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JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW
 
Hour One
Tuesday 19 March 2019 / Hour 1, Block A: Liz Peek, Fox News and The Hill, in re: the economy, China, trade wars;  steel tariffs.
Tuesday 19 March 2019 / Hour 1, Block B: Liz Peek, Fox News and The Hill, in re: Beto O’Rourke/Biden.
Tuesday 19 March 2019 / Hour 1, Block C:  Chuck Ross, Daily Caller, in re:  Russiagate
Tuesday 19 March 2019 / Hour 1, Block D:  Robert Cutler, Carleton University; Institute for the Study of Coherence and Emergence (Boston}; Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis (Dubai), in re: Pipeline politics in Asia Minor.  [See also robertcutler.org]
 
Hour Two
Tuesday 19 March 2019 / Hour 2, Block A:  Stephen F. Cohen, NYU & Princeton professor Emeritus; American Committee for East-West Accord; author: War with Russia?; Soviet Fates and Lost Alternatives: From Stalinism to the New Cold War, & The Victims Return: Survivors of the Gulag after Stalin;  in re:   Georgia, formerly a gang fiefdom, with which the CIA cooperated; 1993 into the 2000s, CIA was still there.  Can see how Muscovites might be paranoid.
 
Rumor that the largest single CIA post in the world was in Georgia, being a listening post for Russia, Central Asia, et al.
 
Shevardnadze was Gorbachev’s foreign minister, was very close for a while. Georgia has been a tragedy for a while. Clinton’s decision to move NATO to Russian borders and to bomb Serbia.
Tuesday 19 March 2019 / Hour 2, Block B:  Stephen F. Cohen, NYU & Princeton professor Emeritus; American Committee for East-West Accord; author: War with Russia?; Soviet Fates and Lost Alternatives: From Stalinism to the New Cold War, & The Victims Return: Survivors of the Gulag after Stalin;  in re: The new cold war has led our new cold warriors to say very extreme things. Clinton faked being Yeltsin’s best buddy; cynical (see Strobe Talbott’s memoir – and he’d studied with Isaiah Berlin [pron: aye-zai-ah]).
 
The cynical abuse of the shards of the Soviet empire. A WaPo editorial: Kremlin seeks to divide and polarize the US [in multiple realms]. This is exactly what J Edgar Hoover said the USSR was doing.
 
Conflict between competing visions of how to organize society. “The existence of he US intrinsically threatens Putin.” Argument in WaPo on “the various authoritarianisms around the world.”  General Hodges, Supreme Commander, Europe: “The Russian threat isn't just its eastern front,” but would involve the whole of Western Europe. 
The Spy Who Was Left Behind: Russia, the United States, and the True Story of the Betrayal and Assassination of a CIA Agent, by Michael Pullara 
Tuesday 19 March 2019 / Hour 2, Block C:  Stephen F. Cohen, NYU & Princeton professor Emeritus; American Committee for East-West Accord; author: War with Russia?; Soviet Fates and Lost Alternatives: From Stalinism to the New Cold War, & The Victims Return: Survivors of the Gulag after Stalin;  in re:  In the 1990s, Georgia was a maffiya state governed by gangsters.  US administrations, GOP and Democrat, thought we could make the FSU our clients to buffer the world from a resurgent Russia. Amplify this notion to all the remaining Soviet states – Ukraine, etc.  Saakashvili was an American proxy. . . . The Atlantic Council, John Herbst: wants more NATO weapons sent to Ukraine to confront Russia whether in the Azov or Black Seas. These are traditionally Russia’s security zones.  [Imagine Russian ships anchored in the Gulf of Mexico or along Baja California.]  The Senate is currently debating an anti-Russian piece of legislation: Defending American Security from Kremlin Aggression Act (DASKA) of 2019.   It claims that Putin’s is an outlaw regime, rendering all negotiations impossible. Is a virtual declaration of war on Russia.  Kremlin officials call it ”racketeering; insane.” Extant backchannels exist solely in Syria to avoid accidental mil encounters ‘twixt US and Russia. Mikhail Popov, the number-two person in the Russian national security council: “Military dangers [apostnosty] coming from the US now have become military threats [ugrozy].”  I interpret that to mean that Russia is preparing for war.
Tuesday 19 March 2019 / Hour 2, Block D:  Stephen F. Cohen, NYU & Princeton professor Emeritus; American Committee for East-West Accord; author: War with Russia?; Soviet Fates and Lost Alternatives: From Stalinism to the New Cold War, & The Victims Return: Survivors of the Gulag after Stalin; in re:  The intention of ___ is to destroy the Russian government.  What's to be done? The situation is very dire.  The big difference between now and the preceding cold war is that formerly each side knew it was partly responsible; today, the mainstream of the US blames Russia for all.  Ergo, no domestic opposition to the new cold war, no one calling for a rethinking of the policy. Pelosi invites the head of NATO to address Congress; “a provocation.”  We’re left with two people who have statesmanlike positions against the new cold war: Rand Paul and Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii. When she spoke out against the new cold war, she was ferociously attacked on NBC’s web page and elsewhere. Those who try to avoid war are attacked.
 
Hour Three
Tuesday 19 March 2019 / Hour 3, Block A:  Gregory Copley,  Defense & Foreign Affairs, in re: May 2019 election in Australia driven partly by geopolitics in that China is pushing very hard to have major influence, esp in mineral and ag products, plus to block Australia from collaborating much with the US. The Liberal govt has not fared well – it was center-left, under Malcolm Turnbull (“fairly malicious”) might has well have been Labour.  Scott Morrison, incoming practical and centrist. Has not yet moved to identify why his coalition will be more beneficial to Australia,  labor usu builds up a massive deficit, gets voted out; centrists get voted in, clean up the mess, then Labour get back in promising bread and circuses. Energy policy will be a big driver, as prices are rising right now. Flatlining of Chinese economy has reduced Australian economy, esp in Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide; this will worsen under Labour.
         Labour favors open borders, compassionate welcoming of illegal immigrants, largely boat people; Liberals favor tighter borders and tend to intercept boats at sea. This has been a commercially-driven refugee crisis arrive in Indonesia, throw away their passport, board boats to Australia (where boats are sunk), and enter Australia, refusing to acknowledge what country they came from so they can/t be repatriated.
 
Tuesday 19 March 2019 / Hour 3, Block B:  Gregory Copley,  Defense & Foreign Affairs, in re: India/Australia, Japan/US  (the Quad) fend off Chinese depredations.  Buying more weapons systems to patrol SE Asian waters: will Labour disavow? Probably not. Australian Defence Force is arguably the best man-for-man in the world (manpower abt 100,00, but extremely well-equipped and –trained.   India not really interested in all this.
The problem is that, if Labour does as it always does, the Australian dollar will precipitously decline, so Labour won’t be able to fund the levels of commitment needed to sustain its mission. Twelve subs, F35s, Aegis, etc,, will continue, then govt will be short of cash to pay manpower 0 a decline in actual defense capability. Importantly, will not be able to carry its commitment to Taiwan – maintaining the First Island Chain won't be as strong as it must be.   China trying to stop Australia from accepting Japanese and US blandishments.’’
Labour is so profoundly opposed to US nationalism and thereby Pres Trump hthat it can’t bring itself to coordinate with the US in any way; thus sees China as no real threat to Australia — the last man the crocodile will eat.  “She’ll be right, mate” implies, “ don’t worry,” or “deixa” in Portuguese.  Meanwhile, it has three day’s supply of refined petroleum and is punishing farmers with water, and they’ve sold off a lot of Australian ag capacity to China!  May soon be a net importer of food, and has sold off a lot of its energy resources.
Tuesday 19 March 2019 / Hour 3, Block C: Robert Zimmerman, BehindtheBlack.com, in re:
Tuesday 19 March 2019 / Hour 3, Block D: Robert Zimmerman, BehindtheBlack.com, in re:
 
Hour Four
Tuesday 19 March 2019 / 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)
Tuesday 19 March 2019 / 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)
Tuesday 19 March 2019 / 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)
Tuesday 19 March 2019 / 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)