Frank J Gaffney Jr

Founder and President of the Center for Security Policy

Frank J Gaffney Jr is a 1975 graduate of the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service of Georgetown University, and holds a graduate degree from Johns Hopkins University's Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies. Gaffney began his public service career in the 1970s, working as an aide in the office of Democratic Senator Henry M. Jackson. Between 1983 and 1987, he held the position of Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defence for Nuclear Forces and Arms Control Policy in the Reagan Administration. In April 1987, Gaffney was nominated to the position of US Assistant Secretary of Defence for International Security Policy. He served as the acting Assistant Secretary for seven months, though his confirmation was ultimately blocked by the United States Senate.

In 1988, Gaffney established the Center for Security Policy, a conservative national security and defence policy think-tank. Gaffney is the lead author of War Footing (2005), a collection of essays that 'offer ten specific steps that Americans, as individuals and as communities, can take to ensure their way of life and safety and the future well-being of their children and grandchildren.' He is also a regular guest on MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews show.