Volume 4, Number 39

EIR Daily Alert Service

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

• A Moment for Greatness
• ‘Day of Truth’ Exposes Obama/Soros Color Revolutions—Ukraine Nazi Coup in 2014, U.S. Today
• Another Obama Deception and Failure Highlighted, in Afghanistan
• Intra-Syrian Peace Talks Open in Geneva
• Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Azarov Identifies Maidan Snipers
• Ukrainian Neo-Nazis Shoot Up Paintings Critical of Maidan, in Kiev Art Exhibit
• Dutch Parliament Discards Population’s ‘No’ Vote against EU Deal with Ukraine
• Russian Defense Ministry Opens New War Room
• IMF for Greek Debt Relief; What Debt Relief?
• Xi Jinping Makes Italy ‘an Offer You Cannot Refuse’ as Italian President Visits Beijing
• Putin To Visit Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan To Mark 25th Anniversary of Ties
• Petroleum Strategist Argues Importance of Russian Nuclear Power for Egypt

EDITORIAL

A Moment for Greatness

Feb. 23 (EIRNS)—Initial reports from the United States, on the International Day of Truth conducted by collaborators of the Schiller Institute and the LaRouche movement, on the third anniversary of Obama and Soros’ Nazi coup in Ukraine, show Americans and others are responding in unexpectedly rational and sensible ways, often with impromptu deep and wide-ranging discussions. And this is regardless of political label. (This seems especially remarkable amidst the hatred and lies being poured forth by almost all media.)

Their concerned reaction to the real story of the Obama/Soros criminal intervention in Ukraine, is part of people’s initial reaction to a totally new and unprecedented international situation, created by the achievements of Vladimir Putin, complemented by the giant unrolling of China’s New Silk Road policy under President Xi Jinping, and by the positive potential now, with the election of Donald Trump. This public awakening is evident, even if those experiencing it are still unaware of the reason. So far they only sense it, rather than knowing it. But the seeds planted by Lyndon and Helga LaRouche over many decades, have now contributed to create a truly “great moment” in history. After all the travails and the horrors of the 20th and 21st centuries to date, a moment has arisen, for however long it lasts, in which mankind can truly choose a totally different and far better future for ourselves and our posterity.

This unique moment, punctuated as it was by the Federal holiday for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on Jan. 16, must bring to mind the speech which Dr. King gave on April 3, 1968, on the last evening before his martyrdom, often called the “Mountaintop Speech,” which Dennis Speed recently recalled in EIR.

King was a man who Lyndon LaRouche said should have been President—this said by the Lyndon LaRouche who himself has unique qualifications for the Presidency. That speech is well worth rereading, or better, watching and hearing today. Even as brief as it was, to attempt to summarize it here would be absurd. But as Dennis Speed recalled, in it Dr. King attested that if he had the choice of any era in which to live his life, he would choose just that very moment to live in, because of the unique opportunity it offered for the progress and the betterment of all mankind.

That promise was drowned in the blood of Dr. King and the Kennedys.  Americans who should have been leaders, instead chose to step back and remain small after these killings—but not forever!  Lyndon LaRouche managed to seize an opportunity offered later with the Reagan Administration; he achieved permanent progress for mankind—but then that opportunity in turn was largely thwarted by the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan, and later the near-assassination and judicial frameup of LaRouche. The smallness and compromises of others allowed that opportunity to pass.

Until now. Now we have a moment for true greatness.

U.S. POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC

‘Day of Truth’ Exposes Obama/Soros Color Revolutions—Ukraine Nazi Coup in 2014, U.S. Today

Feb. 23 (EIRNS)—Early reports show that rallies were held today in many cities in the United States, New York, Washington, Houston, San Francisco, and also in Europe, for a “Day of Truth” about the Obama/George Soros neo-fascist coup in Ukraine in 2014, and the coup the same crowd is attempting right now against the Presidency of Donald Trump. In Berlin, Germany, for example, demonstrators had banners, and a chorus singing the canon Dona nobis pacem.

In New York City, a highly visible Day of Action Rally was held at Dag Hammerskold Plaza at the United Nations in Manhattan. A huge banner (5 by 7 feet) proclaimed, “Jail Obama & Soros for Treason.” Other big signs featured the image of the World Land-Bridge, and showed photos of world leaders—Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Lyndon and Helga LaRouche, and others. One placard asked, “Will You Join LaRouche’s New Paradigm?”

Dozens of the new EIR dossier were released to diplomats and international media. The 17-page report is titled, “Obama and Soros Color Revolutions—Nazis in Ukraine, 2014; U.S.A., 2017?”

Another Obama Deception and Failure Highlighted, in Afghanistan

Feb. 23 (EIRNS)—In 2010, President Barack Obama told the American people of his grand plan to eliminate the Taliban and clinch a victory in Afghanistan. He appointed the hot-to-trot Gen. William McChrystal to launch a hammer-blow offensive against the Taliban, ensconced in southern Afghanistan’s Helmand province, also known as the opium center of Afghanistan.

In May 2010, fifteen thousand U.S., British, and NATO-trained Afghan troops launched an attack, called Operation Moshtarak (“Moshtarak” is Pashto for “Together”), on the Taliban-stronghold of Marjah, a town just southwest of Helmand’s capital, Lashkar Gah. A pitched battled was fought, and the Taliban left Marjah, but not its surroundings; they never did. Obama announced victory from the White House and told the Americans how important the victory was and how well the Afghan troops had been trained.

Now, almost seven years later, there has been a virtual takeover of the entire Helmand province by the Taliban. Al Jazeera reported on this today, saying that Marjah, “a haven for several hundred fighters and a center of poppy cultivation and opium production—a major source of Taliban income—and also for the mass manufacture of roadside bombs,” is once more in Taliban’s bag. “Taliban’s white banners are flying over Marjah once again, poppy production continues unabated and the regional capital, Lashkar Gah, is once more under virtual siege.”

The Al Jazeera article mocked what it referred to as one more deception by Obama: “it’s as though Operation Moshtarak never happened, that it was just a billion-dollar blip in this country’s terrible recent history.”

STRATEGIC WAR DANGER

Intra-Syrian Peace Talks Open in Geneva

Feb. 23 (EIRNS)—The intra-Syrian peace talks opened today, with a welcoming ceremony in the UN assembly hall in Geneva. Both sides were seated opposite each other, according to news reports, but did not speak.

“I ask you to work together,” said UN Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura. “I know it’s not going to be easy to end this horrible conflict and lay the foundation for a country at peace with itself, sovereign and unified. It is your opportunity and solemn responsibility … not to condemn future generations of Syrian children to long years of bitter and bloody conflict.” De Mistura warned against failure of the talks, saying that the cost would be “more deaths, more atrocities.” He continued, “We can do a lot of good work while we hope the ceasefire holds.”

In a press conference yesterday, de Mistura said that he is not expecting any breakthroughs, but he intends to maintain momentum towards a settlement. He warned that progress won’t always be apparent.

“Don’t be surprised, if there will be rhetoric, statements, and even dismissive statements among them, aggressive ones. They are part of what we should expect,” he said, while asking the media not to jump to conclusions and resort to insulting the talks’ participants. “We will be aiming at substance,” he stressed.

When the Syrian opposition delegation, led by the High Negotiations Commission, arrived, yesterday, it declared its readiness for face-to-face talks with the government negotiators.

“We hope and we want the talks to be direct,” HNC representative Munzar Mahus told TASS. “Negotiations should take place in the presence of an international mediator, that is the UN,” Mahus noted. “However, the problem is that the agenda of the talks is unclear at the moment.” And the first topic on the agenda should be? “We should discuss the transition of power process in the first place.” For the Syrian opposition, “transition of power” means the removal from power of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad at the beginning of the process, but this is not allowed for in UN Security Council Resolution 2254, which is what governs de Mistura’s mediation effort.

“We will be very reluctant,” de Mistura said, “to engage in pre-conditions, and in fact I will be refusing them.”

Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Azarov Identifies Maidan Snipers

Feb. 23 (EIRNS)—Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov, who served from March 2010 until he resigned on Jan. 28, 2014, at the height of the violent Maidan protests, unleashed a bombshell on his Facebook page on Feb. 21 (in Russian), a bombshell that was reported by Sputnik the following day.

“Today we, and investigators in Kiev as well, have reliable information about the fact that the murders on the Maidan were carried out by special groups of snipers from Georgia, the Baltic countries, and Poland, under the guidance of instructors from France and Germany,” Azarov write. These groups, Azarov said, “were provided with cover and diversionary actions by shooters from the ‘Maidan Self-Defense’ group under the direction of [Andriy] Parubiy and [Serhiy] Pashinsky,” the former now serving as speaker of Ukraine’s parliament, and the latter an MP and former interim head of the presidential administration. In total, more than 130 people, including 18 police officers, were killed.

Azarov explained, reports Sputnik, that “the Georgian group, consisting of 10 people, was placed in the Conservatory building [which overlooks Maidan Square]. The identities of three of them have been confirmed by photographs taken by Ukrainian Security Forces staff, and it has been established that they are Georgian nationals. On Feb. 20, [2014] this group divided into two. One of them fired from the Conservatory Building, the other from the Hotel Ukraine Building.” Azarov reports that the presence of a third group of shooters is assumed. This group reportedly killed 50 people in the space of 30 minutes from a third building overlooking the square, and was immediately moved out of the area.

Azarov notes that the coup plotters, Parubiy, Pashinskiy, Secretary of the National Defense Council Oleksandr Turchynov, Interior Minister Arsen Avakov, and former Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, all of whom were appointed to their positions after the coup, “have done everything they could to destroy evidence and people’s testimony. An attempt was made to place the blame for the massacre squarely on Yanukovych and the Berkut riot police.” Avakov’s Facebook posting includes numerous photographs and video documenting the violence on the Maidan in February 2014. The evidence exists, he says, that helps “establish with absolute objectivity” the involvement of Turchynov, Parubiy, Pashinsky, et al. in the organization of the mass carnage which took place three years ago. One image shows Parubiy in the background as what appears to be a team of snipers is led out of a building. There’s also a video that shows Pashinsky loading a sniper rifle into the trunk of his car. Last December, Sputnik reports, Pashinsky tried to claim that he had the sniper rifle for “self-defense.”

Ukrainian Neo-Nazis Shoot Up Paintings Critical of Maidan, in Kiev Art Exhibit

Feb. 23 (EIRNS)—A gang of about 15 neo-Nazis stormed an exhibit at the Hall of the Arts in Kiev that was showing paintings by the renowned artist David Chychkan, that are critical of the Maidan. The artworks expose the role of the anti-communist, neo-Nazi underground during the 2013-14 protests and the coup. Some of the attackers even shot up the paintings with handguns.

Chychkan says that the Fall 2013 Maidan protest movement originally was against the worsening living conditions, against corruption and the oligarchs, but the movement was hijacked by the neo-Nazi groups and turned into a movement to prepare the environment for the coup in February 2014.

Dutch Parliament Discards Population’s ‘No’ Vote against EU Deal with Ukraine

Feb. 23 (EIRNS)—By a great majority, the members of the Netherlands’ national parliament on Feb. 21 gave the scandalous go-ahead for the government’s signature on the EU-Ukraine association agreement. The two government parties, VVD and PvdA, voted for the resolution, as did the two opposition parties, D66 and Green List. The majority of the parliament thereby ignored the result of the national referendum in April 2016, in which 61% voted against the Ukraine deal, and only 38% for it. The Parliament has now authorized the government to ratify the deal as the last EU member-state holding out.

The referendum was non-binding, but the parliament and government would have done better to respect it, because the country will hold national elections on March 15. The views of 2.5 million Dutch voters were ignored by this parliamentary vote, which may lead to unpleasant surprises at the polls in less than three weeks.

Russian Defense Ministry Opens New War Room

Feb. 23 (EIRNS)—Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu delivered an address to the State Duma yesterday, in which he reported on, among other things, the progress on the modernization of Russian military forces, both strategic and conventional.

“Approximately 99% [of] launch systems of the Strategic Missile Forces are in combat condition,” he reported. “More than 96% of the systems are in permanent readiness for immediate missile launch.” All of the progress in 2016 that he reported, which is quite substantial, was accomplished on a budget of $54 billion, compared to $635 billion for the U.S. and $190 billion for China.

Shoigu also noted the development of a capability which is being played hysterically in the West, as if it proved the charges of information warfare and hacking levelled against Russia.

He said, there is an, “Information platform of the National Center allowed to unite 73 federal bodies of executive power, authorities of all 85 subjects of the Russian Federation, 1,320 state corporations and enterprises of the defense industry complex into the joint system of interdepartmental cooperation.” He also said, there is, “For the first time created a single secure information space at the federal, regional and local levels.”

Shoigu didn’t further explain it, but judging from his description, this information platform likely functions as a war room. The “National Center” that Shoigu referred to is the National Center for State Defense Control, the new headquarters that was opened up in the Defense Ministry in December 2014. Gen. Valery Gerasimov, the Chief of the Russian General Staff, said at the time that the new center was opened, that it would function to effectively deter aggression against Russia and speed up decision-making in response to hostile threats.

COLLAPSING WESTERN FINANCIAL SYSTEM

IMF for Greek Debt Relief; What Debt Relief?

Feb. 23 (EIRNS)—The International Monetary Fund has been saying for months that the Greek debt is unsustainable, and that therefore Greece needs debt relief. This has now proven to have been typical IMF double-talk.  According to ARD TV, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and afterward said that Greece does not need an actual haircut, but rather an extension of payments and a significant reduction of interest rates, but even this “debt relief” cannot be discussed until Greece implements more “reforms,” including further cutting pensions.

At this late-night meeting, the other topic of discussion between Lagarde and Merkel was the Trump Administration, and what its economic and financial policy will be. There has been nothing on this released to the press.

THE NEW GLOBAL ECONOMIC ORDER

Xi Jinping Makes Italy ‘an Offer You Cannot Refuse’ as Italian President Visits Beijing

Feb. 23 (EIRNS)—Chinese President Xi Jinping invited Italy to attend the May 14-15 international forum on “Belt and Road: Cooperation for Common Prosperity” in Beijing, directly extending the invitation to President Sergio Mattarella, who is leading a political and business delegation visiting China. The two countries signed deals for $5 billion, including one that involves Moon-mapping.

Italy “offers incomparable advantages as a door between East and West,” Xi told Mattarella. Such advantages are given by Italy’s geographical position and by its political role in Europe. “There is a pioneering spirit in our two countries,” Xi said. The Chinese President cited Italian missionary Prospero Intorcetta, who first translated Confucius in Europe in the 17th Century, and who, like Mattarella, hailed from Sicily. Intorcetta is buried in Hangzhou.

The Italian delegation participated in the fourth Italy-China Business Forum and in the first Italy-China Cultural Forum.

In his speech given at the conclusion of the two forums, Mattarella said that, “Italy can offer experiences and knowledge in sectors of great interest for China, such as food security, health, environmental technologies, sustainable urbanization, logistics and transports, aerospace.”

The deals signed by the two delegations include Italian participation in a joint mapping of the Moon and joint experiments in human flight on the Chinese space station in 2022, as well as Italian technology and interiors for two large cruise ships to be assembled in Shanghai, customs agreements between the ports of Genoa and Ningbo, and supply of Italian gas turbines.

The deals, however, show that Italy is unprepared to fully join the Belt and Road paradigm. In fact, Mattarella did express “utmost interest for the One Belt, One Road Initiative” and said that, “the Italian system of ports and logistics offers China the possibility to complete most efficiently and conveniently the last precious track of the ‘New Silk Road’ down to the heart of Europe” and towards Central and Eastern Europe, but the strategic importance of Southern Italy was entirely neglected. Upgrading northern Italian ports such as Genoa is important, but more important would be to build a Southern Italian platform, with the Gioia Tauro port, the Messina Bridge, and the rail and roadway modernization of south-north transport infrastructure.

Putin To Visit Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan To Mark 25th Anniversary of Ties

Feb. 23 (EIRNS)—Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan on Feb. 27-28, for various meetings on bilateral ties, detailed by the Russian President’s aide Yury Ushakov, to reporters on Feb. 22.

Ushakov said, as reported on the Kremlin website, that “Putin will visit Kazakhstan and Tajikistan on Feb. 27, where he will discuss mutual cooperation in economic and humanitarian issues with his Kazakh and Tajik counterparts, Nursultan Nazarbaev and Emomali Rahmon. The Russian president will visit Bishkek on Feb. 28 and discuss bilateral ties with Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambaev.”

The import of Putin’s trip, for the several nations, is widely discussed in the leading regional media today. For example, regarding Tajikistan, the Times of Central Asia website reports on Ushakov’s remarks. “Over 870,000 Tajikistan citizens are working in Russia. The amount of their money transfers to the motherland was $1.9 billion in 2016, corresponding to one third of the country’s GDP. The inter-governmental cooperation in this sphere is aimed at supporting lawful rights and interests of this category of persons and their compliance with current norms of Russian laws in full scope.”

SCIENCE AND INFRASTRUCTURE

Petroleum Strategist Argues Importance of Russian Nuclear Power for Egypt

Feb. 23 (EIRNS)—An Egyptian expert told TASS that the nuclear power plant (NPP) construction with Russia’s participation is much more important for Egypt than a return of Russian tourists.

“The NPP construction project in El Dabaa near Alexandria is important in itself, and it is a much more significant project in positive terms than return of Russian tourists to Egypt,” international petroleum strategist Prof. Tarek Heggy said. “Egypt will face an energy catastrophe if the country abandons building the NPP,” Heggy said. National authorities, “overstate their reserves and sufficiency of such resources as oil and gas. Egypt is at a very low level in terms of oil reserves and at an average level in terms of gas reserves.”

Heggy continued, “New gas fields discovered in offshore Mediterranean are highly important for the country, but they are not the largest even in the Middle East region: these are the largest reserves indeed but for Egypt only.” Further, “The Mediterranean gas will be enough to cover national demands in for 30-35 years; therefore it is highly important to start building the NPP now, in order to provide ourselves with electric power after that.”

On Nov. 19, 2015, Russia and Egypt signed an intergovernmental agreement on constructing Egypt’s first nuclear power plant in El Dabaa, consisting of four power units with 1,200 MW capacity each. Under the agreement, Cairo is granted a $25 billion loan to build the plant. The project is to be completed in 12 years.

On Feb. 9 Russian Ambassador to Cairo Sergey Kirpichenko told TASS that he expects the two countries will sign the main contracts for construction of Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant later this year.