International Peace Coalition

‘We Have to Get a Breakout—
We’re in Mortal Danger’

by EIR staff

[Print version of this article]

Nov. 29—The 78th consecutive weekly online meeting of the International Peace Coalition (IPC) today opened with the return of Schiller Institute founder Helga Zepp-LaRouche, who noted a “strange discrepancy in the perception of reality” between the Chinese, Russians and the Global Majority, on the one side, and leaders of the Anglosphere, on the other. Russia’s new Oreshnik missile flies at Mach 10, is solid fueled, on mobile launchers, and not vulnerable to preemptive “decapitation” strikes. It was nonetheless “pooh-poohed” by Western commentators. NATO’s war against Russia could so escalate that it would be nearly impossible for United States President-elect Donald Trump to “tone it down” when he enters the White House. The new Schiller Institute report explains how Europe, the BRICS and the U.S. could launch a crash program to electrify Africa and industrialize the Global South, resolve the migrant crisis, and prevent world war. The December 7-8 Schiller Institute conference will be a deliberative platform to move that vision forward.

A New War in Syria

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, reported that on November 27, a new front opened up in the Middle East conflict. Al-Qaeda (aka al-Nusra, etc.), with likely cooperation from Türkiye and the CIA, broke a ceasefire and attacked the Syrian government. “Türkiye is always on the lookout for opportunities to seize territory from Syria,” he said, and “Israel … has long had its eyes on Syrian territory.” Carl Osgood, military specialist for EIR, later added that in 2018, then-U.S. President Trump issued an order to withdraw U.S. troops. There was a revolt from military leaders and the U.S. Senate which prevented that from happening. The Israelis have been waging a “low-grade war against Syria for many years.”

The Oreshnik Missile and Ukraine

Ray McGovern, former CIA analyst and co-founder of the Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS), reported that intelligence specialists believe that Russia has successfully developed a “new genre” of weapons: Oreshnik has the power of a nuclear bomb without the fallout, but “these tone-deaf NATO people” refuse to take it seriously. U.S. President Joe Biden’s people, on their way out of office, might be tempted to use a nuclear weapon to avoid extreme humiliation in Ukraine. “Let’s get on our knees and pray that there is sang froid enough” on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s part to prevent such reckless actions, he said.

Carl Osgood reported that on November 25 the Russians, responding to the ATACMS strikes, struck NATO missile launchers in Ukraine, killing foreign specialists at the scene, including 40 American and 9 French technicians, who operated them. He added that the earlier Oreshnik strike carried no explosive warhead; its enormous destructive power was simply from the kinetic force of impact at Mach 10.

Zepp-LaRouche responded that the “denial by the officialdom of the West is really the scariest thing,” suggesting that it is a form of clinical insanity. “We have to get a breakout,” she insisted. “We’re in mortal danger.”

What Can We Expect From Trump?

IPC co-moderator Dennis Speed suggested that Americans who are still hung over from Thanksgiving may not know that on Thursday, Putin commented on “the absolutely uncivilized methods used to battle against Trump, up to and including an assassination attempt—and more than once.” Putin also said, “By the way, in my opinion, he is not safe now…. Unfortunately, in the history of the United States, various incidents have happened. I think he [Mr. Trump] is intelligent and I hope he’s cautious and understands this.”

Former Guyanese President Donald Ramotar asked, are we putting “too much stake on Trump?” Trump said we were in Syria to take the oil. He “had a domineering outlook on Syria as well.” A German participant said that he is unable to share optimism over Trump, because Trump withdrew from the INF treaty, declared Jerusalem capital of Israel, and blocked the Nord Stream pipeline. Ray McGovern responded, “Maybe Trump’s people will wake up … or maybe not.”

War Prevention, and the Schiller Institute’s New Report

Former President Ramotar expressed his total agreement with Helga Zepp-LaRouche on linking development to peace, adding that the great danger is the collective West seeking hegemony over the world. Russia saw Western designs on Ukraine as an “extreme no-no” and a threat to their security. Regarding the recently announced cease-fire in Lebanon, he asked, are the Israelis simply buying time to rest their military and replenish supplies? The Israelis can re-start the war whenever they are ready. This is not a genuine ceasefire.

Former U.S. Senate candidate Diane Sare, president of The LaRouche Organization, said the American people are equally oblivious to the threat of a new world war, and the promise offered by the new paradigm of the BRICS and the Global South. “We have a really degraded view of Man in the West … our identity is that of the British Empire.” The cultural interventions, such as the new Schiller Institute pamphlet, are of critical importance to address this.

IPC co-moderator Dennis Small, who was part of the trans-Atlantic task force commissioned by Helga Zepp-LaRouche to produce the pamphlet, said the Western response to Oreshnik has been to escalate. A new talking point for Western figures, including Admiral Robert Bauer, Chair of the NATO Military Committee, is that “instead of shooting at arrows, we have to get rid of the archer,” effectively a statement of intent to go to war with Russia. U.S. Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) commented that “this is simply batshit crazy,” and called for the United States to pull out of NATO. Small added, “Now, that’s a reasonable comment.”

Small said the pamphlet offers a way to get beyond dividing the world into antagonistic blocs, by focusing on economic development to avoid war and resolve the migrant problem. The single largest number of migrant detentions in Europe are from Syria, followed by Guinea, then Afghanistan. These are war refugees. In the Americas, the largest cause of migration is economic destruction caused by policies of the IMF, Wall Street, and the City of London for purposes of depopulation and looting. With the construction of the new port in Chancay, Peru, a continental infrastructure grid has become possible, and if it is built, people will stay in their home countries.

Discussion

A Romanian participant reported that her nation, “a colony plus-plus-plus,” voted in the first-round of the presidential election for Călin Georgescu, a “dark horse” candidate who stands for national sovereignty and peace, which “you cannot discuss in the press.” The result was “almost like a miracle.” He will now go on to a runoff election against the pro-NATO candidate. The incumbent government is calling for a criminal investigation of the election results. Zepp-LaRouche said, “It is in line with what we have been seeing from many Eastern European countries,” mentioning Georgia’s decision to postpone any discussion of joining the EU. These are all neighbors of Ukraine, and are not blind to what has occurred there.

Zepp-LaRouche concluded by saying we need to mobilize millions of people in the streets, and put together networks of people who can make the New Paradigm a reality. She supported former UN weapons inspector and U.S. Marine intelligence officer Scott Ritter’s call for mobilizations and rallies on Dec. 7, emphasizing the central importance of the upcoming Schiller Institute conference on Dec. 7 and 8. Everyone will be surprised at the caliber of the speakers at the upcoming conference, and the importance of the deliberation that will occur.