The Lead
Between Glimpses of Hope and Catastrophic Danger: Mankind Was Born for That Which Is Better
by Stewart Battle (EIRNS) — Apr. 01, 2026
On the evening of April 1, NASA’s Artemis II crew successfully launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, sending human beings to orbit the Moon for the first time in fifty-four years. Although a rarity in recent years, this launch truly represents an accomplishment for the world, and a reminder that humanity was made for a more important purpose than pointless wars and endless bickering. As astronaut Jeremy Hansen said in a pre-launch message moments before the countdown began: “We are going for all humanity.”
Meanwhile, back in the land of the clueless, U.S. President Donald Trump was forced to respond the growing pressure—both internally and from around the world—against his illegal and disastrous war in Iran. In an extremely defensive April 1 address to the nation, Trump said that the U.S. is “on track to complete all of America’s military objectives shortly,” claiming that Iran has been “eviscerated and essentially is really no longer a threat.” Cynically, he said that this war of aggression was “necessary for the safety of America and the security of the free world,” making sure to say the words “nuclear weapon” repeatedly in order to induce fear among the gullible. While still no clear objective exists, the closest thing was Trump’s statement that: “We’re going to hit them extremely hard over the next two to three weeks. We’re going to bring them back to the stone ages where they belong. In the meantime, discussions are ongoing…. Yet, if during this period of time no deal is made, we have our eyes on key targets. If there is no deal, we are going to hit each and every one of their electric generating plants very hard and probably simultaneously.”
In her weekly webcast on April 1, Helga Zepp-LaRouche said that Trump “is in a real bind, because obviously, almost five weeks into the war, all his objectives have not been met.” All his attempts to portray victory and resolve are merely “a desperate attempt by Trump to somehow control the narrative when all the realities on the ground are speaking in a completely different direction.” But no matter what, his posturing “will not be believed in the Global Majority, it will not be believed by the American population,” she warned.
The reality of this statement continues to hit home, as America’s allies around the world are increasingly turning against this war, with Italy, France, and Spain even deciding to prevent the U.S. military from utilizing their bases. Additionally, The Economist has reported that Iran’s revenue from its oil exports has not only not decreased, but has doubled since the war began—all while Western countries themselves struggle to avoid the massive impact this is having on their economies. The European Commission is even encouraging nations to begin rationing their oil and gas consumption, and the U.S. just announced the lowest job hiring levels since 2020.
But this is far bigger than merely another failed war at the hands of Anglo-American neocons. “We are in an unbelievable world shift,” Zepp-LaRouche said. “And I think it goes much beyond just the situation on the ground in Southwest Asia…. [an] epochal change is now there, and I don’t think it will be possible to patch things together in any shape or form as there was before [the war].” “NATO is de facto non-existent,” she went on (which is not a bad thing), a fact made even more evident by Trump’s and Marco Rubio’s statements that the U.S. is “reconsidering” its involvement in NATO. Likewise, the European Union is completely divided, and the U.S. administration has effectively destroyed what little legitimacy the system of international law still had. And don’t forget that the trillions spent building bombs and war-fighting equipment has done nothing to undo the $2 quadrillion bubble of speculative assets strangling the U.S. and European economies.
“So all the foundations of what you would call the post-war, post-Second World War order, or the post-Cold War order, clearly are in shambles,” Zepp-LaRouche noted. “But I think it opens the possibility for a completely new design. And what we are proposing in this situation is a very, very forward-looking vision of completely reordering, especially Southwest Asia, but also beyond.” She insisted this must take the form of an extended Oasis Plan—a “peace through development” approach which establishes the long-term basis for peace in a region that has otherwise been the subject of imperial geopolitics for over a century.
“So I think this is a moment where the country is in total turmoil, the whole world is in total turmoil, but it is these moments in history where ideas are more important than established mechanisms… in periods like this, when you have an order breaking down, ideas are the most important currency. So that is why what we are proposing right now, while many people may think this is a completely utopian idea, that it will never work, I’m actually quite confident that what we are proposing is so much in cohesion with the will of the majority of the world population that I think it has a chance to become reality.”
Therefore, if Artemis II helps to remind people of their humanity and common destiny—and what actually makes a society “great”—then it can become one of the forces that clarifies the needed pathway forward for the world.
Making this possibility a reality will be the subject of a special emergency roundtable event on April 6, featuring leading voices from around the world. Learn more here and spread the word far and wide.
Contents
New World Paradigm
- NASA Artemis II Lift-Off a Beautiful Success (↓)
- EU Parliament Delegation in China (↓)
- Lavrov, GCC Foreign Ministers Hold Videoconference to Halt War (↓)
- Chinese FM Spokeswoman: China-Pakistan Peace Proposal Will ‘Restore Peace and Tranquility in the Gulf and Middle East’ (↓)
- China Hosts Talks To End Pakistan-Afghanistan Conflict (↓)
Strategic War Danger
Collapsing Imperial System
- Is This the End of NATO? (↓)
- Iran's Oil Revenues Have Doubled Since War Began (↓)
- EU Commission Calls for Austerity (↓)
- Russia Declares, 'We Have No Right to Abandon Cuba,' After Oil Delivered (↓)
Harley Schlanger Update
Watch The Daily Update with Harley Schlanger, a short video update available every weekday morning from The LaRouche Organization.
