EIR Daily Alert Service

FRIDAY, MAY 12, 2017

Volume 4, Number 94

EIR Daily Alert Service

P.O. Box 17390, Washington, DC 20041-0390

EDITORIAL

Too Much Is at Stake—It Must Succeed!

May 11 (EIRNS)—At this moment, the attention of every man and woman who grasps their own personal responsibility for the future of humanity—and first and foremost, the attention of Lyndon LaRouche—is focussed on ensuring the success of the upcoming May 14-15 Belt and Road Forum summit in Beijing, China.

At this summit, a new and exciting reality representing the best aspirations of humankind is coming into being. The largest infrastructure project ever undertaken in human history is being built, bringing development to whole sections of the world, lifting millions out of poverty, providing productive jobs to millions. China has asked President Trump to join this great project and the United States should immediately do so. It could jump-start our economy to a modern manufacturing platform and modern infrastructure.

In his first telephone call with China’s President Xi Jinping today, the newly-elected President of South Korea Moon Jae-in said that his country is most appreciative of the Belt and Road Initiative, and expects it to bring prosperity to the nations along its routes, including South Korea.

Jean-Pierre Raffarin, former Prime Minister and now the head of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the French Senate, who was wisely chosen by President-elect Emmanuel Macron to head the French delegation, has long been a supporter of the Belt and Road, and understands both its promise, and equally the danger to the world if it is allowed to fail. He told Chinese journalists on May 5 that he sees the New Silk Road as a global initiative for peace and cooperation.  Against the background of a complicated and ever-changing world situation, China is bringing peace to the world with its plans and strategies which promote multilateralism and support the United Nations.  Raffarin said he hopes that the Beijing Forum succeeds in bringing top politicians of other Western countries closer to the Belt and Road Initiative.

Russia’s Ambassador to Beijing Andrei Denisov said that “this cooperation may become the basis for forming a new international contour, namely the Eurasian all-encompassing partnership with participation of a wide range of countries which are members of the Eurasian Economic Union, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and in the future, the prospect of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).”  He added that not only would President Putin participate, but also Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev—and with the two of them, enough Ministers of the Russian government to allow Russia to participate in every single conference panel at the level of government minister.

As regards India, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has said that India will be represented at the Forum, but apparently the Indian government has not yet said who will go.  Many Indians advocate that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should go.  One of them, former UN Director Mukul Sanwal, asked in an op-ed yesterday in The Hindu, “Will Prime Minister Narendra Modi surprise everyone and participate in China’s ‘Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation’ which begins on May 14?  That would be the kind of bold initiative he took in inviting leaders of our neighboring countries to his swearing-in in 2014, but with far greater significance.”

Likewise, it is critically important that President Trump, another leader famous for bold initiatives, “surprise everyone” and participate. There could be no greater assurance of world peace than the unexpected appearance of both Prime Minister Modi and President Trump in Beijing on May 14, in this “new paradigm” that they “can support and shape,” as Sanwal put it.

When he was appraised of many of these developments this morning, Lyndon LaRouche replied to the effect that, “Yes, but the new paradigm must work. It must not fail, or there is no future for mankind. There are many bad things out there.  This must succeed. It must not be undermined.”

U.S. POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC

Trump: Meeting with Lavrov Was ‘Very, Very Good’

May 11 (EIRNS)—Both President Donald Trump and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov commented that they were pleased with their May 10 meeting. Afterward, TASS reports, Trump told journalists, “We had a very, very good meeting. We’re going to stop the killing and the death. I think that we are going to do very well with respect to Syria, I think things are happening—they are really, really, really positive.”

TASS reported significant comments by Lavrov.

“I had a bilateral meeting with Rex Tillerson, then the two of us were received by President Trump,” Lavrov said. “We discussed, first and foremost, our cooperation on the international stage.

“At present, our dialogue is not as politicized as it used to be during Obama’s Presidency. The Trump Administration, including the President himself and the Secretary of State, are people of action who are willing to negotiate.”

Lavrov described the background of their relations: “The reason why our relations deteriorated to this state is no secret. Unfortunately, the previous administration did everything possible to undermine the basis of our relations, so now we have to start from a very low level.  President Trump has clarified his interest in building mutually beneficial and practical relations, as well as in solving issues. This is very important.”

On Syria, Lavrov said he believes the U.S. could contribute to the operation of de-escalation zones. “We are ready for this cooperation and today have discussed in detail the steps and mechanisms which we can manage together. We have confirmed our interest in the U.S.’ most active role in those issues. I imagine the Americans are interested in this too.

“We proceed from the fact they will take up the initiative,” he said. “We have thoroughly discussed the Syrian issue, particularly the ideas related to setting up de-escalation zones. We share an understanding that this should become a common step aimed at putting an end to violence across Syria.

“At the current stage, we agree on the concept and even on practical steps concerning the geography of the de-escalation zones. The memorandum signed in Astana outlines further steps that would help the stakeholders come to terms on who and how will ensure the safety areas surrounding the de-escalation zones.

“President Trump has reiterated that defeating terrorism is the United States’ main priority as far as Syria is concerned. We see eye to eye here.

“We have agreed we will be working together in the format of Astana (talks) which the United States attends as an observer. We have praised the constructive contribution the U.S. made at the last meeting.

“We will be cooperating in the format of the Geneva process which, according to (UN Special Envoy for Syria) Staffan de Mistura, will be resumed the very next week,” he said.

Regarding anti-Russian sanctions, he said: “We did not discuss the sanctions. This is not our problem; these are unilateral actions that were taken against us.”

Lavrov said that their talks addressed the Palestinian-Israeli settlement, the situation in Afghanistan, and also the fulfillment of the Minsk accords on the political settlement in east Ukraine. “We agreed to continue working contacts on these issues and look for ways to bring closer the positions of all the parties concerned.”

Sen. Elizabeth Warren: Glass-Steagall? ‘You Bet. I’m Ready’

May 11 (EIRNS)—Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) said, “You bet. I’m ready,” in answer to Bloomberg News Service this week, to their question, would she work with the Trump Administration to get Glass-Steagall passed.

Warren, the sponsor of the S.881 (“21st-Century Glass-Steagall Act of 2017”) to enact this, said that she had no back-channels with the White House yet, but “so far we’ve had some good conversations and that’s what I want to see happen. I’m ready. Because you know, this is one of those basic things—folks on Wall Street may resist it. But most of the American people get it.”

Colombia ‘Peace’ with FARC Floods U.S. with Cocaine

May 11 (EIRNS)—Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos is coming to meet with President Trump on May 18, hoping to get the skeptical Trump Administration to tolerate the “peace” deal with the FARC cocaine cartel which he is imposing on his country over the will of Colombia’s citizens. Santos’ “peace” with the FARC killers is nothing other than the latest attempt to officially bring the drug cartels into government, as Wall Street and the City of London have sought for decades. Santos knows that U.S. opposition could be the kiss of death for his hated deal, which he was only able to ram through because of the 100% backing from President Obama and Her Majesty’s government in Britain.

The Santos-cartel deal has already produced a gigantic explosion of coca and cocaine which is now killing Americans, before it has even been fully implemented.  According to an exposé published on May 9 in the Washington Post:

More than 460,000 acres of Colombia are now under coca production in Colombia—the highest yet—and 710 metric tons of cocaine were produced in the country last year, up from 235 in 2013! As a result, the supply of cocaine right now is dramatically greater than the demand, William Brownfield, head of the State Department’s anti-narcotics office, reports, with the effect that the flood of cheap Colombian cocaine into the United States is so large that it is creating its own demand.  Cocaine use is soaring in the United States. Cocaine overdose deaths are at a 10-year high, and the number of young Americans who said they used cocaine for first time rose 61% between 2013-2015, according to a report by the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration cited by the Post.

Under the deal with the FARC cartel, aerial spraying to eradicate coca crops stopped long before the final agreement was reached. Then, the government announced that under a “voluntary” eradication program, which the FARC will oversee in “its” areas, communities will be paid up to $12,000 a family over a two-year period if they eradicate their crops. With the only “threat” held out if they don’t, being that the Colombian military will be sent into jungle areas to cut down the coca bushes by hand.

So, as the authors of the plan knew full well would happen, rural communities have been planting like mad to get in on the upcoming program, while Colombia’s once-effective anti-narcotics police are now flying Black Hawk helicopters provided by U.S. to drop leaflets over “industrial-scale” coca plantations, informing peasants how to get in on the program.

THE NEW GLOBAL ECONOMIC ORDER

Xi and Putin’s Special Relationship Will Be Evident in Their Many Meetings This Year

May 11 (EIRNS)—The special relationship of deep cooperation between China’s President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin is very evident in the number of meetings the two will have over the next months. The first meeting of the two leaders for 2017 will be at the Belt and Road Forum starting Sunday, in which Russia plans to play a very active role.

Then, in early July, Xi Jinping will make an official visit to Russia, Russian Ambassador to China Andrei Denisov said. TASS quoted him telling a press conference today:  “The dialogue will be obviously continued in early July when China’s President Xi Jinping is scheduled to visit Russia. A number of documents are ready for signing. But we have not yet decided whether to put them for signing in the presence of the two leaders. In any case, we will have a lot of possibilities to sign such documents.

“Russia welcomes holding this Forum in Beijing on May 14-15. Given the character of partnership relations between our countries and in line with a personal agreement between the two leaders—Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin—our President will take part in this event and this will be a very active participation,” Denisov said.

Speaking on integrating the initiatives of the Belt and Road and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), Denisov called it “an unprecedented attempt to combine collective plans of economic development on the vast regional space. This cooperation may become a basis for forming a new integrational contour, namely the Eurasian all-encompassing partnership with participation of a wide range of countries, which are members of the Eurasian Economic Union, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and in the future prospect of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations,” the ambassador said.

“We submitted an application to take part in all events of the [Belt and Road] Forum—both with participation of heads of states and heads of governments. At each panel discussion, we would like to perform at the ministerial level, to present enlarged thoughts about the prospects of the integration cooperation,” Denisov said.

Both Xi and Putin will also be meeting in Hamburg, Germany at the G20 meeting also in July, as well as at the BRICS summit in Xiamen in the Fall, and later on at an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Vietnam.

Arctic Council Ministerial Meeting Reaffirms Cooperative Approach

May 11 (EIRNS)—Media projections of geopolitical tensions at today’s Ministerial Meeting of the eight member states of the Arctic Council in Fairbanks, Alaska were once again proven wrong. The rug was pulled out from under that lie, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s stop in the Washington on his way to the meeting.

Chairmanship of the Council rotates among the member states—Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden and the United States—every two years, and the Foreign Ministers of the 20-year-old Council meet at the conclusion of each term or rotation to review where policies stand, and lay out prospects for the next two years. With military matters explicitly excluded from its agenda, the Council has served to foster cooperation between nations on developing this remaining frontier on Earth.

Among the outcomes of this meeting, chaired by the U.S., was the signing of a binding agreement to facilitate cooperation on scientific research in the region, which ensures that scientists, their equipment and data can flow more freely across international boundaries within the Arctic. An Arctic Shipping Traffic Database has been set up over the last two years; an assessment of telecommunications in the region led to the decision to establish a Task Force on Improved Connectivity in the Arctic; and a new Arctic Economic Council is now moving into the operational stage.

Both the Russian Foreign Ministry and U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State David Balton (Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental Affairs) emphasized in statements prior to the meeting, that unlike other regions in the world, “the Arctic remains stable and peaceful,” as Balton stated in his May 8 background briefing on the Council meeting.

As Balton elaborated: “Through the Arctic Council, we have a venue that has been doing very well in promoting international cooperation among all the eight nations, including Russia. Whatever other differences may exist between the United States, Russia, and other members of the Arctic Council and Russia relating to other parts of the world, they don’t manifest themselves in the work of the Arctic Council. That has remained a very cooperative body.”

The May 10 Russian Foreign Ministry statement pointed out that Arctic Council “members are not divided into blocs, and all decisions are adopted by consensus. This makes it possible to maintain sustained Arctic cooperation.” Largely because of the Council’s efforts, the policy of cooperation continued, “despite aggravated international relations. Not a single Arctic Council project has been terminated.”

This policy must continue, even as “major international players are now focusing on the Arctic more actively. This leads to rivalry and clashes of interests and ambitions of various countries, including those from beyond the Arctic region,” it said. “Russia views the Arctic as a territory of dialogue and cooperation and is determined to resolutely counter any attempts to bring tensions and a policy of confrontation to the region.”

The policy of cooperation is expected to continue under the new chairmanship of Finland. It was reported when President Xi Jinping visited Finland on April 5, Finland agreed to bring China’s voice into Council deliberations on how to improve Arctic affairs. A speaker at an event at the Finnish Ambassador to London’s residence today declared that “there will be no Cold War in the Arctic,” Sputnik reported today.

The other hot issue projected for the Council’s meeting, was the British Monarchy’s genocidal Paris climate change agreement. The problem of climate change in the Arctic is all over the final declaration adopted by all member states, but what is meant by “climate change” remains to be fought out.

President Putin’s dismissal of the man-made climate danger is well-known. Now Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told the Council in his opening remarks that “in the United States, we are currently reviewing several important policies, including how the Trump Administration will approach the issue of climate change. We are appreciative that each of you has an important point of view, and you should know that we are taking the time to understand your concerns. We’re not going to rush to make a decision. We’re going to work to make the right decision for the United States. The Arctic Council will continue to be an important platform as we deliberate on these issues.”

Raffarin Endorses New Silk Road as a Peace-Maker

May 11 (EIRNS)—Jean-Pierre Raffarin, the former French Prime Minister whom newly elected President Emmanuel Macron is sending as France’s representative to the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing, told Chinese journalists May 5 that he sees the New Silk Road as a global initiative for peace and cooperation. Raffarin said that against a background of a complicated and ever-changing world situation, China is bringing peace to the world with its plans and strategies which promote multilateralism and support the United Nations. Raffarin said that he hopes very much that the Beijing Forum succeeds in also bringing the top politicians of other Western countries closer to the Belt and Road Initiative.

Chinese Consul in Düsseldorf: The New Silk Road Is the Door to a Better Future

May 11 (EIRNS)—On the eve of the Beijing Belt and Road Forum, China’s Consul-General in Düsseldorf Feng Haiyang said in an interview with the Rheinische Post: “We should take the idea of a new Silk Road as a win-win situation for all countries that participate in it. We are experiencing an era of crises: terrorism, wars and refugee streams, plus a shrinking world economy. Hardly a country in the world still has the will nor the courage to think for the future and act accordingly. The Chinese idea of a new Silk Road can, therefore, also be seen as a hope-promoting answer for this new era, and that is exactly why this initiative is welcomed by more and more countries in the world.”

STRATEGIC WAR DANGER

New Korea Policy Emerging: Trump and Xi Jinping Pledge Cooperation with Moon Jae-in

May 11 (EIRNS)—The election of Moon Jae-in as President of South Korea, who is known to favor a negotiated solution to the crisis on the Korean Peninsula, signals motion towards a new policy.

Yesterday, President Donald Trump phoned President Moon to congratulate him on his victory, and according to the White House’s statement, extended an invitation for him to visit Washington at an early date, which Moon accepted. “President Trump said he looks forward to working with President Moon,” the White House reported.

Also yesterday, Chinese President Xi Jinping called Moon, during which discussion the South Korean President said he wants to work closely with China to de-nuclearize the Korean Peninsula, including restarting six-party talks with world powers, “and other methods, as soon as possible.”

Global Times reports today that Xi emphasized the importance of the two countries working together to serve their common interests, which will be conducive to achieving regional peace and stability. According to the same report, Moon said he attaches great interest to his nation’s relationship with China and particularly underscored his appreciation for China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). This will bring prosperity to all the nations along its routes, he said, including South Korea.

The two Presidents agreed to stay in close contact and to meet at an early date. The New York Times today reports that soon, President Moon will send a delegation to Beijing for the specific purpose of discussing the North Korean crisis.

Prospect of South Korea Holding Discussions with North Korea at the 2018 Winter Olympics

May 11 (EIRNS)—A close associate of the newly elected South Korean President Moon Jae-in told the Korea Herald that his administration looks forward to holding talks with North Korea on the sidelines of the Winter Olympics, which are being held in South Korea in February 2018, in a province bordering the North.

Choi Jong-kun, a professor in political science and international studies at Yonsei University in Seoul, who has worked closely with Moon for many years, said that any thaw in relations will be centered on a freeze in nuclear and missile tests in exchange for reopening economic and social cooperation, an idea which had been scrapped under the deposed President Park Geun-hye. Choi is a possible cabinet appointee, perhaps foreign minister, in the Moon government.

“How to use the PyeongChang Olympics is extremely important for us. It’s held in Gangwon Province and (will be) the first major international event to be hosted by the new government, and there’s less burden because of its non-political nature and the Olympic spirit,” Choi said. “It could serve as a crucial platform for us to start talks with the North.”

“North Korea under Kim Jong-il and North Korea under Kim Jong-un are quite different,” Choi said. “Since we haven’t had any access to Pyongyang for the past decade, we don’t know who they are and they don’t know who we are, which is why there are sustained doubts. What the Moon government wants to do is conduct empirical research, getting to know about their vision for de-nuclearization, how they want to resolve the situation, and how big and broad the gap is between ours and theirs. Only with that, can we figure out whether we should talk, or sanction, or completely isolate them.”

COLLAPSING WESTERN FINANCIAL SYSTEM

Experts Warn Western Powers and Japan, Shunning Belt and Road Is a Big ‘Missed Opportunity’

May 11 (EIRNS)—Jean-Pierre Lehmann, a professor emeritus at IMD, Lausanne, Switzerland points out in an article published in today’s South China Morning Post that Western economic powers, as well as Japan, are making a big mistake in rebuffing China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) “whose vision of dynamic cooperation for shared prosperity deserves support.” He notes China’s extraordinary achievements, such as lifting hundreds of millions out of poverty, a feat he calls “worthy of respect and admiration.”

Lehmann also urges Western nations to “refrain from taking the hypocritical high ground,” conveniently forgetting their own past roles in exploiting and humiliating China, from which it still has deep scars. China’s great leader Sun Yat Sen used to refer to China as a “poly-colony, i.e. gang-raped,” Lehmann adds, and details the crimes of Japan, France and the British Empire, adding that, in fact, “roughly half of the planet … was conquered and subjected by the [British] empire.” Nor is the United States, with its imperial actions in Latin America, Vietnam, Iraq, etc. free of guilt, he adds. This is not to say that it’s China’s turn to rape and pillage, Lehmann concludes, but warns it would be in the world’s best interests if China’s Belt and Road goals were supported. “Indeed, the implications of the alternatives are cataclysmic.”

Responding to questions from his own organization, Paul Haenle, Director of the Carnegie-Tsinghua Center for Global Policy, admonishes the United States that it “also needs a strategy for constructive engagement with the BRI.” Washington, he warns, must avoid repeating the mistakes it made in snubbing the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), by which it “isolated itself from the international community and weakened its own leverage to shape the new body.” What Washington needs is an effective “middle-ground approach to the BRI, that involves seeking collaboration with China and other nations where interests overlap… the two countries can talk about the BRI’s aims and key components, examine where their interests could intersect or clash, and seek to make the Belt and Road Initiative a formal topic of bilateral discussions.”

SCIENCE AND INFRASTRUCTURE

Belt and Road Presents a Science and Technology Cooperation Network

May 11 (EIRNS)—Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) President Bai Chunli presented perspectives for developing the Belt and Road Science and Technology cooperation network,  at a May 9 press conference in Beijing, as part of preparatory activities for the May 14-15 Belt and Road Forum.

The Academy’s “International Outreach Initiative” was elaborated in the plan for the science and innovation community of Belt and Road countries released in early 2016. Since then, over 2,000 overseas staff have been introduced to China by the Academy, and nearly 1,500 overseas students are receiving scholarships to work for a master’s degree in China, according to Bai. He reported that the CAS is working closely with the Trieste, Italy-based World Academy of Sciences for the Advancement of Science in Developing Countries on this project.

“The academy is setting up nine overseas bases for science and technology cooperation and has launched more than 20 major science projects to address common challenges for Belt and Road countries, such as weather surveillance,” Bai reported. The focus is on providing strategic counselling, science and technology cooperation, training, and the commercialization of scientific achievements.

“Talent forms the foundations for exchanges and cooperation. We hope our programs can equip foreign students with the skills to make a contribution in their countries, which will benefit the [Belt and Road] initiative in the long run,” Bai reported.

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