Jeffrey Sachs...

 ... for all my respect for his position, is wrong here. 

1. We ARE NOT on the path to WW III, we are already in WW III and the West already lost it. NATO has neither troops nor resources to introduce anything in 404. Russia's tactical nuclear drills was a message to European chihuahuas, primarily UK, after showing UK ambassador in Moscow the list of British targets Russia will strike OUTSIDE 404 if London continues with terrorism. Russia is not afraid of Article 5. 

2. US is NOT a republic anymore--it is a corrupt uniparty oligarchy sliding towards totalitarianism. Its foreign policy and media are controlled by the state of Israel and Zionist lobby inside the US, which is based on a broad foundation of Christian Zionist population in the US. 

3. US higher education as related to humanities is over. It has been over for some time. Eventually, all remnants of a free thought and facts-based academic study will be purged. 

As I write for many years--the ONLY real test of nation, of the state is REAL war. It took SMO to completely tear down the fake edifice of the American "democracy" to expose a rotten scaffolding collapsing as I type this. Or, maybe, a proverbial brick wall by late Frank Zappa.