May 2, 2025 (EIRNS)—The International Peace Coalition celebrated its 100th consecutive weekly meeting with an extremely powerful series of presentations and discussions, centered on the need for a new idea of human destiny and identity, on the basis for a new paradigm of security and development. What are the values, the ideas upon which a meaningful future can be based?
A great evil now being committed is actually an omission: the non-response of much of the international community against the ongoing genocide being conducted in open view in Gaza.
Instead of acting to stop it, NATO countries pass laws and institute policies that criminalize protesting this injustice. The supposed saviors of free speech that came into the ascendancy with Trump’s electoral victory are, with some exceptions, engaging in precisely the kind of censorship and blacklisting that they decried—rightfully, although, in retrospect, not for principled reasons—during the ancien régime.
Meanwhile, the danger of an outbreak of war between India and Pakistan is not abating. Tough words, and some small arms fire, continue to be exchanged across the border.
Negotiations with Iran had been moving forward, with broad agreement on the important issues of Iran not seeking a nuclear weapon, not enriching uranium to a higher concentration than would be needed for electrical power, and IAEA access to civilian and military sites. But Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu demands that the only model for Iran is the “Libya model” (which culminated in the destruction of that country). How could Iran possibly accept this outcome? U.S. Secretary of State Rubio obligingly made new claims that seemed designed to avoid a deal: saying that Iran must allow U.S. inspectors in military sites and abandon all uranium enrichment, under the claim that the only countries that enrich uranium are those with nuclear weapons. (That would be news to Japan, Argentina, Germany, and Italy!)
The only path out of the deplorable geometry of Southwest Asia is one of development, epitomized by the LaRouche Oasis Plan.
The U.S.-Ukraine mineral deal concluded April 30, crafted, it is said, under the influence of the British and French, will entangle the United States in the region for years to come, preparing the ground for some fresh provocation to take root. While Russian officials continue to speak favorably of Trump’s intention to achieve a peaceful resolution to the conflict and of its root causes, Sen. Lindsey Graham is already working toward legislation that would trigger enormous secondary sanctions on any country dealing with Russia, in the event that Russia does not adhere to a peace agreement … or even if no peace agreement is reached.
While the United States has begun supplying military equipment to Ukraine again, it is increasingly firing blanks when it comes to its own economic and political firepower. The politicization of the SWIFT bank communications system has led to the proliferation of other payment systems to avoid the risk inherent in relying on a financial platform to which a country may lose access. In the case of economic warfare, China’s physical economic capabilities far surpass those of the United States.
The occasion of the 250th anniversary of the War of Independence that created the United States of America provides a valuable reference point for Americans to re-discover their own history, and thus be better able to engage with the world. The future can be bright, if we overcome the suicidal conceits that threaten to end human civilization.
