Episode Details

The Proxy War in Ukraine and the War of Aggression against Iran are not shaping up the way they are supposed to, and the Washington establishment is in panic mode. Ambassador Chas Freeman—a former US Ambassador to Saudi Arabia and Undersecretary of Defence—does not think that these errors are part of a deeper strategy to weaken China, but the outcome of many individual failures.American power is, in fact, retreating as wars, sanctions and depleted arsenals expose the limits of dominance. He examines Iran, Yemen, Saudi Arabia’s growing autonomy and China’s gains from the energy crisis. With Pascal Lottaz, he discusses Israel’s eroding support, Switzerland’s neutrality debate and NATO’s failures. Their conversation explores whether cooperative security, regional partnerships and greater freedom for middle powers can replace confrontation, drawing lessons from ASEAN and considering the prospects for diplomacy in a changing world.Chas's Links:Chas Freeman's Substack: https://chasfreeman.su...Books and Publications: https://chasfreeman.ne...Neutrality Studies Links:Neutrality Studies Substack: https://pascallottaz.s...Support Neutrality Studies: https://neutralitystud...Neutrality Studies shop: https://neutralitystud...Time Stamps00:00 Iran, Yemen and the widening regional crisis09:21 America in retreat: military and economic costs16:48 China’s gains and Saudi Arabia’s autonomy24:07 Israel’s eroding support30:31 Switzerland’s neutrality debate35:12 Can neutrality replace confrontation?39:09 NATO’s failure and Ukraine’s future44:14 A changing world: ASEAN and regional cooperation