From Volume 6, Issue 38 of EIR Online, Published Sept. 18, 2007

Western European News Digest

LaRouche: Terror Threats Target U.S.-Russia Cooperation

Sept. 7 (EIRNS)—Reviewing the pattern of terror threats and provocations which have recently been publicized and spurred arrests in Europe, Lyndon LaRouche said today, "This is coming from London. Britain is determined to prevent U.S.-Russian cooperation." Without that U.S.-Russian cooperation, he said, you can't have peace in Southwest Asia. Peace can't be achieved simply through cooperation of forces within that region; the British have enough points of control and influence to prevent it.

The British are provoking the following destabilizations, either directly, or else through their continuing Sykes-Picot networks: Algeria, where an attempt was made on the life of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika by a suicide bomber; in Denmark, where the "al-Qaeda networks" have been provoked by a new "Mohammed cartoon"; in Germany, where radical converts to Islam were arrested with large quantities of explosives; and in France, where Basque ETA activists were arrested with explosives and plans.

Brits Tell Belgium: 'Countries Come and Go'

PARIS, Sept. 13 (EIRNS)—London's imperial mouthpiece The Economist first put out the word on Sept. 6 to "call it a day," i.e., to end the existence of Belgium, because "the country has become a freak of nature, a state in which power is so devolved that government is an abhorred vacuum. In short, Belgium has served its purpose.... Belgians need not feel too sad. Countries come and go."

The French media are jumping on the British bandwagon, amplifying the Tavistock grin fully deployed to make the Belgian case the start of a balkanization process in Europe.

LaRouche: UNSC Should Reach Consensus on Serbia

Sept. 9 (EIRNS)—Serbia's foreign ministry today asked the United States for a clarification of a recent State Department statement that the U.S. would recognize the independence of Kosovo if the UN Security Council did not reach a consensus. Moreover, Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said in a letter to the UN that Serbia "is faced with a direct threat by the United States that it will recognize the independence of Kosovo illegally."

Lyndon LaRouche stated that the Security Council should reach a consensus. Any nation which acts unilaterally, rather than reaching a consensus, should be thrown off the Council as a war monger in violation of the UN Charter.

Pope Meets with Leaders of Syria, Saudi Arabia, Israel

Sept. 8 (EIRNS)—Pope Benedict XVI is conducting a series of meetings with leaders of Southwest Asia, discussing the mounting crisis there. On Sept. 5, Farouk al-Sharaa, Vice President of the Syrian Arab Republic, met with the Pope, and delivered a personal, written message from Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The Vatican reported that the discussions including the "hundreds of thousands of Iraqi refugees" taken in by Syria, and "the decisive contribution the Syrian Arab Republic can make to the grave crises affecting many people in the Middle East."

On Sept. 6 the Pope received Saud Al Faisal, Foreign Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The Vatican reports: "Subjects of mutual interest were discussed," which included "implementation of joint initiatives in favor of peace."

Also on Sept. 6, the Pope received Israeli President Shimon Peres. Their discussions included "the recent renewal of contact between Israelis and Palestinians and the effort to restore peace to the Holy Land."

Lebanese Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Sfeir is also in Vatican City for meetings. All the leaders also met with officials of the Vatican Secretariat of State and other Italian leaders.

Zapatero Visit to Banco Santander Not Reassuring

Sept. 8 (EIRNS)—During a highly-publicized visit Sept. 5 to the Madrid headquarters of the British monarchy-controlled Banco Santander, Spanish Premier José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero loudly proclaimed that the Spanish economy is in excellent shape, and well-positioned to face "turbulence" in the financial markets as well as recent problems in Spain's real estate market. Don't worry, he said, Spain's economy and its financial institutions are "international models of solvency and efficiency."

But in the real world, Spain's real estate market is in extreme meltdown. And French bankers are warning that Banco Santander itself could well be swamped in the next wave of big banks to go under, because of its enormous exposure to the U.S. subprime market.

Subprime Crisis Hits Britain Directly

Sept. 11 (EIRNS)—The subprime mortgage crisis has today claimed its first British victim: Victoria Mortgage Funding, a specialist in subprime lending, announced that it will be closing its doors Sept. 17. Victoria is run by the New York-based Venturion Capital, and its entry to the British market two years ago, marked the internationalization of the subprime lending "contagion," as characterized by the Australian Business Journal, which nervously noted its passing. In its coverage, the ABJ noted that Barclays Capital and UBS were the main financiers, and they are believed to have withdrawn their funding, leading to the shutdown. "This is the first of potentially a number of businesses that will have difficulties," said one analyst.

Worse still, British mortgage rates will rise soon, affecting a large share of the 17 million British mortgaged homeowners. The London Daily Telegraph reports that already, a quarter million homeowners will see their payments increase by 200 pounds ($400) a month after October.

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