EDITORIAL
Emerging from the Quicksand
Dec. 1 (EIRNS)—China’s Xi Jinping and Russia’s Vladimir Putin continue to issue offer upon offer to the United States—and other nations still caught in the quicksand of the deadly trans-Atlantic system—to join in the construction of the new global paradigm which is replacing geopolitical wars and zero-sum-game fascist economics, with the win-win results of the New Silk Road policy.
The Chinese government has just issued a white paper entitled “The Right to Development: China’s Philosophy, Practice and Contribution,” which documents the stunning progress made by China over recent decades in poverty reduction, longevity, education and so on, and then goes on to explain that their One Belt, One Road Initiative is meant to help other nations achieve similar results. The right to development, the white paper proclaims, is the inalienable human right of all humanity.
Russian President Putin, in his Annual State of the Nation Address to the Federal Assembly, reiterated his disposition to cooperate with the incoming Trump Administration in the United States to “ensure international stability and security.” Putin also made it amply clear that Russia’s future lies in fostering creativity, science, and problem-solving among youth: “Our schools must promote creativity…. Our children will see clearly that Russia needs their ideas and knowledge.”
This is exactly the kind of thinking which once dominated the United States of Franklin Roosevelt and even John F. Kennedy, but it has become nearly incomprehensible to most Americans today, in a U.S. that has been transformed by the last 16 years of the Bush and Obama nightmares.
And yet, reawakening that spirit is the key to strategic victory against the dying British Empire. To do so will require rising to the challenge of getting the American population, and their representatives in Washington, to think in the higher realm of the true potential before us, and not the controlled tiddlywinks of Washington politics and local affairs.
In a discussion earlier today with members of the LaRouche PAC Policy Committee and Science Team, and Helga Zepp-LaRouche, EIRFounding Editor Lyndon LaRouche stressed the crucial role of a renewed space program to reignite the needed optimism and inspiration about man’s purpose in the universe. The great German space scientist Krafft Ehricke is an important touchstone in that effort, LaRouche said, for the fight to bring back advances in science, culture and economics as a single intertwined achievement.
“The whole purpose is to understand what the future holds, or canhold, and to maintain the process on that basis,” LaRouche said. “It’s like catching up, always; of trying to do something more important, to reach it, and then to enjoy it. And then go for the next one, and reach it, and enjoy it…. There has to be an element of surprise, an element of the expression of that type. That’s what makes it work. It’s not something empty; it’s something that has to be made to work.”
LaRouche continued: “We are living in our minds. If we are qualified for thinking, then we are operating in space. We should hope that we are going to break free, and thus bring mankind to a new layer of achievement.”
NEW WORLD ECONOMIC ORDER
Putin ‘State of the Nation’ Address Calls for Fostering Creativity, Science, and Problem-Solving in Youth
Dec. 1 (EIRNS)—Russian President Vladimir Putin today delivered his Annual Presidential Address to the Federal Assembly—the two houses of parliament—at the Kremlin’s St. George Hall, which he chose to focus largely on “the economy, social issues, and domestic policy,” as Putin himself stated. In his closing section, Putin also included a prominent call for cooperation with the incoming Trump administration in the United States:
“Russia is also ready to work with the new U.S. administration…. Cooperation between Russia and the United States in addressing global and regional issues will benefit the whole world. We have a shared responsibility to ensure international security and stability.” Putin also stated: “We do not want confrontation with anyone. We have no need for it…. We do not seek and never have sought enemies. We need friends. But we will not allow our interests to be infringed upon or ignored.”
Putin reviewed the condition of Russia’s physical economy, starting with its population and demographics, and was quite blunt about both achievements and failures. After noting that infant mortality is falling, and that more people now have access to high-technology medical services, he continued: “On the whole—to put it bluntly—problems in the healthcare sector remain and there are still plenty of them. They are related mostly to the primary care level. Its development should be given priority.” He emphasized the special problems of remote areas of the country that lack access, and explained that he was emphasizing all of this in his address, so that “the whole country will now follow the issue carefully.”
Putin’s discussion of education and youth focused heavily on science and creativity:
“Our schools must promote creativity. The children must learn to think independently, work both on their own and as part of a team, address unusual tasks and formulate and achieve goals, which will help them have an interesting and prosperous life…. We must promote the culture of research and engineering work. The number of cutting edge science parks for children will increase to 40 within two years. They will serve as the basis for the development of a network of technical project groups across the country. Companies, universities and research institutes should contribute to this, so that our children will see clearly that all of them have equal opportunities and an equal start in life, that Russia needs their ideas and knowledge and that they can prove their mettle in Russian companies and laboratories.”
Putin returned to this theme: “There are several things I would like to stress. Our education system must be based on the principle that all children and teenagers are gifted and can succeed in science, in creative areas and sport, in careers and in life. Our task is to help them develop their talents. When they are successful, Russia is successful too. Colleagues, I view the young generation as Russia’s reliable foundation in a turbulent and complicated 21st century. I believe that they are able not just to rise to challenges but also to make their contribution to the development of the intellectual, technological and cultural agenda of global development.”
In a formulation reminiscent of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s discussion of the need to introduce new growth factors in the Chinese and world economies, Putin emphasized that Russia has by no means turned the corner: “If we do not address the underlying problems of the Russian economy, if we do not launch new growth factors at their full force, it will stagnate for years, and we will have to constantly scrimp and save, to delay development. We cannot afford that.”
In New White Paper, China Asserts ‘Inalienable Right to Development’
Dec. 1 (EIRNS)—China has issued a major white paper, entitled “The Right to Development: China’s Philosophy, Practice and Contribution,” in which China asserts that there is “an inalienable right” for countries and people to develop. “The right to development must be enjoyed and shared by all peoples. Realizing the right to development is the responsibility of all countries and also the obligation of the international community,” the white paper says. “It requires governments of all countries to formulate development strategies and policies suited to their own realities, and it requires concerted efforts of the international community as a whole. China calls on all countries to pursue equal, open, all-round and innovative common development, promotes inclusive development, and creates conditions for all peoples to share the right to development.”
But the white paper does so much more. It clearly shows that China’s model for development and China’s political and social structure has achieved unqualified success. And while the model continues to develop, it is at a pace and in a form that is determined by the Chinese people themselves. The paper notes how China has already lifted 700 million people out of poverty, now with only 5.7% of the population living under the poverty line, the first nation, the report notes, to reach the UN’s Millennium Goals. But it is not going to stop there. It is determined to eliminate poverty altogether.
The paper also presents other stunning accomplishments in terms of the development of its labor force. In 1949, average longevity was only 35 years; in 2015, it was 76.34 years. Enrollment of school-age children was about 20% in 1949; in 2015, it was 99.88%. These parameters were also reflected in the growth of GDP and the raising of the standard of living since 1978. From 1978 to 2015, the annual GDP increased from RMB367.9 billion to RMB68,550.6 billion, and per-capita GDP grew from more than $200 to above $8,000. In 1978, per-capita disposable income of urban households was only RMB343.4, and per-capita net income of rural households was only RMB133.6. In 2015, per-capita disposable income of all residents reached RMB21,966; the figures were RMB31,195 for urban residents and RMB11,422 for rural residents.
The document goes on to detail the reforms that have been made in other areas, in the judicial system, voting reforms at the local and village level, instituting compulsory education and improving the educational and medical facilities in the countryside and for the numerous minority groups in China. A social welfare system has been set up throughout the country and a system of medical insurance is steadily expanding. The white paper also underlines the developments in the area of culture, the cultivation of the arts and music even in the more distant parts of the country, the opening up of libraries and the establishment of public museums and cultural centers, the promotion of digital museums and the expansion of the internet in rural areas, and a national campaign to encourage people to read.
The document also points out how the country is contributing to the development of its neighbors and countries in the developing sector through the Belt and Road Initiative and through the “100 Programs” targeting developing countries, through the establishment of 100 poverty-reduction programs, 100 agricultural cooperation programs, 100 hospitals and clinics, and 100 schools and vocational training centers in developing countries. In addition, 120,000 training opportunities and 150,000 scholarships will be made available to developing countries in China, and 500,000 vocational technical personnel will be trained. China will also set up a South-South Cooperation and Development Academy.
STRATEGIC WAR DANGER
Ukrainian Regime Air Force Fires Missiles over Black Sea
Dec. 1 (EIRNS)—The Ukrainian air force carried out its promised missile exercise over the Black Sea and declared it a success. “Jointly with the Chief of the General Staff Viktor Muzhenko, we reported to the President of Ukraine, the supreme commander-in-chief that we launched 16 missiles. The plan of assignments has been accomplished, the firing was a success: all targets were hit. Today’s exercise is over,” Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak told Interfax-Ukraine, today.
The Russian government has been protesting the planned exercises because of their proximity to the Crimean Peninsula and because of the potential threat they presented to civil aviation in the region. The initial Ukrainian notifications indicated that the missiles might pass through the airspace over Crimea, but according to both Ukrainian and Russian officials, the missiles were fired from Kherson, about 17-20 miles from the northwest coast of Crimea. Nevertheless, reports Sputnik, Russia’s Black Sea Fleet ships took up positions along the western Crimean coastline to defend regional airspace. Russian Transport Minister Maksim Sokolov vowed that the exercise “will not be left without corresponding assessment and evaluation.”
Speaking in Kiev today, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko hysterically dismissed Russian complaints, declaring that “right now our mutual responsibility is to build air defense for Kyiv and the whole Ukraine. No one can stop us, and we will act in accordance with the interests of the Ukrainian people’s security and the Ukrainian state.”
U.S. ECONOMIC & POLITICAL
U.S. Geopolitics Meets China’s Silk Road Spirit in Washington
Dec. 1 (EIRNS)—One of the first major “dialogues” between U.S. and Chinese scholars on the One Belt, One Road Initiative (OBOR) was held in Washington on Nov. 30 sponsored by the China Energy Fund Committee and the Asia Society. The day’s events indicated the difficulty the U.S. political establishment has in understanding the Chinese outlook with the Belt and Road. Dr. Patrick Ho, the Secretary General of the China Energy Fund Committee, an accomplished violinist, an opthalmologist, and a long-time proponent of the Belt and Road project, set the stage in the morning session.
“We live today in a threatened world. There is great poverty, although we have enough [re]sources to go around for all of us; 2.8 billion people still lack resources. There is a lack of clean water for millions of people. Globalization created development as well as new problems. We are not sharing the fruits of progress.
“Globalization now is a system in crisis, a broken system. It cannot advance human progress. There are too many people left behind. We now need a holistic model that will be all-inclusive and a shift to a more sustainable and useful model. Inclusiveness and sharing is the basis of the Belt and Road,” he said.
Leading Chinese scholars presented various aspects of the Belt and Road. Chen Guoqiang from the Development Research Center of the State Council discussed why there are so many misunderstandings in the West about the Belt and Road. He noted that sometimes there is not enough information about the OBOR in the West and sometimes it comes into conflict with what people believe are their vested interests.
One presentation was by Ziad Haider, the commercial representative at the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs at the State Department, who began by underlining that one has to approach this project by looking at the great needs facing people in the world today. He also mentioned projects that are already ongoing on the commercial side with the One Belt, One Road. He called the OBOR an “integrated vision” and said that the State Department was working with China’s National Development and Research Commission, which is responsible on the Chinese side for the OBOR. On the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), he said that some progress is being made.
In the Q&A discussion, EIR’s Bill Jones contrasted Haider’s approach to that of geopolitical gamesmanship. Haider expressed agreement that there must be a new level of cooperation and, yes, “a new paradigm.”
Another U.S. response came from Dan Markey of Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). Without mentioning Jones by name, he went on to say that geopolitics was here to stay and could not be replaced by what he called “geo-economics.” He lashed out against the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) program in Pakistan, saying that it made no economic sense because of the instability, and disparaged it as only a geopolitical move on the part of the Chinese, making the rather absurd assumption that such economic development should not be attempted in politically “unstable” regions.
In response to Markey, Jones noted sarcastically that “obviously places like Syria or Iraq are therefore not ‘suitable’ for a Silk Road, nor are Afghanistan, Gaza, or even the Bronx, since conditions there are so bad. But the fact of the matter is that if you don’t put a ‘Silk Road’ project, these places will always remain hell-holes for the people living there.” Many panelists nodded in agreement. The next question came from LaRouche PAC’s Alicia Cerretani, who scolded Markey for his geopolitical attitude. This one-two punch also encouraged the Chinese delegates, who until then had listened to all of the geopolitical nonsense, clearly upset, but not saying anything.
Professor Zhao Jinping from the Development Research Center then upbraided the U.S. speakers. “You see everything in political terms, but you don’t understand that these problems exist and must be solved. China doesn’t see this as a political ‘card.’ ”
Former Italian Prime Minister Dini Exhorts Trump To Recognize Crimea’s Referendum Rejoining Russia
Dec. 1 (EIRNS)—Speaking at the Primakov Readings International Forum in Moscow Nov. 30, Italy’s former Prime Minister and former Foreign Minister Lamberto Dini called on U.S. President-elect Donald Trump to recognize the 2014 referendum in Crimea which approved that region unifying with the Russia Federation. “Nowadays, tensions between Russia and the United States have reached, possibly, the highest level since 1998,” TASS quoted Dini as saying, noting that he placed the blame for this on the policy of sanctions “the U.S. and European countries imposed on Russia.” Dini asserted that “President-elect Trump has a unique opportunity to restore relations with Russia, in particular by recognizing the referendum in Crimea and cooperating with Russia against international terrorism in Syria,” and expressed the hope that Russian-U.S. cooperation could be resumed to make progress on international issues.
The Primakov Readings is an annual international forum commemorating academician Yevgeny Primakov which was held in Moscow on Nov. 28-30 and was chaired by Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov and addressed yesterday by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Among the international speakers were former NATO Secretary-General Javier Solana, former Foreign Minister of Egypt and Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa, former World Bank President James Wolfensohn and Dini, all of whom had been good friends and colleagues of Primakov.
Among other posts, Primakov had served as Prime Minister, Foreign Minister and chief of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service.
Speaking at the event, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov pointed to Primakov’s immense influence and accomplishments in Russia’s post-Soviet foreign policy, which has formed the basis of Russia’s current foreign policy. He detailed Primakov’s role in developing the concept of multipolarity, in creating the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), agreements with NATO including the Russia NATO Council, his attempts to resolve the Ukrainian crisis through the Normandy Four agreement.
9/11 Families Charge that Senators Lindsey Graham and John McCain Lie To Protect Saudi Terrorists
Dec. 1 (EIRNS)—The 9/11 Families and Survivors United for Justice Against Terrorism released a statement yesterday expressing their “firm opposition” to a proposed amendment to the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA) that became law in September, overriding President Obama’s veto.
The proposed change in language would add a specific jurisdictional defense for Saudi Arabia, thereby protecting the actual perpetrators of the 9/11 attacks. The 9/11 families state that Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and John McCain (R-AZ) lied on the floor of the Senate about their proposed change, and mischaracterized it as merely a “caveat.” This new effort to run a Saudi protection racket, which the statement characterizes as “an absolute betrayal,” comes in the wake “of a massive lobbying campaign by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” which is spending more than $1.3 million per month on lobbying firms.
The families state that they “take comfort that President-elect Donald Trump strongly supports our cause.” He has “made his support for JASTA crystal clear,” they state, and “there is zero risk that he will support this kind of backroom backstabbing of the 9/11 families,” said organization leader Terry Strada.
Dr. Patrick Ho Offers Advice to Donald Trump, Based on a History of China in the World
Dec. 1 (EIRNS)—Dr. Patrick Ho, a prominent Hong Kong political and medical figure, who heads the China Energy Fund Committee, was the key organizer of the Nov. 30 “Belt and Road Forum” in Washington, concluded the conference with a powerful review of China’s historic connections with the world over the past millennia, and closed with five suggestions for President-elect Donald Trump on how to integrate the U.S. into the One Belt, One Road (OBOR) project:
1. Consider the Belt and Road a platform to spearhead initiatives and programs to bring closer cooperation between the U.S. and China;
2. Realign trade agreements with Asia-Pacific nations to accommodate the Belt and Road;
3. Adjust the U.S. posture toward the international development banks and promote their capacity to assist in support of infrastructure development;
4. Help develop security along the Belt and Road;
5. Get the international institutions to work with the Belt and Road.
Dr. Ho said that the One Belt, One Road is not just a series of connections from one place to another, but connections of hearts and minds, connecting souls, as a means to bring about peaceful cooperation, connecting the Chinese Dream with the American Dream and other national dreams: freedom from want, freedom from fear, harmony with nature, and peace.
His survey of China’s history described three “Knocks On China’s Door” from the West and three “Knocks on the West’s Door” from China:
1. Matteo Ricci and the Jesuit missionaries who found an open door in China in the late 16th century, bringing with them Western religion, philosophy and science. Their effort was subverted and collapsed in the 18th century;
2. The British Empire, which broke down the door with the Opium Wars, launching a century of subjugation and poverty;
3. Richard Nixon’s visit to China in 1972, which began the economic cooperation and China’s rise.
As for China’s knocking on the West’s door:
1. The first Silk Road, when Zhang Qian in 139 B.C. traveled to Central Asia;
2. Zheng He’s Treasure Ships in the 15th century which traveled through the Indian Ocean, the Persian Gulf and the along African coast. He displayed and contrasted pictures, one of Julius Caesar saying, “I came, I saw, I conquered”; and of Zheng He saying, “I came, I saw, I made friends, I went home.”
3. The New Silk Road, announced by President Xi Jinping in 2013, to which Obama refused to open the door. Now, he said, we are knocking on Trump’s door: “A big yell” that the One Belt, One Road Initiative is the institution to facilitate realigning our nations, an impetus to re-thinking policies.
SCIENCE & INFRASTRUCTURE
Russia and China Developing Hypersonic, Maneuverable Vehicles that Will Outsmart U.S. Missile Defense
Dec. 1 (EIRNS)—A study released last week, conducted by the Air Force Study Board of the National Academy of Sciences, titled, “A Threat to America’s Global Vigilance, Reach, and Power—High Speed, Maneuvering Weapons,” is basically an admission that the low-technology kinetic kill anti-ballistic missile system that the U.S. has been deploying since it wrecked the Reagan/LaRouche directed-energy Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) program, is no match for the next-generation weapons systems being tested by Russia and China. “These weapons appear to operate in regimes of speed and altitude, with maneuverability that could frustrate existing missile defense constructs and weapon capabilities,” the report states. No surprise.
As the report relates, maneuverable vehicles—which don’t get launched and follow a predictable ballistic trajectory, but can change speed and direction, and potentially take evasive maneuvers—have been under development for decades. They have been tested by the Russians before, and more recently by China. Being maneuverable makes them harder to catch. Making them also hypersonic (speeds of more than Mach 5) means there is also very little time to intersect and disable them. As the report states, this class of vehicles “may greatly compress decision and response timelines, which in turn requires any useful counter-measures to be deployed almost immediately.” Not possible, with what we’ve got.
The problem is not just hardware, the report explains. The military establishment’s “existing doctrine and organizational structure may not be adequate to address the cross-domain threat posed by HSMWs,” or high-speed maneuvering weapons, meaning the application of the new technology potentially to long-range missiles, and low-altitude cruise missiles, and ship-launched and airborne threats.
The U.S. on both the military and civilian (NASA) sides has tested hypersonic propulsion systems, but it is not an easy set of technologies to master. The Russians reportedly plan to have their system “operational” over the next few years. As expected, the military experts on the report’s panel only propose doing the same, in an effort to “catch up,” rather than leapfrogging into the domain of new physical principles.
China Will Bring Nuclear Power to the One Belt, One Road
Dec. 1 (EIRNS)—The China Energy Fund Committee, headed by Dr. Patrick Chi Ping Ho, a partisan of China’s One Belt, One Road project, released a 160-page report on nuclear energy in China, which is a comprehensive discussion of China’s nuclear industry, and description of the broad range of technologies for advanced fission that China has under development. The report has an important emphasis on China’s plans to export nuclear power plants, and states that the infrastructure development under the umbrella of the One Belt, One Road presents “great commercial opportunities” for China. By 2030, about 200 new nuclear plants will be built, and the 60 One Belt, One Road countries represent 80% of that growth in demand. If China gets 20% of those new orders, it is calculated, that will mean 5 million jobs and significant high-technology industrial demand. The report states that the One Belt One, Road is a “driver for [the] China nuclear power industry to ‘go overseas.’ ”
For the Belt and Road countries, the great majority of which have never built a nuclear plant, it will bring their economies to higher platform of energy flux density and productivity.
