EDITORIAL
European and American Citizens Not Buying Her Satanic Majesty’s Demand for War on Russia
March 28 (EIRNS)—The farce of Prime Minister Theresa May’s demand that the world bow down to the British Crown and accept the blatant lie that Russia carried out an “illegal act of force” against the U.K., while refusing to present even a hint of evidence, is not convincing many citizens of the U.S. or Europe, and practically no one outside of NATO. LaRouche movement organizers in the U.S., Germany and elsewhere are finding a dramatic shift in the response of the population since Prime Minister May launched her campaign for war with Russia. The fraudulent British accusations against Russia—which reminds practically everyone of Tony Blair’s lies about Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction, and the horrific consequences of that lie—has begun to awaken a nascent hatred of the imperial attitude exuded by the British and the British toadies who occupied the U.S. Presidency for 16 years before the Trump election.
Consider the timing of the scam:
- The MI6 campaign to bring down the President of the United States through “Russiagate” has not only collapsed, its perpetrators in the FBI, CIA, and neocons in both the Republican and Democratic Parties, are themselves facing potential criminal charges for their lies, leaking, illegal use of federal powers, and more.
- Theresa May’s government was hanging on by a thread, while Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn was seen as a probable shoo-in if an election were called.
- The British/Obama effort to overthrow the government in Syria, to turn the country over to chaos under warring terrorist groups, as in Iraq and Libya, has been severely undermined by President Trump’s open cooperation with Russia in wiping out the terrorists.
- Several European nations have rejected the demonization of Russia, while Italy is in the process of forming a new government which will likely reject European sanctions against Russia altogether.
So the British are trying to do what they are accustomed to do by their imperial nature—invent a crisis to justify war, get the U.S. to take the lead, and browbeat their erstwhile “allies” into submission.
But the plan is not working so well. While it is true that the Trump Administration joined in the mass expulsion of Russian diplomats, it is clear to the British that Trump will not give up his intention to work with President Putin. His phone call to Putin on March 20, discussing solutions to world problems without a word about the British Skripal case, terrified the Queen and her Lords, as well as the pathetic Theresa “M” May, who all see the handwriting on the wall for the end of the Empire itself.
Nearly a dozen European countries have refused to expel any Russian diplomats, demanding to see evidence first. The British passed around a six-slide power point as “evidence,” which was nothing more than a list of their fraudulent accusations about Russian “aggression.” Like the Christopher Steele dossier, the vacuous charges may fool some for a short time, but increasingly the British credibility is shot.
Most importantly, millions of people have heard Lyndon LaRouche for the past 50 years warning that the U.S. had been played the fool by the British—fighting their colonial wars since Vietnam, and implementing their “free market” financial policies at the expense of the American system of directed credit for industrial development. While many found it hard to believe, they are suddenly looking at the despicable lies and war mongering from London, and reflecting back on who it was that was telling the truth all these years.
For once the British were forced to initiate and lead their scam in their own name—and that is their point of vulnerability. Trump’s intention to work with Putin and with Xi Jinping, ending the imperial era of regime change wars and the threat of nuclear annihilation, must be supported and fully implemented, immediately.
U.S. POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC
Russia Holds U.K. Responsible for Skripal Poisonings, Unless Contrary Evidence Is Presented
March 28 (EIRNS)—The Russian Foreign Ministry today officially raised the question as to whether U.K. intelligence services were involved in the attempt on the life of the Skripals “as part of a large-scale political provocation,” citing the manifest refusal of the U.K. government to produce any evidence whatsoever to justify its global cry for war against Russia over that poisoning.
Russia’s “Foreign Ministry Statement,” posted to its website today, calls the British Empire’s Skripal caper bluff, just as Russian President Vladimir Putin called the Empire’s strategic bluff in his March 1 speech announcing Russia’s new missiles capable of avoiding the West’s ABM systems. Readers can judge for themselves in the excerpts which follow:
“The British authorities have demonstrated their inability to ensure the safety of Russian citizens more than once….
“In the latter case [of Sergey Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, the latter still a Russian citizen], London acted contrary to all the norms of international law, ethics and even common sense. London has accused Russia of poisoning Russian citizens without providing any evidence or the complete picture of the crime. At the same time, it has provided the alleged name of the toxic agent, which has never been used in Russia, and has launched a large-scale political and media campaign against Russia. It has initiated the campaign to expel Russian diplomats from a number of countries and representative offices at international organizations and has announced a package of other sanctions….
“The actions of the British authorities raise many questions. The British public is being kept in the dark regarding the key elements of this incident, which has been described as extremely dangerous, and the number of the people affected is kept secret. No information has been provided about the activities of Britain’s secret research facility in Porton Down near Salisbury, where chemical research was conducted. No information has been provided about ‘Operation Toxic Dagger,’ an annual chemical warfare exercise conducted at the Porton Down facility together with the U.K. military, which was completed shortly before the Skripals’ poisoning.
“Meanwhile, London has initiated a worldwide campaign to spread the presumption of Russia’s guilt. We see a deliberate and purposeful escalation of confrontation and a demonstration of military force on Russia’s border. It is an obvious effort to undermine the political and diplomatic interaction that could lead to an objective and comprehensive investigation of the Salisbury incident.
“The analysis of all these circumstances shows that the U.K. authorities are not interested in identifying the real causes and the real perpetrators of the crime in Salisbury, which suggests a possible involvement of the U.K. intelligence services. Unless we receive convincing proof of the opposite, we will regard this incident as an attempt on the life of Russian citizens as part of a large-scale political provocation. We emphasize that the burden of proof rests solely on the U.K.”
U.K. National Security Strategy Aimed at War with Russia and Thought Police at Home
March 28 (EIRNS)—The British issued a new Strategic Security Capability Review today, revising their 2015 National Security Strategy, with a bloodcurdling call by Prime Minister Theresa May herself for mobilizing for war with Russia, as well as expanding “thought police” control over social media under the guise of countering Russian “fake news.”
In the introduction, written by May, she states that since 2015, “threats have continued to intensify and evolve and we face a range of complex challenges at home and overseas: the resurgence of state-based threats and increasing competition between states; the undermining of the international rules based order; the rise in cyber-attacks from both state and non-state actors and the wider impact of technological developments; and the increase in threat posed by terrorism, extremism and instability.” Leaving no doubt who the target is, she goes on: “Over the past year in the U.K. we have witnessed appalling terrorist attacks in London and Manchester. But also a brazen and reckless act of aggression on the streets of Salisbury: attempted murder using an illegal chemical weapon, amounting to an unlawful use of force against the U.K.”
In the body of the document, it states: “The resurgence of state-based threats, intensifying wider state competition and the erosion of the rules-based international order, making it harder to build consensus and tackle global threats…. The indiscriminate and reckless use of a military-grade nerve agent on British soil was an unlawful use of force by the Russian State. It happened against a backdrop of a well-established pattern of Russian state aggression. Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea was the first time since the Second World War that one sovereign nation has forcibly taken territory from another in Europe. Russia has fomented conflict in the Donbas and supported the Assad regime, including when the regime deliberately ignored its obligation to stop using chemical weapons. Russia has also violated the national airspace of European countries and mounted a sustained campaign of cyber espionage and disruption, including meddling in elections.”
On the “thought police,” the document states: “Communications are increasingly being used by our partners and adversaries alike for strategic real-world advantage. Traditional channels have been largely discarded in favour of digital and social media platforms. This is combined with a decline of trust in traditional sources of information and the era of so-called fake news. In parallel, the rules of the game have changed. The democratisation of information, and the means to exploit it, has allowed hostile actors to exert disproportionate influence in competition with the public interest.”
STRATEGIC WAR DANGER
Syrian Army Preparing To Take Last Jihadi Redoubt in Eastern Ghouta
March 28 (EIRNS)—The Syrian army is preparing to storm Douma, the last town in Eastern Ghouta still held by jihadis, at any minute, if Jaish al Islam doesn’t surrender or return to the negotiating table. According to a report in AFP, Jaish al Islam wants to stay in Douma while the Russians want them to go to Idlib, just like Faylaq al Rahman and other groups agreed to do in other parts of the former jihadi-held enclave. “The Russians don’t want an agreement for Douma that’s different from other parts of Ghouta, but Jaish al-Islam wants to stay and doesn’t want any residents to leave,” an opposition source said. “They gave them an ultimatum,” the source continued, and said that the group had “until Wednesday or Thursday” to respond. According to a report in Al Masdar News, today was supposed to be the last day by which Jaish al Islam had to decide what it was going to do. There’s no word, yet, however, on the beginning of a new Syrian army assault, though troops are reportedly gathered around Douma.
Militants continue to stream out of Harasta and the villages of the southern pocket, however. Nearly 7,000, including relatives and others, were reported to have left in a one-hour time frame, yesterday. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu reported today that a total of 128,161 people have been evacuated from Eastern Ghouta. This includes 103,117 civilians, 9,670 militants, and 15,374 members of their families. He also reported that in the course of the militant withdrawals, 15 suicide belts and 289 grenades were confiscated, yesterday, from the militants.
Questioning, ‘Where’s the Proof?’ from within the British Empire
March 28 (EIRNS)—New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced on Tuesday that her government would not be expelling any Russians. “We’ve done a check in New Zealand. We don’t have Russian undeclared intelligence officers here,” she asserted.
An article in Britain’s Guardian called the announcement “perplexing,” given that “New Zealand is a member of the Five Eyes signals intelligence collection and sharing network including Australia, Canada, the U.K. and the U.S., so it has better knowledge than most as to what evidence the U.K. has to indicate that Vladimir Putin’s regime ordered the hit on Sergei Skripal.” The Queen’s dominions are not to make independent decisions, the article warned: “Lilliputians such as New Zealand usually think long and hard before taking an unpopular stand—particularly amongst friends.”
Then, from Australia, Tom Switzer writes in The Interpreter, the publication of the Lowy Institute, a top Sydney-based think tank, poses the question on the Skripal poisoning charge: “Skripal: The West Escalates, But Where Is the Proof?”
Switzer writes that this week, Australia, the U.S., and several EU nations joined forces with Britain to expel Russian diplomats, based on accusations that Vladimir Putin is responsible for the poisoning of a former Russian spy, turned MI6 double agent, Sergei Skripal.
Yet, there is still no evidence—none—says Switzer about the identity of the culprit: One can accept that the Russians are suspects but “still agree with the skepticism of leading British conservatives Peter Osborn, Peter Hitchens, and Rachel Johnson (Foreign Minister Boris’s sister), that it is better to take our time to get to the bottom of this crime.”
This is particularly true since Putin had no reason to poison Skripal and his daughter (who are still alive in hospital), and good reasons not to. Moscow did not kill Sergei Skripal after they arrested and jailed him in 2004, nor did they deny him a spy swap deal with Britain in 2010.
Switzer cites even hostile Putin critics who see that Putin may be right, such as Owen Matthews who argued in The Spectator March 17 that Putin “cares deeply about giant sporting events like the World Cup; he has invested billions to make it a success.” Why tarnish that “vast effort” to execute a single retired spy?
More to the point, Switzer cites Britain’s escalation of the Iraq War 15 years ago this month, and the subsequent Chilcot Inquiry finding that Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction. “Indeed, governments should always make evidence-based pronouncements rather than relying on assertion and bombast, which is what has happened in the Skripal case….
“And remember,” he warns, “it [Russia] still has a vast arsenal of nuclear weapons. In these circumstances, waging hot wars along Russia’s borders (the Baltics, Ukraine), further isolating the Kremlin and expelling hundreds of Russian diplomats for unproven crimes could provide real extremists and hyper-nationalists in Russia with a cause to exploit.”
Dissident Voices Reject EU Ouster of Russian Diplomats
March 28 (EIRNS)—Austrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl declared in an interview with ORF radio that her nation’s tradition as a neutral country with good contacts to both the West and the East does not allow expulsions of diplomats, and therefore refused to cede to EU and British demands that all member states show “solidarity” with Britain’s war-mongering confrontation in the Skripal poisoning. It is especially true in this case, where no hard evidence implicating Russia has been provided, she said, but also stating that Austria’s view would not even change, even if it were proven that Russia had done the poisoning.
Likewise Luxembourg’s Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn explained his government’s rejection to the throwing out Russian diplomats, saying he cannot understand that European leaders did not wait for the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) investigation to come to a conclusion.
As was expected, the Greek government refused to order any Russian diplomats to leave the country. And in fact, just days earlier, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras congratulated Russian President Vladimir Putin on his March 18 re-election victory.
Although the Czech Republic did send home some Russian diplomats, President Milos Zeman demanded trustworthy evidence to prove the allegations of Russia’s involvement in the Skripal case. “I want to know facts,” he insisted in an interview with the Blesk TV network. “Naturally, I would hail if Great Britain offers any evidence that Russians had sought to kill double agent Skripal.”
Zeman said he had ordered this country’s counterintelligence services to check Russia’s accusation that the Novichok nerve agent could be developed or stored in the Czech Republic. “I don’t think it’s true, but it is always better to have counterintelligence data that these accusations are not true than to go on thinking that it might be true.”
He said he had not interfered with the government’s decision to expel three diplomats. “Europe has practiced expulsion of diplomats several times. I think this is unnecessary but have no objections against it. Let it be. They will return here in due time,” Zeman said, and saying that his country should have “proper or friendly relations with all major countries.”
COLLAPSING WESTERN FINANCIAL SYSTEM
Construction of Nord Stream 2 Can Begin
March 28 (EIRNS)—The official German administrative go-ahead has been given for the German section of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project, construction of which can begin this spring. The entire length of the pipeline between St. Petersburg, Russia and Greifswald, Germany is 1,200 km. The project has been strongly opposed by Poland, the three Baltic states and the EU Commission—however, in this case, the German government has not played by EU rules, but rather okayed the project, and even rejected threats from the U.S. Congress to impose sanctions on countries that work with Russia on the Nord Stream 2 project.
Ironically, the okay for the project occurs as the Berlin was deciding to expel four Russian diplomats. Whereas the latter act goes against Germany’s genuine interests with Russia, the gas project is in the interest of the German cooperation with the Russians.
Partners in the €9.5 billion project are, in addition to Russia’s Gazprom, Germany’s E.ON and BASF, Austria’s OMV, France’s Engie Group and the Royal Dutch Shell. The capacity of the new pipeline will be 55 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually, as is the capacity of existing Nord Stream pipeline.
Alaska Governor To Lead Trade Trip to China, as Energy Department Okays Critical Gas Pipeline
March 28 (EIRNS)—Alaska Gov. Bill Walker will lead a trade mission to China in May, which he first proposed in his January State of the State message. The visit has now taken on special significance, as exemplifying the way many U.S. states and localities seek beneficial trade and investment with China, while the sparks fly in Washington against China.
Walker personally hosted President Xi Jinping last April in Anchorage, when Xi stopped on his way back to China from his Florida meeting with President Trump. In November, 2017, Walker was the only governor in the delegation accompanying President Trump for his November state visit-plus in Beijing. Walker witnessed, along with Xi and Trump, the signing of the $43 billion China investment and purchase deal for an 800-mile Alaska gas pipeline, and liquefied natural gas (LNG) import commitments, among the principals of four entities: the state-sponsored Alaska Gasline Development Corp. (AGDC), the China Investment Corp., Bank of China, and China Petrochemical Corp. (Sinopec Group), the mega oil and gas firm.
This month, the new Alaska pipeline project got an important approval from U.S. Federal authorities, which had originally authorized it and LNG foreign sales in 2015. On March 13, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) announced it is now proceeding on the timeline of advance work, to allow the Alaska LNG Project construction to start in early 2020, and be on a track for completion by 2024 or 2025. The FERC announcement was hailed by everyone from Alaska’s U.S. Senators Dan Sullivan and Lisa Murkowski, to the AFL-CIO, now developing workforce plans. It will “turbocharge” the Alaska economy, said AGDC President Keith Meyer, in a press release.
In addition to this project, China figures prominently in Alaska’s economic wellbeing overall. This was stressed in a March 27 article in the state capital’s online daily, Juneau Empire, titled, “Alaska-China Trade Is Something To Value,” co-authored by Doug Griffin, Executive Director of the Southwest Alaska Municipal Conference, and Tom Dillion, Executive Director of the Kenai Economic Development District. They stress, “China’s longstanding consumption of Alaska products has been creating benefits across the state for years, and the upcoming trade mission to China is a clear opportunity for us to strengthen this bond and continue to grow our economy.”
The article gives specifics on the Alaska-China economic relations: In 2017, China imported over $355.8 million worth of metal ores from Alaska, and millions worth of forest products. China bought over $796 million of Alaska seafood in 2017. China is the state’s biggest seafood customer, and its imports of Alaskan products in 2017 were 16% above 2016. China’s tourist visits to Alaska are important, and have grown since Xi’s visit to the state last April.
Overall, “Alaska exported $4.93 billion of goods in 2017, with over $1.32 billion going to China. China has been Alaska’s largest export partner for the last seven years…. Gov. Bill Walker’s trade mission to China presents an opportunity to further engage with this economic powerhouse.”
The authors explicitly dissociate from the anti-China actions in Washington, writing: “Regardless of what happens at the federal level, the opportunities for Alaska and Asia to partner together are clear, providing we take our shot with the can-do optimism our state is built on…. Finally, while the Alaska-China relationship did not start with the Alaska LNG project, it is a huge step forward we need to carefully encourage.”
THE NEW GLOBAL ECONOMIC ORDER
Afghanistan Peace Depends on a Regional Solution, Lavrov Stresses at Tashkent Conference
March 28 (EIRNS)—Representatives of 27 countries and international organizations participated in the International High-Level Conference on Afghanistan: “Peace Process, Security Cooperation and Regional Connectivity,” hosted by the Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev in Tashkent yesterday. The final Tashkent Conference Declaration adopted by the participants included the statement that “it is possible to achieve true peace and stability only by launching a constructive dialogue between the Afghan government and Taliban,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov reported.
In his address to the conference, Lavrov pointed to recent “positive dynamics” among the five Central Asian states, including as regards their relations with Afghanistan, as key to carrying out the “common efforts” critical to securing peace in Afghanistan. The situation in Afghanistan “continues to deteriorate,” he warned, citing the Taliban’s full or partial control of almost half of that country, another record year of opium poppy production last year, and “the expanding penetration of the Islamic State.” It is “a direct threat to regional and international security” that ISIS is establishing strongholds in the northern provinces that border the Commonwealth of Independent States countries, where ISIS is training people from Central Asia, Russia and other states, he said.
Lavrov identified two approaches as critical. First, that “the conflict cannot be resolved by force, no matter which strategies foreign capitals may approve. Ideas of a military solution are disconnected from historical experience and today’s reality. It is possible to achieve true peace and stability only by launching a constructive dialogue between the Afghan government and Taliban.”
Second, “the importance of the regional context in the Afghan settlement process. As has been demonstrated many times, ‘recipes from afar’ that fail to take into account local traditions and specifics do not help but rather harm. We believe that it is necessary to more actively engage the resources of organizations with Central Asian states as members.” Specifically cited here were the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the Collective Security Treaty Organization.
A political settlement will promote economic cooperation in Central Asia, and, in turn, allow Afghanistan to access its neighbor’s expanding markets, he affirmed as well.
Adding to the potential to finally succeed in ending drugs, terrorism and war in Afghanistan, is the participation of the United States in this process. A U.S. delegation led by veteran diplomat Tom Shannon, Under Secretary for Political Affairs, participated in the Tashkent Conference, and endorsed its final declaration, with its clause endorsing a political settlement between the Taliban and government. That policy was signaled by Defense Secretary Mattis in his March 13 visit to Kabul, where he said that the U.S. looks forward to securing victory through “political reconciliation” with the Taliban.
SCIENCE AND INFRASTRUCTURE
‘Nuclear Could Turn Zambia into a Regional Food Basket’
March 28 (EIRNS)—That is the plan, by the Zambia Agriculture Research Institute and the Agriculture Ministry, with help from Russia’s Rosatom nuclear agency. An African News Agency article under that headline yesterday describes how for Zambia, and most of Africa, nuclear technology can dramatically improve food availability and nutrition on the continent.
An agreement has been signed with Rosatom for the establishment of a Center for Nuclear Science and Technology in Lusaka, which will help prepare Zambia for nuclear power in the future. Zambia suffers power rationing between 8 and 14 hours per day when water is low at its hydroelectric dams. But immediately, the application of nuclear science and technology will be in agriculture.
Crops that are resistant to disease, able to withstand environmental stresses, such as drought, and produce higher yields are developed by using nuclear radiation to change the genetic makeup of plants. Zambia is developing new crop varieties with these characteristics, which will not only improve the nutrition of the population, but also the lives of the farmers.
Nuclear radiation will also be used for preserving food, using radioactive isotopes. This will immediately increase the food supply. A large percentage of the food produced, especially in developing countries, never reaches the dinner table. For example, 40% of the fish produced globally rots before it can be eaten. Zambia will be able to join the 60 nations in the world that currently preserve food through irradiation.
Other applications of nuclear technology in agriculture will be for pest and disease control, inspection of the quality and quantity of water resources, and soil conservation.
The Zambia Agriculture Ministry is running multiple research projects in various fields to up-shift agriculture. With the Center for Nuclear Science and Technology, they will have new tools.
