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Aug. 8, 2025 (EIRNS)—The 114th consecutive weekly meeting of the International Peace Coalition took place on Aug. 8, eighty years after the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Helga Zepp-LaRouche, Schiller Institute founder, opened the session, saying, “There are many people who are acutely aware that the world has never been so close to extinction.” The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were unnecessary because Emperor Hirohito was already negotiating for peace through the Vatican. This was a demonstration of Schrecklichkeit (terror). If the proposed Putin-Trump meeting takes place, it will be the “necessary signal” that nuclear war can be avoided. On the economic war front, Trump’s tariffs are targeting all the BRICS nations, and may inadvertently trigger the de-dollarization which Trump claims to wish to avoid.

Co-moderator Dennis Speed cited the 1946 Strategic Bombing Survey’s official opinion that Japan would have surrendered, even if there were no atomic bombs, no entry of Russia into the war, no invasion. Why do most Americans today still believe the opposite? Why is this not known now, or taught in American universities and schools, 80 years after the events?

Ray McGovern, former CIA analyst and co-founder of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS), said that the “overweening objective of the Russians” has been to restore normal relations with the U.S. The recent meeting with Witkoff was constructive, and “Witkoff is about ten times smarter, in my view, than Marco Rubio,” he said, citing Russian presidential aide for foreign policy Yury Ushakov: Trump was backed into a corner with his threat of an Aug. 8 sanctions deadline, and a summit with Putin offers him a way out.

McGovern also asserted that there is “more than an even chance that Netanyahu has Epstein-type blackmail on our President.” If Israel attacks Iran again, Iran is capable of defending itself. Would Netanyahu, in extremis, resort to nuclear weapons? This is a man who uses genocide to try to defend himself from criminal prosecution.

Anthony Aguilar, a retired U.S. Army Lt. Colonel and Green Beret, worked as a security subcontractor for the Israeli and U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), tasked with delivering aid to the besieged Palestinian enclave. Aguilar said that he doesn’t use the term “war crimes” lightly; he is referring to international agreements to which the U.S. and Israel are signatories. “We are violating those every day.” He described an “active campaign” to dehumanize the Palestinians, putting them in a position where they are “literally begging for food” and then must fight for it at distribution sites. The United States is absolutely complicit in all of this. Attempting a military defeat of Hamas is “a fool’s errand,” he said. Full occupation of Gaza will lead to “much, much more death…. If Israel continues down this path … they are only going to harm their position on the world stage…. A day of atonement, a day of judgment, a day of reckoning is coming.”

McGovern responded, “Colonel Aguilar is the epitome of what a U.S. Army officer used to be.”

Steve Starr, former director of the University of Missouri Clinical Laboratory Science program, stated that the Ukraine conflict has evolved into a hybrid form of World War III. The war would have ended in a few weeks if the U.S. (and Great Britain)had not moved in and torpedoed the talks in April of 2022. Germany is on the verge of providing Taurus missiles, which will be operated by Germans and guided by U.S. targeting data. Russian strategic sites have been targeted, and there was an attempted assassination of Putin in his helicopter, guided by U.S. targeting data. What would the U.S. do if such attacks were made on the U.S.? There are 51 new U.S. bases being established in Scandinavia, and the U.S. has abrogated almost every arms control treaty that we had. We have sent nuclear gravity bombs to the U.K. in the last month. “What does that tell Russia?” If the START treaty is not renewed, Ohio-class subs will be rapidly loaded with additional nuclear weapons.

Eduardo Siqueira, Brazilian researcher and analyst, and a professor emeritus of public health at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, warned that the U.S. is violating Brazil’s sovereignty, to punish Brazil for acting against those who attempted a coup there. A network of “the international extreme right” is operating, and it has backfired, causing “a significant unity of the Brazilian people” against the sanctions. “The United States wants to be the sole power in the world … the perception of the United States is definitely becoming much more negative.”

VIPS Members Review Their Groundbreaking Analysis

William Binney is a 32-year National Security Agency (NSA) veteran, former technical director, NSA Whistleblower, and member of VIPS. He reviewed the 2016 study by VIPS which demonstrated that the DNC emails were extracted by a “leak, not a hack,” and said that this was “provable in a court of law.” Ray McGovern added that the head of CrowdStrike, under oath, admitted in 2017 that there was no technical evidence of any exfiltration. Adam Schiff hid this for two years, and after it was released, the media refused to cover it.

Dennis Speed urged participants to read the Schiller Institute’s newly released

White Paper, “Worse Than Treason: The Actual Motive Behind Russiagate.”

Kirk Wiebe is a retired analyst and whistleblower at the National Security Agency, and VIPS member. He concurred that Putin is sending a signal to Trump that he is willing to talk, and “this is a moment to seize.” He discussed the policy of mass surveillance of Americans, initially launched by Gen. Michael Hayden: Why did they get Britain’s GCHQ involved? Because NSA can’t spy on Americans without a court order, so the British do it for them. Palantir has concluded an agreement with the government to sell personal data from all your digital devices, a combination which will be “the largest surveillance weapon ever devised by mankind.” Congressional oversight is minimal, “a wink and a shake of the hand.”

Zepp-LaRouche responded, saying that the common thread here is the dehumanization of people who are designated as “the enemy.” What is required is “an urgent, urgent change in what is called the image of man,” one that holds that “every human being on the planet is as human as we are.”

Discussion

McGovern noted that the mainstream media are refusing to report the evidence revealed by DNI Tulsi Gabbard. The New York Times claims that those who do talk about it are relying on Russian disinformation, because the emails were made public by Russia. But if one doesn’t trust the Russians, why not ask the NSA? It has all the same material. In concluding remarks, he said that we must distinguish between what Trump is trying to do in Ukraine, which is constructive, and his destructive support for Israeli genocide.

Zepp-LaRouche said that this week’s IPC discussion shows that we are in a pivotal moment, and we must get active. The world situation is complex; Trump does not know that the biggest threat of de-dollarization is cryptocurrency and stablecoins. She asked everyone to sign the petition calling for Putin, Trump, and Xi to meet in Beijing. The world’s problems are solvable if we have an attitude of cooperation, for a solution without catastrophe.

Co-moderator Dennis Small added that the intention behind Russiagate was to stop precisely the sort of meeting that Trump and Putin are about to have, and to stop the paradigm shift represented by the Ten Principles of a New International Security and Development Architecture. 

The 113th consecutive online meeting of the International Peace Coalition was opened by its initiator and founder of the Schiller Institute, Helga Zepp-LaRouche, who warned that we may be approaching the “final storm” of the strategic situation. As the meeting took place, news came out that President Trump had, as he wrote on Truth Social, “ordered two Nuclear Submarines to be positioned in the appropriate regions,” in the spirit of confrontation with Russia. Zepp-LaRouche, warning of this escalation, called on everyone to “alarm the whole world that we need to unify the peace movement,” and make an “extraordinary intervention in the strategic situation” to change its dangerous course.

Zepp-LaRouche in her briefing included other updates she termed “fast moving and wild.” On the genocide in Gaza, even though the media is now reporting on it, the world community has been impotent to stop it. A 24-page report delivered by UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese names the corporations that are profiting from the slaughter in Gaza, which deserves international scrutiny. In a grotesque response, Secretary of State Marco Rubio placed sanctions on Albanese. She went on to say that the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation is a “death trap,” luring desperate Palestinians to their deaths with the promise of food. No lasting solution is possible without the New International Security and Development Architecture.

Turning to economic issues, Zepp-LaRouche asserted that “President Trump has obviously created havoc” in the international economic and financial system. Trump’s trade deal will hurt Europe, but it’s already falling apart. Trump’s claims about the content of the deal are being disputed; supposedly Europe will spend $750 billion over three years to buy LNG, but it is “hanging in the air” because energy purchases are the province of individual firms and governments, not the EU.

The hope that Trump could normalize relations with Russia is very much in question. Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov has authored an article saying that Europe is becoming the Fourth Reich because of their “unrestrained militarization.” Is Trump backing General Christopher Donahue’s proposal to seize Russia’s Kaliningrad oblast?

The second speaker was Mossi Raz, former Knesset Member, former Director of-General of Peace Now, and former Israeli paratrooper, who said that the conflict in Gaza cannot be ended by force. He acknowledged the significance of Macron and others calling for a Palestinian state, and called attention to Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto’s statement that Indonesia is willing to recognize and establish diplomatic relations with Israel if Israel itself recognizes an independent Palestinian state. Raz supports the Egyptian peace plan, which can work under such circumstances.

Ray McGovern, former CIA analyst, co-founder of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS) and frequent IPC panelist, congratulated the first two speakers, saying, “The emphasis is exactly where it should be, that my country is enabling genocide.” He quoted South African Bishop Desmond Tutu who said, after visiting Israel, that apartheid was worse there than in South Africa. He followed this with a quote from Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, who said that when genocide happens, not all of us are guilty, but all of us are responsible. Trump is supporting Israel because he fears being blackmailed with Epstein material. McGovern described this as “heinousness squared.” He reminded participants that the Deep State, including intelligence agencies, media, and the Democratic Party, tried to “emasculate” Trump after 2016 victory to prevent normalization with Russia. “My specialty is intentions,” said McGovern, and “if Trump had any flexibility at all, he would do a deal on Ukraine.” He asked participants to look at his latest piece on Consortium News.

Veteran Brazilian journalist Luiz Erthal was pleasantly surprised by the outcome of the recent BRICS summit, which he covered along with EIR’s Tim Rush. Previously, Brazil was bending to the Biden administration. But now the Brazilian government maintained a firm position. The energetic condemnation of the genocide in Gaza was important. Lula has defended the country’s sovereignty and united the Brazilian people.

Brazil has become a priority target for Trump, because its constitution gives the government control over everything in the subsoil, including strategically important rare earths. Support for indicted former President Bolsonaro is seen as a way to circumvent this.

Erthal concluded by saying, “we hope for the day when the United States joins the BRICS.”

Reports on Activism

Diane Sare, President of The LaRouche Organization President reported on their activity around the conference at the UN July 28-29 for the two-state solution. UN security guards actually tried to confiscate their leaflets from delegates who were entering the building, but there was very little resistance to anti-genocide polemics and calling for similar measures to those that ended apartheid in South Africa.

Activist Rafed Aljoboury reported on his disaster relief organization, the Integrity Political Action Committee, and its activity in Gaza. They are getting emergency requests for baby formula, which is only available on the black market. A week’s supply for one baby costs $60-70. Israeli forces are in cahoots with bandits that steal the food and sell it.

His group plans big rallies on September 15. He called attention to Anthony Aguilar, a former Green Beret who has accused the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) of committing war crimes at aid distribution sites, and endorsed the Universal Disaster Relief Foundation.

Moderator Anastasia Battle offered a report on the recent World Peace Conference in China, which she attended along with 3,000 youth. The conference focused on the importance of the Global South and peace through economic development. She was particularly moved by the cultural panel, which featured presentations from around the world. The delegation from Japan sang “Sakura,” a traditional Japanese folk song that depicts the beauty and transience of cherry blossoms, which was seen as a gesture of reconciliation after World War II, and many Chinese participants were crying.

There were also activism reports from France and Nicaragua.

Zepp-LaRouche said we must redouble our efforts to unify the international peace movement, and thanked Erthal for his call for the U.S. to join BRICS.

Erthal said that BRICS needs a permanent headquarters in the Western Hemisphere so that no one can say that BRICS opposes the West. Rio de Janeiro has been proposed as a site.

Discussion: Is the IPC a ‘Big Tent’?

During the discussion period, there were objections to Israelis who claim they want peace, but deny the right of Palestinians to self-defense or oppose the release of Palestinian hostages held in Israeli prisons.

In response, Zepp-LaRouche said international law has already broken down after the U.S. prepared an attack on Iran while pretending to negotiate. She emphasized the gravity of the present situation: “We have a situation where Civilization is almost gone—I think the clock is ticking.” Politicians are gambling with nuclear war—if we can’t stop that, “You can forget all the other issues.” This demands the method of the coincidence of opposites—a solution must be found on a higher level than the level on which the dispute arose. This is why we don’t exclude people with whom we have disagreements on that lower level.

Co-moderator Dennis Small added that if we begin by excluding from the discussion people who are not on our line, we will be talking to ourselves. He said that on the “higher level,” the central issue of the collapse of the global financial system. Trump’s tariff policy is the flip side of the promotion of crypto-currency. Debtor nations who cannot export will default. They will be forced to choose between IMF genocide, or moving to a new trading system. There will be a massive explosion of inflation in the U.S. because Trump’s crypto-currency policy will unleash an unprecedented bubble of speculation. The money from the tariffs will not go to productive investment, but get sucked into the bubble. This is the real source of the problem which is causing the genocide.

Diane Sare emphasized that Russiagate was not just about the election. It was a British operation to orchestrate a war with Russia.

Zepp-LaRouche concluded that time is running out, and more is needed than our weekly discussion. Anyone who has access to international organizations must bring them into direct collaboration. [eir]

July 18, 2025 (EIRNS)—Helga Zepp-LaRouche, founder of the Schiller Institute, opened the 111th consecutive online meeting of the International Peace Coalition on July 18, the birthday of Nelson Mandela, which is celebrated worldwide as Mandela Day. She urged all participants to view the videos of panels from the July 12-13 Berlin conference of the Schiller Institute, which urged the U.S. and Europe to join hands with the nations of the Global South to pursue a policy of real development, as an alternative to the war drive that is promoted by the Anglosphere. She described some of the demented proposals of Malcolm Chalmers, advisor to British Defense Secretary Healey, such as a plan to send a “small, Hiroshima-sized” nuclear weapon to destroy a Russian military base, with the assumption that it would compel Russia to negotiate on terms advantageous to the Anglophiles. U.S. General Christopher Donahue, Commander of NATO’s ground forces, has an equally crazy proposal to militarily cut off the Russian Baltic Sea enclave of Kaliningrad. Reviewing more hopeful developments, she reported that The Hague Group met in Bogotá and announced a plan to compel a halt to Israel’s genocide in Gaza. Zepp-LaRouche concluded her remarks by saying that we must renew our efforts to make the Oasis Plan central to a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine, saying, “We have to leave geopolitics behind us and go for real development as the basis for peace.”

Scheduled panelist Prof. Richard Falk was unable to make his presentation due to technical problems. Mariano Esono, who is responsible for Diaspora Affairs in the Foreign Ministry of Equatorial Guinea, as well as being Focal Point for UN Center for Peace and Disarmament in Africa, sent a brief video on the importance of Nelson Mandela Day. He reminded participants that Mandela said that “forgiveness frees the soul.” He didn’t fight for retribution, but for justice and fundamental rights.

Reports from the Schiller Institute Conference in Berlin

Stephan Ossenkopp, who was a moderator and organizer for the July 12-13 Berlin Conference, described the organizing process which led up to it. The title of the conference was “Man Is Not a Wolf to Man,” and it stressed coexistence and collaboration as the only alternative to the threatened Third World War. He emphasized the importance of the cultural contributions from around the planet, saying that “People were very moved, not just by the speakers, but by the music.” The buildup to the conference included street organizing, diplomatic activity, and a very successful press conference by frequent IPC panelist Ray McGovern and former Deputy National Intelligence Officer for the Near East in the National Intelligence Council Elizabeth Murray, both of whom visited Germany and spoke at the Schiller Institute conference.

IPC moderator Anastasia Battle presented photos from the conference and described the effect of the Classical music performances as helping the participants to effectively organize their minds to take up the challenge of steering the world away from the precipice of nuclear war. Sébastien Drochon reported on the impact of the conference from an organizing site on the street in Paris, where he was organizing the public along with French youth and a leader of the Schiller Institute in Mexico.

Former President of Guyana Donald Ramotar participated as a panelist in Berlin by internet. He praised the just-concluded The Hague Group conference in Bogotá and called for public support for UN Rapporteur Francesca Albanese, supporting her nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize and condemning the recently announced U.S. sanctions against her. He also condemned President Donald Trump’s attempts to interfere with the internal affairs of Brazil regarding the legal case against former President Bolsonaro, and charged that Trump’s encouraging Zelenskyy to strike at Moscow is very dangerous. Russia is still open to diplomacy, he asserted; it is the West that prefers the continuation of war.

Co-moderator Dennis Small thanked President Ramotar and emphasized the importance of making the voices of the Global South heard in Europe and the U.S.

The Voice of the ‘Sane North’

Small also reported on the two-week visit of EIR correspondent Tim Rush to Brazil, where Rush had been the only U.S. speaker at various events surrounding the BRICS summit, offering what Small described as the voice of the “sane North.” This perspective needs to be heard in the Global South; they need to know that “they do have allies and interlocutors in the North.” Small charged that the Anglophile press are intentionally misrepresenting the BRICS Summit, claiming it was uneventful. One of the most important developments was President Vladimir Putin’s proposal for New Investment Platforms (NIPs), supported by Chinese President Xi Jinping, and also viewed favorably by Brazil’s Lula da Silva.

Later, Rush came on live from Brazil to give his own report. He said that Trump’s denunciation of Brazil and demand for charges against Bolsonaro to be dropped “set a lot of things buzzing.” Rush described a “nationalist reflex” in the Brazilian press, with even Lula’s critics reacting to attacks by Trump.

Optimism in the Face of Evil

Some comments came from participants in Germany, decrying the evil of their nation’s current leadership. Co-moderator Dennis Small emphasized the British role as the authors of evil, both at the time of the rise of Nazism in Germany, and in the promotion of Israel’s genocide in Gaza today. Zepp-LaRouche speculated about a possible “Oreshnik moment,” in which Russia could no longer hold back in response to NATO provocations, and described German Chancellor Merz as having a “complete lack of political instinct.” But as always, she sees reason for optimism, reminding the participants that the 10th of her Ten Principles of a New International Security and Development Architecture is that “man is fundamentally good.” She said that one must evaluate a nation’s trajectory and described how, as a child, she played on the rubblefields of post-war Germany, but she and her playmates were optimistic because they could sense that the trajectory of the nation was upwards due to its Wirtschaftswunde, the “economic miracle” following the end of World War II.

Working with the Global South

A participant in Nigeria asked how people in Africa can participate in the work of the IPC. Zepp-LaRouche said that we have put together extensive plans for Africa, starting with electrification (600 million inhabitants have no access) and “game-changer projects” such as the Grand Inga Dam in D.R. Congo and the Transaqua project to refill Lake Chad. She added that we have been working with the Global South since 1975, and this is why people trust the Schiller Institute and we have the capability of pulling off something like the Berlin conference,

French leader Jacques Cheminade said that if Europe can bring something good to Africa, that will be a revolutionary break from the past, and a move toward what President Putin describes as a “polyphonic society.”

Concluding Remarks

Small said that almost as bad as the overt calls for nuclear warfare is Trump’s announcement that the future of the financial world is “crypto, crypto, crypto,” because that would lock the world into a system dominated by privately-run financial speculation that negates the possible development perspective that we are promoting.

Ramotar called attention to Francesca Albanese’s report on corporations which are profiting from genocide. He added that “we have to bring out the stark figures on how much money is wasted” on the arms industry, and what we could do if those funds were put to productive purposes.

Helga Zepp-LaRouche spoke of “those people who have money notes in their eyes … one of them is clearly [EU Commission President] Ursula von der Leyen.” In conclusion, she said, we should celebrate Nelson Mandela Day by spending at least one hour doing something unselfish, and “be a loving person for at least one hour today.”