ZEPP-LAROUCHE WEBCAST

The Secret of How Trump Outflanked the War Party

This is the edited transcript of the Schiller Institute’s October 18, 2019 New Paradigm interview with the founder of the Schiller Institutes, Helga Zepp-LaRouche, by Harley Schlanger. A video of the webcast is available.

Harley Schlanger: Hello, I’m Harley Schlanger from the Schiller Institute. Welcome to our webcast this week, with our founder and President Helga Zepp-LaRouche; today is October 18, 2019.

There have been very fast-moving and significant developments this week; in Syria, China, and on the political scene in the United States. Helga, I think it’s quite significant now that President Trump is having a series of rallies to get across his message, since the mainstream media do not intend to let him have his say. How do you see these rallies, playing into shifting the situation in the U.S. population?

Mainstream Media
Deceive and Distort

Helga Zepp-LaRouche: The mainstream media, both in the United States and in Europe, are absolutely not reporting what Trump is doing. They are bringing a completely distorted picture which can only be characterized as a conscious campaign to deceive the population, concerning his announcement of pulling U.S. troops out of Syria.

I mean, these are not media, these are Public Relations (PR) firms run by intelligence agencies to change the axioms of the population: That’s what it is. Because there is no bigger discrepancy between what Trump is doing, together with Putin, which is really absolutely crucial for world peace, and the picture you get from these media.

So, in these rallies as in the press conference at the White House on October 16 with the Italian President Sergio Mattarella, Trump repeated the same story, namely that it’s time to pull the U.S. soldiers out of these endless wars, that the United States has no intention to continue to police the world in 90 countries around the globe, and that that should be ended.

Now, people should be happy about that! Because all of this was very clearly done in coordination with Russia. And if you want to end the misery in the Middle East countries, terrorism, endless wars, it is very, very clear that only if the United States and Russia, and China are working together, that you can solve this problem.

So, to repeat again, all of the media barrage that the ceasefire that Vice President Mike Pence negotiated with President Erdo˘gan of Turkey is not working is just not true.

The Kurds in the northeast have agreed to work with the Syrian government and give up their heavy weapons. Turkey had agreed to this approach and is no longer insisting on regime change against the Assad government. While not every Kurd will immediately agree to a ceasefire in such a region, so there will be interruptions and skirmishes, but by and large the ceasefire is working. Erdo˘gan, after meeting with Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, is now scheduled to go to Sochi, Russia on October 22, where, according to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, the political solution in this region and in Syria, including the Constitutional Council that will meet in Geneva, will be discussed with Erdo˘gan. So all the signs are that this will function.

People have such a short memory: The whole trouble really started with Obama, and people forget that. In 2015, Putin militarily intervened in Syria, and really resumed Russia’s role as a key player on the world stage, which Obama had denied by saying Russia is only a “regional” force and regional player. At that time Putin had asked the United States to cooperate in calming down the situation in Syria, which Obama had explicitly refused, and instead had the CIA arm the jihadists in the northeast of Syria, working with the same people who had been involved in 9/11. This was the problem. And now, Trump and Putin are cooperating to undo this, and also working with all the other countries in the region towards a settlement.

Reconstruction for Middle East Peace

So, people should be happy about that! This is a world-historic change, ending the interventionist wars, ending the humanitarian right-to-protect pretext to violate sovereignty, to go for regime change: This is really, very, very important news. And it just shows you how malicious the media are and how brainwashed people are, that they no longer can recognize a peace policy when it is happening in front of their eyes.

The very big question now is the reconstruction. I think the spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, was quite right, when she blasted the European Union, which had criticized Erdo˘gan for making the military incursion into Syria. So, Ms. Zakharova basically said, the Europeans have no role in this at all, they should help the children, or do fundraisers, but they should otherwise stop just giving press conferences because they have no role.

What is now needed is the reconstruction of Syria, to start with. Estimates are that at least $200 billion will be needed, probably more. And the only way that can be done, is that the New Silk Road—the Belt and Road Initiative—be extended into Syria, and that there be a division of labor between Russia, Iran, and also China. Other countries should help: The Europeans should stop complaining and should give up their opposition to Assad, as clearly their operation has not succeeded in toppling Assad, so they should now draw the lesson and help with the reconstruction, but stay out of political meddling.

Schlanger: There are a couple points you just covered that I’d like you to just add to, a little bit: One is, what Trump is explicitly saying that he’s allowing nations to be sovereign. He asks, what’s wrong with Syria controlling Syrian territory? This obviously fits in with how these larger powers, Russia and the United States, can defend the sovereign rights over other countries, instead of violating those rights. Don’t you think this is a pretty big deal, ending the era of interventions?

A New Spirit of National Sovereignty . . .

Zepp-LaRouche: Putin delivered a very interesting speech on October 3 at the 16th Annual Meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club in Sochi, Russia. He emphasized the need to have a new order emerging based on sovereignty. [See the transcript of Putin’s speech in this issue of EIR.]

The report by the Diplomatic Academy of the Russian Foreign Ministry in August, “Global Challenges 2019,” which noted that the West has utterly failed in its policies of regime change against Venezuela, Syria, and Ukraine, but is still at it, by supporting “dissidents” in all these situations, is also quite relevant. The Hong Kong situation is still very hot.

But I think we are now at a point at which the idea that the West can go on with Francis Fukuyama’s assertion that we now live in “the end of history” and that so-called liberal democracy has won, as he put it after the collapse of the Soviet Union—this assertion, which then led to this whole effort of regime changes, trying to topple governments with color revolutions, has itself now come to an end.

There is now a recognition of who is behind such policies. And there is a new will by nations to assert their sovereignty. Only the collaboration of sovereign countries, working together for a common good, like what the Belt and Road Initiative is actually doing right now, which has developed a new model of cooperation. That must be the kind of cooperation of the future, of sovereign nations working with each other to their mutual benefit, and the role of the British Empire must come to an end, for good.

. . . Except in the U.S. Congress

Schlanger: One institution that doesn’t get this principle of sovereignty is the U.S. Congress. They voted this week 354-60—nonbinding—to stop Trump from ending the war in Syria. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi are saying “all roads lead to Putin,” that the decision by Trump is “destabilizing the region,” is adding to the chaos. The fact is, that peace is breaking out! How does that add to chaos? And then we see the Congress escalating on the Hong Kong front.

What can you say about the U.S. Congress, Helga?

Zepp-LaRouche: I think they are the almost daily proof that the United States, at this point, except for what Trump is doing, is not a democracy, but a plutocracy. I think all of these Congressmen are on a very short leash of Wall Street and Pelosi’s turn is the best example: At an earlier point she recognized that the Democrats are on a clear road to lose the election if they keep talking only about impeachment, when the voters want to hear about jobs, the economy, health care, and other questions of the physical economy; but then, after meeting in New York City with some of the top bankers there, she changed her view.

Both the mainstream media, as well as the political leadership of both parties have really changed in their character, and they’re really controlled by the intelligence agencies. Many of the same people who have been involved in a coup against Trump, with Russiagate for two years, and now the effort to shift to Ukrainegate, are the same people now voting against peace in Syria; they’re voting for the escalation in Hong Kong. So you can really see that this war party is really what Trump denounced when he talked about the “military-industrial complex.”

I think it’s worth noting that the “military-industrial complex” which President Eisenhower warned against in his farewell speech at the end of his second term in 1961, is not exactly the same military-industrial complex of that time, but it has merged with what people normally, mistakenly call the “deep state.” I’m saying “mistakenly,” because this military-industrial complex should really be seen more as an Anglo-American intelligence apparatus, the arm of the British Empire which has gotten large parts of the U.S. establishment to agree to run the world as an empire, as a unipolar world.

So, the Congress is really in a terrible shape. They will learn the lesson in the upcoming elections, provided we get there—because there are still enormous dangers and tension to overcome between now and that time.

Trump Supporters Open to LaRouche Ideas

Schlanger: In a series of large rallies, Trump has been referring back to his 2016 campaign promise that he would end these endless wars and saying that this is what the American people support. I know you’ve seen some of these rallies and you’ve read what he’s saying. What’s your assessment? Do you think that he is reaching the American people, in spite of the treachery of the media and the political leadership?

Zepp-LaRouche: Well, on the one side, he is. Some colleagues of ours in the United States deployed to the Dallas and Washington rallies. They report that our role is absolutely crucial: We had, for example, signs—body signs and other signs—”Why the Rush to Impeachment?” and “Why now?” People responded with “Yeah, because the Democrats know they can’t beat him in 2020.”

That is not the right answer. The reason is, that the financial system is crashing right now. In Washington, for example, people came to support Trump and to defend him against the danger of impeachment, but then, some congressman got up and said, “Yes, yes, stop the coup,” and then proceeded to blast Russia! “Stand up against Russia.”

Our organizers were telling people, “Look that is not Trump’s policy. Trump just got a peace agreement in the Middle East with Russia. And he has said, it’s a good thing to have a good relationship with Russia.”

The population will not have an easy time, if they don’t listen to the Schiller Institute and read our publications, because the mainstream media, even Fox TV, the so-called “pro-Trump” TV, they’re ragingly anti-China.

The Situation Is Dangerous

I can only say: We are in a really dangerous situation, despite very positive developments. Take this Tweet, for example, from so-called comedian Tom Arnold, referring to the large crowds at Trump’s rally in Dallas—saying “Don’t become too. . .”—I don’t want to use low-level language, but he wrote that John F. Kennedy had large crowds, too. And he said that in the context of Trump appearing in Dallas.

This brings back to my mind the article in the British magazine, the Spectator, that appeared in January 2017, under the headline “Will Donald Trump be assassinated, ousted in a coup, or just impeached?” strongly suggesting that Trump has to be gotten out of the White House one way or another, through a coup, through impeachment, or even through murder.

So I think we should keep that in mind. We should also keep in mind where this was published. The mainstream media are really, absolutely in lock-step with this line.

Another example. There is a program on Germany’s second channel TV, called “Heute Show” (“Today Show”), which in the past had some funny slapstick and cute things; but the latest program was an absolutely—I mean, these people are not journalists, or comedians anymore; they were making absolutely brutal attacks, using the worst kind of language against Trump, all just to create an environment where people really think that Trump is the biggest monster on the planet. And obviously, all of this is the kind of orchestration in which intelligence operations, like an assassination, become absolutely credible.

So, I think this is a very dangerous situation. And all of this is fueled by the pending financial crash.

No Chance of Regime Change in China

Schlanger: I want to get to the financial crash in just a second, but first, one more aspect of the strategic situation: the escalation against China, with Sen. Ted Cruz pretending he’s a ninja in the Hong Kong crowds. Sen. Marco Rubio continues his threats. The Congress is drafting new legislation on Hong Kong. This is also part of the danger. You mentioned regime change/color revolutions—that’s absolutely what’s under way in China right now, isn’t it?

Zepp-LaRouche: Well, I don’t think so. I think they would like to do that, and the situation in Hong Kong is indeed very dire; the effects on the Hong Kong economy are severe. But I don’t think there is any chance of a successful regime change in the People’s Republic of China. Because, despite the anti-China hysteria, don’t forget that the Chinese people are absolutely happy with their government.

I have been many times in China, and I’m not saying this because I read some newspapers, but because I have formed my own opinion about it. I was in China the first time in 1971 and have been there many times since. I have seen the incredible success of the Chinese economic model, which has brought prosperity to many people. It has alleviated poverty almost entirely—there are a couple of million people who still are in the process of being helped to get out of poverty.

Also, I think the West, rather than being so hysterical about China, people should start to think, why is it that the Chinese economic model has been so extraordinarily successful? Why is it that 130 nations work happily with China? Is it because it is a win-win situation for them? And why is it that the focus of the Chinese on innovation as the main motor of the economy, is so much more successful than profit-maximization, which is characteristic of the neo-liberal model? So rather than being in this campaign, being “nudged,” as Cass Sunstein would call it, with this idea of PR manipulation of the population, I think people should really think for themselves.

My best estimate is that all of the accusations of the think tanks, including a new one from the European Council on Foreign Relations warning that China is “coming in the back door” into Europe, and Germany is trading too much—I mean, these are all absolutely geopolitically motivated attacks; they have absolutely nothing to do with the reality of China.

People should be happy that China has provided such a model of international cooperation, which, if we succeed in getting Europe and the United States in a mode of cooperation—for example in the reconstruction of Southwest Asia, or the development of Africa—this is the best way to overcome all of these problems. I think the reason why they go after Trump so much, is that Trump wants to have a good relationship with Russia, and as he has said many times, he also thinks the relationship with China is absolutely crucial; he calls Xi Jinping his “good friend”—about which the Chinese are a little bit doubtful at this moment, after this trade war.

But Trump wants to improve the relationship among these two large countries. And as we said earlier, between China and India, there is also now a very important rapprochement, so therefore, the stage to do what my late husband always said, since many years ago, that you need the cooperation of the four largest countries, the United States, Russia, China, and India, to overcome the relics of the British Empire; this is absolutely going in the right direction, and therefore people should really think about these matters, and not just repeat stupid lines by stupid reporters who are no longer reporters but are just agents of the intelligence community.

Big Financial Crash Looming

Schlanger: I’d like to then bring up another aspect of the work of your late husband, Lyndon LaRouche: After the 2008 crash, he warned policy-makers to take the right steps, but the policy that came through Obama, the Federal Reserve and others, was a bail-out policy that built upon the erroneous axioms that led to the 2008 crash. Now the International Monetary Fund is reporting that, yes, in fact, the crisis has grown into an even bigger crisis.

How do you see this thing unfolding, especially now that we have this ongoing bail-out on the repo markets? Something big is coming up, isn’t it?

Zepp-LaRouche: Well, all the signs are that the thing is exploding, and that all the measures by the Fed and the other central banks are not working. At their semi-annual conference, now in progress, the IMF has put out a strong warning that 40% of the U.S. and European corporate debt will detonate, if there is a recession.

Now, the “recession” as they call it, is in full motion. The real economy has turned down everywhere, and the $50-$100 billion overnight repo lending to the banks, to give them two weeks’ lending to buy bonds and Treasuries through the central banks—all of this is really not functioning, and therefore, we are sitting on an absolute powder keg. Even the IMF says that if there is a sharp downturn, like what happened in 2008, waves of bankruptcies could lead to a complete turmoil.

It is therefore all the more urgent to do exactly what Lyndon LaRouche has worked out so brilliantly: Go with his Four Laws—global Glass-Steagall, national bank in the tradition of Alexander Hamilton, new credit system in the form of a New Bretton Woods system, crash program to increase productivity through development of fusion power, international space research cooperation, and then work together with China, Russia and India on the new paradigm in the New Silk Road.

This policy package will solve the problems, very, very quickly: But we simply need more people to bring this into the public square. So, again, my call to you: don’t sit on the fence in an incredible moment like this. Join the Schiller Institute, contact us, spread this program, and become active with us.

Schlanger: And one other area, where Lyn has proven to be absolutely prescient, and it’s beginning to come out now from other people, is his emphasis on the British Empire as the source of the problem. The British system versus the American System; British intelligence, the Great Game, geopolitics—there have been some articles recently, Helga. What can you report?

British Empire Depredations Continue

Zepp-LaRouche: Well, actually, I think it’s very good when publications and organizations other than us, really look at the role of the British Empire. There are two articles right now in Consortium News, an online newspaper: The first, by Pepe Escobar, who goes into the role of the Sykes-Picot Agreement of 1916, in manipulating the people of the Middle East, when the British and the French divided the land up in such a way that there would always be room for some ethnic or other conflict; and that the British Empire’s depredations are not over at all, but can be seen in many places.

A second article, “Legacy of British Empire Lurks Behind Today’s Headlines,” by John Wight, elaborates on Escobar’s discussion.

Everyone should read these two articles. The false belief that the British Empire no longer exists is really one of these PR tricks. My husband, Lyndon LaRouche, frequently said, the British Empire is like a slime-mold. A slime-mold changes its color and outward appearance, but it remains a slime-mold. After the official British Empire ended, the idea of empire simply shifted to the combination of central banks, investment banks, hedge funds, insurance companies, and assorted multinational corporations—the world’s major financial powers that have taken over to a large extent. That is what we see right now. The British Empire is now speaking with the voice of the Governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, who wants to decarbonize the world economy, and direct all investments into “green” technology, which would be the end of industrial nations, and result in depopulation on a large scale.

So if you think the British Empire no longer exists, you have fallen for PR tricks. But if you know how these things actually work, in terms of who is the power, and whose power is now crumbling, that is indeed this financial arm of the British Empire, which is why we are in all of this trouble.

However, some people in many countries around the world, including President Trump, including people in Russia, China, and many other countries, are smarter than ever before, including world leaders. We have Xi Jinping, we have Putin, Modi, Trump, and that is a good thing. So people who have held to the belief that the British Empire is defunct, should start to think. Maybe they’ll come to the right conclusions.

Exoneration of Lyndon LaRouche

Schlanger: I think this review of the strategic crises and the financial crisis brings us to an important point, which is that the exoneration of Lyndon LaRouche is at the center of the strategic counter-coup: This a major initiative that addresses almost all of these problems. So, people should continue to join with us: Sign the petition on our website.

Helga, maybe you want to say something about that, because I think this is something that gets right at the heart about how to defeat this war party.

Zepp-LaRouche: Well, people should go to our LaRouche PAC website and watch the documentary, “The Case for the Exoneration of Lyndon LaRouche.”

This is an extremely important way to understand why the apparatus that went after my husband in the 1980s and in the ’90s—Robert Mueller, William Weld, the FBI—is the same apparatus that covered up 9/11, the same apparatus now in the anti-China campaign, the same exact apparatus that is behind the coup against President Trump.

So, if you want to get the United States back on the track of being a republic, of being a temple of liberty, of a country that people are proud to be living in, then help with the exoneration of my husband. Spread this documentary, sign the petition, and help us to put all this on the agenda. Because it’s not just a question of addressing and remedying past crimes against him, but it is eminently an issue that people have to have a clear mind to think through the solutions Lyndon LaRouche proposed, because without LaRouche’s policies, I don’t think we will be able to get out of this really big crisis. We are very close, so it’s worth your effort. Look at the exoneration campaign, and join it!