Gaza’s Genocide and the Shifting World Order (Interview With Chas Freeman)
"Domination of the world by the West has come to an end."
Introduction by Rick Sterling
Chas Freeman is a highly respected retired U.S. diplomat. He served
in both Republican and Democratic Party administrations over thirty
years. His career included being Richard Nixon’s main interpreter in
negotiations with China, Ambassador to Saudi Arabia from 1989 to 1992,
and later the Assistant Secretary of Defense. He was interviewed by
Helena Cobban, President of Just World Educational, on 17 September
2025. Video of interview.
Ambassador Chas W. Freeman, Jr. provided a sweeping analysis of what
he described as a fundamental “sea change” in the global order,
accelerated by the conflict in Gaza. He argued that the five-century era
of Western domination had ended, with the West, and particularly the
United States, having lost its moral authority due to hypocritical
applications of international law.
Freeman contended that the “global majority,” led by nations like
China and India, was now the conservative force in the world, seeking to
resurrect the principles of the post-WWII order by building new
institutions like BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, while
the US had become a “radical and reactionary” power.
He was deeply critical of US foreign policy, which he claimed had
abandoned diplomacy for military force. The interview concluded with a
stark condemnation of Zionism, which he described as a “negation of
Judaism”. Israel’s actions in Gaza have exposed it to the world and
sealed its eventual failure. Freeman predicts “the end of days… for the
Zionists.”
In her introduction of Amb. Freeman, Ms. Cobban highlighted his
extensive diplomatic record, noting he was one of the few people to have
interacted professionally with figures like Mao Zedong and Fidel
Castro.
Key Points made by Amb. Freeman:
- The historical era of Western global domination has definitively ended, giving way to a new multipolar world order.
- The West had lost its moral standing due to profound double
standards, particularly its outrage over casualties in Ukraine compared
to its complicity in the deaths of millions of Muslims and the genocide
in Gaza.
- The non-Western “global majority” was portrayed as the new
conservative force, attempting to restore the principles of
international law by creating new institutions (BRICS, SCO) to replace
the failing, Western-dominated ones.
- The United States had become a “radical and reactionary” global
actor, abandoning diplomacy, engaging in personalistic politics, and
pursuing self-defeating economic policies.
- European nations were characterized as “pathetic” and a “coalition
of the deluded,” lacking the power, unity, or vision to act as
meaningful global players.
- The atrocities in Gaza have permanently besmirched Zionism, leading
to a massive global backlash, including among a growing number of
American Jews who now viewed it as a “heretical” negation of Jewish
ethics.
- He argued that Israeli apartheid was “infinitely worse” than the
version practiced in South Africa because its ultimate goal was the
expulsion or murder of the indigenous population.
- While militarily outmatched, Hamas had achieved a strategic victory
by successfully elevating the Palestinian cause to the top of the global
agenda, winning “in the world of ideas and propaganda.”
Notable Quotes from the interview
- “The five century old domination of the world by the West has come to an end.”
- “The West has not only lost its commanding power in every sphere but the military, but it’s lost its moral standing.”
- “I consider the Europeans to be pathetic. They are what I call the coalition of the deluded.”
- “We didn’t just hand the car keys to the drunk. We got drunk ourselves and shared the wheel with the drunk.”
- “Hamas, which set out on October 7th to elevate the Palestinian
issue to the top of the global agenda has done so. It may be cowering in
tunnels, but in the world of ideas and propaganda, it has won.”
- “I think we’re looking at the end of days in Palestine, not just for the Palestinians, but for the Zionists.”
Full Transcript