The Lead
The New Direct Attacks on Russia: ‘One or Two Steps from the Point of No Return’
by Marcia Merry Baker (EIRNS) — Jun. 24, 2024
Today is a day of mourning in Sevastopol, Crimea, which is in a state of emergency after the June 23 Ukraine missile attacks on beachgoers, and in the Republic of Dagestan in Russia, after the weekend terrorist attacks on places of worship on Trinity Sunday. U.S. weapons and military expert Scott Ritter said last night in a special video, “I’m referring to two events: The Ukrainian attack on Sevastopol, using U.S.-supplied ATACMS missiles, and, second, the terrorist attack in Dagestan that appears to have all the hallmarks of Western involvement. Let there be no doubt, there are two direct attacks against Russia by proxies of the United States, and of NATO, and it’s more than a proxy engagement, given the necessity of preparation, intelligence, support, etc. This is a direct attack both by the United States, by NATO, and by non-European NATO entities, all of the parties that have made a decision in the last several days and weeks to expand the scope and scale of their participation in the Ukrainian-Russian conflict.”
The danger shown in the escalation involved in these two attacks was described by Schiller Institute leader Helga Zepp-LaRouche today, as signifying we are, “One or two steps from the point of no return.”
There have been no denunciations from Western authorities on the Ukraine attack on the civilian target of holiday goers on the Sevastopol beach, as of midday. In Europe today, the EU Council of Foreign Ministers ratified their 14th set of sanctions against Russia, as if on auto-pilot for warfare as usual. But there is no “usual” anymore.
Zepp-LaRouche made the appeal again today: We have to get across to people to intervene, to demand negotiations be put back on the table. “Humanity depends on negotiations.” There can be all points of view, but talks must begin. Saying that a breakthrough to negotiations can “happen in many ways,” Zepp-LaRouche nevertheless singled out the United States, for the location where a shift can make all the difference.
What is happening in the U.S. so far? A number of individual voices are sounding. The June 19 posting by Columbia University Professor Jeffrey Sachs has been picked up widely, titled, “Russia’s Fifth Offer to Negotiate with U.S. on Ukraine.” In it, as posted on Consortium News June 20, Sachs states, “The U.S. neocon tactics have failed disastrously, devastating Ukraine in the process, and endangering the whole world. After all the warmongering, it’s time for Biden to open negotiations for peace with Russia.”
The journal American Conservative is running two articles calling for negotiations. One by author Doug Bandow, is headlined, “The Biden Administration Has No Definition of Victory in Ukraine: That Is Just One of the Reasons To Start Negotiations.” A second article is by former U.S. State Department adviser James Carden, posted June 20, titled, “Putin’s Peace Proposal: Deal or No Deal?” with the kicker “Putin’s Proposal Seems Designed for Rejection. But the U.S. Should Not Reject His Peace Feelers Out of Hand.” Carden states, “The Biden Administration, if it had any actual diplomats working for it, might try to use them [Putin’s proposals] as a starting point for negotiations.”
The provenance of the American Conservative 2002, is as a conservative counter to the raving neo-conservatives; the journal runs articles by others now calling for sanity to prevail in restoring diplomacy in world relations, such as Scott Ritter, Douglas Macgregor, Sen. Rand Paul, and others. Carden’s current article states that the problem is that U.S. foreign policy is currently run by “megalomaniacs.” Otherwise, “they would at least consider the [Putin] plan.”
No surprise that this journal and its main authors are on various of the same Ukraine hitlists—Molfar-OSINT, Center for Countering Disinformation (CCD), Texty.org.UA—run in association with the U.S. State Department and NATO.
The Schiller Institute and international collaborators are moving on initiatives of information and actions that can break through both the black-out of what is really going on, and the diplomacy paralysis, creating conditions for pulling back from the brink of disaster.
The role of the EIR.news is indispensable. Look at the elements of what everyone “needs to know” and act upon at present:
1) On May 26, the Red Alert was issued by the Schiller Institute warning that, “Ukrainian Strike on Russian Early Warning Radar Threatens To Unleash Nuclear World War,” reporting on the Ukrainian drone strikes May 22-23 against the Armavir Radar Station. On May 26, another strike was aimed at the Orsk early warning installation, in Orenburg.
2) On June 12, the [National Press Club event in Washington D.C.](https://schillerinstitute.com/blog/2024/06/13/schiller-institute-holds-explosive-press-conference-at-the-national-press-club-on-the-danger-of-nuclear-war/] warned of the danger of nuclear war, with reports given by Schiller Institute leader Helga Zepp-LaRouche, and three military
experts: Scott Ritter, former U.N. weapons inspector and U.S. Marine intelligence office; Col. (ret.) Richard H. Black, former head of the U.S. Army’s Criminal Law Division at the Pentagon and a former Virginia State Senator; and Col. (ret.) Lawrence Wilkerson, former chief of staff to United States Secretary of State Colin Powell, plus Anastasia Battle, coordinator, International Peace Foundation/
3) On June 14, President Vladimir Putin presented to the special Foreign Ministry gathering, an overview
of how the Ukraine crisis came about, from the vantage point of how negotiations and diplomacy can be conducted to end the crisis and provide for the Eurasian security and development in the interests of all.
4) On June 15 the German OKV (East German Board of Trustees of Associations–Ostdeutsches Kuratorium von Verbaenden) issued an international invitation to endorse President Putin’s initiative; and on June 21 the International Peace Coalition did so.
In addition, in the course of this, the Schiller Institute held an international, online two-day conference, “The World on the Brink; for a New Peace of Westphalia,” addressing the crisis, with solutions,
These developments are the basis for creating more forward momentum, to get a breakthrough toward negotiations and diplomacy. Zepp-LaRouche today underscored, “We can agree on principle. Then work out the details.” We are mustering the forces for sanity and intervention.
As Scott Ritter’s emergency video yesterday put it, our objective is, “stopping this insanity—stopping the U.S., NATO and Europe from continuing these terrorist attacks against Russia.” Before the point of no return.
FLASH: JULIAN ASANGE HAS BEEN RELEASED FROM PRISON! Preliminary reports are that he has agreed to plead guilty to one charge, and be sentenced to 62 months, which is the time he has served in the maximum security HM Prison Belmarsh (where he faced no charges). According to various news reports he will make the plea personally in the U.S. court in Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands, on June 26, which is in the same time zone as Townsville, Queensland in Australia where he was born. According to an X posting by WikiLeaks “Julian Assange is free. He left Belmarsh maximum security prison on the morning of 24 June, after having spent 1901 days there. He was granted bail by the High Court in London and was released at Stansted airport during the afternoon, where he boarded a plane and departed the U.K.” A post by Stella Assange, thanked their supporters after beginning “Julian is free!!!!”
Contents
Strategic War Danger
- Italian Expert Reveals, ATACMS Are Guided Out of Sicily Air Base (↓)
- Scott Ritter Asserts, Sevastopol and Dagestan Strikes Are Direct U.S. and NATO Attacks on Russia (↓)
- Israelis Attack UNRWA Headquarters in Gaza (↓)
- Patriarch Kirill Seeks To Avoid Religious Radicalization over Dagestan Attack (↓)
- Russia Summons U.S. Ambassador over Sevastopol Attack (↓)
New World Paradigm
- Support for Afghanistan—Russia Backs Aid to Farmers Not Growing Opium Poppy, India Cites Chabahar Port (↓)
Collapsing Imperial System
U.S. and Canada
- Jeffrey Sachs Insists, Given Putin’s Five Peace Proposals, the U.S. Has One Responsibility—Negotiate (↓)
- James Carden Argues, Biden Should Use Putin’s Peace Proposal ‘As Starting Point for Negotiations’ (↓)
- The American Conservative Demands Immediate Peace Negotiations Based on Putin’s June 14 Proposal (↓)
Harley Schlanger Update
Watch The Daily Update with Harley Schlanger, a short video update available every weekday morning from The LaRouche Organization.
