Organizing Works, But Will We Act to Retain Our Humanity?

On Friday, March 30, former CIA analyst and member of the Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS) addressed the 43rd consecutive online weekly meeting of the International Peace Coalition. That meeting began with an acknowledgment of the recent VIPS memorandum, titled, “The French Road to Nuclear War,” warning of the disastrous consequences of French President Emmanuel Macron’s insane threat to unilaterally deploy 20,000 French troops to Ukraine.

McGovern, in his remarks, had this to say:

“I remind you, I was alive during the genocide of Jews in Germany during World War II. What happened? Well, for the most part, with very few exceptions, the German people docilely said, “Well, as long as it’s not me, just my Jewish neighbors,” they acquiesced in it. Was there anyone of moral standing who spoke out against this genocide and against this war? Very few. No voice from Rome; no voice from the Catholic Church or the evangelical Lutheran Church in Germany. There were voices—Dietrich Bonhoeffer was one. There’s another one who maybe I could use as an example. His name was Albrecht Haushofer; perhaps one or two of you have heard of him…”

Albrecht Haushofer was shot by the Gestapo for his opposition to the Nazi regime. As the wardens picked his lifeless corpse off the floor, a sonnet, entitled “Schuld” fell out of his pocket. Ray read this sonnet to the IPC:

“Doch schuldig bin ich. Anders als Ihr denkt! (I’m guilty, but it’s not
what you’re thinking.)

Ich musste früher meine Pflicht erkennen,
Ich musste schärfer Unheil Unheil nennen, (I should have earlier recognized my conscience. I should have spoken out much more strongly against evil.)

Mein Urteil hab ich viel zu lang gelenkt... (I put off my judgment far too long.)

Ich hab gewarnt — nicht hart genug ... (I did warn, but not enough) Nicht genug und [schaf genug]

Und heute weiss ich was ich schuldig war. (And today, I recognize what I was guilty of.)”

Will citizens of the Transalantic nations, witnessing the full-on escalation to nuclear war, and a deliberate genocide and famine in Southwest Asia by a fanatical, militaristic Israeli government, put themselves in the same position as Haushofer did? Or, will a crisis of conscience break out, within the immediate days, weeks and months?

Join Bill Jones, of Executive Intelligence Review Magazine, and Prof. Clifford Kiracofe, President of the Washington Institute for Peace and Development, for today’s Manhattan Town Hall discussion on the urgent strategic questions facing us today.