EIR Daily Alert Service
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THURSDAY, MAY 18, 2017 Volume 4, Number 98 EIR Daily Alert Service P.O. Box 17390, Washington, DC 20041-0390
EDITORIALNew Silk Road Spreading Worldwide, Including in the U.S.—Which Is Why Trump Is Under AttackMay 17 (EIRNS)—As world leaders return to their home countries from the historic Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, they are pronouncing far and wide that a new paradigm for world affairs has been established, both economically and culturally. In a very real sense, the title of the EIR Special Report from 2014, “The New Silk Road Becomes the World Land-Bridge,” has become a reality. In Europe, the Italians are putting together, with Chinese help, a new North Adriatic Port Association, together with Slovenia and Croatia, which will upgrade ports and build rail connections through to Eastern and Western Europe. The Greeks, with Chinese help, are planning a second rail route from the newly expanded Piraeus Port (upgraded by China), running up the west coast into the Balkans. Czech President Milos Zeman mocked those who complain that the Belt and Road is dividing Europe, saying that it is already horribly divided, but can be united through the common mission of the Silk Road. Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said many countries were sick of lectures on human rights and free markets, and that the “old model of globalization is dead,” as the Silk Road is creating a development-based global paradigm. In Asia, Japan is now discussing joining the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and an exchange of visits between China’s President Xi Jinping and Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, urged on by U.S. President Donald Trump. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is planning to revive joint development of the rich resources of the South China Sea with China and Vietnam, now that Obama’s plan for war in the South China Sea has been rejected across Asia, and by the Trump Administration. In Ibero-America, the Secretary General of the United Nations agency, the Economic Commission on Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Alicia Bárcena, praised the Belt and Road as “a renewal of the profound commitment to the values that are fundamental for our global economic and social wellbeing,” and called on all the member nations to “harness the potential that this One Belt, One Road has for redefining capitalism through people’s equality and dignity.” In Africa, Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn said the Belt and Road “opens the door for developing and emerging economies to contribute to global economic growth.” Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said that “The Belt and Road Initiative gives our continent the opportunity to make a paradigm shift. Post-colonial Africa has been stuck in a rut. Being part of One Belt allows the continent to move to a new platform, through which global collaboration will allow for value-addition, innovation and increased prosperity.” Similar enthusiastic responses fill the press of nations throughout the developing sector. And in the United States, the Trump Administration representative to the Belt and Road Forum, Matthew Pottinger, set up an “American Belt and Road Working Group,” as a partnership between the U.S. embassy in Beijing and American companies, to bring U.S. companies into the Silk Road process. Beyond that, he invited China to attend the “SelectUSA Investment Summit,” on June 18-20 in the Washington, D.C. area, to bring China into investment opportunities in the U.S. Nonetheless, anyone dependent for news on the U.S. press, or reports from the U.S. Congress, would know none of this. Rather, nearly the entirety of the 24-hour news cycle in the U.S. consists of hysterical rants about President Trump. If any of it were believed, one would think the President is a puppet of evil Russia and evil China, that he is guilty of treason for doing his job and doing what he promised in his campaign—ending the Bush and Obama “regime change” war policies, and restoring America’s industrial infrastructure, and the jobs that go with it. Do not believe the lie that Trump is on the defensive, that his actions have undermined his credibility, as peddled ad nauseam in the media. The fact is, Trump is on the offensive, to end the British Imperial era of history. The British and their assets in the U.S.—the neocons in both parties and on Wall Street, and the corrupt elements in the intelligence community, especially the FBI—are absolutely hysterical that their geopolitical division of the world, and their ability to induce the U.S. population to passively accept austerity and war, is being destroyed by Trump’s move to bring the U.S. into the New Silk Road, and to work with Russia to crush the terrorist scourge. His stated intention to restore Glass-Steagall simply drives the British assets further into panic mode. As Helga Zepp-LaRouche reiterated in her many speeches and interviews in China this past weekend, where she was a featured speaker at the Global Think Tank Summit at the Belt and Road Forum: If Donald Trump succeeds in bringing the United States into the new paradigm of the global Silk Road, he will be remembered as one of the great Presidents of American history. NEW GLOBAL ECONOMIC ORDERHungarian Prime Minister Orbán, at Belt and Road Forum, Lauds New Model of GlobalizationMay 17 (EIRNS)—In an interview with Hungarian public media in Beijing, on the occasion of the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said that many countries in the world are sick of having developed countries give them lectures on human rights and the market economy. Orbán said, “Everyone has the right to his own social arrangements and culture.” He said that the East has caught up with the West and that the “old model” of globalization is over. “In truth, it is in Asia today that the largest amount of money is being accumulated, and this money will start making its way to the West,” Orbán said. One example he gave, was the construction of the Belgrade-Budapest railroad. Orbán’s comments were covered by Hungary Today news portal. Orbán spoke of security, in reference to his meeting with Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan: “We always give him [Erdogan] proper respect, especially given that Europe’s security—including Hungary’s security—is greatly dependent on him because Turkey is a stable country that has the power to curb illegal migration.” In regard to Orbán’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Orbán pointed out that the Paks nuclear plant had not been a topic of discussion between them, because the project is running smoothly. Russia Is a Major Part of Transforming Belt and Road into a MegaprojectMay 17 (EIRNS)—“Russian President Putin greatly contributed to making China’s most ambitious economic project, known as the Belt and Road Initiative,” political analyst Dmitry Kosyrev asserted in an interview with Sputnik today, headlined “Russia Plays Major Part in Turning China’s ‘One Belt, One Road’ Initiative into Megaproject.” Dmitry Kosyrev is a veteran Russian journalist who frequently writes on Asia because of his long experience in Asia. He grew up in Singapore and is well versed in Chinese history. Kosyrev said: “The recent Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation held in Beijing was bound to succeed…. The event was not simply organized to discuss ongoing transport and infrastructure projects in Eurasia. They would have been carried out even if no one came up with an idea to name them ‘Belt and Road.’ What is important is that Beijing offered an idea of what the world should do and the means of achieving these goals…. Kosyrev said that Russia has made a large contribution to Beijing’s initiative essentially turning it into a Chinese-Russian concept. “The idea itself was put forward by China in 2013. Putin’s contribution is as follows: he brought the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) on board and outlined the goal of establishing a single space of cooperation across Eurasia,” he said. “Russia said that the world cannot and will not operate according to the conditions and principles that Western countries consider to be a norm. For its part, China has started showing how exactly the world can and wants to function.” Bavaria Wants To Assist In Development of New Silk RoadMay 17 (EIRNS)—Whereas the German government continues to stonewall on the New Silk Road/Belt and Road perspective, the state of Bavaria has taken a positive step toward China and the Belt and Road Initiative. Just a few days before the Beijing summit, a delegation of local businessmen led by Bavarian Minister President Horst Seehofer and German Development Minister Gerd Müller, who hails from Bavaria, signed agreements on economic and cultural cooperation with China. Bavarian State Deputy Minister of Economics Franz Josef Pschierer explained in a press release yesterday: “Already today, the rail terminal of Nuremberg is an important section of the Silk Road. For the Bavarian economy, the direct freight train connection with Chengdu is an interesting alternative to transports by sea and by air. We want to strengthen this important trade route, and with that expand our economic relations with China. Already now, China is our second-ranking trade partner after the U.S.A.” Pschierer stressed another aspect of the Initiative: “With the New Silk Road, we not only expand trade between Bavaria and China. We can also make an important contribution to the success of the project. In terms of infrastructure, logistics and construction, Bavarian companies have a lot to offer. These capacities we like to contribute to the development of the New Silk Road.” Ibero-America Looks to the New Silk Road after Beijing BRF SummitMay 17 (EIRNS)—China’s clear invitation to the Americas to join the Silk Road during last weekend’s Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF), is reverberating across Ibero-America. Until now, most people in the region had viewed the Belt and Road as something “over there,” in which their nations were not involved. Alicia Bárcena, Secretary General of the Santiago, Chile-based UN Economic Commission on Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) who has advocated for some time that the region turn to China, is already organizing. The ECLAC issued a press release immediately upon her return from the BRF summit which quotes her call to action: “At this critical juncture in human history, Latin America and the Caribbean simply cannot be left behind…. And, as our friend and strategic partner, we look to China for support and guidance…. I call on the nations of Latin America and the Caribbean to harness the potential that this initiative of One Belt, One Road has for redefining capitalism through peoples’ equality and dignity,” Bárcena said. The head of the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), Luis Alberto Moreno, generally known for playing ball with the Wall Street establishment, recognized the change accomplished by the Belt and Road Forum, telling Xinhua that “as far as Latin America is concerned, the fact of its being included within this Silk Road initiative, that it is not only a limited group of countries which participate, but the entire world, is a great decision…. “I have faith that with the passage of time, we will find ways to do a Belt and Road a la Latin America. We have trade routes but lack the infrastructure necessary to empower that trade.” Moreno reported that the IADB and the China-founded Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) will be working together to remedy that lack, including co-financing projects. Likewise, Peru’s Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism Eduardo Ferreyros issued a report after he returned from Beijing, announcing that the government of Pedro Pablo Kuczynski looks to the New Silk Road with optimism. The ancient Silk Road contributed to improving commercial relations among Asia, Europe and Africa, and now, in the 21st century, this initiative will contribute to the inclusion of the Americas. Peru is in a strategic position in South America to take advantage of this, the minister said. Philippines, China and Vietnam Will Explore Joint Development of the South China SeaMay 17 (EIRNS)—Returning from the Belt and Road Forum, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte announced that he was open to restoring an earlier agreement with China and Vietnam for joint development of the rich resources in the South China Sea. Such an agreement was reached in 2005, but was sabotaged by anti-China operatives within the Philippines. “Let us see the wherewithals,” Duterte told the press May 16. “It has to be fair and it has to be balanced. So if we can get something there with no hassle at all, so why not?” “We must find ways and means to jointly develop the area’s hydrocarbon potential to help lessen our common dependence on distant petroleum sources in the Middle East,” said Jose de Venecia, who was with Duterte in Beijing and discussed the issue at the Forum. Duterte also reported that in his meetings with President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang, they had reaffirmed China’s commitments to accelerate infrastructure projects previously agreed upon between the Philippines and China. U.S. ECONOMIC & POLITICALPresident Putin Hits U.S. ‘Political Schizophrenia’May 17 (EIRNS)—Russian President Vladimir Putin pointed to the real problem in the United States: “Political schizophrenia is developing in the United States. I cannot explain differently such accusations against the current President claiming he revealed some secrets to Lavrov.” Putin joked about the absurdity that President Trump had revealed secrets to Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. He said that Lavrov had failed to share with him the deep dark secrets that Trump had revealed. “This is very bad, I need to deliver a reprimand to him,” TASS reported, in covering the President’s press conference with Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni. In a far more serious vein, Putin went on: “If the U.S. administration considers it appropriate, we are ready to provide the U.S. Senate and Congress with the transcript of the talks between Lavrov and Trump.” He called accusations against Trump related to the talks with Lavrov nonsense, noting that “those who spread them are either stupid or dangerous” as they harm the United States. “At first, when we followed the developing process of the internal political struggle [in the U.S.], it looked ridiculous. Today it is not just sad, it causes concern because people who generate such nonsense, can generate even bigger nonsense.” “They destabilize the intra-political situation in the United States using anti-Russian slogans,” Putin said. “They either do not understand that they bring in this rubbish themselves—then they are just stupid—or they understand everything and then they are dangerous, dirty people. But in any case this is the business of the United States, in which we did not intend to interfere and will not do so.” FBI Acting Director McCabe, the FBI’s Eurasian Organized Crime Unit and MI6 Agent SteeleMay 17 (EIRNS)—In a letter to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein on May 2, Sen. Charles Grassley, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, asked if Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe was involved in approving or establishing the FBI’s reported arrangement with Christopher Steele, the “former” British MI6 agent who prepared a widely-discredited dossier in 2016 on candidate Trump for the Clinton campaign, or if McCabe vouched for or otherwise relied on this dossier in the course of the FBI investigation of alleged collusion between President Trump’s associates and the Russians. This question is highly relevant because of Andrew McCabe’s longstanding relationship with the FBI’s Eurasian Organized Crime Task Force in New York and the fact that Christopher Steele’s main contacts in the FBI are members of the Eurasian Organized Crime Task Force. According to the FBI: “Mr. McCabe began his career as a special agent with the FBI in 1996. He first reported to the New York Division, where he investigated a variety of organized crime matters. In 2003, he became the supervisory special agent of the Eurasian Organized Crime Task Force, a joint operation with the New York City Police Department.” According to reports in the media Christopher Steele who specialized in spying on Russia for MI6, worked directly with the FBI’s Eurasian Organized Crime Task Force dating back to at least 2010, when members of the task force met him in London to discuss possible corruption of the FIFA, the football body which organizes the World Cup Tournament. According to media reports, Steele continued to work with the FBI’s Eurasian Organized Crime Task force from 2013 to 2016 on Ukrainian and Russia matters. According to the Washington Post, the FBI considered paying Steele to continue the work he had done for the Clinton campaign on Trump and his associates. Given the fact that McCabe was the supervisory special agent of the Eurasian Organized Crime Task Force from 2003 to 2006 and undoubtedly maintained his contacts with agents there, Senator Grassley’s question to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein needs to be addressed. Did McCabe use his contacts in the Eurasian Organized Crime Task Force to facilitate a direct intervention into the U.S. by the British for the purpose of attempting to carry out a coup against U.S. President Trump? Fear of Strategic Breakout Drives Media Flight Forward for ImpeachmentMay 17 (EIRNS)—The escalation of attacks on the White House, is drawing anger, and—according to a well-placed insider—making clear that the intent of this attack campaign, is to prevent President Donald Trump from following through with the strategic break with the neo-cons, which he promised to do during his campaign. The insider said that the improved relations with Putin and Xi have led to, not just increased consultation, but collaboration in the war on terror, on global “hot spots” (e.g., North Korea) and on trade and economic policy. The source says, in a number of observations, that Lyndon LaRouche’s emphasis on Glass-Steagall also seems to be gaining support inside the White House. Trump is moving to put the world on a path to peace and prosperity, as in Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s recent speech rejecting “regime change” as a policy. But, the source said, none of that is being covered, and the attention of the White House is being consumed in dealing with these “fake news scandals.” He said the enemies of Trump are now trying to “ramp up the phony scandals” to break some Republicans away from Trump, to prepare for impeachment. Centered on the “Russia issue,” there is a “media crescendo reminiscent of the Watergate coup against Nixon.” Calls for a Special Prosecutor, references to “cover-ups,” White House tapes—“This is the Watergate playbook.” Just watch the media, he concluded. They have been treacherous from the beginning, but it keeps getting worse. Many Republicans are afraid to be on the wrong side of the New York Times, Washington Post and CNN, even though they may attack them—they are being pressured to break with Trump. STRATEGIC WAR DANGERGeneva Peace Talks Start amid Hysteria from Fake News, Alleging a Syrian Prison CrematoriumMay 17 (EIRNS)—The UN-backed talks on Syria, termed Geneva 6, started yesterday, intended to run through May 19. While nothing is yet reported of substance, there are significant participants. Attending from Russia is Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov, who met with both UN Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura, and the Syrian government delegation. TASS quoted the Russian Foreign Ministry release today that, “The sides exchanged views on the process and prospects of political settlement in Syria, in the context of the recent political contacts in various formats, in particular, the Astana process.” In all his meetings, Gatilov is stressing “the necessity of constructive discussion by all sides, of all items….” The same day, all hell broke loose internationally, in reaction to the May 15 announcement by the U.S. Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs Stuart Jones, who charged that the Syrian government is committing mass murder, and disposing of the bodies at a crematorium at the Saydnaya prison, near Damascus. On the charge itself, the current status is, fake news. The United Nations cannot verify these allegations, said Stéphane Dujarric yesterday, who is the spokesman for UN Secretary General António Guterres. Associated Press is reporting that the Syrian monitoring groups (presumably, including the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights) cannot yet verify Jones’s accusation. It is of note that Stuart Jones is an Obama hold-over at the State Department. A career foreign service agent, Jones was elevated by Obama in 2011 to a number of ambassador-level postings in Southwest Asia. The Syrian Foreign Ministry rejected Jones’s claim, calling it a “new Hollywood story,” which is “categorically untrue,” and in the genre of charges that Syria uses barrel bombs and chemical weapons against its people. The most psychotic response comes from Israeli Housing Minister Yoav Galant, who holds the rank of general in the Israeli Defense Forces, and is a member of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s National Security Council; Galant outright demanded the assassination of Assad. He said to Army Radio, speaking at a conference outside Jerusalem, “The reality in which people are executed in Syria, being hit deliberately by chemical weapons, their bodies being burned—something we haven’t seen in 70 years—we are crossing a red line, and it is time to eliminate Assad, literally.” The Russian government had not yet officially responded as of early today, but from the upper house of parliament, the Chairman of the Federation Council’s Committee for Foreign Affairs Sen. Konstantin Kosachev, blasted the State Department report, as “not trustworthy,” and outright sabotage of the Geneva talks. TASS quoted him as saying, “Now, when an absolutely new phase in the Geneva talks (held without the United States) is around the corner, the Americans apparently try to once again shift attention to the ‘Assad regime,’ undermining the peace process, wishing this or not.” He spoke of how opponents of the Syrian government use “sensationalism” to evade the peace talks in Geneva and Astana. Kosachev admonished, “The U.S. should understand that it bears a heavy responsibility for the future of the peace process in Syria.” South Korea Will Take the THAAD Issue to the National AssemblyMay 17 (EIRNS)—The National Assembly floor leader for the Democratic Party of newly-elected South Korean President Moon Jae-in, Woo Won-shik, said Wednesday that the Assembly will review the THAAD deployment implemented under the deposed government of Park Geun-hye. “We have to look into issues including the possibility of sending back THAAD [to the U.S.], if it has not properly undergone domestic legal procedures,” Yonhap news agency quoted Woo as saying during a radio interview. President Moon consistently said that the deployment of the THAAD system, which is strongly opposed by China and Russia, and serves no effective purpose against North Korea other than as a provocation, must be decided by the elected representatives of the nation. SCIENCE & INFRASTRUCTURE‘China’s Belt and Road Infrastructure Plan Also Includes Science,’ Reports AAAS JournalMay 17 (EIRNS)—Science, the publication of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, which generally peddles every anti-scientific environmentalist hoax, does have a very useful article on its website. China’s plan for Belt and Road Initiative is important Because there is a “commitment to support science and engineering, including the creation of dozens of new laboratories.” The author reviews some of the statements by China’s President Xi Jinping on the importance of innovation for development, and reports there is an action plan for training 5,000 foreign scientists, and engineers, and managers in China, over the next five years. In addition, there is a separate program that each year provides 10,000 scholarships to students from developing countries. The Belt and Road Initiative calls for setting up 50 joint laboratories, writes Dennis Normile. A year ago, the Chinese Academy of Science set up a Digital Silk Road program, bringing together scientists from 40 countries to cooperate on space-based Earth observation. The AAAS magazine is read by over 100,000 people in the scientific community all over the world. India Is Accelerating Its Own Nuclear IndustryMay 17 (EIRNS)—The Indian cabinet, in a meeting led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, today approved a plan to build 10 new nuclear power plants, totaling 7 GW, to come on line by 2021-22. Notably, these plants will be “made in India.” The design uses heavy water technology, characteristic of Canada’s Candu reactor, which India has imported in the past. The technology has been under development in India, and the deployment of reactors has been accelerated. The bankruptcy of Westinghouse was one factor, the Indian press reports, since it would seem unlikely their reactors would be for sale. The government says that 33,000 jobs will be created by the nuclear build, which is to be ramped up to supply 25% of India’s electricity by 2050. Today, nuclear supplies just 2%, with 6.78 GW of capacity, so this new build would double nuclear capacity. The plan was approved in a meeting headed by Prime Minister Modi, Power Engineering reports today. |
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