Mulford Threatens India: Sign the Deal Now, or Else

Feb. 11 (EIRNS)—The U.S. Ambassador to India David Mulford, whose propensity is to issue "tough" statements from time to time, to exert pressure on New Delhi on the U.S.-India nuclear deal, raised his voice a notch higher this time: "If this [nuclear deal] is not processed in the present Congress, it is unlikely that this deal will be offered again to India. It certainly would not be revived and offered by any administration, Democratic or Republican, before the year 2010, which is after the life of this administration," referring to India's Manmohan Singh-led coalition government that had agreed to the deal.

Mulford's statement drew angry retorts from the Left politicians in India, who are opposing the deal, arguing that it endangers India's nuclear program. A Communist member of Parliament, D. Raja, reminded newsmen in New Delhi that India is a sovereign nation, with a vibrant Parliament, and cannot be hustled into taking any decision under pressure. He said the U.S. Ambassador's remarks that "if the deal was not processed in the present Congress it would not be offered to India again" amounted to "intimidation." "Who is this Mr. Mulford? Why is he threatening India on the issue?"

Lyndon LaRouche commented on hearing this report: You can hear some Indians, who oppose the anti-sovereign intentions of this deal, breathing a sigh of relief: "Thank God for David Mulford."

Shultz's Philippines Triumvirate Collapses

Feb. 11 (EIRNS)—Since 2001, when George Shultz and his boys in the Philippines pulled off their second military coup, this time against President Joseph Estrada (the first was the 1986 coup against Ferdinand Marcos), the Philippines has been run by a triumvirate of puppet President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Gen. Fidel Ramos (Shultz's man on the spot, who also ran the 1986 coup), and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Jose de Venecia. De Venecia has served as the primary asset of the Heritage Foundation circles in Washington, offering up the Philippines for sale cheap, to the London-New York speculators, with debt-for-equity schemes and constitutional changes to allow the foreign takeover of mining and other industries.

Last week, de Venecia was dumped as Speaker by his own ruling party, and is likely to be thrown out of the party. Meanwhile, he held a high-profile dinner with the deposed President Estrada, and is threatening to "tell all" about the corruption and the election theft in the Arroyo Administration.

While it is unclear what plans are being activated behind the turmoil, it is certain that the turmoil itself is a primary intention of the British/neocon networks who pull the strings—in keeping with the chaos being unleashed by the British internationally as the financial system unravels.

The spark was a deal signed by the Arroyo government with China to build an extensive broadband network across the Philippines. De Venecia's son Joey made a counter-offer, for a far less extensive, but also less expensive, network. When the deal went to the Chinese, Joey and his Daddy accused the government (and Gloria's husband in particular) of huge kickbacks and corruption in the deal. This accusation smelled for many reasons, not the least of which being that de Venecia's friends at the Heritage Foundation have always denounced Gloria Arroyo for her ties to China, simply as part of their anti-China campaign. The President eventually cancelled the deal, while denying the corruption charge.

Now, an engineer, who was part of the deal, is accusing the head of the elections commission (who was also in on the scheme) of getting a multimillion-dollar kickback, in payment for having fixed elections for Arroyo! This led to the de Venecia ouster, as Arroyo fights back.

With the hyperinflationary explosion ripping through Asia and the world, the already destitute Philippines economy is being thrown to the wolves, while the leading families are turned against each other. LaRouche allies in the Philippines are focused on reviving the economic leadership lacking in the nation since the Marcos coup, which stole the nation's sovereignty.

Thailand: Big Infrastructure, General Welfare Revived

Feb. 11 (EIRNS)—When the government of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was deposed in a military coup in September 2006, applauded by the civil society networks backed up by Wall Street, Thaksin's large-scale development projects and programs for the poor were cut back or put on hold. Now, with the first post-coup election turning power back to a pro-Thaksin party coalition, led by the People's Power Party of Samak Sundaravej, the projects are back on the table, and then some.

Although Thailand is facing the same hyperinflationary disaster as the rest of the world, the government, which took office last week, has committed to: a three-year study to devise a plan for nuclear power development (proposed by the outgoing military government); nine mass transit routes around Bangkok; a water project to capture floodwater from the Mekong to irrigate the arid Northeast; reviving in full the debt forgiveness program for farmers and cheap access to hospital care for all. Also, two beneficial programs launched under the military junta—partial currency controls and compulsory licensing to produce generic drugs, bypassing the big international pharmaceutical companies—will likely be retained, although the new party criticized them during the election campaign.