EDITORIAL
A Spiritual Factor
April 29 (EIRNS)—The stunning process which has become most visible in Korea over the past days—and how many were there who expected this even just weeks ago?—is still far from the complete victory for which we are fighting. So far, it is still only an embattled outpost. The British-led attack on Syria two weeks ago was aimed to prevent this progress; it damaged it severely, and next time, if we permit a next time, can be much more harmful.
But even as an embattled outpost, the hope which the Korea talks represent, has nevertheless swept the world with its inspiration. It was perfectly natural that the thousands of supporters at President Trump’s Michigan rally on April 28 began to chant “No-bel,” “No-bel!” when he mentioned Korea. Regardless of party or faction, there is no one with any shred of understanding and morality, who can fail to find some degree of inspiration from Korea today. Recall that the state of declared hostilities on the Korean Peninsula has existed ever since 1950, when the world’s population was only 2.5 billion, as against 7.6 billion today. And only about 7% of those alive today, had even been born when that never-ending war began. And that the Korean War inaugurated that Cold War which dominated the remainder of the terrible 20th Century. Equally today, the frozen Korea conflict still underpins the British Imperial system of pitting each against all to sustain its world rule.
What is now first unfolding in Korea has been made possible by the joint and coordinated work of China, Japan, Russia and the United States with the two Koreas. What has finally permitted this, is that China, Japan, Russia and the United States have all undergone profound changes over the recent decades, which only now made this form of cooperation possible today, where it had never been possible before. What caused these changes? The new policies of Presidents Xi, Putin, and Trump, and Prime Minister Abe? Yes, but what was in common to all of them?
There is a spiritual factor. As Douglas MacArthur wisely said aboard the battleship Missouri in Tokyo Bay, “It must be of the spirit if we are to save the flesh.” Lyndon LaRouche referenced this in his seminal 2004 work, “The Coming Eurasian World,” where he wrote, “What occurs, as I have seen thus often, even at close quarters, in the course of my lifetime, the evolution of the collective mind of an entire culture, is driven by the spark of the interventions into the entire society, through the veil of ambiguity, by a relatively few geniuses, and by those young people who replicate experience of discovery by geniuses in their own early self-development through young adulthood.” (“Toward a Second Treaty of Westphalia: The Coming Eurasian World,” EIR, Dec. 17 2004)
The “Coming Eurasian World,” the next great phase of human evolution of which Lyndon LaRouche prophesied there, is now coming into view, driven by the sparks of genius which he has scattered through many decades. The Korean talks vouchsafe us that it is possible, that it can be done. Now it stands out clearly before us, like the New World to Schiller’s Columbus. Will we realize it now?
THE NEW GLOBAL ECONOMIC ORDER
Great Day in History: Korea, China, India Launch Asian Century
April 27 (EIRNS)—April 27, 2018, will be remembered as a great moment in history. India and China launched a new era of peace and cooperation, while in Korea, a process was started to end the 65 years of “no peace” since the Korean War. South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s Summit in Panmunjeom today resulted in a friendly discussion and a “Declaration for Peace, Prosperity and Unification of the Korean Peninsula” beyond nearly all expectations.
The Declaration begins: “During this momentous period of historical transformation on the Korean Peninsula, reflecting the enduring aspiration of the Korean people for peace, prosperity and unification, President Moon Jae-in of the Republic of Korea and Chairman Kim Jong Un of the State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea held an Inter-Korean Summit Meeting at the Peace House at Panmunjeom on April 27, 2018.” It then states unequivocally: “there will be no more war on the Korean Peninsula and thus a new era of peace has begun.”
The document then has three sections. The first calls for reconnecting the people of Korea to “bring forward the future of co-prosperity and unification led by Koreans by facilitating comprehensive and groundbreaking advancement in inter-Korean relations.” This includes: “determining the destiny of the Korean nation on their own accord,” holding high-level negotiations in all fields; establishing a “joint liaison office with resident representatives of both sides in the Gaeseong [Kaesong] region in order to facilitate close consultation between the authorities as well as smooth exchanges and cooperation between the peoples” (nothing was said about reopening the Kaesong industrial park, but it is clearly in the plans); “actively staging various joint events on the dates that hold special meaning for both South and North Korea;” reuniting divided families; and, most important, to “promote balanced economic growth and co-prosperity of the nation. As a first step, the two sides agreed to adopt practical steps towards the connection and modernization of the railways and roads on the eastern transportation corridor [from the South to the Rason port, where Russia has already built a rail connection to Vladivostok] as well as between Seoul and Sinuiju” along the west coast to the Chinese border at Dandong. (Emphases are added.)
These rail connections would finally complete the Eurasian Land-Bridge “from Busan to Rotterdam” as proposed by Lyndon LaRouche in the 1990s.
The second category is to “eliminate the danger of war on the Korean Peninsula.” This includes: “a complete cease of all hostile acts;” transforming the DMZ into a “peace zone;” turning the hotly contested border region in the Yellow Sea into a “maritime peace zone to prevent accidental military clashes and guarantee safe fishing activities”; holding frequent meetings of military officials and defense ministers, to begin in May.
The third section calls for the establishment of a “permanent and solid peace regime.” Since the Korean War was a UN declared “police action”—war was never declared—such a “peace regime” would not require approval as a treaty in Congress. Disarmament talks could follow to cut back on the huge military forces on both sides; and move toward the “common goal” of “complete denuclearization, a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula.”
They also agreed to “actively pursue trilateral meetings involving the two Koreas and the United States, or quadrilateral meetings involving the two Koreas, the United States and China, with a view to declaring an end to the War and establishing a permanent peace regime.”
The two leaders agreed to keep in close touch, and that President Moon will visit Pyongyang in the fall.
President Trump tweeted: “After a furious year of missile launches and Nuclear testing, a historic meeting between North and South Korea is now taking place. Good things are happening, but only time will tell! KOREAN WAR TO END! The United States, and all of its GREAT people, should be very proud of what is now taking place in Korea!”
China’s Xi and India’s Modi Agree to First-Ever Joint Afghanistan Economic Project
April 28 (EIRNS)—While the two-day “Informal Summit” of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Wuhan, China did not issue formal, official dispatches, results have been made known, which include commitments of major importance. The Hindu reported these today in a summary.
The two nations will undertake a joint economic project in Afghanistan, the first ever such collaboration.
There will be stepped up military-to-military collaboration between the two nations.
The “Closer Development Partnership” between China and India will be strengthened, involving economic cooperation and people-to-people exchanges.
In economic relations, there will be a push in bilateral trade and investment, for more balance between the nations, by taking advantage of economic complementarities.
Each nation will appoint a Special Representative to play a role in these functions.
There will be stepped-up cooperation against terrorism.
Both leaders concurred on the value of the “Informal Summit” format and will continue to hold more such dialogues. Modi has invited Xi to India for a similar occasion in 2019.
Silk Road Rail Conference in Slovakia; Experts Confer on Transit Logistics Center
April 28 (EIRNS)—Some 140 experts who attended a conference in Kosice this week on the Belt and Road Initiative, also dubbed the New Silk Road, concurred on the need to develop closer cooperation in logistics and to establish more effective transport links, especially by rail.
A key goal of the conference, organized by the Slovak Transport and Construction Ministry and the International Coordination and Service Center for Land Bridge Block-Train Programs from Beijing, was to present opportunities provided by Slovakia in terms of transit, including the planned project of constructing a logistics center for rail transport between Asia and Europe in eastern Slovakia, said Kosice regional authority spokesperson Anna Cincarova.
Yesterday, conference attendees went to see the rail transshipment points in Cierna and Tisou and Dobra (Kosice region), which serve for transloading between European-width rails and broad-gauge rails. The Dobra terminal currently has the annual transloading capacity for 200,000 containers and could become a major logistics center in eastern Europe.
“I’m happy that we concurred on several issues with the Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China in Slovakia [Lin Lin] and the Chinese investors. I’m also pleased that the Chinese side has agreed to cooperate on the GLIP [Global Logistics Industrial Park] project. We’ll work on further joint steps in order to boost the status of Kosice region and Slovakia as a transit country,” said Kosice regional governor Rastislav Trnka, stressing that Kosice region offers enough rail transport capacities between Asia and Europe, including a higher rail transport speed than Poland and Hungary.
ASEAN Looks to China and India
April 29 (EIRNS)—The host for the summit of the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations Saturday, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, said ASEAN was increasingly looking to China and India as their closest collaborators. The global strategic balance is shifting, and so is the regional balance, Lee said. New powers, including China and India, are growing in strength and influence. This has opened up new opportunities for ASEAN member states as we expand our cooperation with them.
ASEAN expressed concern over the protectionist trade policies emerging from the United States, but clearly the issue of development investment is central to this emerging cooperation between Asian states.
The final communiqué said that ASEAN “welcomed the improving cooperation between ASEAN and China and were encouraged by the official commencement of the substantive negotiations towards the early conclusion of an effective Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC) on a mutually-agreed timeline.” They only “took note” that some countries were concerned about China’s construction of artificial islands in the South China Sea.
The communiqué fully supported the summit between the two Koreas and the planned summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un.
U.S. POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC
Defense Secretary Mattis Wants CAATSA Act Waiver, or Sanctions Become ‘Catch-22’
April 27 (EIRNS)—In testimony yesterday before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Defense Secretary James Mattis requested that the State Department grant a national security waiver under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), which currently mandates that sanctions be imposed on countries that purchase arms from Russia.
Such a waiver is necessary, Mattis said, because as things now stand, “Russia is in a position, basically, to checkmate us…. We only need to look at India, Vietnam and some others to recognize that eventually we’re going to paralyze ourselves.” Without the waiver, it will be harder to convert countries that have historically depended on Moscow’s defense exports to become American allies, Defense One reported.
Other countries that might be subject to sanctions under CAATSA, without a waiver, include India, Indonesia and Turkey. The fact that Turkey has decided the buy Russia’s S-400 air defense system has caused much alarm in Washington, such that last week, Assistant Secretary of State Wes Mitchell told the House Foreign Affairs Committee that Turkey’s purchase could lead to sanctions under CAATSA’s section 231, and warned Turkey not to stray from the NATO fold.
One interesting comment in the hearing came from Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI), who asked Mattis about a lack of flexibility in Russia sanctions generally. After the Crimea vote to reunite with Russia and events in Ukraine, the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act prohibited bilateral military-to-military cooperation with Russia, “which at the time seemed to make perfect sense,” he said. But, he continued, “at this moment, when we’re in a very challenging situation in many areas of the world, would it make sense to review those provisions and give you more flexibility in ways in which you could conduct military-to-military dialogue with Russia in certain situations?”
Midwestern Democrats Slam DNC Obsession over Russia as ‘Silly Distraction,’ ‘Unhelpful’
April 27 (EIRNS)—State Democratic leaders in the Midwestern states are lambasting the Democratic National Committee’s (DNC) obsession with Donald Trump and Russia, as seen in its absurd legal suit against the Trump campaign, and demand a real discussion on the issues that concern voters, such as jobs, healthcare, education, ZeroHedge reported April 26.
David Betras, the Mahoning County, Ohio Democratic county chair says yes, Russia is important, but insists, does the DNS “honestly think that people who were just laid off another shift at the car plant in my home county give a shit about Russia when they don’t have a frickin’ job?” The reality, he said, is that “Trump keeps talking about jobs and the economy and we talk about Russia.” That’s all the DNC has been talking about since 2016.
In Missouri, where Sen. Clair McCaskill faces a tough reelection fight, she calls the DNC suit filed against the Trump campaign and WikiLeaks, a “silly distraction.”
Another Midwestern campaign strategist told BuzzFeed, “I’m going to be honest. I don’t know why they’re doing it,” as this appears to only appeal to the donor base, but not to voters. “I wouldn’t want to see something like this coming out of the DNC in October.” Another strategist called the DNC suit “politically unhelpful … [we] haven’t seen a single piece of data that says voters want Democrats to relitigate 2016.”
The Minnesota Democratic Party says it won’t touch the issue, because “messaging” on Trump won’t help its case. BuzzFeed observes that in states where Trump won, such as Ohio, focusing on the Russia issue could backfire.
ZeroHedge concludes that perhaps Midwestern Democrats aren’t idiots, given the overwhelming evidence of a coordinated “insurance policy” against a Trump victory in 2016—i.e., from the FBI—and that criminal referrals have been made against FBI/DOJ bigwigs who tried to rig the election in favor of Hillary Clinton.
Congress Members Hit Kiev Government Support for Nazis; Vitrenko Attacked by Nazi Gang
April 27 (EIRNS)—On April 25, fifty-six members of the U.S. Congress issued a letter to then-acting Secretary of State John Sullivan urging for the U.S. to condemn the Ukrainian government’s open support for Nazi gangs, detailing several cases.
The very next day, April 26, Natalia Vitrenko and Vladimir Marchenko, the leaders of the Progressive Socialist Party of Ukraine (PSPU) and friends of the international LaRouche movement, were attacked by Nazi thugs and doused with kefir. The two leaders were leaving a courtroom where the judge had dismissed their suit against the police who stood by, not intervening, when a fascist gang of the former Azov Brigade had attacked and defaced their apartments one year ago, on May 9, 2017.
Dr. Vitrenko is a former member of Parliament and had run for President several times, winning as much as 11% in 1999, even after her campaign was disrupted by an assassination attempt. She is a well-known economist specializing on Ukraine’s social services sector and the impact of IMF conditionalities.
The bipartisan Congressional letter, initiated by Democrats Rep. Ro Khanna (CA) and Rep. David Cicilline (RI), condemned both the Ukraine and the Polish governments for passing laws defending Nazis and Nazi supporters in World War II, but focused on the continuing fascist acts backed by the Ukraine government.
They report that Ukraine’s 2015 memory laws glorify “Nazi collaborators, and making it a criminal offense to deny their heroism.” They state there has been little public response in the U.S., although the less overt policies in Poland have been widely condemned. They write: “The groups and individuals extolled by Ukraine include Nazi collaborators Stepan Bandera, Roman Shukhevych, and the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN), as well as the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA). These paramilitaries and individuals in some cases collaborated with the Nazis and bear responsibility for the murder of thousands of Jews, 70-100,000 Poles, and other ethnic minorities between 1941 and 1945.
“It’s particularly troubling that much of the Nazi glorification in Ukraine is government-supported. Examples include the 2017 pro-UPA campaign conducted by the Ukrainian Institute of National Memory; the naming of streets after Bandera and Shukhevych by the Kiev city council; and Lviv’s 2017 Shukhevych Fest which took place on the anniversary of the 1941 Lviv Pogroms, in which 4,000 Jews were killed.
“State-sponsored Holocaust revisionism in Ukraine is accompanied by other forms of anti-Semitism,” the letter continues. “As Israel’s Department of Diaspora Affairs pointed out in its annual report on anti-Semitism, the whitewashing of these Ukrainian heroes has coincided with the increasing incidence of anti-Semitism across Ukraine. This includes desecration of Holocaust memorials and Jewish places of worship, such as the desecration of a holy tomb in Uman with a swastika-carved pig’s head; a January 2017 march in honor of Bandera, during which participants chanted ‘Jews Out!’; as well as last summer’s firebombing of a Lviv synagogue during Shukhevych Fest.”
The Congressmen report that last November, a march of 20,000 strong took place “in honor of the 75th anniversary of the UPA. These torchlight marches are closely linked to organizations such as the neo-Nazi Azov Battalion, an armed group that was prohibited from receiving U.S. weapons and training by the recently signed Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018. Rather than disband Azov, the government incorporated it into the Ukrainian National Guard overseen by the Ministry of the Interior. The group is widely known to be closely connected to Interior Minister Arsen Avakov.”
The Congressmen demand action: “The State Department must use all available diplomatic channels to work with the Ukrainian and Polish government to combat the rise of this hateful ideology which has historically threatened peace and security in the region.”
The appeal would be more effective if it told the whole truth—that the Nazi-supporting regime in Ukraine was placed in power, by the Obama Administration, particularly through Obama’s agent for Ukraine at the State Department, Victoria Nuland. The full story can be read at “How Obama and Soros Put Actual Nazis in Power in Ukraine,” EIR, Feb. 24, 2017.
SCIENCE AND INFRASTRUCTURE
U.S. National Space Council Executive Underplays Russia Cooperation
April 28 (EIRNS)—Scott Pace, head of the National Space Council under the chairmanship of U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, was asked by Politico about the prospects for greater cooperation with the Russian space program. On April 27, they report his reply: “Space cooperation follows politics, it doesn’t precede it.” He continued: “Sometimes people think, ‘Well if we do this great project together that will somehow bleed over into and/or shape other perceptions.’ In fact, that’s not really how it happens. There is a decision made on the overall political relationship and space is pursued either to symbolize that or pursue something of mutual benefit.”
“But that’s backward,” reports Politico, citing others who have oversight of the space program in Congress, or with direct experience working with the Russians on the International Space Station. One of those contradicting Pace’s view was Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI): “While the Cold War was going we were able to find ways to cooperate in space,” referring to the Apollo-Soyuz mission. “That was not a good time for U.S.-Soviet relations. Our navies were standing eyeball to eyeball against each other. Yet we were still cooperating in space,” he said. The space program is “helping us bridge some of the ideological and cultural divides that separate us.”
Astronaut Chris Hadfield also disagreed with Pace’s contention that more cooperation in space is not possible without a Russian political rapprochement. His view is expressed by many astronauts, who hope that their work with their Russian colleagues certainly does “bleed over” into other perceptions and policies.
Europe and U.S. Agree To Explore Mars Sample Return Missions
April 28 (EIRNS)—The next big challenge in Mars exploration is to bring back a sample of soil and rocks. It is a complicated undertaking, involving a number of missions and spacecraft. The European Space Agency and NASA signed a statement of intent April 26 to coordinate their plans for future Mars missions.
Each agency will outline specifically the potential role it could play in bringing samples back. The scientists involved in the joint statement were in Berlin for the 2nd International Mars Sample Return Conference, taking place April 25-27. In 2009 ESA and NASA agreed to collaborate in the Mars Joint Exploration Initiative, but in 2011, NASA cancelled its participation due to budget cuts. Now each side is resurrecting a joint effort.
Both space agencies have missions to Mars under development. NASA’s fifth Mars lander, the InSight spacecraft, is set to launch on May 5. ESA’s ExoMars rover will launch in 2021, as will NASA’s large rover, based on the Curiosity rover.
Making the announcement at the Berlin Air and Space Show, Dr. Thomas Zurbuchen, NASA Associate Administrator for Science, said there would be other partners, stressing commercial companies, for space science, and that, “We will at every point look at what is available in the commercial market. NASA has no interest whatsoever in developing things that we can buy.” This is representative of the administration’s focus on making private companies a major player in the space program. But historically, NASA didn’t use what was “commercially available,” but developed new more advanced technology, which pulled the economy forward.
Chao in Beijing Talks Transportation, Hedges on Belt and Road
April 29 (EIRNS)—Elaine Chao, the U.S. Secretary of Transportation, is in Beijing attending the ninth China-U.S. Transportation Forum and has met with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on infrastructure and bilateral trade issues.
CGTN television journalist Tian Wei caught up with Chao and asked her about President Trump’s $1.5 trillion infrastructure plan. She repeated the nostrum that the Federal government would pony up $200 billion and the rest would have to be leveraged through state and local governments and the private sector. The problem, she claimed, was that some states (oh, horror of horrors!) do not allow private funding of public infrastructure.
Tian Wei also asked her about possible participation by China in infrastructure investment. Chao replied: “The President has made it clear that we prefer to have American jobs. So for any foreign entities that are coming in, I would suggest that they set up a U.S. presence and partner with a U.S. company.” When Tian Wei observed that Chinese companies are finding trouble “partnering” with U.S. firms because of U.S. restrictions, Chao claimed that the restrictions were only imposed when it was a matter of high tech, but that what is being discussed here is only about building bridges and roads.
“The federal government will not be deciding on a local project. We will fund these projects to a certain percentage. So the entities, be they American or foreign, they need to find a local project first to invest in. The majority of the plan will be repairing and rebuilding new infrastructure, 25% will be devoted to rural America and 15% to transformative technology-infrastructure.”
Would the U.S. be willing to join China’s Belt and Road Initiative, as it also deals with infrastructure? Tian Wei asked. Chao responded she was not qualified to talk about this. “I’m concerned about American infrastructure,” she said. “But we hope that there will be opportunities for American companies to invest as well.”
