The Lead
Create the Conditions for Security
by Marcia Merry Baker (EIRNS) — Aug. 12, 2026
The prerequisite for security for all peoples and nations is the prospect and delivery of better conditions of life, and open opportunity for any and all to contribute to that in the future. This means peace and economic development.
This is the implied agenda for the annual BRICS Summit, one month from now Sept. 12-13 in India, no matter what the frictions may be among its 10 member nations, and 10 partner nations. Chaired and hosted by the world’s most populous nation, the BRICS’s Summit in New Delhi is said to have on its agenda, varied economic and collaborative topics, under the four- pillar rubric set by India in January: resilience, innovation, cooperation, and sustainability.
Security is the explicit agenda for discussion initiated in 2022 by Schiller Institute founder Helga Zepp-LaRouche, in her “Ten Principles for a New Global Security and Development Architecture.” In regard to the absence of warfare, she stated forcefully in Principle No. 7: “The new global architecture must eliminate the concept of geopolitics by ending the division of the world into blocs. The security concerns of every sovereign nation must be taken into account. Nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction must be immediately banned….”
Concrete references for mutual security among nations were identified today by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who spoke from the deck of the Russian ship Varyag, in the northern Pacific, discussing economic benefits for nations collaborating in that part of the world. He said, “Russia has always upheld its unwavering commitment and reaffirms its readiness to work with others in the Arctic to benefit from the advantages the Northern Sea Route has to offer. Of course, this must be done in keeping with the international law of the sea. Countries that want and are interested in working with us primarily include our friends: China, India, and other countries. They have been discussing these questions with us, and we will definitely welcome opportunities for working with our friends, as well as all countries willing to take part in this instrumental and extremely promising initiative to expand global logistics.”
What was Putin doing making this positive global invitation while addressing crewmen of a missile cruiser of the Russian Pacific Fleet? His remarks otherwise were focused on the moves by NATO to enter the Asia-Pacific region, to further geopolitical confrontation, and thwart economic cooperation; and on the actions and threats from the EU to violate Russian commercial shipping at large.
Putin stated on the Asia Pacific: “The region is unfortunately becoming increasingly prone to conflict, with NATO seeking to gain a foothold here, and the emergence of new military and political blocs.” Putin warned of the EU intent to “seize our vessels and sell our looted property. This is nothing short of piracy and plunder. If this happens, we will have to reciprocate—not necessarily in the waters where they plan to raid our own ships, but anywhere we consider necessary or reasonable, including in the Pacific Fleet’s area of responsibility.”
Speaking after Putin, the Russian Commander of the Pacific Fleet, Viktor Liina, singled out for their militaristic stance,the AUKUS, QUAD, AJUS, JAPHUS, and Trilateral Pact. Liina described them, saying, “In reality, these military and political alliances constitute elements of NATO, merely presented under a different guise.” Plus, he promised a stern Russian response, in particular, to interventions recently approved by the European Union, to interdict Russian commercial vessels on the seas anywhere.
This, then, is part of the expanded danger of intensifying confrontation, while zones of deadly, prolonged warfare persist from the West’s backing of a proxy war against Russia through Ukraine, and the U.S.-Israeli warfare on Iran, the Palestinians, and neighbors throughout Southwest Asia. Over the past 48 hours, Israel has bombed southern Lebanon. The United States struck the steering mechanism of a Panamanian-flagged ship attempting to transit the Strait of Oman. In the Red Sea, an Egyptian-flagged ship was struck by a Houthi drone attack.
Meanwhile, at the Conference on Disarmament, in Geneva yesterday, the United States intervened in the plenary session to promote a new bloc of 40+nations, which have signed onto a joint statement, to be wielded against China over charges it is wrongfully conducting tests for how to use nuclear weapons. This is one more front of intensifying confrontation.
The intervention is urgently required of every citizen and group of goodwill seeking to shift the world away from disaster, and potential nuclear obliteration, toward, instead, security and peace. The Northern Sea Route—actively put forward by Russia, China, and India—is an intervention for security through economic development and peace.
The same approach for the world over, with a focus on South America, will be discussed Sept. 4 at the EIR Roundtable, “An Alternative to War and Looting in the Americas,” co-hosted with the International Peace Coalition. It will “feature expert speakers from Brazil and Peru discussing the Chancay port [in Peru] and Bioceanic Corridor [Atlantic-Pacific railway] project, as exemplary of the kind of great infrastructure projects needed to bring peace through development across the planet. And other internationally prominent participants will deliberate on the broader policy changes in North-South relations that are urgently needed globally.”
At the same time, we can add to the momentum, now growing deeply, by backing the “Letter to Archbishop John Wester to Urge Pope Leo XIV To Call a Peace Conference To Stop Nuclear War Signed by Prominent Peace Organizations and Activists.”
Contents
Collapsing Imperial System
- German Government Approves Stasi-Like Secret Service Reform (↓)
- Argentine Scientists Mobilize Nationwide against Javier Milei's 'Scientificide' (↓)
- IEA Report: Global Oil Shortage Is Double Previous Estimate for 3rd Quarter 2026 (↓)
- Food-Farm World Crisis—Even Worse than It Appears; Collaboration Is Urgent for Emergency Production (↓)
Strategic War Danger
- Putin Visits Pacific Fleet Drills, Warns against Violations of Russian Commercial Vessels (↓)
- US Attacks Ship Attempting To Run U.S. Blockade of Iranian Ports (↓)
- China Rejects US-Led, 40-Nation Statement on Protocol for Missile Firings (↓)
U.S. and Canada
- Was Kill-Threat to Trump in Turkiye an Israeli Hoax? (↓)
- Troubles Aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, Long at Sea (↓)
Harley Schlanger Update
Watch The Daily Update with Harley Schlanger, a short video update available every weekday morning from The LaRouche Organization.
