In this issue:

Building Peace Is a Permanent Effort—Pope John Paul II

Say Discussion of Central UN Role in Iraq Equals Support for Illegal War

British Military Historian: Bush's Washington a Scary Place

Former German Diplomat Fears Permanent U.S. War

Labour Dissident Galloway: By Siding with Bush, Blair Made the War Possible

Israeli Justice Minister Calls Off Meeting with German Foreign Minister

France's De Villepin Tours Arab World

First Spanish MP Deserts Aznar over Iraq War

German Economic Daily: SARS Could Severely Disrupt Global Economy

From Volume 2, Issue Number 15 of Electronic Intelligence Weekly, Published April 14, 2003

Western European News Digest

Building Peace Is a Permanent Effort—Pope John Paul II

"The building of peace is a permanent effort," said Pope John Paul II April 6, during his weekly address at St. Peter's Square. "In particular, my thought goes to Iraq, and to all those involved in the war that rages there. I think in a special way about the defenseless civilian population, which in various cities is undergoing a hard test," he said. He urged that the conflict end soon, "to make room for a new era of pardon, love and peace." Expressing great concern that the Iraq war would hurt relations between Muslims and Christians, the Pope reiterated that there is no legal or moral justification for military action against Iraq.

Say Discussion of Central UN Role in Iraq Equals Support for Illegal War

Discussion of a central role for the UN in Iraq is tantamount to support for an illegal war, asserted Gilles Delafon, in France's Journal du Dimanche April 6; Delafon violently attacked those in Europe and elsewhere who have illusions about a "postwar" Iraq in which the UN will have a major role. "Why are the Europeans allowing themselves to be taken again for a ride by Colin Powell, as if the slap in the face of the UN leading up to the war had not occurred, and as if Bush had not this week decided in favor of Rumsfeld ... in the post-Saddam" Iraq? Delafon asked.

Delafon argued that "Igor Ivanov, the Russian Foreign Minister, is right to evaluate as 'premature' any 'postwar' talk, and limits himself to calling for a 'halt to hostilities.' More timid, the French and the Germans should also stick to this line.... How can it be possible to promote 'from today' a 'central role for the UN' in an illegal operation, without supporting a posteriori the American aggression?"

And why send the UN in? "In Iraq today, the UN would walk into a trap. The future emerging after the fall of the dictator resembles a Gaza in Mesopotamia."

Delafon nailed the Chickenhawks, including James "World War IV" Woolsey, "gangster Richard Perle," and Rumsfeld, who would enrich themselves through reconstruction contracts, and who are "the people, not Colin Powell, who are outlining American politics today. By pretending to ignore this, the Europeans could very well lose their souls."

Writing in the same issue of Journal du Dimanche editor-in-chief Jean Claude Maurice fully supported illusions concerning a post-Saddam Iraq, thereby making clear the huge factional struggles behind the scenes. Maurice wrote that Saddan Hussein's regime was "at the end of its rope. It's a matter of days, or hours perhaps"; he added that the Marines were preparing themselves for the guerrilla warfare for which they were trained "last autumn, by Israel, in a place kept secret, where they had built two false cities, with false mosques, laundry drying from the windows, and even donkeys in the small streets."

"In the 'post-Saddam' Iraq," Maurice continued, the axis of "France, Germany and Russia have two allies: Colin Powell and Tony Blair.... These days, one hears Colin Powell more than Rumsfeld. When Condi Rice explains that nobody should be astonished if the Anglo-American coalition decides what to do without the UN, Powell corrects it, saying that 'the United Nations will be a partner in all that.' " When the U.S. Congress prohibits France, Germany, and Syria from bidding on Iraqi reconstruction, Powell attacks this is an "unproductive exclusion" and promises he will make sure that Congress adopts an amendment that "excludes this exclusion amendment."

Similarly for Tony Blair, claimed Maurice.

British Military Historian: Bush's Washington a Scary Place

"Bush's Washington alarms me greatly," warned British military historian Prof. Corelli Barnett, speaking to EIR April 7. "They are so enthusiastic about their military power and technology, that they are determined to use it." Barnett, a strong opponent of the Iraq war, told EIR, "Frankly, they would do well to abide more by what their hero Teddy Roosevelt said, about speaking softly and carrying a big stick, since these people carry a big stick, and speak very loudly."

Barnett, who said had arrived at the same conclusion as Lyndon LaRouche, about the ominous parallels between the Nazi regime's behavior in 1938-39 and Rumsfeld-Cheney now, said: "Yes, these are very worrying people. But so is Wolfowitz, I am alarmed when I hear him speak.... Frankly, it would be better for the world, if further American military action in Iraq is nastier and messier than is being claimed, to discourage the Americans from being too aggressive.... In any case, the war is the easy part. What we are seeing now, is not even the end of the beginning. The follow-on is where all the problems will come to the fore, because this war is unleashing deep, deep anger and resentment in the Arab and Muslim world, and this will have repercussions."

On the military aspects of the war as such, beyond Baghdad, Barnett said (some of this is, of course, by now outdated), "The fact is, the Americans have not taken the other major towns, which are along the American lines of communication. All this could be quite messy. And I think the Americans are concealing the amount of casualties they have suffered."

He has been watching, with great interest the opposition of leading American military figures to the conduct of the war, since Gen Barry McCaffrey (ret.) and others have been on British television. "Their views are shared by leading British generals, who had been involved in the first Gulf War of 1991, who have all been expressing caution about the military side of this current war. And there are certainly strains, between the British and Americans about the war."

Former German Diplomat Fears Permanent U.S. War

Former longtime German diplomat Guenter Gaus, 73, says he fears a permanent U.S. war, for 50-80 years to come. In an interview with the Sueddeutsche Zeitung, a daily for which he worked in the early 1960s, Gaus, who was chief West German envoy to East Berlin, 1973-81, said that although (in his view) the capitalist system has outlived itself, it will keep degenerating for some time, definitely "for a longer period" than the Soviet system did.

"It will not proceed so bloodlessly as the decline of the East bloc. It will not be that they won't shoot. Capitalism will shoot. That will last for 50 or even 80 years. And I do not know what will emerge from this horrible transition period, the beginning of which we seem to be living through now. There will be increasing misery; capitalism will not step down just like that, as socialism did."

Labour Dissident Galloway: By Siding with Bush, Blair Made the War Possible

British Labour Party dissident George Galloway blasted Prime Minister Tony Blair for having made the Iraq war possible by siding with George W. Bush. In an interview with the German Junge Welt daily April 9, the Labour Party member of the House of Commons announced a huge wave of protests across the United Kingdom for the anti-war action day, April 12. "The opposition against the war is so energetic here," he said, "because this country has a 50% share of guilt in this crime."

"I am convinced that the war would not have taken pace had Tony Blair not stood side-to-side with George Bush. Blair has an enormous responsibility for that.... In my view, the Labour Party has to draw consequences and get rid of its present leadership. Otherwise, a new Labour Party has to emerge."

When, on March 18, some 139 Labour Party Members of Parliament voted against Blair, it was "the biggest revolt in Parliament since 1832," Galloway said, which Blair survived only because he was backed by the oposition Tories in his war drive. "But fact is that never before has the British Army fought in a war with so little support of the Parliament and the population."

What Britain should do is to pull out of the war instantly, Galloway recommended. "The first thing that the Britons must do: Stop the murderous attacks on Iraqi cities, and negotiate on an exit from this unbearable situation at the UN Security Council. I suppose that with the present U.S. leadership this is not possible, but it should be possible with Great Britain. Every single day, we are losing soldiers. We are in the mud. We have the choice now either to stay there, which will only make problems bigger, or to begin with the pull-out from this catastrophic mistake."

Israeli Justice Minister Calls Off Meeting with German Foreign Minister

Israeli Justice Minister Yosef Lapid called of his meeting with German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer at the last minute April 7, according to AP, when Lapid demanded Fischer come to his office in East Jerusalem, which was incorporated into Israel after the June 1967 war. Fischer refused, so Lapid cancelled. An Israeli spokesman said, "Germany will not dictate where Israel has sovereignty in Jerusalem." The German embassy said it was not informed of venue change.

A second crisis erupted over Fischer's intention to meet with Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat on April 9. An Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman said: "We would not presume to tell the German Foreign Minister whom to meet with. However, he is aware of our feelings on the matter, which are quite clear." The disconnect was compounded by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon saying he wanted 15 changes made to the latest "road map" to peace (arrived at by the U.S. European Union, UN, and Russia).

Swedish Prime Minister Persson is expected in Israel this week, followed by EU foreign affairs envoy Javier Solana next week. Arafat spokesman Abu Rdenah said, "This is the beginning of a new European political movement and this is proof that the Palestinian cause is still the central issue in the area" (the Middle East).

France's De Villepin Tours Arab World

French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin toured the Arab world last week. After a meeting with British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw in Paris, where the two agreed on the "urgent need" for a new diplomatic initiative for the road map in the Mideast, Villepin went to Egypt April 11, then to Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Syria over the weekend. He met with Syrian President Basir Assad April 13, and remarked—in reference to American charges that Syria smuggled weapons to Saddam Hussein's regime during the Iraq war, and is receiving fleeing prominent Iraqis—that "This is not the correct time" to put pressure on Syria.

First Spanish MP Deserts Aznar over Iraq War

According to the Spanish paper El Mundo of April 9, Spanish Prime Minister Aznar has suffered his first defection over the Iraq war. Member of Parliament Luis Acin, a deputy from Aznar's ruling Popular Party (PP), said last week he was resigning in protest of the government's support for the war on Iraq.

Acin, who represents the northern Huesca constituency, told the Spanish press:"I cannot take part in a political project that supports the activities of allied troops in Iraq," and said he was giving up his parliamentary seat and handing in his party card.

The spokesman for the PP parliamentary group, Luis de Grandes, reacted by saying Acin's resignation was "exceptional" and was unlikely to be followed by others.

Aznar's party has a large majority in parliament, with 183 seats. The PP deputies have, until now, consistently supported motions in favor of the war.

But about 20 of the PP's more than 24,000 local councillors have resigned since the start of the war because they believe there is no legal basis for the conflict. And former Labor Minister Manuel Pimentel, who withdrew from the government in 2000 because of disagreements over policy, announced on March 23 he was also leaving the PP in protest at the war.

German Economic Daily: SARS Could Severely Disrupt Global Economy

The German economic daily Handelsblatt on April 10 warned that the emerging international epidemic SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) could lead to severe disruption of the globalized economy.

Writing in a special report from Beijing. Handelsblatt noted that the SARS virus is right now spreading "fear and terror" in high-tech industries worldwide. In the center of the nightmares of supply-route experts is the booming Guangdong province in southern China, the source of the infection (and, according to the April 13 Washington Post, the source of a high percentage of the world's influenza strains).

Just as an example, 40% of all microwave ovens worldwide are produced in the Guangdong town of Shunde alone. About 70% of all copy machines worldwide are produced in the provincial town of Shenzhen. In Dongguan, Samsung produces 8 million cell phone displays per year for Nokia and Motorola. All kinds of computer parts are manufactured in this region as well.

Hence, Guangdong is now one of the "nerve centers of global high-tech industries." The Asia/Pacific head of IBM is quoted as saying: "It just requires a traffic jam on the highway between Dongguan and Shenzhen and we will have shortages on the world market for 70% of computer products." At the same time, millions of low-wage workers in this region are producing clothing, toys, and furniture for the rest of the world.

Handelsblatt concluded that as long as medical staff and researchers are not making breakthroughs in the fight against SARS, the danger of "devastating chain reaction breakdowns of global supply flows" is rising day by day.

(Interestingly, it looks as though the CDC and NIH in the United States may be making such progress, with the development of an experimental vaccine said to be likely within the year. See the UNITED STATES NEWS DIGEST.)

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