International Peace Coalition

‘We Are All Sitting in One Boat’

by EIR staff

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Nov. 15—The 76th consecutive weekly meeting today of the International Peace Coalition (IPC) began with Schiller Institute founder Helga Zepp-LaRouche discussing the aftermath of the 2024 presidential election in the United States. We are in “an extremely interesting moment in history” in which “the direction has not been decided.” She said that while U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has announced diverse choices for members of his Cabinet, you cannot read from the previous history of these people, what they will do in the future. With former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence, the truth about where the war in Ukraine stands will for sure come out, as well as the truth about the actual authors of the Nord Stream Pipeline sabotage.

However, “there is no point speculating or commenting on events”; our job is to propose solutions. We need to create a consensus on the economic development of the Global South as an alternative to geopolitical wars. Imagine a world in which the nations of the BRICS join hands with the U.S. and Europe to accomplish this in everyone’s self-interest. The migrant crisis besetting both the U.S. and Europe is a case-in-point: the only way to solve the crisis is by full-set development of the nations of the South, rather than subjecting them to looting and wars. The Schiller Institute is preparing an emergency report on this crisis and its solution, which will be published in ten days or so. Everyone should take part in the upcoming Schiller Institute conference where these topics will be addressed in depth.

Col. (ret.) Richard H. Black, a Marine combat veteran, former head of the U.S. Army’s Criminal Law Division at the Pentagon and former Virgina State Senator, heartily endorsed the appointment of Tulsi Gabbard, recounting his first contact with her over the question of U.S. sponsorship of terror groupings in Syria. “She is not an indoctrinated individual,” he concluded.

On the BRICS, he said that the recent conference in Russia demonstrates that U.S. attempts to isolate Russia have failed. The genocidal effects of U.S. sanctions against Syria, and the ludicrous sanctions against Russia, including the banning of crippled children from participating in the Paralympic Games, are horrendous. There has been “deep revulsion and fear engendered by the theft of the Russian treasury,” which he described as the greatest theft in world history. U.S. President Joe Biden’s participation in dropping 2,000 lb. bombs on Gaza “has badly stained America’s reputation in the world.”

Col. Black’s presentation inspired an in-depth dialogue among the participants. Former Guyanese President Donald Ramotar intervened to voice his concern over Tulsi Gabbard’s position on Gaza, which he compared to that of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and warned that she appears to have a strong anti-Islamic bias. In response, Col. Black echoed Zepp-LaRouche in saying that the cabinet appointees will be carrying out Trump’s policies, which remain to be seen. IPC co-moderator Dennis Speed added that the accusations by U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and others, that Gabbard is “in Putin’s pocket,” suggests that something is going on here that bears further scrutiny.

Returning to the case of Syria, Col. Black reported on the CIA’s willingness to deploy modern, mechanized armies of ISIS and al-Nusra to steal Syria’s oil and grain. Trump’s efforts to pull out of Syria were met by “an effective rebellion by the Deep State,” supported by the collective propaganda capabilities of the corporate media. Zepp-LaRouche called for the lifting of the Caesar Sanctions to alleviate the suffering of the Syrian people.

Professor and author Glenn Diesen spoke about the recent Valdai Discussion Club annual meeting, addressed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, in which Diesen had a lengthy exchange with Putin in the Question-and-Answer session. The BRICS initiative has elevated the nations of the Global South to being autonomous nations, rather than “pawns in blocs.” Asked about Putin’s proposal of a “polyphonic world order,” Diesen described it as “an important part of multipolarity.” Unipolarity has “corrupted diplomacy,” he said.

Mike Robinson, co-editor of the UK Column, agreed with Col. Black’s assessment of the role of the “Western media” in crafting a narrative to justify the destruction of Syria, highlighting the role of “BBC Media Action,” supported by the British Foreign Office. His colleague Vanessa Beeley, who resides in Syria, has actively broken with the enforced consensus among putative journalists. He also noted Donald Trump’s promise to reverse the trend toward censorship. The shift toward reliance on social media is creating financial problems for the “mainstream media,” to the extent that the British government is now subsidizing it by purchasing ads, while using so-called “terrorism legislation” and the “Online Safety Act” to silence unapproved narratives.

Discussion

In response to a participant in Ibero-America, who warned of a “disguised continuity” between the Biden and Trump administrations, and another who charged that Tulsi Gabbard is complicit in the genocide in Gaza, Helga Zepp-LaRouche again urged listeners against speculating about what are open questions. Rather, organize to bring about the needed changes. There are enormous changes taking place in the world today, she reminded. “If we would orchestrate all the countries involved” in a “huge economic program” like China’s Belt and Road Initiative to develop the Global South, we could end the flood of refugees and have “a decent living standard for everyone on the planet.”

IPC co-moderator Dennis Small reported on studies underway for the upcoming Schiller Institute pamphlet which show that “what is driving people to the United States is that their own physical economies are being destroyed” by the looting policies of Wall Street and the City of London. If that is reversed, the migrant problem can be solved.

On the German economic collapse, Zepp-LaRouche cited a recent statement by Col. (ret.) Douglas Macgregor that the U.S. is implementing the post-World War II Morgenthau Plan to de-industrialize Germany, saying that his assessment is correct.

A participant in Colombia asked what the role could be for his nation in the New Paradigm. Dennis Small described the new super-port being built in Chancay, Peru in collaboration with China, emphasizing “the next stop in Chinese President Xi Jinping’s travels is Brazil,” where there will be discussion of the Bi-Oceanic Rail Corridor “which will open up the entirety of South America to the kind of development which is going on in China.” Small pointed out that ideological differences are not an obstacle: “Forget the geopolitics—build the damn rail lines!” A representative of the Schiller Institute–Peru, Sara Madueño, described the excitement in her country around Xi Jinping’s visit, and the historic relationship between Peru and China.

To a questioner from Ecuador, Helga Zepp-LaRouche said that basic infrastructure has historically been the key to industrialization all over the world, and that she had just received reports that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had held a one-hour phone discussion with Russian President Putin, and that Russia will resume uranium exports to the U.S.

The “torch of progress” has been passed from one country to another throughout history. Now we are in a new moment in history where we are “all sitting in one boat.” Either we will soon all be dead in a nuclear war, or we will reach a new era in civilization. Our ideas can influence which way history goes.