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International Law Needs International Enforcement
Donald Trump’s war of choice in the Middle East is but the latest indication that the system of international law―which provides guidelines for the behavior of nations in world affairs―is crumbling. In the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries, after thousands of years of violent international conflict, efforts to establish global norms for nations in connection […]
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What if Russia and China Had Announced on Friday That They Would Intervene Together to Protect Iran against Unprovoked Aggression
At about noon, Moscow time, on Friday February 27, the Russian Security Council met in a video session. The regular weekly meeting of the Council is often at the end of the week. The Foreign and Defense Ministers, Sergei Lavrov and Andrei Belousov, and the head of the Foreign Intelligence Service, Sergei Naryshkin, participated. Unless Russian […]
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This Illegal US-Israeli Attack on Iran Is Also an Assault on the United Nations
Let us be clear about what the United States and Israel are pursuing. The US objective is not the security of the American people. The objective is global hegemony. The attempt is to destroy the UN and the international rule of law—an attempt that will fail. On February 16, 2026, one of us (Jeffrey Sachs) […]
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Going Native in the Trump Jungle
The allies of the United States have gone native, feral even, in the jungle of international relations planted by President Donald J. Trump. While we keep hearing about how awful Russia’s war against Ukraine is, with its shattering of international law and its dismissiveness of the provisions of the United Nations Charter, the Israeli-US attack […]
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After Gaza and Venezuela Why No European Criticism of the Illegal War on Iran
Smilingly supporting gross violations of international law and the UN Charter again and again. It is the US, stupid! Here is all that EU Presidents von der Leyen and Costa had to say on February 28, 2026: The developments in Iran are greatly concerning. We remain in close contact with our partners in the region. […]
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The Apologists for the Attack on Iran
February 28, 2026. Another attack, another breach of the United Nations Charter. A gross violation of international law. As usual, a violation celebrated as ethical, necessary, and high-minded in principle by the powerful who dictate such terms. Not squalid, dangerous, destabilising. Not, apparently, following the same pattern as before: interventions in Iraq, Libya. Not, goodness, […]
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A New Perspective and Blueprint: A Demilitarised Arctic for the Common Good — and Why It Is Rational
This is not another geopolitical commentary on the Arctic. It is a visionary peace proposal that save the region from militarised rivalry and ecological ruin. A blueprint for shared security, sustainable development, and human dignity — benefitting Greenland, the Arctic, and the rest of us. I. Four Principles for a New Arctic Vision The Arctic […]
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No US War on Iran: An Open Letter to the UN Security Council
Distinguished Members of the Security Council, The President of the United States is issuing grave threats of force against the Islamic Republic of Iran if it does not accede to US demands. His actions risk a major regional war that would be devastating. Asked if he wanted regime change, he responded that it “seems like that would be the […]
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Iran’s Comprehensive Peace Proposal to the United States
The Middle East stands at a crossroads between endless war and comprehensive peace. A framework for peace does exist. Will the US finally seize it? History occasionally presents moments when the truth about a conflict is stated plainly enough that it becomes impossible to ignore. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi’s February 7 address in Doha, Qatar (transcript here) should […]