上海的月亮: EN — LARRY ROMANOFF: Prof. Jeffrey Sachs and The American Mind

Prof. Jeffrey Sachs and The American Mind

I want to open by stating clearly that I have a powerful admiration for Professor Sachs. His credentials and achievements alone deserve unbounded respect, but I am thinking here of the man’s character. There may be many in the world today who have the clarity of vision to see and understand the geo-political trauma infecting our world, but precious few with the strength of character to speak out against all the wrongs. It is my personal opinion that Jeffrey Sachs has a Guardian Angel who is busy 24/7, amply evidenced by the mere fact that the man is still alive.

I was moved to write this essay after reading the text of the letter Professor Sachs sent to the US Congress, titled “Stop Mad King Donald’s Iran War“. [1] Professor Sachs said all the right things about Donald Trump – rather too gently, I thought, but still. I have no argument about characterising Trump as a narcissistic madman who is clearly criminally insane, but this isn’t about Donald Trump. Nor is it about the members of Congress who have been bought and paid for by Jewish AIPAC money, about which Professor Sachs also said all the right things. This essay is about Professor Jeffrey Sachs and the American Mind.

In mentioning the war with Iran, Professor Sachs dutifully noted that the war was “Trump’s folly but Congress’s disgrace for not stopping it”. He said it was “a war without purpose” that created “mass suffering in Iran”, but a more serious issue seemed to be that it cost “tens of billions of dollars of direct outlays and staggering damage to American military bases in eight countries of the Middle East.” Professor Sachs further noted that Trump’s threat to annihilate “a member state of the United Nations … violated Article 2(4) of the U.N. Charter”. Those were all correct things to say.

I read Professor Sachs’ letter carefully several times, but the only part that forcibly grabbed my attention, and refused to release its grip, was his argument to stop the war because “A clear majority of Americans oppose this war and poll after poll shows that the opposition to the war is growing.” He said further that “[You must] tell Trump … Any war with Iran depends on us and we don’t support you and our constituents want this war to stop.”

Do you know what that means? It means that if “a majority” of the American people were in favor of the Iran war, Professor Sachs’ argument would be emasculated and defunct. Yes, it cost billions of dollars and American military bases were damaged, and yes, the power to declare war rests with Congress and not the President. And yes, Iran is a UN member. But those are quite insufficient reasons to withdraw from a war. At least, they have never been sufficient before.

Think of Vietnam. When the US withdrew from Vietnam, it wasn’t due to humanity or a sudden infusion of morality. It was because “a majority” of Americans were no longer supporting it and were rioting in the streets. The US didn’t withdraw from Iraq or Libya because a majority of Americans were onside. The US didn’t hesitate to cripple little Cuba for 75 years and counting, because the American voters supported it. The American voters didn’t object to the devastation of Afghanistan, or Nicaragua, or Yugoslavia, or Panama, or dozens of other countries, so the US government and military continued their travesties.

The American voters didn’t object to Madeleine Albright literally causing the deaths of more than 500,000 infants in Iraq; not a murmur of protest anywhere, so the US government and military continued with the deaths of around one million Iraqi civilians. No problem.

The issue here is not a matter of right or wrong; it’s simply how the travesties play in the media and whether most of the American voters can be duped by propaganda and selective information. In fact, whether the American voters can be made to view the victim country with disdain or contempt, or even hatred.

This is the American Mind, and I was so disappointed to see Professor Sachs exhibiting the symptoms. I don’t want to understate this, so let me say it bluntly: Who cares what the hell the American voters think? They are ignorant to the point of irrelevancy. And it doesn’t matter if the US has spent money on a useless war against a member of the United Nations. Donald Trump has publicly stated that he is considering the complete extermination of an ancient civilisation – an entire race of people – because the Jews in Israel want it.

The reason to stop the war with Iran is unrelated to anything Professor Sachs said. The ONLY reason to prevent Donald Trump from continuing to please the Israelis with this unimaginable genocide – is because it is unspeakably evil. The very thought of such a thing is morally bankrupt to a degree undescribable in words. And, to tell the truth, if Trump really wants to exterminate an entire race of people, I think there might be others in the Middle East more deserving of that fate than Iran.

Professor Sachs said, “The right course for the U.S. is simple. Congress should cut off funding.” No. The right course for the US is to pray that the stories of there being a God and a Hell are all fairy-tales.

Mr. Romanoff’s writing has been translated into 34 languages and his articles posted on more than 150 foreign-language news and politics websites in more than 30 countries, as well as more than 150 English language platforms. Larry Romanoff is a retired management consultant and businessman. He has held senior executive positions in international consulting firms, and owned an international import-export business. He has been a visiting professor at Shanghai’s Fudan University, presenting case studies in international affairs to senior EMBA classes. Mr. Romanoff lives in Shanghai. He is one of the contributing authors to Cynthia McKinney’s new anthology ‘When China Sneezes’. (Chap. 2 — Dealing with Demons).

His full archive can be seen at

https://www.bluemoonofshanghai.com/ + https://www.moonofshanghai.com/

He can be contacted at: 2186604556@qq.com

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NOTES

[1] Stop Mad King Donald’s Iran War
https://www.jeffsachs.org/newspaper-articles/ehenft7hcx595hlpwswn6zn7569ph2

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