EDITORIAL
Keep Victory In Our Sights!
Dec. 11 (EIRNS)—This is a unique moment. The old paradigm of geopolitics is crumbling, even though it is still kicking and dangerous, as in the case of the current chaos around Jerusalem. But the New Paradigm of mutual advantage is rapidly gaining ground; and the potential alliance of China, Russia, and the United States signifies the potential for an epic advancement for mankind. We should keep victory in our sights.
In the U.S., there are now howls from the Washington and London empire crowd that their Mueller Russia-gate ploy is failing to bring down Trump and the American Presidency. The Washington Post and the London Guardian are moaning that Robert Mueller and his team are no longer “respected,” and not seen as possessing “legitimate authority.”
What’s happening to Robert Mueller shows the “Ibycus principle” at work, referring to Friedrich Schiller’s famous poem, The Cranes of Ibycus. Schiller Institute Chairwoman Helga Zepp-LaRouche pointed this out today. For a long while, Mueller got away with his crimes—for jailing Lyndon LaRouche and associates, for complicity and cover-up of the Saudi Arabian involvement in 9/11. But now, the Cranes of Ibycus are circling. Mueller is coming down.
In Southwest Asia, there are positive developments, giving hope for the future, despite the atrocities of the U.S.- and U.K.-supported Saudi attacks on Yemen. Today, Russian President Vladimir Putin was at a Russian airbase in Syria, where he thanked Russian soldiers for their service in Syria, and announced that contingents and equipment are now ordered to go back home. “We will never forget about the deaths and losses sustained in the anti-terror fight both here in Syria and in Russia … this memory will give us an additional force to eradicate that absolute evil—international terrorism….” Syrian President Bashar al-Assad thanked Putin personally for aiding Syria. Putin then met in Cairo with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, where economic deals were signed, including for Russia to proceed on construction of the four-reactor nuclear power plant site on the coast, and to collaborate on the Suez Canal industrial zone.
At the same time, the region is in turmoil over the Dec. 6 announcement that the U.S. would move its embassy in Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Trump’s statement on this—tempered later by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, comes amidst a months-long hyper-activation of televangelist, so-called Christian fundamentalist networks, calling for “standing by Israel.” These networks are a long-standing capability of British dirty operations, going back decades. Vice President Mike Pence, deep in these circles, and Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley, pushed for Trump to make this provocative initiative, before Pence’s planned trip to Israel (Dec. 17-18,) and Egypt (Dec. 19-20.) The trip—once billed as a way to further Trump’s desire for a peace process, is now in shambles before it occurs. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has cancelled a scheduled meeting with Pence, as have Egyptian Coptic Patriarch Pope Tawadros II and Egypt’s top Muslim cleric, Ahmed al-Tayeb.
These kinds of actions to create conflict—pitting Israel against Palestine, Jews against Muslims, Sunni against Shi’a, and other geopolitical games, are the Old Paradigm at work. There is no way for security for anyone—including Israel—in this system of orchestrated strife. The only way out is through a new era of win-win relations among nations, in the “Silk Road Spirit.” This is spelled out beautifully in the new Schiller Institute book, “Extending the New Silk Road to Southwest Asia and Africa: A Vision of an Economic Renaissance” (soon available for order in the U.S.).
Now LaRouche associates in the United States are proceeding towards a goal of achieving a policy shift by the time of the Jan. 30, 2018, Trump State of the Union address. As today’s LaRouche PAC Monday Update broadcast put it: “50 Days To Shape the Next 50 Years.”
President Trump’s signing of “Space Policy Directive 1” at a White House ceremony today is a step towards precisely that required change. We will “lift our eyes all the way up to the heavens,” and “dare to dream big,” the President declared.
U.S. POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC
‘America Will Lead in Space Again,’ Pledges President Trump
Dec. 11 (EIRNS)—President Trump signed Space Policy Directive 1 at a White House ceremony today, committing the U.S. to return to the Moon. The President was flanked by two current astronauts, and three former astronauts, including Harrison (Jack) Schmitt. Schmitt was on the Apollo 17 mission 45 years ago, which was the last to land astronauts on the Moon. President Trump, recognizing the occasion of the anniversary, turned to Schmitt.
“Exactly 45 years ago, almost to the minute, Jack became one of the last Americans to land on the Moon,” said Trump. “Today we pledge that he will not be the last, and I suspect that we will be finding other places to land in addition to the Moon.”
Space Policy Directive 1 is based on recommendations of the National Space Council, chaired by Vice President Mike Pence. When the Council met on Oct. 5, Pence directed that a Decision Memorandum be prepared to say: “We shall lead an innovative and sustained program of exploration with commercial and international partners to enable human expansion across the solar system to bring new knowledge and opportunities. Beginning with missions beyond low Earth orbit, the United States will lead to return humans to the Moon for long-term exploration followed by human missions to Mars and other destinations.”
President Trump today outlined that perspective: “The directive I am signing today will refocus America’s space program on human exploration and discovery. It marks an important step in returning American astronauts to the Moon for the first time since 1972, for long-term exploration and use. This time we will not only plant our flag and leave our footprint, we will establish a foundation for an eventual mission to Mars and perhaps, some day, to many worlds beyond.”
NASA’s leadership made its preference clear, by bringing a piece of Moon rock to the White House, which had been collected by Harrison Schmitt on Apollo 17, “as a reminder of exploration history.”
“This directive will ensure America’s space program once again leads and inspires all of humanity,” the President said. We will “lift our eyes all the way up to the heavens.”
“Imagine the possibility waiting in those big beautiful stars if we dare to dream big. That’s what our country is doing again, we’re dreaming big,” the President said.
Establishment Expresses Shock at the Deflation of Mueller
Dec. 11 (EIRNS)—E.J. Dionne, Jr.’s op-ed in today’s Washington Poston FBI Director Robert Mueller III, “Creeping Toward the Precipice,” reflects growing hysteria over Mueller’s sinking credibility among Republicans as the British-inspired effort to get rid of Trump founders, with EIR’s, and now others’, revelations of Mueller’s bias and conflicts.
“Our democratic republic is in far more danger than it was even a few weeks ago…. There was an underlying faith” that if Mueller cooked up some damning material about Trump, Republicans in Congress would feel obligated to accept Mueller’s findings and challenge the President, he wrote.
But that was before all the sleaze about Mueller, his pro-Clinton FBI agents, and the FBI’s disregard for fairness at every step of the investigation became public.
Dionne recounts with horror Rep. Louis Gohmert’s (R-TX) going through “a roll call of investigators, name by name, asking FBI Director Wray if each had shown political bias.” Says Dionne, “When Republicans are FBI haters who are attacking probes into Russian subversion, the world is truly turned upside down.”
Dionne is shocked at Rep. Jim Jordan’s (R-OH) statement that “if every member of Mueller’s team who was ‘anti-Trump’ were kicked off, ‘I don’t know if there’d be anyone left.’ ”
Dionne is a piece of British work; a Brookings Fellow in Government and a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford, who aims to get rid of Trump and get the U.S. back in the British Empire.
Washington Post’s Josh Rogin Freaks: China Is Taking Over U.S.!
Dec. 11 (EIRNS)—Washington Post neo-con pundit Josh Rogin went nuts in that paper’s Editorial pages today that “Chinese Communist Party influence operations inside the United States … permeate American institutions of all kinds. China’s overriding goal is, at the very least, to defend its authoritarian system from attack and export it to the world at America’s expense.”
“Countries such as Australia, New Zealand, and even Canada have been rocked by recent revelations of Chinese-sponsored efforts to corrupt their politicians, universities, think tanks, and businesses,” he ranted.
He cited the notoriously opportunistic Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), co-chair of the Congressional Executive Commission on China (CECC), that “we have had a lot of discussion of Russian interference in our elections, but this is an all-out effort to not simply promote themselves in a better light, but to target Americans within the United States.”
On Dec. 13, the CECC will hold a McCarthyite hearing on the “ ‘Long Arm of China’ to expose Chinese efforts to gain political influence, control discussion of sensitive topics, interfere in multilateral institutions, threaten and intimidate human rights defenders, impose censorship on foreign publishers, and influence academic institutions,” Rogin wrote.
Rubio, he said, warned of “Chinese government-sponsored Confucius Institutes on U.S. university campuses, which operate under opaque contracts and often stand accused of interfering in China-related education activities, China’s sponsorship of think tank research, academic chairs and intellectual partnerships also demand scrutiny, he said.” At the same time, however, it remains understood that Russia, China, and others must never scrutinize State Department- or Soros Foundation-sponsored programs, and any attempt to throw out Soros’s color revolution programs proves a lack of democracy!
The true problem which Rogin can’t lick in the Chinese method, is that it produces progress and happiness for millions of people, where the “democracy” fronts of the U.S. and British institutes do not.
THE NEW GLOBAL ECONOMIC ORDER
Lavrov Urges India To Join the Belt and Road
Dec. 11 (EIRNS)—Speaking in New Delhi today at the Vivekananda International Foundation, a think-tank associated with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Russia feels the One Belt, One Road as a concept is very interesting and needs to be explored in the context of building a harmonious relationship for deeper regional trade and investment. About India’s opposition to the project, Lavrov answered that “the specific problem in this regard should not make everything else conditional for resolving political differences,” PTI reported.
India has opposed the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, which connects China to the Arabian Sea at Gwadar Port, and enters Pakistan though the state of Jammu and Kashmir, a disputed territory between India and Pakistan; India has cited violation of India’s sovereignty, and has not endorsed the Belt and Road Initiative.
Lavrov said almost all Central Asian countries have already signed documents with China for cooperation in the Belt and Road, while Russia and other members of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) have concluded economic cooperation agreements with it, indicating that the process is irreversible.
“I am 100% convinced that India has enough very smart diplomats and politicians to find a way which will allow it to benefit from this process and at the same time not to sacrifice your position,” the Russian Foreign Minister was quoted as saying.
During his presentation, Lavrov also expressed his opposition to the bloc among the U.S., India, Japan, and Australia, saying, “We believe that sustainable security architecture in the Asia Pacific region cannot be achieved through bloc arrangement and is only possible through an open-ended collective basis.”
Former French Prime Minister de Villepin Praised Silk Road at Sanya Forum
Dec. 11 (EIRNS)—Speaking at the Sanya Forum on the Belt and Road, held on Hainan island, former French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin called the Belt and Road “a showcase project building a new type of regional integration” and “a unique chance for local and global stability.” Globalization has created a complex network of interdependency, also in terms of risks, between countries, so that stronger regional integration is necessary in managing those risks, he said. The Belt and Road promotes political and cultural understanding by integrating countries from at least three continents, de Villepin said.
The expansion of infrastructure in remote regions will be a major driver of stability in Central Asia as well as East Africa, and economic stimulation will be a great opportunity to support long-term recovery in major economies like Europe and China, de Villepin told the forum. The Belt and Road “offers a new model of prosperity based on inclusiveness, sustainability and balance.”
Schiller Institute Addresses South American Seminar on Integration with Belt and Road
Dec. 11 (EIRNS)—On Dec. 6th, the Schiller Institute gave one of three keynote presentations at a seminar, “OBOR Opportunities for China-CELAC Cooperation,” in Paramaribo, the capital of Suriname, on South America’s northern Atlantic coast. CELAC is the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States. The seminar was co-sponsored by the Chinese Embassy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Suriname. The two other addresses were given by the head of the Central Bank of Suriname, and Latin American expert, Prof. Jiang Shixue, from the Chinese Academy for Social Sciences (CASS) and the China Society for Emerging Economies.
Describing Lyndon and Helga LaRouches’ historic role in the creation of the New Paradigm worldwide, Richard Black presented: 1) the New Silk Road becoming the World Land-Bridge, 2) physical economy: Leibniz, Hamilton, and LaRouche’s discovery, 3) from the International Development Bank to the New Silk Road, 4) the looming financial crash, and 5) integrating the nations of the entire Caribbean Basin into the One Belt, One Road (OBOR). The excited response came especially from the Chinese Embassy leadership and from many leaders and diplomats in the Suriname Foreign Ministry.
For those in the audience of 130 diplomats and government officials (nine embassies from Europe, Ibero-America, and the U.S. sent representatives) who “got the idea”—concerning the New Paradigm transforming the possibilities for all mankind—there were many questions and requests for collaboration. One 35-year-old diplomat, said in discussion, “You described how human creativity is the only source of wealth—this is what I need to know and understand better!”
Suriname has a tiny population—500,000, suffers from tremendous poverty (e.g., no railroads), and only received its independence from the Dutch in 1975. Many in attendance expressed their deeply conditioned pessimism by explaining that for them to become worthy to integrate with Belt and Road, they needed to make “our investment environment more attractive” and to “promote ourselves better,” i.e., they expressed a colonial mentality. The contrast was very, very sharp between those who were shocked and thrilled to begin to understand the work of China and the role of Lyndon and Helga LaRouche, and those who couldn’t quite yet conceive of it.
STRATEGIC WAR DANGER
Putin Announces Russian Military Withdrawal from Syria
Dec. 11 (EIRNS)—Russian President Vladimir Putin, on the first stop of a whirlwind Middle East tour that would also take him to Egypt and Turkey, announced in Syria that he had issued orders to the Russian Defense Ministry to begin a partial withdrawal of Russian military forces from Syria. He made the announcement at the Hmeymim Airbase, where Russian forces are headquartered and where he met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
“I order the Defense Ministry and the chief of the General Staff to begin the pullout of the Russian military group to permanent locations,” Putin told an audience of military personnel. “Over slightly more than two years, the Russian Armed Forces have routed together with the Syrian army the most combat-capable grouping of international terrorists. In view of this, I have made a decision: Most of the Russian military contingent staying in the Syrian Arab Republic is returning home, to Russia. You are coming home with a victory, to your relatives, parents, wives, children, and friends. Your Motherland is waiting for you, my friends. Have a safe trip home and thank you for your service,” Putin said, and then warned: “If terrorists again raise head, we will deliver such strikes on them that they haven’t seen so far.
“We will never forget about the deaths and losses sustained in the anti-terror fight both here in Syria and in Russia. But this won’t force us to fold our hands and retreat. This is not our national characteristic. On the contrary, this memory will give us an additional force to eradicate that absolute evil—international terrorism—no matter under what guise it hides….
“This is what military service is about, this is the main priority of those who dedicate their lives to serving their people,” the President said. “By helping the Syrian people preserve their statehood and counter terrorist attacks, you have dealt a devastating blow to those who had openly and brazenly threatened our country.”
Thanking Putin for aiding Syria, Syrian President Assad said, “The achievements that have occurred are very significant and very important for us. The meeting’s issue—the destruction of militants of ISIS—is crucial for the entire world. We coped with that,” Assad said.
Lt. Gen. Sergei Surovikin, the commander of the Russian Group of Forces in Syria, reported that the military contingent has already begun to withdraw forces, including 25 aircraft and military personnel from the military police force, the commando unit, the field hospital, and the mine-clearing center. “The remaining force will be able to cope with its tasks as effectively.”
Erdogan and Putin Discuss Syria and Regional Destabilization from U.S. Jerusalem Decision
Dec. 11 (EIRNS)—Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara today, for their eighth meeting this year.
“Naturally, the focus was made on the situation in the Middle East settlement that has deteriorated dramatically and on the Syrian affairs where our countries are closely cooperating,” Putin told journalists after the talks, reported TASS. “We are conducting joint work to prepare and convene the Syrian National Dialogue Congress at the beginning of the next year,” he said. “It is a secret to no one that I spoke about it with President Assad during my today’s visit to Syria.”
Putin also reported that both he and Erdogan agreed that U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel is having a destabilizing effect on the region. Both Russia and Turkey believe that that decision “in no way promotes the settlement of the situation in the Middle East. On the contrary, it destabilizes the situation in the region, which is already tense,” he said. Erdogan in turn said that they had “agreed to continue our contacts in this regard.”
Erdogan also reported that Turkey’s purchase of the Russian S-400 air defense system is to be completed “this week,” that trade cooperation between the two countries was becoming stronger “day by day,” and that, “we have a harmonious working environment at the political level,” reported the official Anadolu News Agency. Erdogan also announced that he, Putin, and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani would soon hold a trilateral summit on Syria, to follow up the one held in Sochi, Russia, last week. The three countries are the guarantors for the “Astana process,” for peace in Syria.
Putin and el-Sisi Call for Resuming Palestine-Israel Dialogue on All Issues, Including Jerusalem
Dec. 11 (EIRNS)—Russian President Vladimir Putin also met in Cairo with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi today, to discuss both development of Russian-Egyptian relations in the spheres of politics, trade and economy, energy, and humanitarian needs, as well as the Palestinian issue in the context of the U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
Putin said: “Our countries call for promptly resuming direct Palestine-Israel dialogue on all issues, including the status of Jerusalem. There is a need to achieve long-term and fair agreements, which would be in the interest of both parties. And clearly, these agreements should be in line with the decisions previously made by the global community.”
Putin continued, “We regard as counter-productive any steps that anticipate the outcome of the dialogue between the Palestinians and the Israelis,” he said after talks with el-Sisi. “We believe that such steps are destabilizing. They by no means settle the situation, but on the contrary provoke the conflict.”
The two leaders also agreed to coordinate policy concerning a long-term settlement of the Syria situation; discussed the situation in Libya, and called for ensuring stability and security in that country by restoring its sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity.
Russia’s Chief of General Staff Gerasimov, Japan’s Defense Minister Onodera Meet Regarding North Korea
Dec. 11 (EIRNS)—Chief of Russia’s General Staff Army Gen. Valery Gerasimov and Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera met in Tokyo today, where the Russian general is making an official visit. They discussed the effort for North Korean denuclearization and ending its missile tests.
“For Japan, North Korea is the most pressing issue. North Korea continues to develop its nuclear and missile programs, which pose a serious threat to the global community,” Onodera said, reported TASS.
Gerasimov responded, “We believe that the issue should be resolved only through political and diplomatic means.”
Japan, the United States, and South Korea began their two-day joint naval exercises on Dec. 11, which involve Japan’s Chokai Aegis ship and “numerous warships” from the United States and South Korea. The exercises will focus on coordination and sharing information about North Korea’s missile launches.
UN Envoy Feltman, Pyongyang Agree Tensions Need To Be Reduced on Korean Peninsula
Dec. 11 (EIRNS)—UN Undersecretary General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman, a former high-level U.S. State Department official, returned to Beijing from Pyongyang on Dec. 9. According to a statement issued by the UN, Feltman told his North Korean interlocutors, including Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho and Vice Minister Pak Myong Guk, that there was an “urgent need to prevent miscalculations and open channels to reduce the risks of conflict.” According to Reuters, Feltman emphasized the need for the full implementation of UN Security Council resolutions and that the international community was committed to achieving a peaceful solution. “He also said there can only be a diplomatic solution to the situation, achieved through a process of sincere dialogue. Time is of the essence,” the United Nations statement reported. “They … agreed that the current situation was the most tense and dangerous peace and security issue in the world today.”
“The United Nations expressed concerns over the heightened situation on the Korean Peninsula and expressed willingness to work on easing tensions on the Korean Peninsula in accordance with the UN Charter, which is based on international peace and security,” Pyongyang’s official KCNA said in turn. KCNA said North Korean officials and Feltman agreed that his visit helped deepen understanding and that they agreed to communicate regularly.
SCIENCE AND INFRASTRUCTURE
China-U.S. Civil Space Dialogue Meets, Agrees ‘To Strengthen Exchanges’
Dec. 11 (EIRNS)—On Nov. 30, the third meeting of the China-U.S. Civil Space Dialogue took place (quietly) in Beijing, Andrew Jones of BGTimes reports today. On the U.S. side, the lead agency is the State Department, since most NASA cooperation with China is prohibited. The meeting was co-chaired by the head of the China National Space Agency (CNSA), Tian Yulong, and Jonathan Margolis, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Science, Space, and Health.
According to a State Department email to Jones, the meeting “discussed ways to improve bilateral cooperation on spaceflight safety issues, and shared their respective plans for human and robotic space exploration, and support for commercial space activities.” Existing cooperation in Earth and space science was emphasized, including work with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) and China’s Meteorological Administration, on “free and open data sharing.”
The CNSA website states that both parties agreed “that it is very important to strengthen exchanges … in civil planning and space policy, and to establish long-term and stable space policy exchanges … conducive” to cooperation. The two sides also agreed “to hold regular scientific meetings.”
The agreement to discuss “plans for human and robotic space exploration,” opens the door to participation in each other’s missions, and planning for the most advanced joint missions for the future. This could potentially include U.S. participation in China’s space station, and China contributing to an American manned lunar orbit “gateway.”
The new Space Policy Directive from the White House gives President Trump the opportunity to reverse the ban on NASA cooperation with China, and move forward.
