Western European News Digest

Kosovo Independence Drive Reminiscent of August 1914

July 22 (EIRNS)—This is the comment that Lyndon LaRouche made after hearing that Kosovo's Prime Minister Agim Ceku has proposed Nov. 28—an Albanian national holiday—as a date for declaring independence from Serbia.

Ceku also said Kosovo's Parliament would discuss the details of the declaration next week, and that his government would invite NATO's peacekeeping troops to stay, and the EU to implement a supervisory mission.

LaRouche identified these developments as a British move. The Nov. 28 date is unimportant. What is important, is that mid-August is approaching, and mid- to late-August is the period when the last two world wars were launched, in 1914 and 1939. Both wars can be traced to the British-orchestrated firing of Otto von Bismarck as the Chancellor of Germany. After Bismarck was removed, the way was cleared for using a Balkan war to indirectly create a conflict between Germany and Russia, which Bismarck's pro-American System policies had prevented. The Balkan war was the beginning of World War I and led in turn to World War II.

Polish Slip Exposes True Cheney 'Missile Defense' Agenda

July 23 (EIRNS)—Marek Calka, the Polish Ambassador to South Korea, acknowledged that the Polish interest in placing U.S. missiles on its soil has nothing to do with Iran, as Bush and Cheney claim, but rather with getting a "nuclear umbrella" against Russia. The Korea Times of April 9 reported that, "Because Poland faces several thousand Russian missiles without proper countermeasures, it is seeking American nuclear reassurances, according to the Ambassador." In an interview with the Korea Times, Calka warned South Korea not to agree to give up U.S. nuclear weapons on its soil in the Six-Party Talks, which he said would be a "threat to South Korea," adding: "Wouldn't you like to have a similar umbrella if you were a Pole?"

EIR has reported from other sources that the "twin evils" currently governing Poland (the twins, President Lech Kaczynski and Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski) have acknowledged that they want the U.S. missiles in order to target Russia, but this is the first reported diplomatic admission of that fact.

The Russian Ambassador to South Korea, Gleb A. Ivashentsov, responded to the interview on July 23, thanking the Polish Ambassador for "his clarification of the reasons for the U.S. plan to install military facilities for its missile defense in Poland. We in Russia, as well as our partners in the European Union, were traditionally told that those facilities would protect Europe and the U.S. from a missile attack by 'rogue' states like Iran or North Korea. Now the curtain has been drawn, as Ambassador Calka explains that the real cause for the U.S. missile defense in Poland" is Russian missiles. Ivashentsov adds: "I would be happy to hear the reaction of the U.S. and NATO to Ambassador Calka's disclosures."

UK Prime Minister Wants New Anti-Terror Measures

July 26 (EIRNS)—British Prime Minister Gordon Brown told Parliament yesterday that his government will implement a new package of anti-terror security measures.

The measures include extending the period that terror suspects can be held for questioning beyond the current 28-day limit. Brown will also establish a new, highly visible uniformed police force that will patrol airports and ports. A system of electronic screening will check people crossing borders against a "warnings index" data base in real time. In the longer run, Britain will require biometric visas for all applicants after March 2008.

"Our country—and all countries—have to confront a generation-long challenge to defeat al-Qaeda-inspired terror violence," Brown told the House of Commons yesterday, according to the International Herald Tribune. The uniformed border police, which will combine the immigration, customs officers, and others—a proposal made by the British Conservative Party five years ago—will be implemented very soon, Brown said.

Brown Orders Closing of Agency Probing BAE

July 26 (EIRNS)—British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has ordered the closure of the Defense Export Services Organization (DESO), thus potentially burying the evidence concerning the key government agency involved in the 20-year, multi-billion-dollar "Al-Yamamah" arms deal negotiated between Britain's BAE Systems and Saudi Prince Bandar.

Britain's Serious Fraud Office (SFO) had been investigating DESO for its role in the affair, until the Blair government closed down the investigation for "national security" reasons last December. DESO head Alan Garwod, who had worked for BAE from 1977 to 2002, was interrogated by the SFO during the now-aborted investigation.

This follows a posting on the British business news website thisismoney.co.uk, that Her Majesty's government is expected to "cold shoulder" the U.S. Justice Department's request for cooperation in its probe of BAE Systems corruption. The Brown government's move to shut down DESO has also produced an immediate outcry from defense-related producers, worsening the factional situation for the new Prime Minister.

French Confrontation with 'Independent' ECB Heats Up

July 20 (EIRNS)—The European Central Bank on July 18 flatly rejected as "unacceptable" new French attempts to secure greater political influence over monetary policy. France did not give ground, however, and suggested that other countries suffering from the strong euro would come around to its view. In a rare riposte to a specific statement from European Affairs Minister Jean-Pierre Jouyet, ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet emphasized "with gravity" that "any attempt to seek to influence the ECB in the performance of its tasks" was a violation of the bank's founding documents, and that, "Therefore, such declarations are unacceptable." Article 108 of the 1992 Maastricht Treaty, emphasizes its independence from other European Union institutions and national governments, stating explicitly that European officials should "respect this principle and not seek to influence the members of the decision-making bodies of the ECB."

The International Herald Tribune commented that, "Sarkozy's rhetoric has raised red flags across Europe, reinforcing fears in some capitals of a resurgent French economic nationalism."

British Kill Maglev and High-Speed Rail Plans

July 25 (EIRNS)—Newspapers across the United Kingdom today reported that plans for maglev trains, or even TVG or ICE-type high speed trains, have been given the axe. British Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly presented the government's rail "expansion" plans for the country's rail network. But the "expansion" was more like an announcement of going back to the Stone Age. The plan from the Department for Transport (DfT) blocks any consideration of using maglev trains as "too risky and costly," while at the same time, declaring that "speed is not a priority." Therefore, it is putting off development of even conventional high-speed trains in its long-term rail strategy plans.

Since the announcement, there has been an uproar. Scottish Labour MP David Clelland denounced Kelly's plan as "singularly lacking" in vision with the decision to kill maglev. Clelland, among others, has been leading a fight to construct a new high-speed North-South link connecting London and Scotland. That route would not only eliminate key rail and traffic bottlenecks, but it would also unleash decades of economic development.

The real motive behind the DfT's announced plan, is revealed by how it intends to finance the few improvements in the plan. DfT will rely on an increase of revenues from passenger fares to fund any expansion, i.e., few government funds. This refusal to spend for the benefit of its people will lead to an economic train wreck sooner rather than later in the British Isles.