Beyond the Afghanistan War: Backgound To Gen. Ze'evi's Assassination...

Four days after LaRouche's warning, on Oct. 17, Israeli rightwing extremist and cabinet minister, General (ret.) Rehavam Ze'evi, was assassinated. Immediately, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) claimed responsability, saying it was to avenge Israel's assassination of PFLP chairman Abu Ali Mustafa on Aug. 27.

In an Oct. 20 statement, LaRouche 1) pointed to the context and the characteristic features of Ze'evi's assassination; and 2) asked Cui Bono, who benefitted from the assassination of Ze'evi?

Regarding the first point, LaRouche emphasized that it would be irresponsible to "exclude the strong evidence suggesting that on the list of suspects in seeking out the authorship of the assassination, could be the Israeli military itself.... Qualified security specialists are compelled to ask whether or not Ze'evi was killed as a substitute for the Sharon who was already a candidate for assassination by the most desperate faction of the Israeli military command. Given the realities of Israeli security practices, and Ze'evi's own capabilities, a group such as PFLP would not have attempted such an assassination unless they were confident that the expected several layers of official and private security-screens around Ze'evi were down.... In the case of the two relevant Palestinian combat associations, the PFLP and Hamas, the role of the Israeli and certain other governments in building these up as rivals to the Arafat-led Fatah organization, is typical of the kinds of operations in which Ariel Sharon and his long-standing accomplice Ze'evi were active."

Regarding the second point, LaRouche asked, "Who benefitted from the assassination of Ze'evi? None other than that section of the Israeli military command which is determined to bully the Bush administration into allowing, or even conducting full-scale attacks on Syria and Iraq."

Also, within hours of Ze'evi's death, Israeli armored forces moved into the major towns of the West Bank in the Palestinian Authority-controlled Area A. The Israel government has issued an ultimatum to the Palestinian Authority (PA) to arrest and extradite the assassins, and to suppress the PFLP and other Palestinian organizations - or be treated as an "terrorist entity." Already before the killing of Ze'evi, the "liquidations" of Palestinian leaders by Israel had been stepped up. PA President Yassir Arafat warned that he himself was being targetted for assassination. These actions by Israel are no "emotional revenge" response, but coolly calculated to destroy the PA under Arafat, which is the only force in Palestine willing and able to make a just peace with Israel. At the same time, Ze'evi's assassination is being used by the Sharon government, to preempt any potential new peace initiative by the United States, Russia and the European Union.

... Will Syria Be the Next Target?

Since late August, and especially since Sept. 11, senior figures in the Bush administration, most explicitly Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, have issued a series of warnings and threats against the government in Damascus for allegedly protecting or colluding with terrorist groups.

A senior British military source indicated that the Anglo-American war in Afghanistan, now in its third week, is only the "initial phase" of the so-called "war against terrorism. I don't think we are being told what is really happening militarily, in and around Afghanistan," the source said, "I think it is a 'blind,' for action being planned in the Middle East, against Syria, and conceivably Iraq."

According to this source, "there have been regular reconnaissance flights over Syria recently. Syria is becoming a foremost concern, given developments in Lebanon - the Hezbollah - and the PFLP." In Lebanon, where Hezbollah is based, the Syrian government exerts major influence and some 20,000 Syrian troops are stationed there. The PFLP maintains a headquarters in Damascus. The source also pointed to "new revelations" which can be expected to emerge on the Lockerbie bombing.

A Scottish court, residing in The Hague, had convicted a Libyan intelligence operative for involvement in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. It should be remembered that the original investigative trail in the Lockerbie bombing was leading to the Palestinian Front for the Liberation of Palestine/General Command - a split-off from the PFLP and also headquartered in Damascus. This track was buried after it became clear that Syria would have to become part of the 1990-1991 "Gulf War Coalition," led by George Bush Sr. and Maggie Thatcher. According to the above mentioned source, the "Lybian track" was "fiction," which was fabricated largely by the current FBI director Robert Mueller. Now, on Oct. 15, an appeal process was initiated in The Hague, which will "rip apart the Libyan track" and the "Syrian angle" will come out.

This source further stated that, in his view, Bush and Blair "will deal with Syria," while the Israelis "will stay out" of direct military action. The likelihood for such a course of events has increased with the assassination Israeli Tourism Minister Ze'evi, but "the timetable for military operations is not clear." One complication is Iran, which, because of its ties to Hezbollah, is also targetted by Israeli and Anglo-American circles. But, said the source, there will be an attempt to outflank that, by making it known that it is not politically correct to strike Iran. They hope to kill two birds with one stone, hit Syria, but woo Iran."

The London Daily Telegraph, on Oct. 20, carried an article, titled "Syria Sponsors Terrorism." The article states that Syria, "one of the main sponsors of violent Islamic radicals in the Middle East, has escaped censure, in the anti-terrorist campaign launched by George Bush. That is understandable, at a time when the allies are preoccupied with Afghanistan. Yet, in any extension of the global war on terrorism, Damascus does not deserve to be so lucky.... For the moment, the allies are concentrating on defeating Osama bin Laden, while going through the motions of reviving Middle East peace talks, in order to keep the Arabs within the anti-terrorism coalition. When that phase is over, Syria should be confronted with a choice, on the lines presented by Israel to Mr Arafat: either it closes the Islamist offices in Damascus, and allows the Lebanese army into southern Lebanon, or it will be deemed a rogue state, and liable to punitive military action."

US Industrial Collapse Worst Since 1945

During the 12 months since September 2000, US industrial production index fell by 5.8%. But within industrial production, there is a sharp differentiation: the manufacturing production index, which makes up 87.4% of the industrial production (IP) index, fell by 6.7%. The manufacturing base is plummeting across the board, from capital goods like industrial machinery, to intermediate goods like primary metals (steel, copper, etc.), to consumer goods, like clothing. Further, during the 3rd Quarter of this year, relative to the 2nd Quarter, for several industries the tempo of collapse intensified: during this period, the production of semiconductors fell by 24.8%; that of industrial machinery fell by 15.9%; that of textile mill products fell by 16.6%; etc.

Moreover, the Federal Reserve's statistical methodology used to construct the industrial production index is fraudulent - playing down the depth of the crisis. One such fraud, is the ludicrous "Quality Adjustment Movement" (QAM), which calculates imputed production "increases" based on alleged "quality improvements." Without such statistical trickery, EIR estimates that the manufacturing production fall is likely closer to 9%. Were the rate of infrastructure collapse factored in, as it should be, then the combined manufacturing and infrastructure collapse would be much larger.

Consumer spending in America fell by 2.4% in September, meaning that there was negative growth for the US economy in the 3rd Quarter. The various measures to "stimulate" the US economy during the past months are not having an effect, because increasing numbers of Americans believe they are going to lose their jobs. The latest polls indicates that more than 30% of Americans still employed think they are "likely" or "highly likely" to lose their jobs in the near future. And that fear is not paranoid, as new massive job losses are reported every day. Just on Oct. 16, it was announced that the telecommunications firm Sprint may cut 10,000 more jobs; the technology firm TRW is cutting 1,100 jobs in aerospace; the computer/software firm Unisys (formerly Sperry Rand) will be cutting 3,000 jobs; United Technologies, which produces the Pratt & Whitney plane engines, is cutting 5,000 jobs, which is 3% of its work force.

Paradigmatic for the ongoing collapse of the US economy, is the Oct. 15 filing for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, of America's third largest steel producer, Bethlehem Steel. The company, which goes back to 1857, milled the steel in the Golden Gate Bridge, was the largest ship builder in World War II, and provided the steel for the first US aircraft carrier. Bethlehem is the 28th US steel company to seek bankruptcy protection since 1998, including LTV Corp. and Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corp., which have yet to find a merger partner. Bethlehem has been selling off assets over the past few months to generate cash, and has $4.5 billion in debt, with $4.2 billion in assets. After filing for bankruptcy protection, it received a $450 million loan from General Electric's GE Capital unit to continue operations while it restructures, or until it finds a merger partner or buyer. Leo Gerard, president of the United Steel Workers of America (USW) trade union, said: "It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that if Washington doesn't take action now, an industry crucial to America's security will be bled to death."

Anthrax Scare: Psychological Warfare Against US Population

Following irrational and irresponsible statements, by Congressional leader Hastert, that the ventilation system there had been affected, and by Senator Joseph Liberman, that there was a danger of rampant infection, the unprecedented decision was made to close the House of Representatives for four days, until Oct. 23. This came at a time when the war on Afghanistan was escalating, President Bush was outside the country, in Shanghai for the APEC summit, and none of the alleged perpetrators of the Sept. 11 attacks had been apprehended. In addition, leading political figures asserted, without any shred of evidence, that the anthrax attacks could have originated with Osama Bin Laden or the Al Qaida organization. The net effect, of mass hysteria, has been to create the impression of a second phase of the "covert strategic operation" of Sept. 11.

The facts show a totally different picture. After one person died, having inhaled the spores, four or five others have been affected, and have been treated successfully with antiobiotics. Thirty people were contaminated by the letter sent to Daschle's office, but none were infected, and all are being treated with antibiotics. Major General John Parker, head of the medical research laboratories of the US Army in Fort Detrick, Maryland, declared that what was found in Daschle's office, was "a common variety," not high-resistant or "weaponized." FBI Director Mueller said there was no evidence of links to "organized terrorism." The material found in Florida, was of a type readily available since 1996, from the American Type Culture Collection, by internet. On Oct. 19, the White House announced that the anthrax found in New York, Washington and Florida were the same strain, and may have come from a single source. Experts have pointed to the possibility that such cultures could have ended up in the hands of militia members, or fanatics like the Unabomber, who sent letter bombs for 17 years before he was arrested in 1996. Such militia groups, with their anti-government and anti-press ideology, could have decided to exploit the climate of fear created by the Sept. 11 events. The propaganda apparatus, in the national media, readily seized on the new development, although no serious danger of mass infection existed. Administration officials, by Oct. 19, had to admit that they did not rule out that the letters could have come from a domestic source.

One of Britain's leading experts on bio-terrorism, commented to EIR, "It's a follow-on McVeigh operation," referring to the militia member convicted and executed for responsibility in the 1995 Oklahoma City Federal building bombing. This expert insisted that what is unfolding, is a "domestic-US situation; the fact is, al-Qaida and bin Laden have nothing to do with it, although I'm sure they are laughing all the way to the bank, at the success of this operation in closing down America." He pointed to the shutdown of the Congress as an "over-reaction," and reported on widespread fears of flying among Americans. "People are running around like headless chickens."

A second high-level British source, commented to EIR, that "this anthrax matter is being internally generated, and things internal to the US are involved. There are some people, or networks, inside the US, who are using this to settle old scores." Noting that it "doesn't fit the kind of operation from a group like Osama bin Laden's," he said he thought it was "a political tactic better suited to an internal organization in the US, and is probably consistent with the kinds of processes that you and I have been discussing, since Sept. 11."