'That's Not Fiction... It Is Out Of Control': Jeffrey Sachs On Deep State In US

New Delhi: Jeffrey Sachs, American Economist & Public Policy Analyst, Professor at Columbia University, Former Director of the Earth Institute and Senior Advisor at the United Nations, in conversation with Republic Media Network’s Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami highlighted American political system has a deep state, that is the security state. 

Sachs, in an exclusive conversation, added, “We have a deep state that is the security state. That's not fiction. That is the military industrial complex, the one that President Eisenhower warned us about on January 17 1961 in his farewell address. And it's real. It exists. And it is out of control.” 

Military-industrial complex

Sachs further went on to add that the United States is currently dominated by a corrupt "military-industrial complex" that operates independently of any single president. They contend that the political system is beholden to massive donor spending and Silicon Valley influence—citing JD Vance’s selection as an example—rather than democratic will. 

According to this view, major foreign policy initiatives (such as involvement in Ukraine or regime change in Venezuela) are long-term, institutional projects that span decades and multiple administrations. While the speaker views Trump’s current state of mind as dangerous, they see his presidency as a symptom of a deeper, systemic instability. Consequently, they advise India to stop aligning with an unstable U.S. and instead pursue its own leadership role in a multipolar world alongside powers like China and Russia.

Arnab Goswami asked Sachs if Trump has captured the deep state or whether the deep state has captured Trump. In his response, Sachs added ," And the fact of the matter is if I may say it is the latter, actually."

On further being asked by Goswami if "it is the deep state of Trump, you think?", Sachs said, "Yes. The way that it works, the way that it works is we have a war machine. It's a trillion dollar a year war machine. It's got 750 to 800 overseas military bases in about 80 countries. It's got the CIA everywhere. It's got the National Endowment for Democracy. It's got the National Democratic Institute. I know these, I've watched it close up for 40 years. It plays a role. It's got the dollar roll through the sanction system through swift and so forth. That's the system. The only way the U.S. actually operates normally is if a president at least is on the ball to keep a foot on the break. One really tried to stop it, by the way, John F. Kennedy. And there's a good reason to believe they killed him for it. But the other presidents sometimes tried to slow down this war machine. And Trump now is giddy that he's going to unleash it. He's threatening everybody. He's threatening, of course, he's gone to war with Venezuela".

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