Imperial Ambitions: Conversations on the Post-9/11 World

Imperial Ambitions: Conversations on the Post-9/11 World, Noam Chomsky and David Barsamian, Metropolitan Books, 2005

In this new set of interviews, America's foremost intellectual activist looks at new questions of US domestic and foreign policy.

In September 2002, the American government announced a new national security strategy. Instead of pre-emptive war, which might be covered by the UN Charter, the new strategy will be one of preventive war, which is not permitted at all under international law. In other words, America will rule the world by force, and if any challenge to that domination comes about, whether imagined, invented or perceived in the distance, America has the right to destroy that challenge before it becomes a threat.

The Bush Administration talks about going after countries that harbor terrorists. Orlando Bosch, described by the Justice Department as a threat to American security, is quietly living in Miami, recipient of a Presidential Pardon. In 1976, Bosch was involved in the shooting down of a Cuban airliner, killing 73 people, among other crimes. Emanuel Constant is responsible for the deaths of at least 4000 Haitians. He is living in Queens, New York, because America refuses to even respond to extradition requests, let alone actually say No. Such doctrines are unilateral; they grant America the right to harbor terrorists and use violence, but not anyone else.

The people around George Bush are very open about their desire to destroy the progressive achievements of the last 100 years. They have generally gotten rid of the progressive income tax. They are next going after Social Security and health care. They do not want a small government. They are interested in a huge, massively intrusive government, but one that works for them.

This is another excellent and eye-opening book from Chomsky and Barsamian. For another very interesting look at the way America and the world Really Works, this is highly recommended.