European leaders who threaten nuclear-armed Russia while assuming that there will be no consequences, are displaying “suicidal” incompetence and ignoring basic realities, Columbia University Professor Jeffrey Sachs said in a YouTube posting this month. Sachs was interviewed by Afshin Rattansi on the latter’s “Going Underground” program.

Sachs described as “unbelievably reckless” the dismissal of Russian warnings that a direct conflict with NATO could escalate into nuclear war. Smaller European NATO nations that engage in hostile rhetoric act “a little bit like Israel... even radically more so,” believing the United States will protect them in an actual conflict, he said.