Jeffrey Sachs

Here's the episode. And maybe the right way to understand what's happened with Syria is to think back to a really remarkable occasion when Wesley Clark, the general who headed NATO, went to the Pentagon just after 9-11. And famously, he showed a piece of paper that said, we're going to have seven wars in five years. And he was completely dumbfounded.

Here's the episode. And maybe the right way to understand what's happened with Syria is to think back to a really remarkable occasion when Wesley Clark, the general who headed NATO, went to the Pentagon just after 9-11. And famously, he showed a piece of paper that said, we're going to have seven wars in five years. And he was completely dumbfounded.

Here's the episode. And maybe the right way to understand what's happened with Syria is to think back to a really remarkable occasion when Wesley Clark, the general who headed NATO, went to the Pentagon just after 9-11. And famously, he showed a piece of paper that said, we're going to have seven wars in five years. And he was completely dumbfounded.

He said, what does this have to do with anything? And He was told that the neocons and the Israelis are going to remake the Middle East. And the seven countries on the list are very telling. They were Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran, and then in Africa, Libya. Somalia, and Sudan. And seven countries, we've been at war in six of them now.

He said, what does this have to do with anything? And He was told that the neocons and the Israelis are going to remake the Middle East. And the seven countries on the list are very telling. They were Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran, and then in Africa, Libya. Somalia, and Sudan. And seven countries, we've been at war in six of them now.

He said, what does this have to do with anything? And He was told that the neocons and the Israelis are going to remake the Middle East. And the seven countries on the list are very telling. They were Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran, and then in Africa, Libya. Somalia, and Sudan. And seven countries, we've been at war in six of them now.

And I mean we, the United States, on behalf of Israel, including in Syria. And so what happened in Syria last week was the culmination of a long-term war. effort by Israel to reshape the Middle East in its image.

And I mean we, the United States, on behalf of Israel, including in Syria. And so what happened in Syria last week was the culmination of a long-term war. effort by Israel to reshape the Middle East in its image.

And I mean we, the United States, on behalf of Israel, including in Syria. And so what happened in Syria last week was the culmination of a long-term war. effort by Israel to reshape the Middle East in its image.

It started with Netanyahu and his American advisors in 1996 in something called Clean Break, which was a political document that the Americans and Netanyahu made when Netanyahu became prime minister. After 9-11, it went into full gear with the Iraq wars being the first of those wars. Clean break, what does that refer to? Clean break is we're going to make a clean break of the Middle East.

It started with Netanyahu and his American advisors in 1996 in something called Clean Break, which was a political document that the Americans and Netanyahu made when Netanyahu became prime minister. After 9-11, it went into full gear with the Iraq wars being the first of those wars. Clean break, what does that refer to? Clean break is we're going to make a clean break of the Middle East.

It started with Netanyahu and his American advisors in 1996 in something called Clean Break, which was a political document that the Americans and Netanyahu made when Netanyahu became prime minister. After 9-11, it went into full gear with the Iraq wars being the first of those wars. Clean break, what does that refer to? Clean break is we're going to make a clean break of the Middle East.

A break with the past. We're going to break with the past. We're not going to have land for peace, which is the idea that Israel would have a Palestinian state next door. No, we're going to have greater Israel and we're just going to bash anybody that doesn't like it. And we're going to do that by bringing down any government that supports the Palestinians.

A break with the past. We're going to break with the past. We're not going to have land for peace, which is the idea that Israel would have a Palestinian state next door. No, we're going to have greater Israel and we're just going to bash anybody that doesn't like it. And we're going to do that by bringing down any government that supports the Palestinians.

A break with the past. We're going to break with the past. We're not going to have land for peace, which is the idea that Israel would have a Palestinian state next door. No, we're going to have greater Israel and we're just going to bash anybody that doesn't like it. And we're going to do that by bringing down any government that supports the Palestinians.

It's a rather shocking amount of hubris. It has been, in my view, a complete disaster for the United States and for the Middle East. It has been Netanyahu's M.O. since 1996, actually, and he's been prime minister more than half the time since then. And the United States goes to war on his behalf. And what happened in Syria is the culmination of that effort. So seven wars in five years.

It's a rather shocking amount of hubris. It has been, in my view, a complete disaster for the United States and for the Middle East. It has been Netanyahu's M.O. since 1996, actually, and he's been prime minister more than half the time since then. And the United States goes to war on his behalf. And what happened in Syria is the culmination of that effort. So seven wars in five years.

It's a rather shocking amount of hubris. It has been, in my view, a complete disaster for the United States and for the Middle East. It has been Netanyahu's M.O. since 1996, actually, and he's been prime minister more than half the time since then. And the United States goes to war on his behalf. And what happened in Syria is the culmination of that effort. So seven wars in five years.

Netanyahu came to the U.S. in 2002 after 9-11. Actually, he came in September 20, 2001, if I remember correctly, and gave a speech that said, There's terrorism, but you don't fight the terrorists, you fight the governments that back the terrorists. That's the idea. So you go to war. You don't just have a kind of an anti-terrorism effort, you go to war.

Netanyahu came to the U.S. in 2002 after 9-11. Actually, he came in September 20, 2001, if I remember correctly, and gave a speech that said, There's terrorism, but you don't fight the terrorists, you fight the governments that back the terrorists. That's the idea. So you go to war. You don't just have a kind of an anti-terrorism effort, you go to war.