The John Batchelor Show

Thursday 16 August 2018

Air Date: 
August 16, 2018

Photo: In Ghazni, Afghanistan, bloodied children peer through a hole in concrete blown by a bomb in the current fighting. "‘Ghazni City remains under Afghan government control,’ Lt. Col. Martin O'Donnell, a spokesman for Operation Resolute Support and U.S. Forces Afghanistan, told Military.com on Tuesday.” This is not accurate. 
Three Administrations have failed the American people and the Afghan people. Afghanistan is now largely in the hands of Taliban, al Qaeda and ISIS.  Afghans are left to the mercies of Pakistanis, Russians, Chinese, and Indians, among others.  Citizens of Ghazni face mortars, bombs, no water, and starvation. 
 
JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW
Co-host:  Malcolm Hoenlein, Conference of Presidents; David Livingston, The Space Show
 
Hour One
Thursday 16 August 2018 / Hour 1, Block A: Sebastian Gorka, Natl Security Strategist, Fox News; author, Why We Fight; in re: The problem we have now is John Brennan, a paid speaker for a television channel. Never, since the CIA’s founding after WWII, has a CIA director called a sitting president’s actions “treasonous,” is in the thrall of the Russian president.  Daniel Hoffman, who was station chief in Moscow: “The mere fact that [Brennan] makes such fantastic statements means that . . .”
James Clapper has been making comparably over-the-top remarks.  Both these men are hirelings for media.  Suggestion that they’re performing bears.  Individuals profiting from prior positions to attack a sitting president while having access to the highest-level security information . . . In interviews, they’re looking esp for vulnerabilities —are you unstable?  etc.  These two men – Brennan voted for the Communist Party  — should never have received security clearances in the first place. Omarosa Manigault-Newman. 
Thursday 16 August 2018 / Hour 1, Block B: Sebastian Gorka, Natl Security Strategist, Fox News; author, Why We Fight; in re: Somali attacks in London at Parliament.  Quick response, because the area is saturated with police, but this is the fourth vehicular attack in eighteen months, second at Commons.  As often happens, he was on the authorities’s screen but the threat wasn’t dealt with.   Singapore summit.   Cyber.  Flabbergasting: Obama defanged our cyber protections. We were supine.  China has 25,000 uniformed men who are cyber warriors; now, finally, the Trump Adm goes to cyberwar.
Thursday 16 August 2018 / Hour 1, Block C:  Zero Hour for Gen X: How the Last Adult Generation Can Save America from Millennials, by Matthew Hennessey.   Gen X (b 1964 – 1980), ‘twixt two giant cohorts. 
     In Zero Hour for Gen X , Matthew Hennessey calls on his generation, Generation X, to take a stand against tech-obsessed millennials, apathetic baby boomers, utopian Silicon Valley “visionaries,” and the menace to top them all: the soft totalitarian conspiracy known as the Internet of Things. Soon Gen Xers will be the only cohort of Americans who remember life as it was lived before the arrival of the Internet. They are, as Hennessey dubs them, “the last adult generation,” the sole remaining link to a time when childhood was still a bit dangerous but produced adults who were naturally resilient. 
     More than a decade into the social media revolution, the American public is waking up to the idea that the tech sector’s intentions might not be as pure as advertised. The mountains of money being made off our browsing habits and purchase histories are used to fund ever-more extravagant and utopian projects that, by their very natures, will corrode the foundations of free society, leaving us all helpless and digitally enslaved to an elite crew of ultra-sophisticated tech geniuses. But it’s not too late to turn the tide. There’s still time for Gen X to write its own future. 
     A spirited defense of free speech, eye contact, and the virtues of patience, Zero Hour for Gen X is a cultural history of the last 35 years, an analysis of the current social and historical moment, and a generational call to arms.
Thursday 16 August 2018 / Hour 1, Block D:  Zero Hour for Gen X: How the Last Adult Generation Can Save America from Millennials, by Matthew Hennessey.   Gen X (b 1964 – 1980), ‘twixt two giant cohorts. 
 
Hour Two
Thursday 16 August 2018 / Hour 2, Block A:  Thomas Rose, Sr. Advisor and Chief Strategist to Vice President Mike Pence; in re: VP Pence and Israel. Prognostication that if the US moved its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, the whole region would be torn asunder by rioting, How’s the rioting going?  Beautifully; all tranquil.
President demonstrates “disruptive boldness” (quotation from Mike Pompeo) – that moral conviction and clarity are essential; that peace cannot be built on a [fabrication], can be built only on clear truth.   We have an extraordinary negotiating team at the WH; Mike Pompeo and John Bolton are superb.  Eighteen months on, the behind-the-scenes progress: Sunni states’s alliance with Israel; Iran’s hegemonic march has been stopped dead in its tracks.  . . .  Twelve area in which we must see progress — esp human rights in Iran.  Kleptocracy has stolen billions and billi0ns of dollars.  Iranian people want Iran back from the Islamic Republic, stop being a destabilizing force in the Middle East.
Thursday 16 August 2018 / Hour 2, Block B:  Steve Cook, Council on Foreign Relations; in re:  Turkey, and Erdogan’s abuse of Pastor Andrew Brunson.  Mediation? No one visible to do that.  Meanwhile, two presidents having “rather sizable egos.” Whole range of issues divide the US and Turkey – helping Iran evade sanctions, Russian mil sales to Turkey, and a handful of other serious  matters.   . . . Decision not to sell F35s to Turkey – a blow to their self-esteem.  US cannot sell F35s to a country that has the S400 with the software being maintained by Russia.  Incirlik: US mustn’t be dependent on it; move some activities to Romania, Cyprus, Iraq.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/10/opinion/turkey-erdogan-trump-crisis-sanctions.htm
https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/08/13/trump-is-the-first-president-to-get-turkey-right/
https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2018/08/09/turkish-lawyers-want-to-raid-incirlik-air-base-and-arrest-us-air-force-officers/
https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/08/13/trump-blocks-fighter-jet-transfer-amid-deepening-us-turkey-rift-f35/
Steven A. Cook is Eni Enrico Mattei senior Fellow for Middle East and Africa studies at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). He is an expert on Arab and Turkish politics as well as U.S.-Middle East policy. Cook is the author of False Dawn: Protest, Democracy, and Violence in the New Middle East; The Struggle for Egypt: From Nasser to Tahrir Square, which won the Washington Institute for Near East Policy's gold medal in 2012; and Ruling but Not Governing: The Military and Political Development in Egypt, Algeria, and Turkey.
Thursday 16 August 2018 / Hour 2, Block C:  Ilan Berman, American Foreign Policy Council; in re:  Iran & Turkey.  . .  Is the Caspian a lake or a sea?   Very energy-rich; haggling for twenty years. The very recent Caspian summit: Russians did very well, Iran least-well.  . . . Many agree they don’t want NATO in Turkey.  The fatal flaw in the alliance: mechanisms for accession, but none for deaccession. Ergo, no mechanism to oblige [malfeasants] like Turkey to behave better.  Iran’s economy is very rough; current demos yell, “Death to the dictator!”  This is the most significant sustained rebellion since the revolution in 1979.   Also, environmental conditions are disastrous – 300 cities approaching drought crisis; many have no drinking water.   . . .  Pastor Brunson: Any climb-down for Turkey?  No, not even looking. 
●       http://www.ilanberman.com/21479/iran-new-revolutionary-moment
●       http://www.afpc.org/publication_listings/viewArticle/3953  
●       https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/khamenei-attacks-moderates-as-source-of-irans-problems  
●       https://www.politico.com/story/2018/08/08/rand-paul-trump-russia-putin-768472  
●       https://www.ft.com/content/93c52100-9e16-11e8-85da-eeb7a9ce36e4
●       https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/aug/12/landmark-caspian-sea-deal-signed-amng-five-coastal-nations
●       https://www.haaretz.com/world-news/europe/russia-says-dollar-s-days-numbered-as-global-trade-currency-1.6382199
●       http://www.defenddemocracy.org/media-hit/imagining-the-islamic-republic/
●       http://www.defenddemocracy.org/media-hit/behnam-ben-taleblu-irans-increased-missile-testing-an-apparent-rebuke-to-us-pressure/
 Ilan Berman is Senior Vice President of the American Foreign Policy Council in Washington, DC. An expert on regional security in the Middle East, Central Asia, and the Russian Federation, he has consulted for both the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency and the U.S. Department of Defense, and provided assistance on foreign policy and national security issues to a range of governmental agencies and Congressional offices. He has been called one of America's "leading experts on the Middle East and Iran" by CNN.
Thursday 16 August 2018 / Hour 2, Block D: Joseph M. Humire, Executive Director, Center for a Secure Free Society; in re:  Argentina, Latin America. Mysterious drone attack.  . . . Raided three casinos in Argentina at Triborder Area, where Barakat clan was moving tremendous volumes of cash.  Paraguay is cooperating (new president today); Brazil cooperates a bit.  Nisman in Argentina: the murdered prosecutor who was investigating Argentine and Iranian  bombing of AMIA.  Treason.  . . . Velayati was named n one of the Interpol warrants; MOU implicates highest Iranian figures. 
https://www.terrorism-info.org.il/en/hezbollahs-tri-border-area-terror-finance-comes-fire-last-emanuele-ottolenghi/
https://www.argentina.gob.ar/noticias/terrorist-financing
Joseph M. Humire is the SFS Executive Director. A global security expert specializing on transnational threats in the Western Hemisphere, he provides regular briefings on international terrorism, transnational organized crime, Islamism and Iran’s influence Latin America to various entities within the U.S. Department of Defense and intelligence community, as well as prominent think tanks and universities around the world. He testifies frequently before the U.S. Congress on national security issues and has also testified before the European, Canadian, and Andean Parliament, as well as the Argentine and Peruvian Congress. In 2016, Mr. Humire served as an expert witness in an important terrorism trial in Lima, Peru.
 
Hour Three
Thursday 16 August 2018 / Hour 3, Block A: Malcolm Hoenlein, in re:   Mad Minute: too many topics in one segment.  Ceasefire, Gaza’s economy is in collapse, Abbas convening PA Central Committee (he’s in the thirteenth year of a four-year term) . . . PA goes to the Intl Criminal Court; judges at pre-trial said there shd be ___ about Palestinian victims – despite the fact that they have no  standing whatsoever.  Group of 77: developmental portion of unaligned; Palestinian Authority elected as chair despite not being a state.   Another propaganda vehicle.  AN enormous and elaborate apparatus to suggest that the Palestinians have a future – which they do not; the Arab world  is entirely uninterested.    Golan Heights: dangerous, as Iran ties to encroach on the Israeli border. Syrian army has taken control, Russian police are manning observation posts.  . . . Iran:  Khamenei said he’d made a mistake in letting Zarif negotiate the deal — it's deeply unpopular in the country, and disintegrating.  Europeans withdrawing major projects from Iran — $500 million at a time. 
Thursday 16 August 2018 / Hour 3, Block B:  Neri Zilber, Washington Institute, in re: Gaza, Israel. Head of Egyptian intell visiting Israel.  Also UN involved, and Qatar.  The small deal: opening crossings to Gaza, more humanitarian & dvpt aid in return for quiet; shd be do-able. The big deal:  return of Israeli IDF bodies, civilians back to Israel; Hamas demands a prisoner swap and infrastructure assistance, which Netanyahu does not favor.   . . . Possible naval route from Gaza to Cyprus?  Israel wd need to monitor traffic. “If you give them cement, they’ll bld a tunnel.” IDF focussed on Gaza schools being open: education helps maintain stability.   
https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-israel-hamas-deal-cease-fire-prisoner-swap-and-rebuilding-gaza-1.6386316
https://www.timesofisrael.com/head-of-egyptian-intelligence-reportedly-visited-tel-aviv-to-discuss-gaza-truce/
https://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/PA-official-Hamas-leader-Sinwar-wouldnt-release-soldiers-for-ceasefire-564940
https://www.timesofisrael.com/shin-bet-head-said-to-warn-cabinet-ceasefire-without-pa-will-strengthen-hamas/
http://www.inss.org.il/publication/fine-line-arrangement-escalation-gaza-strip/
 Neri Zilber, a journalist and analyst of Middle East politics and culture, is an adjunct Fellow of The Washington Institute. He was previously a visiting scholar at the Institute in 2014-2015, where his research focused on the Middle East peace process, with particular emphasis on Palestinian economics and state-building. In addition to reportage and commentary on Middle Eastern affairs, Zilber consults for the private sector on regional political and economic risk. Previously, he worked as a researcher and analyst at the U.S. Library of Congress and the World Jewish Congress.
Thursday 16 August 2018 / Hour 3, Block C:  The Empire of Necessity: Slavery, Freedom, and Deception in the New World, by Greg Grandin
Thursday 16 August 2018 / Hour 3, Block D:  The Empire of Necessity: Slavery, Freedom, and Deception in the New World, by Greg Grandin
 
Hour Four
Thursday 16 August 2018 / Hour 4, Block A: Andrew C. McCarthy III, American columnist for National Review; served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York; in re: Paul Manafort
Thursday 16 August 2018 / Hour 4, Block B: Andrew C. McCarthy III, American columnist for National Review; served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York; in re: Paul Manafort
Thursday 16 August 2018 / Hour 4, Block C: Hotel Mars, episode n; Mackenzie Day, UCLA geologist; in re: Ghost dunes of Mars
Thursday 16 August 2018 / Hour 4, Block D:  Joe Pappalardo, Popular Mechanics, in re: Launch complex 39A, Cape Canaveral.   https://www.popularmechanics.com/space/rockets/a22749397/cape-canaverals...
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