International Peace Coalition

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.” 

Report on IPC #109

July 4, 2025 (EIRNS)—The 109th consecutive online meeting of the International Peace Coalition became a roundtable discussion of the threatened demise of International Law, in the wake of the brazen violations by Israel and the United States. The question became, is there any hope of restoring it, or are we now forced to acclimate ourselves to a new reality where nations who possess sufficient military power may violate it with impunity?

Helga Zepp-LaRouche, founder of the Schiller Institute and initiator of the International Peace Coalition, reported that following the corrupt collaboration by leaders of the International Atomic Energy Agency with the neocon war party, Iran has suspended cooperation with the IAEA, but will not abandon the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Donald Trump is pursuing a 60-day ceasefire with Hamas, which has indicated its willingness to negotiate, but Netanyahu has rejected any lull in his attacks on the population of Gaza. Who wins out, Trump or Netanyahu? Trump “has the means to put his foot down,” but he has not done so, Zepp-LaRouche said. The US has suspended weapons shipments to Ukraine, pending an inventory of US stockpiles. French President Macron spoke to Putin after three years of interruption, which Zepp-LaRouche termed a “baby step in the direction of diplomacy.” Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas, telling her bluntly that if Russia is defeated in Ukraine, China will be the next target.

Turning to her homeland of Germany, Zepp-LaRouche reported that a CDU faction leader is demanding that Germany acquire nuclear weapons. The Germans have banned journalists Thomas Röper and Alina Lipp from re-entering Germany because their reporting is not pleasing to the war party. Röper has compared the rhetoric of today’s German leadership with that of the Nazis. Hitler called for Germany to become Kriegsfähig (capable of war), whereas Defense Minister Boris Pistorius prefers the term Kriegstüchtig (fit for war.)

On the hopeful side, the yearly BRICS summit will begin in Rio de Janeiro on July 6, with proposals for a “new investment platform” to channel credit to development, not speculation. Trump should not regard this as a threat.

Ray McGovern, former CIA analyst and co-founder of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS), declared that he is packing his bags and looking forward to attending the Berlin conference of the Schiller Institute in one week. He asked for 30 seconds of silence for the ongoing genocide in Gaza. He lamented the descent into lawlessness represented by the activities of the US and Israel, while also expressing his satisfaction that despite recent events, the US-Russia dialogue continues. Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov wants to pursue better relations with US despite the illegal war against Iran. Referring to Putin’s talk with Macron, McGovern declared that neither he nor Putin trusts Macron after so many broken agreements. The polls in Russia indicated that for Russians, Germany has now replaced US as their main enemy. McGovern also charged that, because of misconduct by the IAEA, we have lost our ability to accurately monitor Iran’s nuclear program.

Zepp-LaRouche replied, acknowledging the damage done to International Law, but also asserting that the Feb. 4, 2022, agreement between Putin and Xi, during the XXIV Olympic Winter Games in Beijing, underscores a new strategic reality of durable partnership between their two nations.

Jonathan Kuttab, Executive Director of North American Friends of Sabeel and Co-Founder of Nonviolence International, said that “there are some hints, some indications that China may play a more important role” in Southwest Asia. The US and its NATO collaborators are hanging on to current international order, “even as it is crumbling and collapsing.” US and Israel have shown that they can violate international law with impunity. For any country to openly threaten judges of international tribunals—and their families! —is unprecedented. He said of the widespread images on social media of the Gaza genocide, “Here, you see it every day…unlike the holocaust in Germany, which took place in the dark.”

Continuing the theme of whether international law a dead letter, Zepp-LaRouche declared that, with regard to Gaza, it was only the courageous role of South Africa that saved the honor of mankind. McGovern observed that Russia and China still honor the UN, and that polls in the US show that the tide of popular opinion is turning against “Netanyahu and his boss, Trump.”

Juan Carrero, President of the S’Olivar Foundation of Spain, praised the work of the IPC and the Schiller Institute in the battle against genocide, denouncing the horrors underway in Africa as well as Gaza. He introduced a video statement by 1980 Nobel Laureate Adolfo Perez Esquivel, reminding participants that Iran is the 7th and last planned regime change in Middle East. He said that Iran “has something more powerful than nuclear weapons—it is dignity.” In the video, Perez Esquivel of Argentina appealed to the world community, and especially the allies of Israel, to take action, to overcome the lethargy of the UN and end the genocide in Gaza. He decried the West’s “contempt for humanity, contempt for values.”

Co-moderator Dennis Small followed up by describing the extraordinary meeting of Brazilian President Lula with Argentina’s former President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, who is serving six years in house arrest for crimes she did not commit, noting that Perez Esquivel also met with Lula during his visit to Argentina.

In a video statement, Dr. Georgy D. Toloraya, Executive Director the Russian National Committee on BRICS Research and concurrently Director of the Asian Strategy Center at the Institute of Economics and Chief Researcher of the Institute of China and Contemporary Asia of Russian Academy of Sciences, stated that he has a feeling that diplomats are being bypassed and real deals are being made by unknown persons operating behind the scenes. “Israel has violated every possible rule,” but Iran has had a very limited response, so it looks like some kind of deal was made. How will international relations develop now that there are no longer any rules, and everything is permitted? The West, represented by NATO, wants to extract unearned income from the former colonial nations. If the West tries to eliminate all its adversaries, it can lead to nuclear war.

Organizing reports

Peace activists from around the world reported on their activities, beginning with a description of the recent conference held on the [[Oasis Plan]] [[https://schillerinstitute.com/the-oasis-plan-the-larouche-solution-for-southwest-asia/]] at the Iztapalapa campus of the Mexican Autonomous University (UAM) in Mexico City, which included a presentation by Ambassador Sisulu from South Africa.

This was followed by a report on the John Quincy Adams brigade, Americans organizing in Berlin to build for the Schiller Institute conference. Additional reports came from organizers in France, Spain. Colombia, and Boston in the US.

Conclusion

A leader of the LaRouche youth movement in Mexico sent a question to Zepp-LaRouche, delving further into the clash between optimism and despair in the current strategic crisis. She asked whether Nicholas of Cusa’s [[De Pace Fidei]] [[ https://archive.schillerinstitute.com/transl/cusa_p_of_f.html]] could provide the right framework for discussion. Zepp-LaRouche responded that this document helps people elevate their thinking to become philosophers. In the dialogue, God is asked by 17 representatives of different religions and cultures for guidance, because “we are all killing each other in your name,” and God demonstrates how, from the higher vantage point of philosophy, the various religions are in agreement.

She said that a common response to the Oasis Plan is: Can we embark on economic development without first receiving justice? This is not an easy question, but there is another dimension, typified by the Peace of Westphalia, which was premised upon forgiveness for offenses of the past. “For the sake of peace, you have to replace hatred with love.”

In conclusion, Beethoven’s setting in his 9th Symphony of the words of Schiller, “All men become brethren,” should inspire us. This unique work of art inoculates us against the “very negative emotions like hatred, anger, rage” which “take something away from our soul.” This is the most accessible way to access the higher vantage point that we need. 

Report on IPC Meeting No. 108

June 28, 2025 (EIRNS)—The 108th consecutive weekly online meeting of the International Peace Coalition, on Friday, June 27 was opened by Helga Zepp-LaRouche, founder of the Schiller Institute, who gave an update on the war in Iran. She questioned President Trump’s triumphal proclamations of success, saying that “it is very likely that the Iranians foresaw what was happening” and removed equipment and materials from the targeted sites before they were bombed. She charged that “the International Atomic Energy Agency has, for the time being, lost all credibility,” because they helped shape an environment that aided those who wanted an attack on Iran. We also need an investigation into Palantir and the use of AI in this regard. Worst of all is the damage to International Law by an unprovoked war of aggression, lowering the barrier to similar acts by other nations. She contrasted the hyperventilating about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to Trump’s bragging about his unprovoked attack on Iran, saying, “It is apparent to the whole world that this double standard exists…. Lawlessness is now ruling.”

Turning to her homeland of Germany, she said she was appalled by Chancellor Merz’s statement that “Israel is doing the dirty work for all of us.” “It reveals the colonial or neocolonial mindset on the part of Merz,” Zepp-LaRouche observed. Finally, she emphasized that the call by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, for a new international strategic architecture, is of crucial importance.

Former U.S. Congressman and Presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich strongly agreed, saying, “We have to recognize that the security architecture which is in place right now has been shredded.” He called the yearning of the neocons for a regime change in Iran a “fantasy” which would require an invasion with two million troops and a return to conscription in the U.S. “The unbridled use of the military is a challenge for the United States right now,” he said. Further echoing Zepp-LaRouche, he said that “the West is still up to their old colonial tricks.” Kucinich described the situation as being very dangerous but filled with great potential for good.

Graham Fuller, a former U.S. diplomat, CIA official, and Islamic scholar, presented his own assessment of the war against Iran, saying that “this was a serious loss for Israel.” Israel has been claiming that Iran was on the verge of nuclear weapons for 25 years, but now “Netanyahu is not going to be able to fear-monger on this same issue again.” Israel thought they could act with impunity; they did not expect Iran to retaliate so successfully. “The idea of the very invulnerability of Israel has been called into question,” said Fuller, adding that “the idea of Israel as an unsinkable aircraft carrier for the United States has been shattered.” The U.S. has tried to exploit Sunni-Shi’a conflicts, but was outflanked by Chinese diplomacy, which pulled off the reconciliation between Iran and Saudi Arabia. The entire Persian Gulf supported Iran in this recent war. In Fuller’s view, Iran’s response to a savage attack by the U.S. was “extraordinarily muted,” a cause for optimism, and “Trump has proven his masculinity … maybe now feels that he can step back and try diplomacy to seek rapprochement with Iran.” Another cause for optimism was the victory of Zohran Mamdani in the New York City election, where maybe we see hints of a world that is no longer dominated by settler colonialism.

Mossi Raz, former Israeli Knesset member and former Director-General of Peace Now, opined that we don’t really know the results of war on Iran, but it’s not that important. What’s important is that there be a political agreement for lasting peace. We need a two-state solution, because “the Israelis will not have security if the Palestinians don’t have security.” He reported on an important pre-discussion he participated in before the now soon-to-be-rescheduled UN Palestinian two-state meeting. Raz described that hundreds of Palestinians and Israelis joined to discuss the two-state solution.

In response, Zepp-LaRouche expressed her concern about what will happen when Trump’s boasts of success are disproven by events. She is worried that the neocons will press for a resumption of the war. She warned about the unchecked use of AI for military purposes, which could have unforeseeable consequences. She added later that AI is technology like any other, it can be used for good or evil, but we must focus on the moral character of the people who are using it. We need to convince leaders in the U.S. and Europe to join with the Global Majority, and “stop the geopolitical idea of domination.”

Activist Reports from Around the World

Carolina Domínguez of the Mexican LaRouche movement, described a planned conference at an important university, where they will discuss the Oasis Plan and the movement’s perspective of peace through development. She described an approach she called “classrooming,” in which organizers visit classrooms and ask the professor for one minute in which to brief the students on the strategic crisis, then meet them outside afterward for in-depth discussions. She said that they will be presenting a performance of classical music works by their chorus at the upcoming conference, to serve the need to “ennoble the soul of the population” in order to achieve peace.

Kynan Thistlethwaite reported from France, and Anastasia Battle from Germany, on the John Quincy Adams Brigade, comprised of Americans organizing in Europe to prepare for the Berlin conference of the Schiller Institute on July 12-13.

Tim Rush and Jose Vega reported on organizing activities in the U.S. There were also reports from Denmark, Sweden, and other locations.

Discussion

An unusual question was sent to the panelists: If the criminal charges in Israel against Netanyahu could be canceled, as Trump demands, would that reduce his motivation for starting regional wars? Co-moderator Dennis Small said we must look at the hand behind the scenes, typified by the “Clean Break” document that was issued in 1996 to then newly elected Prime Minister Netanyahu by U.S. neocons after the Nov. 4, 1995 assassination of Yitzhak Rabin. Fuller added that those who follow the situation closely know that Netanyahu is not even the most murderous politician in the Israeli establishment.

Zepp-LaRouche reported on her participation in a recent conference in Spain, which featured an encouraging level of youth participation, and representation from many nations and cultures. In response to a question about the economic impetus for war, she said, “As long as people are trying to solve their debt by wars, we are on a trajectory toward catastrophe.”

Eric Rubin, of the International Legal Forum, an independent, Israel-based NGO, reported on the activities of his group to activate UN Resolution 377 (United for Peace) to circumvent the U.S. veto in the Security Council. He said that the only way to stop atrocity on the Palestinians is to send UN peacekeeping troops into the occupied territories. Their website can be accessed here: https://www.ilfngo.org/.

In conclusion, Zepp-LaRouche said, “I’m absolutely certain that we will only get out of this really deplorable situation by mobilizing the better visions of what mankind can be.” Returning to her participation in the June 25 Madrid conference, she reported that people from entirely different backgrounds all said that what we need is love for humanity. The ideas of Schiller, that people have the capacity to become Beautiful Souls, are the natural vocation of Man. The 10th, and possibly the most controversial, principle of her Ten Principles for a New International Security and Development Architecture, is that Man is good by nature. We should have compassion for the Armselige, the wretched creatures who think that we need war. [eir]

by EIR staff

To open the 106^th consecutive weekly online meeting of the International Peace Coalition, Helga Zepp-LaRouche, founder of the Schiller Institute, warned that Israel’s attack on Iran may mark the beginning of World War III. She alluded to Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard’s timely video on the very real threat of a nuclear exchange, and noted that the precisely targeted assassinations of leading Iranian scientists and military and political leaders suggests that Israel received technical assistance from unidentified intelligence services. It is clear that Israel’s objective is to draw the US into the war, and we must remember that Iran is key part of the BRICS and the Belt and Road Initiative. “There was nothing in the behavior of Iran which would have legitimized such an attack… From the standpoint of the UN Charter, this is a completely illegal act of aggression,” she said, and reiterated “our old demand” for a New Security and Development Architecture.

 M.K. Bhadrakumar, a former Indian diplomat to the USSR who has held leading positions in the Indian Foreign Ministry, addressed the Israeli attack on Iran: “I never believed that this was about Iran’s propensity or Iran’s likelihood to develop nuclear weapons… there is no moral ground involved here.” Iran is being asked  by Trump to give up the same stature as Japan or Germany as a member of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, with “full-spectrum inspection” by IAEA. Trump is singularly responsible for this situation. Unless Israel is restrained, which only the US can do, Iran might leave the NPT.

Leading nuclear weapons expert Dr. Theodore Postol, professor emeritus of Science, Technology and International Security at MIT, asserted that “Iran wants to avoid making a nuclear weapon… Iran’s policy is highly rational.” There is internal opposition to this policy, and this opposition is strengthened by the attacks on Iran. “We know from all historical experience that bombing a country brings that country together against the external adversary,” Postol said. On June 1, Ukraine violated a fundamental precept of the Cold War, that one does not attack the strategic forces of any nation. Legally, Russia would have been justified in attacking US and UK, who were clearly involved. Putin is an exceptional leader because he did not react.

Larry Johnson, former CIA officer and a cofounder of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS) , also commented on Iran: “This attack was carried out with the full knowledge and participation of the United States… There is a pattern emerging here that Israel cannot be trusted in any sort of negotiation whatsoever–nor can the United States.”

Regular panelist Ray McGovern is a former Senior Analyst for the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and a Founding Member of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS). He described the situation as nuanced and complex. “What I see as a silver lining here,” he said, is that this may compel more dialogue between the US and Russia. “US complicity is somewhat in doubt, despite the braggadocio… Can the Israelis be restrained when things don’t go quite their way? I don’t think so.”

Zepp-LaRouche responded that we need contextualization for what is happening in the Middle East, that being the attempt to stop the rise of a new system typified by BRICS+. We must not only analyze, but provide an alternative. As long as we are not resolving the underlying conflict with the New Peace and Development Architecture, new hot spots will continue to erupt.

McGovern thanked her for mentioning Gabbard’s unprecedented video.

Gershon Baskin is an Israeli columnist, social and political activist, and a researcher of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict and peace. In a video interview conducted by EIR, he said, “We all know that President Trump is the only person who can tell Netanyahu to end the war.” He welcomed the efforts of former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to influence Trump, and agreed on the need for an economic solution. “The obstacles to Palestinian development by the Israeli occupation need to be removed… It makes no sense whatsoever for Israel to want to have poor neighbors.”

Zepp-LaRouche commented that it goes beyond the suffering of the Palestinians:  “I’m afraid that impact on the moral order of the world will be devastating.”

A scheduled On the Ground Report from the ongoing March for Gaza in Egypt was not possible for technical reasons. However, moderator Anastasia Battle later provided an urgent update: there are reports that the Egyptian government is using force against the marchers. Leaders are prepared to use nonviolent methods to protest if there is repression and activists are deported.

Discussion

TLO President Diane Sare warned that the efforts to impeach Trump could lead to  a destabilization of the United States. She observed that Trump “has an enormous ego, and is not a very profound thinker.” But the people leading the campaign against Trump gave us the Ukraine coup and other neocon atrocities. Zepp-LaRouche added that “the migrant issue is being handled in a way that is antagonizing many people.” She reminded viewers that her husband Lyndon advised never to use the military against your own people. “Let’s remove the root causes for the migrant question,” she said, citing hunger, war, etc.

Question: Israel says they attacked Iran to prevent American peace talks from succeeding. Were the talks real, or a setup for the war? Zepp-LaRouche responded that she wishes she knew the answer; the only power which can restrain Israel is the US, “but then he didn’t do it… The picture which comes together is not transparent… it is very much a mixed bag.”  

In response to a questioner who raised questions about AI and suggested that we need a social contract, co-moderator Dennis Small attacked the Rousseauvian notion of a contract to reconcile divergent self-interests, as opposed to a concept of the common interests of mankind. He added that AI, like other technological advances, is a double-edged sword.

A woman from Iran asked Zepp-LaRouche whether Israel would even consider an attack on Iran without a green light from the US? She responded that complicity and even aid is very likely, but it is not a simple matter. ”Is the US controlled by the Zionist lobby, or is the Anglo-American Empire using Israel for its own strategic purposes?”

An Indian/Danish journalist cited the India-Pakistan tensions created by the way Britain divided the subcontinent, asking, How do we address the way the British fuel conflicts rather than resolving them? Zepp-LaRouche noted also how Boris Johnson sabotaged Ukraine peace deal. Russian officials are now calling out the British for their role. The story of unprovoked aggression by Russia has been widely discredited. An investigation into the British role is needed

In response to a Colombian labor leader’s question about the encyclical Rerum Novarum, Zepp-LaRouche called it a watershed decision, that the Church should not just pray, but must intervene in social policy.

Question: would there be lasting peace if the Islamic world accepted the Biblical authority of Israel over the land, and the Palestinians were displaced into other Arab states? Zepp-LaRouche declined to comment on any Biblical theories of property ownership. Should the Palestinians pay the price for what the Germans did to the Jews? It’s the perpetuation of injustice, the evil deed giving birth to more evil deeds. The two-state solution is the solution, but there is not enough water to go around without the [[Oasis Plan]] [[ https://schillerinstitute.com/the-oasis-plan-the-larouche-solution-for-southwest-asia/]].

by EIR staffJune 20–Opening the 107^th meeting of the International Peace Coalition, Schiller Institute founder Helga Zepp-LaRouche reviewed the presently dire strategic situation, saying that “the immediate danger would be if the United States were to be drawn into the bombing of Iran.” She said that attempting to destroy Iran’s underground facility would be unlikely to succeed without resorting to the use of nuclear bombs. The neocons’ 1996 “Clean Break” policy is in play, which was designed to counter the 1993-95 Oslo Accords. “The British have a very particular interest to keep this conflict going… That should remind us that the immediate target of this operation was not just what happens in the Middle East… Regime change in the region is not the only aim.” The strategic aims include destruction throughout the region, and confrontation with the Russia, China and Global South development drive which intends to end 500 years of colonial looting.

Looking at the situation in the U.S., she said that half of the MAGA base feels betrayed, because Trump had promised an end to the neocon war policy. When Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard reported earlier this year that Iran has no nuclear weapons program, Trump dismissed her opinion, which puts her June 10 video warning of nuclear war in a different light. We must know that what we are talking about is the end of humanity, should there be nuclear war.

Israel’s Nuclear Weapons—the History, the Danger

John Steinbach, of the Hiroshima Nagasaki Peace Committee of the National Capitol Area, opened with a joke, “I’m so old that I remember that there was a time when I agreed more with Bernie Sanders than with Tucker Carlson.” He offered a concise history of Israel’s nuclear weapons program, beginning after WWII when the U.S. gave a 5-megawatt research reactor each to Israel and to Iran. But the French then played a key role in helping Israel develop a nuclear weapons capability.

Both Presidents Eisenhower and Kennedy opposed Israel getting a nuclear bomb, and Kennedy sent inspectors. Israel deceived them by creating a non-military mock-up. Mordechai Vanunu worked at Dimona, Israel’s nuclear complex, and smuggled out photos and documents, after which Western analysts concluded that Israel had developed an H-bomb. Israel now has missiles capable of reaching Washington and Moscow. Steinbach offered a link to his paper on the Israeli nuclear weapons program.

Ray McGovern, former Senior Analyst for the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and a Founding Member of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS), backed up Steinbach’s history of Israel’s nuclear weaponry. McGovern observed that we now know that former chief of the CIA’s counterintelligence, James Jesus Angleton, was “the equivalent of an Israeli spy.” Any CIA report that mentioned Israel had to go through Angleton. He was also complicit in the assassination of John Kennedy, McGovern stated. Was Kennedy’s opposition to an Israeli bomb a motive for his assassination?

On the question of how to deal with someone as confused and mercurial as Trump, McGovern said that Putin and the Chinese are dealing with him the best way they know how.

Zepp-LaRouche asked: Why can’t Israel’s nuclear weapons be discussed? McGovern said it is being discussed more and more in alternative media. He recalled that even CIA head William Burns, on his way out last Fall, reiterated that Iran has no nuclear weapons program, and if they started, we would know very quickly.

Steinbach said that the concept of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) was that non-nuclear states had a right to nuclear energy, and the nuclear states would pursue disarmament. Israel is the only nuclear weapons state which is not a signatory to the Treaty.

Global South Is Focused on Development

Prof. Eduardo Siqueira, from Brazil, is a retired professor of Public Health at the University of Massachusetts in Boston. He reported that the focus of the Global South is on development, and that wars are being used to sabotage that agenda. The BRICS are trying to do something similar to what Zepp-LaRouche wants to do with her proposal for a New Security and Development Architecture. It has become clear to them that what is being done in the Middle East is intended to paralyze the BRICS and the BRI. “Since Obama, there has been this so-called Pivot to Asia,” designed to disrupt China’s initiatives. The U.S. is losing hegemony, and is using Israel to paralyze the development alternative.

Diane Sare, President of The LaRouche Organization, gave a firsthand report from one of the two rallies held near the United Nations this week, on the theme, “No War against Iran.”  People at the UN are told not to even accept leaflets on the street, but they got contacts nonetheless. She said that there is massive loss of support for Trump in his base, while the billionaires who run the “No Kings” rallies behind the scenes, don’t oppose the genocide or the war drive. Sare’s recent video on TikTok has gone viral.

Discussion

Frequent IPC panelist Dennis Fritz, prominent representative of the Eisenhower Media Group, spoke of the methods the U.S. used during the Iraq War to smear Hans Blix and other uncooperative leaders of the IAEA, who were genuinely working against nuclear weapons proliferation. Fritz emphasized that if the U.S. attacks Iran, Iran and its allies have the means to respond.

Jacques Cheminade, long time leader in France of the LaRouche movement, said that people are losing their illusions. Macron is fully discredited. Trump has divided loyalties and consequently a confused policy. “The enemy is becoming naked at this point.”

Zepp-LaRouche said the only way out of this crisis would be for the U.S. and Europeans to publicly declare that they want to collaborate with the BRICS in building infrastructure. Unless the monetarist bubble is corrected, things will only get worse.

In response to a question, McGovern compared “the silence of the institutional church”—citing Catholics and Lutherans, that we see now, to what happened during the Third Reich. He quoted Bishop Tutu: “We’re not all guilty, but we are all responsible.”

Siqueira explained that most people in the North don’t realize what the Global South can offer the world. Brazil has a rich fusion of different cultures–Portuguese, African, indigenous. The world can learn from this, and the U.S, benefits from it through immigration.

In response to a comment by a Muslim-American leader, co-moderator Dennis Small said that we urgently need to put out this Israel-Iran fire, but we must also recognize that there is an arsonist running loose – British geopolitics — and the impetus is the bankruptcy of the financial system. Later in his concluding remarks, Small reported that President Putin, speaking to media at a late-night June 18 St. Petersburg gathering, told a reporter from Reuters who asked a hostile question, that it is possible to both guarantee Iran’s sovereign right to nuclear energy, while also providing full security for Israel. Small paraphrased: we can both put out the fire, and we can also put the arsonist away for good, which is the job of the true statesman.

Concluding remarks

McGovern observed that Trump is like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Will he put the lethal blow to NATO at the Summit next week? That would be a good thing.

Siqueira said that we are seeing the beginning of a new world, and the old world is resisting.

Small emphasized that the upcoming Schiller Institute [[Berlin Conference July 12-13]] [[]] is of great strategic importance, and will arm us with the ideas to solve the crisis.

Zepp-LaRouche recalled that our movement has been an integral part of this struggle for development from the beginning, since LaRouche’s International Development Bank proposal in the 1970s. In the 11 years since the announcement of the BRI, it has become the dominant dynamic in the world. Nothing short of nuclear war will stop it. The rational move for the US would be to join it. We plan to make videos to show our vision of a developing planet.

Readers are invited to share and use clips from this meeting. Please give credit to the International Peace Coalition. Please also join the Hiroshima Nagasaki Peace Committee in partnership with Women’s International League for Peace & Freedom for a teach-in on Trinity Day, July 16, 2025, 7:00pm EDT, marking the 80th anniversary of the first nuclear test. Please register here.

Helga Zepp-LaRouche, Founder of the Schiller Institute and initiator of the International Peace Coalition (IPC), opened the 105th consecutive weekly meeting today by warning that the strategic situation has significantly worsened over the past week with the June 1 drone attacks by Ukraine deep inside the territory of Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin has shown remarkable forbearance. It is ominous that U.S. President Donald Trump says he was not informed of the operation, despite the fact that MI6 and CIA were almost surely involved in its planning and targeting. It is important that the two Presidents spoke June 4.

It is clear that the perpetrators hoped to corral Trump into the “Coalition of the Willing,” that wishes to perpetuate the war. Neocons within the Trump administration are also agitating for some sort of provocation against Iran, and the horror in Gaza continues unabated.

Zepp-LaRouche made a point of advising everyone, in order to understand the ongoing “scenario” of madness, to read the June 5 column in the Washington Post, “Ukraine’s Dirty War Is Just Getting Started,” by senior reporter David Ignatius.

Understanding Russia

The IPC meeting, which occurred on the anniversary of the 1944 D-Day Normandy invasion, featured an intense, but grave back and forth about the nature of the attacks on Russia: Why are they occurring? What will President Putin do?

Ray McGovern, a former CIA analyst and co-founder of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS), said that Russia has chosen not to escalate, because its leaders hope that they can still negotiate with Trump and develop a decent relationship with the U.S. The Russians are furious over the attack, but Putin “remains calm, cool and collected, as we say in the States.” Western analysts got all worked up, but what have the Russians said? “Almost nothing.” The Ukrainians and their masters had hoped to get Russia to overreact, in order to manipulate the U.S. into joining the “coalition of the dead brains.” McGovern said that the New York Times lies when it reports that Russia is responding to attacks on its military bases. The Russians are not saying this at all; they say they are responding to “terrorist attacks” on civilian infrastructure.

Jose Vega, a leader of the LaRouche movement and independent candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in New York’s 15th Congressional District, addressed this point during the discussion, asking how, if attacks are being classified by Russia as terrorism, and Russia does not negotiate with terrorists, does this represent a change? McGovern replied that the Russians are concentrating on the attacks on the bridges, and deliberately avoiding discussion of the attack on their strategic forces. They consider the Ukrainian leadership terrorists, but they intend to negotiate. McGovern said that Putin “will surprise everybody with how much sangfroid he has.”

Scott Ritter, former UN weapons inspector and former U.S. Marine Corps intelligence specialist, made the fundamental point that there is no overlap between the core interests of NATO and of Russia. Russia will not tolerate a Ukraine that is being used as a proxy to sabotage Russia. Moscow will continue to insist on the demilitarization and de-Nazification of Ukraine. The West continues to hope that Russia will bend the knee. But, he said, “The root causes of this conflict will be addressed.”

In reply, McGovern said that Russia will stick to its announced objectives, but has no interest in taking possession of all of Ukraine. Zepp-LaRouche replied at one point to McGovern, commenting, “I’m probably an optimist for a slightly different reason than Ray.” She cited a German proverb, which she translated as, “the best person cannot live in peace, if the evil neighbor doesn’t like it.”

The Role of the British

In his presentation, Ritter charged that the British have been heavily deployed to “keep Ukraine in the fight…. I believe that the British have been heavily involved in trying to help the Ukrainians to kill the Russian President.”

During the discussion, McGovern recounted that his Irish grandfather once told him: “The British are responsible for every untoward thing that has happened in the world for the last three centuries.” The Brits were probably involved on multiple levels with the Ukrainian attacks, and Trump was probably kept out of the loop.

Dennis Fritz, past director of the Eisenhower Media Network and a retired Command Chief Master Sergeant in the U.S. Air Force, added that the British are “living their dream through us” in the United States. Fritz reminded the participants that then-British Prime Minister Boris Johnson shot down the 2022 peace deal between Ukraine and Russia that was worked out in the first round of talks in Istanbul. He later added that he had studied the playbook of the neocons in the Pentagon, where he had served and seen it first-hand, and part of their playbook is to work behind the back of the President.

The Significance of the Assassination Threats

During the discussion, IPC co-moderator Dennis Small said that the problem with the Ukrainian attacks is that they come in the context of assassination attempts against both Trump and Putin. They represent a statement of intent. Unless we are able to implement the diplomacy and development solutions of the Schiller Institute, they will find a way to take the world to war. Zepp-LaRouche pointed out that if one of these assassination attempts actually succeeds, we could lose civilization.

McGovern went further, saying that one incentive for Putin to deal with Trump is that he realizes that both of them may not be around much longer.

Details of the Attacks on Russia

Col. (ret.) Richard H. Black, former head of the U.S. Army’s Criminal Law Division at the Pentagon, Marine Corps combat veteran, and former Virginia State Senator, said that the Ukrainian drone attack was a substantial psychological blow. It turns out that the Ukrainian claims of damage to Russian aircraft were exaggerated, but there was an initial psychological impact, and it was timed to disrupt the peace talks. NATO has a long-range plan to continue the hostilities. Clearly, U.S. satellite imagery was used by Ukraine, and it is likely that the CIA or MI6 played a leading role in planning the operation.

Lt. Col. (ret.) Ralph Bossard of the Swiss Armed Forces, a consultant on military-strategic affairs, in 2014 served as a senior planning officer for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s Special Monitoring Mission (OSCE SMM). He presented key specifics of what is known about Ukraine’s June 1 Operation Spiderweb drone attack. Bossard expressed regret that there are people in the Western media, and even in the intelligence agencies, who are ready to uncritically repeat anything the Ukrainians say. “De-escalation can only be achieved if Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump agree not to take advantage of the current situation,” he said, and characterized Ukraine as “a government whose fanaticism outweighs its intellect.”

Dennis Fritz warned, “At any time, Russia could destroy Ukraine.” Russia has hypersonic intermediate-range missiles, which they could use at any time. The U.S. should be a voice for peace, but we broke the Iran deal, and we vetoed the UN Security Council resolution on Gaza on June 5, Thursday of this week.

Scott Ritter stated that, “over the past couple of weeks there have been two occasions where Russia would be within its doctrinal rights to use nuclear weapons.” One was a Ukrainian drone attack against Putin’s helicopter, a clear assassination attempt. The other was the June 1 drone attack on five of Russia’s strategic air bases.

Upcoming Actions

Ritter reported that on June 18, they will “resurrect the Space Bridge,” on the 40th anniversary of the 1985 Citizens’ Summit organized by Phil Donahue of the United States and Vladimir Pozner of the Soviet Union. Ritter is also making a film called “Thirty-Eight Minutes” about the 2018 false alarm of inbound nuclear missiles in Hawaii.

Zepp-LaRouche announced a demonstration June 6 in the German town of Schrobenhausen, where the Taurus missiles are produced.

A Spanish participant announced that there will also be a demonstration June 6 in Madrid, to “activate the anti-war mentality” in that country.