Image, above: Jaish al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar (JMA, Arabic: جيش المهاجرين والأنصار‎ Army of Emigrants and Supporters), formerly known as the Muhajireen Brigade (Katibat al-Muhajireen), is an Islamist jihadist group made up of Chechen and other Russian-speaking foreign fighters, and native Syrians, that has been active in the Syrian civil war against the Syrian Government. The group was briefly affiliated with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS). It was designated as a terrorist organization by the US State Department on 24 September 2014.

Tarkhan Batirashvili (Georgian: თარხან ბათირაშვილი, born 1986), more commonly known by his nom de guerre Abu Omar al-Shishani or Omar al-Shishani (Arabic: أبو عمر الشيشاني‎, meaning "Omar the Chechen"), is a Georgian jihadist from the Pankisi Gorge. A former Georgian Army soldier and veteran of the Russo-Georgian War, he has served in various command positions with Islamist militant groups fighting in the Syrian civil war.  He currently serves as a commander for the ISIL in Syria, and was previously the leader of the rebel group Katibat al-Muhajireen (Emigrants Brigade), also known as the Muhajireen Brigade, and its successor, Jaish al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar (Army of Emigrants and Supporters).

Batirashvili was named commander of the northern sector of Syria by the ISIL in the summer of 2013. Units under his command have participated in major assaults on Syrian military bases in and around Aleppo, including the capture of Menagh Airbase in August 2013. He is considered "one of the most influential military leaders of the Syrian opposition forces." It's speculated that he may have become the military chief for the ISIL following the death of Abu Abdul-Rahman al-Bilawi al-Anbari in Mosul in June 2014.

JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW

Hour One

Friday  10 October  2014 / Hour 1, Block A: Faysal Itani, Resident Fellow, Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East, Atlantic Council, in re: Strategic importance of Kobane to Turkey, Syria, and IS

Friday  10 October  2014 / Hour 1, Block B: Jim McTague, Barron's Washington, in re:  Terrible week for stocks, while unemployment goes down and Fed indicates it will keep rates low - what’s driving it? What does it say about the broader economy?

Friday  10 October  2014 / Hour 1, Block C: Peter Feaver, Professor of Political Science and Public Policy at Duke University; Director of the Triangle Institute for Security Studies at Duke; former Special Advisor for Strategic Planning and Institutional Reform at the National Security Council; in re: [in Foreign Policy] Should Obama’s generals resign if he doesn’t do as they say?   Should senior military officers resign if the president disregards their advice and orders them to execute assignments that, in their judgment, are ill-defined, inadequately resourced, or otherwise flawed? 

There is a lively debate among commentators on American civil-military relations on this topic; given the related debate about Obama's responsibility for America's deteriorating global position, the commentary is not idle. I have already weighed in on some civil-military challenges confronting the administration (see here and here), but the resignation idea deserves more attention than I have given it so far.

In the last couple of weeks, several prominent commentators have urged Gen Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and other senior military to resign in protest of Pres Obama's poor leadership of the various wars in Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan. If they do not resign, critics argue, the senior officers become complicit in a doomed strategy. The commentators differ on which Obama misstep is most damning, but the overall thrust is that the president has consistently ignored the good advice of senior military advisors and so, they argue,  . . .

Friday  10 October  2014 / Hour 1, Block D:  Gordon Chang, Forbes.com, in re: Where in the world is Kim Jung Un?   "Fatty Three" is what the unelected tyrants of Beijing call Kim Jong-Un. Have honchos of Organization and Guidance Council in Korean Workers Party taken over in North Korea?  Not as likely; but some other group may have.   KJU has been missing from essential ceremonies, incl last week when there was a major celebration in honor of his father; which cannot be ignored in a Confucian society.  There've been about four years of backbiting, struggles and unexplained deaths; seem to be forces outside of the Kim family taking over now, A lot of uncertainty – some of the internecine killers have access to nukes and chem/bio weapons.  Some of them reaching out to South Korea and even Russia, but this will take a long time to figure out.  KJU gone missing since 3 September; something has happened, wholly not clear but it does look as though he's lost a [heap of] power. Reuters reporter heard, "It'll take a hundred days for KJU's malady to mend."  KJU humiliated his flag officers, made admirals compete in swimming – made fools of his elders and slaughtered many families, so perhaps someone(s) said, "This has gotta end."   Beijing dislikes the Kim family, which has disrespected them, and would be happy to see a change in the regime's structure, esp a parallel of their (more or less) collegial ruling style. 

Hour Two

Friday  10 October  2014 / Hour 2, Block A:  Michael Vlahos, Naval War College, in re: Continuation of his remarks on John Batchelor Show last night, and during his last appearance with Francis Rose, Federal News Radio, on 12 September, anent identity and . . .  (1 of 2)

Friday  10 October  2014 / Hour 2, Block B: Michael Vlahos, Naval War College, in re: Continuation of his remarks on John Batchelor Show last night, and during his last appearance with Francis Rose, Federal News Radio, on 12 September, anent identity and . . .  (2 of 2)

Friday  10 October  2014 / Hour 2, Block C: David Hawkings, Senior Editor, Roll Call, in re: Two Senate races Republicans had in the bag are trying to jump out of the bag

Friday  10 October  2014 / Hour 2, Block D: Joshua White, Deputy Director, South Asia program, Stimson Center; in re:  AQ moving into India already has competition - who is Lashkar-e-Taiba? The Rise of Lashkar-e-Taiba : A Look at One of South Asia's Largest Terrorist Organizations

Hour Three

Friday  10 October  2014 / Hour 3, Block A: Steve Bucci, Director, Allison Center for Foreign and National Security Policy, Heritage Foundation; former military assistant to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld; former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, in re:  US response to ebola; closing the borders, withdrawing from the world is not the answer

Friday  10 October  2014 / Hour 3, Block B: Francis Barry, Bloomberg View; in re:  Senate election won’t be over November 4; even after runoffs, independents King, (possibly) Orman and (possibly) Pressler could swing the Senate either way.

Friday  10 October  2014 / Hour 3, Block C: David Graham, The Atlantic; in re: Barack Obama’s friendly fire problem: why do his former officials turn on him?

Friday  10 October  2014 / Hour 3, Block D: Aki Peritz, former CIA counterterrorism analyst; author, Find, Fix, Finish: Inside the Counterterrorism Campaigns that Killed Bin Laden and Devastated Al Qaeda; in re:  The Islamic State of Sexual Violence - how ISIS’s sexual violence campaign discredits their claims they are fighting for Islam.

Hour Four

Friday  10 October  2014 / Hour 4, Block A: Robert Haddick, author, Fire on the Water: China, America, and the Future of the Pacific  (1 of 4) "The PRC’s military and economic expansion, although seemingly (at present) confined to East Asia, has transformed the world’s strategic framework.  Most analysis of the changing strategic balance in the Pacific either over- or under-estimates the reality on one side of the equation or an other, or fails to address salient contextual issues. Not so Robert Haddick’s Fire on the Water: China, America, and the Future of the Pacific. It is so comprehensive and authoritative that it may be the most important wake-up call yet seen on the reality of the changing military balance in the Pacific.” —Defense & Foreign Affairs Special Analysis

Friday  10 October  2014 / Hour 4, Block B: Robert Haddick, author, Fire on the Water: China, America, and the Future of the Pacific  (2 of 4)

Friday  10 October  2014 / Hour 4, Block C: Robert Haddick, author, Fire on the Water: China, America, and the Future of the Pacific  (3 of 4)

Friday  10 October  2014 / Hour 4, Block D: Robert Haddick, author, Fire on the Water: China, America, and the Future of the Pacific  (4 of 4)

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