Photo, above: Welcome to Maaloula, land of Aramaic. See: Hour 1, Block A, Bill Roggio, Long War Journal and FDD, and Thomas Joscelyn, Long War Journal senior editor, on Tom Joscelyn being on his way to testify to Congress about Maaloula, a Christian town 50km NE of Damascus.

JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW

Hour One

Monday  9 September  2013 / Hour 1, Block A: Bill Roggio, Long War Journal and FDD, and Thomas Joscelyn, Long War Journal senior editor, in re:  Tom Joscelyn on his way to testify to Congress about Maaloula, a Christian town 50km NE of Damascus, with many inhabitants loyal to the Assad regime, where al Nusrah Front (al Qaeda in Syria; the other is the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant)  launched an attack – a suicide bomber at he gates, then associated groups rushed in to compete the attack.  Al Nusrah and ISIL together are tens of thousands.    Confirmed death of Badruddin Haqqani – a brother of Siraj and son of Maulvi Jalaluddin Haqqani, who's in executive shura; group shelters al Qaeda and hosts many groups; controls large areas in Eastern Pakistan; holding a US soldier hostage; a dangerous Taliban subgroup.  No suggestion that Taliban or al Qaeda is on the road to defeat. The strike in the Afpak border region is part of the same contest as the al Nusrah attack in Syria.

U.S. Drone Strike Kills 6 in Pakistan, Fueling Anger

Videos show joint Al Nusrah, Free Syrian Army attacks in ancient village

According to the New York Times, videos posted online suggest "cooperation" between al Qaeda's Al Nusrah Front, Ahrar al Sham, and a Free Syrian Army brigade in an assault on Malula earlier this week. Separately, Ahrar al Sham condemned the prospect of Western intervention in Syria.

Mullah Sangeen Zadran, al Qaeda commander reported killed in drone strike

expert are said to be among those killed in yesterday's strike in North Waziristan.

US drones kill 4 Haqqani Network fighters in North Waziristan strike

Monday  9 September  2013 / Hour 1, Block B: Bill Roggio, Long War Journal and FDD, and Thomas Joscelyn, Long War Journal senior editor, in re: On any given day easily fifty thousand fighters in or with al Qaeda in Syria. Maybe 25,000 rebel forces together in the offensive in August – which occurred over multiple spaces; fuzzy arithmetic. On the coast, clear that al Q led the fighting and there were FSA forces taking orders from them. Well armed and stocked; no heavy eqpt or air.  We're killing Taliban in ones and twos in Pakistan:  Haqqani Network commander, head of shadow Paktia(?) op.  

 

The specially-designated global terrorist the US is searching for may be in Syria – on the side that the US proposes to fight with. He'll be cheering on the Tomahawks. If you're in Afghanistan you're our enemy, if you're in Syria you're our ally.

Monday  9 September  2013 / Hour 1, Block C:  Lara M Brown, political analyst and author, and Salena Zito, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review & Pirates fan, in re:   President of the United States makes his case for air strikes in Syria. Most Americans have turned against the notion of the US sending rockets into Syria and demand that Congress decide, as mandated in the Constitution. The only window out is the suggestion floated by Kerry yesterday: "If the Syrians . . . "  -- oops – the word "if" is forbidden!  Does Pelosi listen to the American people? The polls are overwhelming.  Answer: Congress is beginning to get it – emails, phone calls, blogs; several senators have peeled off, and the House is moving further away than it was.  That's why the president is making a statement tomorrow and Harry Reid is cancelling the test vote.

Lyndon Johnson didn’t listen to anyone, neither Andrew Jackson. They started to be seen as illegitimate – "King Jackson," and Johnson could not run a second time in 1968.   John Quincy Adams was superbly prepared to be president, but he refused to listen to Congress and left the presidency a bitter man. A terrific Congressman, but he'd refused to participate in politics. 

On Tuesday, will the president make a martial speech to rally the citizens?  Originally, but now there'll be a statement in the morning and he might even not speak tomorrow night. 

The Constitution is working perfectly.

Six miles from downtown Pittsburgh, Sergeant Ryan Lane’s youthful image is eternally captured on a banner with two American flags as its background. Dozens of the banners hang from street poles in the business district of Castle Shannon, Lane’s hometown.

A USA Today survey of senators and representatives "finds that only a small fraction of the 533 lawmakers -- 22 senators and 22 House members -- are willing to say they will support the use of force in response to the reported use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime."

"Far more overall -- 19 senators and 130 House members -- say they will oppose a resolution that would authorize military strikes. There are two vacant seats in the House where lawmakers resigned and have not yet been replaced."

"The largest group of lawmakers remains undecided, including a majority of the Senate and the House."

Monday  9 September  2013 / Hour 1, Block D: Jed Babbin, American Spectator, in re: The American Spectator : Passive and Contemptible  His position is, well, passive-aggressive. To say that we need to strike Assad to stop him and other dictators from using chemical weapons is historically and factually wrong.

Hour Two

Monday  9 September  2013 / Hour 2, Block A:  John Fund, National Review Online, David M Drucker, Washington Examiner Sr Congressional correspondent,  in re:  Sparing the President: House may not vote if POTUS would lose.  Gee, the Kremlin must feel good – it's back in the game! The negativity is driving the story. Rep Devin Nunes called it "dead." White House is switching gears from Congressional vote to some muddled, face-saving agreement. Pres Obama will probably say, "Great progress is being made," and Assad will promise not to use any chem weapons and Russia and other nations will act as honest brokers and go to Syria to observe (and play cards all day).

      A USA Today survey of senators and representatives "finds that only a small fraction of the 533 lawmakers -- 22 senators and 22 House members -- are willing to say they will support the use of force in response to the reported use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime."

"Far more overall -- 19 senators and 130 House members -- say they will oppose a resolution that would authorize military strikes. There are two vacant seats in the House where lawmakers resigned and have not yet been replaced."

"The largest group of lawmakers remains undecided, including a majority of the Senate and the House."  (1 of 2) 

Monday  9 September  2013 / Hour 2, Block B: John Fund, National Review Online, David M Drucker, Washington Examiner Sr Congressional correspondent  (2 of 2) This massively mishandled foreign policy crisis will damage the president's ability to operate, including in ObamaCare. However, he won't be much damaged unless the Republicans can take advantage, at which they haven’t been very competent recently.  Will GOP fight the president and demand concessions, or will they fight among themselves over whether or not to force a govt shutdown, which would  be impossible, anyway.

Monday  9 September  2013 / Hour 2, Block C: Joaquin Sapien, Propublica, in re: The controversial American Correctional Association (ACA) has been chosen to conduct audits of prisons and jails to chronicle incidents of sex abuse.  However, the ACA is "the very organization that has been criticized over the years for failing to identify and address safety problems at prisons across the country."

The ACA was formed over a hundred years ago; has morphed into a lobbyist for the corrections industry; widely seen as highly biased toward the industry it represents.   Also criticized by federal courts for releasing audits that ignore sexual assaults in prisons. Prisoners don’t want to work with the ACA out of fear of retaliation. The notion that the ACA would investigate its own members is not workable.  A fellow named Tom Cahill was put in jail for 24 hours for a peaceful protest; was serially raped for the entire time.  Then devoted his entire life to

The Prison Rape Elimination Act: enforcement mechanism not strong – local, state and fed required to comply, but merely a 5% reduction of federal funding for those not in compliance – cheaper to lose 5% than clean the prison. Many rapes are of guard on inmate, esp in juvenile prisons: female guards against male inmates.  The Justice Dept was suppose d immediately to adopt the Commission report and enforce it – repot was supposed to take two years; it took five. DOJ was supposed to take one year, it took three. It all emerged in June 2012, while enforcement began a month ago. Now the ACA is appointed to audit the situation – most lucratively – and each year one-third of facilities across the country to be audited. 

For a price, the ACA offers accreditation for federal and state prisons on issues such as healthcare, sanitation, food service and personnel training in order to help prisons defend themselves against inmate lawsuits. But courts in Texas, California and Florida have found widespread constitutional violations in prisons that were ACA accredited.  "Amy Fettig, senior staff counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union, said such a track record undercuts the ACA's credibility as an effective agent in the push to truly limit sexual violence in the country's prisons. Fettig and other advocates are now pushing the Justice Department to expand its pool of potential auditors to include options other than the ACA."  While Rep. Bobby Scott, who helped write the Prison Rape Elimination Act, is comfortable with the ACA handling audits, there are others who've expressed concerns.  Note also the long journey the legislation took - from its first introduction in 1998 - to finally being implemented in 2012 - roughly seven years behind schedule.

Monday  9 September  2013 / Hour 2, Block D:  Gordon Chang, Forbes.com, in re: Beijing has its own ventral banker; how would a US taper affect China?  A lot: Bernanke's cash ended up in China creating jobs there! When Bernanke spoke of tapering (diminishing the ocean of cash with which the Fed is flooding the US), money fled China, which is now afraid of credit crunches.  In June, two waves of bank defaults – its largest bank had to shut ATMs to conserve cash.  In May and June, Bernanke's mere speech created a financial disaster in China. Fundamental problems  –  a failing economy and the fed tapering –  such that it's unlikely that China can be prepared for an actual taper.  Xi's change of mode is because he's consolidating power – I think; many disagree; either he seriously subscribes to Maoism (Lord help us) or he's using it to arrogate power, along with military aggression throughout East Asia. In the past, China has gone with Russia straight down the line in Security Council, likely to continue for the nonce.  Bloomberg: Petrochina set to invest $10 bil in Russian gas.  The Russian Peace Calendar: "Taper, no war." 

Beijing is now sending warships to “observe” Russian and American vessels close to Syria.  The Jinggangshan, a 689-foot-long amphibious dock ship, is in the eastern Mediterranean, and other Chinese vessels are steaming toward the area.  At the same time, Moscow is sending a missile cruiser, the flagship of its Black Sea fleet, and two destroyers to bolster its naval forces there.  French and Italian warships are in the area. The Syrian coast looks like it will be crowded with combatants.  For many, it's inconceivable that the world’s major powers could get tangled up in conflict, yet this time has two striking parallels to 1914.  First, then, like now, the situation is extremely complex, with too many variables for national leaders to manage. Second, then, like now, it's not clear how nations will align themselves in the event of hostilities.  The Chinese and the Russians, who seem to be acting in concert on Syria, are capable of making miscalculations, especially as they do not respect President Obama.  This is how global conflicts start.

Hour Three

Monday  9 September  2013 / Hour 3, Block A:  Malcolm Hoenlein, Conference of Presidents, in re: 2 August neurotoxin attack in Syria said to have been launched by Assad. Assad has just appeared on TV with Charlie Rose.  Events tumbling, no clarity. No written document that suggests negotiations with Russia. Over the last day, evolution of American response: have some intl force take control of the chem. weapons – how, since Assad has just asserted that Syria has none? Sergei Lavrov: " Many members of Congress who initially supported the president feel that they're being ignored.  WH has enlisted a lot of former officials to promote its views.  Jane's magazine said that in Syria there's nobody to take over after Assad – only a gaggle of terrorist organizations.  WH was expanding from Tomahawks to French aircraft; the EU urged the US to delay but endorsed a clear response to chem. weapons.   We know the serial numbers of the Russian-supplied weapons.  A Reuters poll and others: none shows less than a 2-to-1 margin opposed to US striking.  Turkish army to the north, Iraqi army to east, Jordan and Israel to the south.  US is shifting grounds; there never was a diplomatic solution. Even Ban Kyi-mon said that if Syria used chem. weapons the UN should counter. Alternatively: they cut out the hearts of heir opponents and eat them, and the ongoing beastly attack on the Christian village Maaloula.

 Obama Calls Russia Offer on Syria Possible ‘Breakthrough’  President Obama called a Russian proposal to have Syria surrender its chemical weapons stockpiles “potentially positive,” but said he would keep up the threat of military action.

Monday  9 September  2013 / Hour 3, Block B: Malcolm Hoenlein, Conference of Presidents, in re:  Enormous Egyptian military operation in northern Sinai. Huge influx of foreign fighters, many from Yemen where clerics have urged the faithful to go fight Also Saudi, Libya, Syria, and weapons pouring in. Seventy police and soldiers have been killed; security filled dozens o foreigners. New dynamic with the Egyptian doctor once close to Osama bin Ladin: he's pulling at least fifteen groups (thousands of members) into a cohesive operating groups – training ground like Somalia.

There are voices blaming Israel for the tragedy in Syria.  In fact, Israel has no part of this at all; Israel wants no part of it. Israel stands to lose if all goes worse, but has taken few and targeted actions when Hezbollah began to transfer chem weapons.

Obama Calls Russia Offer on Syria Possible ‘Breakthrough’ President Obama called a Russian proposal to have Syria surrender its chemical weapons stockpiles “potentially positive,” but said he would keep up the threat of military action.

Monday  9 September  2013 / Hour 3, Block C: Nicole Perlroth, NYT,  in re:  N.S.A. Foils Much Internet Encryption  The National Security Agency is winning its long-running secret war on encryption, using supercomputers, technical trickery, court orders and behind-the-scenes persuasion to undermine the major tools protecting the privacy of everyday communications in the Internet age, according to newly disclosed documents.  The agency has circumvented or cracked much of the encryption, or digital scrambling, that guards global commerce and banking systems, protects sensitive data like trade secrets and medical records, and automatically secures the e-mails, Web searches, Internet chats and phone calls of Americans and others around the world, the documents show.  [more]

Monday  9 September  2013 / Hour 3, Block D: Alyssia Finley, NYT, in re: Labor Secretary Thomas Perez is an equal opportunity guy, even when it comes to political bullying. Take his blackmail of California's Democratic Governor Jerry Brown: Exempt transit workers from last year's state pension reforms, or lose billions in federal funds. Mr. Perez threatened to cashier federal grants for 83 local transit agencies because he claimed California's pension reforms violate the Federal Transit Act, which requires the Labor Department to certify that "protective" arrangements are made for workers (i.e., the Teamsters) before the feds dole out dough. Nearly $2 billion in federal funds are at stake this year alone. Governor Brown this week agreed to exempt transit workers after Mr. Perez cut off $54 million in funding for the Sacramento Regional Transit District, which AP reports is the first time in 15 years that the Labor Department has decertified a grant. Consider this a sign that Mr. Perez has not been chastened by his close-run nomination fight. The good news is that both the Governor and Sacramento Regional Transit intend to challenge Labor's decertification in federal court as a misapplication of the law. Since the 1960s, Congress has required as a condition of federal funds that public-transit agencies ensure the "continuation of collective bargaining rights" and preserve workers' "rights, privileges and benefits (including the continuation of pension rights and benefits) under existing collective bargaining agreements."

         Last year, the Teamsters and Amalgamated Transit Union complained to the feds that California's pension reforms, which modified contribution rates and benefit formulas for future workers, violated federal transit law by removing pensions as a "mandatory" subject of collective bargaining. However, neither federal nor state law requires that pensions be collectively bargained. As California Labor and Workforce Development Secretary Marty Morgenstern noted in a February 13 letter to the Labor Department, the new state pension law doesn't limit collective bargaining. It "merely modifies, prospectively, certain aspects of the defined benefit pension plan that can be offered." (By the way, Mr. Morgenstern is a former labor organizer.)

      An important legal precedent is the 1981 Local Division 589, Amalgamated Transit Union v. Massachusetts case in which the union challenged a state law that precluded bargaining over "inherent management rights." The First Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that . . .

Hour Four

Monday  9 September  2013 / Hour 4, Block A: The Way of the Knife: The CIA, a Secret Army, and a War at the Ends of the Earth by Mark Mazzetti (1 of 4)

Monday  9 September  2013 / Hour 4, Block B: The Way of the Knife: The CIA, a Secret Army, and a War at the Ends of the Earth by Mark Mazzetti (2 of 4)

Monday  9 September  2013 / Hour 4, Block C: The Way of the Knife: The CIA, a Secret Army, and a War at the Ends of the Earth by Mark Mazzetti (3 of 4)

Monday  9 September  2013 / Hour 4, Block D: The Way of the Knife: The CIA, a Secret Army, and a War at the Ends of the Earth by Mark Mazzetti (4 of 4)

..  ..  ..

Music

Hour 1:  Legion. Seasons of the Witch.

Hour 2:  Centurion. Clash of the Titans.

Hour 3: 

Hour 4: