, freedom fighting heroes in the United Kingdom. He is going to be joining us to talk a bit about what's happening in that country, but also what he's watching very closely taking place in ours, notably in the state of Texas. I wanted to give you a little context of my own for our discussion with Peter. President Trump will visit Corpus Christi tomorrow. He will be talking about economic issues and promoting his preferred candidates in next week's Republican primary election. There's another compelling reason for Mr. Trump to get out the vote. The last item on the GOP ballot is Proposition 10, which simply says Texas should prohibit Sharia law. A Trump endorsement of Prop 10 could help it achieve a decisive victory and catalyze an urgently needed policy course correction in that state and potentially across the nation. Otherwise, America is going to continue to follow Europe's steady slide into what the president has decried as civilization erasure. After all, destroying not just the USA but Western civilization is the express goal of Islam's totalitarian and demonic Sharia death cult. Obviously, we must preclude that an overwhelming vote for Proposition 10 is the place to start. Ben Sharia.com let's get Peter's take on all of this. He is, of course, the executive director of Hearts of Oak, co hosts with his boss, Lord Malcolm Pearson. A podcast of that name works in the House of Lords with Lord Malcolm. He is also just an incredibly indefatigable commentator in written forms as well as on video. We are always pleased that among the videos he graces is this show. Peter, welcome back to securing America. Always great to have you, sir.
E
Thank you, Frank.
A
I wanted to start, I guess by talking about your side of the pond. I've alluded to this civilization erasure thing. I know that there's a, a by election taking place in Britain, I guess today. And I wanted you to give us a little bit of the context for the vote there and how you think it's likely to turn out.
E
Well, this is a election happening in Manchester, up in northwest of England. It's where the interesting is where the call to prayer happened in that the largest football stadium in Britain, Old Trafford up there two days ago or maybe yesterday morning. And that fits into the demographics of that specific constituency. Just southeast, a couple of miles southeast of Manchester and it's 30% Islamic. And we have seen the Green Party especially who have gone full on to the left and full on pro Islamic and the Green Party as probably the most progressive liberal far left parties that we have really in the uk they have grabbed this Islamic vote. They put out videos, I know in Urdu, I saw a video yesterday and they've targeted that area and that has meant that, that going into this election voting is today, on Thursday. We'll know the result later this evening. But at the moment it's a three horse race between the governing Labour Party, which is on the left, the Green Party, which is far to the left, and Nigel Farage's Reform Party which is on the right. And those three are fighting it out for this. It's interesting. The Conservative Party are nowhere inside and that shows the demise of the Conservative Party. But it is, I guess, a different vision of Britain where Nigel wants freedom, Nigel Fries wants freedom on strong borders, small government, all of that that we would hold dear. But of course, the Greens and Labour are courting that destruction of the UK self hatred and welcoming in Islam in every way. So it's going to be really interesting to watch this vote. And my, I would love Nigel Farage to win that seat and get another member of Parliament in Westminster. My fear is that the Green Party could also take him in. It's going to go for a recount upon recount. I'm sure it's going to be razor thin and we'll find that out later this evening. But it is indicative of where we are in the UK with changing demographics, the Islamization of the UK that obviously has a reflection into politics. We've got 24 Muslim members of Parliament and my fear is that America may want to catch up on that destruction which we have embarked on.
A
We may not want to, but may be headed that way. But Peter, just to drill down on this particular point because I think it's central to not only what's happening in the UK but what's in prospect here and that is Muslim bloc voting sort of act as kingmakers long before they command an actual majority, especially in a parliamentary system. They can work enormous harm, can they not, by making the decisive votes for perhaps the most extreme candidates, the most certainly pro Sharia candidates? No.
E
Oh completely. And this fits in which I've spoken to you before, Frank, numerous times about the push for an Islamophobia definition, legal definition that is coming from that community to appease those voters. So this seems to be the, the slippery slope that we are fast moving down to appease those and it is the, the mosques play a central role, I think, in getting those people out. And of course in many parts of the UK you don't need voter ID, which again allows the, the failings of an electoral system to play into the hands of that Muslim bloc vote. So it's going to be quite key to see how that because you get these snapshots, general election will be probably 2029, but you get these snapshots where you see are the national pooling, are they actually true or not? We're going to find out in this interesting race in Manchester.
A
So Peter, on this issue of polling, the United States as you know, is in election year and here in Texas where I am at the moment working with you and others, trying to make sure people understand the real threat that Sharia poses. There is a balloting taking place as we speak, early voting as they call it, on a Republican primary that features among other things, a proposition Prop 10. It's called for a five word proposal and that is simply, as I mentioned in my commentary, Texas should prohibit Sharia law. Interestingly enough, Peter, I don't know if this has come to your attention. Interestingly enough, the Muslim mosques in Texas at least some of them have been turned into polling places. I wonder if you think anything could possibly go wrong with that arrangement based on your hard experience in the uk.
E
So I was talking to a US figure yesterday about this very issue. I saw, I think Amy Mack had put out some info on this. My understanding, looking into this, is there very, very small number of mosques in the uk we don't have any mosques used. It's normally churches or leisure centers or kind of town halls, schools generally those are used. But there has been a push towards beginning to use one of the 2200 mosques we have in the UK you've got around 3000 most I think in the US and there seems to be that clamor to use them. And the argument is a logical one, it's a space, why not use it? It's free. But of course, and I was at a antisemitism demo yesterday outside parliament and I can only imagine the fear and concern that a Jewish voter would have if he had or she had to go to the local mosque to vote. We already have the heightened tension of the Jewish community. So all those things come together to make it really concerning. But I think that is further down the road. But I think the work that Amy has done in saying there is a slow move and it is very small at the moment, but it's where we are heading. And I can't imagine many politicians saying it's a bad idea because it's a space to be used, therefore why not use. And you could use those instead of shutting down schools, for instance, during election time. So yeah, logical reasons.
A
Peter, the argument will be that, well, we do use churches as you mentioned. So you know, it's just you have to do the same. Even though a point that we've been hammering here is that going back to Muhammad's time, mosques have always been multi use facilities. So maybe there's some worshiping that takes place there. But there's reason to believe that weapons storage and training and planning for their use is also taking place again in the tradition of the perfect man, which is to be emulated at every turn. So, Peter, just a quick word. The President is coming to Corpus Christi tomorrow and as you heard in my commentary, I'm very strongly hoping and encouraging that he address this issue of Proposition 10. From your vantage point, knowing what you do about civilization erasure, how important do you think it is that that endorsement be forthcoming and that this proposition be adopted overwhelmingly here in Texas?
E
I think it's key and I don't see any reason for the President not to endorse it with his concerns of care, Muslim Brotherhood, all this, then why not make that announcement? And I've seen the early voting which is concerning with Democrats outvoting Republicans and it is. This is a line in the sand. This is an absolute key issue. As our good friend Steve Banna always says, if Texas is at the forefront of Texas Falls, so does America. And Texans have to vote in large numbers for this number 10 proposition. And I do hope and pray that President Trump backs it because there's no reason for him not to.
A
Yeah, well, I imagine that he will be appearing in Corpus Christi with Governor Abbott. And it would be fantastic if they both will make it clear that this is not only on the ballot, I think most people aren't aware of that, but also strongly endorse its adoption. Peter, we have to let you go. Thank you for your time as always, your leadership across the pond and what you're doing to help us get this right on this side based especially on your hard experience with Sharia. We'll be right back, folks. Stay tuned.
D
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A
Foreign. Welcome back and delight to say welcome to our next guest. His name is Congressman Keith Self from the great state of Texas. He is a distinguished veteran of the United States Army, a Ranger, highly decorated as well as highly accomplished, both in uniform and since he took it off now as a member of the House of Representatives. He is, among other things, the co founder with Congressman Chip Roy recently of a very important new caucus in the House. It's called the Sharia Free America Caucus. And we've been talking with him about the problem that it is trying to address, which is that America is not entirely Sharia free. In particular, his own state and specifically his constituency is now being subversively penetrated by Sharia supremacists. And we've been talking about his concerns on that score and in particular what might be done about it. And we're delighted to have him back for a catch up on both points. Congressman, welcome back, sir. It's great to have you with us.
F
Thank you very much, Frank. Our caucus is now 44 strong across 21 states.
A
Fabulous. Praise God and thank you for your leadership on that score. Sir, if you could just give us a quick assessment of the extent to which what I just said is true, that there is a rising tide, if you will, of Sharia advocacy and, well, penetration going on in the state of Texas at the moment.
F
Well, they talk about 50 mosques having built in North Texas over the last two years. We've got multiple compounds that they are talking about building. Obviously the most famous Is Epic City or the Meadow? Look, the ag, the Attorney General is investigating it. Scott Turner at the federal level, Secretary Turner is investigating it. So it is real. We need to understand that it is moving very, very fast in North Texas.
A
And what is the concern about it? If you could put it succinctly, sir, absolutely.
F
The concern is this is not compatible with our laws, with our U.S. constitution. This is not just an alternative political legal system. It is a supplanting legal political system that wants to supplant our laws, our Constitution. And frankly, they make no bones about it. You are either part of them or you are the enemy. So we must defend our culture, we must defend our Constitution, the individual rights that America is built on.
A
Now, I know in the House there are a number of pieces of legislation. I think you're among the co sponsors of several of them, if not all of them aimed at doing just that. This is a sufficiently time sensitive problem. I think it's fair to say that it's important that states be doing something about all this too. Your own state legislature doesn't meet again until 2027, unfortunately. But what's on the primary ballot in the state of Texas right now, the Republican primary ballot that could begin addressing this problem at the state level, sir?
F
Well, there are 10 propositions that Republicans will vote on the 10th. Absolutely the last thing on your ballot. Regardless of where you are. It will need you to go all the way down the ballot to ban Sharia in the state of Texas. Now this is not binding, it's not a law. But it tells your elected officials in the state of Texas that you want to ban Sharia, that you want your US Constitution to be the law of the land, that you want your individual freedoms, you want your daughters to be safe. You do not want to see the intimidation on the streets of Texas. This is vitally important for us to make our will known by going all the way down your ballot to proposition number 10 to ban Sharia in Texas.
A
Say yes to proposition 10. And by the way, it's not just your daughters, it's your dogs too. They're after your dogs as it happens as well, Congressman, as you know. Let me ask you this, sir. I understand you're going to be on the platform tomorrow with the President of the United States and I assume Greg Abbott, the Governor of Texas. It seems to me this is a God given opportunity really to address the biggest problem as far as I can tell, that we have with the successful adoption of Proposition 10. And that is that not every Republican or for that matter, other Texans who all can vote in this primary, if they're legal voters, know that Prop 10 is on the ballot, but when they do, generally I think they're very supportive, but not all of them are going to be voting. So would it be important, in your estimation, sir, for the president and Governor Abbott to both use this moment, this platform that they have right before the election, to endorse Proposition 10 and urge people when they go to vote that they make yes a priority at the bottom of the ballot?
F
Well, I will certainly tie, Frank, but there's no guarantee that I will be on any dais tomorrow. I really don't know the format of the rally, but I hope to have the opportunity to talk to both the governor and the president about this to encourage them to let people know that it's important for the state of Texas that everyone go down to the bottom of your ballot and say yes to Prop 10. So I will make every attempt to. But shows like yours, Frank, are vitally important to making sure people absolutely know about Prop 10 and the fact that they've got to go all the way down the ballot, because that's one of the more difficult things. Some ballots are extremely long. I encourage you, go to the bottom of the ballot. It's the last thing.
A
Well, as it happens, I have a sample ballot right here, Congressman, and I don't know if I can do justice
B
to this, but it.
A
I'd say that's about 24 inches long, double sided, no less. And as you say, you have to go all the way through it. Um, and, you know, a simple yes is all that's required, but you've gotta be paying attention. And most especially, you've got to be at the polls. If you didn't engage in early voting and you've already cast this ballot, I pray that you will make a point of doing as Congressman Keith Self has just urged. Go to the polls, get your Republican ballot, cast it for the candidates you see fit, but make a point of casting it for Proposition 10 all the way at the bottom. Congressman, thank you for your leadership on all of these matters. You are a good friend as well as a very valued representative of your district. And I know it's ground zero in the state of Texas. Epic City, as I recall, is in your constituency and desperately need to make sure that it's not a no go zone for jihad. God bless you, my friend. Come back to us with updates on all of this, if you would, very soon. Stay tuned, folks. We'll be right back with more. We're back. And I am thrilled to be able to say a woman who I have been asking to be on this show for, well, months and months has found some time for us at a very critical moment for her, yes, but also for her state. That would be Texas and I believe for the United States of America as well. And she is in the forefront of the battle because Julie Pickren is the member of the State Board of Education of Texas who has been the spear catcher for a lot of people who don't like what she's been doing on the school board, which is, among other things, to have helped reform dramatically the social studies curriculum of K through 12 Public education in the state. And I wanted to get her on to talk about both. Who opposes a pro American, pro freedom, well, American loving curriculum as opposed to one that isn't any of those things. And Julie Pickering, I could not be more grateful to you for what you're doing and the chance to talk with you a little bit about it. Welcome to Securing America.
G
Thank you, Frank. And what an honor it is to be with you. I think, you know, told you this before in private and I'll be more than happy to say it publicly. You are one of America's great heroes and your service to our country has just been unmatched by most. And thank you so much for your dedication to the United States of America and for your service to our country. What an honor to be here.
A
It means the world to me. Let me just disclose, we are friends as well as partners in this cause. And I very appreciative of you too, Jerome. Let me start by just asking you to give us a level setting on what you have done that seems to have set off the Council on American Islamic Relations, among others. That would of course, be a designated terrorist organization and multinational criminal one to boot, according to your governor, Greg Abbott.
G
Yes. So Governor Abbott, in the third quarter last year designated cair, the Council on Arab American Islamic Relations as a terrorist organization. And then a couple of months later, Governor DeSantis of Florida also designated them as a foreign terrorist organization. So for two states for sure have recognized that their terrorist connection, their terrorist connection to the Muslim Brotherhood, even the FBI. So at the federal level, the FBI calls them the face of the Muslim Brotherhood in America. So there's no doubt in leaders minds in the United States of America that this is a terrorist organization and has terrorist intents in America. So Governor Abbott also reported them or referred them to the Joint Terrorism Task Force. And he also requested that the Texas DPS Department of Public Safety, which is our Texas Rangers are the elite investigating force of our Texas dps. So directed our Texas Rangers and DPS to start investigating them as a criminal organization. And he also directed the Texas Attorney General to look into their business practices and their land ownership. So as we say in Texas, the eyes of Texas are upon them. Okay. So we're taking this very seriously, this threat to our state.
A
Julie. I did. I did. Just wanted to point out that one of the other things that Governor Abbott did, for which I give him great credit, is he said the Muslim Brotherhood and Council on American Islamic Relations may not own real property in the state of Texas. That would seem to have some very important, hopefully near term effects on the infrastructure that these kinds of terrorist organizations have been building in your state, would it not?
G
Yes, sir. We have laws, we have statute in the state of Texas that prevent terrorist organizations from owning land and owning real property in our state. So I'm looking forward to the enforcement of these laws because as you know, CARE and the leadership of CARE has come several times now to the Texas State Board of Education and even held a press conference at the Texas State Board of Education on their demands, on their terrorist demands, of what they want taught in Texas public schools. And so this has been going on for several months. This didn't just start yesterday whenever they came to make their demands at the Texas State Board of Education meeting in Austin. This has been going on for several months now.
A
Well, this, this needs to be, yeah, this, this needs definitely to be enforced, this particular set of laws and, and I hope you know the rest of the designation as well. Tell me what, in our audience, what you are now being assailed with by the Council on American Islamic Relations for having helped reform in this important way the curriculum.
G
Well, so, you know, in Texas we've been having this social studies debate since 2021, and in 2022, the rewrite of our social studies standards, kindergarten through 12th grade, which by the way, affects the entire country, not just Texas, because Texas now has the most school aged children of any state in America. We're coming up to 6 million children in public education. And also we have the largest solvent, I'm going to say that solvent fund to pay for the textbooks in the country. So, you know, California likes to say they have the most, but California is about $270 billion in debt. And Texas is, We're, we're in the positive. We're, we're not even near in debt. We are actually. The governor's economic policies in the state of Texas have created the finest economy in the history, probably of the world, definitely of our country. And so, you know, we have been 28 to 30 billion dollars in the plus every. Every budgetary cycle. So in Texas, we have about a $60 billion textbook fund that is fully solvent. So the publishers, they write for Texas whenever they're writing. When you take all the national publishers around the country, all the. All the big publishers, they write specifically for the state of Texas because we now are coming up on the most children and we have the money to pay our contracts. And so. So the text, the standards that. Yes, yes, yes. So the standards that we set for social studies is what will dictate the. Dictate the textbooks that are printed for social studies, kindergarten through 12th grade throughout the whole nation. It's. These decisions aren't just for Texas. These decisions are for the United States of America. And CARE has come to our meeting several times, held a press conference where they want to completely rewrite U.S. history and Texas history to make Islam and make. And make radical Islam terrorists. They want to paint the Barbary wars, right. What happened off the Barbary coast in Northern Africa. They want to paint that in a positive light and the positive effects that it did have. And I think maybe the only thing that we can agree on is the positive effect of the Barbary wars is that was the birth of the United States Marine Corps. I can agree that that's a positive. That's not what they want to teach.
A
Julie, thank you so much for joining us. We are hard out of time, but I did want to get your take on Prop 10 before we let you go.
G
Yes, sir. Vote for all the propositions on the Republican ballot, especially Prop 10. No Sharia law in Texas. Sharia law is the enemy of Western civilization and the enemy of the American dream. So protect Texas and protect Texas for our children and grandchildren. And thank you, Frank.
A
Amen. God bless you, ma'.
B
Am.
A
Come back to us with updates on all of this very soon, if you would, sir. Lee Pickering, School Board of Education candidate as well as member. God bless. We'll be right back, folks. No, we won't. We have to say goodbye. Thank you for joining us. Come back next time. Until then, go forth and multiply. This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.
Podcast: Real America’s Voice – iHeartPodcasts
Episode Date: February 28, 2026
Host: Frank Gaffney
Featured Guests:
This episode of Securing America with Frank Gaffney focuses on urgent national security threats as seen through the lens of recent developments in Texas, U.S. nuclear deterrent vulnerability, and the infiltration of Sharia law in Western societies. The episode brings together high-profile guests for in-depth analysis of China’s nuclear activities, the consequences of U.S. engagement with Communist China, growing concerns about Sharia influence at home and abroad, and the critical importance of Proposition 10 on the Texas ballot.
Throughout, Gaffney and his guests express a tone of caution and urgency, calling for vigilance and action against what they describe as existential threats to American — and Western — sovereignty, culture, and legal order.
With Captain James Fennell (US Navy, Ret.)
(Segment begins ~00:59)
“…it’s pretty clear that they did test something. Christopher Yao’s statement said it was a 2.75 magnitude on a seismic scale. So it was something that was registered. But we have difficulty measuring things there…” (Fennell, 04:43)
"At some point the credibility of your deterrent degrades — the confidence that we have in it, for one thing. But even more importantly, arguably, the confidence that our adversaries have…" (Gaffney, 07:23)
“That’s no accident. That’s aggressive… as the former commander of STRATCOM said, a nuclear breakout.” (Fennell, 09:54)
Notable Quote:
"We have to be able to test end to end with new modernized equipment, we have to make sure that it can all work… It’s an old arsenal. It needs to be upgraded, and we haven’t done that."
— Captain James Fennell (09:13)
Fennell Discussion Continues
(Segment begins ~11:23)
"They have thousands of sailors that were scouring all over Pearl Harbor, US naval installation… it’s a massive intelligence boom for the PLA." (Fennell, 19:14)
Memorable Moment:
“…When you say things like that, there’s results. And now we know that we had somebody going over there training PLA Air Force pilots from an instructor that taught American pilots how to fly the F35, our latest greatest aircraft…”
— Captain James Fennell (13:29)
With Peter McElveen (Hearts of Oak, UK)
(Segment begins ~22:11)
"We’ve got 24 Muslim members of Parliament and my fear is that America may want to catch up on that destruction which we have embarked on." (McElveen, 24:39)
“I can only imagine the fear and concern that a Jewish voter would have if he or she had to go to the local mosque to vote…” (McElveen, 30:01)
"If Texas is at the forefront — if Texas falls, so does America." (McElveen, 32:47)
With Congressman Keith Self (R-TX)
(Segment begins ~34:44)
"This is vitally important for us to make our will known by going all the way down your ballot to proposition number 10 to ban Sharia in Texas." (Self, 38:26)
Notable Quote:
"This is not just an alternative political legal system. It is a supplanting legal political system that wants to supplant our laws, our Constitution. And frankly, they make no bones about it. You are either part of them or you are the enemy."
— Congressman Keith Self (37:13)
With Julie Pickren (Texas State Board of Education)
(Segment begins ~44:14)
"CARE has come to our meeting several times… where they want to completely rewrite U.S. history and Texas history to make Islam… [seem positive]." (Pickren, 48:06)
"Vote for all the propositions on the Republican ballot, especially Prop 10. No Sharia law in Texas. Sharia law is the enemy of Western civilization and the enemy of the American dream." (Pickren, 50:22)
This episode delivers a wide-ranging, urgent discussion at the intersection of national security, ideological subversion, and state-level activism. Through testimonies from military intelligence, local activism, and education policymakers, listeners are urged to recognize the multi-faceted threats facing America—most pressingly, China’s military build-up and Sharia’s encroachment domestically. The panelists align on a message of vigilance, grassroots mobilization, and clear-headed political action—culminating in a call for all eligible Texans to “go all the way to the bottom of the ballot” and vote "Yes" on Proposition 10.