Photo, above: The Minister of State for Defense Affairs of Bahrain, H.E. Lt-General Dr. Shaikh Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, patronized a seminar (this photo: earlier n 2013); see Hour 3, Block C: Gordon Adams, School of International Service, American University.

JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW

 

Guest host: Francis Rose, "In Depth with Francis Rose," Federal News Radio 1500AM, Washington, D.C.,

Hour One

Sunday 13 October 2013 / Hour 1, Block A: Michael Astrue, former Administrator, Social Security Administration, in in re: Obama Administration knew Healthcare.gov was a dud months ago, was not honest with Congress

Sunday 13 October 2013 / Hour 1, Block B: Mat Burrows, director of the Strategic Foresight Initiative in the Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security, Atlantic Council, in in re: government shutdown and effect on national security and intelligence collection

Sunday 13 October 2013 / Hour 1, Block C: Jim McTague, Washington Editor, Barron’s, in in re: How to tell when Congress & the White House will make a deal and the shutdown will end

Sunday 13 October 2013 / Hour 1, Block D: Gordon Chang, Forbes.com, in in re: Another round of consolidating power and eliminating dissent in China

Hour Two

Sunday 13 October 2013 / Hour 2, Block A:  David Hawkings, Senior Editor, Roll Call, in re: latest on budget, government shutdown, and the road map ahead for a deal

Sunday 13 October 2013 / Hour 2, Block B: Richard Downie, deputy director and fellow in the Africa Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies,  in re: Al Qaeda threat landscape in Africa; aftermath of Al Shabaab attack; future progress and evolution of AQ affiliates on the African continent.

Sunday 13 October 2013 / Hour 2, Block C: Todd Harrison, Senior Fellow for Defense Budget Studies, Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, in re: When the shutdown ends, the Pentagon still has tough choices ahead.    Defense strategy is ultimately about making choices, which in peacetime often manifest themselves as decisions about the defense budget. As the budget gets squeezed, these choices become more difficult, and the current strategy may have to be modified or even abandoned. Yet without resource constraints, strategy would be unnecessary — the military could simply throw more money at all its problems. Limited resources thus create the need for strategy, and as resources become more constrained, strategy becomes more important. The key strategic choice facing the Pentagon now is one of timing: whether to prioritize today’s military or tomorrow’s. Given the budget drawdown currently under way, the Pentagon cannot afford to do both — it cannot get everything it wants.  With the $37 billion in sequestration cuts that took effect in 2013 and the reduction in war-related funding already in the works, the total U.S. defense budget has declined by 21 percent, adjusting for inflation, from its peak in 2010. If the Budget Control Act of 2011 remains in effect through its final year, 2021, and supplemental war funding ends by that time, the defense budget will have fallen by 33 percent in real terms. In comparison, the drawdown following the defense buildup of the 1980s slashed the defense budget by 35 percent, and the military reductions following the Vietnam and Korean wars decreased defense spending by 25 percent and 51 percent, respectively. This drawdown, however, will be different. In previous buildups, as the budget increased, the size of the military grew as well. But during the most recent buildup, the size of the military did not significantly expand. From 1998 to 2010, the overall defense budget . . . [more]

Sunday 13 October 2013 / Hour 2, Block D: Kevin Hassett, Senior Fellow and Director of Economic Policy Studies, American Enterprise Institute, in re: his testimony to the Joint Economic Committee about the debt limit and default; he suggests we can learn from how other countries handle borrowing and debt.   We have an outdated budgetary system that creates [a mess] sporadically.   Create spending cap in relation to GDP; Finland and Sweden have begun to adopt these.

Hour Three

Sunday 13 October 2013 / Hour 3, Block A: James Phillips, Senior Research Fellow for Middle Eastern Affairs at the Douglas and Sarah Allison Center for Foreign Policy Studies, Heritage Foundation, in re: Morsi on trial Nov. 4; US cuts off aid to Egypt - too late. Egyptians see the US as an unreliable ally, consider Pres Obama to be the center of anti-Egyptian policies. Behind the scenes, the White House insists that the military create a high-functioning democracy; not a likely outcome, as a return of the Muslim Brotherhood is not a desideratum in their eyes. 

Sunday 13 October 2013 / Hour 3, Block B: Keith Fitz-Gerald, Chief Investment Strategist, Money Map Report; Chairman, Fitz-Gerald Group, in re: Twitter IPO - why investors aren’t (or shouldn’t be) interested

Sunday 13 October 2013 / Hour 3, Block C: Gordon Adams, distinguished fellow, Stimson Center; professor in the U.S. Foreign Policy program at the School of International Service, American University, in re: the view of shutdown-and-sequestration America from around the world (Gordon is just back from a defense conference in Bahrain).  Conference was not all in agreement about China: not clear what its capabilities are, inc anti-access area denial by China of the US.  North, Central and South American security, and sub-Saharan African security, were on the agenda.  Les interest in terrorism, none on Kenya mall.  Heavy focus on the Washington political circus.  US is viewed not as a "citti on a Hill," but as another player in the world scrimmage.

Sunday 13 October 2013 / Hour 3, Block D: Jason Miller, Executive Editor, and Jared Serbu, DoD reporter, Federal News Radio, in re: the shutdown that’s not really a shutdown

Hour Four

Sunday 13 October 2013 / Hour 4, Block A: Bill Eggers: The Solution Revolution: How Business, Government, and Social Enterprises Are Teaming Up to Solve Society's Toughest... by Eggers, William D. and Macmillan, Paul  (1 of 4)

Sunday 13 October 2013 / Hour 4, Block B: Bill Eggers: The Solution Revolution: How Business, Government, and Social Enterprises Are Teaming Up to Solve Society's Toughest... by Eggers, William D. and Macmillan, Paul  (2 of 4)

Sunday 13 October 2013 / Hour 4, Block C: Bill Eggers: The Solution Revolution: How Business, Government, and Social Enterprises Are Teaming Up to Solve Society's Toughest... by Eggers, William D. and Macmillan, Paul  (3 of 4)

Sunday 13 October 2013 / Hour 4, Block D: Bill Eggers: The Solution Revolution: How Business, Government, and Social Enterprises Are Teaming Up to Solve Society's Toughest... by Eggers, William D. and Macmillan, Paul  (4 of 4)

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