Prof. Jeffrey Sachs : How to avoid all-out war.
Andrew Napolitano
Hi, everyone, Judge Andrew Napolitano are here for judging freedom today. It's Friday, October 20 2023. Back from an incredible world tour Professor Jeffrey Sachs joins us. That was of course one of the most famous clips in American history, President Dwight D. Eisenhower, and I just picked out something I never heard before. And I've listened to it so many times. Professor Sachs, the weight of this combination. And I understand I said this before on air I understand from his granddaughter that the night shouldn't say this, me personally. But she said this publicly that the original script said military industrial, congressional complex. And the old General at the last minute crosstalk congressional when asked why said well, I only have a few days left in my turn, but I'm waiting for them to pass two more bills. Anyway, it's profound. Which leads us to the profound question of the day. Professor Sachs how do we avoid Armageddon?
Jeffrey Sachs
Boy, are we drifting towards disaster and I would say this is drift. Dwight the Eisenhower spoke 62 years ago, it was his farewell address 1961 January. And he warned us already then about the power of the military industrial complex. The Military Industrial Complex took hold of US foreign policy, especially from the 1990s Onward. We sometimes call it the neocon era, it has been the era in which the US has pursued nonstop military approaches wars, covert regime change operations. It has brought us to now multiple hot wars, tremendous global insecurity, a budget that is drowning in debt. And President Biden just asked for another 100 billion dollars plus in this endless stream of spending for the military. And he sounded to me like a pitch man for the military industrial complex. Your artillery shells are produced in 12 states including Pennsylvania, and Texas, Arizona produces the Patriot missile systems. This is clearly a military industrial complex led foreign policy. You know, Wall Street Journal just carried a story about how they're expecting boom times. And I use that phrase, perhaps unwisely, lots of booms over Gaza, but lots of money in the accounts of the military contractors. And our foreign policy, on the other hand, is a disaster. President Biden said we're the beacon to the world. The world is absolutely standing against what the United States is standing for right now. And if you want proof of it, it was 14 to one in the UN Security Council in recent days when the other 14 members of the UN Security Council said we need a ceasefire and humanitarian relief in the United States vetoed that. It's this is really troubling and amazing and completely unconvincing from a foreign policy point of view and aside, just even on the straight economics of it, for heaven's sake, another 100 billion dollars on top of busting budget deficit that the Congressional Budget Office has just reported 300 billion that larger deficit than in FY 22 This is the fiscal year 2023. We didn't collect the revenue so down 9% year over year, we know that the interest rates are rising to unprecedented levels of the recent years. This is causing a lot of pain and now Oh, why not? Now Other $100 billion for a failed policy.
Andrew Napolitano
So what would the argument be against humanitarian assistance? How could the US Ambassador to the UN with a straight face argue against that? And before you answer that the President claims that he told a Prime Minister Netanyahu and Prime Minister Netanyahu agreed to allow humanitarian assistance in the form of food, medicine and water to cross from Egypt, into southern Gaza. As of the time we went on air professor, those trucks are still lined up. The caravan is miles long, but the Israelis won't let them in. Nothing
Jeffrey Sachs
has opened up. There is no relief. There was a massive bombing again, yesterday, bombing that hit a Greek Orthodox Church complex. I think it's 1600 years old. I've heard from the Greek Orthodox community and leadership today. This is just horror. And there is not only no relief in sight, there is only escalation in sight.
Andrew Napolitano
Doesn't professor doesn't. Prime Minister Netanyahu understand the dangers to Israel. And to him personally, I'm talking about his longevity in office to this type of gross overreact overreaction.
Jeffrey Sachs
I don't think he has any longevity in office. So personally, under any circumstances, but I would say that Israel may be living in almost in a state of unawareness, of what the world feels right now. But you felt the same thing. Hearing Joe Biden speak. And to me, it was a speech from 30 years ago, indeed, it used the rhetoric of 30 years ago was if nothing had happened in the past 30 years, and nothing had happened in the past seven days. We're, we're alone in this. And we're not protecting Israel by basically standing by while this disaster in Gaza unfolds, which is absolutely inimical to Israel's own interests. They don't understand what they're getting into, which is very bad and very deep and very much opposed by the whole rest of the world say vote the leadership of the United States right now.
Andrew Napolitano
Does President Biden and his colleagues and do Prep Prime Minister Netanyahu and his colleagues understand what will happen if American fighter jets attack Hezbollah or American marines land on the shores of Gaza? 2000 Marines off the coast and in the aircraft carrier?
Jeffrey Sachs
God forbid, I don't think that they understand and the dangers are extraordinarily high. And the lack of diplomacy is absolutely staggering. It is unbelievable that President Biden and President Putin have not spoken once, as far as we know, but I think it's a pretty good bet that they have not spoken once since early 2022. They have a lot to speak about before this world goes over the edge. And we are not having basic diplomacy, right. No.
Andrew Napolitano
And Professor Sachs, the President of the United States, personalizes this here he is last night it's a cut Seven, Chris Putin has failed. It's it's absolutely untrue. But it's so personal.
[Audio clip: President Joseph R. Biden]
When Putin invaded Ukraine, he thought he would take key and all of Ukraine in a matter of days. Well over a year later, Putin has failed and he continues to fail. KEEFE still stands because the bravery of the Ukrainian people. Ukraine has regained more than 50% of the territory. Russian troops once occupied, backed by US led coalition of more than 50 countries around the world, all doing his part to support key
Andrew Napolitano
we're segwaying into Ukraine, but I would argue that none of what he just said is accurate. I would
Jeffrey Sachs
absolutely concur. It's just straight propaganda and to say this, by the way, after a disastrous failure of Ukraine's so called counter offensive we which began in June, and which has cost 10s of 1000s of Ukrainian deaths. And those deaths continue at staggering rates every single day. And this is known by everyone watching this every one observing to have been an unbelievable failure pushed by the United States. And Biden's he's reading a script. It's it's, it's really a puzzle who writes this stuff with you? This is dreadful.
Andrew Napolitano
If you had been the Secretary of State and how I wish you were
Jeffrey Sachs
fat. Thanks for Thanks for that. Talk about sleepless nights. Yeah, exactly.
Andrew Napolitano
I mean, but Tony Blinken. And we both know him personally. I mean, this was just a disaster of whatever he attempted to do in the days preceding the President's trip over there. What would you tell Prime Minister Netanyahu baby, you got to look at the way the world looks at this. You're You're killing innocents. Remember,
Jeffrey Sachs
the entire US foreign policy of this administration has has been a failure. And it was just days before the HaNasi attacks, of course, that Jake Sullivan, the National Security Adviser declared the Middle East, The Quietus, that it's been in 20 years. They miss read everything. They are misunderstanding everything. And if you don't know what you're facing, how can you solve any problems at all. So they're not solving any problems. They're just deepening the problems. The whole trip was completely ill advised. I keep offering they can use my cell phone, they can use my Zoom links. They could reach anybody at any time, have serious discussions with anybody. We don't need the grandstanding. We don't need this. This unbelievably vacuous and wrongly directed speech. We don't need the next 100 billion dollars. We need some diplomacy. The President it's his job, he should be speaking with President Putin, he should be speaking with President she should be speaking with other you should be speaking with the leaders of the Arab countries, it doesn't have to apply there for that he could have a zoom call and actually get get something real done. This was a crisis that was reaching a boiling point, they didn't even recognize that the water was getting hot. And then when it has boiled over, the reactions are absolutely contrary to the entire world's sense of this, which is that this is about politics. It's about politics overdue for 50 years, we need a political resolution. We don't need a destruction of this absolutely vulnerable and trapped the civilian population. And yet they have no answers are administration and the Netanyahu government which by the way, was already pushing Israel itself to the brink of disaster internally, before this happened. So this was a government that was incredibly divisive. It had hundreds of 1000s of Israelis out on the streets against it. It obviously was not watching or hearing or understanding anything, nor was our national security apparatus understanding or hearing anything because they don't listen to anybody. They just talk. They think that the whole world waits for the US word. And Biden said it yesterday's again did like a blast from the password, the indispensable nation, the whole world looks to the US for leadership and blah, blah, blah. In the midst of a complete collapse of diplomacy.
Andrew Napolitano
This is very, will play exactly what he said. It's cutting nine Chris, this is very George W. Bush, like you're with us or against us in the days and weeks after 911. On
[Audio clip: President Joseph R. Biden]
Ukraine, I'm asking Congress to make sure we can continue to send Ukraine the weapons they need to defend themselves in their country without interruption. So Ukraine can stop Putin's brutality in Ukraine. They are succeeding, backed by US led coalition of more than 50 countries around the world, all doing his part of support key. What would happen if we walked away? We are the essential nation. Meanwhile, Putin has turned to Iran and North Korea Dubai attack drones and ammunition to terrorize Ukrainian cities and people.
Andrew Napolitano
What is President Putin doing? While Joe Biden and company are exacerbating what's happening in the Middle East?
Jeffrey Sachs
You know, it was almost a split screen for the world in last week. The US foreign policy coming unraveled in Ukraine and in the Middle East. And halfway around the world in Beijing. President Xi was hosting world leaders in a celebration of a 10 year initiative, the Belt and Road Initiative, which is building infrastructure, fast rail, 5g networks, renewable energy long distance transmission grids, with partners, about 150 countries, so and China saying, We want peace, we want cooperation. The world leaders came there President Putin came, they declared their unlimited friendship and and partnership. It was a President Putin's third visit for Belton road initiatives to eat. These are global gatherings that China has hosted since 2013. President Putin has been there for all three of them, it says something. But by the way, there were leaders from all over the world, in Beijing. And what they were saying is we want peace, we want development. We would like connectivity. We want fast rail, we want energy transformation, we want all of that, and China's helping to finance it. And we're spending trillions and trillions of dollars in the last 20 years. By one estimate, it's over $8 trillion that we don't have can't afford took up debt to do on military approach is not on building infrastructure on blowing up things. And this is the difference. This was the splitscreen in the world during the past week.
Andrew Napolitano
And I I have to tell you that not withstanding the dysfunction at the moment in the House of Representatives, once that is resolved, the war party, which is 90%, of both houses of Congress, I think beyond question will give Joe Biden what he asked for.
Jeffrey Sachs
I'm I'm waiting to see because the American people are really against this. And the numbers are rising. It's overwhelmingly clear in the Republican grassroots and in the independence of this country, the Democrats maybe are following Biden's lead on this. But the American people do not want this and don't deserve this. And we will see whether Congress has even a glimmer left of recognizing its role of reflecting the interests of the American people. It's it's a real question, Mark. It's fascinating to see that in this internal struggle within the Republican Party, who is warning the speaker candidates, it's of course the the head of the Armed Services Committee, you better vote for this. If you want our support, you need to vote for the money that's going to go to to Lockheed and to Raytheon, and to General Dynamics, and to Northrop Grumman and to Boeing. Those are the campaign funders. This is a serious business for the United States, Joe Biden reminders reminded us it's insane. They figured out to put put all those factories in different states so that you can continue to get the money out that
Andrew Napolitano
you got that exactly right. So in those states will always vote for war and say, Look, I kept your job for you.
Jeffrey Sachs
And that's it, the jobs in the neighborhood and they were put there for a reason to keep the money flowing. And that's what President Eisenhower was telling us. Oh, my God, the Supreme Allied Commander of forces in World War Two was the one warning us about the military industrial complex and amazing, an amazing reality. Correct. And we're living it and we are suffering it, just as He warned 62 years ago.
Andrew Napolitano
I'm going to lighten this up just a little bit, although there's serious implications even to this humor. This is President Putin inviting President Trump can't make this up, inviting President Biden over for pancakes and tea.
If Russia has lost the war, why do they the USA supply attackers? Let them take them back and all of the other weapons, Biden can take a seat and eat pancakes and visit us for some tea. If the war is lost, what are we talking about? Why attack comes to you mask him that it's funny? First, this supplying attack comes, of course, causes harm and creates an additional threat. Secondly, we will of course be able to repel these attacks. Right now, right now, war is war.
Andrew Napolitano
Jaffe is 100%. Correct.
Jeffrey Sachs
amazing to see and watching that venue in Beijing behind him. You know, we've got this all all wrong. But what's what he's really saying, you know, what deep down is? How weird it is that the two aren't actually talking whether they have pancakes or not as yet another matter. But instead of diplomacy, we have these moments in front of the camera, where Biden wants to look tough. This man can't stay in power, this man's evil this. This is the opposite of how to make the world safe. And what I do, and Putin is saying there is basically we don't talk, I just hear these things, you know, and see the missiles. We don't we don't really talk at all. And so I think underneath this was the weirdness of the way that America conducts its foreign policy right now. No diplomacy, no diplomacy, just war. And it's it's very strange for the whole world. Actually, even our, our closest allies are very uncomfortable about this right now, in fact, which is why in the UN Security Council, we have no supporters, it's just the UN Security Council against the Biden administration. And that shows how far along we have gone on the wrong road. Professor Sachs, I
Andrew Napolitano
know you're very busy. And you just got off a month trip from around the world. Thank you very much for your time on this. It is deeply and profoundly appreciated. I can tell from the numbers of people watching us and the seriousness of their comments. I hope you'll come back and visit with us again next week.
Jeffrey Sachs
Absolutely. We'll do that. Thanks a lot.