EDITORIAL
The Entire World Is Responding to the New Reality Created by the Trump-Kim Summit
June 13 (EIRNS)—Yesterday’s summit in Singapore demonstrated that there is a sea-change underway in global politics, a sea-change that is sweeping away the old, decadent structures of geopolitics, and ushering in a New Paradigm which is taking root, first in Asia, around the Spirit of the New Silk Road.
The world is divided, Helga Zepp-LaRouche commented today, between those, on the one hand, who understand that the Trump-Kim summit is the beginning of a new sort of process of peace through development; and those, on the other, whose hysterical reaction against the summit belies the fact that they would prefer even nuclear war to seeing the rules of their game change. The latter group includes the British Empire, their neo-con and neo-liberal allies in the U.S., and the apoplectic Western media, who are lying wildly about what happened in Singapore.
The new reality has not been lost on acute observers. For example, China’s Global Times published an editorial yesterday about the summit, stating that “a certain force is pushing such seemingly impossible things toward becoming possible. This force is the new logic of international politics in the 21st century.” The editorial then referred to the discussion of Confucius and Mencius that Chinese President Xi Jinping brought to the just-concluded SCO Summit in Qingdao: “The U.S. may need to borrow some wisdom from Eastern philosophy,” Global Times wrote.
This is absolutely to the point, Zepp-LaRouche emphasized, and it serves to underscore the deep, philosophical roots of the wave of cultural optimism which is now dominant in Asia, and must be spread rapidly to the United States and Europe. The key to doing that is for the West to join the New Silk Road, and to experience the rapid economic transformation of the planet that it is bringing about. That is the policy which has lifted over 700 million Chinese out of poverty in some 30 years; and it is the same policy, and the same optimism, which the Chinese are now bringing to Africa, along with substantial investment in infrastructure. That approach has already reduced the poverty rate in Africa from 50% to 40% over the last 15 years—something which British-induced pessimism in the West believed to be impossible.
But as Global Times stated, these are times when the seemingly impossible becomes possible—if we only remove the British Empire from our way.
THE NEW GLOBAL ECONOMIC ORDER
Global Times: Trump-Kim Summit Demonstrates ‘A New Logic of International Politics’
June 13 (EIRNS)—China’s Global Times published an editorial yesterday which displays important insight into the strategic significance of yesterday’s Trump-Kim summit in Singapore, which a half-year ago no one even dreamed was possible. “A certain force is pushing such seemingly impossible things toward becoming possible. This force is the new logic of international politics in the 21st century.” The editorial goes on to argue that “It is necessary to keep injecting momentum into the process. Boosting North Korea’s enthusiasm is crucial.” Then, harkening back to the discussion of Confucius and Mencius at the just-concluded SCO Summit, the editorial states: “The U.S. may need to borrow some wisdom from Eastern philosophy. If it can have favorable interactions with North Korea and do away with its hostile attitude toward the country, the result will only be better.”
A second Global Times editorial warned of the perils faced by President Trump: “After dealing with North Korea for a few rounds, Trump’s team has developed a more realistic mindset on the issue. But his domestic foes probably would rather mess everything up, prioritizing embarrassing Trump above protecting the long-term interests of the U.S.”
Some voices in the West have also registered that a sea-change in world politics is underway. James Pinkerton, writing in the American Conservative, said that “It truly seems that an old era is finally ending and a new era, for better or worse, is beginning…. The stakes are, after all, high; the basic geopolitical foundations of the last seven decades are being challenged and shifted…. Yet, in the meantime, even as his myriad foes prepare their next political, legal and punditical attacks, Trump is the man astride the world stage, smiling, shaking hands, signing deals—and unmistakably remaking the old order.”
Pinkerton served on the White House staff under both Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, and today leans towards a libertarian outlook.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit and the New Silk Road Spirit
June 13 (EIRNS)—The confluence of the recently concluded SCO Summit in Qingdao, China and the perspective of the New Silk Road project was emphasized in a pair of significant op-eds in China Daily. Xu Tao, who is at the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, wrote an article headlined “China Wisdom Enriches Shanghai Spirit,” which begins by recalling Chinese President Xi Jinping’s speech at the welcoming banquet of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit: “Xi said that as an integral part of Chinese civilization, Confucianism believes ‘a just cause should be pursued for the common good.’ ” Xu said further that “this reflects the integration of traditional Chinese culture into the Shanghai Spirit, which has made the SCO a new type of player on the global stage.”
China Daily also published a lengthy article by Laurence Brahm, founding director of Himalayan Consensus and an international research fellow at the Center for China and Globalization, which emphasizes that the SCO Summit in Qingdao “crystalized a multilateral organization that can effectively coordinate policy to implement the Belt and Road Initiative…. We could see the SCO emerging as the coordinating body for regional policy to make BRI a reality.” Brahm continued that “the fact that India and Pakistan joined the SCO together in 2017 and took their place at the table in Qingdao is a huge breakthrough for regional stability, development and peace.” Brahm then focused on the financing mechanisms that are being made available:
“New financial mechanisms and institutions will be key to the success of the BRI and SCO cooperation. The establishment of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, (BRICS) New Development Bank, and the Silk Road Fund are financing institutions that will help build the financial architecture of the BRI. It was tabled that a new organization, the SCO Development Bank, will join these institutions. President Xi announced that China will set up a 30 billion yuan special lending facility to operate within the framework of the SCO Interbank Consortium.”
The SCO, Brahm concluded “could very well emerge as the alternative to old ‘new world order’ systems such as the G7, which ironically became the ‘G6 against 1’ just days before the SCO summit…. The Silk Road is back. Now with the SCO, it is time for a Silk Road Consensus.”
South Koreans Consider Kim-Trump Handshake Hopeful a World of Change Is in Progress
June 13 (EIRNS)—Following the meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and D.P.R.K. Chairman Kim Jong-un, South Koreans erupted in applause, Agence France-Presse reported. “We hope the summit will be a success and bring us a complete denuclearization, peace and a new era” in relations between the two Koreas and the United States, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said. His office reported that President Moon had spent a “sleepless night” ahead of the meeting.
In the streets of Seoul and elsewhere in South Korea, optimism and exuberance were flowing freely, reported Britain’s Independent, writing, “Koreans were mesmerized by the sight of the two leaders greeting one another, shaking hands warmly, even chatting like old friends.”
President Moon, who played perhaps the most important role in bringing about this historic summit, issued a statement, saying: “I pay my high compliments for the courage and determination of the two leaders, President Trump and Chairman Kim, not to settle for that outdated and familiar reality but to take a daring step towards change.
“The June 12 Sentosa Agreement will be recorded as a historic event that has helped break down the last remaining Cold War legacy on Earth,” according to the official Cheong Wa Dae Presidential residence. “Building upon the agreement reached today, we will take a new path going forward. Leaving dark days of war and conflict behind, we will write a new chapter of peace and cooperation. We will be there together with North Korea along the way,” said President Moon.
Italian Minister Salvini Insists Russia Is an ‘Important Ally’ in War on Extremism
June 14 (EIRNS)—Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, leader of the Lega government coalition partner, again defended the need for Europe to collaborate with Russia, especially in its fight against terrorism, and reiterated his government’s support for Russia to rejoin the Group of Eight. “Russia is a fundamental ally in the war on terror and should be worked with to defend European civilization against extremists,” Salvini said.
“I’m glad that U.S. President Donald Trump has similar intentions towards Russia, just as I do. Russia is our fundamental ally against terrorism. As Europeans, we should work with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin to defend our civilization against attacks by Islamist extremists,” Salvini said in an interview with the Russian newspaper Izvestia, reported Sputnik. Salvini is also Italy’s new Interior Minister.
He said that the G7 should become a G8 again, “whether the other members like it or not.” He further told the daily that Italy should proceed from the principle of being a good neighbor in its relations with Moscow, because Russia is an important partner in trade and energy.
New Italian Official Michele Geraci Supplies Food for Thought on Cooperation with China
June 13 (EIRNS)—In an article entitled “China and the Government of Change,” newly appointed Undersecretary of State to the Development Ministry Prof. Michele Geraci has listed 11 sectors in which Italy should cooperate with China in the framework of the Belt and Road policy. Geraci’s article was published on the beppegrillo.it blog of M5S co-founder Beppe Grillo on June 11. Here are translated excerpts:
“A foreign and economic policy which pays more attention to China will increase the likelihood of success of the government contract. In fact, China can play a role in almost every single point of the contract—for some of them a challenge, for others an opportunity.”
The first point is financial policy. “Who can help us to manage debt and spread? China. If the ECB starts tapering QE, with a consequent increase of interest rates, Italy will seek other purchasers of its debt, purchasers who have abundant liquidity, strategic interest in building relationships with Italy and who are looking for investments with higher yields than those offered by America and Germany. China owns $3 trillion equivalent in currency reserves, which in the past have been not always optimally invested.”
China can teach Italy how to manage migration flows, having “managed the largest migratory flows in the world, from rural to urban areas, up to 18 million people a year for 40 years.” China has first built infrastructure, then has moved people.
Law and order: China is the nation where it works best. “In China, women can walk at night in the street without the terror dominating us.”
“Made in Italy” and exports. China is the market with the greatest potential. E-cars: China is the country investing most in E-cars. Infrastructure: “Which country has the greatest know-how and invests more around the world in developing transportation, railways, ports? China.”
“China in this historical moment is the country possessing the highest knowledge in developing infrastructures and is still very interested in investing in Italy through projects that increase productive capacity, such as the port of Trieste but not only. Figures at hand, China has invested over 300 billion dollars in projects connected to infrastructures abroad only, 100 of which in Africa and 50 in Europe. Let us get used to dealing with twelve-digit figures.
“Africa and migrants. Who can help Africa? China.” Geraci reports that China is the country investing the most in Africa and thanks to China, poverty in Africa has started to decrease for the first time. “China offers Europe and Italy in particular a historical opportunity to cooperate for social-economic stabilization of Africa.”
“Cooperation with Russia. Where is there a more Russia- friendly country that can help us rewrite geopolitics in Asia? China.” “Just when a very ugly G7 was taking place in Canada, a symbol of the decline of the West, Putin was here in Beijing and Trump was going to leave for Singapore to meet Kim Jong Un…. It is very clear to me who will be the main players in the next decade. The lifting of the sanctions against Russia must also be situated on a larger chessboard in order to develop closer relationships with the rest of the Asian world.”
Professor Geraci has an extensive academic background with and in China, and speaks fluent Mandarin.
Brussels Has New Nightmares as Italy Names More Government Members
June 13 (EIRNS)— If the EU dinosaurs and the City of London were frightened by the first rank of the Italian government, they will be even more so by the 6 deputy ministers and 39 undersecretaries of state who were announced yesterday.
Belt and Road expert Prof. Michele Geraci was appointed Undersecretary of State to the Ministry for Economic Development. The MED, led by M5S Deputy Luigi Di Maio, includes Industry, Foreign Trade, Communications and Labor. It is not clear which jurisdiction Geraci will have. Shortly before his appointment, Geraci wrote an article on 11 sectors in which Italy should cooperate with China.
Top Euroskeptic Prof. Luciano Barra Caracciolo was appointed Undersecretary of State to Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, responsible for European Affairs. Barra Caracciolo is known for his uncompromising criticism of the EU Treaties for violating the fundamental articles of the Italian Constitution. He has often cited EIRin his blog “Orizzonte48.” From his post under Prime Minister Conte he will work in tandem with European Affairs Minister Paolo Savona.
Alessio Villarosa, who led the fight for Glass-Steagall in the previous Parliament for the M5S and has been in dialogue with LaRouche activists in Italy, is Undersecretary to the Economy (Treasury and Finance) Ministry.
Barra Caracciolo has signed a petition for a Glass-Steagall style bank separation, issued by the Movimento Internazionale per i Diritti Civili—Solidarietà (Movisol), the association of Lyndon LaRouche in Italy. Other signers include Massimo Garavaglia (Economy), Stefano Candiani (Interior), Armando Siri (Infrastructure), all of them among the new appointees.
U.S. POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC
Follow-On Diplomacy to Singapore Summit Is Already Underway
June 13 (EIRNS)—Upon arrival back in the United States from Singapore, President Donald Trump tweeted: “There is no longer a Nuclear Threat from North Korea… Everybody can now feel much safer than the day I took office.” He said that before he took office, “people were assuming that we were going to War with North Korea.” On a refueling stop in Hawaii, Trump had also tweeted North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un, thanking him for “taking the first bold step toward a bright new future for his people,” and saying that their June 12 summit “proves that real change is possible!”
According to an AP wire, on the return flight to the U.S. Trump also spoke with South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, to discuss the summit results. Meanwhile, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo travelled directly to South Korea today for talks with President Moon Jae-in, and will go to Beijing tomorrow to meet with top Chinese officials. At the same time, the President of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly of North Korea, Kim Yong-nam, travelled to Russia, where he will meet with President Vladimir Putin tomorrow.
Meanwhile, Chairman Kim Jong-un accepted President Trump’s invitation to come to the White House, according to the D.P.R.K.’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). “Kim Jong-un invited Trump to visit Pyongyang at a convenient time and Trump invited Kim Jong-un to visit the U.S. The two top leaders gladly accepted each other’s invitation, convinced that it would serve as another important occasion for improved D.P.R.K.-U.S. relations.” KCNA also quoted Kim as saying: “To achieve peace, stability and the denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula, both countries must promise that they will treat each other with mutual understanding and will not feel enmity towards each other. To guarantee that they need to take legal and systemic measures.”
Robert Mueller on the Ropes, Grasps at Straws To Prove More ‘Russian Interference’
June 13 (EIRNS)—Special Counsel Robert Mueller is desperate. According to a recent Politico-Morning Consult poll, his public image has plummeted to an all-time low. Politico reported today that months of sustained attacks on Mueller led by President Trump and his allies have hurt Mueller most among Republicans, 53% of whom view him unfavorably, up from 26% last July. Left unsaid is the crucial role played by LaRouche PAC’s internationally disseminated exposé of Mueller.
Hence the Special Counsel’s urgent need to dredge up more “evidence” of Russian wrongdoing. Yesterday, the Daily Callerreports, in a court filing for the case against the Russian- controlled Concord Management firm, Mueller warned that Russian intelligence agencies are engaged in ongoing “influence operations” similar to those used in the 2016 presidential campaign. He asked the judge to withhold certain discovery documents, claiming that “public or unauthorized disclosure of the case’s discovery would result in the release of information that would assist foreign intelligence services, particularly those of the Russian Federation and other foreign actors in future operations against the U.S.”
More likely is that the evidence he claims to have against Russia is flimsy or non-existent. Concord’s part-owner Yevgeny Prigozhin, said to be close to Vladimir Putin, was one of 13 Russians indicted with much fanfare by Mueller last February for conspiracy to “sow discord” in the U.S. political system between 2014-2017. Mueller was caught off-guard by Concord’s unexpected response to the indictment, pleading not-guilty, and forcing Mueller to prepare for trial which he hadn’t expected—or wanted—to do.
STRATEGIC WAR DANGER
Southern Command’s Admiral Tidd Rails against Chinese, Russian ‘Threat’ in Hemisphere
June 13 (EIRNS)—Speaking June 6 at the Rogers Strategic Issues Forum hosted by the Association of the United States Army Institute of Land Warfare, Adm. Kurt Tidd, head of the U.S. Southern Command (SOCOM), offered a British geopolitical view on Russian and Chinese “threats” to the Western Hemisphere, claiming these two powers are “flexing their international muscles” in the Caribbean, Central and South America, for which SOCOM has responsibility. Just as Russia has done in Europe and the U.S., he warned, “Latin America and the Caribbean are the ‘next frontier’ of some of the toughest, most complex and most dynamic security challenges that exist today.”
Tidd claimed that Russia and China are “attempting to extend their influence and undermine the rules-based system from within … Latin America—the region closest to the United States in geography and cultural history—is on the frontline of these efforts.”
He pointed to an “alarming” increase in Russia’s role in the Western Hemisphere, which is dangerous given its intelligence and cyber capabilities, “proven interference” in multiple elections, and global intent “to up-end the international order, disrupt regional politics, and discredit democratic institutions.” As for China, its “economic engagement offers the appearance of an attractive path to development,” but it’s an engagement that “comes at a price.” Tidd then retailed the lie that China is only interested in raw materials, disregards environmental laws, fair trade practices, and human rights.
U.A.E.-Led Assault on Yemeni Port of Hodeidah Begins
June 13 (EIRNS)—By all accounts, the U.A.E.-led assault on the Yemeni Red Sea port of Hodeidah began early this morning, with an assault up the coast south of the city towards the local airport and backed by dozens of air strikes by the Saudi Air Force. The attack began despite warnings issued by UN relief agencies, the Trump Administration and the U.S. Congress, that an assault on the port would have catastrophic consequences for the civilian population, as 70-80% of humanitarian relief supplies enter the country through Hodeidah.
Schiller Institute President Helga Zepp-LaRouche stressed today the profound urgency for the U.S. to pressure the Saudis and the U.A.E. to stop the attack. This attack is really terrible, she said, and this has to be stopped.
Yesterday, according to Washington daily, The Hill, a bipartisan group of members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, led by Chairman Bob Corker (R-TN) and Ranking Member Robert Menendez (D-NJ), sent a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defense James Mattis expressing “grave alarm” that the assault will exacerbate the humanitarian situation and jeopardize prospects of a political settlement. In the House, a bipartisan group of members sent a letter to Mattis that they had been circulating earlier in the week with 34 signatures. The letter urges for Mattis to “use all available means to avert a catastrophic military assault.”
COLLAPSING WESTERN FINANCIAL SYSTEM
Singapore Summit Reflects Motion Toward Eurasian Integration, Belt and Road Initiative
June 13 (EIRNS)—In a very insightful commentary in Asia Timestoday, columnist Pepe Escobar points out that the Singapore declaration signed by President Donald Trump and Chairman Kim Jong-un, in fact reflects “exactly what the Russia-China strategic partnership formalized” at the recent Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s summit: “a double freeze.”
This is the “action-for-action” strategy that Kim Jong-un has always sought: rather than waiting for complete denuclearization, “Pyongyang would be compensated every step of the way—a process that could last over a decade—to be eligible for economic benefits.” The D.P.R.K. holds off on any new nuclear and missile tests while the U.S. and South Korea stop the “war games.”
Escobar asserts that this “logical sequence of the Sino- Russian roadmap” is based on what South Korean President Moon Jae-in agreed with Kim Jong-un at the inter-Korean summit on April 27, in Panmunjom. “And that ties in with what North Korea, South Korea and Russia had already discussed at the Far East summit in Vladivostok last September … economic integration between Russia and the two Koreas, including the crucial connectivity of a future Trans-Korean Railway with the Trans-Siberian.”
This is all about Eurasian integration, the author insists: increased trade between North Korea and Northeast China, concerning mostly Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces, and “total physical connectivity of both Koreas to the Eurasian heartland. That’s yet another instance of the New Silk Roads, or Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) meeting the Eurasia Economic Union (EAEU), and not by accident, South Korea wants to connect deeper with both BRI and the EAEU.”
Thus, the Singapore joint statement “is not a deal; it’s a statement,” in which the key item is No. 3: “Reaffirming the April 27, 2018 Panmunjom Declaration, the D.P.R.K. commits to work toward the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.”
SCIENCE AND INFRASTRUCTURE
Both Houses of Congress Move To Increase NASA FY19 Budget by More Than $1 Billion
June 13 (EIRNS)—Rather than get into a taffy pull with the administration over the NASA programs the White House eliminated in its FY19 budget request that the legislators want to fund, the Congress simply added more than $1 billion to the NASA budget, restoring the eliminated programs. Members of the Senate Appropriations Commerce, Justice and Science Subcommittee passed a FY19 NASA budget in a unanimous vote yesterday, adding more than $1.4 billion to the Administration’s NASA budget request. The House has added a bit more than the Senate—about $220 million, for a total of about $1.6 billion.
The bulk of the added funds goes to programs the OMB had cancelled, such as the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope, the Office of Education, and four NASA earth science missions, and restores full funding for missions that had been descoped (reduced in objectives).
The full Appropriations Committee will mark up the bill tomorrow. Generally, the subcommittee’s bill is accepted by the full committee, and the full chamber will accept the Committee’s bill. In the House, the completed bill is awaiting a floor vote.
