Photo, above:  Pres Obama cited American success in Somalia and Yemen.  Yemen is on the verge of collapse as Iran agitates to overthrow the Yemeni president, an associate of the Saudi government – which Iran intends to destroy.  Tens of thousands in Yemen Shiite protest... August 18, 2014. Yemen raised fuel prices last month as the impoverished country tries to cut energy subsidies to ease the burden on its budget deficit.

Houthi protests escalate  SANA’A, Sept. 10—On Tuesday morning Houthi protests in front of the cabinet in Sana’a escalated, leaving seven dead and dozens injured.

Security forces evict Houthi tents  SANA’A, Sept. 8—Security forces ecicted demonstrators’ tents on Sunday evening from Airport Road, in the north of the capital Sana’a.

Houthi protesters killed in front of Sana’a’s cabinet  SANA'A, Sept. 9—At least four protesters were killed and dozens injured while marching towards Sana’a’s cabinet headquarters earlier this morning.

US man imprisoned in Yemen makes emotional plea: 'They're gonna kill me in here'  Sharif Mobley, abducted in Sana’a in murky circumstances in 2010 and missing inside prison system for seven months, tells wife that Yemeni captors are threatening to kill him   An American citizen, who has been missing inside the prison system of Yemen for seven months, has made contact with his wife in a furtive phone call during which he alleged that his US-allied captors are torturing him and may kill him.

Sharif Mobley, 30, whose lawyers consider him to be disappeared, managed to call his wife in Philadelphia on Thursday, the first time they had spoken since February and a rare independent proof he is alive since a brief phone call with his mother in July. In the 10-minute call with Nzinga Islam, which she believes was not sanctioned by his jailers, Mobley pleaded to see his lawyer and said he was being physically abused. “He said, ‘I’m being tortured.’ He even said, ‘They’re gonna kill me in here,’” Islam said.  In a whispered tone, Mobley reported that his captors are “spraying gas into my eyes,” insufficiently feeding him, and forcing him to drink water out of bottles that had contained urine, Islam said.

“He hasn’t seen his lawyer, they’re not allowing anyone to see him,” she told the Guardian in a rare interview.  Islam, 26, said she believes her husband was permitted to call her thanks to a sympathetic guard. Addressing a central mystery in Mobley’s ordeal, a voice Islam believes belonged to the guard said they were on a military base on Haddah Street in Yemen’s capital, Sana’a. Reprieve, an international human rights group representing Mobley, said it believes the base is used by the Central Security Forces, one of Yemen’s numerous security agencies. Mobley himself, however, “had no idea where he was,” Islam said.  Mobley’s attorneys reported their last contact with their client was at Sana’a’s central prison on 27 February, when . . . 

JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW

Co-host:  Thaddeus McCotter, WJR, The Great Voice of the Great Lakes.

Hour One

Monday  15 September 2014  / Hour 1, Block A: Thomas Joscelyn, Long War Journal senior editor, & Bill Roggio, Long War Journal and FDD (1 of 2) in re: Pres Obama spoke of successes in Somalia and Yemen. Extremely mysterious in view of the terrifying Blackhawk Down disaster in Somalia and the massive disarray, probably prelude to governmental fall and takeover by al Qaeda, in Yemen.

Islamic State beheads British citizen, threatens another  The Islamic State released a video of the beheading of David Cawthorne Haines, a British citizen who was kidnapped while providing security for an aid group in Syria's Idlib province in March 2013.

Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent claims 2 attacks in Pakistan  AQIS has claimed two attacks in Pakistan. On Sept. 2, the group assassinated a Pakistani officer. An AQIS spokesman claims that the group attempted to take over a docked Pakistani ship on Sept. 6 and fire missiles at American warships.

Analysis: Al Nusrah Front explains decision to release UN peacekeepers  The Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda's official branch in Syria, explained its decision to release more than 40 UN peacekeepers in a video released earlier this week. The group disputes published reports saying that it demanded to be taken off the UN's list of designated terrorist organizations. And it says the hostages were freed in compliance with sharia law.

US drone strike targets AQAP fighters in Shabwa  Five AQAP fighters, including a Saudi and an individual who shares the nom de guerre of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula's emir for Mahfad, are reported to have been killed in the first drone strike since mid-August.

Monday  15 September 2014  / Hour 1, Block B: Thomas Joscelyn, Long War Journal senior editor, & Bill Roggio, Long War Journal and FDD (2 of 2) in re: Al Nusra released its UN prisoners, different from ISIS; looks as though someone paid a large ransom - $20 mil? – via Qatar.    Al Nusrah said publicly that it had promised safe passage to someone and neglected to provide it; referred the matter to a shariah court and was instructed to release the UN hostages.  Skillful: they get lots of money and portray themselves as virtuous, thus increasing their attractiveness to ne recruits.  Tom Joscelyn is about to testify to Homeland Affairs subcommittee. Jabat al Nusrah = al Qaeda.

Monday  15 September 2014  / Hour 1, Block C: Aaron Klein, KleinOnline and Salem Radio Network, in re: Mrs Clinton in Iowa opens questions relevant to her candidacy.  Benghazi: mission protected by ________ Brigade; Amb Stevens was up against a tight funding deadline: to move from a temporary physical space to be converted into a permanent facility.  Amb Stevens would have had to conduct a rushed inspection up against a 30 Sept deadline. Funding effort, reconstruction and major arms shipment.Is there anyone in this tale who seems to have done the right thing?  See: bombshell-clinton-state-department-official-reveals-alleged-details-document-review    CIA contractors, Pentagon, others, all furious: why no air support?  It was available and situated exactly for such a situation.  Select Committee of the House of Representatives begins its hearing on 17 September.  Mrs Clinton holds that she may not have answered all questions fully but in no way did she mislead.  Question: "Is the US involved with  . . . transferring weapons at all to Turkey?" Her response was not not not, and she doesn’t know anything about it.  She also wrote that she hadn’t seen telegrams requesting more security for Amb Stevens – this is not credible, as she signed a waiver allowing the CIA annex to be in one place and the related facility a mile away.  [Lots of data in here. Pls go to podcast.]   Arming Syrian and Libyan rebels – these are now active enemies of the United States.

Monday  15 September 2014  / Hour 1, Block D:  Gordon Chang, Forbes.com, in re:   IMF chief of China mission spoke of relation between employment and GDP growth if you use his formula, you come up with 2.2%, which will feel a lot like recession in  China.  With 2.2% growth and much debt incurred, cannot be repaid, certainly not at 2.2%  Barclay's: 47% of Chinese super-rich intend to leave China within five years  Susan Rice visited Xi Jinping; her job was to pave the way for a November visit. She avoided contentious issues; this administration wants to talk with Chinese but they refuse to deal in good faith. When our allies see the US afraid to speak of difficult issues, allies also shy away. More, China sees this as liberty to maltreat the US.  Overreach so bad that even Malaysia China's hitherto best fried in the region, now seems to be ready to invite the US to establish a naval base there.  Parents put themselves in big debt to educate children who now cannot find a job.  This educated base is the sort that can bring down a government.

Hour Two

Monday  15 September 2014  / Hour 2, Block A:  John Fund, National Review Online, & David M Drucker, Washington Examiner Senior Congressional correspondent, in re: ISIS – al Qaeda 6.0: takfiri jihadists; al Nusrah and its kindred and ISIS are all gangsters who'll kill you at the drop of a hat. Do not play the game of "good al Nusrah, bad ISIS."  All of a sudden. natl security goes to the top of the list.   . . .   Failure of GOP to put forth a plan . . .  Mrs Clinton at Indianola, Iowa.  . ..  The Democratic Party strength is in its antiwar stance; but Mrs Clinton is comparatively a hawk. 

Monday  15 September 2014  / Hour 2, Block B: John Fund, National Review Online, & David M Drucker, Washington Examiner Senior Congressional correspondent, in re:  Bruce Braley of Iowa vs. Joni Irnst.    Scott Brown vs Jeanne Shaheen also a dead heat?  Colorado: Dems changed the voting law so every voter gets a ballot in the mail, which increases the chances of Democrats.  Scott Brown was a late challenger and quick to catch up.

Monday  15 September 2014  / Hour 2, Block C: Matt Kaminski, WSJ, in re:  Robert Menendez: Return of the Hawkish Democrat  Scrappy; junkyard dog: Bob Menendez, chairman of Foreign Relations Committee.

Monday  15 September 2014  / Hour 2, Block D: Russell A. Berman, Hoover Defining Ideas, in re: Academic Freedom and Academic Standards  Anti-Semitism and the case of Steven Salaita, a professor of Native American studies (?) and Palestinian.  Simple: a politicized scholar was turned down for a position at the University of Illinois. He was offered the place conditional on his acceptance by the Board.  He resigned his position at Virginia Tech so now is wholly out of a job.  His tweets are vulgar and rude; he intends to offend and damage; implied violence in his words. If he was turned down for political views, tht'd be wrong. If it’s on the tenor of his writing, that's legit. 

Hour Three

Monday  15 September 2014  / Hour 3, Block A:  Malcolm Hoenlein, Conference of Presidents,  in re: Turkey,among thee players – Teheran, Twelver Shia, Persia redux; Saudi Kingdom, Wahhabist home of the Two Mosques; and Ankara,  epicenter of neo-Ottomanists. These three capitals are likely to engage in war in one form or another for this century,  Could be a hundred, could be a thousand, years.  Erdogan's overt support for the blockade showed him to be an enemy of democracy   Muslim Brotherhood is still a presence but not able to seek hegemony. In Yemen, Syria and Turkey, they have a presence.  Turkey h as let its border be a crossing for terrorists into Iraq, and welcomes a sales network for illegal oil sold by IS.  Qatar paid $20 or $30 mil for the release of UN troops.   Davotuglu.  Turkey now is the problem; Obama Administration supports Turkey.  New York Times: US has banished Iran fro the EU discussions – btw, IS is filled with Europeans. I've tried to find a thread among Kerry's many entreaties; almost impossible to organize.  State spokesman said, were not planning to coordinate with Iran in any way – but Iran said that the US ambassador in Iraq made entreaties to Iran and Iran rejected them.  Weapons flowig to Kurds: this has become a stabilizing force.  Mixed signals. How can our allies read this?

Monday  15 September 2014  / Hour 3, Block B:  Malcolm Hoenlein, Conference of Presidents,  in re:  . . . Khorasan: sent not to fight but to recruit Europeans.    Amazingly, Pres Obama spoke of Yemen as where he wants to go with things; in fact, it’s a disaster. Houthis have been promoted by Iran as a proxy; Shia; long have controlled the border with Saudi Arabia. Now moved to the capital, are demonstrating there now. Control the territory from Sanaa to the Saudi border. Also Ikhwan-  US at war with mysteries.

Monday  15 September 2014  / Hour 3, Block C:  James Taranto, Wall Street Journal, in re: the left side of the war: leftist feelings on striking ISIS. 

Monday  15 September 2014  / Hour 3, Block D:  LouAnn Hammond, DrivingtheNation, in re: cars that can drive themselves in 2017, above all, Cadilacs.

Hour Four

Monday  15 September 2014  / Hour 4, Block A:  Michael Auslin, AEI, WSJ, in re:  Susan Rice in China.

Monday  15 September 2014  / Hour 4, Block B:  Robert Zimmerman, behindtheblack.com, in re: Saturn's rings.

Monday  15 September 2014  / Hour 4, Block C:  Peter Bogucki, Princeton, in re: 22,000-year-old mammoth hunters on the West Coast?

Monday  15 September 2014  / Hour 4, Block D:  Sid Perkins, Nature magazine, in re: comet spring flyby of Mars