EDITORIAL
Should the FBI Be Running The United States?
March 30 (EIRNS)—Ever since March 4, when President Donald Trump accurately said that he had been “wiretapped,” (surveilled) by Barack Obama, there has been a growing paroxysm of fear among some of some U.S. Senators and other elected officials. They may try to pretend otherwise, but the reality can be read in their faces: they’re terrified. At today’s farcical Senate Intelligence hearing on supposed Russian “active measures” against the U.S., Senators were sweating with fear, to the point that they were totally deaf to reality, duty and reason. They had been told to bring in some of the most extreme Russia-baiting witnesses they could find for that hearing—but the Senators themselves, in their terror, often outdid the fear-mongering of even their own witnesses.
No one should be fooled: This is no Democrat-versus-Republican matter. It is much more than that, and much more important for the United States. On the faces of these Senators could be read two words: “secret files,” which is exactly what President Trump was talking about on March 4, by no coincidence. Each of those Senators knows that all their most personal misdeeds are on file, electronically. One misstep, one wrong move, and just like that, their wives and their constituents will be surprised to find their peccadilloes on the evening news. This is what used to be called simply “FBI files”; the FBI has always specialized in blackmail. Remember what they did with Martin Luther King, to try repeatedly to drive him to suicide.
It’s not only the FBI— it’s the whole contemporary form of the British Empire apparatus in the United States, as it is dissected in an article in the March 31 (EIR}. But it is indeed the FBI, all the same, with its bulging files of blackmail on anyone and everyone.
On March 20, FBI Director James Comey testified that he was investigating the President of the U.S. Who the hell does he think he is? That is simply treason.
There is more to be learned about this wickedness, but this much is clear: U.S. elected representatives—regardless of party—are being subjected to FBI blackmail. How will they respond? And more to the point, and more immediately—how will Americans respond—as patriots, like Martin Luther King, Jr.? Or like the lamentable coward, New York Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer, who instructed a national television audience last January 3, that Donald Trump was “really dumb” for criticizing U.S. intelligence agencies, because they have “six ways from Sunday of getting back at you.”
One week from today, on April 6, China’s President Xi Jinping will come to the United States for a two-day summit with President Trump, and with him comes the whole Eurasian world-development plan of the Eurasian Land-Bridge, for which Lyndon and Helga LaRouche have fought for decades. What America will China’s President find? The America of Martin Luther King? Or the America of the cowards who are sweating with fear?
U.S. ECONOMIC & POLITICAL
Hell Is Boiling Over
March 30 (EIRNS)—U.S. Senators who are obviously well aware that the FBI has documentary proof of all their private transgressions, led a farcical all-day hearing of the Senate Intelligence Committee today, on fantasies about Russian “active measures” against the United States. The chairman of this committee is Richard Burr (R-NC), and the Vice-Chairman Mark Warner (D-VA)—who is every bit the overgrown adolescent described in a pathbreaking story in the March 31 EIR, which lays out the whole sordid background to this hearing. A sequel is already in the works.
“Reds-under-the-beds” lunatics were let loose as witnesses in the Senate and onto the nation’s television screens. But the terrified, blackmailed Senators were worse lunatics than even their witnesses.
One of the three morning witnesses was “Mr. Disinformation” Roy Godson, a superannuated whore from the British stable, who was a leader of the “Get LaRouche” Task Force deployed to throw EIR’s Founding Editor in jail, or kill him and destroy his organization. Godson continually had to correct himself during his testimony, when he said, “The Soviets—I mean, the Russians.” Another was Clint Watts, representing the so-called Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI) of Philadelphia, an ancient, evil red-baiting outfit also profiled in the March 31st EIR article. (“The Insurrection against the President, And Its British Controllers”) Expert Watts said he first became aware of Russian “active measures” when an article he wrote was attacked by “bots” in 2014—welcome to the Internet! He said his suspicions were confirmed when he found a petition with 39,000 signatures on the White House website, calling for Alaska to be returned to Russia!
An eyewitness to the hearings confirmed that the Senators were so wild in their fears, that they often had to be constrained by the witnesses! The terror of the blackmailed!
In further developments this afternoon, Adam Schiff (D-CA), the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, met with Chairman Devin Nunes (R-CA), and agreed to the proposed closed-door testimony by FBI Director Comey and NSA Director Rogers, which Democrats on the committee had been blocking. That means that both will have to respond to the questions about circulation of intelligence reports which “unmasked” members of the Donald Trump team, and to the documents earlier shown to Nunes on these crimes.
They will also have to respond to other evidence. In the White House briefing this afternoon, Press Secretary Sean Spicer disclosed that the White House has material relevant to the House and Senate investigations, and invited the chairmen and ranking members of both committees to come to the White House to see it!
Lavrov: Russia Ready To Develop Relations with Washington
March 30 (EIRNS)—In a wide-ranging interview with the National Interest magazine, published March 29, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Russia is ready to establish good relations with the U.S., while exposing the role of Hillary Clinton in launching an anti-Russian campaign in the West as early as 2012. He pointedly referenced operations launched against President Trump.
When asked about his expectations and goals in dealing with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, and relations with President Donald Trump, Lavrov replied that after U.S. Election Day, President Putin and President-elect Trump spoke by phone, and had a good but very general discussion “touching upon the key issues in our relations, and of course the key international issues. And they agreed that they would continue being in touch, and after the inauguration they talked again, and they reconfirmed the need to look for ways which would be effective in handling international problems, and of course to see what could be done to bring the bilateral relations to normalcy. They also agreed that Mr. Rex Tillerson and I would look into the agenda in some more details, and would also discuss the preparation for the presidential meeting which should take place when … both leaders feel comfortable.”
Lavrov explained that he had met with Tillerson in mid-February on the sidelines of the G20 Ministerial meeting and discussed the bilateral agenda in depth. “I briefed him about the relationship on bilateral issues with the Obama administration, the problems which accumulated during that period.” Discussion also touched on Syria, Iran, the Korean Peninsula, the Middle East in general, and relations between Russia and the West. Lavrov reported that the two also discussed the possibility of a personal meeting and that these discussions have continued. “As soon as we finalize them it will be announced.”
Asked what he would consider “normal” relations with the U.S., Lavrov underscored that normal “is to treat your partners with respect, not to try to impose some of your ideas on others without taking into account their own views and their concerns, always to try to listen and to hear, and hopefully not to rely on a superiority complex, which was obviously the case with the Obama administration. They were obsessed with their exceptionality, with their leadership.” He pointed out that, “actually the founding fathers of the United States—they also spoke of their leadership, and they believed that the American nation was exceptional, but they wanted others just to take the American experience as an example and to follow suit. They never suggested that the United States should impose, including by force, its values on others.”
But the Obama administration, the Russian Foreign Minister said, “was clearly different.” Long before Ukraine, or Crimea, in early December 2012, he reported, there was a ministerial meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) held in Dublin, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton headed the U.S. the delegation. Lavrov said he particularly recalled it, “because on the margins of this ministerial meeting, she attended a meeting in the University of Dublin, and she delivered a lecture in which she said something like: ‘We are trying to figure out effective ways to slow down or prevent the move to re-Sovietize the former Soviet space.’ December 2012!”
Lavrov commented that he didn’t understand what Clinton was talking about. There were discussions about Ukraine, about Kazakhstan, Belarus and Russia, forming the Customs Union, “and if this was the reason, then of course it showed very obviously the real attitude of the Obama administration as to what was going on in the former Soviet space and the area of the Commonwealth of Independent States—its obvious desire to take over this geopolitical space around Russia without even caring what Moscow might think.”
This, Lavrov said, “was the reason for the crisis in Ukraine, when the U.S. and European Union bluntly told the Ukrainians: either you are with us, or you are with Russia against us. And the very fragile Ukrainian state couldn’t sustain this kind of pressure, and what happened happened: the coup, and so on and so forth…. But my point is that they considered normal that the people in Obama’s team should call the shots anywhere, including around such a big country as the Russian Federation. And this is absolutely abnormal in my view.”
Lavrov said of the obvious operations against President Trump: “I understand that there are some people in the United States who want this to become an obstacle, and who want to tie up the team of President Trump on the Russian issue, and I believe this is a very mean policy, but we see that this is taking place,” he said.
Tillerson’s Visit To Moscow ‘Is Being Worked Out,’ Says U.S. Ambassador Tefft
March 30 (EIRNS)—Speaking on the sidelines of the “Arctic—Territory of Dialogue” International Forum in Arkhangelsk, a city in the north of European Russia, U.S. Ambassador to Russia John Tefft told reporters on March 29 that U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s visit to Moscow “is being worked out,” TASS reported, also citing a Reuters report that Tillerson may visit Russia on April 12.
Ambassador Tefft said: “I don’t think there is any delay on Tillerson’s visit, and both sides have to work this out.” He also said he thinks “the meeting is going to take place, both sides just have to agree on the time to announce it.” TASS reported.
Also present at the “Arctic—Territory of Dialogue” international forum was Russian President Vladimir Putin. TASS reported elsewhere that Putin has confirmed that he plans to discuss the joint Russian-U.S. fight against international terrorism with U.S. Secretary of State Tillerson, saying, “Yes, of course, one of the key issues on our agenda is the fight against terrorism. If Mr. Tillerson comes—I met with him several times before, two or three times—we will be sure to discuss this issue,” he said on March 30 at the plenary session of the Forum.
COLLAPSING WESTERN FINANCIAL SYSTEM
Is Germany Finally Developing Constructive Cooperation with China?
March 30 (EIRNS)—Driven by wrong motives, namely how to build economic ties with Asia as an alternative to President Trump’s “protectionism,” German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel (SPD) is putting a new focus on China. A new Asia Section was created at the Foreign Ministry this past week, and the Foreign Minister discussed some aspects of it in his Hamburg speech at an event of the German Asia-Pacific Business Association on March 24.
But what he presented leaves more questions than answers: He drew a rather pessimistic picture of where Europe stands, as compared with the new growth regions in Asia and Africa, but still, he did not draw conclusions from the EU failures, but called for even more
EU coordination of policies vis-à-vis China and Asia, claiming that Germany alone would not be able to play a role. He stressed that nine of ten leading ports in the world today are in Asia, with Hamburg only ranking among the next largest 10; the center of economic gravity is shifting toward Asia, at the same time, Gabriel particularly noted. Asia is the world’s largest investor in “green energies” while also being the world’s largest consumer of coal. And, naturally, everything done in Asia would have to comply with ecology protection standards, he insisted.
In Gabriel’s speech, only a few potentially positive aspects were addressed, but they were not elaborated: he mentioned the “16+1” network of China and 16 Central and European (CEEC) states as interesting but not a threat to the EU as such; he did say that, because the old world order and its institutions are no longer supported in Asia, Germany should support new institutions emerging there, such as the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), and he discussed big projects to be promoted with assistance from Germany’s export credit guarantee agency, Hermes. Gabriel, however, did not mention the May 14-15 Belt and Road Forum in Beijing.
NEW GLOBAL ECONOMIC ORDER
Japanese Prime Minister Plans Official Visit to Russia in Late April
March 30 (EIRNS)—Another round of the Russia-Japan strategic dialogue takes place today in Tokyo with the participation of Japanese Deputy Foreign Minister Shinsuke Sugiyama and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Vladimir Titov.
“Today we will continue our dialogue with Mr. Titov. I am confident this will contribute to the development of our relations in various areas,” Sugiyama said. “This also shows the positive dynamics in our cooperation.” Sugiyama confirmed that Tokyo intends to “prepare thoroughly” for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit to Russia scheduled for late April, “in all areas, including the peace treaty and the eight-point cooperation plan issues.”
Abe’s official visit to Russia will take place on April 27-28, according to Kyodo news agency, which reported that Abe could visit Moscow or St Petersburg during his trip.
Titov said: “We will work well and use all mechanisms of developing cooperation. The context of the visit of Abe to Russia is especially important.”
Russia and Japan have held 13 sessions in their ongoing dialogue, the most recent in October.
China Invites Philippines To Work Out Cooperation in South China Sea
March 30 (EIRNS)—China has invited the Duterte government of the Philippines to a meeting in Beijing in May to “start negotiations on a bilateral consultation mechanism on their maritime disputes which may usher in a new era in the South China Sea,” the Global Times reports. The article continues, “While Washington holds tight to its dominance in the region, a [stumbling] regional order serves its interests more.” Such a divisive policy was certainly true under Barack Obama, but Secretary of State Tillerson, in his recent visit to China, said the new U.S. administration agreed with Xi Jinping’s “win-win” policy of cooperation.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, ASEAN, which is chaired by the Philippines this year, will meet this summer in Manila, where a major agenda item will be completing a framework for a Code of Conduct on the South China Sea.
SCIENCE & INFRASTRUCTURE
India Offered Participation in Further Development of Three Sri Lankan Ports
March 30 (EIRNS)—On the sidelines of the international Crans Montana Forum, held this year at Dakhla, Morocco, Sri Lanka’s Ports and Shipping Minister Arjuna Ranatunga told Indo-Asian News Service (IANS) that his government is “looking at an Asian subcontinent investor” to partner with the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) to invest and take over the East Container Terminal of Colombo’s port in private-public partnership mode.
“India has shown interest in the East Terminal and Colombo port. Seventy-five percent of the transshipment goes to India. India is looking at getting a stake in Colombo port. There are a couple of private companies that came and spoke, and we will look at them in a positive manner,” Ranatunga told IANS on the sidelines of the event. IANS reported that India’s state-run Container Corporation of India (Concor) has formed a consortium with APM Terminals B.V., John Keells Holdings, and Maersk Line to bid for the development of East Container Terminal in Colombo. The total project value is likely to be about $550-600 million.
Ranatunga said that India is also “very keen” on Trincomalee Port, on Sri Lanka’s east coast, touted as the fifth-largest natural harbor in the world.
“India has shown big interest in Trincomalee, as there are petroleum tanks there, and the Indian Oil Corporation has been there for many years,” said Ranatunga. He told IANS that Sri Lanka is also looking to develop the Kankesanthurai port in the north. “It is quite close to India. It is not a container port— it will be more for transportation, for cement and people,” he said.
China Begins Rehabilitation Work on Serbian Railroad
March 30 (EIRNS)—The actual construction of the 7.5 km of Serbian railroad which, when completed, will link the Belgrade railway to the south and connect it with two railways, one leading towards Montenegro and the other to the Serbian city of Nis, has begun today, Xinhua reported.
The construction work will be carried out by Chinese rail firm China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC). The contract for the €23.8 million ($25.6 million) project to fix part of the Belgrade railway’s infrastructure was signed on Jan. 5 between Serbian Railways Infrastructure and CCECC. Project completion is expected in March 2018. CCECC won the project for the general overhaul of the Junction G-Rakovica-Resnik railway section, part of the Belgrade-Nis-State border railway line, at a public tender that ended on Nov. 7, 2016.
Last January, when the agreement was signed, Zhu Tianran, chief representative of the CCECC office in Serbia, said local workers and subcontractors in Serbia will also benefit from the project as they will take part in reconstruction. “We would like to use local subcontractors, because it is good for local employment, while from the Chinese side we will bring experienced engineers, while other subcontractors as well as workers will be from Serbia,” he said, Xinhua reported.
OTHER
Russia, Alaska Commemorate Sesquicentennial of Russia’s Sale of Alaska to U.S.
March 30 (EIRNS)—Today marks the 150th anniversary of the U.S.-Russia treaty, by which Russia sold Alaska to the United States. March 30, 1867, was the day that Czar Alexander II signed the Treaty of the Cession of the Russian Possessions in North America to The United States of America.
While TASS and Sydney, Australia’s Daily Telegraph have long articles, and Alaska’s U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski made a statement on the Senate floor, few major U.S. media have covered the sesquicentennial. In any case, absent from the coverage is the fact that Russia’s sale was part of the de facto alliance dating back to the 18th century between Russia and the United States against their common enemy, the British Empire.
TASS claims that the deal was made because Russia did not have the resources to “defend it against the U.S. aspirations” to expand to the Pacific. This is wrong, since there is no border between the lower 48 states and Alaska, but there is obviously a border with Canada, which is part of the British Empire. Murkowski didn’t bother to reference this, but found a way to make a dig at President Donald Trump instead.
Sydney’s Daily Telegraph carried a feature yesterday titled “Fearing War with Enemy U.K., Russians Sold Resource-Rich Alaska to U.S.” Writing: “Military setbacks, especially the Crimean War of 1853-56, left the Russian treasury depleted and made them wary that territories such as Alaska might be difficult to hold if any power tried to take it in a future war…. So, fearing the land would be seized if war broke out with their then enemy Britain, the Russian government pondered whether it was economical to maintain garrisons in Alaska or if it would be financially prudent and militarily strategic to sell the territory.”
Daily Telegraph historian Troy Lennon makes no mention that Alexander II’s Russia and Lincoln’s U.S. were allied against British efforts to break the blockade against the Confederacy during the Civil War.
Despite TASS’s spin on the reason for the sale, its article makes clear that Russia was committed to selling the territory to the U.S. despite some internal Russian resistance. TASS writes that the idea to sell the territories originated with in Spring 1853, on the initiative of the Governor General of Eastern Siberia, Nikolai Muravyov-Amursky, in a memorandum to Emperor Nicholas I. The idea found a powerful supporter, Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich, a younger brother of Emperor Alexander II, who was President of the State Council and the Maritime Minister, who made official the proposal for selling Alaska on April 3 (March 22 Old Style), 1857, in a letter to Foreign Minister Alexander Gorchakov. With the full endorsement of Emperor Alexander II, Russian Ambassador to the U.S. Edouard de Stoeckl received an instruction “to make inquiries about the opinion of the Washington cabinet on this subject.”
Although there was no “fake news” at the time to block such a deal, the Civil War was raging, and action had to be put off until its conclusion. No sooner had the Civil War ended, than the Russian Foreign Ministry in St Petersburg held a special conference on the sale, October 28, 1866. In attendance were Emperor Alexander II, Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich, Finance Minister Mikhail Reitern, Naval Minister Nikolai Krabbe, and Baron Edouard de Stoeckl, who voted unanimously for ceding Alaska to the U.S.
Negotiations were conducted through Russian Ambassador de Stoeckl and Secretary of State William Henry Seward. Negotiations went smoothly, and on March 30 the treaty was signed for the sale for the sum of $7.2 million.
Alaska officially became the 49th state on Jan. 3, 1959.
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