Empire Unveiled: Inside the “7 Countries in 5 Years” Strategy

Main Introduction by Jeffrey Sachs:  

Welcome, and thank you for joining this vital exploration. Over the next five sessions, we will confront one of the most consequential, yet rarely scrutinized doctrines in modern history—what came to be known as the “7 Countries in 5 Years” plan.

After the tragedy of 9/11, the United States stood at a crossroads. It could have chosen cooperation, healing, and multilateral diplomacy. Instead, it chose a path of unilateral war—a blueprint for empire disguised as national security. That strategy, as revealed by General Wesley Clark, aimed to overthrow the governments of Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Iran, all within half a decade.

But this isn’t just a story about military ambition—it’s about propaganda, economics, extremism, and the human cost of unchecked power.

Each topic in this series brings together courageous voices—whistleblowers, war correspondents, theologians, economists, activists—each asking the same essential question: What happens when the pursuit of power forgets the dignity of people?

This is not a tribunal. It is a reckoning. And perhaps, if we’re honest enough, it may become a turning point.

Let’s begin.

(Note: This is an imaginary conversation, a creative exploration of an idea, and not a real speech or event.) 

Blueprint for Empire — Was the 7 Countries Plan a Strategic Necessity or Imperial Overreach?

Moderator: Jeffrey Sachs
Participants: Wesley Clark, Noam Chomsky, John Mearsheimer, Seymour Hersh, Jeffrey Sachs

Jeffrey Sachs (Moderator):
Thank you all for joining this vital discussion. Our focus today is a military strategy revealed shortly after 9/11—what General Wesley Clark called the “7 countries in 5 years” plan. The premise was startling: to overthrow the governments of Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Iran. Was this a necessary pursuit of American security—or was it a dangerous project of imperial overreach that destabilized entire regions?

Let’s begin with General Clark. You brought this plan to public attention. What exactly did you hear, and what was your interpretation?

Wesley Clark:
In late 2001, I visited the Pentagon and was shocked when a senior officer told me, "We’re going to take out seven countries in five years." Iraq was first, then Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and finally Iran. I couldn’t believe it. There was no evidence these governments had attacked us. What I saw was the Pentagon captured by a narrow ideological group—neoconservatives—who believed in reshaping the Middle East through force. It wasn’t about imminent threats. It was a doctrine of dominance.

Jeffrey Sachs:
Thank you, General. Noam, you’ve long criticized U.S. foreign policy for pursuing empire. How does this fit into that broader pattern?

Noam Chomsky:
This plan is nothing new. It's part of a long-standing imperial impulse dressed up as “defense.” The United States has consistently acted not to defend itself, but to control regions critical to economic or strategic interests—especially oil. The justification always shifts: terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, democracy. But the underlying logic remains. These interventions are not about freedom; they’re about hegemony. And the “5-year” timeline? Pure hubris. As if societies can be reordered by ticking boxes on a geopolitical spreadsheet.

Jeffrey Sachs:
John, from a realist perspective, how do you interpret this strategy? Does it make sense strategically?

John Mearsheimer:
From a cold realist lens, this strategy was deeply flawed. Power must be used judiciously, not ideologically. Realists believe in maintaining the balance of power—not breaking it and creating vacuums. The U.S. removed Saddam Hussein thinking it could reshape Iraq into a democracy, but instead unleashed sectarian conflict and Iranian influence. The irony is that, in trying to weaken our adversaries, we empowered them. The neoconservatives ignored the lessons of realism: that local power structures matter. You can’t bomb a society into stability.

Jeffrey Sachs:
Seymour, your investigative journalism has uncovered the hidden dimensions of these wars. What was going on behind the scenes?

Seymour Hersh:
The public was fed one story. Behind closed doors, it was something else entirely. In Iraq, the intelligence was cherry-picked or manufactured. In Syria, we quietly funneled weapons to opposition groups—some with ties to jihadists. In Libya, the "humanitarian intervention" quickly became regime change. The architects of this plan operated in secrecy, bypassing congressional oversight, manipulating the media, and fueling chaos. They didn’t think through the consequences—because the goal was never peace. It was control.

Jeffrey Sachs:
Let’s pause here. The theme that’s emerging is not just about military overreach, but systemic failure—ideological blindness, lack of foresight, even deception. What were the real consequences of this plan?

Wesley Clark:
Millions of lives disrupted. Refugee crises. The rise of ISIS. Fragile states. U.S. credibility damaged. We didn’t just fail to bring democracy—we fractured entire regions. And for what? There’s still no strategic gain. Just perpetual instability.

Noam Chomsky:
I agree. And let’s not forget the economic angle. War is profitable. Defense contractors, private security firms, oil companies—they all benefited. These decisions weren’t made in a vacuum. They were supported by a military-industrial complex deeply woven into policy.

John Mearsheimer:
That’s a crucial point. Strategy must consider long-term stability. What we saw was short-term thinking driven by ideology and arrogance. The U.S. thought it could micromanage the world. That illusion collapsed in Fallujah, Benghazi, Aleppo.

Seymour Hersh:
And the American people were left in the dark. The media didn’t challenge the narrative—they amplified it. That’s how you sell war. First you create fear. Then you offer invasion as the solution.

Jeffrey Sachs:
What lessons must we learn from this? And more importantly, how do we move forward?

Noam Chomsky:
Accountability. You can’t just destroy countries and walk away. International law matters. Human lives matter. We need to move from coercion to cooperation. That requires a moral awakening.

John Mearsheimer:
Return to realism. Know our limits. Stop trying to impose order where we don’t understand the terrain. A more restrained, multipolar world is not a threat—it’s a necessity.

Seymour Hersh:
Transparency. If the people knew what their government was doing, these wars wouldn’t happen. Investigative journalism matters more than ever. So does public dissent.

Wesley Clark:
And we need to rebuild trust—domestically and globally. We must learn that leadership isn’t dominance. It’s responsibility. We have to prioritize diplomacy, development, and dignity.

Jeffrey Sachs (closing):
Thank you all. This has been a sobering but vital conversation. The "7 countries in 5 years" plan was not just a strategy—it was a symptom of deeper dysfunctions in our global order. Our task now is not only to critique the past, but to reimagine a future rooted in wisdom, cooperation, and humility.

The Cost of Intervention — What Happens to the People Left Behind?

Moderator: Jeffrey Sachs
Participants: Arundhati Roy, Medea Benjamin, Hanan Ashrawi, Yanis Varoufakis, Tariq Ali

Jeffrey Sachs (Moderator):
In our last session, we examined the imperial logic behind the "7 countries in 5 years" strategy. Today, we turn to its most devastating consequence: what happened to the people on the ground. What are the real costs of intervention—not in military spending or diplomatic fallout—but in shattered lives, destroyed communities, and broken nations?

Arundhati, you’ve long written about the human price of empire. Let’s begin with you.

Arundhati Roy:
Thank you, Jeffrey. When we talk about the cost of intervention, we must first strip away the sanitized language—"collateral damage," "strategic interests." These words are used to cover up blood. The U.S. invasion of Iraq, for example, turned a functioning country into a graveyard. Millions displaced, hundreds of thousands dead, ancient communities—Christian, Yazidi, Shia, Sunni—scattered or destroyed.

These wars are not surgical strikes; they’re earthquakes. And the people left behind are not just survivors—they are people whose entire cultural fabric has been ripped apart. We don’t see them on the news. We only see the explosion, never the orphaned child who picks up the pieces.

Jeffrey Sachs:
Medea, as a peace activist who’s visited many of these regions, what have you seen that the media misses?

Medea Benjamin:
The media, when it pays attention at all, focuses on geopolitics. But in refugee camps, the stories are different. A woman in Libya told me how NATO’s bombing campaign “freed” her from a government—but replaced it with armed militias. In Afghanistan, girls were promised schools and safety, but the warlords we empowered brought more terror.

People ask, “Why do they hate us?” But we never ask, “What did we leave behind?” These are not just broken nations. They’re generations of trauma—children raised in war zones, parents watching their homes vanish in seconds. And then we disappear. The U.S. intervenes, destabilizes, then leaves the mess behind like a hit-and-run driver.

Jeffrey Sachs:
Hanan, from your experience in Palestine and with international diplomacy, how does intervention affect sovereignty and civil identity?

Hanan Ashrawi:
Thank you, Jeffrey. Intervention is not just physical—it is deeply psychological. It tells a people: “You are not capable of governing yourselves.” And then it proves that point by obliterating institutions.

In Iraq, the dissolution of the Ba'athist structure without a replacement was catastrophic. In Syria, the support of various factions prolonged a brutal war. Intervention fractures identity. Sectarianism becomes survival. National unity is replaced by ethnic suspicion. The people are forced to choose sides they never wanted.

And then there’s the insult of being called ungrateful. The West bombs a country, then asks why it’s not celebrating democracy. It’s like burning down someone’s house and handing them a ballot box.

Jeffrey Sachs:
Yanis, as an economist, how do you interpret the economic aftershocks of intervention?

Yanis Varoufakis:
War is the most extreme form of economic colonization. Post-invasion Iraq became a playground for multinational corporations. Oil contracts, construction deals, even basic services like electricity were privatized under foreign firms. Local industry collapsed.

What the IMF and World Bank once did with debt, the U.S. military now does with force—dismantling state structures and selling them off. In Libya, the removal of Gaddafi without rebuilding institutions created a black-market economy run by weapons and human trafficking.

The tragedy is, intervention doesn’t just destroy lives—it destroys the very possibility of rebuilding. These societies aren’t given a Marshall Plan. They’re handed debt, dependency, and imported governance.

Jeffrey Sachs:
Tariq, you’ve chronicled empire for decades. How do you see the cultural and historical scars left behind?

Tariq Ali:
The scars are generational. When colonial empires withdrew, they often left conflict behind—partition, ethnic tension, arbitrary borders. Today’s interventions are neo-colonial, and the legacy is the same.

Look at Sudan—divided, destabilized. Or Somalia—perpetually labeled a “failed state,” as if it just happened, rather than being shaped by decades of Cold War and post-9/11 interference.

What’s more, intervention erases history. Before these wars, many of these countries had rich, complex identities. Now they’re reduced to warzones. The West doesn’t just destroy cities—it destroys memory. We must restore not only buildings, but narratives.

Jeffrey Sachs:
What should be our collective responsibility? How do we begin to heal what’s been broken?

Arundhati Roy:
We need radical empathy. We must stop seeing these countries as theaters of conflict and start seeing them as homes—homes with poets, lovers, markets, lullabies. It begins by listening.

Medea Benjamin:
Accountability is key. Reparations are not radical—they are justice. The U.S. must fund healing, not more drones. And we must empower local leadership, not install puppets.

Hanan Ashrawi:
Dignity must return. Sovereignty must be respected. Peace is not the absence of bombs; it’s the presence of hope. That means building education, healthcare, and cultural resilience.

Yanis Varoufakis:
Cancel illegitimate debts. End exploitative contracts. Allow countries to reclaim their economies. Global justice begins with economic sovereignty.

Tariq Ali:
And tell the truth. Rewrite the narrative. Teach children in the West that intervention is not heroic. It's often violent, reckless, and racist. Healing begins when we stop lying.

Jeffrey Sachs (closing):
Thank you all. If the first conversation revealed the architecture of empire, today we’ve walked through its ruins. But even in ruins, there’s hope. These voices—of pain, resistance, and vision—are where healing begins. And perhaps, if we listen deeply, intervention will be replaced by solidarity, and domination by dignity.

Truth and Propaganda — How Are These Wars Sold to the Public?

Moderator: Jeffrey Sachs
Participants: Ray McGovern, Glenn Greenwald, Laura Poitras, Chris Hedges, Abby Martin

Jeffrey Sachs (Moderator):
In our last session, we focused on the human toll of foreign intervention. Today, we ask a critical question: How are these wars sold to us? How does a democratic society become convinced that bombing, invasion, and occupation are necessary—even righteous? To begin, let’s go to someone who’s seen this from the inside: Ray McGovern, you spent decades in U.S. intelligence. What role does narrative play in launching war?

Ray McGovern:
Thank you, Jeffrey. The narrative is everything. The intelligence community is supposed to "speak truth to power," but what we’ve often seen is intelligence shaped to fit the policy. Take Iraq—there were no weapons of mass destruction. We knew it. But the Bush administration manipulated intelligence to justify invasion. The playbook is simple: create fear, repeat it through compliant media, and silence dissent.

And let’s be clear—it wasn’t just a mistake. It was a lie. A deliberate one. And that lie killed hundreds of thousands. The public didn’t demand war; they were sold one.

Jeffrey Sachs:
Glenn, as a journalist who’s challenged the mainstream media's role, what do you see as the mechanism behind this kind of narrative control?

Glenn Greenwald:
It’s not just about censorship—it's about curation. Corporate media doesn't need to lie outright; it just amplifies the “official” voices and marginalizes dissenting ones. When all your "experts" are ex-CIA, defense contractors, or think tank operatives funded by weapons manufacturers, what kind of truth do you expect?

Look at how media framed Iraq, Libya, Syria: as moral crusades. And anyone who questioned it was branded unpatriotic or conspiratorial. The press is supposed to challenge power, not serve it. But fear sells, and war provides a steady stream of drama—and revenue.

Jeffrey Sachs:
Laura, your documentary Citizenfour showed the scale of surveillance. How does surveillance tie into the selling of war?

Laura Poitras:
Surveillance and propaganda are two heads of the same beast. In the name of security, the U.S. built a vast intelligence apparatus—not just to track terrorists, but to track journalists, whistleblowers, even everyday citizens. The message is clear: watch what you say.

Fear keeps populations compliant. And if you can control not just the flow of information, but the sense of being watched, you don’t need mass arrests—you get self-censorship. Surveillance isn’t just about preventing attacks; it's about preventing resistance. It builds an environment where war can happen without question.

Jeffrey Sachs:
Chris, you were a war correspondent. You’ve seen propaganda play out in real time. What does it look like on the ground?

Chris Hedges:
It’s brutal and subtle at the same time. Embedded journalism was one of the worst developments—it turned reporters into cheerleaders. You travel with troops, rely on military protection, and in exchange, you write glowing reports. That’s not journalism. That’s public relations for the Pentagon.

In Yugoslavia, Iraq, Gaza—I saw the same cycle. Dehumanize the enemy. Show images of our firepower, not their dead children. Push the idea that we're “reluctant warriors” forced to act. And once the war begins, it’s like a drug. Dissent becomes treason, and truth becomes the first casualty.

Jeffrey Sachs:
Abby, you’ve been one of the fiercest voices calling out media complicity. Why do so few journalists push back?

Abby Martin:
Because pushing back costs you everything. You lose your job, your funding, your platform. I was forced out of mainstream media because I refused to parrot the empire’s line on Venezuela, Palestine, and Syria. The media-industrial complex is just as real as the military-industrial one.

But it’s not just top-down. There's a cultural rot. Americans are taught from childhood that we’re the good guys. That our military only acts for freedom and justice. So when bombs fall, it’s seen as “necessary.” The truth is harder: we’re an empire. And empires lie.

Jeffrey Sachs:
So what breaks this cycle? If fear and control are baked into the system, how do we dismantle the propaganda machine?

Ray McGovern:
We need whistleblowers. Truth-tellers from inside who are willing to risk everything. Think Daniel Ellsberg. Think Chelsea Manning. Think Edward Snowden. Without them, the system feeds on secrecy.

Glenn Greenwald:
Independent media is essential. We need platforms that aren’t tied to corporate advertisers or government funding. And we need media literacy—people must learn to ask: Who benefits from this narrative?

Laura Poitras:
Protecting whistleblowers is critical. But so is artistic resistance—film, poetry, photography. Art bypasses propaganda and hits the soul. That’s how we reach people beyond politics.

Chris Hedges:
You break the cycle by reclaiming language. Stop using their euphemisms. It’s not a “surgical strike”—it’s a missile that kills civilians. It's not “collateral damage”—it's a funeral.

Abby Martin:
And we need to stop pretending neutrality is moral. If the truth offends power, good. Journalism should offend power. Peace begins with truth, and truth requires courage.

Jeffrey Sachs (closing):
Today we’ve explored how war is not just waged on foreign soil—but in the minds of citizens. The greatest weapon of war is not a missile or drone—but a lie repeated until it becomes belief. If we are to change course, we must not only seek peace—but tell the truth, loudly, and without apology.

Blowback and the Rise of Extremism — Did U.S. Policy Create Its Own Enemies?

Moderator: Jeffrey Sachs
Participants: Lawrence Wilkerson, Robert Fisk (represented in spirit), Karen Greenberg, Reza Aslan, Ali Soufan

Jeffrey Sachs (Moderator):
Welcome back. In this session, we examine a chilling question: Did U.S. foreign policy create the very extremism it claimed to fight? From Al-Qaeda to ISIS, the rise of terrorist groups often seems directly linked to prior U.S. interventions. Today, we’ll explore the concept of blowback—not just as an intelligence term, but as a moral reckoning.

Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson, as former Chief of Staff to Secretary Colin Powell, you were in the room during the Iraq War build-up. Let’s start with you.

Lawrence Wilkerson:
Thank you, Jeffrey. I was there, and I can tell you plainly—we set the Middle East on fire. The invasion of Iraq in 2003 wasn’t just a strategic blunder. It was a moral catastrophe. We dismantled Iraq’s military and bureaucracy overnight, creating a power vacuum. That vacuum wasn’t filled by Jeffersonian democrats—it was filled by chaos, militias, and eventually ISIS.

Blowback isn’t abstract. It’s predictable. When you invade, occupy, torture, and kill in someone else’s homeland, you generate rage. That rage finds leaders, forms ideology, and strikes back.

Jeffrey Sachs:
Thank you. Robert Fisk, one of the most fearless war correspondents, often argued that terrorism was the scream of the unheard. Though he’s no longer with us, let’s honor his perspective here.

Robert Fisk (in spirit):
The West doesn't listen. It bombards, lectures, sanctions—but it doesn't listen. After every bombing in Beirut or Baghdad, I’d walk through the rubble and hear the same thing: “Why are they doing this to us?”

Bin Laden wasn’t born in a vacuum. Nor was Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. They emerged from rubble, prisons, and drone strikes. They emerged from grief and humiliation. You can’t keep wounding people and expect peace. Extremism, in many cases, is not madness. It's a consequence.

Jeffrey Sachs:
Karen, as a legal scholar focused on national security, what role has U.S. policy—particularly torture and indefinite detention—played in this dynamic?

Karen Greenberg:
It’s enormous. Guantanamo Bay is a symbol of moral failure. It tells the world: we will hold you without trial, we will torture you, and we will never apologize. That alone radicalizes. Former detainees have said they were “neutral” before being held, and extremists used Guantanamo as a recruitment tool.

The CIA’s black sites, Abu Ghraib, drone assassinations—these became the fuel for jihadist propaganda. When the U.S. ignores international law, it undermines the very norms it claims to protect. That hypocrisy breeds extremism.

Jeffrey Sachs:
Reza, you’ve written extensively about the psychology of belief. What conditions give rise to religious extremism—and how does foreign policy play a role?

Reza Aslan:
Terrorism is rarely about theology. It’s about identity, humiliation, and powerlessness. Religion gives it a mask, a language—but the roots are political. When people feel their community is under existential threat, they radicalize. That’s not a Muslim phenomenon—it’s human.

Drone strikes that kill weddings, children, or grandmothers don’t just kill bodies. They kill the idea that the West is just. They create a “us versus them” mentality. ISIS capitalized on that. Their message wasn’t just theological—it was emotional. “The West hates you. Come fight.” And sadly, we gave them plenty of evidence.

Jeffrey Sachs:
Ali, as a former FBI agent who interrogated key Al-Qaeda figures, what’s your take?

Ali Soufan:
I spoke with some of these men—like Abu Zubaydah. Many weren’t hardened fanatics when they began. They were drawn in by events. By U.S. support for authoritarian regimes. By pictures from Abu Ghraib. By seeing their villages bombed.

One of the most telling moments was when I heard an Al-Qaeda member say, “You’re attacking our homes. We’re just bringing the war to yours.” That’s blowback. Not random hatred—but cause and effect. And the tragedy is, we often ignore the cause and respond only to the effect, creating a cycle of escalation.

Jeffrey Sachs:
Some say, “They attacked us first. We had no choice.” How do you respond?

Lawrence Wilkerson:
That's the myth. 9/11 was horrific—but it wasn’t a blank check. We had a chance to respond surgically, with law enforcement and international cooperation. Instead, we launched endless war.

Karen Greenberg:
And we built a surveillance-police state in the name of safety. That didn’t just harm foreign civilians—it damaged our own democracy.

Reza Aslan:
We fed the narrative that the West is at war with Islam. Even if unintentional, actions speak louder than policy papers.

Ali Soufan:
And when you respond to fire with fire—more people burn. It's simple.

Jeffrey Sachs:
So where do we go from here? How do we break the blowback cycle?

Lawrence Wilkerson:
Withdraw from permanent war. Close Guantanamo. Stop arming dictators. And admit our mistakes—publicly.

Karen Greenberg:
Recommit to international law. Justice is not a weakness—it’s a strength.

Reza Aslan:
Invest in education and dignity. If people feel seen, they won’t need extremism to feel powerful.

Ali Soufan:
And listen. Intelligence without empathy is dangerous. You cannot defeat an enemy you refuse to understand.

Jeffrey Sachs (closing):
Today we’ve seen that blowback isn’t just about terrorism—it’s about consequences we refused to foresee. If we want peace, we must first ask: What are we doing to create war? The answer is not always comfortable—but without it, nothing changes.

Reimagining Global Leadership — What Should Replace the 'Might Makes Right' Doctrine?

Moderator: Jeffrey Sachs
Participants: Mariana Mazzucato, Pope Francis, Angela Davis, Kofi Annan (in spirit), Arundhati Roy

Jeffrey Sachs (Moderator):
Welcome to our final session. Over the past four conversations, we’ve exposed the mechanics of empire—its strategies, its propaganda, its blowback, and its human toll. Now we ask: What comes next? If "might makes right" has led us to endless war, ecological ruin, and moral bankruptcy—what model should replace it?

Mariana, you’ve argued for a bold reimagining of public value. Let’s start with you.

Mariana Mazzucato:
Thank you, Jeffrey. The idea that leadership comes from force is outdated—economically, socially, and morally. Global leadership should come from creating value, not extracting it. That means investing in health systems, climate resilience, education, and inclusive innovation.

The U.S. could be a leader in green technology, in fair taxation, in intellectual commons—not just arms sales and military bases. But that shift requires rethinking what “power” means. It’s not about who has the biggest stick—it’s about who empowers the most people.

Jeffrey Sachs:
Pope Francis, you’ve spoken often about “a politics of mercy” and the failure of modern capitalism. What should moral leadership look like?

Pope Francis:
Leadership must begin with the dignity of every human being. We cannot serve both war and peace, both greed and the poor. A global system that prioritizes arms over aid, profit over people, is not just unsustainable—it is sinful.

We must embrace what I call integral human development—care for the soul, the body, the society, and the planet. Power must be tempered by humility. The cry of the Earth and the cry of the poor must be heard together. Only then can we move from domination to stewardship.

Jeffrey Sachs:
Angela, you've challenged oppressive systems your whole life—from racism to patriarchy to capitalism. What does justice-centered leadership look like?

Angela Davis:
True leadership is collective. It doesn’t sit in a palace—it walks with people in struggle. The global order today still echoes colonial hierarchies: who decides, who benefits, who is sacrificed. “Might” has always served empire. It’s time to dismantle it—not just at the top, but from the root.

We must think intersectionally. A world that stops bombing but keeps exploiting isn’t free. Leadership should mean abolition of systems of harm—militaries, prisons, surveillance—and the construction of systems of care. Housing. Healing. Liberation.

Jeffrey Sachs:
Let’s honor a voice who imagined such a future—Kofi Annan. His vision of multilateralism remains critical.

Kofi Annan (in spirit):
Peace is not a mere absence of war. It is a presence of fairness, opportunity, and dignity. No nation, however powerful, can secure itself alone. We must return to the United Nations not as a tool of great powers, but as a stage for humanity’s shared interests.

Leadership must be accountable—not only to citizens, but to future generations. In a world of growing interdependence, cooperation is no longer idealism. It is survival.

Jeffrey Sachs:
Arundhati, you've often asked us to dream beyond the existing framework. How do we move from critique to imagination?

Arundhati Roy:
We must stop asking for crumbs from the table of empire and start flipping the table. The future doesn’t belong to those who manage the current system—it belongs to those who dare to imagine something else entirely.

What if leadership meant not GDP growth, but child well-being? Not global rankings, but indigenous sovereignty? We must tell new stories—of shared water, of women-led economies, of rewilded cities. The world is not waiting for saviors. It is waiting for storytellers brave enough to say: This is not the only way.

Jeffrey Sachs:
Let’s each offer one principle for a new global ethic of leadership.

Mariana Mazzucato:
Invest in the public good. Leadership means building systems where markets serve society, not the reverse.

Pope Francis:
Lead with mercy. Be near the poor. See the face of Christ in the refugee, the prisoner, the sick.

Angela Davis:
Center the most marginalized. If your policy doesn’t liberate them, it’s not leadership—it’s maintenance of oppression.

Kofi Annan (in spirit):
Strength lies in cooperation. Let us build institutions that reflect our shared humanity, not our national ego.

Arundhati Roy:
Love. Not a soft, sentimental love—but the fierce love that fights for justice and burns like revolution.

Jeffrey Sachs (final reflection):
We’ve walked through shadowed histories in this series. But here, in this final gathering, we glimpse a light. The old world ran on fear and firepower. The new one must run on courage, compassion, and truth. Let us lead not with force, but with vision. Not through domination, but with dignity.

And let us remember: the future is not written by the strong—it is claimed by the wise.

Final Thought by Jeffrey Sachs

What we’ve uncovered across these five conversations is both sobering and galvanizing.

We’ve seen how wars are designed in boardrooms and sold through fear. How entire nations have been shattered not for freedom, but for control. We’ve heard from those who were inside the systems, and those who were crushed beneath them. We’ve heard stories of truth buried under propaganda, and voices of resistance rising from the ruins.

But we’ve also heard something else: hope.

Hope that we can build a new kind of leadership—one rooted not in dominance, but in compassion. Not in unilateral force, but in shared purpose. A world where diplomacy is not weakness, but wisdom. Where justice is not a slogan, but a structure.

The age of empire must end. The age of cooperation must begin. Not someday. Now.

And so I leave you with this: The greatest power a nation can wield is not its arsenal—but its capacity to lead with humility, humanity, and heart.

Let us choose that path. While we still can.

Short Bios:

Jeffrey Sachs

Economist, author, and global development expert.
Former advisor to the UN and director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, Sachs is known for his critiques of neoliberalism and U.S. foreign policy. He champions multilateral cooperation and sustainable development.

Wesley Clark

Retired U.S. Army General and former NATO Supreme Allied Commander (Europe).
Clark revealed the “7 countries in 5 years” strategy and is a vocal critic of U.S. interventionism post-9/11. He advocates for diplomacy over unilateral military action.

Noam Chomsky

Linguist, philosopher, and political critic.
A longtime critic of U.S. imperialism, Chomsky has written extensively on media manipulation, global power structures, and the ethical failures of American foreign policy.

John Mearsheimer

Political scientist and co-founder of the realist school of international relations.
Known for his emphasis on power politics and balance-of-power theory, Mearsheimer critiques ideological foreign policy and warns against U.S. overreach.

Seymour Hersh

Investigative journalist and Pulitzer Prize winner.
Renowned for exposing the My Lai Massacre and CIA operations, Hersh has covered intelligence manipulation and the dark underbelly of U.S. foreign interventions.

Arundhati Roy

Author, essayist, and political activist.
Winner of the Booker Prize, Roy writes passionately about imperialism, post-colonial injustice, and the human cost of war. She speaks from the perspective of the global South.

Medea Benjamin

Peace activist and co-founder of Code Pink.
A leading voice in anti-war movements, Benjamin has visited conflict zones and spoken out against U.S. drone warfare, military budgets, and regime change operations.

Hanan Ashrawi

Palestinian diplomat, scholar, and activist.
A former member of the Palestinian Legislative Council and peace negotiator, Ashrawi advocates for justice, sovereignty, and self-determination in the Middle East.

Yanis Varoufakis

Economist and former Greek finance minister.
A critic of austerity and economic imperialism, Varoufakis connects war, finance, and inequality, advocating for a democratic restructuring of global institutions.

Tariq Ali

Historian, journalist, and filmmaker.
Ali has written extensively on imperialism, revolutions, and the legacy of colonialism. He challenges mainstream narratives and promotes historical truth and anti-war thought.

Ray McGovern

Former CIA analyst and whistleblower.
McGovern briefed multiple U.S. presidents and later became a fierce critic of intelligence misuse, especially surrounding the Iraq War. He champions transparency and accountability.

Glenn Greenwald

Journalist and constitutional lawyer.
Co-founder of The Intercept and a key figure in the Edward Snowden revelations, Greenwald investigates media bias, state surveillance, and civil liberties.

Laura Poitras

Documentary filmmaker and journalist.
Director of Citizenfour, Poitras brought global attention to the U.S. surveillance state. Her work highlights secrecy, human rights, and the consequences of power.

Chris Hedges

Journalist, war correspondent, and author.
A former New York Times reporter, Hedges covered conflicts in over 50 countries. He critiques war, capitalism, and the erosion of democratic values.

Abby Martin

Journalist and media critic.
Founder of The Empire Files, Martin exposes media propaganda, U.S. militarism, and empire-building. She champions independent journalism and free speech.

Lawrence Wilkerson

Retired U.S. Army Colonel and former Chief of Staff to Colin Powell.
Wilkerson became an outspoken critic of the Iraq War and U.S. foreign policy, calling for an end to militarism and greater civilian oversight of intelligence.

Robert Fisk (in spirit)

Legendary war correspondent for The Independent.
Fisk reported for decades from the Middle East, challenging official narratives and exposing the civilian cost of war. He was a fearless witness to empire’s aftermath.

Karen Greenberg

Legal scholar and director of the Center on National Security at Fordham Law.
Greenberg is an expert on torture, Guantanamo, and national security law. She analyzes how U.S. legal frameworks have adapted—or failed—in the war on terror.

Reza Aslan

Religion scholar, author, and commentator.
Aslan explores the intersection of religion, identity, and politics. He argues that extremism often stems from political injustice rather than theology.

Ali Soufan

Former FBI agent and counterterrorism expert.
Soufan investigated Al-Qaeda and exposed post-9/11 intelligence failures. He advocates for ethical intelligence work and understanding root causes of terrorism.

Mariana Mazzucato

Economist and author known for mission-driven innovation policy.
Mazzucato calls for redefining the role of the state in building inclusive, sustainable economies. She promotes public investment and cooperative global leadership.

Pope Francis

Head of the Catholic Church and global voice for peace and justice.
Francis advocates for the poor, the environment, and nonviolence. He calls for moral leadership, mercy, and solidarity in the face of global conflict.

Angela Davis

Activist, scholar, and author.
Davis challenges systems of oppression—racial, economic, and carceral. She promotes abolition democracy, collective liberation, and radical reimagination of leadership.

Kofi Annan (in spirit)

Former UN Secretary-General and Nobel Peace Laureate.
Annan championed multilateralism, human rights, and global cooperation. He believed that peace required both political will and shared ethical vision.