TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2019

Volume 6, Number 184

EIR Daily Alert Service

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

• It’s the End of an Epoch: Shift the Paradigm to heaven, Not Hell!
• Warmonger pompeo Insists Iran Is Behind Drone Attacks in Saudi Arabia, But Can’t Provide Proof
• Saner Voices Call for Restraint, Reject Pompeo’s Dangerous Saber-Rattling Against Iran
• Russian, Turkish and Iranian Leaders Meet in Ankara, Discuss Syria, Regional Issues
• Hong Kong Protesters Beg British Queen To Take Them In, But China Has a Better Proposal
• Sen. Rand Paul Insists, No, We Don’t Have To Go to War Against Iran
• President Trump To Join Prime Minister’s ‘Howdy, Modi’ Event in Houston
• Huge ‘Belt and Road Summit’ Celebrated in Hong Kong Despite Color Revolution Attempt
• China-Europe Rail Freight Continues Expanding, Cuts Transport Time Over Sea, Cost Over Air
• NASA Is Sending a Small Craft To Test the Gateway Orbit
• French Agronomist Proves the Lie that China’s ‘Land Grab’ in Africa Is a Myth

EDITORIAL

It’s the End of an Epoch: Shift the Paradigm to Heaven, Not Hell!

Sept. 16 (EIRNS)—It’s an oversimplification to describe the world today as having a number of dangerous hotspots, amidst otherwise positive developments in the New Silk Road and space exploration projects. Granted, there’s truth in that. But the larger truth, enabling decisive action, is that recent decades of the neo-British Empire system of geopolitics, monetarism and cultural warfare are crashing to a close. It’s the moment to force a shift. It’s going to be Heaven or Hell.

Helga Zepp-LaRouche provided this insight in her presentation last week at the Euro-Asia Economic Forum inChina, in her address, “How To Help the West To Better Understand the Belt and Road Initiative.” She cited the 1971 warning by Lyndon LaRouche that there would come a time, if the imperial system was allowed to proceed, when “a new depression and a new fascism” would ensue, if it were not replaced by “a new world economic order.”

The interests of the empire know full well that now is the end times for them, and thus they are up to their old tricks. Anything—including war—to prevent a new world order. That is the way to understand the latest incident of international crisis unfolding, based on the Sept. 14 drone attack on the Aramco oil complex in Saudi Arabia. With or without the fact that the Yemeni Houthis are claiming credit for the assault, a hue and cry went up from warhawks in the U.S. to attack Iran, even while Aramco was still burning. In other words, to rush to war—exactly the British imperial scenario.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo asserted Sept. 14, that it was Iran which did the attack on Saudi Arabian oil, though no evidence was available. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is calling for the U.S. to bomb Iranian oil refineries; Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), Dick Cheney’s daughter, is cheering this on. On Sept. 15 President Donald Trump had a National Security Council meeting with Pompeo, Vice President Mike Pence, and Defense Secretary Mark Esper, after which Trump, too, sent out a message that the U.S. is “locked and loaded” for a military response if necessary. He said, he awaited verification. Iran denied the accusation. This morning Trump sent out a message, “…they say that they had nothing to do with the attack on Saudi Arabia. Well see?”

Then later today, after meeting with U.S. military leaders, Trump struck a more diplomatic tone, and announced he is sending Pompeo to Saudi Arabia, “The United States is more prepared” for conflict than any other country in history, he observed to reporters, but, “With that being said, we’d certainly like to avoid it.”

Meantime, governments around the world are warning against hasty actions and lack of verification. As of the time of this writing, U.S. and Saudi officials are on site, claiming preliminarily that the ballistic drone devices found were Iranian made, but no verification of where they were launched from.

The situation bears all the markings of the standard British imperial gamesmanship: create conditions of strife and misery, then pit each against all. No wonder it is taking place in the lands divided under the secret 1916 Sykes-Picot Agreement to carve up “Asia Minor.”

The latest confrontation here underscores the necessity of the principles and programs issued by Lyndon LaRouche his whole lifetime, in particular that, “development is the name for peace,” and that the collaboration of the “Four Powers”—the U.S., China, Russia and India—can make this happen. The drive for LaRouche’s exoneration is one and the same as opening the way for the policy leadership urgently needed today.

In the immediate Southwest Asian region, what is in order is ceasefire and a barrage of aid and development programs. The Schiller Institute has issued programs for Yemen, Syria and all of Southwest Asia and Africa. Today at a meeting on Syria in Ankara, Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed the hope that the international community will come forth with aid and support to help rebuild Syria. He stressed there is a great need, reporting that 390,000 Syrians have returned to their homeland from Lebanon, Jordan and elsewhere, since July 2018. Within Syria, 1.3 million displaced people have returned to their homes.

STRATEGIC WAR DANGER

Warmonger Pompeo Insists Iran Is Behind Drone Attacks in Saudi Arabia, but Can’t Provide Proof

Sept. 16 (EIRNS)—Immediately after news emerged of the Sept. 14 drone attack on Saudi Arabia’s Aramco oil facilities, Secretary of State Mike went into a flight forward, proclaiming—without evidence—that Iran, not Yemen, was responsible for the attack. The attack couldn’t have come from the Houthis, he announced.

Now, 48 hours after the attack, there still is no evidence, other than the assertion that “Iranian weapons” were involved. In an indication of just how fuzzy the evidence is, a late afternoon article in the Wall Street Journal reports that “U.S. intelligence” indicates that Iran was the staging ground for the attack on Saudi’s oil industry, according to people “familiar with the discussions.” Those “familiar” with the assessment, report its claim that Iran launched more than 20 drones and at least a dozen ballistic missiles at the Saudi oil facilities. Pompeo has reportedly been discussing this with Southwest Asian leaders.

However, as the Journal notes, Saudi officials say the U.S. didn’t provide enough proof to conclude that the attack was launched from Iran, and therefore the claim isn’t definitive. Unnamed U.S. officials have said they will share more information with the Saudis in the coming days, according to this report.

The Journal points to Western officials and analysts in the region who conclude that “unless the Kingdom makes the same determination, the U.S. would have trouble galvanizing regional support for a unified response.”

The Saudi military assessment offered today in Riyadh “stopped far short of accusing Iran of orchestrating the strikes.” The Riyadh government is now saying it will invite UN experts to come and investigate, before it decides how to respond.

Speaking this afternoon, President Donald Trump offered a more conciliatory message than his weekend tweet that the U.S. was “locked and loaded” and prepared to respond. Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, he said, “Do I want war? I don’t want war with anybody.” Diplomacy, he said, “is never exhausted until the final 12 seconds.” Trump met this afternoon with his national security team, in which potential military attacks on Iran were discussed, but no decisions made, the Journal reported, citing those “familiar” with the discussion. Later he said he wasn’t considering any military option, and expected the Saudi Kingdom to play a “central role” in any response.

Saner Voices Call for Restraint, Reject Pompeo’s Dangerous Saber-Rattling against Iran

Sept. 16 (EIRNS)—While Secretary of State Mike Pompeo insists that Iran was responsible for the Sept. 14 drone attack on Saudi oil fields, saner voices call for restraint, understanding the dangerous implications of Pompeo’s warmongering for the volatile Southwest Asia region. For example:

• Russia’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement today stating, “We resolutely condemn strikes against non-military targets and the destruction of socio-economic infrastructure and any actions capable” of destabilizing world oil markets, TASS reported. But, it continued, “We strongly advise against making hasty conclusions as to who carried out this attack against Saudi oil refineries.

“We believe that it will be counterproductive to exploit these events for stepping up tensions over Iran in line with well-known U.S. policies. Options envisaging the retaliatory use of force, which are reportedly being discussed in Washington, are still more impermissible.” The Foreign Ministry underscored that ending the carnage in Yemen is a prerequisite to ensuring peace.

• China’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying today appealed for calm and restraint. “Pondering who is to blame in the absence of a conclusive investigation, I think, is in itself not very responsible. China’s position is that we oppose any moves that expand or intensify conflict. We call on relevant parties to avoid taking actions that bring about an escalation in regional tensions. We hope all sides can restrain themselves and can jointly safeguard the peace and stability of the Middle East.”

• The European Union’s Foreign Affairs and Security Policy spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic said at a press conference this morning, “It is important to clearly establish the facts and then determine responsibility for this deplorable attack. This remains our position.” She pointed to the EU’s Sept. 15 statement saying that “the attacks pose a real threat to regional security,” and added that “we repeat our call for maximum restraint and de-escalation in these tense times.”

• Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi yesterday rejected claims by Pompeo and Sen. Lindsey Graham. “Such accusations as well as blind and futile comments are pointless and not understandable within the framework of diplomacy,” he said. “In international relations, even animosity must have some minimum requirements and logical frameworks to be believable, but U.S. officials have ignored even these minimum requirements.” The only way to “establish tranquility in the region and put an end to the useless crisis in Yemen is to halt attacks and aggression by the Saudi-led coalition, stop Western countries’ political and arms support for the aggressors, and make efforts to work out political solutions,” he said.

Russian, Turkish and Iranian Leaders Meet in Ankara, Discuss Syria, Regional Issues

Sept. 16 (EIRNS)—Today in Ankara, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met as guarantors of the “Astana format” to address the Syrian situation, and also other pressing regional issues. Each head of state also held separate bilateral meetings with each of his two counterparts.

In his opening remarks to the meeting, President Vladimir Putin emphasized that this trilateral format has made it possible to stabilize the Syrian situation, reduce the level of violence, and “lay the foundation for durable and lasting political and diplomatic settlement” based on UN Security Council resolution 2254. He said, however, that the “uncompromising struggle” against terrorist groups must continue, in Idlib for example, where terrorist organizations have recently stepped up their activities, according to the transcript on the Kremlin website.

Putin expressed the hope, too, that the international community, especially the UN and affiliated agencies, will become more active in providing humanitarian assistance to Syria, as it rebuilds its destroyed infrastructure—i.e., water, electricity, schools, and hospitals. He hailed the return of 390,000 Syrian refugees, and 1.3 million internally-displaced persons, to their homes since July 2018.

A 14-point joint statement produced at the end of the meeting affirms in general terms agreement on the need to combat terrorism, and commitment to a “Syrian-led and Syrian-owned, UN-facilitated political process” to resolve the Syrian conflict. There can be no military solution to the Syrian conflict, it states. The leaders expressed great concern over the situation in northeast Syria, which includes Idlib, and stated that security in this area should be based exclusively on preserving Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

“We consider it unacceptable to divide Syria into spheres of influence,” it stated.

Clearly, stickier issues, particularly related to Turkey’s operations in northeastern Syria, and on its Syrian border, were not touched on publicly.

TASS published a detailed report on the bilateral meeting between Putin and Rouhani, in which they touched on bilateral and regional issues. Rouhani commented, “I think that in the current important historic moment, our work with Russia, one of the key members of the UN, in the present conditions, when the Americans are showing signs of hegemony, for example, in the sphere of seafaring in the region, undermining international norms—our contacts and our work are very important.”

Hong Kong Protesters Beg British Queen To Take Them In, but China Has a Better Proposal

Sept. 16 (EIRNS)—Hong Kong protesters defied a government ban yesterday and carried out acts of violence on the streets and in at least one subway station, while burning Chinese flags and tearing down banners congratulating China on the 70th anniversary of its founding. While violent, however, yesterday’s crowds were smaller than previously. According to knowledgeable sources, going into October, protest ringleaders will find it increasingly difficult to mobilize crowds of the size seen in previous weeks.

Small, hard-core groups of deluded citizens went so far as to march to the British consulate, waving British flags and Hong Kong colonial flags, chanting “U.K. save Hong Kong,” and singing “God Save the Queen,” Associated Press reported Sept. 15. Some carried banners proclaiming “One country two systems is dead,” and called for the U.K. to grant full British citizenship to hundreds of thousands of Hongkongers who hold British National (Overseas) passports. “We are British and we will never surrender,” and “Rule Britannia!” they chanted.

As for those thinking that “the West” or the Queen of England is going to come to their rescue, China’s Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission had an insightful and useful reply. In a statement put out via social media, it addressed the real hardships that many young Hongkongers experience—university debt, lack of affordable housing, low wages, poor jobs, etc., warning that, while their frustrations are understandable, they are being manipulated by others who can’t solve their problems.

For those who want other options, the statement reads, “look north” to China, and don’t “lock [yourselves] in the local environment of ‘Hong Kong people,’ ” or the Cantonese-speaking circle. “Those who call on people to take to the streets, can they solve the problems of Hong Kong employment, salaries and housing?” the statement asks. “What these people have are the empty words of democracy and freedom—they are making the angry angrier and the problems more difficult to solve.” Western nations are neither able or willing to help Hong Kong, the statement warns, emphasizing that those “places ‘helped’ by Western countries to usher in ‘democracy’ and ‘freedom’ are all in trouble.” Western nations can’t even solve their own problems, the statement concludes, so it’s illusory to think they’re going to help people thousands of miles away.

U.S. POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC

Sen. Rand Paul Insists, No, We Don’t Have To Go to War Against Iran

Sept. 16 (EIRNS)—Amidst the bombast coming from individuals such as Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC)—bomb the hell out of Iran—and others of his ilk, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) offered a voice of reason, in the aftermath of the Sept. 14 drone attack on Saudi oil facilities.

Speaking yesterday on CNN’s State of the Union program, Paul told host Jake Tapper, “This all comes from the Yemeni civil war, where Saudi Arabia is heavily involved in another country, indiscriminately bombing civilians, killing children. And the Houthis are supported by the Iranians. So it’s back and forth. But, really, the answer is trying to have a negotiated ceasefire and peace in Yemen. And bombing Iran won’t do that. It would be a needless escalation of this. And those who loved the Iraq War, the Cheneys, the Boltons, the Kristols—they all are clamoring and champing at the bit for another war in Iran.”

But, he warned, “it’s not a walk in the park. And you have to tell that to the 4,000 or so soldiers who died in Iraq, that, you know, are we going to send more to their deaths in Iran for something that, in the end, when you topple these regimes, you get more chaos and more terrorism, not less?”

Speaking more bluntly, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) issued a tweet slamming Donald Trump for saying he was waiting to hear from the Saudis before deciding what action, if any, to take. “Trump awaits instructions from his Saudi masters,” Gabbard wrote. “Having our country act as Saudi Arabia’s bitch is not ‘America First.’ ”

President Trump To Join Prime Minister’s ‘Howdy, Modi’ Event in Houston

Sept. 16 (EIRNS)—Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address a gathering of Indian-born Americans in Houston, on Sept. 22, which President Donald Trump will also attend. Modi said the gesture of President Trump “highlights the strength of the relationship and recognition of the contribution of the Indian community to American society and economy.”

Named “ ‘Howdy, Modi!’—Shared Dreams Bright Future,” the event is hosted by Texas India Forum and will take place at NRG Stadium in Houston. With tickets fully sold out, Indians from 48 U.S. states will attend. The stadium holds more than 70,000 people.

This will be the third meeting between Modi and Trump within three months. White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham described the event: “It will be a great opportunity to emphasize the strong ties between the people of the United States and India, to reaffirm the strategic partnership between the world’s oldest and largest democracies, and to discuss ways to deepen their energy and trade relationship.”

The President will then go to Wapakoneta, Ohio, for a plant opening with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

Modi wrote in two tweets this morning: “The special gesture of President @realDonaldTrump to join us in Houston highlights the strength of the relationship and recognition of the contribution of the Indian community to American society and economy. HowdyModi” and

“A special gesture by @POTUS, signifying the special friendship between India and USA!

“Delighted that President @realDonaldTrump will join the community programme in Houston on the 22nd. Looking forward to joining the Indian origin community in welcoming him at the programme.”

THE NEW GLOBAL ECONOMIC ORDER

Huge ‘Belt and Road Summit’ Celebrated in Hong Kong Despite Color Revolution Attempt

Sept. 16 (EIRNS)—Despite the continuing mass destabilization of Hong Kong, backed by the regime-change forces in the U.S. and Europe, Hong Kong hosted a huge, successful “Belt and Road Summit” on Sept. 11-12, with more than 5,000 participants from more than 60 countries. This was the fourth annual Belt and Road Summit held in Hong Kong, and was part of a “Belt and Road Week” Sept. 9-13. There were no reports of disruption from the riots. Nor is it any surprise that this huge event, expressing the continued success of the policy which is the actual target of the color revolution, went unreported in the trans-Atlantic press.

The forum was co-organized by China’s Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) government and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC). Among the speakers were many business and banking leaders, as well as 80 government officials from Belt and Road countries worldwide.

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam delivered a keynote speech. Xinhua reported that she described the Belt and Road as an “open, inclusive and all-embracing global initiative, which extends beyond geographical and cultural borders and boundaries,” and stressing that Hong Kong is perfectly positioned to serve as the “gateway to the Belt and Road.”

Xie Feng, Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China in the Hong Kong SAR, said that the Belt and Road Initiative has “injected fresh impetus into global growth, and effectively boosted complementarity between national strategies, advanced industrial cooperation, and removed bottlenecks impeding development such as the lack of infrastructure.”

Peter Lam, chairman of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, said the BRI “goes beyond infrastructure to cover finance, technology, manufacturing, logistics, trading, and many other sectors,” and emphasized the role of Hong Kong as “the ideal venue for an exchange of ideas and insights, and the best place to turn Belt and Road concepts into viable commercial ventures.”

More than 500 attendees came from the ten Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Dhanin Chearavanont, the head of Thailand’s largest international company, Charoen Pokphand Group, addressed the plenary session, saying: “I have immense confidence in China’s development. I started investing in the country 40 years ago. Today China puts forward the Belt and Road Initiative, setting a clear direction towards international cooperation and mutual benefits. Thailand, in its participation in the Belt and Road Initiative, presents ample opportunities through development plans such as the EEC (Eastern Economic Corridor), which is inspired by the success of China’s special economic zones and aims at attracting talent to boost Thailand’s technology and innovation capacity.”

China-Europe Rail Freight Continues Expanding, Cuts Transport Time over Sea, Cost over Air

Sept. 16 (EIRNS)—Xinhua reports that China-Europe freight rail services have expanded in the first eight months of the year with 5,266 trips made during the period, according to the China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. The number of trips fromChina to Europe reached 2,845 with a total of 250,000 standard-sized shipping containers, while figures from Europe to China stood at 2,421 with 210,000 containers, data from the company showed.

As China-Europe freight trains are three times faster than shipping by sea and cost just one-fifth the cost of air transportation, the service is widely favored in the international market, said an official with the company. Since the debut of the China-Europe freight rail service in 2011, the number of trips made between the two regions skyrocketed from 17 to 6,300 in 2018.

SCIENCE AND INFRASTRUCTURE

NASA Is Sending a Small Craft To Test the Gateway Orbit

Sept. 16 (EIRNS)—NASA announced on Sept. 13 that it has contracted with a Colorado company, Advanced Space, to build a small cubesat that would conduct a dry run of the highly elliptical orbit that is planned for the agency’s Lunar Gateway. It could launch as early as next year, NASA says. The contract is for $13.7 million. Collaborating with Advanced Space will be cubesat developer Tyvak Nano-Satellite, whose artist’s rendering of the new spacecraft is now widely circulating.

The intended orbit is described as a near-rectilinear halo orbit, which circles the Moon pole-to-pole, rather than at the Equator. This is important, as the manned lunar mission is targetted for the South Pole region of the Moon. The “halo” designation denotes a region of relative gravitational balance between the Moon or the Earth and the Sun. NASA has posted an animation of the intended orbit.

No spacecraft has ever been sent on such an orbit, and NASA wants to test its stability. NASA’s Jim Reuter, Associate Administator for space technology, said on Sept. 13 that the mission “is highly ambitious in both cost and schedule, and taking that deliberate risk is part of the objective of this mission….”

The new cubesat is a 12-unit spacecraft with the name of CAPSTONE, an acronym for Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment.

OTHER

French Agronomist Proves the Lie that China’s ‘Land Grab’ in Africa Is a Myth

PARIS, Sept. 16 (EIRNS)—After June 23 the nomination of Chinese biologist, Vice Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China Qu Dongyu as Director-General of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), rumors went wild against an alleged Chinese plot to “take over” African food production.

Interviewed by Le Monde on Sept. 13, French agronomist Jean-Jacques Gabas, a scientist who traveled over Africa to investigate the situation, offered some clarity.

First, he says, China is only doing what is normal for any major power willing to engage in multilateralism. Other nations do the same: France wants to head the IMF, while the World Bank Group President is necessarily a U.S. national, etc. In effect, China became the head of the Organization for Industrial Development, the International Union for Telecommunications, the International Organization of Civil Aviation and, between 2016 and 2018, of Interpol.

Of course, “by their vote in favor of China” to head the FAO, many African states “have sent a signal to the international community, inflicting opprobrium on the history of their relations with OECD member states, relations they consider asymmetric. As a matter of fact, OECD financing of agriculture has been very poor over the last 30 years. It fell increasingly and led to the 2008 food crisis…. When you discuss the Chinese strategy with African agriculture ministers, they tell you: ‘Stop giving advice and creating fear. What did you finance over the last 30 years? Very little, given the need.’ And they aren’t mistaken,” Gabas pointed out.

Asked if China wants to develop its imports of African agriculture products, Gabas, debunking what so many people fear, bluntly replied: “No. Since the end of the 2000, Beijing certainly is the premier trading partner of Sub-Saharan Africa, but the share of agriculture in African exports to China represents only 2-3% of trading volume, almost nothing. China’s investments in African rice and sugar production go to regional African markets. Of course, Africa has 1.4 billion people to feed, which makes it very dependent on food imports. However, China knows that in world economic crises, notably in case of a food crisis in Africa, prices will be shaky and products will become scarce, impacting China’s domestic cereal production. China also wants to stabilize the African continent’s food production. What it imports from Africa are rubber, manioc for food packaging, and, depending on the years, peanuts, cotton, and wood. South African vineyards are also bought for export purposes. All of this implies very low volumes, far less than African food exports to Europe or those of mining products and fossil fuels to Africa…. Chinese companies are present and profit from market and investment opportunities, but without a marked strategy to ‘feed China.’ ”

Asked about the allegation of a Chinese “land grab,” Gabas answers: “Regarding Chinese land acquisitions, viable statistics tell us that China is not number 1 and comes in only as 8th or 9th. Be it land for farming, mining, forestry, or rubber production, the largest investors remain OECD countries (U.S.A., U.K., and France), national companies or Gulf States such as Saudi Arabia. One observes that whenever the Chinese buy land and a conflict arises about the land or with part of the population, they retreat or change the nature of the utilization. … Chinese land grabbing is a myth.”

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