Western European News Digest
London Times Main Editorial Looks Into 'The Fascist Spectre That Stands Behind Arnie'
In words unheard of in the press outside the LaRouche campaign versus Arnold Schwarzenegger, William Rees-Mogg, chief commentator of the London Times, wrote on Oct. 6 that a "more immediate issue" than Tony Blair's fate "is that Arnold Schwarzenegger is asking the people of California to trust him in tomorrow's vote. They would be foolish to do so.... If I were a Californian, I would vote tomorrow against the recall of the Democratic Governor Gray Davis.... If I were a Californian, I would vote for a governor I did not trust, belonging to a party to which I would not belong, rather than vote to elect Mr. Schwarzenegger as governor in his place."
Arnie's past remarks on Hitler do not worry him, Rees-Mogg wrote. "What worries me is that Arnold Schwarzenegger is relying on the appeal of fascism, whether or not he is personally a fascist." Arnie's campaign exists outside reality, in the "world of celebrity and sensation. The politics of mass emotion are the politics of fascism," he added.
"The core of all fascist movements is the direct relationship between the leader and the masses, not mediated through institutions of democracy. What does the leader do? He provides leadership. What allows him to provide leadership? The strength of his will. What is the evidence of the leader's will? The exciting feeling he creates of ultimate ruthlessness. How does Arnold Schwarzenegger demonstrate this ruthlessness? By having played a machine not even a man which killed hundreds of people."
The California recall move, Rees-Mogg wrote, has provoked "straight conflict between the democratic principle and the Fuehrer Prinzip [leadership principle], the issue of 1933."
Junge Welt: Arnold Resembles Von Papen
A leftist German daily likens Arnold Schwarznegger's California victory to 1932 pro-Nazi conservative coup in the German state of Saxonia. In an editorial headlined, "Preussenschlag," the Junge Welt daily of Berlin wrote Oct. 9 that nobody should miss the fact that the storming of the formerly Democratic bastion of California by Arnie is part of the Republicans' national agenda. The editorial is, however, rather pessimistic that it will be possible to ground that agenda.
Arnie's job is that of a "frontman in an operation standing in the broader context of Bush's America after Sept. 11: rebuilding the U.S.A. towards a show-democratic de-facto dictatorship," the JW editorial noted. "We have witnessed a new, dramatic setback for the progressive America," JW wrote. "Looking back one future day, it could turn out to be a stepping stone on the way toward dictatorship. A Preussenschlag, Californian way."
The Preussenschlag was the decision by Weimar Republic State President Paul Hindenburg on July 20, 1932, to dismiss the Social Democratic government in the State of Saxonia, installing Franz von Papen as governor on the basis of emergency laws, instead. The Saxonian government had been paralyzed, before, by an alliance of oppositional interests between the Communists and the Nazis.
German Chancellor Denounces Israeli Violation of Syrian Sovereignty
At a press conference in Cairo on the first stop of his Middle East tour, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said acts of terrorism like the Oct. 4 Haifa suicide bombing are unacceptable, but that the Israeli retaliation strike into Syria was equally unacceptable, because the "process becomes even more complicated, if, as has now occurred, the sovereignty of another country is violated." He added that steps have to urgently be taken to de-escalate and "break this circle of violence," with the Quartet proposals, by the UN, U.S., Russia, and EU, on the Road Map serving as a reference point.
Concerning Iraq, Schroeder said that "what is being discussed in New York [at the UN] right now, is not yet sufficient. We agree with the Secretary General of the United Nations that especially the role of the UN has to be visibly strengthened, if one wants a process leading to stability and democracy." The transfer of sovereignty back to the Iraqi people is an essential aspect, that still needs to be defined in the ongoing talks at the UN Security Council, Schroeder added.
Schroeder also told the Gulf News that "In my opinion, the task of the international community lies above all in providing Iraq with a perspective for the stabilization and democratization of the country. In order to bring peace to Iraq, the role of the United Nations must be further enhanced. Iraq needs a real prospect of regaining its sovereignty and having political responsibility transferred to a legitimate Iraqi authority.
"It is additionally important to restore the ruined infrastructure and improve the living conditions of the people," Schroeder said. "We believe that security in Iraq cannot be restored through military action and increasing the number of soldiers alone. Rather, a political strategy is required which will allow the people of Iraq to look forward to taking their fate into their own hands once again."
Chirac Fears a General Blowout of the Middle East
According to this week's Le Canard Enchaîné, even prior to the Israeli raid on Syria, French President Jacques Chirac was telling people he feared a general explosion in the Middle East.
One of those to whom Chirac spoke, summed up his concern in the following terms: "Chirac is expecting the worst, especially in November. He said he expected Israeli raids against Syria and Lebanon, accused of supporting the Hamas and the Islamic Jihad. He affirmed also that, according to him, the murder of Arafat is in Sharon's program. And that he is envisaging the launching of preventive raids against Iran."
The Canard quotes a diplomat who said he was not astonished by this analysis: "The Israelis accuse Teheran of developing nuclear weapons and the Shahab-3 missiles, which can reach Tel Aviv. The diplomat added, if Sharon decides to launch a raid over Iran, he would not do it without first consulting Washington. Just as he did, despite American UN Ambassador Negroponte's denial, before launching planes over Syria.
Even though he is worried about Iran's nuclear ambitions, Chirac does not trust the Bush/Sharon duo: "The Israelis want to be Washington's armed hand in the region," stated Chirac confidentially, "Because Bush himself cannot allow himself to act militarily in all directions and to bombard here and there." The Canard further reports on a note by the French secret services which is probably the cause of Chirac's pessimismin which they point to an increase of Israeli air raids over Lebanon and Syria, and the possibility of a coming raid against nuclear installations in Teheran.
'France Opens Up Legal Case Against Cheney's Halliburton'
The French daily Le Figaro announced on Oct. 10, that France has opened up a legal investigation into Halliburton in the context of $180 million in secret commissions given to a Halliburton subsidiary, Kellogg, Brown and Root (KBR), at a time when Cheney was still Halliburton's head.
The article reports that a member of the French magistrate's financial division stated, "We are potentially in front of the equivalent of a worldwide Elf affair." The reference to Elf concerns the massive scandal, that rocked the entire political class of France, when it was uncovered that Elf, the national oil company, had all the political parties on its payroll.
The Halliburton affair goes back to 1995, when the decision was made to build the largest gas-liquification unit in Niger's eastern Delta, Bonny Island. The initiator of this project was Nigeria Liquified Natural Gas (NLNG), which pulled together four main stock holders: the national company of Nigerian oil, Shell, Totalfina, and Agip International. This conglomerate then hired four companies to build the project: the French Technip, the Italian Snamprogetti, the Japanese JGC and the American KBR. "However, according to the investigations by the police," states Le Figaro, "KBR was, without doubt, the leader" of this group.
This joint venture established itself in Madera, a Portuguese island having an interesting fiscal status. An earlier investigation into the French firm Technip, in the context of the Elf affair revealed that a "mysterious contract of assistance" had been signed by the joint venture, of which the beneficiary is well identified and known. It is this company that received $180 million in secret commissions, which were then redistributed into secret accounts.
These secret accounts are what have captured the interest of the French authorities, whose legal pursuit is being carried out in the context of an OECD convention signed in 1997, which authorizes pursuits dealing with "the struggle against corruption of foreign public agents in commercial negotiations." Ironically, this convention was only adopted by the French after enormous pressure have been exerted by then U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who made a special trip to Paris to get the convention through.
Though the investigation is of Halliburton and Technip, Le Figaro reports that, in reality, only Halliburton is really targetted since "preliminary investigations have established that it had the main role in the construction of the Bonny Island factory and related company operations."
The investigation is also described as a "tit for tat" response by the French to U.S. demands for extradition of three French CEO's Jean François Henin, Francois Pinault, and Pierre Yves Haberer in the context of dirty dealings connected to these individuals' purchase of the Executive Life portfolio a few years ago.
Germany and Saudi Arabia To Cooperate in Economics, Counter-Terrorism
An agreement to cooperate against terrorism was signed during German Chancellor's talks with Saudi leaders in Riyadh, at the conclusion of his two-day visit to Saudi Arabia. Schroeder visited Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the United Emirates from Oct. 4-7.
To coordinate the anti-terrorism efforts, Germany's Director of the BundesKriminalAmt (Federal Criminal Office), Ulrich Kersten, will soon visit Riyahd. In addition, Germany and Saudi Arabia will cooperate in the training of Iraqi policemen, and maybe also military, in the context of a U.N.-controlled re-transfer of sovereignty and civilian rule to Iraq.
During his tour, Schroeder also endorsed plans for a profound reform of the United Nations, so as to grant more say to Arab and Islamic nations.
Concerning economic cooperation, German Economics Minister Wolfgang Clement will visit Saudi Arabia next spring with a big delegation of industrial managers, to sign deals in three main spheres communications, transport, environmental (e.g., water supply) affairs. Schroeder called on the Saudis to invest in the German economy, notably in Germany's eastern regions.
Blair Knew Iraq Had No Weapons of Mass Destruction Before War on Iraq Began
Former British Foreign Minister Robin Cook revealed from a diary that he kept, that Prime Minister Tony Blair conceded two weeks before the Second Persian Gulf War that Saddam Hussein did not have any weapons of mass destruction (WMD), reported the Sunday Times of London on Oct. 5. Cook also said John Scarlett, chairman of the joint intelligence committee (JIC), also "assented" that Saddam had no such weapons. This shatters the myth perpetrated by the British Government that Iraq presented "a real and present danger" to Britain.
Cook, who resigned shortly before the invasion of Iraq, also reveals there was a near mutiny in the cabinet, triggered by David Blunkett, the Home Secretary, when it first discussed military action against Iraq. The Prime Minister ignored the "large number of ministers who spoke up against the war," according to Cook. Blair also "deliberately crafted a suggestive phrasing" to mislead the public into thinking there was a link between Iraq and Al-Qaeda, and he did not want United Nations weapons inspections to be successful, writes the former Cabinet Minister.
Cook suggests that the government misled the House of Commons and asked MPs to vote for war on a "false prospectus." Cook's long-awaited diaries, published in book form as Point of Departure, are the first memoir of any member of Blair's Cabinet. His disclosures are likely to lead to renewed calls for a judicial inquiry into the legitimacy of the war.
Also, this revelation may have a potentially devastating impact in the U.S., where Vice-President Dick Cheney et al. have frequently cited the British "dodgy dossier" as proof of the imminent WMD threat. Did Blair or some other Cabinet member tell the Bush Administration the truth? Did Cheney get briefed, and, if so, what did he do about it?
German Christian Democrats Adopt Drastic Cuts in Social Welfare
On Oct. 6, leaders of the German Christian Democratic Union (CDU) adopted the drastic cuts in social welfare and pension programs, as recommended by the Roland Herzog commission. With intense personal input by CDU national chairwoman Angela Merkel, the party leaders voted for the Herzog Report. Only two members of the party executive, including Hermann Josef Arentz, chairman of the CDU labor affairs commission, voted against. The Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU), the sister-party of the CDU, also opposes the project. Former CDU Labor Minister Norbert Bluem called the project "simply incompatible with what the German Christian democracy has stood for, so far," and announced a revolt at the party base.
The Herzog Report endorses deep cuts like:
* increasing the standard retirement age from 65 to 67 years, which would imply that regular pensions could not be received before reaching that age;
* replacing the public health and social security insurance system with a basically privatized system based on a standard insurance fee of 264 euros to be paid by every citizen, plus an unidentified co-funding by the state to "guarantee" a minimum care and pension. Everything above that level should be paid by an extra private insurance system;
* making dental treatment a service no longer covered by the general health insurance system as before, but through an extra private insurance;
* sick-pay shall be shouldered by the workers only, with some co-funding by the state, whereas employers would be relieved from their mandatory share in the present system.
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