International Peace Coalition, Week 147

by EIR Staff

March 27—The 147th consecutive weekly meeting of the International Peace Coalition (IPC) commenced with a tour d’horizon by Helga Zepp-LaRouche, Schiller Institute founder and International Peace Coalition initiator. “The situation is still one of utmost suspense,” she said, noting that U.S. President Donald Trump has twice delayed his ultimatum on strikes against Iranian energy infrastructure. After Trump twice used negotiations as a pretext to prepare for an attack, there is little trust in his proclamations. Up to 7,000 additional U.S. troops will soon be in the region, indicating a possible ground invasion and a massive escalation of the conflict. The “decapitation” strategy has failed; the Iranian government remains firmly in control. Countries around the world are affected by skyrocketing oil prices, as the Strait of Hormuz remains blocked. Ambassador Abolfazl Pasandideh, who represents the Islamic Republic of Iran in Mexico, has proposed in a recent presentation to the IPC to return to the idea of a dialogue of civilizations. This was counterposed to Samuel Huntington’s clash of civilizations, which proposed Islam as a new enemy image to replace communism after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

Zepp-LaRouche called attention to an extended Oasis Plan, proposed not just for Israel and Palestine, but for the region as a whole, and for the benefit of the many nations from Afghanistan on the east to Africa on the west which have been devastated by neocon operations over the past 25 years. The region can once again become the hub between three continents, she said.

Domestically, “Trump is confronted with a complete crumbling of support inside the United States,” noted Zepp-LaRouche. There is a wide discrepancy between what the public was given as the reason for this war against Iran and what members of Congress are being told in briefings. Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is a shining example of a European statesman with the courage to oppose the war.

U.S. Air Force Command Chief Master Sergeant (ret.) Dennis Fritz of the Eisenhower Media Network observed that we keep hearing that this war started in 1979, but it actually started in 1953 with the coup against Iranian Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh. We also supported Iraq in the Iraq-Iran War. The United States and Israel are the greatest sponsors of terrorism, said Fritz. We attacked Iran in the midst of negotiations twice. Does Iran have the right to defend itself? They will never give up ballistic missiles, because those are the basis for Iran’s national security. Iran warned us that they would close the Strait of Hormuz if attacked.

Fritz then introduced the next speaker, U.S. Marine Corps veteran Brian McGinnis, saying that “they thanked him for his service by breaking his arm.”

McGinnis is a retired Marine and current Green Party candidate for the U.S. Senate in North Carolina, who had his arm broken by U.S. Capitol Police and Montana Sen. Tim Sheehy as they attempted to forcibly remove him from a recent congressional hearing. He said he was honored to be introduced by Fritz. McGinnis went on to say that money laundering has been intrinsic to the wars of the past 25 years. He urged that we continue to expose the “Greater Israel” project. “Our government is leading us in a direction that is sacrificing our moral high ground,” he concluded.

‘Pangs of Conscience’ Will Haunt Their Lives

Zepp-LaRouche responded by expressing her “deep, heartfelt gratitude” to Fritz and McGinnis. Co-moderator Dennis Speed reported that other people from the military who are candidates for office in the United States are saying that they refuse to be associated with the administration’s criminal policies. “This may be the fastest way to send up an S.O.S. to the rest of the world,” she said. Moderator Anastasia Battle added that whistleblower Lt. Col. (ret.) Anthony Aguilar, U.S. Army, had said that the girls’ school in Minab, Iran, was targeted intentionally for a missile attack, to harm the morale of the girls’ parents, many of whom are Iranian government officials. Fritz said that our military is imitating the policies of the Israel Defense Forces, and our Secretary of Defense is encouraging our troops to violate the basic rules of war. They will live with this for the rest of their lives, afflicted with PTSD in addition to their pangs of conscience.

Paul Gallagher, co-editor of Executive Intelligence Review (EIR), had sent a video message in which he reported on how he is investigating the request by the Trump administration for an additional $200-$250 billion for the Iran war. The persistent decline in U.S. manufacturing productivity is to be corrected by a huge slush fund for military production. The plan is being run by 30 top investment bankers, who are being paid salaries of $300,000-$500,000 a year. We now have a military-industrial-financial complex, indeed, said Gallagher, but this has little to do with the Iran War; it is intended instead to produce new “War Unicorn” companies for new “kill technologies” toward eventually confronting China.

Eduardo Gabriel Fernández is a graduate of the Advanced Course in National Defense and a member of the General Jorge Edgar Leal Observatory on Argentine Sovereignty. He reported that the current government of Argentina is reviving the policies of the military dictatorship which ruled from 1976 to 1983—after the overthrow of President Isabel Perón’s government, a trend which is being protested in the streets by the people of Argentina. He is circulating among bishops in Argentina Zepp-LaRouche’s open letter calling on Pope Leo XIV to intervene on the level of the 15th-Century’s Cardinal Nicholas of Cusa, and one of them has agreed to present it to the entire Bishops’ Conference there.

Schiller Institute organizer Tim Rush offered areport on organizing by citizen activists, who visited 390 offices at the U.S. Congress. Congressmen are conditioned to discuss issues in a binary for-or-against fashion, and they are unprepared for the IPC’s approach of posing solutions which lift the discussion to a higher vantage point.

An Appeal to the Human Soul

Zepp-LaRouche expressed the hope that our appeal to the human soul can become stronger than the war machine. “I believe that the true nature of man is beautiful, is positive,” she said, and reminded the participants that a nuclear war would not merely annihilate the presently living generations, but also all the scientific and cultural achievements of all the prior generations.

Dennis Fritz agreed with Zepp-LaRouche that it is the economic success of China, based on the successful application of the policies advocated by Alexander Hamilton, that has made them into an adversary in the eyes of our present political leadership.

Zepp-LaRouche described how Nicholas of Cusa was conscious of the fact that he had found a unique and unprecedented mode of thinking: humans, in the image of the Creator, can resolve conflicts by ascending to a higher level of reason than the level which gave rise to the conflict. Pope Leo XIV has called attention to this as well. She contrasted this to the Jeffrey Epstein Class, comprising people who feel that there are no limits or constraints on their power, whose lusts become increasingly perverse. These are not happy people; they have lost their souls.

Final Thoughts

Brian McGinnis described as “riveting” the idea that the United States could pivot away from the destruction in the Middle East, to the regional development and “greening of the desert” promised by the Oasis Plan.

Dennis Fritz indicted the Project for a New American Century (PNAC) for being the impetus for the wars against both Iraq and Iran. He praised the interventions of Jose Vega, an independent candidate for Congress from New York’s 15th District in the South Bronx, and Medea Benjamin, cofounder of the anti-war organization CODEPINK; he said that the latter had “beaten down Cory Booker [U.S. Senator from New Jersey] so bad” that he will no longer accept money from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

Zepp-LaRouche concluded by saying, “The issue of the One Humanity has to become our battle cry.” Trump, if he is to be believed, has announced in his latest ultimatum that April 6 is his new deadline for capitulation by Iran, and we have chosen that date for our next EIR Emergency Roundtable online event. She asked all participants to please work to maximize worldwide participation.

In this interview, geopolitical analyst Einar Tangen provides a rare perspective on global developments from inside China. The discussion explores how China views the current geopolitical crisis, the risks of escalation in the Middle East, and the potential economic consequences of a wider conflict.

Tangen examines the strategic relationship between China, the United States, and the broader Global South, including how ongoing tensions—such as the war involving Iran—could trigger major disruptions to the global economy and international trade. The conversation also looks at competing economic systems, the future of globalization, and whether the world is entering a new era of geopolitical realignment.

This interview offers an insider’s analysis of China’s strategic thinking and what it may mean for the future of the international order.

In this interview, Helga Zepp-LaRouche speaks with podcaster and journalist Patrick Henningsen. Shortly before the start of the US attacks, Patrick Henningsen visited Iran and graphically describes the moral depravity of the American elite in enforcing their interests, as well as the influence of religious fanatics on US foreign policy over the past 30 years.

The discussion examines the strategic logic behind recent military operations, the role of Western geopolitical doctrine, and the growing danger that regional conflicts could spiral into a broader global confrontation. Zepp-LaRouche argues that decades of interventionist policy and regime-change warfare have destabilized entire regions and accelerated the collapse of the post-Cold War order.

Henningsen and Zepp-LaRouche explore how these policies are perceived internationally, the impact of sanctions and economic warfare, and why many nations are now pushing toward a multipolar system that rejects the old imperial framework.

As tensions rise across the Middle East and beyond, this conversation addresses the deeper geopolitical forces shaping the crisis—and why understanding the reality of US imperial brutality is essential to avoiding a wider war.

Helga Zepp-LaRouche greeted Professor Ted Postol on March 9, in her interview of him saying, “you are one of the voices of reason, and also are equipped with the necessary knowledge to judge” the situation in the Middle East.  Referring to the fact that “everyone in their right mind” is poised on the edge of their seats, she noted that the last time the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran in June 2025, asked him, how does the present situation compare to then and for his assessment of where we are in this current war?

Pointing to the negotiation double-cross back in June, and now, where Trump officials lulled the Iranians into hopes of a peaceful resolution, this time the Iranians made clear they would not be fooled a second time. So when the U.S.-Israel side asked for a ceasefire this time, Iran which had granted one back in June 2025, said ‘no.’ Prior to the war beginning on February 28, Iran made clear if they are attacked again, it would be an “indefinite war.”

Emphasizing that this is an “unjustified war of choice,” Professor Postol said he has been surprised at how quickly the second phase of the war occurred, pointing to Iran’s retaliation to the U.S.-Israel assault with its hitting of military bases in the Gulf, and direct hits on Israel.

Demonstrating his ballistic missile expertise, he proceeded with video footage to show the “counter-missile defenses” which the Iranians are now deploying. These new weapons capabilities are out-running $4 million interceptors and getting through the so-called “Iron Dome.” The latter and the Thadd systems are expensive systems “which never worked.” Pointedly, Postol the Iranian counter-measures are overwhelming the Israeli defensive shield.

Dr. Theodore Postol is professor emeritus of Science, Technology, and National Security at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and one of the world’s leading experts on nuclear weapons and the effects of their use

Epstein and the Bottomless Depravity of the “Elites” —Urgent Need for a Cultural Renaissance!

Date: March 2, 2026

Panel 1: 8 a.m. (U.S. EST); 2 p.m. (Europe CET); 9 p.m. (China CST): On the Road to Armageddon?

Moderator: Dennis Speed

1) Helga Zepp-LaRouche (Germany), founder, Schiller Institute; editor-in-chief, EIR

2) Zhang Weiwei (China), Professor of International Relations, and Director of China Institute, Fudan University, Shanghai

3) Beatriz Bissio (Brazil), Associate Professor, Post-Graduate Program of Comparative History, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro

4) Ding Yifan (China), Professor, Institute of Global Governance and Development, Renmin University, Beijing

5) B.R. Deepak (India), Professor and former Director, Center of Chinese and Southeast Asian Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi

6) Father Harry Bury (U.S.), catholic priest for 70 years, lifelong peace activist

7) Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish (Palestine), doctor, professor, author, and peace advocate

8) Kwame Amuah (South Africa), security expert, techno-entrepreneur, former Senior Advisor on Nuclear Affairs for South African government

9) Namit Verma (India), author and security analyst

Panel 2: 11 a.m. (U.S. EST); 5 p.m. (Europe CET); 12 a.m. (China CST): Mankind Is the Creative Species!

Moderator: Megan Dobrodt

1) Donald Ramotar (Guyana), former President of Guyana

2) Richard Falk (U.S.), Professor Emeritus, International Law, Princeton University; former UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967 (2008-2014)

3) María de los Ángeles Huerta (Mexico), former Mexican Congresswoman

4) Fernando Garzón (Ecuador), architect, urban planner; leader, Ecuadorean- Palestinian Union

5) David Monyae (South Africa), Director, Center for China-Africa Studies, University of Johannesburg

6) Ralph Bosshard (Switzerland), Lt. Col. (ret.), former military advisor to OSCE Secretary General

7) Ali Rastbeen (France), President, Académie Géopolitique de Paris

8) Hanspeter Widrig (Germany), sculptor

9) Diane Sare (U.S.), independent candidate for U.S. President; founder, Schiller Institute New York City Chorus

And others.

On January 12, 2026 EIR magazine sponsored an emergency international roundtable dialogue to address the total strategic crisis, where international law had been declared “not necessary” by President Donald Trump. What has swept to the surface in the few weeks since that meeting, has opened up an even deeper abyss facing Mankind.

Even the preliminary results of the investigation into the Jeffrey Epstein scandal reveal a moral sordidness which makes Sodom and Gomorrah look pale by comparison. What is coming to the surface are the satanic axioms on which many of the present-day policies are based, from Gaza to the application of unilateral sanctions against countries in order to make life for the populations so unbearable that they rise up against their governments. For years, the knowledge about these moral cesspools existed, but nobody in the so-called “rules-based-order” remembered any rule obliging the legal authorities to investigate the crimes of this murderous self-service store, where the “unscrupulous take what they want,” as German President Steinmeier recently aptly put it.

With the New START Treaty ending on February 5, the last arms control agreement has been buried, leaving the world military situation with a dangerous lack of transparency and giving way to a new arms race, which threatens to proliferate various old and new weapons of mass destruction, and cause enormous devastation of physical economic capacity in favor of a gigantic re-militarization of many economies of the world. While the present stockpiles of nuclear weapons already have the potential to destroy all human life on the planet several times over, the new dimensions of warfare, such as space weapons, cyber warfare, the application of AI in warfighting, etc., are creating a horrifying dystopian perspective of the future, in which the only end result seems to be one of the annihilation of mankind.

And this is where the significance of the Epstein scandal comes in. How can one expect these establishments, who either participated in or remained silent and inactive vis-a-vis these satanic perversions, to all of a sudden put a screeching halt to the murderous lust of the military industrial complex and the unscrupulous speculators, who have no inhibitions about making money off of the war machine, which is killing innocent people as so-called negligible collateral damage, wherever it is ravaging?

Various regional conflicts, such as the war in Ukraine; the looming danger of a new war against Iran; the crisis around Venezuela, Cuba, Mexico, and Colombia; as well as the tensions in the Indo-Pacific and in parts of Asia, all have the potential of spiraling into a larger conflict involving the great powers and even a global nuclear war.

Out of the January 12 emergency meeting came a joint declaration and the commitment by the panelists to reach out to institutions and individuals in as many countries as possible, in order to create both an initiative to reestablish international law by creating a new global security and development architecture, which must take into account the interest of every single nation on earth, as well as initiating an international movement of world citizens who commit themselves to put the One Humanity first.

The absolute pit of human depravity of the Epstein affair is a wakeup call for the entire human species. We must absolutely reverse course and reject this bestial behavior and all the cultural influences which allowed it to become a reality over the recent decades. We have to turn to the best cultural traditions of all nations and civilizations, to the highest expressions of all of universal history, and revive them in an active dialogue of cultures, in order to initiate the most beautiful renaissance of classical culture. Only in this way can we uphold a noble image of Man as being the only species gifted with creative reason.

An international Zoom conference will be held March 2 to address these topics: the creation of a new security and development architecture; the creation of an international movement of world citizens; and the creation of a new cultural renaissance. The two-panel conference will include the participation of distinguished representatives from institutions from all over the world, as well as experts, scholars, scientists and artists.

Become an active organizer for this event. Circulate this invitation among all of your friends and colleagues, and reach out to everybody who must be part of this effort.

CGTN today broadcast remarks by Helga Zepp-LaRouche, founder of the Schiller Institute, based in Germany, saying that she “has praised China’s approach to development. She calls for revitalizing traditional Sino-German relations.” The following is the transcript provided by CGTN.

HELGA ZEPP-LAROUCHE: This is a moment where the whole world is in such a turmoil, there is the rift between Europe and the United States, Mr. President Trump’s tariff policy, you don’t know what it will be in the morning, the same in the evening. Many other crises, the Middle East crisis, the Ukraine was mentioned, so I think, you know, I think I would hope that the more thoughtful people, especially also in the German top industry, that they realized that with China they have a partner which have a steady, which has a steady foreign policy, which has a harmonious approach to the development of all nations and with all nations. And that, you know, there is this historical connection between Germany and China, which goes back to Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz and I think it is important to evoke the better traditions of our relations.

And then there is this new model where, you know, China is no longer a market for German exports or, you know, a production base for production of low-quality industrial goods, but I think China has developed, now, a new model of cooperation whereby Germany has fallen behind in the auto sector. And China is now offering joint ventures, joint R&D, like the Volkswagen Group China Technology Corporation in Hefei in Anhui province, where Germany can relearn the most advanced developments of China in smart thriving in, you know, in all the new technologies of EV electric vehicles, and that way they can develop joint markets in the Global South and elsewhere.