International Peace Coalition 98

We Have One Future, Like It or Not

by EIR Staff

[Print version of this article]

April 18—The 98th consecutive weekly online meeting of the International Peace Coalition (IPC) commenced with greetings by Helga Zepp-LaRouche, founder of the Schiller Institute, who emphasized that “the situation in Ukraine remains one of utmost volatility.” The likely incoming Chancellor of Germany, Friedrich Merz, has said that he will send Taurus missiles to Ukraine. But the Taurus relies on intelligence from the United States. Will President Donald Trump approve this? And the Taurus must be operated by German soldiers, making Germany a direct party to the war. This situation is fraught with danger. Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev recently said that if the British and French send soldiers, they will come back in coffins. Zepp-LaRouche said that Merz “knows no inkling of a diplomatic solution,” and warned that something is happening in Germany which echoes what happened 80 years ago.

On the positive side, a disaster was averted when Trump refused to give U.S. backing to an Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities. There also continues to be positive developments in the Global South. China and Brazil agreed to build the Bi-Oceanic Railway across South America. And on April 18, the Valdai Discussion Club hosted an event called “70 Years On: The Legacy of Bandung. An Expert Discussion” which raised the question, “Is Bandung 2.0 possible?” This is in reference to the 1955 Bandung Conference, also known as the Asian-African Conference, held in Bandung, Indonesia, which laid the foundation for the later emergence of the Non-Aligned Movement.

She noted that Presidents Robert Fico of Slovakia and Alexsandar Vučić of Serbia will defy the EU and attend the Victory Day celebration in Russia on May 9. She commented as well that the trade war with China will cause inflation in the U.S. and large layoffs in China, and posed the question, are there people of reason who can step beyond geopolitics?

Seeds Grow Without a Sound

Alex Krainer, a well-known financial advisor and economic analyst, described an ongoing transition in the world economy that many may have missed. It has become very easy for a person in the West, with a few clicks, to order products from China and India. He clarified the controversy over tariffs, using as an example, a pair of Nike shoes that cost $10 to make in China, but retail for $100 in the U.S. A 25% tariff would be applied to the $10 that it costs to make the shoes, not the $100 retail price, adding only $2.50 to the cost of the retailer. For a more extravagant example, he cited a $38,000 handbag that costs $1,000 to make. The trade war has revealed things about the “bling factor.”

Schiller Institute leader Dennis Small cited an article in the Financial Times which asks whether we are now facing the “Trump Shock,” comparing it to the “Nixon Shock” of 1973. Trump’s trade war can ignite the explosion of the bubble of financial aggregates and derivatives which will never be paid. Small compared it to lighting a match in a room full of dynamite; the problem exists “not because of the match, but because of the dynamite.”

A new financial geometry is developing around the BRICS. “We’re seeing physical economic flows in exactly the way that Lyndon LaRouche talked about.” Brazil will gain “great circle” access to trade with China via the proposed Bi-Oceanic Corridor. China vastly outpaces the world in physical output of steel, etc.—but “the real growth area is science and technology.”

IPC coordinator Anastasia Battle presented a report on youth outreach, describing an organizing tour of New York university campuses with congressional candidate Jose Vega and others, and showed a series of photos of booktables and a special invitation to the upcoming international youth meeting April 22 with Helga Zepp-LaRouche.

In response to Krainer’s presentation, Zepp-LaRouche noted that Friedrich Merz says it’s an outrage that every day 400,000 parcels arrive from China. But the Spirit of Bandung is sweeping the Global South, ignored by Western media. Because of the rise of China, the developing nations feel that they are strong enough to end colonialism.

Krainer noted that improved world trade means opportunities for people in the industrial world as well. Merz’s opposition to Chinese imports is leading Europe to “a new Middle Ages.”

Discussion

Steven Starr, one of the nation’s foremost experts on nuclear war, asked Krainer to comment on the role of Wall Street and the City of London in influencing world events. Krainer said that power lies in the central banks, IMF, and the families that control them. For example, in the immediate aftermath of the 2014 Maidan coup, it was the IMF that influenced Kiev to launch an assault against the Donbass region of Eastern Ukraine. Citigroup formed much of former President Barack Obama’s Cabinet.

In response to a question on Iran, Zepp-LaRouche said that the real issue is Israel’s 200-plus nuclear weapons. We need a new security and development architecture which takes into account the security needs of all nations, including Iran. Fortunately, there is some talk of combining the Egyptian peace plan with the LaRouche Oasis Plan.

In response to a question about fascism, she described an in-depth discussion with former U.S. Ambassador Chas Freeman about the emergence of a new fascism. The crux is the image of man; fascists believe that some group of people is superior. They also pursue policies of ruthless austerity.

Relations with Afghanistan

IPC co-moderator Dennis Speed reported, in answer to a question, that Russia has recognized the Taliban. Zepp-LaRouche added that 65,000 Taliban fighters were able to defeat NATO, but they were not ready to govern, and the new government is factionalized on the question of the status of women; you can’t rebuild while also condemning women to outsider status. The Taliban cracked down on opium production, which caused a loss of income for farmers. A proposal was made by former UN leader Pino Arlacchi to aid farmers in transitioning to food production, but it was denied by the UN. Russian recognition is positive, but “it’s only in the baby shoes.”

Jose Vega asked the question: “Did our Founding Fathers believe in ‘America First’?” Speed answered the congressional candidate, saying that people confuse the idea of America with the place of America. If by “America First” you mean the idea, then it applies to the whole world. Zepp-LaRouche’s Ten Principles are close in spirit to the Declaration of Independence, and one should read them to hear the echo of the American Revolution. The Revolutionary War was insufficient to overturn the system of aristocracy and oligarchy. The Constitutional Convention was the key revolution, as well as U.S. Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton’s reports. The people who best understood this assembled in 1955 in Bandung.

Conclusion

Zepp-LaRouche appreciated a comment from one of her countrywomen, who argued against the fatalism of her fellow citizens who quail before the power of the oligarchy, and advocated that “every drop of activism helps.” We must put international pressure on Germany and the EU. Trump should leave NATO; that would be the best thing that could happen. In fact, “we all should leave NATO,” which has “transformed into an extremely aggressive organism.”

If we can avoid extinction in a nuclear winter, then we can disagree on secondary matters. Regardless of one’s ideology, “We have one future, like it or not. … If this present chapter of history goes wrong, we all have none.”