Helga Zepp-LaRouche, founder of the Schiller Institute and convener of the International Peace Coalition (IPC), opened the IPC’s 149th Friday meeting on April 10 by discussing the ongoing peace negotiations in Islamabad, Pakistan, which must reverse the global political and strategic “debacle” of the last week. She noted that, while U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to annihilate Iran and end its civilization, all while declaring victory for the U.S. in the ceasefire, the reality is much different. Iran clearly suffered significant damage and loss of life, but after all the bombing, its will remained unbroken. Any plan to split the Iranian population backfired, she said, and the country is more unified than ever. Iran is in full control of the Strait of Hormuz and wanted to demonstrate its ability to stand up to the U.S., which it did.
Zepp-LaRouche continued, noting that the U.S. sought to show it is still a world leader but garnered little support, diminishing its power and prestige. The region is now in shambles, and the world is in disarray. Gulf States no longer view U.S. military bases on their territory as a guarantee of protection; instead, their presence is now seen as a liability. The U.S. has not only endangered the entire region by starting the Iran War, but ultimately the entire world. Trump must now halt the war, as its continuation would threaten the global economy.
Zepp-LaRouche added that the U.S.’s erratic behavior makes it uncertain what will happen next. She stated that Trump is the first President to act purely in the interest of Israel, and that, with the exception of Spain and a few others, most Western leaders lacked the courage to challenge American policy. The “Coalition of the Willing” is still promoting war with Russia, which led Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova to say that Germany had not learned the lesson from two world wars. Zepp-LaRouche referenced a recent statement by Pino Arlacchi, a long-time leader at the United Nations, who suggested replacing the UN Security Council with a “peace enforcement mechanism.” She referenced nuclear experts such as Ted Postol and Steve Starr, who both warned that if one nation uses a nuclear weapon, many more will follow. Zepp-LaRouche warned that the entire architecture of the world order is collapsing, potentially resulting in chaos. However, she also suggested that a new order, based on reason and modeled after the 1648 Treaty of Westphalia, is possible. She called for an expanded Oasis Plan that would involve more bodies of water and highlighted Pope Leo XIV’s positive role in mobilizing people to stop the war.
The next speaker, former Virginia State Senator Richard Black, warned of Israel’s role in keeping the war going. Black said that Israel’s goal is a permanent presence of U.S. troops on the ground, but that President Trump must maintain control over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Black added that U.S. negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have an “Israel First” agenda, and that almost the entire U.S. Congress is subservient to Israel. He stated that Israel’s assassination campaign in the Iran War has killed all of Iran’s negotiators, who are now being replaced by hardliners, which will only prolong the war, a goal of Netanyahu.
Former French Colonel Alain Corvez said that Western hegemony is weakening due to the Iran War and that the world balance of power is shifting, predicting that BRICS nations, especially Russia, China, and Iran, will grow in influence. The U.S. will retain power but have less global influence and deeper divisions at home. Corvez said that both Trump and the Democrats have been unsuccessful in the U.S., and that Diane Sare’s presidential campaign offers a solution and will gain support.
Dialogue of Civilizations and Learning Our True History
Asked to comment, Helga Zepp-LaRouche called on Americans to reflect on their own history during this 250th year of independence, asserting that a return to the policies of Ben Franklin and John Quincy Adams would facilitate collaboration with the Global Majority. She stated that the sooner the West understands and works with the Global Majority, the sooner we can overcome the war and other crises facing humanity.
Pakistani-American academic Dr. Abdullah Al-Ahsan discussed the role of Bernard Lewis and Samuel Huntington in creating the Clash of Civilizations, noting that the government of Iran called for a Dialogue of Civilizations in the 1990s. Instead of pursuing that opening, however, the “War on Terror” was used to divide the world. Al-Ahsan said that civilizations can only thrive when people have dignity and society is based on truth-seeking. He warned that Pakistan is working for a ceasefire, but many of its leaders are “in the pocket” of America and cannot be trusted.
Speaking from Canada, author and professor Dr. Yakov Rabkin described Israel as a “settler colonial entity,” stressing that it is an “exclusionary ethnic state.” He said that settlers feel insecure, so they try to expand their borders, but the new borders are equally insecure, because of the fundamentally failed nature of their outlook. Since its founding, Israel has relied on military force. He said that Israel will defend itself from an “existential threat,” but this defends the apartheid system, not the nation or its people. Rabkin quoted Benjamin Netanyahu saying in 2001 that “America is a thing that we can move easily,” and added that Israel labels anyone who resists this type of manipulation as “antisemitic.”
Intervening In the U.S. Scene
Jose Vega, candidate for Congress in the Bronx, New York, discussed his campaign and a debate the night before, where he reiterated his call for the Oasis Plan and for new 10,000 engineers in Gaza and the Bronx. There was a clear freakout from the Democratic establishment when he pointed out that his contender, former vice chair of the DNC Michael Blake, was a servant of the Epstein class.
Diane Sare, independent candidate for U.S. President, called on Congress to end the war by simply cutting off all funding. She said that much of the Democratic Party leadership wants the war to continue in order to win the midterm elections. She stated that two of the Democratic Congressmembers who were responsible for tabling the recent War Powers Resolution also take money from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), and make deals with the “donor class.” Sare mentioned an event she had attended the day before on Capitol Hill that was focused on the need to impeach Trump. She pointed out that Trump is just the logical conclusion of more than 20 years of political insanity—a 2003 invasion of Iraq based on lies, Obama’s invasion of Libya, Biden’s toleration of two years of genocide in Gaza, 200 Congressmen signing a letter attacking South Africa’s challenge to that genocide, and the Epstein Class controlling the federal government. Therefore, we must remove Trump’s hand from the levers of power, but do so without further dividing the country.
During the question period, Helga Zepp-LaRouche returned to the issue of the Clash of Civilizations, stating that the enemy image shifted from communism to Islam, after the Cold War had ended. She said that the trick has been to constantly divide people, but that we must unite people, who may have differences, using the highest level of debate. IPC co-moderator Dennis Small spoke of Pope Leo XIV’s efforts to stop the war, despite threats from Under Secretary of Defense Elbridge Colby. He noted that the Pope called for a worldwide vigil for peace on April 11. Dennis Speed, the other IPC co-moderator, added that the Pope will come to the United States in July, but has declined an invitation from President Trump to meet him at the White House, instead spending that day helping migrants attempting to enter Europe from Africa.
Helga Zepp-LaRouche concluded the event by commenting on some of the questions that came in. First she spoke of the importance of the Pope going to Africa later this year. She said that it is important that voices from the Global South are heard and that the Pope spent much of his career in Peru, which gives him insight into the needs of the Global Majority. She said that she is not giving up on the West, but that it needs a “moral revival,” and that it has been targeted with schemes to dumb down the population with war propaganda and entertainment. Zepp-LaRouche said that people need to challenge their axioms to become wiser and more loving to one another, and that we need great culture, life-long learning, and Socratic dialogues with our neighbors.
