Rebirth of a Loyal Opposition
At a time when our country is confronting great and growing threats, the ship of state is, at best, adrift. At worst, it is headed toward, if not actually on, the shoals.
The fault lies, of course, primarily with the Commander-in-Chief. Barack Obama’s tenure has been characterized by a doctrine whose distilled essence is emboldening our enemies, undermining our friends, and diminishing out country. As a direct result of his policies, we have: a lot more – and more aggressive – enemies; fewer – and less reliable – friends; and a nation that is increasingly being “fundamentally transformed” in ways that will greatly reduce our capabilities to address, or even contend with, those emerging realities.
Unfortunately, some of the blame for this appalling state of affairs must be assigned to Republicans. For most of the period since the end of the Cold War, too many of them – including some conservatives – have been AWOL on national security. The lack of a Loyal Opposition has been particularly dramatic and deplorable during the Obama years.
With a few notable exceptions, there has been a dearth of coherent, thoughtful, and articulate alternatives to Barack Obama’s egregiously failing agenda in the national security and foreign policy portfolio. Arguably, such alternatives – rooted in time-tested practices and policies – have never been more needed.
The good news is that, in the hope of catalyzing the emergence of effective responses to these needs, three organizations – EMPAct America, the Center for Security Policy, and Breitbart News Network – have joined forces to convene a star-studded National Security Action Summit in Washington, D.C. on September 29th.
The kickoff will be a screening of Dinesh D’Souza’s extraordinary new documentary, America: Imagine a World Without Her, followed by remarks and Q&A with its producer/star. Among the other featured presenters (either in person or via videotape) will be: former Vice President Dick Cheney, Sen. Ted Cruz, Israeli Ambassador Ron Dermer, Dr. Ben Carson, Reps. Michele Bachmann, Louie Gohmert, Trent Franks, and Jim Bridenstein, former Congressmen Allen West and Pete Hoekstra, and former federal prosecutor Andy McCarthy.
The program will feature illuminating discussions of such vital issues as: the threat environment, the hollowing out of the U.S. military, border insecurity, grid vulnerability, the global jihad, and Benghazigate.
A particular highlight of the Summit will be the unveiling by pollster Kellyanne Conway of the results of her latest opinion research on public attitudes concerning our security and the need to enhance it. She will discuss her findings about key demographics’ attitudes with prominent conservatives from three of those communities: Ann-Marie Murrell, co-author of What Women Really Want; former GOP nominee for Virginia Lieutenant Governor Bishop E.W. Jackson; and Colorado Hispanic Republican leader Pauline Olvera.
To find out more information about the National Security Action Summit and to register to participate in this extraordinarily topical, timely and needed gathering, go to: https://homelandthreats.com.
Mr. Gaffney is the host of Secure Freedom Radio, a nationally-syndicated radio program heard weeknights throughout the country. He is an associate author of highly acclaimed Shariah: The Threat to America and the publisher of over a dozen other books and monographs from the Center for Security Policy Press.
In April 1987, Mr. Gaffney was nominated by President Reagan to become the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Policy, the senior position in the Defense Department with responsibility for policies involving U.S.-USSR relations, nuclear forces, arms control, missile defense policy and U.S.-European defense ties. He acted in that capacity for seven months during which time, he was the Chairman of the prestigious High Level Group, NATO’s senior politico-military committee. He also represented the Secretary of Defense in key U.S.-Soviet negotiations and ministerial meetings.
From August 1983 until November 1987, Mr. Gaffney was the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear Forces and Arms Control Policy under Assistant Secretary Richard Perle.
From February 1981 to August 1983, Mr. Gaffney was a Professional Staff Member on the Senate Armed Services Committee, chaired by the late Senator John Tower (R-Texas). And, in the latter 1970’s, Mr. Gaffney served as an aide to the late Senator Henry M. “Scoop” Jackson (D-Washington) in the areas of defense and foreign policy.
Mr. Gaffney holds a Master of Arts degree in International Studies from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies and a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service.
Mr. Gaffney’s leadership has been recognized by numerous organizations including: the Department of Defense Distinguished Public Service Award (1987), the U.S. Business and Industry Council’s Defender of the National Interest Award (1994), the Navy League of the United States’ Alfred Thayer Mahan Literary Achievement Award (1999), and the Zionist Organization of America’s “Louis Brandeis Award” (2003), the Western Conservative Summit’s Stephen H. Long Award (2015), the Council for National Policy’s George Washington Military Leadership Award (2016) and the IMPACT Award from Ginni Thomas and United in Purpose (2017).
Mr. Gaffney was born in 1953 and resides in the Washington, D.C. area.
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