Volume 5, Number 38

EIR Daily Alert Service

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

• Ukraine Provoking Fascist War in Europe
• ‘Tacitus’ Rips the Mueller Indictments of Russians as ‘Farce Wrapped in Hypocrisy’
• Hysteria Abounds as Trump Accused of ‘War Crime’ Worse than 9/11 for Failing To Act vs. Russia
• Russia Denounces Nazi Attacks on Its Facilities in Kiev, Demands Action
• Lavrov Targets Destructive U.S.-NATO Role in Afghanistan; Strengthens Pakistan Cooperation
• EU’s Mogherini Is Asked about Ukraine Persecution of Natalia Vitrenko’s PSPU Party
• Dutch Police Warn, The Netherlands Is Starting To Resemble a Narco-State
• Seoul Government Will Actively Seek Dialogue To Resolve North Korean Nuclear Issue
• Chinese Province To Invest and Build Industrial Park in Jamaica
• Piraeus-Thessaloniki High-Speed Rail Nears Completion
• Former Netanyahu Aide Turns State Witness as New Case Emerges

EDITORIAL

Ukraine Provoking Fascist War in Europe

Feb. 21 (EIRNS)—Recall that the network which is now driving the Russiagate coup attempt against President Donald Trump—the exact network—also carried out the coup against the elected government in Ukraine in 2014, putting in place a fascist government hand-picked by Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland, Obama’s representative for the regime change operation. British MI6 official Christopher Steele, who provided the fraudulent dossier behind Russiagate which has been used by the Obama intelligence chiefs and the Hillary Clinton campaign to launch the coup attempt against Trump, is the same British intelligence official who provided the Obama administration with over 100 reports on Ukraine, orchestrating Obama’s support for the violent neo-Nazi gangs on the Maidan who brought down the government.

Now, that “democratic” color revolution is showing its colors ever more starkly. The same neo-Nazi gangs from the Maidan are now running classic brown-shirt attacks in Kiev, breaking windows and defacing the offices of Russian linked offices and banks, with police looking on. Meanwhile President Petro Poroshenko is preparing the nation for full-scale war against Russian “aggressors.” The Russian Foreign Ministry issued official warnings Monday against the “extremely dangerous trends unfolding in Ukraine today which threaten international stability and security,” and stated: “It’s a shame that Europe and the United States have clearly not learned the tragic lessons of the past century.”

EIR warned at the time of the 2014 Ukraine color revolution that the result would be the re-emergence of fascism in Europe, and, in the Feb. 24, 2017 EIR report, “Obama and Soros: Nazis in Ukraine 2014—U.S. in 2017?” (see http://www.larouchepub.com/eiw/public/2017/eirv44n08-20170224/04-21_4408.pdf), that there would be the same result in the U.S. if the process were not reversed.

Now, the coup attempt against Trump by these operatives is being publicly exposed by a few courageous members of Congress as a British-instigated operation. As EIR has documented, the British intention is to save the Empire, by undermining Trump’s stated goal of establishing friendly relations with Russia and China. The corrupted intelligence team under Obama—Clapper, Brennan, Comey, Mueller—have been shown to be criminal operatives against the Constitutional government of the nation. Most recently, the judge overseeing Gen. Michael Flynn’s guilty plea for lying to the FBI—the “big catch” of the Mueller investigation—has demanded that Mueller turn over exculpatory evidence to Flynn’s lawyers which had been withheld, illegally, by Mueller, showing that the officials who interviewed Flynn had concluded that he had not lied or committed any other crime in his meeting with the Russian Ambassador, but Mueller had rejected these facts in order to close in on the President. Some are advising Flynn to take back his guilty plea, which was coerced by Mueller by threatening bankruptcy through legal costs and threatening to prosecute his son.

Not only is Russiagate disintegrating, but also the alternative to the fascist threats in Europe and the United States, in the form of the New Silk Road “peace through development” cooperation with China and Russia, continues to grow and inspire nations and people in every part of the world. The choice is increasingly stark: global warfare in an age of thermonuclear weapons, or a new paradigm based on the common aims of mankind. It is time for all people of good will to join with LaRouche to establish this New Paradigm, and a new Renaissance. There is nothing that prevents human beings from creating such a new future, but it must be done before the Empire, like the dying breed of dinosaurs that they resemble, provokes a war rather than lose their imperial power.

U.S. POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC

‘Tacitus’ Rips the Mueller Indictments of Russians as ‘Farce Wrapped in Hypocrisy’

Feb. 21 (EIRNS)—In a posting today on the “Sic Semper Tyrannis” blog of military intelligence expert Pat Lang, frequent contributor Publius Tacitus rips apart Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller’s Feb. 16 indictment of 13 Russian individuals and 3 companies as worse than incompetent.

Writing under the headline, “Robert Mueller’s America—A Farce Wrapped in Hypocrisy,” Tacitus argues that the indictment is “nothing short of a road map for authoritarian governments who will want to treat anyone who dares post contrarian material on the internet as a criminal.” In reality, “it’s no more than a rancid puff pastry. It pretends to have a mountain of evidence of evildoing by the Russians. But if you simply ask probing questions about the underlying proof of the misdeeds you will quickly discover that this document is a piece of political theater rather than an actual listing of criminal deeds.”

“There is not one piece of solid evidence in the entire document that substantiates” the claim about the Internet Research Agency (IRA), the Russian company that allegedly oversaw the dirty propaganda war against unwitting American voters. “It is nothing more than an assertion of belief. That is not how one writes an indictment alleging criminal conduct.”

Thus, “this case is far from a slam dunk for the Mueller team. If it ever did come to trial there are significant gaps and vulnerabilities in the indictment that a competent defense attorney could savage. Nope. This is not about punishing lawbreakers. This is political theater designed to feed the meme promoting anti-Russian hysteria.” Tacitus emphasizes that any objective investigation of alleged IRA “meddling” could only conclude that “the activities of the IRA bordered on irrelevant and ineffective.” No big revelation here: Russia has carried out intelligence operations inside the U.S. for 80 years. But, the U.S. has carried out comparable operations “inside and against Russia/the U.S.S.R. and has been involved in the covert interference in elections around the world. That is the hypocrisy. We are having a hissy fit over laughable internet shenanigans by a small group of Russians who were poorly funded and generated little activity, while ignoring our own history of having actually overthrown other legitimately elected governments. There it is. Farce and hypocrisy.”

Hysteria Abounds as Trump Accused of ‘War Crime’ Worse than 9/11 for Failing To Act vs. Russia

Feb. 21 (EIRNS)—Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s contentless indictment of Russians has opened the floodgates for all manner of hysterics, or outright agents, to charge that President Trump is a “traitor,” and has committed a war crime worse than 9/11 or Pearl Harbor due to his “inaction” on the issue of Russian meddling in the 2016 election.

The rhetoric is reaching fevered pitch. Is the President “an agent of a foreign power?” shrieked James Risen in a Feb. 18 New York Times op-ed. Bill Maher of HBO’s “Real Time” warned Trump supporters that the President “is plainly a traitor who doesn’t defend his own country.” Tom Friedman howled in the New York Times that Trump has “shown himself unwilling or unable to defend America against Russian campaign to divide and undermine our democracy.” Washington Post columnist Max Boot screeched that Russian meddling in the 2016 election was the “second-worst foreign attack on America in the past two decades,” 9/11 being the first. David Frum, who coined the phrase “axis of evil” while working as George W. Bush’s speechwriter, takes the cake in claiming that Trump’s “inaction” in the face of Russian aggression was a “dereliction of duty as grave as any since President Buchanan looked the other way as Southern state governments pillaged federal arsenals on the eve of the Civil War.”

Writing in The Intercept today, Glenn Greenwald charges that not only is this rhetoric “unhinged” but also reckless. Failure to indicate a rational response to alleged Russian meddling, is to “deliberately beat the drums of war, cultivate an atmosphere of belligerence and aggression without any limits or notions of proportionality. That’s exactly what is being done by those who keep declaring the U.S. to be ‘at war’ with Russia.”

STRATEGIC WAR DANGER

Russia Denounces Nazi Attacks on Its Facilities in Kiev, Demands Action

Feb. 21 (EIRNS)—In a strongly worded Feb. 19 statement, Russia’s Foreign Ministry denounced the Feb. 17-18 neo-Nazi attacks on the Kiev offices of the Russian Center for Science and Culture, the Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent States, and on the branch offices of two Russian banks, Sberbank and Alfa-Bank. These attacks included defacing the buildings, smashing windows and burning the Russian flag. The Foreign Ministry called in Ukraine’s chargé d’affaires in Moscow to lodge a formal protest, sent a formal protest to Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry and issued a release on the attacks for the media.

What is happening in Kiev is one of the “extremely dangerous trends unfolding in Ukraine today which threaten international stability and security,” the Moscow Foreign Ministry warned. Worse, it continued, Ukraine’s “foreign patrons” respond inadequately, or not at all, which is a cause for great concern. “It’s a shame that Europe and the United States have clearly not learned the tragic lessons of the past century.” It also stated that the attack on the Russian Center for Science and Culture took place while women and children were rehearsing a play inside the building.

This, the Foreign Ministry said, is “another example of aggressive neo-Nazi nationalism picking up momentum in Ukraine. It obviously enjoys the protection and support of that country’s official government.” Nor is it a coincidence, it continued, that the attack occurred immediately after Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko’s “offensive speech” at the Munich Security Conference, “which abounded with anti-Russian attacks and contained a direct call for ‘combatting the Russian flag’ worldwide.” Moreover, Ukraine’s vote at the UN General Assembly against the resolution on combatting the glorification of Nazism and neo-Nazism “only goes to show who the current Kiev regime is siding with,” the Ministry’s statement asserts.

TASS reported that members of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Special Monitoring Mission witnessed the Kiev attacks and reported them to OSCE headquarters. Pyotr Tolstoy, head of the State Duma delegation to the winter session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly told TASS, “we expect the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly to respond to this situation, since it is intended to protect people’s rights, freedoms and security.”

Lavrov Targets Destructive U.S.-NATO Role in Afghanistan; Strengthens Pakistan Cooperation

Feb. 21 (EIRNS)—In a Feb. 21 press conference in Moscow with Pakistani Foreign Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov addressed Russia and Pakistan’s concerns about Afghanistan, where, he warned, there is a “significant presence of the Islamic State” in the northern and eastern parts of that country.

We are seriously concerned … that the U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan fail to mention this danger, deny facts and even claim that they are not true” Lavrov said, according to the Ministry transcript. The years-long presence of U.S.-NATO troops there “failed to bring peace and stability to the Afghan people,” Lavrov said, stressing that the security situation in the country has badly deteriorated while terrorist activity has increased. Minister Asif pointed out that neither Washington nor Kabul has acknowledged the ISIS presence, which constitutes a “threat to Central Asia, Pakistan, China and ultimately to the Russian Federation.” Lavrov reported that Moscow is still waiting for “clarification” from the U.S.-led coalition about “flights of unmarked helicopters” to Afghan areas that are either controlled by insurgents or host militant bases.

Lavrov also particularly zeroed in on the growth of the drug trade, which has increased “exponentially” during the years that the U.S. and NATO have operated in Afghanistan. He stated that the U.S. focus on military activity—a “dead end” he called it—is unlikely to improve the country’s security situation. What is required instead is a “national reconciliation process,” he emphasized, which offers a major role for the Afghan people and takes into account the interests of regional players as well.

According to Voice of America (VOA), Russia and Pakistan plan to establish a commission on military cooperation to counter the Islamic State threat in the region. Lavrov stressed that fighting terrorism is one of the priority areas of cooperation between the two countries. Lavrov said in press conference that Russia is committed to boosting Pakistan’s counterterrorism capacity, “which is in the entire region’s interests.”

EU’s Mogherini Is Asked about Ukraine Persecution of Natalia Vitrenko’s PSPU Party

Feb. 22 (EIRNS)—On Feb. 20, a parliamentary query was filed to the EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy Federica Mogherini, by European Parliament Member Marco Zanni (Independent, Italy) regarding the persecution against the Progressive Socialist Party of Ukraine:

“The Progressive Socialist Party of Ukraine (PSPU) was established in 1996 and it has since then operated in observance of the laws and the Constitution of Ukraine.

“In its last three congresses, the PSPU has changed its statute, program and leadership organs, to comply with new rules ‘On Political Parties in Ukraine’ and ‘On the Condemnation of Communist and National-Socialist (Nazi) Totalitarian Regimes and Prohibition of Propaganda of Their Symbols.’

“The Justice Ministry has received the required documentation but has rejected the changes, refusing to comment and explain how the decisions adopted in the three congresses would be in contrast with the new Ukrainian laws.

“In July 2017, the PSPU went to the District Administrative Court of the City of Kiev, to complain against the decision by the Justice Ministry.

“Considering that the PSPU activity, including participation in elections, has been de facto stopped since 2015, and in expectation of a court ruling,

“We ask the [High Representative] VP/AR to find out:

• “whether they know about the question, including through the EU delegation in Ukraine and the consultative mission of the EU;
• “if they do not think that the developments represent a serious violation of the freedom of thought and political speech, since the PSPU is one of the main opposition parties.”

COLLAPSING WESTERN FINANCIAL SYSTEM

Dutch Police Warn, The Netherlands Is Starting To Resemble a Narco-State

Feb. 21 (EIRNS)—According to a report just released from the Dutch police association, the “Netherlands fulfills many characteristics of a narco-state. Detectives are seeing a parallel economy emerge,” Britain’s Guardian reported today. The police report was based on interviews with 400 detectives, who say the police cannot combat the emergence of a parallel criminal economy with the resources allotted them.

Publicized by the De Telegraaf newspaper, the report asserts that “only one in nine criminal groups can be tackled with current personnel and resources.” The police association is demanding an additional 2,000 officers in order to make a dent in the organized crime apparatus.

The Guardian reports that critics of The Netherlands legal sale of cannabis in coffee shops and legalized prostitution—known “gedoogbeleid”—has turned the country into a major hub for human and drug trafficking. The European Union law-enforcement agency Europol reports that the large majority of the stimulant Ecstasy seized in Europe and the U.S. comes from labs in the southern Netherlands, run largely by Moroccan gangs involved in producing cannabis. In addition, approximately half of the €5.7 billion a year of cocaine consumed in Europe comes through the port of Rotterdam.

The police association’s report echoes concerns addressed in another draft report prepared by the office of the Public Prosecutor of the Dutch cabinet and leaked to the press earlier this year. That report stated that while there had been a 25% drop in crime over the past nine years, 3.5 million crimes go unreported every year. Also, the mayor of Amsterdam, its local police force and the city’s public prosecutor warned of the growth of organized crime and their inability to deal with it with current resources.

THE NEW GLOBAL ECONOMIC ORDER

Seoul Government Will Actively Seek Dialogue To Resolve North Korean Nuclear Issue

Feb. 21 (EIRNS)—Speaking today before the parliamentary steering committee, Chung Eui-yong, Chief of the South Korean Presidential National Security Committee, asserted that the Moon Jae-in government intends to take advantage of the momentum of inter-Korean dialogue created by North Korea’s participation in the Winter Olympics held in PyeongChang, to move forward “in a mutually-reinforcing way … to help inter-Korean relations and the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,” Yonhap news agency reported.

He mentioned also that Seoul continues to cooperate with the international community and relies on its “strong alliance with Washington” to help achieve these aims. Moreover, he said, President Moon will seek to help realize “constructive” talks between Washington and Pyongyang.

Coinciding with these remarks by a representative of the President’s office, the Foreign Ministry released a statement announcing that “we will push to enter into full-fledged dialogue while maintaining inter-Korean and U.S.-North Korea talks as major pillars. We will seek consensus from the international community on the need to create a virtuous cycle, in that improving inter-Korean relations could translate into finding a solution to the North’s nuclear problem.”

The Foreign Ministry noted that once serious dialogue begins, it will then discuss with “relevant” countries, ways to denuclearize the North in a “comprehensive and step-by-step” manner and establish lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula.

Separately, Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha explained that inter-Korean talks should go hand-in-hand with dialogue for a peaceful resolution to the North Korean nuclear issue. She particularly underscored the importance of the U.S. and Pyongyang meeting at the earliest possible date, to pave the way for thorough dialogue on denuclearization. “To this end,” she told lawmakers, “the government will make efforts through various channels to persuade the North to come out for talks with the U.S. and also discuss detailed ways with the U.S. on a possible resumption of bilateral talks.”

Chinese Province To Invest and Build Industrial Park in Jamaica

Feb. 21 (EIRNS)—China’s northwestern province of Gansu signed a Framework Agreement with the Jamaican government on Feb. 8 to invest up to $6 billion to develop an industrial park and special economic zone alongside the Alpart bauxite mine and smelter in the southwest of Jamaica owned and operating by the Gansu-headquartered Jiuquan Iron and Steel Co. (JISCO).

It is the largest foreign investment ever made into Jamaica, and the first overseas investment ever made by the province of Gansu—and both sides are enthusiastic about this project which both view as part of the Belt and Road Initiative.

Few details have been released about the industrial park plans, but among them is construction of a new alumina smelter at Alpart. The plan “is intended to move Jamaica from exporting raw materials to developing value-added manufacturing and fabrication industries, led by the bauxite/mineral sector,” the release on the agreement states. China’s TV network CGTN reported in Feb. 16 that Ambassador Niu Qingbao had earlier said that manufacturing and modern agriculture on post-mining land will be the focus of the zone, quoting Niu that “that means hundreds of industrial jobs, decent income for thousands of farmers, better trade terms and better supply of vegetables, beef and dairy.”

The agreement was signed in Jamaica between Gansu Vice Governor Huang Qiang and Jamaica’s Minister of Mines Lester Henry. Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness, Chinese Ambassador to Jamaica Niu, the chairman of JISCO, and “top brass” from China Construction company and COSCO Shipping were all there—suggestive of the scope of productive activity envisioned. Preliminary political and administrative work is to begin immediately, so that the next phase can be announced in September, at the Premier Construction Conference in Gansu next September.

JISCO purchased the Alpart bauxite mines and 1.6 million ton alumina refinery in July 2016. The complex had been closed since 2009, in the aftermath of the global crash. Vice Governor Huang said at the time that “Jamaica is the focus for China to carry out production cooperation in the Caribbean area—the acquisition of Rusal Alpart Alumina Refinery is a critical measure for Gansu Province to carry out the strategy of the ‘Belt and Road’ and further promote international cooperation that is in line with our nation’s industrial policy.” JISCO upgraded the plant, restarted operations last October, and the first shipment of 35,000 tons of alumina from Alpart arrived at Lianyungang port on Feb. 5.

Piraeus-Thessaloniki High-Speed Rail Nears Completion

Feb. 21 (EIRNS)—The nearly 20-year project to double track and electrify Greece’s main rail line between Piraeus-Athens, and the second largest city, Thessaloniki, is nearing completion, a distance of over 500 km. Once finished passenger trains will be able to achieve speeds of 200 kph, reducing travel time from 6 hours to 3.5. Freight trains will be able to travel as speeds of up to 160 kph.

The opening of the 9 km twin Kallidromo Tunnel, the longest in the Balkans, marked a milestone this week. The construction of the tunnel started in 1997 with the tunneling finally completed on May 22, 2013. The tunnel crosses three distinct geological formations, clayey squeezing ground, limestone, and ophiolites. The excavation through the clayey ground was considered as “probably the most difficult part under construction in the world,” according to specialists and was constructed using a unique method, never previously applied, which was actually developed on site according to the news website ypodomes.com.

The tunnel was part of a newly built 100 km section that passed through the most difficult terrain along the line but was 22 km shorter than the old section it has replaced. In addition to the new Kallidromo tunnel, it includes 12 double-track tunnels with a total length of 4,500 meters, 18 double track cut-and-cover sections totaling 2,374 meters and 49 bridges with a total length of 6,086 meters.

Most of the engineering and construction was done by Greek firms, with financing from the Greek government and partly by the European Union’s structural funds.

While this new section is still not fully electrified, freight trains coming from Piraeus are already using it. Full electrification will be completed in April. Up until now trains traveling between Athens and Thessaloniki had to alternate between electric and diesel locomotives.

While this puts Greece’s north-south line on par with the best in Europe, especially for freight, the lines through the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Serbia are slowly being modernized, although they are still in poor condition. The renovation of the lines through Bulgaria and Romania are more advanced, but trains still do not reach speeds of 200 kph.

OTHER

Former Netanyahu Aide Turns State Witness as New Case Emerges

Feb. 21 (EIRNS)—More dark clouds are gathering over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin (Bibi) Netanyahu as several criminal corruption cases could sink his political career and also send him to jail. The latest development, reported by Ynetnews, is that former Communications Ministry Director-General, and Netanyahu confidant, Shlomo Filber has signed a state witness agreement in Case 4000. The case involves the quid pro quo relationship between Netanyahu and his associates on one side, and senior officials of the large telecommunication company Bezeq, and its subsidiary Walla! on the other, which allegedly involved giving Netanyahu and his family flattering coverage in return for their promoting the two companies’ economic interests, estimated to have run in the hundreds of millions of shekels.

Filber’s testimony also refers to an attempt to sell Walla!, Israel’s most popular internet news portal, to one of the Netanyahu’s cronies, in return for regulatory benefits to Bezeq.

Ynetnews cites an unnamed senior government coalition source saying this could mark the beginning to the end for Netanyahu. “If he signed, then the jig is up,” the source said. “Now there are two options: either Bibi will call elections, or will cut a deal saying he’ll step down in return for closing all the cases.”

Another investigation was just announced on Feb. 20: Case 1270, which involves Nir Hefetz, Netanyahu’s former media advisor, and Eli Kamir, former Bezeq strategic advisor who are suspected of offering then-District Court President Hila Gerstel a promotion to attorney general in exchange for closing the case against Netanyahu’s wife, Sara, for alleged forgery of receipts and misuse of public funds, which is also referred to as the Prime Minister’s residences affair. While Gerstel reportedly rejected their offer, she apparently did not report it to the authorities. However, Gerstel reportedly did share what had happened with then-Judge Esther Hayut, now Chief Justice. The police are expected to request testimony from both Gerstel and Hayut.

“This is a case of the utmost severity and an attempt to take control of the general prosecution,” Ynet quoted officials at the State Attorney’s Office as saying. “The matter must be investigated and to get to the truth.”

Hefetz is also a suspect in Case 4000.