The Lead
History’s Way Ahead
by Dennis Speed (EIRNS) — Jan. 24, 2024
With over 3,000 delegates representing 120 nations at the just-concluded Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) meeting, and the subsequent convening of the Group of 77 nations in the same host city immediately thereafter, it can be said that the majority of the world’s population has been involved in deliberations convened by world leaders—not in Davos, Switzerland, but in Kampala, Uganda. “My, how the world has changed, “ said Alice-in-Switzerland. “It turns out that Henry Kissinger was wrong—history is made in the South. “
The 47-article Non-Aligned Movement’s Kampala Declaration “strongly condemns the illegal Israeli military aggression on the Gaza Strip, the indiscriminate attacks against Palestinian civilians, civilian objects, the forced displacement of the Palestinian population and further calls for an immediate and durable humanitarian ceasefire.” The Non-Aligned Movement conference also noted favorably the actions of the South African government, in its Jan.11 appeal to the International Court of Justice to halt the genocide in Gaza. Two hundred American Congressmen also took note, negatively, and denounced South Africa for their initiative. But Slovenia, Spain, and the 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) have supported South Africa outright.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova reacted strongly to Germany’s supporting of Israel at the ICJ, and its denunciation of South Africa. “As for the Middle East, the Olaf Scholz Government could have refrained from taking this initiative, considering not only domestic politics, but also the outrage the collective punishment of Palestinians in Gaza has been causing around the world, especially in the countries of the Global South. We have already heard officials condemn this flawed approach at the highest level. President of Namibia Hage Geingob called on Germany not to take any actions on this extremely sensitive issue, since Germany itself has yet to undo the damage caused by the crimes against humanity it perpetrated in Africa. This refers to what happened in 1904-1908 when the German South West African administration exterminated tens of thousands of people belonging to Herero and Nama ethnic groups.”
In the case of the United States, there is the interesting example of the UAW—whose name is not the “United Auto Workers,” but the “International Union, Auto, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers,” and which has been strongly supportive of an end to the conflict in Gaza. On Dec. 1, 2023 UAW representative Brandon Mancilla was quoted in the London Guardian, saying “that the UAW international has joined the call for a ceasefire in Israel and Palestine. From opposing fascism in WWII to mobilizing against apartheid South Africa and the Contra war, the UAW has consistently stood for justice across the globe. A labor movement that fights for social and economic justice for all workers must always stand against war and for peace.”
The UAW has a Divestment and Just Transition Committee, whose task was described by The Nation as to “examine the size, scope and the impact of the U.S. military industrial complex that employs thousands of UAW members and dominates the global arms trade.” Mancilla told them that the committee will “think about what it would mean to actually have a just transition, what used to be called ‘peace conversion’ of folks who work in the weapons and defense industry into something else.”
But time is not on our side. When the 2024 “Doomsday Clock” was unveiled today, it was still at 90 seconds to midnight. Former California Gov. Jerry Brown, now executive chair of Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, said, “As though on the Titanic, leaders are steering the world toward catastrophe—more nuclear bombs, vast carbon emissions, dangerous pathogens and artificial intelligence. Only the big powers like China, America, and Russia can pull us back. Despite deep antagonisms, they must co-operate—or we are doomed.” What are you, what are we, required and prepared to do?
Recent “Swords Into Plowshares” work by the Schiller Institute, has already done much of the heavy lifting on this matter. In her December intervention, “Swords Into Plowshares: A Christmas Message in Time of War,” Helga Zepp-LaRouche said, “The main difficulty lies in the fact that much of the economic capacities in the United States, and a growing share of those in Europe, have been taken over by the Military-Industrial Complex (MIC), and are so closely entwined with the big investment firms and asset management companies of Wall Street and the City of London, that a better term is the military-industrial-financial complex (MIFC)....
“Technically speaking, it would be relatively easy to re-tool these capacities for civilian purposes, and rather than producing bombers, fighter jets, and missiles, to produce modern high-speed rail systems, inherently safe nuclear reactors of the 4th generation, and nuclear fusion reactors, as well as space stations for international space travel. In other words, all the industrial capacity currently used for the destruction of actual physical value—what else are weapons systems good for?—could serve the production of useful goods that promote the common good. Instead of tanks and ammunition, they could produce schools and hospitals, and help our nations to have prosperous economies once again!”
This is the physical economy of the new strategic and development architecture. It requires a new diplomacy as well. In an address to the Vatican papal diplomatic corps in 2016, Pope Francis said, “It is not enough to point the finger or attack those who do not think like us. That is a wretched tactic in today’s political and cultural wars, but it cannot be the method of the Church. Our gaze must be extensive and deep. The formation of consciences is our first duty of love, and this requires delicacy and perseverance in its implementation.”
The first step in that formation of conscience is to face this truth—the first sentence of Zepp-LaRouche’s “Message in Time of War:""No one will be able to claim, as historians said of World War I, that we sleepwalked into World War III.” We are not “eyeless in Gaza.” We know, and are accountable to all of history, for what we cause the world to do, or not do, now.
Contents
Strategic War Danger
- Lavrov Meets with Foreign Ministers of Türkiye and Iran at UN (↓)
- Russian Foreign Minister: Moscow Ready for Dialogue To Stop Use of Ukraine as a Proxy (↓)
- US/UK Forces Hit Houthis in Yemen Again (↓)
- NATO's Stoltenberg Confirms Russia’s Not Threatening Any of Our Members (↓)
- Israeli Relatives of Hostages Fed Up with Netanyahu's Callous Disregard (↓)
- German Farmers Staging Decentralized Protests Nationwide (↓)
New World Paradigm
U.S. and Canada
Collapsing Imperial System
Science and Technology
History and Culture
Daily Lead
Harley Schlanger Update
Watch The Daily Update with Harley Schlanger, a short video update available every weekday morning from The LaRouche Organization.
