EDITORIAL

A Shared Future for Humanity—Free of the British Empire

Aug. 8 (EIRNS)—The British Empire would have you believe that they are totally in control of the current strategic situation, and fully confident that their Empire will last another thousand years. Is that why they have found it necessary to:

• Attempt to cut off all communication between Presidents Trump and Putin?
• Try to induce all-out trade and financial warfare with China and its Belt and Road Initiative?
• Seek to set the fascist precedent of shutting down any and all website and social media accounts that they find objectionable, to silence all opposition views?
• Topple governments and throw presidents in jail on trumped-up “corruption” charges, facilitated by J. Edgar Hoover-style plea bargain blackmail?
• Assassinate engineers and scientists at the center of their nations’ development efforts?
• And, most significantly, maintain their desperate ploy to topple the Trump government with the endless, contrived twists and turns of Russiagate?

But these are not signs of strength. They are signs of over-deployment and exposure to public view. The British Empire is vulnerable.

They are especially vulnerable to the spread of the Spirit of the New Silk Road across the planet, and the optimistic clarity of thought and purpose it tends to promote. To this must be fused the solutions uniquely provided by LaRouche’s science of physical economy, as exemplified by his Four Laws policy of 2014. Each and every culture must return to its own best classical traditions; each and every nation’s population must elevate their thinking to this level.

Both Russia and China are responding to the challenges and crises they face with deeper strategic planning on alternatives to the current dying imperial system, plans which clearly take into account their differentiated reading of the U.S. political situation, including the battle Trump is waging to establish mutually-beneficial relations with their countries, in particular. Thus, Putin and Trump remain in dialogue through letters and other channels of communication, with Putin proposing concrete areas of cooperation on nuclear arms control. And China continues to make it clear that the policy of trade and financial warfare against it will not only fail, but will actually backfire and be harmful to U.S. national interests as well.

The principle in play, of “a shared future for humanity,” is what Lyndon LaRouche otherwise presented in the form of his Four Powers proposal, of an alliance of the U.S., China, Russia and India, as well as other nations, to defeat the bankrupt British Empire and its pessimistic (and unscientific) view of man, the universe, and God.

US POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC

Sen. Rand Paul Delivers Letter from President Trump to President Putin in Moscow Visit

Aug. 8 (EIRNS)—In a tweet posted this morning, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), reported that he was “honored to deliver a letter from President Trump to President Vladimir Putin’s administration” during his just-concluded trip to Moscow. He also stated that the letter “emphasized the importance of further engagement in various areas including countering terrorism, enhancing legislative dialogue and resuming cultural exchanges.”

From Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed this morning that the letter had been delivered “through diplomatic channels” and that he expected that the “President’s administration” would receive it shortly, TASS reported.

In Kentucky, the Louisville Courier Journal reported Aug. 7 that, among his other meetings in Moscow, Senator Paul met with former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev to discuss nuclear disarmament. “President Gorbachev was instrumental in bringing down the Iron Curtain and restoring ties with the West, and he knows firsthand the critical necessity of engagement,” Paul told the Courier Journal. “While our discussion focused on various items, the importance of nuclear disarmament was greatly discussed.”

Russian legislators who met with Paul raised the issue of Maria Butina, the Russian citizen jailed in Washington on charges of being a spy and unregistered foreign agent, and asked him to intervene on her behalf. Senator Paul also met with Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov about arms control and creating greater opportunities to increase contact among legislators from each country.

United Press International reported Aug. 6 that Russian legislators have accepted Senator Paul’s offer to visit their counterparts in Washington, although no date has been set for their visit.

Putin Made Requests of Trump on Arms Control

Aug. 8 (EIRNS)—Politico reported yesterday that it had obtained a Russian document that lays out a series of requests, particularly pertaining to arms control, that Russian President Vladimir Putin presented to U.S. President Donald Trump when they met in Helsinki, Finland on July 16.

Politico cited an unnamed U.S. government advisor as reporting that Putin shared the contents of the document with Trump during their two-hour conversation. The memo points to a surprising normalcy in the priorities that Putin brought to the meeting, which included a willingness to extend a series of landmark nuclear treaties and pursue new weapons limits. This includes New START and the INF Treaty.

What is notable about the Politico report is that there’s nothing in the document as described that is inconsistent with the public remarks that Putin made at the joint press conference with Trump. So much for the hysteria over “secret” discussions.

In the document, Russia proposes that the two countries “consider the possibility of a five-years’ extension” of the treaty, which expires in early 2021, “upon understanding that existing problems related to the Treaty implementation will be settled.” During the joint press conference, Putin said, “We believe it necessary to work together further to interact on the disarmament agenda, military, and technical cooperation. This includes the extension of the Strategic Offensive Arms Limitation Treaty,” or the New START Treaty.

The White House would not confirm the document, nor did they deny it. National Security Council spokesman Garrett Marquis would only tell Politico that a range of topics was discussed, including nuclear arsenals, but that no commitments were made to take any action “beyond agreement that both sides should continue discussions.”

U.K. Defense Secretary in Washington To Prop Up the ‘Special Relationship’

Aug. 8 (EIRNS)—British Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson paid a visit to Washington, yesterday, where he appeared at the Atlantic Council and then met with U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis at the Pentagon. The clear thrust of his visit was to pump up the U.S.-U.K. “special relationship,” which conflicts with President Donald Trump’s desire to have friendlier relations with Russia. Mattis played his part in Williamson’s show. “Clearly as we sit here, we realize that the special relationship still thrives,” Mattis told reporters at a joint press conference with Williamson. Williamson, for his part, said that “I think there is no greater bond than two nations who are willing to fight for the same values, those common interests, and that’s something that you see in the United Kingdom and the United States consistently.”

The first press question was directed to Williamson, and the reporter demanded to know what the “average British citizen” was supposed to think about Trump’s opening to Putin given that “the Kremlin is accused of killing or—or wounding Britons in Salisbury?” referring to the poisoning of Russians, former GRU Col. Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia, in March. In response, Williamson gushed even more about the U.S.-U.K. alliance, declaring that the U.S. has been the U.K.’s strongest ally, and citing a number of examples, including the U.S. expulsion of Russian diplomats and U.S. support of NATO.

At the Atlantic Council, the twerpish Williamson made a ludicrous attempt to reassert the disappearing aura of British Empire power, intoning to participants, “Please never, never underestimate my nation. As we have changed the world time and time and time again, we will change the world in the future.”

THE NEW GLOBAL ECONOMIC ORDER

Guyana Officially Joins the Belt and Road Initiative

Aug. 8 (EIRNS)—The government of Guyana has now officially joined China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). On July 27, Guyana’s Foreign Minister Carl Greenidge met with Chinese Ambassador Cui Jianchung at the Embassy in Georgetown to sign a Memorandum of Understanding to that effect.

Although the current government of President David Granger and Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo came into office pushing a “green” agenda, and stalled on completing infrastructure projects already underway, like many other governments it appears to recognize that a new paradigm—the Silk Road Spirit—is sweeping through the region and that it would be wise to sign on.

Granger and Nagamootoo attended the MOU signing along with other cabinet ministers and government officials. Guyana’s Department of Public Information reported on July 27 that cooperation will focus on five areas: policy coordination, facilities connectivity, trade and investment, financial integration and people-to-people exchanges. In June, Guyana and China celebrated their 48th year of diplomatic relations.

Foreign Minister Greenidge emphasized that as the two nations look toward closer cooperation, the BRI “provides us with another opportunity to look beyond our immediate vicinity and our historical relations with the traditional metropolis”—the United States—“to the vast political and economic space that lies also in the East and elsewhere.” Ambassador Cui responded that “the glory of the Silk Road shows that geographical distance is not insurmountable.”

Minister Greenidge underscored that his government sees infrastructure development as a top priority, as the existing deficit is an obstacle to foreign investment, identification of and access to markets, as well as tourism. There is great need for design of roads and harbors and access to financing for such facilities, he stressed. He pointed to the Linden-Lethen Road, the new Demerara Harbor Bridge and an upgraded Cheddi Jagan International Airport as priority projects, saying that seven Chinese companies have already bid on the Demerara bridge construction.

Greenidge indicated that, as discussed with Brazil, the government may consider accessing funds from the $50 billion fund that China has set aside for Latin America and the Caribbean infrastructure projects, the Guyana Chronicle reported Aug. 7.

China-Panama Relations Show Ibero-America and Caribbean Where the Future Lies

Aug. 8 (EIRNS)—Panama’s relations with China demonstrate that China is not interested in just raw materials and agriculture in Ibero-America, the former Chilean ambassadors to China and Panama, Jorge Heine and Francisco Cruz respectively, wrote in Forbes’ Spanish-language online publication, Red Forbes.

The authors argue in their article, “China, the Panama Canal and…the Asian Century?” that one year after Panama established relations with China, the “conventional wisdom tells us that China’s primary incentive in Latin America lies in our raw materials.” According to this theory, “Beijing’s primary focus of interest would be the resource-rich South American countries. However, the case of Panama, an economy based on services and its platform demonstrates that this is not necessarily the case.

“On the contrary, Panama’s brief experience with its formal relations with China would seem to indicate that the latter is interested in fostering ties with all the Latin American countries, independent of their economic structure, something particularly relevant to the Caribbean Basin states, many of which are characterized by their structure of services and/or manufacturing (to a lesser degree) more than in the exploitation of natural resources, that is, in mining or agriculture.”

Writing that in its one year of relations with China, Panama has a feasibility study underway for a 550 km-long rail project to be carried out by China Railways Corporation and has just awarded the contract to build a fourth bridge over the Panama Canal to a Chinese consortium, while negotiations on a free trade agreement are underway, the ambassador authors continue, “The great distinction of our time is not between capitalist and socialist countries, but between ‘rapid’ and ‘slow’ countries. Part of China’s success is based on its famous ‘China Speed.’ Panama has acted accordingly, and the results are visible. Today it is the country with the highest growth in the region (5.4% in 2017) and one of the ones attracting the highest amount of direct foreign investment, FDR, (some 6 billion in 2017).”

The authors conclude that Ibero-America urgently needs to increase investment in infrastructure, and Chinese companies have vast experience in this area. In these turbulent times in international trade and economy, Latin America should continue to strengthen its ties with China.

SCIENCE AND INFRASTRUCTURE

Ethiopia Railway on the Road to Self-Management

Aug. 8 (EIRNS)—China is now training Ethiopians to independently run its new standard gauge railway line between Djibouti and Addis Ababa. Currently, the locomotive drivers, the management, and many of technicians are still Chinese.  While teams of Ethiopians and Djiboutians have been undergoing training in China, the Chinese and Ethiopian governments are cooperating in building an Ethiopian railway academy. The Chinese Embassy Economic and Commercial Counselor Liu Yu told the Ethiopian Herald, “The Ethiopia railway academy is already under design in Bishoftu. The government has donated $60 million for the construction. Ethiopia and China have been enjoying strong relationship and cooperating in different areas, one of which is human capacity building [which] takes the epicenter.”

The Director General of the Ethiopia-Djibouti Railway Share Company (EDRSC) Tilahun Sarka stressed that human resource development is the top priority of the corporation, as the railway has been under the management of two Chinese companies, China Railway Group and China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation. Pointing to the high quality of the Chinese training, Tilahun said, “The good thing about Chinese instructors and lecturers, as long as you keep on asking questions you will get what you need.”

“Keeping the ration of the EDRSC share, we are engaged in training about 50 Ethiopian and Djiboutian prospective train drivers. These trainees will exchange ideas on topics related to railway operations technologies and railway management, that could realize and create a competent and skilled labor force to operate the Chinese-built and -financed 756 km Ethiopia-Djibouti electrified rail line.”

One trainee, Eyoba Dubale, told the Ethiopian Herald: “The trainers from China are dedicated in assisting us. The training is going well in its schedules and we are happy about the whole process. After the training we will be assistant driver, and after establishing comprehensive skills and knowledge, as well as attitude of serving in the system, we will take over charge of the driving responsibility to the service the logistics sector for the common good.”

The EDRSC is part of the five-year growth and transformation plan, which aims to enhance the transportation network within the country by connecting to adjacent countries and ports. The National Railway Network of Ethiopia is believed to provide efficient mobility and improve the export and import activities, boosting the economic development.

Kenya’s Standard Gauge Railway Revolutionizing Transportation

Aug. 8 (EIRNS)—Kenya’s new, up-and-running standard gauge railway (SGR) from the Port of Mombasa to the capital Nairobi, built with major Chinese participation, is already revolutionizing the country’s transportation, according to the Daily Nation of Kenya.

The railway runs seven trains a day carrying a total of 752 containers from the port to Nairobi. While roughly 1,300 containers arrive at the port daily, the time necessary for a ship to clear the port has been reduced from 12 days to just a day and half. This has created a quantum leap in the potential throughput of the port, without having to physically expand it. By August, the connection of the SGR line to berths at the port will be complete, increasing the efficiency even further.

Of course, this has led to loss of business and employment at the container freight stations (CFS), where the containers were broken down and transferred to trucks. Answering a question on this problem, Transport Principal Secretary Paul Maringa said that the SGR has brought more gains to the economy, ensured efficiency at the Mombasa port, and saved roads from overloaded trucks.  “We cannot continue having the conversation about Mombasa and Nairobi. We must look at the bigger picture. We are encouraging the CFS owners to come and open their stations in Nairobi and other parts of the country,” Maringa told the Daily Nation. Asked whether players in the sector should concentrate on investing in Nairobi, Maringa said, “Let’s look at things holistically. We have been able to attract more business at the port which is benefitting Mombasa and the country at large. And this is because of the speed that the SGR has been able to transport cargo to the inland container depot in Nairobi compared to the trucks. We have added handling capacity at the port and that is beneficial to all of us.”

Furthermore, the SGR has enabled the government to save money for other development projects. “The accidents cases have also gone down. Those are the silent benefits of the project as Kenyans’ lives are more important than the businesses we are doing,” he said.

COLLAPSING WESTERN SYSTEM

Global Times Warns U.S. That Trade and Financial War with China Will Sink the Dollar

Aug. 8 (EIRNS)—The semi-official Chinese daily Global Timespublished an article Aug. 7 prepared by a research team of the Center for China in the World Economy at Tsinghua University, led by CCWE Director Li Daokui, which warns the U.S. that an all-out trade and financial war with China will not only fail, but will damage the U.S. as well:

“If the U.S. does slap tariffs on up to $450 billion worth of Chinese imports as the Trump Administration has threatened, the U.S. economy will take a calamitous hit, which would be tantamount to a political suicide. Tariffs of that scale would greatly raise living costs in the U.S. and reduce consumers’ choices. The tariffs will also increase the operating costs of U.S. companies and have a huge impact on the recovery of the U.S. economy, offsetting the positive effects of all other economic stimulus policies. At that point, even Trump’s most loyal supporters will change their minds.

“In financial terms, the U.S. is the biggest beneficiary of the international monetary system and it has established the hegemony of the U.S. dollar. Its moves toward dollar-denominated assets held by China are thus being closely watched by global investors. If it goes to extreme lengths to restrict China’s yuan-denominated holdings, there will be a big impact on market confidence regarding U.S. assets and the financial system, to the detriment of the dollar’s public creditworthiness. If that happens, the U.S. will experience capital flight or a sell-off of dollar assets, an unlikely choice for the U.S. government, which has long emphasized its financial status.

“The Trump Administration’s attempts to block China’s technological development and put limits on technological talent seeking to study in the U.S., on the grounds of national security, also makes no sense. China won’t agree on unreasonable terms proposed by the U.S., but it will instead work with other countries to jointly push for technological advancement and industry upgrading. It will also be the case that such limits will have a negative impact on the U.S.’ own technological development, so they will be boycotted by the U.S. technology industry and intellectual circles.

“All these moves are merely doomed and futile efforts.”

Russian Foreign Ministry Protests U.S. Sanctions on Iran, Especially ‘Extraterritorial’ Nature

Aug. 8 (EIRNS)—In an official statement issued Aug. 7, the Russian Foreign Ministry stated: “We are deeply disappointed with the U.S. steps to restore its national sanctions against Iran.” They said that the decision is a violation of UN Security Council Resolution 2231 and international law, “including their ‘extraterritorial’ application that affects the interests of other countries.”

Russia’s special emphasis on “extraterritorial law” is significant. This is the doctrine, enshrined under Presidents Bush and Obama, according to which an imperial power throws national sovereignty under the bus and claims the right to apply its own laws outside its borders, upon third parties.

The Foreign Ministry statement also reaffirmed Russia’s commitment to the 2015 nuclear deal, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and announced that “we have been taking measures at the national level in order to defend trade and economic cooperation with Iran,” and that they are working on these matters with other countries to salvage the JCPOA. “We believe that this work is in the interests of the entire international community.”

STRATEGIC WAR DANGER

Russia To Exhibit Kinzhal Hypersonic Weapon and Su-57 Stealth Fighter at Forum

Aug. 8 (EIRNS)—Russia is making a point of showing its advanced weaponry, including weapons systems that were described by Russian President Vladimir Putin during his March 1 nationally televised address to the Federal Assembly. The Russian Defense Ministry announced yesterday that the Kinzhal hypersonic missile and its MiG-31K carrier aircraft will demonstrate its capabilities during the Army 2018 international military and technical forum set to run from Aug. 21-26. The Su-57 stealth fighter will also perform a demonstration during the forum. TASS reported on July 26 that 66 official foreign delegations had confirmed their participation in the forum, so clearly these demonstrations, as well as the 750 other exhibits scheduled for the forum, will have a large international audience.

As the Defense Ministry was announcing the latest additions to the demonstration schedule, new fears about what the new generation of Russian weapons can do were appearing in Western media. Among these was a report in the National Interest about the nuclear armed underwater drone, formerly known as “Status 6” but now called “Kanyon.” Author Steve Weintz gives a capsule history of the concept behind Kanyon, including a 1961 proposal by the designer of the Soviet H-bomb, Andrei Sakharov, for a similar weapon designed to destroy enemy naval ports (the Soviet Navy rejected Sakharov’s proposal). Technology, of course, has moved quite a ways since then, and Weintz speculates that the Kanyon could be powered by a nuclear engine similar to the closed cycle gas turbine power plants that were developed for aircraft during the 1950s (but never actually operated in flight).

Weintz concludes that the Kanyon “could indeed work as advertised, as a kind of underwater cruise missile. Launched from a sub in mid-ocean, Kanyon could loiter at slow speeds for weeks, working its way in towards a coast, until it made a high-speed dash into a port. American antisubmarine warfare skills are rusty, and manned subs have escaped the U.S. Navy before. Therefore, a 100-megaton minisub would still be a small needle in a vast wet haystack.”

Another weapon generating fear in the West is the Kh-32 anti-ship missile, which became operational on Tu-22M3 Backfire supersonic bombers in 2016. “With a claimed range of 620 miles and a flight pattern that soars it up into the stratosphere before diving down low to approach a target at speeds up to four times the speed of sound, the KH-32 takes advantage of both high and low altitudes,” writes Business Insider’s Alex Lockie. “This varied flight path and incredible speed present a very hard target for U.S. Navy missile defenses to intercept, and the missile’s claimed range means Russian Tu-22M3M pilot can fire from a safe distance outside the maximum range of U.S. Navy F/A-18 Super Hornets, which max out at around 550 miles.”

The Tu-22M3M is the latest upgrade of the Backfire bomber. The first prototype is to be rolled out of the factory on Aug. 16 with its first flight expected next month. Tupolev Aircraft Company CEO Alexander Konyukhov told TASS yesterday that the Tu-22M3M is practically a new aircraft which “features absolutely new onboard radio-electronic equipment.” Thirty aircraft are to be upgraded to the new standard.

Russia Issues Further Sharp Warnings to NATO and Georgia

Aug. 8 (EIRNS)—In addition to the interview by Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev with Kommersant published Aug. 7, and posted on the Prime Minister’s website, warning against any plan to have Georgia join NATO, Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin told TASS on Aug. 7 that all parties would do well to recall what happened 10 years ago, when then Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili militarily attacked South Ossetia. “We recognized two new independent states on Aug. 26, 2008—the Republic of Abkhazia and the Republic of South Ossetia,” Karasin stated, after which Georgian troops were driven out of South Ossetia in a five-day war, and a Russian military base was established there in 2009.

Karasin was blunt: “Mikheil Saakashvili went to the limit and lost everything, as usually happens to reckless and irresponsible leaders.” And just in case anyone had missed his point, he continued: “I do hope that Tbilisi and other capitals, not only in the Caucasus region but also in other parts of the world, will draw conclusions about the consequences of aggressive steps…. Any act of aggression will inevitably entail punishment, and aggressors will always fail to get the desired result but will have to face quite the opposite.”

The Russian Foreign Ministry presented a concrete counterproposal to such provocations, in a statement issued Aug. 7 calling for Georgia, Abkhazia and South Ossetia to sign a treaty on mutual non-use of force, as the first step towards substantive dialogue. “We hope that common sense will prevail, after all,” the statement said.