ALERT Volume 33, No. 25, June 20, 2019
Amidst the Growing War Danger, the G20 Summit Will Be Crucial The G20 summit in Osaka, Japan, on June 28-29 holds out the possibility of diplomatic breakthroughs when President Trump meets with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on the sidelines, and possibly also with Russian President Putin. In the run-up to that occasion, there has been a flurry of diplomatic activity in Asia aimed at reinforcing economic and security relations. The summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) took place in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan on June 12-13, with heads of state and government from members countries (China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbeki- stan) attending, as well as Iranian Prime Minister Rouhani as an observer. That was followed by the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia on June 14-15 in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, which includes 27 members states cover- ing 90% of the Asian population.
At the SCO event, the Indian Foreign Minister announced that a trilateral meeting would be held in Osaka with Presi- dents Xi and Putin and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to fur- ther enhance cooperation. That brings together three of the “four power alliance” proposed by Lyndon LaRouche, with the fourth, the United States, now in the midst of a tremendous power struggle.
Indeed, during comments to the press on the same occasion in Bishkek, Vladimir Putin stated solemnly that he could not say anything positive about our relations with the U.S. -- “they are in fact deteriorating, getting worse by the hour.” Russian lead- ers have issued repeated warnings over the past weeks about the heightened danger of war due to the rapidly worsening strategic situation.
It is certainly the case that Anglo-American neocon circles are in a full mobilization to prevent cooperation among China, Rus- sia, India and the US from moving forward. In that context, the New York Times ran a story on June 15 claiming that the Cyber Command of the Pentagon has expanded its capacity for cyber attacks against Russia’s electricity grid and other infrastruc- ture targets. The article cites administration officials who say that President Trump has not been informed of the expanded operations. Trump himself responded with tweets saying the story was not true and calling it treasonous.
Moreover, according to reports in the Guardian and BBC, Great Britain plans to re-deploy its special forces for targeted operations against Russia, to counter Russia’s “malign” activi-
ties in Africa and elsewhere. At the same time, the British chief of the General Staff Carleton-Smith stated there can no longer be a clear distinction between war and peace, given the pos- sibilities of cyber war, subversion and disinformation.
All this is far from the search for cooperation and stability that the Asian forums called for. Fortunately, however, world leaders, including in Russia, China and India, differentiate be- tween the positions stated by President Trump himself, and the wild provocations coming from his administration, most notably from National Security Adviser John Bolton, Secretary of State Pompeo and Vice President Pence.
Thus, Vladimir Putin added to the above-cited comments, that he hopes “common sense will triumph in the end,” and that it will be possible to “work out some constructive solutions during the upcoming G20 meeting,” with all partners, including the United States.
China Inaugurates 5G Era, with Huawei as World Leader The attempt by the neocons in the United States to stymie Huawei’s expansion by banning cooperation with US firms (and others) seems doomed to backfire. The Chinese telecom giant reported on June 6 that it has obtained 46 commercial 5G contracts so far in 30 countries globally and is the world leader in the number of 5G base stations sold (cf. SAS 24/19). On the same day, and ahead of schedule, the government granted the first commercial use licenses granted to three Chinese telecom operators and to the China Broadcasting Network.
An editorial in the June 4 China Daily pointed to some of the new applications the technology holds out. “5G is 100 times faster than the current 4G technology... But it’s not only about speed. The fact that it makes it possible for more people and things to work on the same network with basically no lag time means it will usher in some of the hottest trends in tech- nology, such as self-driving cars and remote surgery. A new wave of applications that people can’t even imagine now are also expected to emerge out of 5G. Which means tremendous economic benefits that the country will reap as it restructures its economy and upgrades its industries. According to a white paper released by the China Academy of Information and Com- munications Technology, 5G technology is expected to generate 6.3 trillion yuan ($913 billion) worth of economic output and 8 million jobs for China by 2030.”
The editorial also insisted that the “5G rollout should not
be a zero-sum game,” because there are plenty of benefits for everyone, including for participation of foreign companies in the Chinese market. In fact, they write, half of the world’s 5G users by 2022 will be in China.
Chinese leaders and official media have repeatedly warned that the attempt by the United States or others to prevent Chi- na from becoming a leader in future high technologies is futile, as there can be no compromise on the issue.
The restrictions imposed by the US are not only causing headaches for third countries, including in Europe, but in Washington as well. Thus, the deputy director of the U.S. Of- fice of Management and Budget Russell Vought has requested a two-year delay in imposing some provisions of the law that restricts United States government agencies from doing busi- ness with Huawei or contractors which make extensive use its products. According to Vought, the provisions would lead to a “dramatic reduction” in the number of companies that could supply the U.S. government, and would be a particular hard- ship for U.S. companies which are located in rural areas, where Huawei equipment is in use, and which rely on Federal grants. The US government claims that Huawei poses a national se- curity threat since it will use its equipment to spy on users and steal data. However, as the Rotating Chairman of Huawei Guo Ping pointed out in a Financial Times article, the real fear is that use of the Chinese technology hampers NSA “efforts to spy on whomever it wants.”
CGTN’s Yang Rui Interviews Helga Zepp-LaRouche and William Jones Schiller Institute founder Helga Zepp-LaRouche and EIR Wash- ington bureau chief William Jones were interviewed by Yang Rui for his “Dialogue” program, a prime time talk-show on the English language Chinese channel CGTN, during their recent trip to China. The 25 minute wide-ranging interview was aired twice on June 13 under the headline “Belt and Road Initia- tive Incentives and Risk Assessment.” The video is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5E67uizKJjc&feature=yo utu.be.
At one point, Yang asked Jones about the opposition of the European Union to the BRI due to an alleged lack of trans- parency. Jones responded that it was largely “a tempest in a teapot. The Belt and Road Initiative has been transparent to the people who are receiving the investment, who are benefiting from it.” However, it represents “a break with the EU policy of demanding conditionalities for any investment that’s made in places like Africa, India, and Asia.” China is intent on build- ing infrastructure, without imposing unnecessary conditions and regardless of the political systems in place. “The goal is to improve the lives of the people, and people can see that on the ground. And the objections that are raised to the so-called “transparency” issues, I think are just an attempt to stop the momentum that has been created.
Lies and Omissions in Robert Mueller’s Report on Russiagate It is only a matter of time before the biggest lie contained in the report of special counsel Robert Mueller is publicly exposed as a fabrication – that of Russian interference in the presidential campaign to favor Donald Trump’s election. The report pres- ents as truth the “intelligence community’s assessment” that the emails of the Hillary Clinton campaign published by Wikileaks were the result of the hack of Democratic Party computers by “Russia”. However, the only legitimate forensic study of the emails received by Wikileaks, which was done by former NSA
expert Bill Binney, and associates of his in the Veteran Intel- ligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS), proves that those files were downloaded onto a thumb drive or a similar device, that is, retrieved as an “inside job”, not through a hack.
In the meantime, there have been exposures of other blatant lies in the report. Take, for example, his characterization of Ukrainian businessman Konstantin Kliminik as an agent of Rus- sian intelligence services and an ally of Vladimir Putin. Kliminik was a business associate in Ukraine of Paul Manafort, Trump’s former campaign manager who was viciously targeted by the investigation. That, Mueller claims, provides the link between the Russians and the Trump campaign. But not only is there no evidence to prove it -- Manafort’s conviction is related to tax and lobbying questions, not Russian collusion, but it was revealed in a June 6 article in The Hill by investigative reporter John Solomon that Kliminik, since 2013, had served as a “sen- sitive” intelligence operative for the U.S. State Department.
This was during the period the State Department was co- ordinating the regime change coup against the moderately pro-Russian government of Viktor Yanukovych. As there were hundreds of pages of documents on Kliminick’s connection to State, it is impossible that Mueller was not aware of it. It cer- tainly seems that Mueller’s characterization is minimally a cov- er-up of the connections between the Ukraine coup and Rus- siagate. Further, the omission of Kliminick’s relationship with U.S. intelligence is a deliberate effort at deception.
Another example of “omission” concerns Trump’s former business lawyer Michael Cohen and one of his childhood friends, Felix Sater, whom Mueller describes as a go-between for Putin with Trump. Sater is cited as arranging a deal for construction of a Trump Tower in Moscow, allegedly proving Putin was brib- ing Trump. But Sater was never in contact with Putin, or any top Russians. Yet more damning, he was for 20 years an FBI informant, after being recruited in 1998 by Andrew Weissman, the top deputy of Robert Mueller! There is no mention in the Mueller report of Sater’s involvement with the FBI.
With an aggressive investigation underway of these and oth- er frauds perpetrated by British intelligence, the Obama intel- ligence team, and Mueller and his prosecutors, it is unlikely that Robert Mueller will agree to testify under oath to Congress. The end of Russiagate may shift swiftly into Muellergate.
Italy Contemplates Moves Toward Monetary Sovereignty An initiative in Italy to assert financial sovereignty is driving EU supranational institutions and some European governments berserk. It concerns a proposed means of payment, called “minibot”, which is neither a currency nor government debt formally speaking, but could become a sovereign currency in the event of an acute confrontation between Italy and the Eu- ropean Union on economic policy.
On May 28, the Italian Chamber of Deputies approved a non- binding motion recommending that the government introduce a new means of payment amounting to up to 53 billion euros. Dubbed the “minibot” or “mini-Treasury bond” (Buono Ordi- nario del Tesoro), it would not be a government debt note as such, but an instrument the government could use to pay its debt to vendors who could, in turn, use it to pay their taxes.
However, the minibot inventors hope that instrument could also be used on a voluntary basis among third parties, thus increasing liquidity in the real economy. A grocer, for example, could accept a minibot from a customer if he knows he can pay his taxes with that. And, in case of an emergency, the minibot could be turned into a bill with legal tender.
EIR STRATEGIC ALERT WEEKLY NEWSLETTER 2 N° 25 / 2019
Such an emergency is closer than one might think. The Italian government has made clear that it will stick to a non-austerity budget for 2020. In the past, when the Greek government chose such a policy course, it eventually had to back down after the ECB suddenly cut off emergency liquidity to Greek banks in 2015 and accept brutal fiscal therapy en- forced by the “Troika” (European Commission, ECB and IMF). The Greek central bank could not provide the required liquidity, because the power of currency emission in the EU lies exclu- sively with the ECB.
In Italy today, it is an open secret that if the ECB attempts the same blackmail, the government might use the minibot to replace ECB liquidity for banks.
How probable is this scenario? It is too early to attempt a forecast, due to upcoming “changes in personnel”. A new EU Commission has to be elected by the new European Parliament, as well as a new chairman of that Parliament, and a new boss of the ECB itself, such choices always involving a delicate balance among major EU member governments. In any case, by October, it may be a new game between the EU Commission and Italy.
At the current stage, the outgoing EU Commission has an- nounced a hardline against Italy, demanding an infringement procedure for excessive debt and deficit. Their respective po- sitions might become irreconcilable. Should Italy continue to refuse the budget cuts demanded, and the EU institutions con- tinue to insist on implementation of austerity measures, the confrontation could escalate to the point at which the ECB threatens a replay of the Greek blackmail. Rome could then re- spond by playing its joker -- whether called a minibot or some- thing else, it will be a parallel currency and a sovereign one. At that point, a totally new scenario will unfold.
Reversing the Depopulation and Deindustrialization of Eastern Germany The research team of the IFO Economics Institute in Dresden released on June 12 a shocking study on the demographics of the eastern states of Germany, showing that the population level has sunk to that of 1905, at about 13.8 million inhabit- ants. Since then, two waves of mass migration from Germany’s east to the west have taken place: 1) the unabated stream of some three million people from the Soviet-occupied zone after 1945 and then from the German Democratic Republic (GDR) after its founding in 1949. An abrupt halt was put to that trend with the construction of the Berlin Wall and the militarization of the border between East and West Germany in 1961; 2) the arrival of 300,000 refugees in the west in the summer of 1989, followed by the migration of 3,4 million after reunifica- tion in 1990 subsequent to the dismantling of 80% of the in- dustries of the former GDR. Before that, 1989, the population was stable at approximately 17 million.
In the opposite direction, 2,6 million people have moved from the western states to the east since 1990, but that has not compensated the loss, nor has the westward migration come to a halt. As Joachim Ragnitz of the IFO Dresden points out, particularly the countryside in Germany’s east keeps losing skilled labor to the west, while many students move west after graduation.
This trend can only intensify, if the German government sticks to its commitment to make the Lausitz lignite-mining region, which covers large swaths of the states of Brandenburg and Saxony, a model for the total decarbonization strategy. Should the lignite-mining, which now provides most of the energy sup- ply for the region, be completely shut down by 2035 or at the latest by 2038, whatever production and crafts remain there
will be dependent on expensive and unreliable “renewables” such as solar and wind power. Deprived of perspectives, up to another one million Germans, it is estimated, will then have to move to the west.
To re-populate the area, a crash re-industrialization program needs to be implemented, to create production corridors along the main transport route of the Lausitz region, which is a very favorable location. Bordering both Poland and the Czech Re- public on the east, it is the entry point of the New Silk Road connection to Germany coming from those two countries. To fulfill the energy needs of such a production corridor for the New Silk Road, nuclear power plants are in the long term the least expensive, most efficient and most reliable option, but for that, Berlin would need to reverse the complete phase-out of nuclear energy hastily decided in 2011. Such an approach would allow an increase of population in the German east by two million or more. That is the strategy proposed by the BüSo party in its platform for the September 1 elections of a new state parliament in Saxony.
Dangerous Provocations Aim to Prevent Dialogue with Iran The attacks on two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman near the Hormuz Strait on June 13, following those against 4 tankers on May 14, have all the fingerprints of a military-intelligence provocation designed to stir up a crisis and place the blame on Iran. British, American, Saudi and Emirati naval forces de- ployed in the region are all capable of staging such a provoca- tion against the Islamic Republic, which is being deliberately deprived of oil sales. Iranian leaders and the Revolutionary Guard had threatened that in the event of a total ban on their oil exports, no one else would be allowed to export oil from the region either. This is cited by neocon circles as a statement of intention to attack other countries’ oil tankers.
However, it would seem that President Trump, up to min- utes before the attacks, had something else in mind than a war. Indeed, his ally Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who had enjoyed several meetings and rounds of golf with Trump just one week before, was preparing to meet with the Iranian Su- preme leader Ayatollah Khamenei in Tehran and deliver a con- ciliatory message from Trump on the same morning of June 13 that the attacks were launched on the two oil tankers, one of which was Japanese. The timing makes clear that it was a provocation.
Within a few hours, U.S. State Secretary Mike Pompeo held a press conference to assert that it was “U.S. government as- sessment” that Iran was responsible for the attacks. That was before any investigation had been carried out and the sailors of the ships had only just been evacuated the ships. Veteran top intelligence official Col. Pat Lang (ret.) responded to that asser- tion in his “Sic Semper Tyrannis” blog under the headline “ ‘A U.S. Government Assessment’ not an Intelligence Assessment?” Given the chicanery involved in the “Government Assessment” of the alleged chemical attack by the Syrian army in Ghouta in 2013, he asks “how many agencies of the U.S. intelligence community” concur in that judgment.
In fact, just as it made no sense for Syrian President Assad to allegedly “gas women and children” in Ghouta while the whole world was watching, Tehran had no interest whatsoever in proving to the world (by attacking tankers) that the neo-cons, Israel and the Saudis were right in their allegations concerning Iran’s bellicose and terrorist nature.
But the intervention by Pompeo et al. had the desired effect of preventing talks, at least for now. President Trump tweeted
EIR STRATEGIC ALERT WEEKLY NEWSLETTER 3 N° 25 / 2019
before Pompeo’s announcement, but apparently after being briefed on it, that he appreciated Abe’s efforts, but “I person- ally feel that it is too soon to even think about making a deal.” But he did comment the following day that he is ready to talk when the Iranian leaders are.
Abe’s message from Trump was that he not interested in pursuing regime change and sought dialogue. Khamenei, how- ever, refused to negotiate, just as Tehran has rejected previous offers of dialogue under threats of economic and real war. Ira- nian leaders argue that there is no point in negotiating again until the P5+1 agreement is restored and the new sanctions slapped on by the Trump Administration are lifted.
At this point, tensions in the region are so high that war could be triggered by mistake and set the region ablaze.
A Tribute to the Universal Genius Lyndon H. LaRouche, Jr. On Saturday, June 8, in Manhattan, a Memorial was held en- titled “The Triumph of Lyndon H. LaRouche, Jr. (1922-2019).” While it was impossible to convey the breadth and depth of La- Rouche’s contributions to science, history, statesmanship, eco- nomics, and so much more in a three hour memorial ceremony, nonetheless, the hundreds gathered in Manhattan and the hun- dreds watching the event at satellite events around the country came away profoundly moved, and in many cases astonished, at the life and character of the greatest mind of our time.
After an introductory speech by Helga Zepp-LaRouche (cf. below), a number of video clips of speeches given by LaRouche on various occasions were intertwined with the performance of profound pieces of classical music by solists and the Schiller Institute chorus.
The video clips focused on LaRouche’s insights and vision into the nature of man, and the necessity to restore classical culture and scientific optimism in the world as a whole, to reverse the current degeneration of Western civilization, and to launch a new universal Renaissance. His belief that classical music, in par- ticular, is the necessary means of reaching the creative poten- tials of all men and women, as the science of the human mind, was displayed through his words and through the performances of choral, instrumental and soloist works of the greatest com- posers, from Bach to Beethoven to Brahms, as well as African- American spirituals.
We encourage all our readers to watch the video of the three hour event on the Schiller Institute website: https://schillerin- stitute.com/blog/2019/06/10/in-memoriam-the-triumph-of- lyndon-h-larouche-jr/
The Schiller Institute is also preparing the release of a video documenting the frame-up and imprisonment of Lyndon La- Rouche on fraudulent charges, aimed at preventing his ideas and policies from being implemented in the United States and worldwide. This documentary will serve as the spearhead of the campaign to obtain LaRouche’s full exoneration.
Experiencing the Intellectual Joy of a New International Renaissance In opening the memorial service for her husband Lyndon La- Rouche, Helga Zepp-LaRouche remarked that he had changed the lives of most of those present “in the most profound way.” He “opened the door to true humanity for most of us person- ally,” and for the countless numbers of others he talked to not only in the United States but throughout the world, be they fishermen or shoemakers, trade unionists or entrepreneurs, classical musicians or scholars.
Helga Zepp-LaRouche recalled that her husband, as a young
adult, had already developed “the inner strength to reject any intellectual corruption.” But in addition to that talent, he had “for most people unimaginable intellectual diligence and rigor. He was truly a truth-seeking person, a universal thinker, who conquered and added something to almost all relevant basic fields of knowledge: the natural sciences, Classical music, poet- ry, history. The great [violinist] Norbert Brainin, after two days of very intense discussions, said, ‘This man knows so much more about music than I do’. You could say the same thing about Lyn’s knowledge of history, American history, the history of the Soviet Union, of Africa, of European philosophy....”
This universal knowledge allowed him to develop “his own science of physical economy, and it was recognized by many outstanding scholars in many countries, that his was the most profound economic method in the field of economics as such.” Lyn’s motivation for his work, his wife stressed, was -- and is -- love for humanity. “He could not stand the idea of sup- pression of the potential of people through poverty, just as could not endure the existence of poverty in the developing countries, and he started to hate empire as that form of gov- ernment which does that to people. But he also could not stand the oppression through erroneous ideas about the laws of the physical universe, because such errors would lead to the self- destruction of cultures and civilizations. I have never seen or heard of anybody who was so absolutely focused on the neces- sary changes of the system of oppression, and so absolutely focused on replacing it with his own vision of a more human and beautiful world.”
Thus, he recognized in the 1960s the danger of of the rock- sex counterculture and denounced it. He worked on develop- ment programs for Mexico and India, as well as a grand design to turn the deserts of Africa into a lush garden. He proposed to overcome the Cold War through the joint development, by the United States and the then Soviet Union of the strategic defense initiative to make nuclear weapons obsolete. Had LaRouche’s ideas prevailed, Helga Zepp-LaRouche said, the public debate today “would be about Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity and the laws of the universe”, and musicians would be discuss- ing “the principles of thorough composition in the tradition of the span of composition from Bach to Brahms. He would have caused scientists to have a deep understanding of the principle of life, where they would have found a solution and cure to most illnesses. And creativity per se would be the highest value in society, and all would experience the intellectual joy of a new international Renaissance.”
Today, LaRouche’s vision of a fully developed world, Helga Zepp-LaRouche said, is becoming a reality in the form of the World Land-Bridge, where a dialogue of Classical cultures will replace confrontation, and all nations will join hands in space missions for all of mankind. Lyn, she concluded, is now living in “the simultaneity of eternity. His mind and ideas transcend all places and times... He is with Socrates and Plato, with Con- fucius, Kepler, Leibniz, Bach, Beethoven, Einstein, and Vernad- sky, and all the best minds of all times, and all cultures.”
E.I.R. STRATEGIC ALERT www.eir.de Published by: E.I.R.GmbH, Bahnstr. 4, 65205 Wiesbaden Tel.: 0611/73650, Fax: 0611/9740935, Email: info@eir.com Verantwortl. f. d. Inhalt: Dean Andromidas, Claudio Celani Subscription: EUR 3000/ ISSN 0936-7527 © E.I.R. GmbH Alle Rechte vorbehalten, auch die des Nachdrucks von Auszügen, derphotomechanischen Wiedergabe und der Übersetzung, Printed in Germany
EIR STRATEGIC ALERT WEEKLY NEWSLETTER 4 N° 25 / 2019
No comments:
Post a Comment