The John Batchelor Show

Thursday 8 December 2016

Air Date: 
December 08, 2016

Photo, left: Annie and John Glenn.     (CNN) John Glenn, the first American to orbit the Earth and a longtime US senator, died Thursday, according to the Ohio State University. He was 95.
It was announced Wednesday that Glenn had been hospitalized "more than a week ago," according to Ohio State University spokesman Hank Wilson. He was at the James Cancer Hospital at the Ohio State University, but his illness was not disclosed. Glenn had heart valve replacement surgery in 2014. President Barack Obama released a statement paying tribute to Glenn.
 
JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW
Co-hosts: Mary Kissel, Wall Street Journal Editorial Board & host of Opinion Journal on WSJ Video. Malcolm Hoenlein, Conference of Presidents.
 
Hour One
Thursday  8 December 2016 / Hour 1, Block A: Victor Davis Hanson, Hoover, in re:
Trump is correct that we need to stop ISIS, but Iran now controls Iraq, Syria, Hezbollah, Hamas, and other entities. RESET involves speaking with Putin: You have a periphery full of terrorists; don't you want to reduce that?  . . . If I were Trump, I‘d speak nicely with Putin then call one of the Baltic states.  . . .  Fake red lines, fake deadlines; after that, Putin went into Crimea. The first crisis will arise in the first three months; Trump needs to respond with strength.  Only thing Putin is quite afraid of is radical Islam.  There’s Sunni, Wahhabism, et al, and there’s Iran.  Iran is more of an existential threat now.  Western democracy and capitalism create so much wealth that [we fall into behaviors considered decadent.] If you’re strong and you act decisively, Putin will deal with you; if you’re weak, he won’t.
Thursday  8 December 2016 / Hour 1, Block B:  Edward W Hayes, Daily Beast sartorial columnist, and criminal defense attorney par excellence, in re: New York State prison system, where parole boards are political patronage no-show jobs and prisons  are located sometimes seven hours’ drive from the prisoner’s family. No attempt to rehabilitate prisoners.  Despair-making.
Thursday  8 December 2016 / Hour 1, Block C: Josh Kraushaar, National Journal, in re: Clinton and Obama policy on energy:  Keystone XL Pipeline – consistent polling favored the GOP for five years; the Dems missed. Even 49% of Dems supported construction across racial and economic lines.  ‘Twere the elite and big Dem donors who opposed, and the candidates didn’t dare disagree.  To boot, John Podesta is committed to no fossil fuels.  There are $1.5 trillion of wealth u der Native American reservations; does Interior have a plan? Unh, since the Obama Adm is focused on climate change, no one wanted to bring it up. Native Americans are physically starving, freezing, and deeply depressed in a massively dysfunctional [in effect] domestic prison. Cross-tabbing polls: =/<$50,000, support is overwhelming among Democrats. 
 
Thursday  8 December 2016 / Hour 1, Block D:  Mary Kissel, in re:  Four-star General (ret) James Mattis of the Marine Corps, to be nominated to be SecDef.   A Marine’s Marine, a warrior-scholar; career culminated in Iraq where he and Petraeus turned the tide of the war. Should he be confirmed (with a waiver) . . .  a clear-eyed guy, doesn't mince words.  Betsy DeVos [pron: de-vahss] has been in the trenches of school choice for many years. If you’re rich, you can move, but if you’re not, your children go wherever they are.  This pick breaks the bureaucracy: more competition, probably higher quality for lower prices.  Labor:  Andrew Puzder, PEOTUS’s choice for Secretary of Labor, has been a shill not for labor but for unions. Puzder is an advocate for workers choice. 
 
 
Hour Two
Thursday  8 December 2016 / Hour 2, Block A:  Tony Badran, FDD, in re: Syria, Lebanon. Tragedy in Aleppo; Syrians so close to victory over resistance in the besieged city. An unfolding situation since the beginning of2016 when Obama decided to partner with Russians and thus seal the fate of Aleppo. Similar to policy in the south of Syria, caused Jordanians to [free southern] manpower, go north. Now there’s a clear line for IRGC militias from Damascus to Golan /Kuneitra.   The “Syrian Army” is in fact a bunch of militias, with IRGC; newly-formed “Fifth Corps” is to assemble them under o e rubric, with Hezbollah embedded in the Fifth Corps.  Min  Liberman at the Saban Forum  emphasized . .  . Paramilitary units in Iraq have legislation entering them into the Iraqi army; this is Iran’s template to add a lustre of legitimacy.  Obama’s Syria and _____ policies have been disastrous for Israel  The Hezbollah-Syria-Iran alliance is not good for Israel.
Syria as a satrapy of Iran.
         http://www.wsj.com/articles/syrian-rebels-pin-hopes-on-trump-1481193000
         https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/syrian-army-retakes-aleppos-old-city-as-rebels-discuss-exit/2016/12/07/6ad0bd42-bc52-11e6-91ee-1adddfe36cbe_story.html?utm_term=.941c733c600b
         http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-syria-aleppo-20161206-story.html
         http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Report-Hezbollah-accuses-Israel-of-striking-targets-near-Damascus-474672
         http://www.defenddemocracy.org/media-hit/badran-tony-obama-tries-to-pin-his-syria-policy-on-trump/
         http://www.defenddemocracy.org/media-hit/badran-tony-how-the-syria-echo-chamber-works/
         http://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-trying-to-keep-chemical-arms-from-hezbollah-liberman-says/?utm_content=buffer0fdc7&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer
         https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/NewsReports/567525-hezbollah-to-play-lead-role-in-new-syria-regime-force?utm_content=buffer1de9d&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer
         http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/02/world/middleeast/syria-assad-egypt-turkey.html?ref=middleeast&_r=0
Tony Badran is a research Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, where he focuses on Lebanon, Hezbollah, Syria, and the geopolitics of the Levant.  Born and raised in Lebanon, Tony has testified to the House of Representatives on several occasions regarding U.S. policy toward Iran and Syria. His writings have appeared in publications including The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, Foreign Policy, Foreign Affairs, and The Weekly Standard, and he is a regular contributor to Tablet and a columnist for NOW.
Thursday  8 December 2016 / Hour 2, Block B:  Omri Ceren, Israel Project, in re:  Iran secret documents. Obama White House deception concerning theIRan deal  is at once laughable and sinister. Tree batches of docs in a SCIF physically below Congress; 1. Annex to the Ran deal; 2. Unclass docs are the ransom docs that McGurk signed in Geneva in Jan: who among Iranians was negotiating and what banks; 3: secret exemptions –Iran has cheated on  volume of U and number of centrifuges.  Unclasss info was told in closed sessions so Congressmen couldn’t tell the public – e.g., Iran was allowed to inspect itself, disclosed only because a Rep very bravely said that out loud.  Both Democrats and Republicans are incensed, including Dems who supported the deal.  Gens Kelly, Flynn, Mattis; Rep Pompeo: some of these docs must be released.    Docs caught  in the bin Laden raid (Michael Ledeen and Mattis): linked to Iran in a  way that the Obama Adm found uncomfortable to it classified them. Docs link al Qaeda and Iran. The president of the US and his aides knew this and kept it secret because they realized that Americans would be deeply unhappy. 
         http://www.weeklystandard.com/democrats-challenge-obama-on-withholding-unclassified-iran-deal-docs/article/2005714
         http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/12/05/trump-team-wants-you-to-see-the-iran-nuke-documents-obama-s-kept-from-view.html
Omri Ceren is the Managing Director for Press and Strategy at The Israel Project. He is a political operative and an academic who has been involved in politics and journalism for over a decade, with a focus on Israel and Iran issues. Ceren is a Ph.D, Candidate in Communication at the University of Southern California's Annenberg School.
Thursday  8 December 2016 / Hour 2, Block C:  Malcolm Hoenlein, in re: Shocking lack of Washington attention to Iranian infiltration in South America, use it as a base of operations against the US. The GCC told Europeans, esp the UK, to outlaw the Muslim Brotherhood.  Europeans, Japanese, Koreans, all in Ira making deals; but delivery?
Gaza Strip: Egypt flooded some tunnels; a tunnel collapsed on the Israeli border.  Conflict between Hamas and Islamic Jihad (latter is supported by Iran); Israel is training against a mass infiltration form Gaza. Abbas doesn’t use his base, but elevated Marwan Barghouti (in prison with five life sentences for mass murder) to a senior position in Fatah.
Thursday  8 December 2016 / Hour 2, Block D:  Lee Smith, The Tablet, in re:  Trump—Israel relations. I’m happy to see American on the right foot again.   Gen Flynn’s boo with Michael Ledeen: Flynn has problems with Russia, as with Iran. Syria is an extremely complicated and contentious issue; I hope Trump will focus on the JCPOA and the Iran deal – incl Syria, Russia, NATO issues with Turkey.  Priority shd be the Iran deal.
Once the Iran deal is relieved, what will happen with Israel?  Again – the Iran deal is the major strategic threat.  Even Yossi Kooperwasser says it's a big deal. Military intell: can it be expanded to take a regional approach (Turkey, Eastern med, the Gulf)?  Central Asia—Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan?  Trump isn't so much an isolationist as in favor of a strong America.
         http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-news-and-politics/219421/trump-netanyahu-america-israel-relationship
         https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/how-trump-should-renegotiate-the-iran-deal/2016/12/06/b78ddf3e-bb0d-11e6-91ee-1adddfe36cbe_story.html?utm_term=.512cdbb1de15
         http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/the-trump-administration-and-the-middle-east-a-washington-institute-guide
         http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/fikraforum/view/trump-and-the-middle-east-between-hope-and-apprehension
         http://foreignpolicy.com/2016/12/04/president-trump-and-the-art-of-the-ultimate-israel-palestine-peace-deal/
Lee Smith is a Senior Fellow at Hudson Institute. Smith has led an impressive career in writing and publishing. He has worked at a number of journals, magazines and publishers, including the Hudson Review, the Ecco Press, Atheneum, Grand Street, GQ, and Talk Magazine. He is a senior editor at the Weekly Standard. He was also editor-in-chief of the Voice Literary Supplement, the Village Voice's national monthly literary magazine.
 
 
Hour Three
Thursday  8 December 2016 / Hour 3, Block A:  Melissa Weiss, Israel on Campus Coalition, in re:  BDS –the goal of BDS s the destruction of the State of Israel. Fewer BDS chapters this year (from  44 to 26?),  the public meetings now include sudden, loud, screaming matches opposing Israel and Jews, and sometimes devolving into physical violence against Jews. This is a cancer that metastasizes.  University of Minnesota has been wonderfully supportive as has NYU; the Academic Engagement Network has been an excellent resource. But on some campuses , the faculty and administration turn a blind eye. Portland State (Oregon) has been really rough, but after a year of fights, a large open-air festival honoring Israel.  The US-Israel Academic Collaboration: in the past decade alone, more than 40,00 publications jointly authored by Israelis and Americans – MIT, Stanford, very top universities. Students who are targeted – Jews and gentiles ‑ need support.
         http://israelcc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/SamuelNeamanReport_FINAL.pdf
         http://israelcc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/ICC-2015-2016-Campus-Trends-Report.pdf
         https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/students-are-shouting-down-pro-israel-speakers--and-silencing-free-speech/2016/12/07/9211c3b8-bbd7-11e6-91ee-1adddfe36cbe_story.html?utm_term=.c60629d9fd4e
Melissa joined the Israel on Campus Coalition in February 2015. In her role as director of policy and strategy, she oversees ICC's team of regional directors and coordinates ICC's national campus strategy. Prior to joining ICC, Melissa spent four years at The Israel Project, where she was most recently the organization’s director of strategy and planning. Melissa has been active in pro-Israel circles for more than a decade. She currently sits on the national steering committee of JDC Entwine and is a member of AJC ACCESS and the Maryland Hillel alumni network. A native of upstate New York, Melissa earned her B.A. in journalism with a minor in history from the University of Maryland, College Park.
Thursday  8 December 2016 / Hour 3, Block B: Malcolm Henlein, in re:   after the Turkish coup over 100,00 people were arrested, stripping all administration  of skilled officers, In the military, 150 on loan to NATO have been recalled.  Erdogan made quite unpleasant remarks on Israel then the next day received the returned Israeli ambassador. Arab Spring: more turmoil coming; maybe youth revolt vs unemployment, huger, Sunni-Shiite fight.  Rapid population rise in Arab region, doubling capacity to deal with this; warning sounded by a UN report. Five percent of world’s population in the Arab world but half of terrorists.
Thursday  8 December 2016 / Hour 3, Block C: Gregory Copley, StrategicStudies director; GIS/Defense & Foreign Affairs; & author, UnCivilization, in re:
Thursday  8 December 2016 / Hour 3, Block D: Gregory Copley, StrategicStudies director; GIS/Defense & Foreign Affairs; & author, UnCivilization, in re:
  
Hour Four
Thursday  8 December 2016 / Hour 4, Block A:  Bob Zimmerman, BehindtheBlack, in re: tribute to John Glenn.  . . . Old NASA war between pilots and engineers, where engineers wanted just to strap in the pilots to see if they survived. Pilots, naturally, objected; and won. 
Thursday  8 December 2016 / Hour 4, Block B:  Bob Zimmerman, BehindtheBlack, in re:  
Thursday  8 December 2016 / Hour 4, Block C:  Hotel Mars, episode n, in re:
Thursday  8 December 2016 / Hour 4, Block D:  Hotel Mars, episode n, in re:
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