The question is often raised whether President Donald Trump has always been intent on the actions his administration is taking, or whether he has come under the influence of outside forces, despite his better intentions. Details aside, the only way to understand the answer to this question is to understand the principle of tragedy. As the late stateman Lyndon LaRouche often emphasized, the principle of tragedy is not located within some leading “tragic individual,” but is an embedded flaw within a society’s culture as a whole—a flaw which those leading individuals simply fail to overcome.
The tragic flaw gripping leading Western individuals and institutions today is their desperate clinging to that British imperial system which is now dying, and dragging the entire world down into war with it. Despite Trump’s insistence to the contrary, notice how he is now being dragged into new wars without end, how he is ratcheting up tensions against both Russia and China, and how he is bringing on the total collapse of the U.S. and global economies even faster than before. No, this is not because of Israel or some other narrow interest, nor is it merely because Trump is mentally unsound. It is the force of tragedy which Trump and others around him are unable to resist. While Trump may believe he’s the savior of the world, and Pete Hegseth may believe he’s a lead character in a Hollywood action movie, their script has already been written for them, and the conclusion of the play already determined.
Not surprisingly, Trump’s actions are increasingly morphing into a real confrontation with Russia and China. In addition to the new blockade in the Strait of Hormuz, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that the U.S. will now begin “Operation Economic Fury” against Iran, replete with secondary sanctions against any countries that purchase Iranian oil or harbor Iranian financial assets. Aside from Iran, this is a move aimed directly at China. As Bessent said, the blockade will ensure that no Chinese ships or others can pass the Strait, “So they’re not going to be able to get their oil.” Or, as one fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies put it, a key institution guiding Trump administration policy on Iran: “China is Iran’s most important sanctions evasion partner…. absent regime change in Iran, any serious U.S. strategy will have to confront the China problem directly.”
Tensions are also escalating against Russia. As part of Operation Economic Fury, the U.S. will not be renewing the waiver on Russian oil at sea, closing the brief window in which sanctions were lifted on Russian oil sales. Then on April 15, in response to the growing European collaboration with Ukraine, Russia’s Ministry of Defense published a list of the branches of Ukrainian companies operating in Europe that produce drones or components of drones. The decision to host these Ukrainian facilities with is “increasingly dragging these countries into the war with Russia,” the statement said, and proceeded to list the addresses of said factories in the UK, Germany, Denmark, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Israel and Turkey.
Separately, Russia’s Security Council released a statement warning that the U.S.-Israeli two-week ceasefire is likely only pause, during which a ground invasion of Iran is being planned. Clearly, neither Russia nor China are oblivious to the reality behind this policy now underway.
These moves are straight out of the British imperial playbook, of utilizing proxy wars and “splendid little wars” to destabilize your geopolitical opponents. And if not stopped, will lead directly to a global conflagration among nuclear powers. While resistance is growing to this policy, both in the U.S. and around the world, it is far too little, and Trump himself shows no signs of backing down. The failure again to pass a war powers resolution in both houses of the U.S. Congress this week, and reclaim their Constitutional power to declare war, shows that they, too, have failed to overcome the force of tragedy. The question that remains is: Will we?
The LaRouche movement is conducting a major international mobilization by the “fourth branch of government”—the citizens—to force the U.S. Congress to exercise its control over the purse strings of war. We are urging all people to call, visit, and email members of the U.S. House and Senate to remind them that they have the power and the obligation under the U.S. Constitution to stop this war. This emphatically includes citizens from around the world, who should demand their nation’s elected officials and institutional leaders contact their counterparts in Washington, and tell them how this illegal war of aggression is affecting people in your country and must be stopped.
In addition, be sure to tune into the April 17 meeting of the International Peace Coalition, which will be a crucial opportunity to advance this effort.
