Report on the 163rd meeting of the International Peace Coalition (IPC)
July 26, 2026 (EIRNS)—The 164th consecutive weekly meeting of the International Peace Coalition (IPC) commenced with remarks by Helga Zepp-LaRouche, Schiller Institute founder and IPC initiator, who called attention to very important recent statements by retired German Air Force four-star general Harald Kujat.
She noted that it is incomprehensible to him how world leaders can be so oblivious to the lessons of history that they could seriously contemplate a third world war. She referred specifically to the threat of a U.S. attack on Iranian facilities that are located deep in Pickaxe Mountain, “out of reach of bunker buster bombs…. What hangs there in the air is the potential that a nuclear weapon could be used.” Due to the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the entrance to the Red Sea, both of which are vital to shipments of many products including crude oil and oil products, liquified natural gas, and various types of fertilizer, “A hunger crisis in the world is already pre-programmed.” She commented further on the “strange agreement” of U.S. President Donald Trump with the Saudis which purportedly provides assistance for nuclear energy development, but also requires Saudi Arabia to sign the Abraham Accords, which the Saudis will absolutely not do. Unfortunately, she said, after 164 weeks of IPC meetings, “we are closer to nuclear war than when we started.”
Jack Gilroy is a regular IPC participant who represents Veterans for Peace, Pax Christi–New York State, and Pax Christi International. He opened by saying, “People cannot continue to live in denial” about the war danger. He reminded the participants of how, during the Cuban Missile Crisis, President John F. Kennedy used trusted friends like Norman Cousins as backchannel intermediaries to Pope John XXIII. He then gave an update on his organization’s Letter to Archbishop Wester, which was scheduled to be sent in hard copy on the same day the IPC meeting took place.
In the Shadow of Jonathan Pollard
Jose Vega, independent candidate for New York’s 15th Congressional District in the Bronx, briefed the participants on Section 219 of the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). This section is titled “American-Israeli Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative,” but it were better called the “Jonathan Pollard Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative,” because it would share with the Israeli military the same sort of intelligence products which Pollard stole for them, and for which he was convicted of espionage. The NDAA, with this benighted section intact, has unfortunately now passed the House. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu personally takes credit for this section, which he says moves Israel’s status from aid recipient to formal partner. This has become controversial nationwide, due to the efforts of the IPC and former Congressman Dennis Kucinich to expose it. Vega listed journalists and podcasters on both the left and right who have covered this. Even U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC), the Democratic Congresswoman for New York’s 14th C.D. (which includes the eastern part of the Bronx and parts of north-central Queens in New York City) has commented on it.
Prof. Clifford Kiracofe of the Washington Institute for Peace and Development explained the importance of calls and emails to elected officials. Hand-written postcards are perhaps the most effective means of communication, as they are instantly accessible and personal. He explained how the offending Section 219 could be deleted in the House-Senate reconciliation process.
Referring to the need for a new international security and development architecture as proposed by Zepp-LaRouche, he emphasized, “It’s extremely important that we have that vision in front of us.” He recalled that the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche was an important force behind the rise of militarism in the 19th Century, but there were also many conferences that focused on diplomacy, which is what we need today.
Moderator Anastasia Battle made a point of announcing the phone number for the U.S. Capitol Switchboard, 202-224-2131, for people to call their Congressman and Senators.
Larry Johnson, former CIA intelligence official and a member of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS), predicted a major assault by the United States against Iran on the day of the IPC meeting, “after the stock market closes.” He also forecast a response by Iran that would be directed at Israel, including its refineries that produce diesel and aviation fuel. He said it is obvious that Russia and China are aiding Iran; both countries are interested in testing U.S. response to their weapons technology, and they are also glad to see the United States expending its arsenal.
Zepp-LaRouche responded, saying, “I think that if this happens, we are in a new geometry of destruction.”
Kiracofe asked Johnson to comment on Pakistan. Johnson said that the United States presently has a major influence in Pakistan, in part because Pakistan is presently requesting a $10 billion financial support facility from the U.S. Many feel that imprisoned Pakistani leader Imran Khan was undemocratically ousted from his elected role as President. He went on to say that reports of disunity in Iran are exaggerated and propagandistic.
Kiracofe referenced his own, 2024 book, Dark Crusade: The Israel Lobby and Christian Zionism. He briefly discussed the history of Christian Zionism, and how it views Russia, China and Iran as the bad guys who must be vanquished in order to arrange a successful Apocalypse. The British have used it for geopolitical purposes, “in the Palmerston mode.” “Frankly, it’s a counterintelligence issue,” he said, and warned that self-described “U.S. Secretary of War” Pete Hegseth and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee are Christian Zionists. All the conventional churches consider it a heresy, but it plays a key role in U.S. politics, which is why we have Section 219 of the NDAA.
Zepp-LaRouche responded, “The fact that the United States now is acting on a Palmerston profile is no coincidence,” referring to mid-19th-Century British Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary Lord Palmerston. When the British realized they could not conquer the U.S. militarily, they shifted gears to a strategy of persuading the United States to adopt a British imperial world outlook. This is an irony of history, and there are others: “In Germany, they have no problem with joining the fight against the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court.”
Johnson said in conclusion, “The one country in the world that has consistently violated every international agreement is the United States…. It’s not China which has 700 military bases scattered all around the world.” Yet the United States has the illusion that “we’re the good guys.”
Discussion
Zepp-LaRouche said that the United Nations General Assembly is the immediate focal point for international collaboration for peace. She noted that the ASEAN nations had issued a statement in opposition to the U.S. war against Iran. The BRICS nations, who have also played an important role, have all been targeted by the neocons with various kinds of internal destabilization.
A British woman who is a regular IPC participant praised the work of Francesca Albanese, an Italian legal scholar and, since May 2022, UN Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, and announced the publication of Albanese’s new book, When the World Sleeps: Stories, Words, and Wounds of Palestine.
A farm activist from Missouri reported on how his organization uses EIR and IPC materials in their activism, and endorsed the practice of calling the U.S. Congress.
Zepp-LaRouche said in her concluding remarks, “There is an unbelievable dismantling of civil rights in Europe and also the United States.” We need treaties to control the use of artificial intelligence (AI) for military purposes. She urged the participants to take Jack Gilroy’s letter to any religious institution with which they may be affiliated, warning, “Many of them speak a language which is not the language of peace.” The Pope has said “the road to war is a road of no return,” and that should be taken very seriously. She urged people to circulate computer translations of the article by Kujat.
eir
