{"id":77854,"date":"2021-08-01T13:21:26","date_gmt":"2021-08-01T17:21:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/schillerinstitute.com\/?p=77854"},"modified":"2021-08-01T13:21:28","modified_gmt":"2021-08-01T17:21:28","slug":"schiller-institute-afghanistan-webinar-circulate-a-common-interest-development-program-right-away","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/schillerinstitute.com\/es\/blog\/2021\/08\/01\/schiller-institute-afghanistan-webinar-circulate-a-common-interest-development-program-right-away\/","title":{"rendered":"Schiller Institute Afghanistan Webinar: Circulate a Common Interest Development Program Right Away"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

July 31 (EIRNS)–Today the Schiller Institute brought together in a five-hour intense discussion at an international virtual conference, diplomats and experts from many nations, including Afghanistan, Russia, China, Pakistan, the United States, Italy and others, on the theme: \u00abAfghanistan: A Turning Point in History After the Failed Regime-Change Era.\u00bb

Helga Zepp-LaRouche (Germany,) Chairwoman and founder of the Schiller Institute, who has been leading a process of institutional and informal dialogue for the past 18 months, said at the conclusion of today\u2019s event, that we now \u00abhave a perspective of where to go.\u00bb The priority is \u00abto put development on the table, which will be difficult to refuse\u00bb by anyone, and to give all the support possible to make it happen. The last speaker of the day, Hussein Askary (Sweden\/Iraq,) Southwest Asia Coordinator for the Schiller Institute, put it forcefully, that we must \u00abmake development the first item\u00bb in any talks, not the last. He warned, \u00abKeep the warlords and the British out!\u00bb Askary\u2019s presentation, which covered concrete aspects of development, was titled, \u00abPut Afghanistan on the Belt and Road to Peace.\u00bb

The event was opened by Moderator Dennis Speed (U.S.A.), who said that the deliberations would change the usual conception of war or peace, to partake of the diplomacy of formulating policies for mutual understanding and development. He introduced a short 1985 video by statesman-economist Lyndon LaRouche making the point, with reference to President Abraham Lincoln\u2019s record, that the power of infrastructure transforms an economy. Zepp-LaRouche\u2019s opening remarks stressed that we are at a special moment in history, where geopolitical confrontation must be ended, and a new paradigm begun\u2014not only for Eurasian integration and prosperity, but for universal history. She showed the beautiful \u00abGolden Mask\u00bb artifact, to make the point of the 5,000-year history of the Central Asian region.

Playing a lead role in the discussion from beginning to end was Professor Pino Arlacchi (Italy), who participated from Italy. Currently Sociology Professor at the Sassari University, he was Executive Director of the UN Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention (1997-2002,) and former European Parliament Rapporteur on Afghanistan. He spoke on, \u00abEradicate Opium in Afghanistan, Develop Modern Agriculture, Build the Nation, Now.\u00bb He described his original plan which by 2001 had nearly eliminated opium poppy growing in Afghanistan, which then was reversed under the ensuing years from 2001 of U.S. and NATO military operations. Arlacchi again proposed a plan in 2010, which was thwarted by the EU, Britain and the U.S. Today, Afghanistan is the source of over 80% of the world\u2019s opium drugs. Arlacchi laid out what can and must be done today. The needed approach uses alternative agriculture\u2014supporting farmers to switch to other crops, and similar realistic methods. Arlacchi stressed how relatively inexpensive this is, given the huge leverage by the drug cartels. Farmers in Afghanistan might get $300 to 350 million for their opium crop, which then is worth $20 billion to organized crime in Europe. There are many alternative crops of great use and value, for example saffron.

The diplomats presented a sweeping picture of the present situation. Ambassador Hassan Shoroosh (Afghanistan), the Afghanistan ambassador to Canada, spoke from Ottawa, saying that there is a \u00abnew chapter of partnership\u00bb ahead, which must be worked out. His talk was, \u00abThe Way Forward for Afghanistan.\u00bb He said that his country is \u00abpositioned to serve as a land-bridge\u00bb in Eurasia, and reviewed in detail various transportation corridors, from the Lapis Lazuli Corridor, to the Five Nations Railway route.

Ambassador Anna Evstigneeva (Russia,) from the New York City, where she is Deputy Permanent Representative at the Mission of the Russian Federation to the UN. Her presentation was titled, \u00abRussia\u2019s Outlook for Afghanistan and Eurasia.\u00bb She stressed that the goal is stability, and there is no military solution. There are important frameworks among the neighbors in the region, including the CSTO and SCO and bilateral relations. There is a special role for the \u00abextended troika,\u00bb which has been in place for many years. There are meetings coming up in the near future. She noted that transport and infrastructure are of great significance.

Dr. Wang Jin (China,) Fellow at The Charhar Institute, spoke on the topic, \u00abAfghanistan and the Belt and Road Initiative.\u00bb He presented four key aspects of China\u2019s concerns: 1) that there are no \u00abspillover\u00bb impacts of instability; 2) that there is a future of advancement for Afghanistan; 3) that extremism and terrorism do not gain ground; and 4) that China and Afghanistan have positive ties.

From Pakistan, Mr. Hassan Daud spoke. He is the CEO of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province Board of Investment. He pointed out that Afghanistan is one of \u00abthe least integrated\u00bb economically in the Central and South Asian region, after these decades of strife. He spoke of the great \u00abeconomic spillover\u00bb that will ensure, with Pakistan leveraging its position and resources to become a logistical hub, and extending benefits to Afghanistan through CPEC and the BRI. We must have \u00abthe spirit of the ancient Silk Road\u00bb again. He called for more seminars on this, involving scholars, chambers of commerce and others.

From the United States, Ray McGovern spoke. He is a former analyst at the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, co-founder of the Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity. Addressing the topic, \u00abThe Real Interest of the United States in Asia,\u00bb he made many strong points, including that there must be \u00abaccountability\u00bb for the string of commanders who lied about what the U.S. was doing in Afghanistan, also in Iraq and elsewhere. He dramatically pointed out, that there weren\u2019t even competent \u00absituation estimates\u00bb that should have been done, about terrain, weather, LOC\u2014lines of communication, and other standard assessments of what the U.S. is doing in places. In 2010, the U.S. Navy logistics was paying $400 a gallon to put gas in the tanks of military vehicles in Afghanistan! He hit hard at the racism involved in presuming you can do anything, anywhere; he quoted Kipling.

Many others were involved in the two question and answer periods, with important exchanges over key topics. For example, Earl Rasmussen, Vice President of the Eurasian Society, raised the point of the necessity to build trust. Dr. Stephen Fischer, an American physician, reported on a year he spent in public health in Afghanistan, working with a provincial reconstruction team. Zepp-LaRouche stressed many times, that in the context of the prolonged pandemic, it is imperative that we move in Afghanistan, and everywhere, for public health and modern medical care infrastructure.

Ambassador Anna Evstigneeva made a concluding point, that it is \u00abimportant to rise above geopolitics.\u00bb She said that in Russia, \u00abat all levels, including President Putin,\u00bb we are ready for cooperation.\u00bb Helga Zepp-LaRouche called on the panelists, and anyone in the viewing audience, to contribute to the development program perspective under discussion, and mobilize. Prof. Arlacchi, who has a new book out, Against Fear<\/em> (in Italian,) gave parting words that, \u00abpeace is stronger than war. Let\u2019s be more courageous. Not a victim of huge deceptions.\u00bb The full conference is archived for viewing<\/strong><\/a>. Now is the time to join the Schiller Institute.

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

July 31 (EIRNS)–Today the Schiller Institute brought together in a five-hour intense discussion at an international virtual conference, diplomats and experts from many nations, including Afghanistan, Russia, China, Pakistan, the United States, Italy and others, on the theme: \u00abAfghanistan: A Turning Point in History After the Failed Regime-Change Era.\u00bb Helga Zepp-LaRouche (Germany,) Chairwoman and founder […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":37,"featured_media":77855,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[484,738,640,520,538,508,639,470,749,510,488,739,660,626,641],"tags":[842],"class_list":["post-77854","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-activity","category-afghanistan","category-china","category-updates-development","category-updates-ru","category-updates-geopolitics","category-global-diplomacy","category-helga-zepp-larouche-ru","category-italy","category-activity-conference","category-activity-economic","category-pakistan-global-diplomacy","category-russia","category-committee-for-the-coincidence-of-opposites","category-united-states","tag-lang-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/schillerinstitute.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77854","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/schillerinstitute.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/schillerinstitute.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schillerinstitute.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/37"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schillerinstitute.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=77854"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/schillerinstitute.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77854\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":77868,"href":"https:\/\/schillerinstitute.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77854\/revisions\/77868"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schillerinstitute.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/77855"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/schillerinstitute.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=77854"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schillerinstitute.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=77854"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schillerinstitute.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=77854"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}