Western European News Digest
Zinni's Conflict with Bush Admin. Aired in Europe
In an interview with European CNN on May 31, Gen. Anthony Zinni said, "I am a Republican, however, if those civilians in the Pentagon who are [responsible for the Iraq debacle] don't resign, I am not going to vote for U.S. President George W. Bush."
There is also a background article in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung under the headline: "Nobody had a clue. How the only superpower of the world won the Iraq warbut had no idea for the post-war era." It focusses on Zinni's latest book, Battle Ready, written together with novelist Tom Clancy. Zinni describes military planning maneuvers which were conducted before the Iraq war, saying that those maneuvers, however, had no planning for the aftermath of the war. "There was no interest in Washington to think about that question further. Post-Saddam Iraq was too far away, so no [department] had interest in this question.
LaRouche Proposals on Terror, Oil Covered in Italy
On June 1, the Italian daily Il Campanile," of the Alleanza Popolare party, reported the statement of LaRouche associate Paolo Raimondi on Lyndon LaRouche's request to the U.S. Congress that it call Attorney General John Ashcroft to testify on his warnings of imminent biochemical terrorist acts against America.
A second statement, related to the speculative operations behind the dramatic increase of oil prices, included LaRouche's proposal to fix the price at $25 dollars a barrel, has been reported by the Rome-based press agency Osservatore Politico Internazionale, and by the internet press agency Iniziativa Meridionale, which covers mainly economic developments related to the South of Italy.
Italian Government Press Covers LaRouche
Agenparl, the press agency of the Italian Parliament, state, and government institutions, carried a release on May 31 from LaRouche associate Paolo Raimondi, which detailed doubts about U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft's remarks about terrorist "warnings," and quoted Lyndon LaRouche's call to the U.S. Congress to call Ashcroft to testify on his knowledge about his warnings of imminent biochemical terrorist attacks against the United States. The note also underlined the importance for Italy to publicly clarify the content of the 9/11 memorandum sent by President Bush to Rome.
Circulation of the Agenparl newsletter is intersecting a big debate in Italy over security questions, in view of the visit of President Bush to Rome on June 6 for the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Rome from Nazi fascism.
German Politicians Stunned by Disorientation in U.S.A.
A delegation from Germany's Free Democrat Party (FPD), recently returned from a trip to the United States, where they met with members of the U.S. Administration, Congress, and think tanks, and came away with a "rather mixed impression," as EIW learned from discussions with some in the delegation.
On the one hand, mounting international pressure and domestic criticism have forced the Bush Administration to "rediscover the existence of the United Nations," but the resolution they have presented there, reflects both disinterest and lack of concepts, on the American side.
"There is an incredible degree of disorientation, as far as the situation and the future of Iraq and the entire region are concerned," one of the FDP politicians said. "That this is the case with the Administration, is not a surprise to us, but that the critics lack ideas as well, is a real shock. The Americans have not made one step forward, in the one year that has passed since we were last in the States, it seems."
The difficulty of achieving any stability in Iraq and the region, is that any combination of peacekeeping forces runs the risk of being seen as occupiers, and the bad reputation of the Americans is affecting everyone else as well. If the U.S. insists on an American command for any future peacekeeping force, it will fail. If one brings in Iraq's neighbors, the fact is, they also have interests which do not always run congruent with those of the Iraqi people.
A NATO mandate can be ruled out from the start. The position that the governments of Germany and France have, is arguably the best among those available, but whether they will achieve something at the UN, is uncertain.
The worst thing is that the Americans have marched into this adventure without knowing what they were getting into, and how to get out again. There is no feasible idea, not even among the U.S. think tanks, what to do in post-war Iraq. Meanwhile, the entire region is affected by the instability in Iraq.
British Government Warns of Worse Terror in Saudi Arabia
Britain's Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Sherard Cowper-Coles, warned May 30 that "continuing information" shows that terrorists could be in the final stages of preparing another attack in Saudi Arabia. He did not elaborate, but The Scotsman reported May 31 that intelligence agencies are said to believe the al-Qaeda-linked terrorists, who stepped forward to claim credit for the kidnappings and murders of foreign workers in Khobar this May 31-June 1, are nearly ready to stage a "spectacular attack" with devastating loss of life. Plans are said to include an attack on a key oil installation or the causeway linking Saudi Arabia to Bahrain, The Scotsman said.
The British Foreign Office, meanwhile, posted a warning on its website, stating that, "we continue to believe that terrorists remain determined to carry out further attacks in Saudi Arabia, and that these may be in the final stages of preparation. The threat includes, but is not limited to, residential compounds and diplomatic and other official premises."
Factoring in the 'Chaos Faction'
A leading City of London financial analyst, who is acquainted with Presidential candidate Lyndon LaRouche's policies, told EIR June 2 that it is "perfectly plausible that there is a powerful faction going for chaos."
The tip-off to him, is that whenever you see a move made by "al-Qaeda," it is very suspicious. "The question is," he said, "who really controls al-Qaeda?"
In the context of the evaluation of global chaos, "watch the Fabians," the source said. They are very dangerous people, because they persuade people that they are harmless, when they really are not. Their aim is global government, with themselves as the governors." Baroness Symons of the Foreign Office Mideast division, he noted, is a "Blair stooge. But keep in mind that Blair himself is getting into big trouble."
"In the coming June 10 elections [European Parliament and local British elections], Blair will do very poorly. Blair was also hurt by the Hutton Report [inquiry into the death of Dr. David Kelly]. The Hutton Report itself helped Blair, but, paradoxically, the actual evidence presented in the report, was very damaging to Blairand this evidence is available to the public!"
British Historian: We Were Safer with Saddam
"America, Britain, the Middle East, and the and the wider world would be vastly better off in terms of peace and stability, if Saddam Hussein were still gripping Iraq, and we were still gripping Saddam, as we had been from 1991 to 2003," wrote British military historian Corelli Barnett in a letter to the editor of the June 2 Daily Telegraph. Barnett was responding to a commentary by Sir John Keegan, another British military historian who has allied himself with the neo-cons.
Barnett wrote that the situation in Iraq with Saddam in power was "of no relevance to foreigners"; and that "Saddam had presented no international danger, since he was soundly beaten in the 1991 Gulf War." He had no weapons of mass destruction, and some people, Barnett noted, had never fallen for all the "dodgy dossiers" on WMDs. Saddam would have prevented the current "widespread disorder," and actually "had provided a highly competent ally, if a tacit one, in the so-called 'war against global terror.'" And, of course, "there would be no steadily rising tally of British or American casualties," Barnett wrote.
Parallel Between Operation Barbarosa and Iraq Noted
In conversation with EIR on June 2, Prominent British historian Corelli Barnett pointed out that one key parallel between Barbarosa, when Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941, and Iraq, is taking on a "project which is too much for you." You cannot cope, and you end up as Hitler did in Stalingrad. "It is bloody stupidity," he said. But involved in this bloody stupidity in Iraq, "is an enormous intellectual and political project," Barnett said. "People like Tony Blair are absolutely self-righteous. They will not be convinced by contrary arguments. Only a reality shock, like what happened in Abu Ghraib, has an effect on him."
However, even when Blair and Co. get in real trouble, they do not change course, since they are men who believe they are right.
Blair represents the tradition of Ramsey MacDonald, the Prime Minister of a national unity government in the crisis-ridden late 1920s-early 1930s, "liberal internationalism." Blair was deeply influenced by his guru Robert Cooper, the guru of "neo-imperialism," Barnett said. This involves invading countries which are called "failed states." Cooper, he noted, is now adviser to Javier Solana, who is chief foreign policy coordinator for the EU.
On John Kerry, Barnett said that he appears to be saying nothing, to deliberately allow George Bush to "unravel." Barnett was interested to hear LaRouche's critique of the dangers of what Kerry is doing. Kerry is "in the same position as Tory leader Michael Howard in Britain," Barnett said. Howard also supported the Iraq war. The only solution for Kerry and Howard, Barnett said, is to get out and say in public: "We were conned!"
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